Jeremiah 29 Cross References - LEB

¹ And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the exiles,* and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, ² after the going out of Jeconiah the king, and the queen mother, and the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artisans,* and the smiths* from Jerusalem, ³ by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* ⁴ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles* whom I have deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, ⁵ 'Build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶ Take wives and father sons and daughters, and take for your sons wives, and give your daughters to men that they may bear sons and daughters, and multiply there, and you must not be few. ⁷ And seek the prosperity of the city where I have deported you, and pray on behalf of it to Yahweh, for in its prosperity you will have prosperity.' ⁸ For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, deceive you, and you must not listen to your dreams that you are causing them to dream. ⁹ For they are prophesying _⌊falsely_⌋* to you in my name; I have not sent them,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹⁰ For thus says Yahweh, '_⌊As soon as the time has passed_⌋,* seventy years* for Babylon, I will attend to you, and I will fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope. ¹² Then when you call me, and you come and pray to me, then I will listen to you. ¹³ When you search for me, then you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ And I will let myself be found by you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will restore your fortunes,* and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.' ¹⁵ Because you have said, 'Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon'— ¹⁶ for thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city, your fellow kinsmen who did not go with you into the exile— ¹⁷ thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Look, I am going to send among them the sword, the famine, and the plague, and I will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten because of their bad quality. ¹⁸ And I will pursue them with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague, and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and a horror, and an object of hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they did not listen to my words,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'when I sent to them my servants the prophets, _⌊sending over and over again_⌋,* and they would not listen,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²⁰ And you, hear the word of Yahweh, all you exiles* whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in my name a lie, 'Look, I am going to give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your eyes. ²² And a curse will be taken up because of them by all the exiles* of Judah who are in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire," ²³ because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words* in my name, lies* that I have not commanded them, and I am he who knows, and I am a witness,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh." ²⁴ And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁵ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Because you yourself sent a letter* in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁶ "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron, ²⁷ and so then why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite who exhibits the behavior of a prophet for you? ²⁸ _⌊Because_⌋* he has sent to us in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'It will be a long time, build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit.'" '" ²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, _⌊saying_⌋,* ³¹ "Send to all the exiles,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I have not sent him, and he has made you trust in a lie," ³² _⌊therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, "Look, I am going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his offspring. There will not be for him a man who lives in the midst of this people, and he will not see the good that I am going to do to my people," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "For he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh." '"

¹ Then Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. ² Now the king and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to make the Passover feast in the second month— ³ but they were not able to make it at that time, for the priests had not consecrated themselves _⌊in sufficient numbers_⌋,* and the people had not been assembled in Jerusalem— ⁴ and the plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. ⁵ So they let the decree stand, _⌊to make a proclamation_⌋* throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. ⁶ And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, "O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

²⁰ Mordecai wrote down these things and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

¹ Yahweh showed me, and look, there were two baskets of figs placed _⌊before_⌋* the temple of Yahweh—after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, with the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen, and the smiths,* from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon. ² The one basket had very good figs, like _⌊early figs_⌋,* and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten because of their bad quality. ³ And Yahweh asked me, "What are you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs—the good figs, very good, and the bad figs, very bad, that cannot be eaten because of their bad quality." ⁴ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ⁵ "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles* of Judah whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set my eyes* on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. And I will build them and not annihilate them, and I will plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ And I will give to them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh, and _⌊they will be my people_⌋,* and _⌊I will be their God_⌋,* for they will return to me with the whole of their heart.

⁴ And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles* from Judah who went to Babylon, I will bring back to this place,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

²⁵ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Because you yourself sent a letter* in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁶ "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron, ²⁷ and so then why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite who exhibits the behavior of a prophet for you? ²⁸ _⌊Because_⌋* he has sent to us in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'It will be a long time, build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit.'" '" ²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of Jeremiah the prophet.

²³ writing this letter* _⌊to be delivered by them_⌋:*
The apostles and the elders, brothers.
To the brothers who are from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
Greetings!

⁸ For if indeed I grieved you by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it (I see* that that letter grieved you, even though for _⌊a short time_⌋*),

¹¹ See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

²² Now I urge you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for indeed I have written to you _⌊briefly_⌋*.

¹ "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
"This is what the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands: ² 'I know your works, and your labor and patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you found them to be false. ³ And you have patient endurance, and have endured many things because of my name, and have not become weary.

³² When he lifted up his face to the window, he asked, "Who is with me?" Two or three eunuchs looked down to him.

¹⁸ 'Your sons who went out from you, whom you brought forth, will be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon.'"

¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his court officials. The king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³ Then he took from there all of the treasures of the temple of Yahweh and the treasures of the palace of the king. He cut up all of the vessels of gold which Solomon the king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had foretold. ¹⁴ He deported all of Jerusalem: all of the commanders, ten thousand of the skilled warriors, and the artisans; no one was left over except the poorest of the people of the land. ¹⁵ He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his court officials, and the citizenry of the land he caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ¹⁶ of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and of the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors _⌊fit for war_⌋* the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ¹⁰ And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with objects of the treasure of the house of Yahweh. And he made Zedekiah his brother king in Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁴ "As I live," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "surely if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were the seal on my right hand, surely from there I would wrench you off. ²⁵ And I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those from whom you are frightened by their presence, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. ²⁶ And I will throw you and your mother who gave birth to you to another country where you were not born, and there you will die. ²⁷ As for the land to which they are _⌊longing_⌋* to return, they will not return. ²⁸ Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel? Or a vessel in which there is no delight? Why are he and his offspring thrown far, and cast away to the land that they do not know?"

¹ Yahweh showed me, and look, there were two baskets of figs placed _⌊before_⌋* the temple of Yahweh—after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, with the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen, and the smiths,* from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon.

²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, did not take when he deported Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, _⌊along with_⌋* all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

³ And the king _⌊ordered_⌋* Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring _⌊some of the Israelites_⌋* from _⌊the royal family_⌋* and from the lords,* ⁴ youths who _⌊have no physical defect_⌋,* and who are _⌊handsome_⌋,* and who are prudent* in all wisdom and _⌊endowed with knowledge_⌋,* and who understand insight, and who have the _⌊ability_⌋* in them to serve in the palace of the king. And the king ordered him to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king assigned to them _⌊his daily portion_⌋* from the fine food of the king, and from _⌊the wine that he drank_⌋,* and instructed that _⌊they were to be educated for three years_⌋.* And at the end of their training, _⌊they were to be stationed_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* the king. ⁶ Now there was among them _⌊from the Judeans_⌋,* Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ And the commander of the court officials gave them names, and he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; and Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego. ⁸ Now _⌊Daniel resolved_⌋* that he would not defile himself with the fine food of the king, and with _⌊the wine that he drank_⌋,* and so he requested from the commander of the court officials permission so that he would not defile himself. ⁹ And God* gave Daniel favor and compassion _⌊before_⌋* the commander of the court officials, ¹⁰ and the commander of the court officials said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord, the king, who has determined your food and your drink, for _⌊why should_⌋* he see your face having a worse appearance than the young men who _⌊are your age_⌋?* Then you will endanger my head with the king." ¹¹ Then* Daniel asked the guard* whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us _⌊some of the vegetables_⌋,* and let us eat and let us drink water. ¹³ Then* let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared _⌊before you_⌋,* and then deal with your servants _⌊according to what you see_⌋."* ¹⁴ So he agreed to this proposal with them, and he tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and they were healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of the king. ¹⁶ _⌊So_⌋* the guard _⌊continued to withhold_⌋* their fine food and the wine of their drink, and he gave them* vegetables. ¹⁷ _⌊And as for these four young men_⌋,* God* gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visions* and dreams. ¹⁸ And at the end of the time the king had set to bring them, the commander of the court officials brought them in _⌊before_⌋* Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, _⌊and among all of them no one was found like_⌋* Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; then they stood _⌊before_⌋* the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better than all of the magicians* and conjurers* that _⌊were in his entire kingdom_⌋.* ²¹ And Daniel was there until the first year of Cyrus the king.

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the scroll of the Torah in the temple of Yahweh," and Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it.

¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Acbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying,

¹³ Shallum fathered Hilkiah; Hilkiah fathered Azariah;

²⁰ and the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying,

²⁴ However, the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hand of the people to put him to death.

²⁵ And even when Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

¹⁴ And they sent and took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to the house, so he stayed in the midst of the people.

¹¹ And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, was standing in the midst of them, and they were standing _⌊before them_⌋.* Each one had his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of the incense was going up.

⁵ And now let me tell you what I myself am about to do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge, and it shall become a devastation. I will break down its wall, and it shall become a trampling.

⁵ Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger, and a staff is in their hand: my wrath! ⁶ I send him against a godless nation, and I command him against the people of my wrath, to capture spoil and to carry off plunder, and to make them* a trampling place, like the clay of the streets.

⁷ I form light and I create darkness; I make peace and I create evil; I am Yahweh; I do all these things.

¹ Look! The hand of Yahweh is not too short _⌊to save_⌋,* and his ear is not too dull _⌊to hear_⌋.* ² Rather, your iniquities have been _⌊barriers_⌋* between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, from hearing.

⁵ "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles* of Judah whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

⁶ Or is a horn blown in a city and people are not afraid? Or does a disaster occur in the city and Yahweh has not done it?

¹⁰ For thus says Yahweh, '_⌊As soon as the time has passed_⌋,* seventy years* for Babylon, I will attend to you, and I will fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

²⁸ _⌊Because_⌋* he has sent to us in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'It will be a long time, build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit.'" '"

²⁶ And they will live on it in safety, and they will build houses, and they will plant vineyards, and they will live in safety when I execute my judgments on all _⌊those who despise them from all around them_⌋,* and then they will know that I am Yahweh their God."

²⁷ So* God created humankind in* his image, in* the likeness of God he created him,* male and female he created them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven,* and over every animal that moves upon the earth."

⁷ "And you, be fruitful and multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply in it."

²¹ And he lived in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

³ that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling, ⁴ but that you will go to my land and to my family, and take a wife for my son, for Isaac."

⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you. Take her and go; let her be a wife for the son of your master as Yahweh has spoken."

⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "You are our sister; may you become countless thousands; and may your offspring take possession of the gate of his enemies."

¹ Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. And he instructed him and said to him, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. ² Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. ³ Now, may El-Shaddai* bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you become an assembly of peoples. ⁴ And may he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham."

¹⁹ Then Laban said, "Better that I give her to you than I give her to another man. Stay with me."

⁴ So Shechem said to Hamor his father, saying, "Get this girl for me as a wife."

¹² And Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him Acsah my daughter as a wife." ¹³ Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife. ¹⁴ When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from the donkey, Caleb said to her, "_⌊What do you want_⌋?"*

⁹ He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters away in marriage outside his clan and brought in from outside thirty young women for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years.

² He went up and told his father and mother, and he said, "I saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of the Philistines; so then, take her for me as a wife."

² "You shall not take for yourself a wife, there shall not be for you sons and daughters in this place." ³ For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: ⁴ "They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies* will become food for the birds* of the air, and for the wild animals* of the earth."

³⁶ But if anyone thinks he is behaving dishonorably concerning his virgin, if she is past her prime* and it ought to be thus, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin. Let them marry. ³⁷ But he who stands firm in his heart, not having necessity, but has authority concerning his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin, he will do well. ³⁸ So then, the one who marries* his own virgin does well, and the one who does not marry her will do better.

¹⁴ Therefore I want younger widows to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give the adversary no opportunity for reproach.

¹⁰ that they may offer incense offerings to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his children.

²³ All that is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with diligence for the house of the God of heaven, otherwise wrath will come on the kingdom of the king and his sons.

¹⁹ "Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was distressed _⌊for some time_⌋,* and his thoughts disturbed him. The king answered and he said, 'Belteshazzar, let the dream and its explanation not disturb you.' Belteshazzar answered and said, 'My lord, may the dream and its explanation be for those who hate you and for your enemies.

²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you and your sin remove* with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on the oppressed, _⌊in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity_⌋.'"*

⁴ Then the other administrators and satraps _⌊began to seek_⌋* to find a pretext against Daniel _⌊in connection with the kingdom_⌋,* but they were not able to find any pretext and _⌊corruption_⌋* _⌊because_⌋* he was trustworthy, and no* negligence or _⌊corruption_⌋* _⌊could be found in him_⌋.* ⁵ Then these men _⌊said_⌋,* "We will not find any pretext* against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except by God, and those that exist are put in place by God.

⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.

¹ Therefore, I urge first of all that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all people, ² on behalf of kings and all those who are in authority, in order that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

¹³ Subject yourselves to every human authority for the sake of the Lord, whether to a king* as having supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as those sent out by him for the punishment of those who do evil and the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For the will of God is as follows: by* doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as free persons, and not using your* freedom as a covering for evil, but as slaves of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people, love the community of believers, fear God, honor the king.*

³¹ The prophets prophesy _⌊falsely_⌋,* and the priests rule _⌊by their own authority_⌋,* and my people love it* so much. But what will you do _⌊when the end comes_⌋?*

¹⁴ And Yahweh said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies* in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their _⌊minds_⌋."*

²¹ I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

²⁷ who plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors* forgot my name through Baal?

⁹ And you, you must not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your interpreters of signs, and to your sorcerers who are _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.'

¹⁴ And you must not listen to the words of the prophets who are speaking to you, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You must not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying a lie to you. ¹⁵ For I have not sent them," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "but they are prophesying in my name _⌊falsely_⌋,* so that I will drive them away. And you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you."

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, "Please listen, Hananiah, Yahweh has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.

¹¹ If a man walks about in a spirit of deception and lies, saying "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink," then he would be a preacher for this people!

⁴ _⌊And then_⌋* on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive,

⁴ And Jesus answered and* said to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many.

²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

⁵ So Jesus began to say to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! ⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and they will deceive many.

²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But you, watch out! I have told you everything ahead of time!

²⁶ Woe whenever all people speak well of you, for their fathers used to do the same things to the false prophets.

⁸ And he said, Watch out that you are not deceived! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near!' Do not go after them!

¹⁸ For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and by smooth speech and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹³ For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not a great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

¹⁴ so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

³ Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

⁹ whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with every unrighteous deception against those who are perishing, in place of which they did not accept the love of the truth, so that they would be saved. ¹¹ And because of this, God sends them _⌊a powerful delusion_⌋* so that they will believe the lie,

¹³ But evil people and imposters will progress to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.

² And many will follow their licentious ways, because of whom the way of truth will be reviled. ³ And in greediness they will exploit you with false words, whose condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ* coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! ⁸ Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have worked for, but receive a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching—this person has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁴ And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it has been granted to him to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who has the wound of the sword and yet lived.

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

¹⁵ For I have not sent them," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "but they are prophesying in my name _⌊falsely_⌋,* so that I will drive them away. And you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you."

²³ because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words* in my name, lies* that I have not commanded them, and I am he who knows, and I am a witness,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh."

³¹ "Send to all the exiles,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I have not sent him, and he has made you trust in a lie,"

²¹ to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of desolation it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

¹² _⌊And then_⌋* when the seventy years* are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it _⌊an everlasting waste_⌋.*

⁷ And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and _⌊his grandson_⌋,* until the coming of the time of _⌊his own_⌋* land. Then many nations and great kings will let him work.

²² 'They will be brought to Babylon, and there they will stay until the day of my attending to them,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. 'Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.'"

⁴² "For thus says Yahweh, 'Just as I have brought to this people all this great disaster, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise to them. ⁴³ And the fields* will be bought in this land of which you are saying, "It is a desolation, _⌊without humankind or animals_⌋.* It has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans." ⁴⁴ They will buy fields with money, and they will sign the deeds,* and they will seal them,* and they will call witnesses as witness in the land of Benjamin, and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negev, for I will restore their fortunes,'* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh."

² in the first year of his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was that were to be fulfilled according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem—seventy years.

⁷ And it shall become a region for the remnant of the house of Judah; upon them they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening. For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them, and he will restore their fortunes.

⁵ "Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: 'When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?

¹³ "But* he is _⌊alone_⌋,* and who can dissuade him? And _⌊whatever he desires_⌋,* _⌊indeed_⌋,* he does it.

¹¹ The plan of Yahweh stands firm forever, the intents of his heart _⌊from one generation to the next_⌋.*

⁵ Many things, O Yahweh my God, you have done— your wonderful deeds and your thoughts toward us. There is none to compare with you. If I tried to proclaim and tell of them, they would be too numerous to count.

¹ "Comfort; comfort my people," says your God. ² "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for, that she has _⌊received_⌋* from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins." ³ A voice is calling in the wilderness, "Clear the way of Yahweh! Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God! ⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall become low, And the rough ground shall be like a plain, and the rugged ground like a valley-plain. ⁵ And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed, and all _⌊humankind_⌋* together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken." ⁶ A voice is saying, "Call!" And he said, "What shall I call?" All _⌊humankind_⌋* are grass, and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field. ⁷ Grass withers; the flower withers when the breath of Yahweh blows on it. Surely the people are grass. ⁸ Grass withers; the flower withers, but* the word of our God will stand forever. ⁹ _⌊Get yourself_⌋* up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news! Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news! Lift it up; you must not fear! Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" ¹⁰ Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with _⌊strength_⌋,* and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his recompense _⌊in his presence_⌋.* ¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arm, and he will carry them in his bosom; he will lead those who nurse. ¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure and weighed out the mountains in the scales,* and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh or informed him as _⌊his counselor_⌋*? ¹⁴ With whom has he consulted, that* he enlightened him* and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and made the way of understanding known to him? ¹⁵ Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket, and they are counted like dust of the balances! Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering. ¹⁶ And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire, and its animals* not enough for a burnt offering. ¹⁷ All the nations are like nothing before him; they are counted by him as* nothing and emptiness. ¹⁸ And to whom will you liken God? And to what likeness will you compare him? ¹⁹ A craftsman pours out the idol, and a _⌊goldsmith_⌋* overlays it with gold, and he smelts chains of silver. ²⁰ The one who is too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over. ²¹ Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the _⌊beginning_⌋?* Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth? ²² He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil and spreads them out like a tent to live in, ²³ the one who brings* princes to nothing; he makes rulers of the earth like nothing. ²⁴ Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly are they sown; indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth when* he blows on them and they wither, and the tempest carries them like stubble. ²⁵ "And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?" says the holy one. ²⁶ Lift your eyes up on high, and see! Who created these? The one who brings out their host by number. He calls all them by name. Because he is great of power and mighty of power, no man is missing. ²⁷ _⌊Why_⌋* do you say, Jacob, and you speak, Israel, "My way is hidden from Yahweh, and my judgment is passed over by my God?" ²⁸ Have you not known, or have you not heard? Yahweh is the God of eternity, the creator of the ends of the earth! He is not faint, and he does not grow weary! There is no searching his understanding. ²⁹ He gives power to the weary, and he increases power for _⌊the powerless_⌋.* ³⁰ Even* young people will be faint and grow weary, and the young will stumble, exhausted. ³¹ But* those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength. They shall go up with wings* like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not be faint.

¹⁰ who from the beginning declares the end, and from before, things that have not been done, who says, 'My plan shall stand,' and, 'I will accomplish* all my wishes,'* ¹¹ who calls a bird of prey from the east, the man of his* plan from a country from afar. Indeed I have spoken; indeed I will bring it to being. I have formed it; indeed I will do it.

⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁹ "For as the heavens are _⌊higher_⌋* than the earth, so my ways are _⌊higher_⌋* than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ For just as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and they do not return there except they have watered the earth thoroughly and cause it to bring forth and sprout, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall be my word that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me without success, but shall accomplish* what I desire and be successful in the thing for which I sent it. ¹² For you shall go out in joy, and you shall be led in peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you, rejoicing and all the trees of the field shall clap hands.*

¹² Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
'Return, apostate* Israel,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. 'I will not cause my _⌊anger_⌋* to fall on you. For I am loyal,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. 'I will not be angry _⌊forever_⌋.* ¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt, that against Yahweh your God you have rebelled, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every leafy tree, and you have not obeyed my voice,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh." ¹⁴ "Return, apostate* children," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "For _⌊I am your master_⌋,* and I will take you one from a city and two from a clan,* and I will bring you to Zion. ¹⁵ Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight. ¹⁶ And it will be when you have multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.' And _⌊it will not come to mind_⌋,* nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it,* nor will it be made again. ¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of Yahweh,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart. ¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.* ¹⁹ Then I thought, 'How I would set you among the children, and I would give you a land of desire, an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.' And I thought, 'You would call me, "My father," and you would not turn back from _⌊behind_⌋* me.'

¹⁸ Thus says Yahweh:
'Look, I will restore the fortunes* of the tents of Jacob, and I will have compassion on his dwellings, and the city will be rebuilt upon its mound, and the citadel fortress will stand on its rightful site. ¹⁹ And thanksgiving and the sound of merrymakers will come out from them, and I will make them numerous, and they will not be few. And I will make them honored, and they will not be lowly. ²⁰ And their children will be as of old, and their community will be established _⌊before me_⌋.* And I will punish all their oppressors. ²¹ And their noble will be from them, and their ruler will come out from their midst. And I will bring him near and he will approach me. For who is he that would pledge his heart to approach me?' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²² 'And you will be to me a people, and I will be to you God.'"

¹ "At that time," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh,
"I will be the God of all the clans* of Israel, and they will be to me a people." ² Thus says Yahweh:
"The people of the survivors of the sword found grace in the desert;* Israel going to find their rest." ³ From afar Yahweh appeared to me, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love. _⌊Therefore_⌋* I have drawn you with loyal love. ⁴ I will again build you, and you will be built, O virgin Israel. You will again adorn yourself with your tambourines, and you will go forth in the dancing in a ring of the merrymakers. ⁵ You will again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will enjoy it.* ⁶ For there will be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim, 'Stand up, and let us go up to Zion, to Yahweh our God.'" ⁷ For thus says Yahweh,
"Sing for joy for Jacob with gladness, and shout out for the head of the nations. Proclaim, praise, and say, 'Save, O Yahweh, your people, the remnant of Israel.' ⁸ Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, those who are pregnant, and those who give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn." ¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, "The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock. ¹¹ For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person _⌊stronger_⌋* than he. ¹² And they will come, and they will sing for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh, over the grain, and over the wine, and over the olive oil, and over the young ones of the flock, and over the cattle. And their life will become like a well-watered garden, and they will never languish again." ¹³ "Then the young woman will rejoice in the dancing in a ring, and the young men and the old men together. And I will turn their mourning to jubilation, and I will comfort them, and I will gladden them from their sorrow. ¹⁴ And I will saturate the appetite of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹⁵ Thus says Yahweh, "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, the weeping of bitterness. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because of her children, for they are no more." ¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh:
"Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and they will return from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷ And there is hope for your future," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and your children will return to their territory. ¹⁸ Indeed I heard Ephraim pitying themselves, 'You disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like a calf that is not trained. Bring me back and let me return, for you are Yahweh my God. ¹⁹ For after my turning back I repented, and after coming to understand I struck my thigh. I was ashamed and also humiliated, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' ²⁰ Is Ephraim my dear son, or the child of my delight? For _⌊as often as_⌋* I have earnestly spoken against him, I still remember him. _⌊Therefore_⌋* my bowels are turbulent for him, surely I will have compassion on him," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²¹ "Set up for yourself road markers, make for yourself signposts, set your _⌊mind_⌋* to the main road, the road by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, return to these your cities. ²² _⌊How long_⌋* will you waver, O unfaithful daughter? For Yahweh has created a new thing on the earth, a woman, she shelters a man." ²³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "They will again say these words* in the land of Judah and in its towns at my restoring their fortunes,*
'Yahweh bless you, O settlement of righteousness, O hill of holiness.' ²⁴ And Judah and all of its towns together will live in it, farmers and those who travel with the flocks.* ²⁵ For I will saturate the thirst of the weary, and every person who languishes I will replenish." ²⁶ At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. ²⁷ "Look, the days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humankind, and with the seed of animals.* ²⁸ _⌊And then_⌋* as I have watched over them to pull up, and to tear down, and to annihilate, and to destroy, and to do evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²⁹ "In those days they will say no longer, '_⌊Parents_⌋* have eaten unripe fruit, and the teeth of the children _⌊are set on edge_⌋*.' ³⁰ _⌊But_⌋* each will die because of his iniquity, _⌊everyone_⌋* who eats the unripe fruit, their teeth will _⌊be set on edge_⌋.* ³¹ Look, the days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and I will _⌊make_⌋* a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I _⌊made_⌋* with their ancestors* on the day of my grasping them* by their hand, bringing them out from the land of Egypt, my covenant that they themselves broke, though I myself was a master over them," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ³³ "But this is the covenant that I will _⌊make_⌋* with the house of Israel after those days," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh: "I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts* I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people.

²⁶ It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of Yahweh.

¹¹ " 'For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, ¹² just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on* the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places _⌊to which they were scattered_⌋* on the day _⌊of storm and stress_⌋.* ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ _⌊I myself_⌋* will feed my flock and _⌊I myself_⌋* will allow them to lie down," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁶ "I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice." ¹⁷ " 'And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am judging between _⌊one sheep and another_⌋,* between the rams and between the he-goats. ¹⁸ _⌊Is it not enough for you_⌋* that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and _⌊clear water_⌋* you drink, and the _⌊leftover water_⌋* you must make muddy with your feet. ¹⁹ And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by* your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by* your feet." ²⁰ " 'Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: "Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, ²¹ because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals _⌊until_⌋* you scattered it* to the outside. ²² And so I will save my flock, and _⌊they will no longer be_⌋* for plunder, and I will judge between _⌊one sheep and another_⌋.* ²³ And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as* a shepherd. ²⁴ And I, Yahweh, I will be for them _⌊as God_⌋,* and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. ²⁵ And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals* from the land, and they will dwell in the desert _⌊safely_⌋,* and they will sleep in the forest. ²⁶ And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down _⌊at its appointed time_⌋;* they will be rains of blessing. ²⁷ And the tree* of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land _⌊safely_⌋,* and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. ²⁸ And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell _⌊in safety_⌋,* and there will not be anyone frightening them. ²⁹ And I will raise for them a garden plot* of renown, and they will _⌊no longer_⌋* be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. ³⁰ And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, ³¹ "and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are _⌊my people_⌋;* I am your God," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.'"

¹ "And you, son of man,* prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and so you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh; ² thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because the enemy said concerning you, 'Ah, and* the ancient high places will be to us as a possession!'" ' ³ Therefore prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Because indeed_⌋* _⌊when you were desolate_⌋,* then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder* of the nations, and you became _⌊a byword and object of slander for the people_⌋."* ⁴ Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that are desolate and to the cities that are abandoned and that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder* of the nations that are from all around. ⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Certainly_⌋* in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all* Edom, who made my land as a possession, because of* its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of the joy of their whole heart and in their inner disdain."* ⁶ Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger the insult of the peoples you have endured." ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊I swear_⌋* _⌊certainly_⌋* that the nations _⌊that are all around you_⌋,* they indeed will endure their disgrace. ⁸ " '"But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry* for my people Israel, for they are soon to come. ⁹ For look! I am for you, and I will turn you, and you will be tilled, and you will be planted. ¹⁰ And I will cause _⌊your population_⌋* to increase for you, all of the house of Israel, all of it, and the towns will be inhabited, and the ruins will be built. ¹¹ And I will cause _⌊your population_⌋* to increase for you, and domestic animals, even they will be numerous, and they will be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited like your _⌊ancient times_⌋,* and I will do good things more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹² And I will send over you my people Israel, and they will take possession of you, and you will be for them as an inheritance, and _⌊you will no longer bereave them of their children_⌋."* ¹³ " 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because they are saying to you, "You are an eater of humans,* and you are _⌊one who makes childless_⌋* your people."* ¹⁴ Therefore humans* you will not eat any longer, and your nation you will not make childless* any longer," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁵ "And I will not let you hear any longer the insult of the nations, and the disgrace of the peoples you will not bear any longer; you yourself will not cause your nation to stumble," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.'" ¹⁶ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹⁷ "Son of man,* the house of Israel, they were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way _⌊before me_⌋.* ¹⁸ And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ And they came* into the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋,* and they profaned _⌊my holy name_⌋* when they said to them, 'These are the people of Yahweh, and from his land they went out.' ²¹ And I was concerned for _⌊my holy name_⌋,* which, the house of Israel defiled among the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋.* ²² "Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Not for your sake_⌋ * am I about to act, house of Israel, _⌊but_⌋* _⌊for my holy name_⌋,* which you defiled among the nations _⌊to which you went_⌋.* ²³ And I will consecrate my great name, which was profaned among the nations and which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh!" ' a declaration of the Lord Yahweh, _⌊when I show myself holy_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* their eyes. ²⁴ " 'And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give* into your inner parts, and I will remove the* heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give* my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go* in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,* and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as* God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will cause the fruit of the tree and the crop of the field to increase, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ And you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe _⌊yourself_⌋* over* your iniquities and over your detestable things. ³² But not for your sake am I acting," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. "Let it be known to you, be ashamed, and be put to shame because of your ways, house of Israel. ³³ "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'On the day when I cleanse you from all of your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ And the land that was desolate will be cultivated in _⌊the very place that_⌋* it was desolate before the eyes of all of the persons crossing over. ³⁵ And they will say, "_⌊This desolate land_⌋* has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, now being refortified, are inhabited." ³⁶ And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built _⌊that which was destroyed_⌋;* I planted the desolate land; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.' ³⁷ "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Again this time I will let _⌊myself be inquired of_⌋* by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase _⌊their population like a flock_⌋.*

¹ "And you, son of man,* prophesy against Gog, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against you Gog, the head* leader of Meshech and Tubal, ² and I will turn you around, and I will drag you along, and I will bring you up from the remote areas of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel, ³ and I will strike your bow from _⌊your left hand_⌋,* and your arrows from _⌊your right hand_⌋* I will cause to fall. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all of your troops, and the peoples who are with you, to birds* of prey, birds of every wing,* and animals of the field I will give you as food. ⁵ On the surface of the field you will fall, for _⌊I myself_⌋* have spoken," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ⁶ "And I will send fire against Magog and among the people inhabiting the coastlands _⌊in safety_⌋,* and they will know that I am Yahweh. ⁷ And _⌊my holy name_⌋* I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let the name of my holiness be profaned anymore, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the holy one in Israel. ⁸ Look! it is coming, and it will happen," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. "It is the day _⌊about which I have spoken_⌋.* ⁹ "ʻ"And the inhabitants of the towns* of Israel will go out, and they will set ablaze, and they will kindle a fire with a weapon* and a small shield and a shield,* with a bow and with arrows, and with _⌊hand clubs_⌋* and with spears,* and so they will light a fire with them, _⌊a fire lasting seven years_⌋.* ¹⁰ And they will not carry trees from the field, and they will not chop wood from the forests, for with the weapons* they will light a fire; and they will plunder those plundering them, and they will plunder those plundering them," ' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹¹ " '"_⌊And then_⌋* on that day I will give to Gog _⌊a grave there_⌋* in Israel, The Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea,* and it _⌊will block_⌋* the travelers and Gog and all of his hordes* they will bury there, and they will call it the Valley of _⌊Hamon-Gog_⌋.* ¹² And the house of Israel will bury them for seven months to cleanse the land. ¹³ All of the people of the land will bury them, and it will be an honor for them on the day when I appear," ' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁴ ʻ"And they will set apart _⌊men to continually_⌋* go through the land burying the travelers,* the ones left over on the surface of the land to cleanse it; _⌊for the whole of_⌋* seven months they will explore it. ¹⁵ And the ones going through, they will go through within the land, and if anyone sees the bones of a person, then he will build beside it a sign to remain until the buriers have buried him in the Valley of Hamon-Gog.* ¹⁶ And furthermore the name of the city there is Hamonah,* and thus they will cleanse the land." ' ¹⁷ "And you, son of man,* thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Say to _⌊all kinds of birds and animals of the field_⌋,* "Be gathered, come be gathered _⌊from everywhere_⌋* to my sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh, and you will drink blood. ¹⁸ Flesh of warriors you will eat, and the blood of leaders of the land you will drink; rams, young rams and goats, bulls, and the fattened animals of Bashan—all of them! ¹⁹ And you will eat fat _⌊until you are satiated_⌋,* and you will drink blood _⌊until you are drunk_⌋* from my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, ²⁰ and you will be satisfied at my table with horse and horsemen and warriors and every man of war," ' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²¹ "And I will display my glory among the nations, and all of the nations will see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid upon them. ²² "And the house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God from that day and beyond, ²³ and the nations will know that because of their guilt the house of Israel went into exile, _⌊because_⌋* they acted unfaithfully against me, and I hid my face from them, and I gave them into the hand of their foes, and they fell by the sword, all of them. ²⁴ According to their uncleanness and according to their transgression I dealt with them, and I hid my face from them. ²⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all of the house of Israel, and I will be jealous* for _⌊my holy name_⌋.* ²⁶ And they will forget their disgrace and all of their infidelity that they displayed against me when they dwelt on their soil _⌊in safety_⌋* _⌊with nobody making them afraid_⌋.* ²⁷ When I restore them from the nations and I gather them from the countries of their enemies, then I will show myself holy through them before the eyes of many nations. ²⁸ And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, because of when I deported them into the nations, and I reassembled them to their soil, and _⌊I will not let any of them remain there any longer_⌋.* ²⁹ And I will not hide my face again from them when I pour out my Spirit over* the house of Israel," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁴ Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her and bring her into the desert, and _⌊I will speak tenderly to her_⌋.* ¹⁵ From there I will give her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope. And there she will respond, as in the days of her youth, just as in the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ _⌊And on that day_⌋—* a declaration of Yahweh— you will call me, "My husband;"* you will no longer call me, "My Baal."* ¹⁷ I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by their name. ¹⁸ I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the animals* of the field, with the birds* of the heaven, and with the creeping things* of the ground; the bow, the sword, and the war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety. ¹⁹ And I will take you as my wife forever; I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ²⁰ _⌊I will take you as my wife_⌋* in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh. ²¹ On that day I will answer, _⌊declares Yahweh_⌋,* I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth. ²² And the earth will answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they will answer Jezreel.* ²³ I will sow her for myself in the land; I will have pity on Lo-ruhama;* I will say to Lo-ammi,* "You are my people," and he himself will say, "you are my God."

⁵ Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king. They will come in fear to Yahweh and to his goodness at the end of days.

² Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Say to him, "Take away all guilt; accept good, and we will offer the fruit* of our lips. ³ Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses,* and we will say no more, "Our God," to the work of our hands because in you the fatherless child finds mercy. ⁴ I will heal their disloyalty;* I will love them freely because my anger has turned back from them.* ⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily plant, and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon. ⁶ His new plant shoots will spread out; his splendor will be like the olive tree, and his scent like the trees of Lebanon. ⁷ _⌊They will again dwell_⌋* in my* shadow; they will grow grain and they will blossom like the plant vine; his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon. ⁸ O Ephraim, _⌊what have I to do_⌋* with idols? I myself have answered and looked after you.* I am like a luxuriant cypress; your fruit* comes from me. ⁹ Who is wise that he can understand these things? Who is discerning that he knows them? The ways of Yahweh are right, and the righteous walk in them; but transgressors stumble in them.

²⁸ * And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. ²⁹ And also on the male slaves and on the female slaves, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. ³⁰ And I will _⌊set_⌋* wonders in the heavens, and on earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun will be changed to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. ³² And it will happen—everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be rescued, because on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be _⌊those who escape_⌋,* as Yahweh said, and among the survivors whom Yahweh is calling.

⁸ Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh are on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁹ "Yes, look, I am going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground. ¹⁰ All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, 'Evil will not overtake or confront us.' ¹¹ On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair its breaches and will raise up its ruins and will build it like the days of old. ¹² Thus they may take possession of the remnant of Edom and all the nations _⌊who are called by my name_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, who does this. ¹³ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, the one who treads grapes will catch up with the one who sows the seed. And the mountains will drip sweet wine and all of the hills will flow with it. ¹⁴ And I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and will drink their wine, and they will make gardens and will eat their fruit. ¹⁵ And I will plant them on their land and they will not be uprooted again from their land that I have given to them," says Yahweh your God.

¹² But they do not know the thoughts of Yahweh, and they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to his threshing floor.

⁴ And he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God. And they will live, for now he will be great unto the ends of the earth. ⁵ And this one will be peace. As for the Assyrian,* when he comes into our land and when he treads on our fortresses, then we will raise up against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of men. ⁶ And they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. And he will rescue us from the Assyrian* when he comes into our land, and when they tread upon our border. ⁷ And the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many nations, like dew from Yahweh, like showers upon the grass which does not wait for a man, nor delays for the children of humankind.

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, those dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. ¹⁵ As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt I will show him wondrous things. ¹⁶ The nations will see and be ashamed because of all their might. They will lay the hand on the mouth; their ears will be deaf. ¹⁷ They will lick the dust like the serpent, like the crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling from their strongholds to Yahweh our God. Let them fear and be afraid of you. ¹⁸ Who is a God like you, forgiving sin and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, for he delights in loyal love. ¹⁹ _⌊He will again have compassion_⌋* on us; he will trample our iniquities. And you will hurl all their sins in the depths of the sea. ²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors* from the days of old.

¹⁴ Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Cry aloud, O Israel! Rejoice and be jubilant with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ Yahweh has annulled your judgments; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst; you shall no longer fear misfortune. ¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Fear not, O Zion; your hands shall not hang limp. ¹⁷ Yahweh your God is in your midst; a mighty warrior who saves. He shall rejoice over you with joy; he renews* you in his love; he will exult over you with singing. ¹⁸ I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast; they were raising against her a reproach. ¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I will change* them from shame to glory and _⌊renown_⌋* throughout the whole world. ²⁰ At that time I will bring you in; at the time of my gathering you together. For I will make you _⌊renowned_⌋* and praised among all the nations of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says Yahweh.

⁶ However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?* And they repented and said, 'Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.'" '"

¹⁴ For thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Just as I planned to bring disaster* on you when your ancestors* provoked me to anger," says Yahweh of hosts, "and I did not regret it, ¹⁵ _⌊so again I have planned_⌋* in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Do not be afraid!

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king comes to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a male donkey, _⌊the foal of_⌋* a female donkey! ¹⁰ And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow will be cut down, and he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River* to the ends of the earth. ¹¹ As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from _⌊the waterless pit_⌋.* ¹² Return to the fortress, O prisoners of hope; today I am declaring that I will repay you double. ¹³ For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have set Ephraim as an arrow. I will set in motion your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Javan.* I will wield you like the sword of a warrior. ¹⁴ Then Yahweh will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; and my Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and he shall go out in the storm winds of the south. ¹⁵ Yahweh of hosts will defend them, and they will devour and subdue the slingstones;* they will drink, they will make noise* like wine, and they will be full like the sacrificial basin,* drenched like the corners of an altar. ¹⁶ And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for they are like the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land. ¹⁷ For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

⁵ And the clans of Judah will say _⌊to themselves_⌋,* "The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us,* through Yahweh of hosts, their God." ⁶ " 'On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a pan of fire among sticks of wood, and like a torch of fire among stalks* of grain, and they will devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its place, in Jerusalem. ⁷ And Yahweh will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants* of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. ⁸ On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants* of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh, _⌊before them_⌋.* ⁹ _⌊And then_⌋* on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations coming against Jerusalem. ¹⁰ " 'I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants* of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as one grieves bitterly over a firstborn.

²⁰ On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "Holy to Yahweh." And the cooking pots in the house* of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins* before the altar. ²¹ And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a _⌊trader_⌋* in the house* of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

⁸ And another second angel followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." ⁹ And another third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he himself also will drink of the wine of the anger of God that has been mixed full strength in the cup of his wrath, and will be tortured with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torture went up _⌊forever and ever_⌋*, and those who worshiped the beast and his image did not have rest day and night, _⌊along with anyone who received_⌋* the mark of his name. ¹² Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus. ¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write:
'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'"
"Yes," says the Spirit, "in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them." ¹⁴ And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud was seated one like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

⁴ Then the king said to me, "What is your request?" So I prayed to the God of the heavens. ⁵ Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors'* burial sites, so that I may rebuild it." ⁶ With the queen sitting beside him, the king said to me, "How long will your journey be and when will you return?" So it pleased the king and he sent me, and I set for him an appointed time. ⁷ Then I said to the king, "If it is good for the king, let letters be given to me for the governors in the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass until I come to Judah. ⁸ Also, a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's land reserve, that he should give me timber for laying the beams for the gates of the citadel of the house and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I will enter." And the king gave permission to me, according to the good hand of God on me. ⁹ I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and I gave them the letters of the king. Then the king sent troop commanders and horses with me. ¹⁰ But when Sanballat the Horonite and the Ammonite servant Tobiah heard this, _⌊they were greatly displeased_⌋* that a person had come to seek the welfare of the _⌊Israelites_⌋.* ¹¹ I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² I got up during the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anybody what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. No animal was with me except the animal that I was riding on. ¹³ I went out during the night at the gate of the valley by the Dragon spring and to the Dung Gate. And I examined the walls in Jerusalem and its gates that had been destroyed by the fire. ¹⁴ I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for _⌊my mount_⌋* to cross over. ¹⁵ So I went up by the valley during the night and was examining the wall. Then I returned and came to the Valley Gate and returned. ¹⁶ The prefects did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the prefects, and the rest of the workers. ¹⁷ Then I said to them, "You see the misery that we are in, that Jerusalem is ruined and its gates burned by the fire. Come, build the walls of Jerusalem and we shall no longer be a disgrace." ¹⁸ I told them of the good hand of my God that was upon me and surely the words of the king that were spoken to me. And they said, "Let us arise and build!" And they strengthened their hands for this good work. ¹⁹ But Sanballat the Horonite, the Ammonite servant Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard it, and they mocked and despised us, saying, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" ²⁰ Then I answered and said to them, "The God of the heavens himself will let us succeed, and we his servants shall arise and build. But for you there is no share, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

¹⁷ The longing of the afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh. You will make their heart secure. You will _⌊listen attentively_⌋*

¹⁵ And call me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me."

¹⁶ For Yahweh will rebuild Zion; he will appear in his glory. ¹⁷ He will turn his attention to the prayer of the destitute and will not despise their prayer.

¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry for help, and saves them.

¹⁹ For people will live in Zion; in Jerusalem, you will surely not weep. Surely he will be gracious to you; when he hears the sound of your cry, he will answer you.

²⁴ And this will happen: before they call, I myself will answer; while still they are speaking, I myself will hear.

⁹ With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn."

³ 'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great things and inaccessible things that you have not known.'

³⁷ "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Again this time I will let _⌊myself be inquired of_⌋* by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase _⌊their population like a flock_⌋.*

³ Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy,* in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors* and to all the people of the land. ⁷ "_⌊Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord_⌋,* and on us is open shame, just as it is this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, _⌊those who are near and those who are far off_⌋* in all the lands to which you have driven them,* because of their infidelity which they displayed against you. ⁸ Yahweh, on us is open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors,* because we have sinned against you. ⁹ _⌊Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God_⌋,* for we have rebelled against him, ¹⁰ and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law _⌊which he placed before us_⌋* by the hand of his servants the prophets. ¹¹ "And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. ¹² And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and _⌊we have not implored_⌋* the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.* ¹⁴ So Yahweh has kept watch over the* calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his works* that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice. ¹⁵ "And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you have made for yourself a name until this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. ¹⁶ Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, _⌊your holy mountain_⌋,* because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors* Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors. ¹⁷ "And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shine* your face upon your desolate sanctuary _⌊for your sake, O Lord_⌋.* ¹⁸ Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called by your name, for we are not presenting our pleas for mercy _⌊before you_⌋* because of our righteousness, but rather because of your great compassion. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay _⌊for your sake_⌋,* my God; because _⌊your city and your people are called by your name_⌋."*

⁹ And I will bring the remaining third into the fire, and I will refine them like one refines silver, and I will test them like one tests gold. They* will call my name, and I will answer them.* I will say, 'They* are my people,' and they* will say, 'Yahweh is my God.'"

⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

⁴⁰ " 'But* when they confess their guilt and the guilt of their ancestors* in their infidelity that they displayed against me, and moreover that they went against me in hostility— ⁴¹ I myself* also* went against them in hostility, and I brought them into the land of their enemies—or if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and then they pay for their guilt, ⁴² I will remember* my covenant with Jacob; and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ And the land shall be deserted by them, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths in its being desolate from them, and they themselves* must pay for their guilt, _⌊simply because_⌋* they rejected my regulations, and their inner self* abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ And _⌊in spite of_⌋* this, _⌊when they are_⌋* in the land of their enemies I will not reject them, and I will not abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them, because I am Yahweh their God. ⁴⁵ And I will remember the first covenant for them*—whom I brought out from the land of Egypt _⌊in the sight of_⌋* the nations _⌊to be their God_⌋.* I am Yahweh.'"

²⁹ But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.* ³⁰ _⌊In your distress_⌋* when* all these things have found you in the _⌊latter days_⌋,* then* you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice. ³¹ For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he _⌊will not abandon you_⌋,* and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors* that he swore to them.

¹ "And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set _⌊before you_⌋* _⌊and you call them to mind_⌋* among the nations there where Yahweh your God has scattered you, ² and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋,* both you and your children,* with all your heart and with all your inner self,* ³ and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and _⌊he will again gather you together_⌋* from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there. ⁴ "Even if _⌊you are outcasts_⌋* at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there _⌊he shall bring you back_⌋.* ⁵ And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors* had taken possession of,* and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.* ⁶ "And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self* _⌊so that you may live_⌋.* ⁷ And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and _⌊on those who hate you_⌋,* on _⌊those who harassed you_⌋.* ⁸ And _⌊you will again listen_⌋* to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋.* ⁹ And Yahweh your God will make you prosperous _⌊in all your undertakings_⌋,* and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground _⌊abundantly_⌋,* for Yahweh _⌊will again rejoice_⌋* over you, just as he rejoiced over your ancestors.* ¹⁰ He will do this if you listen to* the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandment and his statutes written in the scroll of this law and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self.* ¹¹ "For this commandment that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* is _⌊not too wonderful for you_⌋,* and it is not too far from you. ¹² It is not in the heavens _⌊so that you might say_⌋,* 'Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?' ¹³ And it is _⌊not beyond the sea_⌋,* _⌊so that you might say_⌋,* 'Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?' ¹⁴ But the word is very near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, _⌊so that you may do it_⌋.* ¹⁵ "See, I am setting _⌊before you_⌋* _⌊today_⌋* life and prosperity and death and disaster; ¹⁶ what I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* is to love Yahweh your God by going* in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the _⌊land where you are going_⌋.* ¹⁷ However, if your heart turns aside and you do not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you _⌊today_⌋* that you will certainly perish; _⌊you will not extend your time_⌋* on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it. ¹⁹ I invoke as a witness against you _⌊today_⌋* the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set _⌊before you_⌋,* blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,* ²⁰ by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he is your life and the length of your days in order for you to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,* to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them."

⁴ so that Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed of their way, to walk before me in faithfulness, with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.'"

⁴⁷ and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,' ⁴⁸ if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors,* the city that you have chosen and the house that you* built for your name, ⁴⁹ then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall _⌊vindicate them_⌋.* ⁵⁰ You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, even for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them,

³ Then the king stood by the pillar, and he _⌊made_⌋* a covenant before Yahweh, to go after Yahweh and to keep his commands and his warnings and his statutes, with all of his heart and with his all of his soul, to keep the words of this covenant written on this scroll. Then all of the people _⌊joined_⌋* in the covenant.

³⁷ but _⌊if they repent_⌋* in the land where they were taken captive and _⌊repent_⌋* and beg you for mercy in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned and acted perversely and done wickedly, ³⁸ and we return to you,' with their whole heart and with all their inmost being in the land of their captivity where they took them captive, and if they pray toward their land that you have given to their ancestors* and the city that you have chosen and to the house that I have built for your name, ³⁹ then may you hear their prayer and their pleas from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and uphold their case and forgive your people who sinned against you.

⁹ And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He is the descendant* of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God or with respect to the law and the commandment to seek his God, he did with all his heart, and he prospered.

⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you at the time for finding you. Surely at the flood of many waters they will not reach him.

¹⁵ He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue and honor him.

² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies; they seek him with a whole heart.

¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought you; do not let me stray from your commands.

⁵⁸ I _⌊seek your favor_⌋* with my whole heart; be gracious to me according to your word.*

⁶⁹ The arrogant smear me with lies;* I keep your precepts with my whole heart.

¹⁴⁵ I call with my whole heart; answer me, O Yahweh. I will keep your statutes.

⁶ Seek Yahweh _⌊while he lets himself be found_⌋;* call him _⌊while he is_⌋* near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that* he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will _⌊forgive manifold_⌋.*

¹⁰ Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, _⌊but only_⌋* in pretense,"* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁷ And I will give to them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh, and _⌊they will be my people_⌋,* and _⌊I will be their God_⌋,* for they will return to me with the whole of their heart.

¹⁵ _⌊I will return again_⌋* to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face; in their distress they will search* me.

¹² "And even now," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing."

⁴ For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel, "Seek me so that you may live." ⁵ But do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster." ⁶ Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire against the house of Joseph! And it will devour, _⌊with none to quench_⌋* it for Bethel.

¹ Gather yourselves together! Now gather together, O nation having no shame! ² Before the birth of the decree, the day flies away like chaff; before the fierce anger of Yahweh overtakes you; before the day of the anger of Yahweh overtakes you. ³ Seek Yahweh, all you afflicted of the land who have fulfilled his law; seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the anger of Yahweh.

⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you.

⁹ And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

³⁶ And as they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?"*

⁷ For what great nation has for it a god near to it as Yahweh our God, whenever* we call upon him?

³ and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and _⌊he will again gather you together_⌋* from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.

⁹ "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every plan and all thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.

¹² And they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* with all their heart and with all their inmost being,* ¹³ but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women. ¹⁴ And they took an oath to Yahweh with a great voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns. ¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.

¹ For the music director. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song.*
God is our refuge and strength, a very sufficient help in troubles.

¹ A song of ascents.*
When Yahweh restored the fortunes* of Zion,* we were like dreamers.

⁴ Restore, O Yahweh, our fortunes* like the streams in the Negeb.*

¹⁹ I have spoken not in secrecy, in a place, a land, of darkness, I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, 'Seek me _⌊in vain_⌋!'* I, Yahweh, am speaking righteousness, declaring uprightness.

⁶ Seek Yahweh _⌊while he lets himself be found_⌋;* call him _⌊while he is_⌋* near.

¹⁴ _⌊Therefore_⌋* look, days are coming,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and it will no longer be said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* who led up the _⌊Israelites_⌋* from the land of Egypt," ¹⁵ _⌊but only_⌋* "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* who led up the _⌊Israelites_⌋* from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them," for I will bring them back to their ground that I gave to their ancestors.*

³ "Then I myself will gather together the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their grazing place, and they will be fruitful, and they will become numerous. ⁴ And I will raise up over them shepherds, and they will shepherd them, and they will no longer fear, and they will not be dismayed, and they will not be missing," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁵ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king, and he will achieve success, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell _⌊in safety_⌋,* and this is his name by which he will be called: 'Yahweh is our righteousness.' ⁷ "_⌊Therefore_⌋* look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "when they will no longer say, '_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* who led up the _⌊Israelites_⌋* from the land of Egypt,' ⁸ but '_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* who led up, and who brought the offspring of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he had driven them.' Then they will live in their land."

³ For look, days are coming,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'when I will restore the fortunes* of my people Israel and Judah,' says Yahweh, 'and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors* and they will take possession of it.'"

¹⁰ But you must not fear, my servant Jacob,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and you must not be dismayed, Israel, for look, I am going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be at rest, and he will be at ease, and there will be no one who makes him* afraid.

⁸ Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, those who are pregnant, and those who give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn." ¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, "The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock. ¹¹ For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person _⌊stronger_⌋* than he. ¹² And they will come, and they will sing for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh, over the grain, and over the wine, and over the olive oil, and over the young ones of the flock, and over the cattle. And their life will become like a well-watered garden, and they will never languish again." ¹³ "Then the young woman will rejoice in the dancing in a ring, and the young men and the old men together. And I will turn their mourning to jubilation, and I will comfort them, and I will gladden them from their sorrow. ¹⁴ And I will saturate the appetite of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

³⁷ Look, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell _⌊in safety_⌋.* ³⁸ And they will be for me a people, and I will be for them God. ³⁹ And I will give to them one heart and one way, to revere me _⌊forever_⌋,* for good to them, and to their children after them. ⁴⁰ And I will _⌊make_⌋* with them _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋* that I will not turn away from them, my doing good to them, and my reverence I will put in their hearts* so that they will not turn aside from me. ⁴¹ And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."*

⁷ And I will restore the fortunes* of Judah and the fortunes* of Israel, and I will rebuild them as in the beginning. ⁸ And I will cleanse them from all their guilt that they sinned against me, and I will forgive all their iniquities that they sinned against me, and that they rebelled against me. ⁹ And it will be to me a name of jubilation, a praise, and a glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear all the good that I will do for them, and they will fear,* and they will tremble because of all the good, and because of all the prosperity that I will provide for it.' ¹⁰ "Thus says Yahweh: 'Again will be heard in this place, of which you are saying, "It is a waste, _⌊without_⌋* people and _⌊without_⌋* animals,"* in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, _⌊without_⌋* people and _⌊without_⌋* inhabitants* and _⌊without_⌋* animals,* ¹¹ the voice of jubilation, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voices* of those who say, "Praise Yahweh of hosts, for Yahweh is good, for his loyal love is _⌊forever_⌋,"* the voices of those who bring thank offerings* to the house of Yahweh, for I will restore the fortunes* of the land as in the beginning,' says Yahweh. ¹² Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Again there will be in this waste place, _⌊without_⌋* people and animals,* and in all its towns, pasture for shepherds allowing their flock to lie down. ¹³ In the towns of the hill country, in the towns of the Shephelah, and in the towns of the Negev, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hands of the counter,' says Yahweh. ¹⁴ 'Look, days are coming,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will fulfill the good promise* that I promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and in that time I will make a branch of righteousness sprout for David, and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell _⌊safely_⌋,* and this is what they shall call it: "Yahweh is our righteousness." ' ¹⁷ For thus says Yahweh: 'A man who sits on the throne of the house of Israel will not be cut off for David. ¹⁸ And for the priests, a man from the Levites who offers burnt offerings* and who burns grain offerings* and who brings sacrifices* will not be cut off _⌊before me_⌋* _⌊forever_⌋.'"* ¹⁹ And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁰ "Thus says Yahweh: 'If you could break my covenant with the day, and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their time, ²¹ then my covenant could be broken with David my servant, from _⌊having_⌋* a son who could rule on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, my ministers. ²² As the host of heaven cannot be counted, and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will make numerous the offspring of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me.'" ²³ And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁴ "Have you not seen how these people speak, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'The two clans* whom Yahweh chose, he has also rejected them'? Thus they spurn my people from being a nation _⌊before them_⌋* any longer. ²⁵ Thus says Yahweh: 'If my covenant with day and with night, the regulations of heaven and earth, I had not established, ²⁶ then the offspring of Jacob and David my servant I would reject, from choosing rulers from his offspring over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will restore their fortunes* and I will have compassion on them.'"

²⁷ "But as for you, my servant Jacob, you must not be afraid, and Israel, you must not be dismayed, for look, I am going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be quiet, and he will be at ease, and without one who makes him afraid. ²⁸ You must not be afraid, my servant Jacob," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "for I am with you. For I will make a complete destruction in all the nations where I scattered you, but you I will not make a complete destruction, though I will chastise you to the measure, and I will certainly not leave you unpunished."

⁴ In those days and in that time,'" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the people* of Israel will come, they and the people* of Judah together. _⌊Weeping as they go_⌋,* they will go, and Yahweh their God they will seek. ⁵ They will ask the way to Zion, turning their faces there. They will come and join themselves to Yahweh by _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋* that will not be forgotten.

¹⁹ And I will restore Israel to its pasture, and it will feed on Carmel, and in Bashan, and on the hills* of Ephraim, and in Gilead its hunger will be satisfied. ²⁰ In those days and at that time," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there is none, and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found, for I will forgive those I left behind.

³³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
"The people* of Israel are oppressed, and the people* of Judah likewise, _⌊for_⌋* all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free. ³⁴ Their redeemer is strong, his name is Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace for the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹⁰ Yahweh has brought forth our vindication. Come and let us make known in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.

¹⁶ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Though I have removed them far away among the nations and though I have scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries _⌊to which they have gone_⌋.'"* ¹⁷ Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "And I will assemble you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries to which you were scattered among them, and I will give the land of Israel to you. ¹⁸ And when they come there, then they will remove all of its vile idols and all of its detestable things from it. ¹⁹ And I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit I will give* in their inner parts. And I will remove their* heart of stone from their body, and I will give to them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they may walk in my statutes, and they will keep my regulations, and they will do them, and they will be to me a people, and I myself will be to them as God.

¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋, ² "Son of man,* prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and _⌊with respect to_⌋* the hurt* you have not bound them up, and you have not brought back the scattered, and you have not sought the lost, but rather you ruled over them with force* and with ruthlessness. ⁵ And they were scattered _⌊without_⌋* a shepherd, and they were* as food for all the animals* of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world* my flock were scattered, and _⌊there was no one seeking them_⌋,* and _⌊there was no one searching for them_⌋."* ⁷ Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: ⁸ "_⌊As I live_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, "_⌊Surely_⌋* because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to* all the animals* of the field, since there was not a shepherd, since my shepherds have not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,'" ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh, ¹⁰ 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will _⌊no longer_⌋* feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them."

¹ "And you, son of man,* prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and so you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh; ² thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because the enemy said concerning you, 'Ah, and* the ancient high places will be to us as a possession!'" ' ³ Therefore prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Because indeed_⌋* _⌊when you were desolate_⌋,* then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder* of the nations, and you became _⌊a byword and object of slander for the people_⌋."* ⁴ Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that are desolate and to the cities that are abandoned and that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder* of the nations that are from all around. ⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Certainly_⌋* in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all* Edom, who made my land as a possession, because of* its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of the joy of their whole heart and in their inner disdain."* ⁶ Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger the insult of the peoples you have endured." ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊I swear_⌋* _⌊certainly_⌋* that the nations _⌊that are all around you_⌋,* they indeed will endure their disgrace. ⁸ " '"But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry* for my people Israel, for they are soon to come. ⁹ For look! I am for you, and I will turn you, and you will be tilled, and you will be planted. ¹⁰ And I will cause _⌊your population_⌋* to increase for you, all of the house of Israel, all of it, and the towns will be inhabited, and the ruins will be built. ¹¹ And I will cause _⌊your population_⌋* to increase for you, and domestic animals, even they will be numerous, and they will be fruitful, and I will cause you to be inhabited like your _⌊ancient times_⌋,* and I will do good things more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹² And I will send over you my people Israel, and they will take possession of you, and you will be for them as an inheritance, and _⌊you will no longer bereave them of their children_⌋."* ¹³ " 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because they are saying to you, "You are an eater of humans,* and you are _⌊one who makes childless_⌋* your people."* ¹⁴ Therefore humans* you will not eat any longer, and your nation you will not make childless* any longer," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁵ "And I will not let you hear any longer the insult of the nations, and the disgrace of the peoples you will not bear any longer; you yourself will not cause your nation to stumble," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.'" ¹⁶ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹⁷ "Son of man,* the house of Israel, they were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way _⌊before me_⌋.* ¹⁸ And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ And they came* into the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋,* and they profaned _⌊my holy name_⌋* when they said to them, 'These are the people of Yahweh, and from his land they went out.' ²¹ And I was concerned for _⌊my holy name_⌋,* which, the house of Israel defiled among the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋.* ²² "Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊Not for your sake_⌋ * am I about to act, house of Israel, _⌊but_⌋* _⌊for my holy name_⌋,* which you defiled among the nations _⌊to which you went_⌋.* ²³ And I will consecrate my great name, which was profaned among the nations and which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh!" ' a declaration of the Lord Yahweh, _⌊when I show myself holy_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* their eyes. ²⁴ " 'And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give* into your inner parts, and I will remove the* heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give* my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go* in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,* and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as* God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will cause the fruit of the tree and the crop of the field to increase, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ And you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe _⌊yourself_⌋* over* your iniquities and over your detestable things. ³² But not for your sake am I acting," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. "Let it be known to you, be ashamed, and be put to shame because of your ways, house of Israel. ³³ "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'On the day when I cleanse you from all of your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ And the land that was desolate will be cultivated in _⌊the very place that_⌋* it was desolate before the eyes of all of the persons crossing over. ³⁵ And they will say, "_⌊This desolate land_⌋* has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, now being refortified, are inhabited." ³⁶ And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built _⌊that which was destroyed_⌋;* I planted the desolate land; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.' ³⁷ "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Again this time I will let _⌊myself be inquired of_⌋* by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase _⌊their population like a flock_⌋.* ³⁸ Like the flock of the sanctuary, like the flock of Jerusalem at its festival, so the desolate cities will be filled with flocks* of people; and they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

¹⁴ And I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and will drink their wine, and they will make gardens and will eat their fruit.

²⁰ At that time I will bring you in; at the time of my gathering you together. For I will make you _⌊renowned_⌋* and praised among all the nations of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says Yahweh.

²⁰ And Isaiah is very bold and says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me; I became known to those who did not ask for me."*

¹ And it was in that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah, the son of Azzur, the prophet who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of Yahweh before the eyes of the priests and all the people, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ _⌊Within two years_⌋* I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the house of Yahweh which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took away from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴ And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles* from Judah who went to Babylon, I will bring back to this place,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'" ⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet before the eyes of the priests and before the eyes of all the people who were standing in the house of Yahweh, ⁶ and Jeremiah the prophet said, "Amen! May Yahweh do so; may Yahweh fulfill your words that you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the house of Yahweh and all the exiles* from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Nevertheless listen please to this word that I am speaking in your _⌊hearing_⌋* and in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of all the people, ⁸ The prophets who were _⌊before_⌋* me and _⌊before_⌋* you from ancient times prophesied against many countries and against great kingdoms of war, and of disaster, and of plague. ⁹ The prophet who prophesies peace, at the coming of the word of the prophet, will become known as the prophet that Yahweh has _⌊truly_⌋* sent." ¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Then Hananiah said before the eyes of all the people, _⌊saying_⌋,* "Thus says Yahweh, 'This is how I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, _⌊within two years_⌋,* from the neck of all the nations.'" And Jeremiah the prophet went on his way. ¹² And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet broke the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹³ "Go, and you must say to Hananiah, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh, "You have broken yoke bars of wood, but you have made in place of them yoke bars of iron." ¹⁴ For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and they will serve him, and I have even given the animals* of the open field to him." '" ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, "Please listen, Hananiah, Yahweh has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am going to send you from the face of the earth. This year you will die because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh.'" ¹⁷ And Hananiah the prophet died in that same year in the seventh month.

⁸ For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, deceive you, and you must not listen to your dreams that you are causing them to dream. ⁹ For they are prophesying _⌊falsely_⌋* to you in my name; I have not sent them,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

¹ And it was in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, and I was in the midst of* the exiles* by the _⌊Kebar River_⌋.* The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

³ the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* clearly* to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans at the _⌊Kebar River_⌋,* and the hand of Yahweh was on him there.

² The one basket had very good figs, like _⌊early figs_⌋,* and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten because of their bad quality.

³ by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,*

² "Thus says Yahweh, 'The one who stays in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But the one who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. And his life will be for him as booty, and he will live.' ³ Thus says Yahweh, 'Surely this city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.'"

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then _⌊you_⌋* will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house. ¹⁸ But if you do not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.'" ¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me." ²⁰ And Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and _⌊you_⌋* will live. ²¹ But if you are refusing to surrender, this is the thing that Yahweh has shown me. ²² Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah are being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, they are saying,
'_⌊Your trusted friends_⌋* have misled you, and they have prevailed against you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, so they turned backward.' ²³ And all your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire."

¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, saying, ² "Son of man,* set your face to the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, ³ and you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Look, I am bringing upon you the sword, and I will destroy your high places, ⁴ and your altars will be desolate, and your incense altars will be broken, and I will throw down your slain ones _⌊before_⌋* your idols, ⁵ and I will place* the corpses of the children of Israel _⌊before_⌋* their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ In all of your dwellings, the cities will be desolate and the high places will be ruined, so that your altars will be desolate and will suffer punishment. Your idols will be broken and will come to an end, and your incense altars will be cut down, and your works will be destroyed, ⁷ and the slain one will fall in the midst of you, and then you will know that I am Yahweh. ⁸ But* I will spare some, _⌊so there will be_⌋* for you fugitives from the sword among the nations _⌊when you are scattered_⌋* in the countries. ⁹ And your fugitives will remember me among the nations to which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by _⌊their adulterous heart_⌋* which departed from me, and by _⌊their adulterous eyes_⌋* which went after their idols, and they will feel loathing _⌊for themselves_⌋,* for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things.

¹² "Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, 'Do you not know what these are?'* Say, 'Look! The king of Babylon will come to Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring* them to himself,* to Babylon. ¹³ And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and _⌊he brought him under oath_⌋,* and he took the rulers of the land, ¹⁴ so that they would be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant _⌊in order for it to stand_⌋.* ¹⁵ But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these things, and can he break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ _⌊As I live_⌋,'* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, '_⌊surely_⌋* in the place of the king _⌊who made_⌋* him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him—in the midst of Babylon he will die. ¹⁷ And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work* with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives. ¹⁸ And he despised the oath to break covenant. And, look, he gave his hand in pledge, and yet he did all of these things. He will not escape.' ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: '_⌊As I live_⌋,* _⌊surely_⌋* my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke I will return upon his head. ²⁰ And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there about his infidelity that he displayed against me. ²¹ And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and those who are remaining,* they will be scattered to all the directions of the wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'

⁹ "Son of man,* prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord,' say, 'A sword, a sword is sharpened and is also polished. ¹⁰ It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, _⌊polished to flash like lightning_⌋!* Or will we rejoice?* A rod, my son, is despising every tree.* ¹¹ And he gives it to be polished, _⌊to be seized by the hand_⌋.* It is sharpened—a sword—and it is polished to give it into the hand of the killer. ¹² Cry and wail, son of man,* for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword with my people; therefore _⌊strike your thigh_⌋.* ¹³ For _⌊examine_⌋!* And what if also the rod will not be despising?' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁴ And you, son of man,* prophesy _⌊and clap your hands_⌋.* And the sword will _⌊strike twice_⌋;* let it happen a third time. It is a sword of the dead, the sword of the great dead that is surrounding them, ¹⁵ so that a heart melts, and the fallen _⌊multiply_⌋* at all of their gates. I gave a sword for slaughter, and alas! It is made for flashing, it is grasped* for slaughtering. ¹⁶ Gather together, strike to the right; cause to go to the left, where your _⌊edge_⌋* is directed. ¹⁷ And also _⌊I myself_⌋* will _⌊clap my hands_⌋,* and I will satisfy my rage! I, Yahweh, I have spoken." ¹⁸ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹⁹ "And you, son of man,* mark out for yourself* two roads for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon; they must _⌊both_⌋* go out from the same land. And hew out a _⌊signpost_⌋;* hew it at the head of the road of the city. ²⁰ You must mark a road for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* and to Judah, in Jerusalem the fortified. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. _⌊He shakes the arrows_⌋,* he inquires with the teraphim, he _⌊examines_⌋* the liver. ²² In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem, to put up battering rams, to open a mouth for slaughter,* _⌊to raise the battle cry_⌋,* to put up battering rams against gates, to build a siege ramp, to build siege works.* ²³ And it will be to them like practicing divination falsely* in their eyes; _⌊they have sworn oaths for themselves_⌋.* But* he will bring their guilt to remembrance so as to seize them. ²⁴ "Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt by the uncovering of your transgressions, so that your sins in all of your deeds appear—because of your being remembered, you will be captured in the hand.' ²⁵ And as for you, profane one, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come with the time of the punishment of the end, ²⁶ thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Remove the turban and lift off the crown; things are no longer the same. Exalt the low and bring low the high. ²⁷ A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! Also* this has not ever happened;* it will remain until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it to him.'

³¹ and so I poured out my indignation on them. With the fire of my wrath I destroyed them; I returned their way upon their head," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "Son of man,* write for yourself the name of the day, _⌊this very day_⌋.* The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day! ³ And _⌊deliver a proverb_⌋* to _⌊the rebellious house_⌋,* and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Place the pot! Place it and also pour water into it. ⁴ Gather its pieces to it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder, fill it with choice bones; ⁵ take the choicest of the flock, and also pile the bones* under it; _⌊boil it vigorously_⌋;* indeed,* its bones boiled in the midst of it." '" ⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to the city of bloodguilt! A pot that has its rust in it; _⌊its rust did not go out from it_⌋.* Bring it out _⌊piece by piece_⌋;* _⌊one is as good as another_⌋.* ⁷ For her blood was in the midst of her; _⌊she put it on a bare rock_⌋;* she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.* ⁸ To stir up rage, to avenge myself through vengeance, I placed its blood on the barrenness of a rock, _⌊so that it may not be covered_⌋."* ⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to the city of bloodguilt! I, even I, will make the pile of wood great! ¹⁰ Pile up the logs; kindle the fire; finish cooking the meat, and mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned.* ¹¹ And _⌊make it stand_⌋* empty upon its burning coals so that it may become hot, and its copper may become molten and be melted in the midst of it,* so that its uncleanness and its rust be consumed. ¹² Through effort she has caused weariness; _⌊its thick rust_⌋* went not out of it. Its rust! Into the fire with its rust! ¹³ In your uncleanness is obscene conduct, because I cleansed you, but you were not clean from your uncleanness; you will not be clean again until _⌊I fully vent my rage_⌋* on you. ¹⁴ I, Yahweh, I have spoken. It is coming, and I did it; I will not disregard, and I will not take pity, and I will not reconsider. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you!"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

² _⌊And then_⌋* if they say to you, 'Where shall we go?' Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh,
"Those who are destined for the plague, to the plague, and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword, and those who are destined for the famine, to the famine, and those who are destined for the captivity, to the captivity." ' ³ "And I will summon* over them four types of calamity," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birds* of the air and the wild animals* of the earth to devour and to destroy.

¹ Yahweh showed me, and look, there were two baskets of figs placed _⌊before_⌋* the temple of Yahweh—after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, with the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen, and the smiths,* from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon. ² The one basket had very good figs, like _⌊early figs_⌋,* and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten because of their bad quality. ³ And Yahweh asked me, "What are you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs—the good figs, very good, and the bad figs, very bad, that cannot be eaten because of their bad quality."

⁸ But like the bad figs that cannot be eaten because of their bad quality—for thus says Yahweh—so I will treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. ⁹ And I will make them as a terror, an evil to all the kingdoms of the earth, as a disgrace and a proverb, as a taunt and a curse, in all the places where I will drive them. ¹⁰ And I will send among them the sword, the famine, and the plague, until they perish from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.'"*

⁸ "But it will be that the nation or kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, and with the famine, and with the plague," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "until I have destroyed it with my hand.

¹⁸ And I will pursue them with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague, and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and a horror, and an object of hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them,

¹⁷ "_⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, 'You have not listened to me to proclaim release each one to his fellow countryman and each one to his neighbor. Look, I am going to proclaim to you a release,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'to the sword, to the plague, and to the famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ And I will make the men who transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant that they _⌊made_⌋* _⌊before me_⌋,* like the calf which they cut in two and they passed between its parts— ¹⁹ the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰ and I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and their dead bodies* will become as food for the birds* of the heavens* and for the animals* of the earth. ²¹ And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, who retreated from you. ²² Look, I am going to command,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and they will capture it, and they will burn it with fire, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation _⌊without_⌋* an inhabitant.'"

¹¹ And he will come and ravage the land of Egypt, and deliver those who are appointed for the plague, to the plague, and those who are appointed for the captivity, to the captivity, and those who are appointed for the sword, to the sword.

⁶ In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine in the city became severe and there was no food for the people of the land.

¹² A third of you will die because of the plague, and because of the famine they will perish in the midst of you, and a third will fall through the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every direction of the wind, and I will draw the sword behind them. ¹³ And my anger will come to an end, and I will place my rage on them, and I will relent, and they will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in my passion _⌊when I fully vent my rage against them_⌋.* ¹⁴ And I will make you into a desolate place and into a disgrace among the nations that surround you before the eyes of _⌊every one who passes by_⌋.* ¹⁵ And it will be* an object of taunting* and an object of mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations that are around you whenever I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in furious punishments! I, Yahweh, have spoken! ¹⁶ When I send my arrows of deadly famine against them, which will be as destruction that I will send in order to destroy you, I will increase famine against you, and I will break _⌊the supply of food_⌋* for you. ¹⁷ And I will send against you famine and fierce animals,* and they will make you childless; and plague and blood will pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I, Yahweh, I have spoken!"

¹² And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹³ "Son of man,* when a land sins against me by _⌊acting very unfaithfully_⌋,* then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it the _⌊supply of food_⌋,* and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, both human and animal. ¹⁴ And if even the three of these men were in the midst of it—Noah, Daniel, and Job—they, through their righteousness, would save only _⌊themselves_⌋!"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁵ "If a fierce animal I should let cross through the land, and it should make it childless and it will be a desolation, so that there will not be one crossing over the land _⌊due to_⌋* the presence of the animal, ¹⁶ even if these three men were in the midst of it, _⌊as surely as I live_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, "surely they will not save sons and daughters; _⌊they themselves alone_⌋,* they will be saved, but the land will be a desolation. ¹⁷ Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, 'Sword, let it cross over into* the land!' And I will cut off from it both human and animal. ¹⁸ And if these three men were in the midst of it, _⌊as surely as I live_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, "they will not save sons and daughters, but _⌊they alone_⌋* will be saved. ¹⁹ And if I were to send a plague to that land, and I pour out my rage on it with blood to cut it off, both human and animal, ²⁰ and if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of her, _⌊as surely as I live_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, "surely not a son, surely not a daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save _⌊themselves_⌋."* ²¹ For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "How much more when I send my four punishments—the evil sword, and famine, and a fierce animal, and a plague—to Jerusalem to cut it off, both human and animal!

¹¹ There will be great earthquakes and famines and plagues in various places. There will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

²³ Woe to those _⌊who are pregnant_⌋* and to those who are nursing their babies* in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people,

³³ And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword behind you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a ruin.

²⁵ "Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; on one road you shall go _⌊against_⌋* them,* but you will flee on seven roads _⌊before_⌋* them,* and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth.

⁶⁴ And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor* your ancestors,* gods of wood and stone.

²¹ And Yahweh will single him out for calamity out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in the scroll of this law. ²² "And the next generation, that is, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a distant land, when* they will see the plagues of that land and its diseases that Yahweh has inflicted upon it, will say, ²³ 'All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, _⌊none of its land will be sown_⌋,* and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.' ²⁴ And all the nations will say, '_⌊Why_⌋* has Yahweh done _⌊such a thing_⌋* to this land? What caused the fierceness of this great anger?' ²⁵ And they will say,* 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* which he _⌊made_⌋* with them _⌊when he brought them out_⌋* from the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods whom they did not know them and he* had not allotted to them. ²⁷ So _⌊the anger of Yahweh was kindled_⌋* against that land to bring upon it all the curses written in this scroll, ²⁸ and Yahweh uprooted them from their land in anger and in wrath and in great fury, and he cast them into another land, _⌊just as it is today_⌋.'*

⁷ then I will cut Israel off from the face of the land that I have given to them, even the house which I have consecrated for my name I will cast away from my face; and Israel shall become a proverb and an object of taunting among all the peoples. ⁸ This house shall become a heap of ruins; all those passing by will be appalled by it and hiss, and they will say, 'On what account did Yahweh do this to this land and to this house?'

¹⁹ "But if you turn yourselves away and forsake my ordinances and my commandments which I have given before you all and will go and serve other gods and bow down to them, ²⁰ then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations. ²¹ And as for this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?' ²² Then they will say, 'Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.'"

⁸ And the wrath of Yahweh was upon Judah and Jerusalem. And he made them as an abhorrence, as a desolation and an object of scorn, as you see with your own eyes.

¹¹ You have given us as sheep for food, and among the nations you have scattered us.

¹⁵ And you shall leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse, and the Lord Yahweh will kill you, and he will _⌊give_⌋* his servants another name.

⁴ And I will make them a terror to all of the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.

⁸ And I will make this city a horror, and an object of hissing, everyone who passes by it will be appalled, and will hiss because of all its wounds.

⁹ And I will make them as a terror, an evil to all the kingdoms of the earth, as a disgrace and a proverb, as a taunt and a curse, in all the places where I will drive them.

⁹ look, I am going to send and take all the clans* of the north,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will send* to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and _⌊everlasting ruins_⌋.*

⁶ then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse for all the nations of the earth.'" '"

²² And a curse will be taken up because of them by all the exiles* of Judah who are in Babylon, _⌊saying_⌋,* "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"

¹⁷ "_⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, 'You have not listened to me to proclaim release each one to his fellow countryman and each one to his neighbor. Look, I am going to proclaim to you a release,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'to the sword, to the plague, and to the famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁸ For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will pour out on you at your going to Egypt, and you will become a curse, and a horror, and a curse formula, and a disgrace, and you will no longer see this place." '

¹⁵ They clap hands over you, all who pass along the way; they hiss and they shake their head, at the daughter of Jerusalem. Is this the city of which it is said, "A perfection of beauty, a joy for all the earth?" ¹⁶ They have opened their mouths against you, all your enemies. They hiss and gnash a tooth, and they say, "We have destroyed her! Surely this is the day we have hoped for; we have found it, we have seen it!"

⁸ But* I will spare some, _⌊so there will be_⌋* for you fugitives from the sword among the nations _⌊when you are scattered_⌋* in the countries.

¹⁵ And they will know that I am Yahweh _⌊when I scatter them_⌋* among the nations and I scatter them in the countries.

¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the countries, and I will purge your uncleanness from you.

¹⁹ And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them.

⁹ "Yes, look, I am going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.

¹⁴ 'And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land* a desolation.'"

²⁴ and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations,* and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

¹⁹ Hear, O earth, look, I am about to bring disaster to this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened attentively to my words, and my teaching, they have rejected it also.

¹³ And now, because of your doing all these things," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and _⌊I have spoken to you over and over again_⌋,* and you have not listened, and I called you, and you have not answered,

²⁴ Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and _⌊they became worse instead of better_⌋.* ²⁵ From the day that your ancestors* came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, _⌊sending again and again_⌋.* ²⁶ Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.*

³ "From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even up to this day, these twenty-three years* the word of Yahweh has come to me, and _⌊I have spoken to you over and over again_⌋,* but you have not listened. ⁴ And though Yahweh has sent all his servants the prophets to you _⌊over and over again_⌋* you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors* from a long time back and until forever, ⁶ and you must not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow in worship to them, and you must not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will not do something bad to you.' ⁷ 'Yet you have not listened to me,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'so that you* have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands for your own harm.'

⁵ to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I have sent to you, _⌊over and over again_⌋,* though you have not listened,

³³ And they have turned to me their backs* and not their faces, though _⌊I have taught them over and over again_⌋,* but they were not listening to accept discipline.

¹⁴ "The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his descendants* to not drink, have been carried out, and they have not drunk until this day, for they have obeyed the command of their ancestor.* But _⌊I have spoken to you over and over again_⌋,* and you have not listened to me. ¹⁵ And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊I have sent them over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, _⌊so that you may live_⌋* on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.'* But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me. ¹⁶ For the descendants* of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have carried out the command of their ancestor* that he commanded them, but this people did not listen to me."

⁴ And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊sending over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* "Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate." ⁵ But they did not listen and they did not incline their ears* to turn back from their wickedness, to not make smoke offerings to other gods.

⁴ "Do not be like your ancestors,* to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!" ' But they did not hear* and they did not pay attention* to me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁵ "Your ancestors,* where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?* And they repented and said, 'Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.'" '"

¹¹ But they refused to listen, and turned* a stubborn shoulder and _⌊stopped their ears from listening_⌋.* ¹² _⌊They made their hearts adamant_⌋* in order not to hear the law* and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through* the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. ¹³ 'Thus, just as I* called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,' says Yahweh of hosts.

²⁵ Watch out that you do not refuse the one who is speaking! For if those did not escape when they* refused the one who warned them on earth, much less will we escape,* if we* reject the one who warns from heaven,

¹¹ And come, go to the exiles,* to the children* of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!' whether they listen or whether they fail to listen."

¹⁵ And I went to the exiles* at Tel Abib, who were dwelling near the _⌊Kebar River_⌋,* and I sat where they were dwelling. I sat there seven days in the midst of them, stunned.

¹⁰ Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will go forth from the city, and you will camp in the field; you will go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; there Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

¹⁴ And Yahweh said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies* in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their _⌊minds_⌋."* ¹⁵ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they are saying, "Sword and famine will not be in this land." "By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish.

¹⁴ Your prophets had a vision for you, false and worthless; they have not exposed your sin, to restore your fortune; they have seen oracles for you, false and misleading.

²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,
Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'"
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

¹¹ And all of the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman coming into your house as Rachel and as Leah, who _⌊together_⌋* built the house of Israel. May you have strength in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem.

⁶ And _⌊whoever_⌋* does not fall down and worship will be thrown _⌊immediately_⌋* into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire."

²¹ Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

²² If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!*

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recite my statutes and _⌊mention my covenant with your mouth_⌋,* ¹⁷ while you yourself hate discipline, and cast my words behind you? ¹⁸ When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him, and your association is with adulterers.

²¹ For before the eyes of Yahweh are _⌊human ways_⌋,* and all his paths he examines.

⁹ Will you steal? Will you murder? And will you commit adultery? And will you swear _⌊falsely_⌋?* And will you make a smoke offering to the Baal? And will you go after other gods whom you have not known? ¹⁰ And then you come and you stand _⌊before_⌋* me in this house, which is called _⌊by my name_⌋,* and you say, 'we are safe _⌊to go on doing_⌋* all of these detestable things.'

²⁷ Your adulteries, and your neighings, the shameful behavior of your fornications on the hills in the countryside, I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! _⌊How long will you continue to be unclean_⌋?*"

¹⁷ For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden _⌊from before me_⌋,* and their iniquity is not concealed from before my eyes.

¹⁴ And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible. They commit adultery, and they walk in lies,* and they make strong the hands of evildoers, so that they have not turned back each from his wickedness. All of them have become to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah."

²³ Am I a God from near," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and not a God from far? ²⁴ Or can a person hide himself in secret places and I cannot see him?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "Do I not fill up the heaven and the earth?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

²¹ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in my name a lie, 'Look, I am going to give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your eyes.

⁴ Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery; her priests have defiled that which is holy; they do violence to the law.

¹⁴ But you ask, "_⌊For what reason_⌋?"* Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and _⌊your wife by covenant_⌋.*

⁵ "Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear _⌊falsely_⌋,* and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and _⌊the abusers of_⌋* the alien,* and yet do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.

¹³ And no creature is hidden in the sight of him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom _⌊we must give our account_⌋*.

¹⁰ and especially those who go after the flesh in defiling lust* and who despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they do not tremble in awe as they* blaspheme majestic beings, ¹¹ whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them a demeaning judgment.* ¹² But these persons, like irrational animals born only with natural instincts for capture and killing, blaspheming _⌊about things_⌋* they do not understand, in their destruction will also be destroyed, ¹³ being harmed as the wages of unrighteousness. Considering reveling in the daytime a pleasure, they are stains and blemishes, carousing in their deceitful pleasures when they* feast together with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of desire for an adulteress and unceasing from sin, enticing unstable persons, and* having hearts trained for greediness. Accursed children! ¹⁵ By* leaving the straight path, they have gone astray, because they* followed the way of Balaam the son of Bosor,* who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ¹⁶ but received a rebuke for his own lawlessness: a speechless donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained _⌊the prophet's madness_⌋*. ¹⁷ These people are waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ _⌊For by speaking high-sounding but empty words_⌋*, they entice with desires of the flesh and with licentiousness those who are scarcely escaping from those who live in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom although they* themselves are slaves of depravity. For to whatever someone succumbs, by this he is also* enslaved.

⁸ Despite that, in the same way also these men, because of their* dreams, defile the flesh and reject authority and blaspheme majestic beings. ⁹ But Michael the archangel, when he argued with the devil, disputing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" ¹⁰ But these persons blaspheme all that they do not understand, and all that they understand by instinct like the irrational animals, by these things they are being destroyed. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, and have given themselves up to the error of Balaam for gain, and have perished* in the rebellion of Korah.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To the one who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood

¹⁴ "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
"This is what the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator* of God's creation, says:

³¹ "Send to all the exiles,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I have not sent him, and he has made you trust in a lie," ³² _⌊therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, "Look, I am going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his offspring. There will not be for him a man who lives in the midst of this people, and he will not see the good that I am going to do to my people," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "For he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh." '"

⁸ So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling with Naboth in his city. ⁹ She had written in the letters, saying, "Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Seat two men, _⌊scoundrels_⌋,* opposite him. Let them witness against him saying, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then you shall bring him out and stone him so that he dies." ¹¹ The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹² They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two men, _⌊scoundrels_⌋,* came, sat opposite him, and the _⌊scoundrels_⌋* witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king," so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died.

¹ Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu wrote letters, and he sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab, saying, ² "Now, when this letter comes to you and your master's sons are with you, the chariots are with you, the horses, a fortified city, and weapons, ³ then you must select the best and the most suitable from the sons of your master, and you must place him on the throne of his father, and they must fight for the house of your masters." ⁴ But they were very afraid, and they said, "Look, two kings could not stand before him; how can we stand?" ⁵ So whoever was over the house, and whoever was over the city, and the elders and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants; all that you say to us, we shall do. We shall not make anyone a king. Do what is good in your eyes." ⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, "If you are for me, and you are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your master and come to me at this time tomorrow at Jezreel." Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the leaders of the city who were raising them. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king, and they killed seventy men. Then they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁹ He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, "Look, he has set out to fight with you," so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

¹⁴ Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread them out before the presence of Yahweh.

¹⁸ Then the commander of the imperial guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and three of the threshold keepers. ¹⁹ From the city he took one court official who was chief officer over the men of war, five men _⌊from the king's council_⌋* who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land being found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath; thus Judah was removed from its land.

¹⁷ And he wrote letters to treat Yahweh the God of Israel with contempt and spoke against him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the earth who did not save their people from my hand, so likewise the God of Hezekiah will not save his people from my hand."

⁷ And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic. ⁸ Rehum the royal officer and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows ⁹ (then Rehum the royal officer, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the Persians, the Erechs, the Babylonians, the Susians (that is the Elamites) ¹⁰ and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the rest of the province Beyond the River) and now ¹¹ this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him:
"To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River. And now, ¹² be it known to the king that the Jews who have come up from near you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the wall and repairing the foundation. ¹³ Now be it known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute and toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced. ¹⁴ Now since we eat the salt of the palace and the dishonor of the king is not proper for us to see, we send and make this known to the king, ¹⁵ so that it may be investigated in the book of records of your ancestors.* You will find in the book of records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and they have rebelled in its midst from ancient times. Because of that this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We make known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, you will have nothing in the province Beyond the River."

⁵ And Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter, another word like this to me a fifth time, in his hand.

¹⁷ Also, in those days the nobles of Judah increasingly sent their letters to Tobiah, and letters from Tobiah returned to them.

¹⁹ They also were speaking of his good deeds in my presence, and they were sending my words out to him. Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may go up from against us."

²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of Jeremiah the prophet.

³ And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, _⌊saying_⌋,* "Please pray for us to Yahweh our God."

²⁴ Then the captain of the guard* took Seraiah _⌊the chief priest_⌋,* and Zephaniah _⌊the second priest_⌋,* and three keepers of the threshold.

² and* asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring them* tied up* to Jerusalem.

¹ "If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams* and he gives to you a sign or wonder, ² and the sign or* the wonder comes about that he spoke* to you, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God _⌊is testing you to know whether you love_⌋* Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self.* ⁴ You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. ⁵ But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst.

¹¹ Then Jehu came out to the officers of his master, and they said to him, "Peace? Why did this madman come to you?" And he said to them, "You know the man and his foolish talk."

¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of the hundreds, the appointed of the army, and he said to them, "Bring her out to the house of the ranks! The one coming after her should kill her with the sword," for the priest had said, "Let her not be killed in the temple of Yahweh."

¹⁸ Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, and its altars and its images they broke completely into pieces. Mattan the priest of Baal they killed in front of the altars. Then the priest put guards over the house of Yahweh.

¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in _⌊the prison_⌋,* for he was enraged with him concerning this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

²⁶ and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this one into the prison house, and let him eat _⌊a meager ration of bread and water_⌋* until I return in peace." '"

¹ Now Pashhur, the son of Immer, the priest who was officer in charge in the temple of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ² Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the temple of Yahweh.

²⁷ and so then why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite who exhibits the behavior of a prophet for you?

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit* of Malchiah, the son of the king, which was in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit* there was no water,* _⌊but only_⌋* mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

²⁸ And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.*

⁷ The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have come; Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is acting like a madman. Because of the greatness of your sin, your hostility is great.

³ _⌊And then_⌋,* if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!" And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies. ⁴ _⌊And then_⌋* on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive, ⁵ but he will say, "I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth."* ⁶ And someone* shall say to him, "What are these wounds _⌊between your arms_⌋?"* and he will say, "Those I have received* in the house of the ones who love me." '"

²³ And after* he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he* was teaching, saying, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?"

²¹ And when* _⌊his family_⌋* heard this,* they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, "He has lost his mind!"

⁵³ You are not greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?* And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself to be?"

²⁰ And many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind! Why do you listen to him?"

³³ The Jews answered him, "We are not going to stone you concerning a good deed, but concerning blasphemy, and because you, although you* are a man, make yourself to be God!"

¹ And while* they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees approached them,

¹⁸ And they laid hands on the apostles and put them in the public prison.

²⁴ Now when both the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed concerning them, as to what this might be.

²⁴ Having received such an order, _⌊he_⌋* put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.*

¹¹ And throughout all the synagogues I punished them often and* tried to force* them* to blaspheme, and because I* was enraged at them beyond measure, I was pursuing them* even as far as to foreign cities.

²⁴ And as* he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "You are out of your mind, Paul! Your* great learning _⌊is driving_⌋* you _⌊insane_⌋!"*

¹³ For if we are out of our senses, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we* have concluded this: that one died for all; as a result all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, in order that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

³³ and I was lowered through a window through the wall in a rope-basket, and I escaped his hands.

¹⁰ Do not be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

³ They were assembled in front of Moses and Aaron, and they said to them, "_⌊You take too much upon yourselves_⌋!* All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?"

¹⁶ And it happened that while he was speaking to him, he said to him, "Have we appointed you as a counselor to the king? Stop—_⌊why should you be killed_⌋?"* So the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice."

¹ The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, among the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin,

²⁶ "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron,

² Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the insolent men spoke,* saying to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! Yahweh our God did not send you, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'You must not go to Egypt to dwell as aliens there.' ³ But Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us and to deport us to Babylon."

¹² And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee to the land of Judah and earn food there and prophesy there!" ¹³ But do not prophesy again at Bethel, because this is a sanctuary of a king and this is a temple of a kingdom."

⁶³ saying, "Sir, we remember that while* that deceiver was still alive he said, 'After three days I will rise.'

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! ⁴⁸ If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place* and our* nation." ⁴⁹ But a certain one of them, Caiaphas (who was high priest in that year), said to them, "You do not know anything at all! ⁵⁰ Nor do you consider that it is profitable for you that one man should die for the people, and the whole nation not perish." ⁵¹ (Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest in that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but also that the children of God who are scattered would be gathered into one.) ⁵³ So from that day they resolved that they should kill him.

¹⁷ But in order that it may not spread much further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more in this name _⌊to anyone at all_⌋."* ¹⁸ And they called them back and* commanded them* not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and* said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! ²⁰ For we are not able to refrain from speaking about the things that we have seen and heard." ²¹ So after* threatening them* further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.

²⁸ saying, "_⌊We strictly commanded_⌋* you* not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching! And you are intending to bring upon us the blood of this man!"

⁴⁰ And they summoned the apostles, beat them,* commanded them* not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.*

⁸ And _⌊just as_⌋* Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith.

¹ And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the exiles,* and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon,

⁵ 'Build houses and live in them,* and plant gardens and eat their fruit.

²⁵ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Because you yourself sent a letter* in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, _⌊saying_⌋,*

⁹ For they are prophesying _⌊falsely_⌋* to you in my name; I have not sent them,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

²³ because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words* in my name, lies* that I have not commanded them, and I am he who knows, and I am a witness,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh." ²⁴ And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, _⌊saying_⌋,*

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because of your speaking falseness and because you envisioned a lie, therefore, look! I am against you!" _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ⁹ "And it will be my hand against the prophets who are seeing falseness and who are practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written down in the record book of the house of Israel, and into* the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁰ Because, yes, because they led my people astray, _⌊saying_⌋* 'Peace!' And there is not peace. And when anyone* builds a flimsy wall, look, they coat it with whitewash. ¹¹ Say to those covering it with whitewash that it will fall; there will be _⌊a torrent of rain_⌋,* and I will give stones of hail; they will fall! * And a _⌊windstorm_⌋* will burst forth! ¹² And look! When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?' ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'And so I will let burst forth a _⌊windstorm_⌋* in my rage, and _⌊there will be a torrent of rain_⌋* in my anger, and hailstones in my rage _⌊for complete destruction_⌋.* ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you covered with whitewash, and I will knock it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed, and it will fall, and you will come to an end in the midst of it, and you will know that I am Yahweh! ¹⁵ And I will fully vent my rage against the wall and against those covering it with whitewash, and I will say to you, "_⌊The wall is no more_⌋,* and _⌊the people covering it are no more_⌋,* ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Israel, the ones prophesying concerning Jerusalem and the ones seeing visions of peace, and there is not peace!'" " _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

²² Because you disheartened the heart of the righteous by deception, and I have not* caused him pain, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he did not turn* from his wicked way to save his life. ²³ Therefore falseness* you will not see,* and divination you will not practice* any longer, and I will rescue my people from your hand, and you will know that I am Yahweh!'"

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you also, who will bring in _⌊destructive heresies_⌋*, even denying the Master who bought them, thus* bringing on themselves swift destruction.

⁵ You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations* of those hating me,

²⁷ And so they moved away from around the dwellings* of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the doorway of their tents, with their wives, sons, and little children. ²⁸ And Moses said, "In this you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; it is not from my heart. ²⁹ _⌊If they die a natural death_⌋* or _⌊if a natural fate is visited upon them_⌋,* Yahweh has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Yahweh creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and _⌊all that belongs to them_⌋,* and they go down alive to Sheol, and you will know that these men have despised Yahweh." ³¹ And it happened, as soon as he finished _⌊speaking_⌋* all these words, the ground that was under them split open. ³² The land opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their houses and every person _⌊that belonged to Korah_⌋* and all the property. ³³ They went down alive to Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

²⁴ Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his cattle and donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that was his, and they brought them to the valley of Achor.* ²⁵ And Joshua said, "Why did you bring us trouble? Yahweh will bring you trouble on this day." And all Israel stoned them* with stones;* and they burned them with fire after they stoned them with stones.

³⁰ Therefore,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh the God of Israel, 'though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor* would walk before me forever, but now,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt! ³¹ Look, days are coming when I will cut off your _⌊strength_⌋* and the _⌊strength_⌋* of the house of your ancestor* _⌊so that no one in your house will live to old age_⌋.* ³² You will look at the distress of my dwelling place, despite all the good caused for Israel, but there will never be an old man in your household _⌊forever_⌋!* ³³ The only one I will not cut off from my altar is you.* Rather, to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, _⌊all the members of your household_⌋* will die as men.* ³⁴ This is the sign for you that will come regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: they will both die on the same day!

²⁷ The skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your offspring forever." Then he went out from before him having a skin disease like the snow.

² Then the officer _⌊on whom the king relied_⌋* answered the man of God and said, "Look, even if Yahweh is making windows in heaven, could this thing happen?" And he said, "Look, you will be seeing it with your eyes, but you shall not eat from it there."

¹⁹ Then the officer had replied to the man of God and said, "Look, even if Yahweh is opening the windows in heaven, could this thing happen?" And he had said, "Look you are about to see it with your eyes, but you will not eat from it." ²⁰ So it had happened to him; the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

⁸ Let his days be few; let another take his office. ⁹ Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow, ¹⁰ and let his children wander aimlessly and beg, and let them plead from their ruins. ¹¹ Let the creditor seize all that is his, and let strangers plunder his property. ¹² Let there be none who extend to him loyal love, nor any who pities his orphans. ¹³ Let his descendants* be cut off. Let their name be blotted out in the next generation. ¹⁴ Let the iniquity of his ancestors* be remembered before Yahweh, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out. ¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their* memory from the earth,

²⁰ You will not be united with them in burial because you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people.
The descendants* of evildoers will not be mentioned for eternity!

²² "And I will rise up against them,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts,
"and I will cut off name and a remnant from Babylon, and offspring and posterity,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁶ And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,* and he will not see when good comes, and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,* in a land of salt flats,* where no one lives.

⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all those who live in your house will go into captivity, and you will go to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you, and all your friends to whom you have prophesied _⌊falsely_⌋.*'"

³⁰ Thus says Yahweh:
"Record this man as childless, a man who will not succeed in his days, for no man from his offspring will succeed him,* sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah."

¹⁶ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am going to send you from the face of the earth. This year you will die because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh.'"

¹⁰ For thus says Yahweh, '_⌊As soon as the time has passed_⌋,* seventy years* for Babylon, I will attend to you, and I will fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope. ¹² Then when you call me, and you come and pray to me, then I will listen to you. ¹³ When you search for me, then you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ And I will let myself be found by you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will restore your fortunes,* and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.'

¹⁹ _⌊therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: 'A man will not be cut off for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, to stand _⌊before me_⌋* _⌊always_⌋.'"*

¹⁷ Therefore, thus says Yahweh, 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword and your land will be divided with a line, and you* will die in an unclean land and Israel will surely go into exile from this land.'"