Jeremiah Cross References - ISV

¹ IntroductionThe words of Hilkiah’s son Jeremiah, who was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. ² This message from the LORD came to him during the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, ³ and during the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.
⁴ Jeremiah’s Call as a ProphetThis message from the LORD came to me: ⁵ “I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me before you were born; I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ I replied, “Ah, LORD God! Look, I don’t know how to speak, because I’m only a young man.”
⁷ Then the LORD told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a young man,’ for you will go everywhere I send you, and you will speak everything I command you. ⁸ Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
⁹ The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I’ve appointed you to prophesy about nations and kingdoms, to pull up and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
¹¹ The Visions of the Almond Branch and Boiling PotThis message from the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I replied, “I see an almond branch.”
¹² The LORD told me, “You have observed well, because I’m watching over my message, to make sure it comes about.”
¹³ This message from the LORD came to me a second time: “What do you see?”
I replied, “I see a boiling pot, and its mouth is tilted away from the north.”
¹⁴ Then the LORD told me, “From the north disaster will pour out on all who live in the land, ¹⁵ because I’m about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north,” declares the LORD. “They’ll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah. ¹⁶ “I’ll pronounce my judgments against them because of all their wickedness. They have forsaken me, they have burned incense to other gods, and they have bowed down in worship to the works of their own hands.”
¹⁷ The LORD’s Assurance to Jeremiah“As for you, get ready! Stand up and tell them everything that I’ve commanded you. Don’t be frightened as you face them, or I’ll frighten you right in front of them.
¹⁸ “As for me, today I’m making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. ¹⁹ They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, because I am with you,” declares the LORD, “to deliver you.”

¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands, for a total of four cities.

⁶⁰ From the tribe of Benjamin were allotted Geba with its surrounding suburbs, Alemeth with its surrounding suburbs, and Anathoth with its surrounding suburbs. All their towns allotted to their families totaled thirteen.

²¹ All of this fulfilled what the LORD had predicted through Jeremiah. And so the land enjoyed its Sabbaths, and the length of the land’s desolation lasted until a 70-year long Sabbath had been completed.

¹ The Vision of IsaiahThis is the vision that Amoz’s son Isaiah had about Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

¹ A Message for Judah and JerusalemThe message that Amoz’s son Isaiah received concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

²¹ Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you, all the while threatening you, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the LORD so you won’t die by our hand!”

⁷ ‘Look, Hanamel, your cousin, is coming to you and will say, “Buy my field in Anathoth for yourself, because the right of redemption to buy it belongs to you.”’
⁸ “Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard just as the LORD had said, and he told me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin because you have the right to possess it, and the right to redeem it belongs to you. Buy it for yourself.’ So I knew that this was a message from the LORD.
⁹ “Then I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the silver for him—seventeen shekels of silver.

³ a message from the LORD came directly to Buzi’s son Ezekiel, the priest, by the Chebar River in the land of the Chaldeans. The hand of the LORD rested upon him there.

¹ Amos is Called to ProphesyThe words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he spoke concerning Israel during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah and during the reign of Joash’s son Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

¹⁰ A Rebuke for AmaziahSo Amaziah priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel. It said, “Amos has been conspiring against you in the very heart of the house of Israel! The land cannot bear everything he has to say,

²⁰ Later, while they were sitting down at the table, a message from the LORD was delivered to the prophet who had brought him back,

²⁴ But afterward, the people of the land executed everyone who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land installed his son Josiah to be king in his place.

¹ Josiah Succeeds Amon
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 31 years in Jerusalem. ² He practiced what the LORD considered to be right, following the example of his ancestor David, turning neither to the right nor to the left. ³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In the twelfth year of his reign, he began to remove the high places, Asherim, carved images, and cast images from Judah and Jerusalem.
⁴ They tore down the altars of Baals in his presence. He chopped down the incense altars that stood high above them. He broke into pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast images, ground them to dust, and scattered the residue on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, thus purging Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and their surrounding ruins, ⁷ he also tore down altars, destroyed the Asherim and the carved images, grinding them into dust, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
⁸ Josiah’s Restoration Work
In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had purged the land and the Temple, he sent Azaliah’s son Shaphan, Maaseiah, mayor of Jerusalem, and Joahaz’s son Joah, the recorder, to repair the Temple of the LORD his God. ⁹ They approached Hilkiah the high priest and delivered to him the money that had been brought into God’s Temple that the descendants of Levi and gatekeepers had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, the surviving Israelis, Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They paid it to the workmen who supervised the LORD’s Temple, and the workmen who were employed in the LORD’s Temple to supervise restoration and repair of the Temple. ¹¹ They, in turn, paid the carpenters and builders to purchase quarried stone and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that previous kings of Judah had let deteriorate. ¹² The workmen did their duties faithfully with these foremen supervising them: Jahath and Obadiah, descendants of Levi who were Merari’s sons, Zechariah and Meshullam, descendants of Kohath, and various descendants of Levi, who were skilled musicians. ¹³ These men also supervised the heavy lift workers and supervised all the workmen from job to job, while some of the descendants of Levi served as scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
¹⁴ The Book of the Law is Discovered
While they were bringing out the money that had come in as gifts to the LORD’s Temple, Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Law of the LORD that had been handed down by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah reported his finding to Shaphan the scribe, telling him, “I found the Book of the Law in the LORD’s Temple. Then he gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Shaphan took the book to the king and gave an additional report to the king, telling him “Everything that you’ve entrusted to your servants is being carried out. ¹⁷ They’ve removed the money that was found in the LORD’s Temple and have passed it on to the supervisors and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Shaphan the scribe also informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan read from its contents to the king.
¹⁹ As soon as he heard what the Law said, he tore his clothes. ²⁰ He issued these orders to Hilkiah, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micah’s son Abdon, Shaphan the scribe, and the king’s personal assistant Asaiah: ²¹ “Go ask the LORD for me and for those who survive in Israel and in Judah about the words that we’ve read in this book that we found, because the wrath of the LORD that we deserve to have poured out on us is very great, since our ancestors haven’t obeyed the command from the LORD that required us to do everything that is written in this book.”
²² Hilkiah Consults with Huldah, the Woman ProphetSo Hilkiah and the others who had received orders from the king went to visit Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Tokhath’s son Shallum, grandson of Hasrah. She was the king’s wardrobe supervisor, and she lived in Jerusalem’s Second Quarter. They asked her about what had happened. ²³ In response, she replied: “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ “This is what the LORD says: ‘Pay attention! I’m bringing evil to visit this place and its inhabitants—every single curse written in the book that they’ve been reading to the King of Judah. ²⁵ Because they abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to become angry at everything they’re doing, therefore my wrath is about to be poured out on this place, and it won’t be quenched.’”’ ²⁶ “Now tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the LORD about this: ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says about what you’ve heard: ²⁷ “Because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he had to say about this place and its inhabitants—indeed, because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and cried out to me, I have heard you,” declares the LORD. ²⁸ “Look! I’m going to take you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in your grave in peace so that you won’t have to see all the evil that I’m going to bring to this place and to its inhabitants.”’”
So they all brought back this message to the king.
²⁹ The Covenant is Renewed
The king sent word to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ Then the king went up to the LORD’s Temple, accompanied by the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else from the most important to the least important, and he read out loud all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD’s Temple. ³¹ While standing in his appointed place, the king made a public covenant with the LORD to follow the LORD, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, and to do so with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. ³² He also made everyone who was present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand in agreement with him. As a result, the inhabitants of Jerusalem reconfirmed the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. ³³ Josiah also removed all the detestable things from the territories that belonged to the people of Israel, and made everyone who lived in Israel to serve the LORD their God. For the rest of his life, they didn’t abandon their quest to follow the LORD God of their ancestors.

⁴ Jeremiah’s Call as a ProphetThis message from the LORD came to me:

¹¹ The Visions of the Almond Branch and Boiling PotThis message from the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I replied, “I see an almond branch.”

³ “From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I’ve spoken to you again and again, but you haven’t listened.

² “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I’ve spoken to you about Israel, about Judah, and about all the nations, since I first spoke to you in the time of Josiah until the present time.

¹ The Word of the LORD to HoseaA message from the LORD came to Beeri’s son Hosea during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Joash’s son Jeroboam, who was king of Israel.

¹ Jonah is Called to Go to NinevehNow this message from the LORD came to Amittai’s son Jonah:

¹ God’s Coming JudgmentThis message from the LORD came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:

³⁴ Jehoiakim is Made King by Pharaoh NecoPharaoh Neco installed Josiah’s son Eliakim as king to replace his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He transported Jehoahaz off to Egypt, where he died.

¹ Jehoiakim Serves NebuchadnezzarDuring his lifetime, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim, who became his vassal for three years, after which he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. ² The LORD sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets. ³ It was truly by the command of the LORD against Judah that it came, in order to remove them from his sight, because of every sin that Manasseh had committed, ⁴ as well as for the innocent blood that he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not forgive them. ⁵ Now the rest of Jehoiakim’s actions, and everything that he undertook, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? ⁶ Jehoiakim died, as did his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. ⁷ The king of Egypt did not leave his territory again, because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
⁸ Jehoiachin Becomes KingJehoiachin became king at the age of eighteen years, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hausa. She was the daughter of Elzaphan of Jerusalem. ⁹ He practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just as his ancestors had done.

¹⁷ Zedekiah is Installed as KingThe king of Babylon installed Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah as king in his place and then changed his name to Zedekiah. ¹⁸ Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ Zedekiah practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just as Jehoiakim had done, ²⁰ because through the LORD’s anger these things happened to Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them from his presence.
Nebuchadnezzar Captures JerusalemZedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon,

¹⁷ The height of one of the pillars was eighteen cubits, and the capital on top of it was three cubits high. A latticework carved in the form of pomegranates encircled the capital, crafted completely out of brass. The second pillar was identical to the first.
¹⁸ Judah’s Leaders are ExecutedThe captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, three temple officials, ¹⁹ one overseer from the city who supervised the soldiers, five of the king’s advisors who had been discovered in the city, the scribe who served the army captain who mustered the army of the land, and 60 men of the land who were discovered in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, ²¹ where the king of Babylon executed them in the land of Hamath. And so Judah was transported into exile from the land.
²² Gedaliah is Appointed GovernorNow as for the people who remained in the land of Judah whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left behind, he appointed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to rule. ²³ When all the captains of the armies, along with their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, these men visited Gedaliah at Mizpah: Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, Kareah’s son Johanan, Tanhumeth the Netophathite’s son Seraiah, and Jaazaniah, who was descended from the Maacathites. ²⁴ Gedaliah made this promise to them and to their men: “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and things will go well with you.” ²⁵ Nevertheless, seven months later, Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama from the royal family, came with ten men and attacked Gedaliah. As a result, he died along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ Then all the people, including those who were insignificant and those who were important, fled with the captains of the armed forces to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
²⁷ Jehoiachin Leaves PrisonLater on, after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in exile for 37 years, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, during the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. ²⁸ He spoke kindly to him and elevated his position above the thrones of the kings with him in Babylon. ²⁹ Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes and had regular meals in the king’s presence every day for the rest of his life, ³⁰ and a regular stipend was provided to him by the king in accordance with his needs for as long as he lived.

¹⁵ Josiah’s descendants included Johanan his firstborn, his second born Jehoiakim, his third born Zedekiah, and his fourth born Shallum.

⁵ Jehoiakim’s Reign; Nebuchadnezzar’s First Capture of JerusalemJehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, but he practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil. ⁶ As a result, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him in bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also took articles from the LORD’s Temple to Babylon and placed them in his temple in Babylon. ⁸ The rest of Jehoiakim’s accomplishments—along with the detestable things that he did that were recorded in his disfavor—are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin became king to replace him.

¹¹ Zedekiah Rules in Judah
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. ¹³ Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve, and hardened his heart, and would not return to the LORD God of Israel.
¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar’s Third Capture of Jerusalem
Meanwhile, all the officials who supervised the priests and the people remained unfaithful, following the detestable example of the surrounding nations. They polluted the LORD’s Temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people. ¹⁷ Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control, ¹⁸ who took back to Babylon every article in God’s Temple, whether large or small, including the treasuries of the LORD’s Temple, the king’s assets, and those of his officers. ¹⁹ After this, they set fire to God’s Temple, demolished the wall around Jerusalem, burned all of its fortified buildings, and destroyed everything of value. ²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon those who survived the executions, and they served him and his descendants until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ All of this fulfilled what the LORD had predicted through Jeremiah. And so the land enjoyed its Sabbaths, and the length of the land’s desolation lasted until a 70-year long Sabbath had been completed.

¹ Zedekiah’s Request for a MiracleThe message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Malchijah’s son Pashhur and Maaseiah’s son Zephaniah the priest: ² Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps the LORD will do some of his miraculous acts for us, and Nebuchadnezzar will depart from us.”
³ Jeremiah told them, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah, ⁴ ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: “I’m about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. I’ll gather them into the center of this city. ⁵ Because of my anger, wrath, and great fury, I’ll fight against you myself with an outstretched hand and a strong arm. ⁶ I’ll strike down the residents of this city, both people and animals, and they’ll die from a terrible plague. ⁷ Afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I’ll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people—those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine—into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He’ll execute them with swords and won’t pity them. He won’t spare them, nor will he have compassion on them.”’
⁸ “You are to say to this people, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I’m about to set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live. He will save his life as a spoil of war. ¹⁰ Indeed, I’m firmly decided—I’m sending calamity to this city, not good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire.”’
¹¹ The Guilt of Judah’s King“To the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear this message from the LORD. ¹² This is what the LORD says, house of David: “Judge appropriately every morning, and deliver those who have been robbed from the oppressor, so my anger does not break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out because of your evil deeds. ¹³ “Look, I’m against you, city dwelling in the valley, rock of the plain,” declares the LORD, “those of you who say, ‘Who can come down against us and who can enter our habitations?’ ¹⁴ But I’ll punish you according to what you have done,” declares the LORD. “I’ll start a fire in her forest, and it will consume everything around her.”’”

¹ The Irrevocable Judgment on JudahThis message from the LORD came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. (This was also the first year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.) ² This is what Jeremiah the prophet told all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem: ³ “From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I’ve spoken to you again and again, but you haven’t listened.

¹ Jeremiah is ArrestedIn the beginning of the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this message came from the LORD: ² “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple and tell those from all the cities of Judah who are coming to worship at the LORD’s Temple everything that I’ve commanded you to say to them. Don’t leave out a word! ³ Perhaps they’ll listen, and each of them will repent from his evil way. Then I’ll change my mind about the disaster I’m planning to bring on them because of their evil deeds. ⁴ Say to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you don’t listen to me to follow my Law which I’ve set before you, ⁵ and listen to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I’ve sent to you over and over—but you wouldn’t listen— ⁶ then I’ll make this house like Shiloh and make this city into a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”’”
⁷ Jeremiah Threatened with DeathThe priests, the prophets, and all the people listened as Jeremiah spoke these words at the LORD’s Temple. ⁸ As soon as Jeremiah finished saying everything that the LORD had commanded him to say to all the people, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him, telling him as they did: “You must certainly die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD that this house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be without an inhabitant?” Then all the people gathered around Jeremiah at the LORD’s Temple.
¹⁰ When the Judean officials heard all these things, they came up from the king’s house to the LORD’s Temple and sat in the doorway of the New Gate of the LORD’s Temple. ¹¹ The priests and prophets told the officials and all the people, “A death sentence for this man, because he prophesied against this city, as you heard with your own ears!”
¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people: “The LORD has sent me to prophesy all the things you heard against this house and against this city. ¹³ Now, change your habits and your deeds and obey the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he told you about. ¹⁴ Look, I’m in your hands, so do with me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵ But know for certain that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its residents because the LORD really did send me to you to say all these things for you to hear.”
¹⁶ The Elders Remember Micah’s Similar MessageThe officials and all the people told the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man because he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”
¹⁷ Some of the elders of the land got up and told all the assembled people, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Zion will be a plowed field, and Jerusalem a ruin. The Temple Mount will be a wooded hill.”’
¹⁹ “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone in Judah kill him? Didn’t he fear the LORD and seek the LORD’s favor, and so the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he had spoken to them about. We’re bringing great disaster on ourselves. ²⁰ There was also a man named Uriah, Shemaiah’s son from Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied in the LORD’s name. He prophesied about this city and this land in words similar to those of Jeremiah. ²¹ King Jehoiakim, all his troops, and all the officials heard his words, and the king sought to kill him. Uriah heard about this and was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt. ²² King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt. He sent Achbor’s son Elnathan, along with a contingent of men into Egypt. ²³ They brought Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword. Then they threw his body into a common grave.”
²⁴ Yet because Shaphan’s son Ahikam supported Jeremiah, he was not handed over to the people for them to kill.

¹ Jeremiah Challenges a False ProphetIn that same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year and the fifth month, Azzur’s son Hananiah, the prophet from Gibeon, told me at the LORD’s Temple in front of the priests and all the people, ² “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I’ve broken the yoke of the king of Babylon, ³ and within two years I’ll bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’s Temple that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I’ll bring back Jehoiakim’s son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon to this place,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I’ll break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
⁵ The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were standing in the LORD’s Temple. ⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, “May the LORD truly do this thing! May the LORD fulfill the words that you prophesied to bring back the vessels of the LORD’s Temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place. ⁷ But please listen to what I’m saying in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The prophets who came before us from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. ⁹ When a prophet prophesies peace, and what the prophet speaks comes about, he will be known as the prophet whom the LORD has truly sent.”
¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah, in front of all the people, said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way, within two years, I’ll break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.
¹² This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: ¹³ “Go and say to Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: “You have broken wooden yokes, but you have made iron yokes in their place.” ¹⁴ For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I’ve put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They’ll serve him, and I’ve even given the wild animals to him.”’”
¹⁵ The prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD didn’t send you, and you are causing these people to trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I’m about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you will die because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
¹⁷ So the prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year.

¹ A Message to ZedekiahThis is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: ² “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Look, I’m giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. ³ You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴ Yet, hear this message from the LORD, king Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the LORD says to you, ‘You won’t die by the sword. ⁵ You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires for your ancestors, the former kings who were before you, so they’ll burn fires for you, wailing, “Oh how terrible, your majesty!”’ For I’ve spoken the message,” declares the LORD.
⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all of this in Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah, ⁷ while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.)
⁸ A Broken Agreement with Hebrew ServantsThis is this message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them. ⁹ Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother. ¹⁰ All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves.
¹² Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ¹³ “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I told them: ¹⁴ “At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation.” But your ancestors didn’t obey me or pay attention. ¹⁵ You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. ¹⁶ But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire, and you forced them to become male and female slaves.”’
¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You haven’t obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I’m going to proclaim a release for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I’ll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ I’ll give over the men who transgressed my covenant, who haven’t fulfilled the terms of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹ the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.

¹ The Example of the RechabitesThis is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them. Bring them into the LORD’s Temple, to one of the offices, and offer them wine to drink.” ³ So I took Jeremiah’s son Jaazaniah (a descendant of Habazziniah), his brothers, all his sons, and the whole family of the Rechabites. ⁴ I brought them to the LORD’s Temple to the office of the descendants of Igdaliah’s son Hanan, the man of God, which was next to the office of the officials, and which was above the office of Shallum’s son Maaseiah, the keeper of the threshold.
⁵ I put containers full of wine and cups in front of the members of the Rechabite clan and told them, “Drink the wine!”
⁶ But they said, “We won’t drink wine, because our ancestor, Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded us: ‘You and your descendants are never to drink wine! ⁷ You aren’t to build houses, you aren’t to sow seeds, and you aren’t to plant vineyards, or own them. Instead, you are to live in tents all your lives, so you will enjoy a long life in the land where you reside.’ ⁸ We have obeyed everything that our ancestor, Rechab’s son Jonadab, commanded us. So we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters have drunk no wine all our lives, ⁹ and have built no houses to live in. We don’t have vineyards, fields, or seed. ¹⁰ We have lived in tents. We have obeyed and have done everything that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ Now when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come on! Let’s go to Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of Aram. And now we’re living in Jerusalem.’”
¹² This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept correction by listening to what I say?” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ “But what Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven’t drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I’ve spoken to you again and again, and you haven’t obeyed me. ¹⁵ I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention and you haven’t obeyed me. ¹⁶ Indeed the descendants of Rechab’s son Jonadab have carried out the command of their ancestor that he gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.” ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: “Look, I’m bringing on Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster that I pronounced against them, because I spoke to them, but they didn’t listen, and I called out to them, but they didn’t answer.”’”
¹⁸ Then Jeremiah told the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you obeyed the commandment of your ancestor Jonadab, have observed all his commandments, and have done everything that he commanded you,’ ¹⁹ therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Rechab’s son Jonadab won’t lack a descendant who serves me always.’”

¹ Zedekiah Consults JeremiahJosiah’s son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim’s son Coniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah. ² But neither he nor his officials nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that were spoken by Jeremiah the prophet.
³ King Zedekiah sent Shelemiah’s son Jehucal and Maaseiah’s son Zephaniah the priest to Jeremiah the prophet, asking him, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.” ⁴ Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people since he had not yet been put in prison. ⁵ Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
⁶ Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, “Look, Pharaoh’s army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt, ⁸ and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹ “This is what the LORD says: ‘Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” ‘for they won’t go. ¹⁰ Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.’”’”
¹¹ Jeremiah Arrested for TreasonWhen the Chaldean army was leaving Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin to take possession of his property there among the people. ¹³ He was in the Gate of Benjamin, and chief officer Irijah, Shelemiah’s son and the grandson of Hananiah, was there. He arrested Jeremiah the prophet, accusing him: “You are going over to the Chaldeans!”
¹⁴ Jeremiah said, “It’s a lie! I’m not going over to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry with Jeremiah and beat him. They put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made it into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah came into the cells in the dungeon and remained there for a long time.
¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: “Is there a message from the LORD?”
Jeremiah said, “There is,” and then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, your officials, or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, telling you: ‘The king of Babylon won’t come against you or against this land’? ²⁰ Now, please listen, your majesty, and pay attention to what I’m asking you. Don’t make me go back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so I don’t die there.”
²¹ So King Zedekiah gave the order, and they assigned Jeremiah to the courtyard of the guard. Each day they gave him a loaf of bread from the bakers’ street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

² On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached.

¹ The Fall of JerusalemZedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ² Zedekiah had done evil in the LORD’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. ³ Because Jerusalem and Judah had angered the Lord, he cast them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, ⁴ and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. ⁵ The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. ⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ The wall of the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.
⁸ The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. ⁹ They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed judgment on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials at Riblah. ¹¹ He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died.
¹² The Destruction of the TempleIn the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—it was the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the LORD’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building with fire. ¹⁴ All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
¹⁷ The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the LORD’s Temple and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the LORD’s Temple, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze utensils that were used in the temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard took away the bowls, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the lamp stands, the pans, and the bowls for libations, both those made of gold and those made of silver. ²⁰ There was too much bronze to weigh in the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze oxen that were under the sea, and the stands which King Solomon had made for the LORD’s Temple. ²¹ Each of the pillars was twelve cubits high and its circumference twelve cubits. It was hollow and about a handbreadth thick. ²² On each pillar was a capital of bronze, and the height of each capital was five cubits. Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar was like this, including the pomegranates. ²³ There were 96 pomegranates open to view. In all, there were 100 pomegranates all around the latticework.
²⁴ Executions and Deportations to BabylonThe captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest, and the three guards of the gate. ²⁵ From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land.
²⁸ These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; ²⁹ in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile numbered 4,600.
³¹ Jehoiachin Released from PrisonIn the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, showed favor to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah. ³² He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the other kings who were in Babylon with him. ³³ Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and regularly dined with the king as long as he lived. ³⁴ As for his living expenses, a regular allowance was given him daily by the king of Babylon as long as he lived, until the day of his death.

⁵ “Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, ‘When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me?

¹⁹ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘The fasts that occur in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be joyful and glad times for the house of Judah, replete with cheerful festivals. Therefore, love truth and peace.’”

² This message from the LORD came to him during the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah,

¹⁶ At the end of the seven days, this message from the LORD came to me:

¹² The Promise of God’s Presence on the JourneyMoses told the LORD, “Look, you have told me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name,’ and also, ‘You have found favor in my sight.’

¹⁷ Moses Sees God’s GloryThe LORD told Moses, “I’ll do the very thing that you have said, because you have found favor in my sight and I know you by name.”

⁵ For you are my hope, Lord GOD, my security since I was young. ⁶ I depended on you since birth, when you brought me from my mother’s womb; I praise you continuously.

¹⁶ Your eyes looked upon my embryo, and everything was recorded in your book. The days scheduled for my formation were inscribed, even though not one of them had come yet.

² This what the LORD says, the one who made you, formed you from the womb, and who will help you: “Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

¹ The Servant of the LORD “Listen to me, you coastlands! Pay attention, you people from far away! The LORD called me from the womb; while I was still in my mother’s body, he pronounced my name.

⁵ “And now, says the LORD, who formed you from the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him— and I am honored in the LORD’s sight and my God has been my help—

¹⁰ See, today I’ve appointed you to prophesy about nations and kingdoms, to pull up and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

¹⁵ Judgment on the NationsFor this is what the LORD God of Israel says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of burning anger from my hand and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They’ll drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I’m sending among them.” ¹⁷ So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and I made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: ¹⁸ Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, its kings and officials to make them into a ruin, an object of horror and scorn, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹ Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his officials, his princes, and all his people; ²⁰ all the various people; all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; ²¹ Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; ²² all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coast lands that are beyond the sea; ²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, and those who shave the corners of their beards; ²⁴ all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the various people who live in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; ²⁶ all the kings of the north near and far, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. The king of Sheshak will drink after all the others.

³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name. He will vigorously plead their case in order to bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹⁵ because he will be great in the Lord’s presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby jumped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s gospel,

²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that the Son might be the firstborn among many brothers.

¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time,

²² God has put everything under the Messiah’s feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church,

¹¹ And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah

¹⁹ However, God’s solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: “The Lord knows those who belong to him,” and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.” ²⁰ In a large house there are not only utensils made of gold and silver, but also those made of wood and clay. Some are for special use, while others are for ordinary use. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone stops associating with these people, he will become a special utensil, set apart for the owner’s use, prepared for every good action.

¹ Moses Argues with GodThen Moses answered, “Look, they won’t believe me and they won’t listen to me. Instead, they’ll say, ‘The LORD didn’t appear to you.’”

¹⁰ Then Moses told the LORD, “Please, LORD, I’m not eloquent. I never was in the past nor am I now since you spoke to your servant. In fact, I talk too slowly and I have a speech impediment.”
¹¹ Then God asked him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes him unable to speak, or deaf, or able to see, or blind, or lame? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now, go! I myself will help you with your speech, and I’ll teach you what you are to say.”
¹³ Moses said, “Please, LORD, send somebody else.”
¹⁴ Then the LORD was angry with Moses and said, “There is your brother Aaron, a descendant of Levi, isn’t there? I know that he certainly is eloquent. Right now he’s coming to meet you and he will be pleased to see you. ¹⁵ You’re to speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll help both you and him with your speech, and I’ll teach both of you what you are to do. ¹⁶ He is to speak to the people for you as your spokesman and you are to act in the role of God for him.

¹² Then Moses said right in front of the LORD, “Look, the Israelis didn’t listen to me, so how will Pharaoh? I’m not a persuasive speaker”

³⁰ Moses said in the presence of the LORD, “Look, I’m not a persuasive speaker, so how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

⁷ Now, LORD my God, you have set me as king to replace my father David, but I’m still young. I don’t have any leadership skills. ⁸ Your servant lives in the midst of your people that you have chosen, a great people that is too numerous to be counted. ⁹ So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how will I be able to govern this great people of yours?”

⁵ “How terrible it will be for me!” I cried, “because I am ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies!”

¹⁰ Then I replied, “Ah, Lord GOD, you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem when you said, ‘You will have peace,’ while the sword is at their throat!”

¹³ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, look! The prophets are saying to them, ‘You won’t see the sword and you won’t experience famine. Rather, I’ll give you lasting peace in this place.’”

¹⁷ ‘LORD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!

¹ God Appoints Aaron to Assist MosesThe LORD told Moses, “Listen! I’ve positioned you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You are to speak everything that I’ve commanded you, and then your brother Aaron will speak to Pharaoh, telling him to let the Israelis go out of his land.

²⁰ God came to visit Balaam that same night and told him, “If the men come to call on you, get up and go with them, but be sure to do only what I tell you to do.”

³⁸ Balaam answered Balak, “Well, I’m here now. I’ve come to you, but I can’t just say anything, can I? I’ll speak only what God puts in my mouth to say.”

¹⁴ “As the LORD lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”

¹³ “As the LORD lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”

¹⁷ The LORD’s Assurance to Jeremiah“As for you, get ready! Stand up and tell them everything that I’ve commanded you. Don’t be frightened as you face them, or I’ll frighten you right in front of them.
¹⁸ “As for me, today I’m making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

³ “Son of Man, I’m sending you to that rebellious people, the Israelis, who have rebelled against me the same way their ancestors did. And they’re still rebels to this very day! ⁴ They’re stubborn and strong willed. I’m sending you to them to tell them what the LORD says. ⁵ Whether this rebellious group listens to you or not, at least they’ll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst!

¹⁷ “Son of Man,” he said, “I’ve appointed you to be a watchman over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me.
¹⁸ “So when I say to a wicked person, ‘You’re about to die,’ if you don’t warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I’ll hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹ If you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t repent of his wickedness or of his wicked behavior, he’ll die in his sin, but you will have saved your own life.
²⁰ “When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I’ll set a stumbling block before him. He’ll die. If you don’t warn him, he’ll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won’t be remembered, but you’ll be held responsible for his death. ²¹ If you warn the righteous person, so that he doesn’t commit sin, then he’ll live, since he had been warned. And you will have saved your life.”

²⁷ But when I speak with you, I’ll open your mouth so you can say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “As for those who will listen, ‘Let them listen,’ but as for those who refuse, ‘Let them refuse,’ since they’re a rebellious group.”’”

²⁰ teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”

¹⁵ Then he told them, “As you go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to everyone. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned.

²⁷ because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God.

¹² Then God said, “I certainly will be with you. And this will be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will serve God on this mountain.”

⁶ Be strong and courageous. Don’t fear or tremble before them, because the LORD your God will be the one who keeps on walking with you—he won’t leave you or abandon you.”

⁸ Indeed, the LORD is the one who will keep on walking in front of you. He’ll be with you and won’t leave you or abandon you, so never be afraid and never be dismayed.”

⁵ No one will be victorious against you for the rest of your life. I’ll be with you just like I was with Moses—I’ll neither fail you nor abandon you.

⁹ I’ve commanded you, haven’t I? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be fearful or discouraged, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

² When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you; and through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. when you walk through fire you won’t be scorched, and the flame won’t set you ablaze.

⁷ Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you people who have my instruction in their hearts. Don’t fear the insults of mortals, and don’t be dismayed at their hateful words.

¹² “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you. Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die, descendants of mere men, who have been made like grass?

¹⁷ The LORD’s Assurance to Jeremiah“As for you, get ready! Stand up and tell them everything that I’ve commanded you. Don’t be frightened as you face them, or I’ll frighten you right in front of them.

²⁰ I’ll make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,” ²¹ So I’ll deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

¹¹ But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, those who pursue me will stumble and won’t prevail. They’ll be put to great shame, when they don’t succeed. Their everlasting disgrace won’t be forgotten.

⁶ “Now as for you, Son of Man, never be afraid of them or of anything they have to say, because being with them will be like settling down to live among briers, thorn bushes, and scorpions! Don’t be afraid of anything they have to say, and don’t be awed by their appearance, since they are a rebellious group. ⁷ You are to tell them whatever I have to say to them, whether they listen or not, since they are rebellious.”

⁸ So pay attention! I’m going to make you just as obstinate and unyielding as they are. ⁹ I’m making you harder than flint—like diamond! So you are not to fear them or be intimidated by how they look at you, since they’re a rebellious group.”

²⁶ Fear God
“So never be afraid of them, because there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be made known.

⁴ Fear God
“But I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can’t do anything more. ⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him!

¹³ Now when the Jewish leaders saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus.

²⁹ Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow your servants to speak your word boldly

⁹ “Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler of Egypt and of his whole household.

¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you or harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

¹⁷ I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you.

⁸ How God Rescued PaulFor we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living. ⁹ In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again,

²⁰ for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains, desiring to declare the gospel as boldly as I should.

¹⁷ However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles could hear it. I was rescued out of a lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever and ever! Amen.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.” ⁶ Hence we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

¹¹ Then God asked him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes him unable to speak, or deaf, or able to see, or blind, or lame? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now, go! I myself will help you with your speech, and I’ll teach you what you are to say.”

⁶ The Calling of IsaiahThen one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a burning coal in his hand that he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth and said, “Look! Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sins atoned for.”

² He made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hands. He made me like a polished arrow and hid me away in his quivers.

⁴ The Servant’s Obedience“The Lord GOD has given me a learned tongue, so that I may know how to sustain the weary with words. And morning after morning he wakens, and he wakens my ear to listen like those who are being taught.

¹⁶ I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, so that I could plant the heavens and lay the earth’s foundations, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’

¹⁴ Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says: “Because you people have said this, my words in your mouth will become a fire and these people the wood. The fire will destroy them.

¹⁰ Ezekiel is Commissioned to SpeakNext, he told me, “Son of Man, take to heart every word that I’m telling you. Listen carefully,

¹⁹ When they hand you over, don’t worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you.

¹² because at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you are to say.”

¹⁵ because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

¹ Elijah Calls for a DroughtElijah the foreigner, who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”

¹⁷ Whoever escapes from Hazael’s sword Jehu will execute, and whoever escapes from Jehu’s sword Elisha will put to death.

²⁶ who carries out the words of his servants, and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited,” and of Judah’s cities, “They will be rebuilt,” and of her ruins, “I’ll raise them up”; ²⁷ who says to the watery deep, “Be dry— I will dry up your rivers;” ²⁸ who says about Cyrus, “He’s my shepherd, and he’ll carry out everything that I please: He’ll say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of my Temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid again.’”’”

⁷ At one moment I may speak about a nation or a kingdom to uproot it, pull it down, or destroy it. ⁸ But if that nation about which I spoke turns from its evil way, I’ll change my mind about the disaster that I had planned for it. ⁹ At another moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to build it or plant it. ¹⁰ But if that nation does evil in my eyes by not obeying me, I’ll change my mind about the good that I said I would bring on it.

⁶ I’ll look at them with good intentions, and I’ll bring them back to this land. I’ll build them up. I won’t tear them down; I’ll plant them and not rip them up.

¹⁵ Judgment on the NationsFor this is what the LORD God of Israel says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of burning anger from my hand and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They’ll drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I’m sending among them.” ¹⁷ So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and I made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: ¹⁸ Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, its kings and officials to make them into a ruin, an object of horror and scorn, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹ Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his officials, his princes, and all his people; ²⁰ all the various people; all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; ²¹ Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; ²² all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coast lands that are beyond the sea; ²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, and those who shave the corners of their beards; ²⁴ all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the various people who live in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; ²⁶ all the kings of the north near and far, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. The king of Sheshak will drink after all the others.
²⁷ “You are to say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Drink, get drunk, and vomit! Fall down and don’t get up because of the sword I’m sending among you.”’

² this is what the LORD says to me: “Make restraints and yokes for yourself and put them on your neck. ³ Then send messengers to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through the envoys who come to Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah. ⁴ Give them this order for their masters: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says, and this is what you are to say to your masters, ⁵ “By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit. ⁶ Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country’s time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave.

⁴ I’ll again build you, and you will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel! You will again take up your tambourines and go out to dance with those who are filled with joy. ⁵ You will again plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria where planters had planted and defiled the fruit.

²⁸ Just as I’ve watched over them to pull up, tear down, overthrow, destroy, and bring disaster, so I’ll watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.

¹ Prophecies against the NationsThis is the message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
² Prophecies against Egypt: Its Defeat at CarchemishTo Egypt: Concerning the army of King Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, which was encamped by the Euphrates River at Carchemish and which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. ³ “Prepare buckler and shield, and advance into the battle! ⁴ Harness the horses! Riders, mount up! Take your positions with your helmets! Polish lances, and put on armor! ⁵ Why am I seeing this? They’re terrified, they have turned back. Their warriors are crushed, and they take flight. They don’t look back. Terror is on every side,” declares the LORD. ⁶ “The swift cannot flee, nor can the strong escape. In the north, beside the Euphrates River, they stumble and fall. ⁷ Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? ⁸ Egypt is rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He says, ‘I’ll rise and cover the land. I’ll destroy the city and its inhabitants.’ ⁹ Horses, get up! Chariots, drive furiously! Let the warriors go forward, Ethiopia and Put, who carry shields, and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow. ¹⁰ That day belongs to the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. It is a day of vengeance to take vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour and be satisfied, and will drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north, by the Euphrates river. ¹¹ Go up to Gilead and get balm, virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you multiply remedies, but there is no healing for you. ¹² The nations have heard of your disgrace, and your cry of distress fills the earth. Indeed, one warrior stumbles over another, and both of them fall down together.”
¹³ Nebuchadnezzar’s Conquest of EgyptThis is the message that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ “Announce in Egypt, proclaim in Migdol. Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes. Say, ‘Take your positions and be ready, for the sword will devour all around you.’ ¹⁵ Why are your warriors prostrate? They don’t stand because the LORD has brought them down. ¹⁶ They repeatedly stumble and fall. They say to each other, ‘Get up! Let’s go back to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the oppressor’s sword.’ ¹⁷ There they’ll cry out, ‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise. He has let the appointed time pass by.’ ¹⁸ As certainly as I’m alive and living,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “Indeed, one will come like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea. ¹⁹ Prepare your baggage for exile, daughter living in Egypt, for Memphis will become a desolate place. It will become a ruin without inhabitant. ²⁰ Egypt is a beautiful calf, but a horsefly from the north is surely coming. ²¹ Even the mercenary troops in her ranks are like a fattened calf. They too will turn around, and will flee together. They won’t stand, for the day of their disaster is coming on them, the time of their punishment. ²² Her cry will be like that of a fleeing serpent when they come in strength. They’re coming to her with axes like woodcutters. ²³ They’ll cut down her forest, though it’s impenetrable,” declares the LORD, “for they’re more numerous than locusts, and there are too many of them to count. ²⁴ The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, she will be given into the hands of the people from the north.”
²⁵ The LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says, “Look, I’m going to punish Amon of Thebes, Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods and its kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. ²⁶ I’ll give them to those who are seeking their lives and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers. Then afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the LORD.
²⁷ Israel will be Delivered“As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid, and Israel, don’t be dismayed. For I’ll deliver you from a distant place, and your descendants from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return. He will be undisturbed and secure, and no one will cause him to fear. ²⁸ “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid, and Israel, don’t be dismayed,” declares the LORD, “for I am with you. Indeed, I’ll make an end of all the nations where I scattered you; but I won’t make an end of you! I’ll discipline you justly, but I’ll certainly not leave you unpunished.”

¹⁸ “Son of Man, mourn about the hordes of Egypt. Bring them down—that is, her and the citizens of those majestic nations—whose destiny is the deep part of the Pit.

³⁶ Then the surviving people that live around you will learn that I, the LORD, have rebuilt these ruins and have cultivated these pastures that used to be desolate wastelands. I, the LORD, have spoken this, and I’m going to bring it about!’

³ His appearance in the vision that I was having was similar to what I observed in the vision where he had come to destroy the city, and also like the visions that I saw by the Chebar River. I fell flat on my face

⁷ The LORD’s Purposes“Truly the Lord GOD will do nothing he has mentioned without revealing his purposes to his servants the prophets.

¹¹ Israel to be Restored“At that time I will restore David’s fallen tent, restoring its torn places. I will restore its ruins, rebuilding it as it was long ago,

⁶ But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.’”

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments ⁵ and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey the Messiah.

³ I will give my two witnesses who wear sackcloth the authority to prophesy for 1,260 days.”
⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone should want to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed in this manner. ⁶ These witnesses have authority to close the heavens in order to keep rain from falling while they are prophesying. They also have authority to turn bodies of water into blood and to strike the earth with any plague, as often as they desire.

¹⁹ The Vision of the Judgment of the Beast and False ProphetThen I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that belonged to the rider on the horse and that came from his mouth, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

⁸ The next morning, Moses went to the Tent of Testimony and the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had burst into bloom! It sprouted buds, bloomed blossoms, and produced fully ripe almonds!

³ The LORD told me, “What do you see?”
I replied, “Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad. They’re too bad to be eaten.”

¹⁰ The Harvest Approaches“Look out! The day!
“Look out! It’s coming!
“Doom has blossomed.
“Arrogance has sprouted!

⁸ And the LORD was asking me, “What do you see, Amos?”
I replied, “A plumb line.”
So the Lord said, “Look, I have set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will no longer spare them.

² And he was asking, “What do you see, Amos?”
I answered, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the LORD told me, “The end approaches for my people Israel. I will no longer spare them.

² Then he asked me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I have been watching—and look!—there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it.

² And the angel asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered him, “I’m looking at a flying scroll. It’s 20 cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

²⁸ “The LORD heard what you said. He told me: ‘I’ve heard what this people said. Everything they said was good.

¹⁷ “Then the LORD told me: ‘What they have suggested is good.

³⁵ To me belong vengeance and recompense. In due time their feet will slip, because their time of calamity is near and the things prepared for them draw near.

¹ The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of ZedekiahThis is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ² On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached. ³ All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including Nergal-sarri-usur, governor of Sinmagir, Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah. ⁵ The Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. When they seized him they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed judgment on him. ⁶ At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah’s sons right before his eyes. He also executed all the nobles of Judah. ⁷ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze fetters to take him to Babylon.
⁸ The Chaldeans burned the palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took into exile in Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar, and the rest of the people who remained. ¹⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who did not have anything, and he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
¹¹ Jeremiah’s Release from PrisonNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard: ¹² “Take him, look after him, and don’t do anything to harm him. Rather, do for him whatever he tells you.” ¹³ So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, Nebushazban, the high official, Nergal-sar-ezer, the chief official, and all the officials of the king of Babylon sent for Jeremiah. ¹⁴ They sent for Jeremiah and took him from the courtyard of the guard. They handed him over to Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home. So he remained among the people.
¹⁵ Ebed-melech RewardedThis message from the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guard: ¹⁶ “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Look, I’m going to fulfill my promise against this city for disaster rather than for good, and on that day it will happen before your eyes. ¹⁷ But I’ll deliver you on that day,” declares the LORD. “You won’t be given into the hands of the men you fear. ¹⁸ For I’ll surely deliver you, and you won’t fall by the sword. Your life will be spared because you trusted me,” declares the LORD.’”

²² “Son of Man, what’s this proverb you have concerning Israel’s land that says, ‘The days pass slowly and every vision ends in nothing.’? ²³ Therefore you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “I’m about to put an end to use of this proverb in Israel. It will never be used again as a proverb in Israel. Instead, tell them that the days are drawing near when every vision will be fulfilled.

²⁵ Because I am the LORD, I’ll speak and the message that I communicate will be accomplished without delay. While you continue to be a rebellious house, I’ll speak the message and then fulfill it,” declares the Lord GOD.’”

²⁸ Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “None of my messages will be delayed any longer. Any message that I speak will be fulfilled,” declares the Lord GOD.’”

²⁸ Jesus told him, “You have answered correctly. ‘Do this, and you will live.’”

³⁹ Then some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have given a fine answer.”

³² “Now since Pharaoh had that dream twice, it means that this event has been scheduled by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon.

³ They keep saying, ‘The right time to build families hasn’t yet arrived. The city is the pot and we are the meat.’

⁷ ‘Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, “The corpses that you’ve laid out in your midst are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. But you’ll be taken out from the middle of it.

³ So compose a parable for the rebellious house. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Prepare your pot for boiling! Set it in place. Fill it up with water, too. ⁴ Gather together the best pieces of meat on it— including the thighs and the shoulders— and fill it with the choicest bones. ⁵ Take the best bones from the flock, pile wood under the pot for the bones, bring it to a boil, and then cook the bones in it.”’”
⁶ Woe to Jerusalem“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How terrible it is for that blood-filled city, to the pot whose rust remains in it, whose rust won’t come off. Empty it one piece at a time. Don’t let a lot fall on it. ⁷ Her blood was in it. She poured it out onto bare rock. She didn’t pour it out on the ground, intending to cover it with dirt. ⁸ In order to stir up my anger and in order to take vengeance, I set the blood on a bare rock so that it cannot be covered.’
⁹ “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How terrible it is for that blood-filled city— I’m also going to add to my pile of kindling. ¹⁰ Pile up the wood! Make the fire burn hot. Boil the meat! Mix the seasonings. Burn those bones to a crisp! ¹¹ Make the pot stand empty on the coals until its bronze glows red, its rust can be scoured off, and its dross completely removed. ¹² The pot wearies me, but its thick rust won’t come off, even with fire. ¹³ There is wickedness in your obscene conduct. Even though I’ve cleansed you, your uncleanness cannot be washed away. You cannot be cleansed again until my rage against you has subsided.’
¹⁴ “‘I, the LORD have spoken. It will happen, because I’m going to do it. I won’t hold back, have compassion, or change my mind. They’ll judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹ Final WarningsThis will be the third time I am coming to you. “Every accusation must be verified by two or three witnesses.” ² I have already warned those who sinned previously and all the rest. Although I am absent now, I am warning them as I did on my second visit: If I come back, I will not spare you,

²⁵ “You are stirring up one from the north, and they are coming from the rising of the sun; and he will be called by his name. Rulers will arrive like mud; just like a potter, he will trample the clay.

⁶ Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don’t stand around! For I’m bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction.

¹ The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north.

²² The Invaders from the NorthThis is what the LORD says: “Look, people are coming from a northern country. A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth.

²² The sound of a report, it’s coming now! There is a great commotion from a land in the north to make the towns of Judah desolate, a refuge for jackals.”

⁸ Look, I’m bringing them from the northern region, and I’ll gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. among them will be the blind and the lame, together with the pregnant woman and the woman in labor. A large group will return here.

²⁰ Egypt is a beautiful calf, but a horsefly from the north is surely coming.

⁹ Indeed, I’m going to stir up and bring against Babylon a great company of nations from the land of the north. They’ll deploy for battle against her, and from there she will be captured. Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior; they won’t miss their targets.

⁴¹ “Look, people are coming from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the ends of the earth.

⁴ I was amazed to see a wind storm blow in from the north, consisting of a massive cloud and fire that was flashing back and forth, surrounded by bright light. From deep within the cloud, something was shining that appeared to have a color like bronze that had been placed in fire until it glowed.

⁴⁹ “The LORD will raise a distant nation against you from the other side of the earth. Swooping down like a vulture, ⁵⁰ it will be a nation whose language you don’t understand, whose stern appearance neither shows regard nor extends grace to anyone whether old or young. ⁵¹ Its army will consume the offspring of your animals and the produce of your soil until you are exterminated. They will leave you without your grain, wine, oil, the increase of your cattle, and the lamb of your flock, until you are completely destroyed. ⁵² They’ll besiege all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you have trusted collapse throughout the land. Indeed, they will besiege all your cities, which the LORD your God gave you.”
⁵³ Cannibalism“You’ll eat your own children—the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God gave you—on account of the siege and the distress with which your enemy will oppress you.

⁷ And it will come about that your choicest valleys will be filled with chariots, and horsemen will take their positions at the gates.

¹⁶ The LORD Speaks“Tell the nations, ‘Here they come!’ Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘The besieging forces are coming from a distant land. They cry out against the cities of Judah.

¹⁵ People of Israel, I’m now bringing a nation from far away to attack you,” declares the LORD. “It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don’t know. And you won’t understand what they say.

¹¹ “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants.”

²⁵ Pour out your anger on the nations that don’t acknowledge you, and on the families that don’t call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured and consumed him; they have devastated his habitation.

⁹ I’m now sending for all the tribes from the north, declares the LORD, and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I’ll bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I’ll utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting desolation.

²⁸ And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink it, say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “You will surely drink it!

³¹ A tumult reaches to the ends of the earth because the LORD is bringing an indictment against the nations. He judges all flesh. He has given the wicked over to the sword,’ declares the LORD. ³² ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Look, disaster is going from nation to nation, a great storm is being stirred up from the most distant parts of the earth.

¹⁰ “This is what the LORD says: ‘You are saying about this place, “It is a ruin without people and without animals.” Yet in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate places without inhabitants and without animals, there will again be heard

²² Look, I’m in command of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I’ll bring them back to this city. They’ll capture it and burn it with fire, and I’ll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.’”

³ All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including Nergal-sarri-usur, governor of Sinmagir, Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

¹⁰ Then say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I’m going to send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I’ll take him and set his throne over these stones that I’ve buried, and he will spread his canopy over them.

⁶ My wrath and my anger were poured out, and they burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem so that they have become a ruin and a desolate place, as is the case today.’

¹¹ They have raped women in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah.

²⁰ Diseases and Drought“The LORD will send the curse among you, will confuse you, and will rebuke you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and perish quickly because of your evil deeds, since you will have forsaken him.

¹⁶ Then the LORD told Moses, “Look! You are about to join your ancestors. Afterwards, this people will rebel and commit prostitution with the foreign gods of the land that they are about to enter to possess. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I made with them.

²⁰ If you abandon the LORD and serve foreign deities, then he will turn and do you harm, consuming you after all the good he has done for you.”

¹⁷ because they have abandoned me, burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger with everything that they’ve done. Therefore my anger is kindled against this place and it won’t be quenched!’”

¹⁹ “But if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have given you, and if you walk away to serve other gods and worship them,

² so he went out to meet Asa and rebuked him: “Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

²⁵ Because they abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to become angry at everything they’re doing, therefore my wrath is about to be poured out on this place, and it won’t be quenched.’”’

⁸ Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.

¹⁹ and have thrown their gods into the fire—but they are not gods, but rather the products of human hands, mere wood and stone. So the Assyrians destroyed them.

¹⁵ He divides it up for people to burn. Taking part of it, he warms himself, makes a fire, and bakes bread. Or perhaps he constructs a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and bows down to it.

³ a people who continually provoke me to my face; they keep sacrificing in gardens and waving their hands over stone altars;

¹³ “Indeed, my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

¹⁷ You have done this to yourselves, have you not, by forsaking the LORD your God, when he is the one who led you on the way?

¹² A wind too strong for that is coming at my bidding. Now I’m judging them as I speak.”

²⁸ Because of this, the land will mourn, and the heavens above will be dark. Because I have spoken and decided, I won’t turn back from doing it.”

⁹ “Should I not punish them for these things?” asks the LORD, “And on a nation like this, should I not seek retribution?”

²⁹ ‘Should I not punish them for this?’ asks the LORD. ‘Should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?’

⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear by false gods, burn incense to Baal, follow other gods that you don’t know,

⁸ Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood! ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. The idols are the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. The idols are all the work of skilled craftsmen.

¹⁵ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish.

¹² The towns of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they’ll be no help at all to them in the time of their disaster.

¹⁷ The LORD of the Heavenly Armies who planted you has called for disaster on you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, has provoked me by burning incense to Baal.”

⁶ You have deserted me,” declares the LORD. “You keep going backward. I’ll reach out my hand and destroy you. I’m tired of showing compassion.

¹¹ Then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors abandoned me,’ declares the LORD. ‘They followed other gods, served them, worshipped them, abandoned me, and didn’t keep my Law.

¹³ LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn aside from you will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

⁴ For they have forsaken me and have treated this place as foreign. In it they have burned incense to other gods that neither they, their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah knew. They have also filled this place with the blood of innocent people.

¹⁷ Rather, we will keep doing everything that we said we would by offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and by pouring out liquid offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of bread, things went well for us, and we didn’t experience disaster.

¹⁷ Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols, for his images are false, and there is no life in them.

⁹ Then he told me, “Go on through that entrance, so you may see the wicked, detestable things that they’re committing here.”
¹⁰ So I entered, looked around, and there was every form of crawling thing, loathsome animals, and all kinds of idols from the house of Israel carved all around the wall. ¹¹ I saw 70 men from the elders of the house of Israel standing among them, including Shaphan’s son Jaazaniah. Each man held a censer in his hand. As the scent of the cloud of incense ascended,

¹⁴ “‘I, the LORD have spoken. It will happen, because I’m going to do it. I won’t hold back, have compassion, or change my mind. They’ll judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

⁶ Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen, it is not God; therefore Samaria’s calf will be broken in pieces.

² The more I called out to them, the farther they fled from me; they sacrificed to Baals, burning incense to carved images.

¹¹ The LORD will shout in the presence of his forces, because his encampment is very great; for powerful is he who carries out his message. Truly the Day of the LORD is great, and very terrifying. Who will be able to survive it?”

³⁵ As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”

⁴¹ “At that time they even made a calf to be their idol, offered a sacrifice to it, and delighted in what they had made with their hands.

² You are to speak everything that I’ve commanded you, and then your brother Aaron will speak to Pharaoh, telling him to let the Israelis go out of his land.

⁴⁶ After Ahab had left, the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his mantle into his belt and outran Ahab in a race to the city gate of Jezreel.

²⁹ At this he told Gehazi, “Get ready to run! Take my staff in your hand, and get on the road. Don’t greet anyone you meet. If anyone greets you, don’t respond. Just go lay my staff on the youngster’s face.”

¹ Jehu Anointed King of IsraelElisha called one of the members of the Guild of Prophets and told him, “Get ready to run, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.

³ Stand up like a man! I’ll ask you some questions, and you give me some answers!”

⁷ Then the LORD told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a young man,’ for you will go everywhere I send you, and you will speak everything I command you. ⁸ Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

¹⁸ Let those who pursue me be put to shame, but don’t put me to shame. Let them be terrified, but don’t let me be terrified. Bring the day of judgment on them, and destroy them with double destruction!

²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream relate the dream, but let whoever receives my message speak my message truthfully. What does straw have in common with wheat?” declares the LORD.

¹⁰ Ezekiel is Commissioned to SpeakNext, he told me, “Son of Man, take to heart every word that I’m telling you. Listen carefully, ¹¹ then go immediately to the exiles; that is, to your people’s descendants, and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says…’ whether they listen or not.”

¹⁴ Ezekiel Addresses the IsraelisThen the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly with an angry attitude as the hand of the LORD rested on me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles at Tel-abib by the Chebar River and sat down among them for seven days, appalled. ¹⁶ At the end of the seven days, this message from the LORD came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of Man,” he said, “I’ve appointed you to be a watchman over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me.
¹⁸ “So when I say to a wicked person, ‘You’re about to die,’ if you don’t warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I’ll hold you responsible for his death.

⁶ If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I’ll seek retribution for their shed blood from the one who was acting as sentinel.’”
⁷ Warning for Ezekiel“Now as for you, Son of Man, I’ve established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me, you are to warn the people from me. ⁸ If I should say to a certain wicked person, ‘You wicked man, you’re certainly about to die,’ but you don’t warn him to turn from his wicked behavior, he’ll die in his guilt, but I’ll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you.

² “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”

³⁵ The Watchful Servants
“You must keep your belts fastened and your lamps burning.

²⁰ I never shrank from telling you anything that would help you nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house.

¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been entrusted to me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn’t preach the gospel!

² As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.

¹³ Be HolyTherefore, prepare your minds for action, keep a clear head, and set your hope completely on the grace to be given you when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.

⁷ For the Lord GOD helps me, so I won’t be disgraced. Therefore I’ve made my face like flint, and I know that I won’t be put to shame.”

²⁷ People Rejected by the LORD“I’ve made you an assayer of my people, as well as a fortress. You know how to test their way.”

²⁰ I’ll make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,”

⁴ ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: “I’m about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. I’ll gather them into the center of this city. ⁵ Because of my anger, wrath, and great fury, I’ll fight against you myself with an outstretched hand and a strong arm. ⁶ I’ll strike down the residents of this city, both people and animals, and they’ll die from a terrible plague. ⁷ Afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I’ll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people—those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine—into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He’ll execute them with swords and won’t pity them. He won’t spare them, nor will he have compassion on them.”’
⁸ “You are to say to this people, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I’m about to set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live. He will save his life as a spoil of war. ¹⁰ Indeed, I’m firmly decided—I’m sending calamity to this city, not good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire.”’
¹¹ The Guilt of Judah’s King“To the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear this message from the LORD. ¹² This is what the LORD says, house of David: “Judge appropriately every morning, and deliver those who have been robbed from the oppressor, so my anger does not break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out because of your evil deeds. ¹³ “Look, I’m against you, city dwelling in the valley, rock of the plain,” declares the LORD, “those of you who say, ‘Who can come down against us and who can enter our habitations?’ ¹⁴ But I’ll punish you according to what you have done,” declares the LORD. “I’ll start a fire in her forest, and it will consume everything around her.”’”

⁴ Rather, carefully obey this message, and then kings sitting for David on his throne and riding in chariots and on horses will enter the gates of this house. The king will enter along with his officials and his people. ⁵ But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the LORD, “that this house will become a ruin.”’” ⁶ For this is what the LORD says about the house of the king of Judah, “You are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon. Yet I’ll surely make you a desert, towns where no one lives. ⁷ I’ll appoint people to destroy you— men with their weapons.They’ll cut down some of your choice cedars and incinerate them.
⁸ “Many nations will pass by this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this great city?’ ⁹ Then people will respond, ‘It is because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have bowed down to other gods and served them.’ ¹⁰ “Don’t cry for the dead or grieve for them. Weep bitterly for the one going away, because he won’t return again nor see the land of his birth.
¹¹ “For this is what the LORD says about Josiah’s son Shallum, king of Judah, who reigned in place of his father Josiah: ‘He went out from this place and won’t return to it again. ¹² He will die in the place where they exiled him, and he won’t ever see this land again.’”
¹³ An Oracle against Jehoiakim“How terrible for him who builds his house without righteousness, and its upper rooms without justice, who makes his neighbor work for nothing, and does not pay him his wage. ¹⁴ How terrible for him who says, ‘I’ll build a large house for myself with spacious upper rooms, who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it red.’ ¹⁵ Are you a king because you try to outdo everyone with cedar? Your father ate and drank and upheld justice and righteousness, did he not? And then it went well for him. ¹⁶ He judged the case of the poor and needy. And then it went well for him. Isn’t this what it means to know me? ¹⁷ But your eyes and heart are on nothing but your dishonest gain, shedding the blood of innocent people, and practicing oppression and extortion.”
¹⁸ Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, “They won’t lament for him with these words: ‘How terrible, my brother, How terrible, my sister!’ They won’t lament for him with these words: ‘How terrible, lord, How terrible, your majesty!’ ¹⁹ He will receive a donkey’s burial, dragged out and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
²⁰ An Oracle against JerusalemGo up to Lebanon and cry out, to Bashan and lift up your voice. Cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed. ²¹ I spoke to you when you were secure, but you said, “I won’t listen!” This has been your way since your youth, for you haven’t obeyed me. ²² The wind will shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into exile. Indeed, you will then be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness. ²³ You who live in Lebanon, who build your nest in the cedars, how you will groan when pains come upon you, pain like that of a woman giving birth.
²⁴ An Oracle against Jehoiachin“As certainly as I’m alive and living,” declares the LORD, “even if Jehoiakim’s son King Jehoiachin of Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off ²⁵ and give you to those who are trying to kill you, whom you fear—that is, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Chaldeans. ²⁶ I’ll hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into another land where you were not born, and there you will die. ²⁷ As for the land to which you want to return, you won’t return there! ²⁸ “Is this man Jehoiachin a despised and shattered jar, a vessel no one wants? Why were he and his descendants hurled away, thrown into a land that they didn’t know? ²⁹ Land, land, land, listen to this message from the LORD! ³⁰ This is what the LORD says: ‘Write this man off as childless, a man who does not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed in sitting on the throne of David, or ever ruling in Judah again.’”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people: “The LORD has sent me to prophesy all the things you heard against this house and against this city. ¹³ Now, change your habits and your deeds and obey the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he told you about. ¹⁴ Look, I’m in your hands, so do with me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵ But know for certain that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its residents because the LORD really did send me to you to say all these things for you to hear.”

³ You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’

²⁰ I’ll give them to their enemies who are seeking to kill them, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. ²¹ I’ll give Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials into the domination of their enemies, to those who are seeking to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon that is coming against them. ²² Look, I’m in command of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I’ll bring them back to this city. They’ll capture it and burn it with fire, and I’ll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.’”

²⁷ Jeremiah Rewrites the ScrollThis message from the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation: ²⁸ “Go back, take another scroll and write on it all the original words which were on the scroll that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, burned. ²⁹ Concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, ‘This is what the LORD says: “You burned this scroll, all the while saying, ‘Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon will definitely come, destroy this land, and eliminate both people and animals from it?’” ³⁰ Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, “He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his corpse will be thrown out to rot during the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I’ll punish him, his descendants, and his officials for their iniquity. I’ll bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the calamity about which I’ve warned them, but they would not listen.”’”
³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Neriah’s son Baruch the scribe. He wrote on it, at Jeremiah’s dictation, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire. He also added to them many similar words.

⁷ “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, “Look, Pharaoh’s army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt,

² “This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague, but the one who goes over to the Chaldeans will live. His life will be spared, and he will live.’

¹⁸ But if you don’t surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they’ll burn it with fire. You won’t escape from their hands.’”

²² Now, be fully aware that you will die by the sword, by famine, and by plague in the place where you want to settle.”

⁸ The Message of God’s Prophet“As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, filled with judgment and power to announce to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. ⁹ Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel, you who hate administering justice, who pervert the very meaning of equity,

⁴² He led Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son. You will be called Cephas!” (which is translated “Peter”).

² “Since my youth they have often persecuted me, yet they haven’t defeated me.

⁸ Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

¹⁹ I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they had devised schemes against me. They told themselves, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s eliminate him from the land of the living, so his name won’t be remembered again.”

¹⁰ Jeremiah’s ComplaintHow terrible for me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man of strife and contention for the whole land! I’ve neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.
¹¹ God’s Answer to Jeremiah’s ComplaintThe LORD said, “Have I not set you free for a good purpose? Have I not intervened for you with your enemies in times of trouble and times of distress? ¹² “Can anyone break iron— iron from the north—or bronze? ¹³ “I’ll give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, for free, because of all your sins throughout your territory. ¹⁴ I’ll make you serve your enemies in a land you don’t know, for my anger has started a fire that will burn against you.”
¹⁵ Jeremiah’s Revised ComplaintYou are aware— LORD, remember me, pay attention to me, and vindicate me in front of those who pursue me. You are patient— don’t take me away. Know that I suffer insult because of you! ¹⁶ Your words were found, and I consumed them. Your words were joy and my hearts delight, because I bear your name, LORD God of the Heavenly Armies. ¹⁷ I didn’t sit in the company of those who have fun, and I didn’t rejoice. Because of your hand on me, I sat alone, for you filled me with indignation. ¹⁸ Why is my pain unending and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
God’s Answer to Jeremiah’s Revised Complaint You are like a deceptive brook, whose waters cannot be depended on. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I’ll take you back and you will stand before me. If you speak what is worthwhile, instead of what is worthless, then you will be my spokesman. People will turn to you, but you aren’t to turn to them.

¹ Jeremiah DenouncedWhen the priest Pashhur, Immer’s son, who was the officer in charge of the LORD’s Temple heard Jeremiah prophesying these words, ² Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate of the Temple. ³ The next day, Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, and Jeremiah told him, “The LORD has not named you Pashhur, but rather Magor-missabib. ⁴ For this is what the LORD says: ‘Look, I’m going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your loved ones. They’ll fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it. I’ll give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will take them into exile to Babylon, and he will execute them with swords. ⁵ I’ll turn over all the wealth of this city, all its possessions, all its valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah right into the hands of their enemies, and they’ll plunder them, capture them, and take them to Babylon. ⁶ You, Pashhur, and all those living in your house will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon and there you will die. There you and all your loved ones to whom you have falsely prophesied will be buried.’”

²⁵ ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Because you sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, to Maaseiah’s son Zephaniah the priest and to all the priests— ²⁶ The LORD made you a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest to serve in the LORD’s Temple as an official against every crazy prophet, and to put him in stocks and restraints. ²⁷ And now, why didn’t you rebuke Jeremiah from Anathoth who prophesies to you? ²⁸ So he sent a message to us in Babylon: ‘The exile will be long, so build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce.’”’”
²⁹ Then Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet, ³⁰ and this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send a message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah from Nehelam, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I didn’t send him, and has made you trust a lie,” ³² therefore, this is what the LORD says: “I’m about to judge Shemaiah from Nehelam along with his descendants. He won’t have anyone related to him living among these people. Nor will he see the good that I’ll do for my people,” declares the LORD, “because he advocated rebellion against the LORD.”’”

⁶ So they threw Jeremiah into a cistern that belonged to the king’s son Malchijah and was located in the courtyard of the guard. When they let Jeremiah down with ropes, because there was no water in the cistern—only mud—Jeremiah sank into the mud.
⁷ Jeremiah Rescued from the CisternEbed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, ⁸ so Ebed-melech went out of the palace and spoke to the king: ⁹ “Your majesty, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern. He will die where he is because of the famine since there is no more bread in the city.”
¹⁰ Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: “Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the palace, underneath the storeroom. He took worn out rags and worn out clothes from there, and using ropes he lowered them down to Jeremiah in the cistern.
¹² Ebed-melech the Ethiopian told Jeremiah, “Put the worn out rags and clothes under your armpits under the ropes,” and Jeremiah did as he said. ¹³ They pulled Jeremiah with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, but Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.