References (124)
And Jeremiah lamented (Lam.; sang monotonously and drawn out – Hebr. qinen) a lament (Hebr. qina) over Josiah. All the singers and songstresses spoke of Josiah in their lamentations, and still do so today. These songs became widely sung in Israel, and they are recorded among the "Lamentations."
He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord (Yahweh), his God (Elohim). He did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke the word of the Lord.
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) through Jeremiah's mouth would be fulfilled, namely that the land would receive compensation for its Sabbaths—as long as it lay desolate, it had Sabbath—until 70 years had passed.
In order for the word of the Lord (Yahweh) through Jeremiah to be fulfilled, it happened in the first year of the reign of the Persian king Cyrus (Koresh) [538/539 BC], the Lord influenced the mind of the Persian king Cyrus (Koresh) so that he proclaimed the following throughout his kingdom, which was also proclaimed in writing:
And in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia [539 BC] – so that the word of the Lord (Yahweh) through Jeremiah's mouth might be fulfilled [; ] – God (Yahweh) stirred up the spirit [heart, see ] of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he proclaimed (announced) throughout his kingdom, both verbally and in writing:
[The opening phrase "The words of Jeremiah" recurs at the end of the book () before the final appendix. The phrase is a common introduction, see ; ; ; .]
The words [an account] of Jeremiah (Hebr. Yirmeyahó), son of Hilkiah (Hebr. Chilqijaho), one of the priests [from the priestly family of Aaron] in Anathoth [a town a few kilometers northeast of Jerusalem, see ; ] in the land of Benjamin.
Then the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I answered, "I see a branch of an almond tree (Hebr. shaked)."
The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), who said:
This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh). He said:
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
The word that came to Jeremiah (Hebr. Yirmeyahó) from the Lord (Yahweh). He [the Lord] said:
And they say, "Come, let us devise evil plans against Jeremiah, for there is no lack of teaching from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words."
And Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord (Yahweh) had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and said to all the people:
And Pashhur, the son of Immer, the priest, who was the chief officer (Hebr. paqid) in the house of the Lord (Yahweh), heard Jeremiah prophesying these words [plural].
And Pashhur struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin gate in the house of the Lord (Yahweh).
And it came to pass in the morning that Pashhur brought Jeremiah down from the stocks. And Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord (Yahweh) has not given you the name Pashhur, but Woe! Magor Misaviv.
[The name Magor Misaviv means terror on every side. This insulting name stands for two things. It describes the fate that awaits Pashchor and his family and the whole corrupt situation described in these verses. But it also describes the tragedy in the temple, which is God's home. A place where peace and quiet should reign. But instead, it is a place of terror where people do not dare to risk their lives by doing or saying anything that does not suit the leadership.]
[Now follows a collection of messages containing information about the time and the king. For the first time in the book, specific kings of Judah are mentioned. The sections contain Jeremiah's message and also the king's reaction. The fact that the last king, Zedekiah, is mentioned first shows that this is not a chronological order.]
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh) when King Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) [the 20th ruler of the Southern Kingdom – the last] sent to him Pashchor, son of Malkijah, and Zephaniah (Hebr. Tsefanjaho), son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying:
And Jeremiah said to them, "Thus shall you say to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho):
And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
And I answered, "Figs, the good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten."
[The events in this chapter precede those in chapter 24.]
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the days of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah, in the fourth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, which was the first year [corresponding to 605 BC],
which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
And I will bring upon the land all my words that I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.
And the priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord (Yahweh).
And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord (Yahweh) had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You shall surely die.
Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord (Yahweh) and said, 'This house will become like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate, without inhabitants'? And all the people gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord (Yahweh).
And Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, "The Lord (Yahweh) sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.
And there was also [another] man who prophesied in the name of the Lord (Yahweh), Orijaho, the son of Shemaiah from Qirjat-Jearim, and he prophesied against this city [Jerusalem] and against this land in accordance with all the words of Jeremiah.
However, the hand of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah, so that they did not hand him over to the people to be put to death.
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), saying:
But the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah, in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord (Yahweh),
and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! Lord (Yahweh), do so! May the Lord (Yahweh) raise up your words that you have prophesied and bring back the vessels of the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and all those who have been carried away captive from Babylon to this place!
And the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.
And Hananiah declared in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): In this manner, within two years, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations." And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying:
And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah, the Lord (Yahweh) did not send you, and you have made this people believe a lie.
And these are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remnant of the elders of the captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon
And now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has made himself a prophet to you?
And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), he said:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh) in the 10th year of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, which was the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar.
And at that time the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the court of the guard in the house of the king of Judah.
And Jeremiah said, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, saying
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying:
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying:
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying:
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying:
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army and all the kingdoms under his hand and all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, he said:
And the prophet Jeremiah spoke all these words to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, in Jerusalem.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh) after King Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim (proclaim) freedom for them,
Therefore, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh) when Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), was king of Judah [he reigned 609-597 BC], he said:
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying:
And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah says: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Tzevaot), the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of your father Jonadab and kept (guarded, protected, preserved) all his commandments (clear commands) and done according to all that he commanded you,
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), saying:
And Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from Jeremiah's mouth all the provisions of the Lord (Yahweh) that he had spoken to him on a scroll.
And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am confined; I cannot go to the house of the Lord (Yahweh).
And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did all that the prophet Jeremiah commanded him, reading the words of the Lord (Yahweh) from the scroll in the house of the Lord (Yahweh).
And Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) in the chamber of Gemariah (Hebr. Gemarjahos), the scribe, the son of Shaphan, in the upper court at the entrance to the new gate of the house of the Lord (Yahweh), in the ears of all the people.
And the princes said to Baruch, "Go and hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and let no man know where you are."
And the king commanded Jerachmel, the king's son, and Serayaho, the son of Azriel, and Shelemjaho, the son of Avdeel, to take the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the Lord (Yahweh) had hidden them.
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation (literally: "from his mouth"), saying
And Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the scribe, who wrote in it from Jeremiah's mouth all the words of the book that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned in the fire, and many similar words were added to them.
And he and his servants and the people of the land did not listen to the words of the Lord (Yahweh) that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.
And King Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) sent Jehochal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah (Hebr. Tsefanjaho), the son of Maaseiah the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "I beg you, pray for us to the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim)."
And Jeremiah came and went out among the people, for they had not put him in prison.
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying
and Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion among the people.
And he was at the gate of Benjamin, and there was a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, and he seized the prophet Jeremiah and said, "You have defected to the Chaldeans."
And Jeremiah said, "That is a lie; I have not defected to the Chaldeans," but he did not listen to him, and Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.
And the princes were angry with Jeremiah and beat him and put him in prison in the house of the scribe, the house of Jehonathan, for they had made it a prison.
And Jeremiah came to the dungeon and to the cells, and Jeremiah sat there many days.
And King Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) sent and brought him, and the king asked him secretly in his house and said, "Is there any word from the Lord (Yahweh)?" And Jeremiah said, "There is." And he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
And Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "In what have I sinned against you or against your servants or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
And King Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) commanded, and they delivered Jeremiah to the guard of the court, and they gave him a cake of bread daily from the baker's street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
And Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jochal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,
And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son [here a longer form of the name Malikijah is used, see ], which was in the court of the guard, and they let him down with ropes. But there was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
Ebed-Melech, a Cushite [from Nubia, present-day Sudan and parts of Ethiopia], was one of the courtiers who was in the king's palace and heard that they [the other courtiers] had thrown Jeremiah into [the empty but muddy] cistern. At that time, the king [Zedekiah] was sitting in the Benjamin Gate [which served as the court of Jerusalem],
"My lord and king. [Do you know what some of the courtiers have done?] These men have done evil to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into the cistern and left him there to die of hunger, now that there is no more bread in the city [because of the Babylonians' siege of Jerusalem]."
The king then gave this order to Ebed-Melech the Cushite: "Take 30 men from here and pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the well before he dies."
So Ebed-Melech took the men, but first went into the king's house to a room [storage room] under the treasury. There he took some rags and old worn-out clothes and lowered them to Jeremiah in the well with ropes.
Ebed-Melech the Cushite called to Jeremiah, "Put the rags and clothes under your armpits [as padding and protection] under the ropes!" Jeremiah did as he was told,
and they pulled him up out of the cistern with the ropes. But Jeremiah had to stay in the guardhouse [as a prisoner].
Then Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the king, sent [messengers] for the prophet Jeremiah and brought him to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord (Yahweh), and the king said to him, "I will ask you a question; do not hide anything from me."
And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not surely kill me? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."
And Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the Lord (Yahweh) lives, who has made us these souls (let us live), I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."
And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of hosts (Elohim Tzevaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): If you go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, then you (your soul) shall live, and this city [Jerusalem] shall not be burned with fire, and you shall live, you and your house.
And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands and they mock me."
And Jeremiah said, "They will not deliver you. Listen, I beg you, to the voice of the Lord (Yahweh) in what I speak to you, and it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
Then Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know these words, and you shall not die."
And all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded him. And they ceased speaking with him, for the matter was not settled.
And Jeremiah remained in the guardhouse until the day Jerusalem was captured. And it came to pass when Jerusalem was captured.
And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave orders concerning Jeremiah to Nevuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying
and they sent [messengers] and took Jeremiah out of the guardhouse and handed him over to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home to live among the people.
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court, saying:
The word that came to Jeremiah after Nevozaradan, the captain of the guard, had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried away captive to Babylon.
And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "The Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) spoke this evil against this place
And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
and said to the prophet Jeremiah, "Please, we pray, let our prayer be received before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) for all this remnant, for few are left of many, as your eyes can see,
And the prophet Jeremiah said to them, "I have heard you; behold, I will pray to the Lord (Yahweh) your God (Elohim) according to your prov, and it will come to pass that whatever the Lord (Yahweh) answers you, I will tell you; I will not hide anything from you."
And they said to Jeremiah, "The Lord (Yahweh) is a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not do according to all the words that the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) sends [through] you to us.
And it came to pass after ten days that the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah.
And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the word of the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim), which the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim) had sent him to them, all these prov,
that Azariah (Hebr. Azarjah), the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Qareah, and all the proud men said sternly to Jeremiah, "You are speaking lies; the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) has not sent you to say, 'You will not go to Egypt to dwell there,'
the men (men in their prime, full of strength and power) and the women and children and the king's daughters and every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch, the son of Neriah,
And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying:
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who live in the land of Egypt—those who live in Migdol [in northern Egypt] and in Tahpanhes [northeastern Egypt] and in Noph [Memphis, 20 km south of modern Cairo] and in the land of Pathros [Upper Egypt; the valley along the Nile south of Cairo] – and he said:
And all the men who knew that their wives had sacrificed to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros [southern Egypt], answered Jeremiah and said:
And Jeremiah spoke to all the people, to the men and to the women, to all the people who had given him this answer, saying:
And Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:
The word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at Jeremiah's dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), the son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah, saying:
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to Jeremiah concerning the nations.
The word that the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to the prophet Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to strike the land of Egypt. [The verse is a heading to the second section on the fate of Egypt, see .]
[Now follow seven nations between the superpowers of Egypt () in the south and Babylon () in the north. The list goes from south, then east, and finally north.]
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza.
[It could be Pharaoh Psammetichus I, who attacked Gaza at the end of his reign before his death in 610 BC. If it was Pharaoh Necho, it may have been 609 BC or after the battle of Megiddo. The Greek historian Herodotus writes that Necho captured the city of Kadytis (believed to be Gaza) after defeating Josiah at Megiddo. This attack took place in 605 BC on his way back from his victory at Carchemish. It could also be 601 BC, after Necho defeated Nebuchadnezzar.]
The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to the prophet Jeremiah, to Elam [current soutwest Iran, the region where Susa was located, se ], at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah. He said:
The word that the Lord (Yahweh) speaks concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of the prophet Jeremiah.
This word was commanded to the prophet Jeremiah by Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) to Babylon in his fourth year of reign. Seraja was quartermaster (literally: 'chief of the resting place') [he was responsible for the camp during the king's travels].
And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written about Babylon.
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, be sure to read all these words
and you shall say: Thus shall Babylon sink and shall not rise again for all the evil that I will bring upon her, and they shall be exhausted."
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah (here the words of Jeremiah end).
[This phrase forms a frame with the introduction, see .]
During Darius' first year as king, I, Daniel, read the scriptures [including Jeremiah, Isaiah, the Books of Moses, and the Psalms]. I noticed the Lord's words to the prophet Jeremiah that the number of years Jerusalem would lie in ruins had been foretold. It was 70 years.
[The prophet Isaiah mentions Cyrus by name two hundred years earlier, see ; . Jeremiah had prophesied about the Jewish people's 70-year captivity in Babylon, see . The first prophecy came in 605 BC, the same year that Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon, see . Daniel had certainly seen and heard Jeremiah preaching in Jerusalem before he was deported to Babylon as a teenager.
Jer. remains in Jerusalem and writes several letters to his compatriots in Babylon. In one letter, probably written not long after Jerusalem was conquered in 597 BC, see , he reminds them that when 70 years have passed for Babylon, the Jews will be brought back to their land and that God wants to give them peace, a future, and hope, see . When Daniel reads these writings, he has been in Babylon for 66 years. Daniel realizes that there are only a few years left before what Jeremiah prophesied will come to pass. It turns out that in the same year that Daniel writes this, Cyrus will allow the Jews to return, and a first group will eventually travel back to rebuild the temple. The call to prayer in is one of the reasons why Daniel begins to pray when he reads this. Later, Zechariah will also refer to a 70-year period from the destruction of the temple in 586 BC until it was rebuilt and dedicated in 516 BC. It is interesting to see Daniel's view of the Scriptures. As early as the 500s BC, he refers to Jeremiah as the word of God. He also quotes from the Books of Moses and the Psalms in his prayer. See also 2 Chron. 36:20-22. Jeremiah had predicted 70 years of captivity, and Daniel believed in a literal fulfillment of the prophetic word.]
Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, when he said [Jeremiah 31:15]:
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Then what was said by the prophet
Jeremiah was fulfilled:
"They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price set on him,
the price at which some Israelites had valued him,
