Jeremiah

Introduction

[The opening phrase "The words of Jeremiah" recurs at the end of the book (Jer. 51:64) before the final appendix. The phrase is a common introduction, see 2 Sam. 23:1; Amos 1:1; Lam. 1:1; Neh. 1:1.] 1¹Prov [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 Josh. 21:18; 1 Kings 2:26] in the land of Benjamin. ²The word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to him [to Jeremiah in a series of messages over a period of more than 40 years] in the days of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), son of Amon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of his reign [627 BC], ³and further [also] in the days of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah, king of Judah [609-598 BC] until the end of the 11th year [586 BC] when Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), son of Josiah, was king of Judah, when Jerusalem was carried away [into exile to Babylon] in the 5th month [the Jewish month called av (July/August) in 586 BC, see 2 Kings 25:1–21; 2 Chron. 36:4–8].

The last five kings and their reigns in Judah (the southern kingdom) were:

Josiah (Hebr. Joshijaho) (640-609 BC) – the last good king, see 2 Kings 22:1–23:31; 2 Chron. 34–35
Jehoahaz (3 months 609 BC) – 2 Kings 23:31–34
Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim) (609-598 BC) – 2 Kings 23:34–37; 2 Chron. 36:4–8
Jehoiachin (Hebr. Jehojachin) (3 months 598-597 BC) – 2 Kings 24:8; 2 Chron. 36:9
Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) (597-586 BC) – 2 Kings 24:18–20; 2 Chron. 36:11–16

The entire period of Jeremiah's ministry is 40 years and 6 months – 18 years under Josiah and two periods of 11 years each for Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. The summary Bible text does not mention the two short periods of three months when Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin reigned.

Jeremiah's calling

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah, which means "one whom God has raised up"], saying:

⁵"Before I formed you in the womb [Ps. 139:13],
    I chose you.
Before you came forth from the womb,
    I set you apart (sanctified you) [for service].
I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

⁶But I replied, "Alas (oh no), Lord God (Adonai Yahweh, the supreme almighty God, who despite his greatness is still present among his people)! I cannot speak [well enough to represent you], I am too young." [The Hebrew word for young (Hebr. naar) is used both for infants (1 Sam. 4:21) and for young men (Gen. 14:24). Considering Jeremiah's long ministry, it is likely that he was around 20 years old when he received his calling. Humanly speaking, he was young and inexperienced.] ⁷Then the Lord (Yahweh) said to me:

"Do not say that
    you [are] only a youth (Hebr. naar), for wherever I send you
    – you shall go
and whatever I command you to say
    – you shall speak.
⁸Do not be afraid of them (their facial expressions),
    for I am with you and will protect (save) you,"
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth [to sanctify it, see Isa. 6:7], and said to me:

"Behold, I will put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms [as a prophet who will warn of future events and speak God's words], to:

uproot [nations and kingdoms]
    and tear down,
destroy
    and ruin,
build up
    and plant."

First vision

¹¹Then 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)." ¹²Then the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching (Hebr. shoqed) over my word to perform it." [The word for watching over (Hebr. shoqed) shares its root with the word for almond tree (Hebr. shaked) in verse 11. There is also a connection to how the shape of the almond resembles a human eye. God watches over his word with his eye. The almond tree is also the first tree to bloom in spring and is therefore a sign of a new spring and stands as a symbol of the prophetic. Something special is also that the almond tree is the last to lose its leaves in autumn. The seven-branched candlestick in the temple (menorah) that shines at night also has elements designed like almond blossoms, see Ex. 25:33.]

Second vision

¹³And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came a second time and said, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a boiling pot, and its face is from the north."
     ¹⁴Then the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "From the north, evil will come upon all the inhabitants of the land, ¹⁵for I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north," declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),

"and they shall come and set their thrones
    at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem
and against all its walls around
    and against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶And I will pronounce my judgment against them for all their wickedness,
    in that they have forsaken me
and have sacrificed to other gods
    and worshipped the work of their own hands."

¹⁷Now prepare yourself [Jeremiah] to act (gird up your clothes)! Go to them [your countrymen in Judah] and speak all that I command you to say. Do not be afraid of their looks (how their faces look when you speak God's words), for I will give you good reason to be afraid of them (they will mock and break you down). ¹⁸For I myself [the Lord] will make you strong today like a fortified city, [reinforced] with iron pillars and [surrounded on every side by] copper walls. So that you can stand against the whole country, against the kings of Judah, against their princes, against their priests, and against all the people of the countryside. ¹⁹They will attack you, but they will not defeat you, for I will be with you and save you," declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

Condemnation of Judah's apostasy (chapters 2-12)

[The first section consists of seven messages. Unlike later messages, none of these seven are dated or addressed to a specific king. The only exception is in Jer. 7:2. The messages follow a chiastic pattern framed by the introduction in Jer. 1 and the summary in Jer. 11:18–12:17.
A Judah is condemned (Jer. 2:1–3:5)
  B Israel's idolatry (Jer. 3:6–4:2)
    C Danger from the north (Jer. 4:3–6:30)
      D The temple – plea for repentance (Jer. 7:1–8:3)
    C´ Danger from the north (Jer. 8:4–9:26)
  B´ Israel's idolatry (Jer. 10:1–25)
A´ Judah is condemned (Jer. 11:1–17)]

Judah's unfaithfulness (2:1-3:5)

2¹The word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me. He said: ²Go and cry aloud in the ears of Jerusalem [the dual form of ear is used, i.e., "cry aloud in both ears"; the expression emphasizes that Jeremiah is to speak so that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will truly hear and understand the seriousness of the message; but it also has an undertone of speaking to deaf ears] and say:

"Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

I remember the kindness (the caring love – Hebr. chesed) of your youth,
    the love of your marriage,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
    in a land that was not sown. ³Israel is the Lord's (Yahweh's) holy (set apart) portion,
    his firstfruits of the harvest. [Both belong to the Lord, see Ex. 23:19; Lev. 23:10–14; Num. 18:12–13; Deut. 26:1–11. Jerusalem is the apple of God's eye (Zech. 2:8), see also Gen. 12:3; Rom. 1:16.]
All who devour it shall be held guilty,
    evil shall befall them,"
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

⁴Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), O house of Jacob
    and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

What injustice have your fathers found in me,
    that they have departed from me
and have walked after that which is vain
    and have become vain?
⁶They do not ask, "Where is the Lord (Yahweh)
    who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,
    through a land—desolate and with deep holes [dangerous crevices and sinkholes],
    through a land—without water and in the shadow of death [Ps. 23:3],
    through a land that no one travels through and where no one lives?"
⁷And I brought you to a land with fruitful fields
    to eat its fruit and its goodness,
but when you entered, you defiled my land
    and made my inheritance abominable.
⁸The priests did not ask,
    "Where is the Lord (Yahweh)?" [Cf. verse 6.]
And those who were responsible for (administered) my teaching did not know me (were not intimately acquainted with me),
    and the rulers committed transgressions against me.
The prophets prophesied through [the fertility god] Baal [Deut. 13:1–5]
    and walked after these things [plural – idols] that could not help them.

⁹Therefore, I will continue to punish you,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
yes, even your sons' sons I will punish. ¹⁰Go [west] to the islands of the Kittim [Cyprus] and see [ask if this has happened],
    and send [someone eastward] to Kedar [the Bedouin tribes in the desert of Syria, see Gen. 25:13; Jer. 49:28–29; Song 1:5] and [ask them] to investigate carefully,
    and see if such a thing has happened there. ¹¹Has a country [ever] exchanged its gods?
    [Now comes a clarification:] Which [obviously] are not gods.
But my people have exchanged their glory
    for that which is no gain.
¹²Be amazed at this, heavens,
    and be filled with horror (be completely astonished),
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹³For my people have committed a double sin (two evil things),
    they have forsaken me,
        the source of living water [Jer. 17:13],
    and dug for themselves cisterns,
        broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
[The word for wells (Hebr. borot) is repeated twice in this verse. But what is unique here is that the word, probably deliberately, is misspelled both times and contains an alef that should not be there. There is a Jewish tradition surrounding this that says that the word bor (singular of borot) is a well that gets its water from external sources. This means that it can be empty when it does not rain or other water sources do not fill it. Then there is the word beer, which means spring. It is a spring or well that has its own water and therefore never runs dry. By making this deliberate "misspelling," the rabbis believe that Jeremiah wants to show with this word that you think you have a genuine spring, but you are deceiving yourselves. Only God's teaching is life-giving, and you have abandoned the Torah, therefore your wells are worthless and provide no fresh water.] ¹⁴Is Israel a servant?
    Is he a slave born in the house [Ex. 21:4]? [Of course not, see verses 2-3]
Why then has he become prey?
¹⁵The young lions have roared over him
    and made their voices heard
and they have made his land desolate,
    his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitants. ¹⁶Even the sons of Noph [the people of Memphis in Egypt] and Tahpanhes
    feed on the crown of your head. [Israel was humiliated by entering into alliances with Egypt, see Jer. 41:5; 48:37; 2 Sam. 10:4; Isa. 7:20; Ezek. 44:20.] ¹⁷Is this not what has caused you this,
    that you have forsaken the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) when he led you on the way?
¹⁸And what have you now to do on the way to Egypt,
    to drink the waters of Shihor [a branch of the Nile]?
Or what have you to do on the way to Assyria,
    to drink the waters of the river [Euphrates]?
¹⁹Your own wickedness will rebuke you,
    and your missteps will reproach you.
Know therefore and see
    that it is an evil and bitter thing
that you have rejected the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim),
    nor is there reverence for me in you,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot). ²⁰For since ancient times I have broken your yoke
    and burst your bonds,
    and you said, "I will not transgress."
But on every high hill
    and under every leafy tree
    you have reclined and practiced prostitution.
    [Worshipped idols on the hills, see Deut. 12:2; 1 Kings 14:13; 2 Kings 17:10; Isa. 57:5; 65:7; Ezek. 6:12; 20:28; Hos. 4:13.] ²¹I have planted you as a noble vine,
    a true variety (true seed).
How have you become to me
    a strange wild vine (a degenerate plant)?
²²For though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap [Mal. 3:2],
    your sins are before me,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Adonai Yahweh). ²³How can you say, "I am not defiled,
    I have not gone after the Baals"?
Look at your way in the valley,
    know what you have done,
you are a swift young camel
    that zigzags on its paths [without knowing where it is going],
²⁴a wild ass accustomed to the desert,
    sniffing her desires in the wind,
    her lust, who can stop her?
All those [males] who seek her shall not tire themselves out,
    in her month they shall find her. ²⁵Keep your foot from being hurt
    and your throat from thirst,
but you say, "It is useless to try to stop me (there is no hope),
    for I love strangers [foreign gods]
    and I want to follow them." ²⁶As the thief is ashamed when he is found (caught red-handed),
    so is the house of Israel in shame,
they, their kings, their princes, and
    their priests and their prophets. ²⁷Who says to a piece of wood, "You are my father,"
    and to a stone, "You have brought us forth,"
for they have turned their backs on me
    and not their faces,
but in times of trouble they will say,
    "Arise and save us."
²⁸But where are the gods you have made for yourself?
    Let them stand up if they can save you
    in your time of trouble [Deut. 32:37–38; Isa. 43:8–13; 44:6–23].
For as many as your cities [equally numerous]
    have your gods become, O Judah. ²⁹Why do you contend (fight) with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ³⁰In vain have I smitten your sons,
    they did not receive any rebuke.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
    like a destroying lion [that tears its prey to pieces, see Ps. 7:3; 10:9; Isa. 5:29]. ³¹Generation (this race), see the word of the Lord (Yahweh).

Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of thick darkness?
For what reason does my people say:
    "We have broken away (we want to be free to wander around – Hebr. rod),
    we will no longer come to you!"
³²Can a virgin forget her jewelry [her adornment, see Ezek. 16:11–12],
    or a bride her attire?
My people have forgotten me
    for days without number (that cannot be counted).
³³How skilled you are at finding the way (how well you arrange your path) to seek love!
    Therefore, even the wicked woman has learned your ways.
³⁴Even in your clothes, the blood of innocent poor souls is found,
    you did not find them breaking into your houses [where killing would then have been justifiable, see Ex. 22:2].
Because of all this ³⁵and you say [nevertheless]:
    "I am innocent,
his wrath has surely turned away from me."
    Behold, I will judge you because you say, "I have not sinned."
³⁶How can you not humble yourself [same imagery as in verse 23]
    to change your ways!
You shall also be ashamed of Egypt
    as you are ashamed of Assyria. ³⁷From him you shall go forth
    with your hands over your head,
for the Lord (Yahweh) has rejected those in whom you put your trust,
    and you shall have no success with them. 3¹He says:

If a man divorces his wife
    and she leaves him and becomes another man's,
shall he return to her again?
    Will not the land be greatly polluted? [Deut. 24:1–4]
But you have been a prostitute with many lovers,
    and yet you want to return to me [Hos. 2:7],
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

²Lift up your eyes to the bare heights [Judah] and see!
    Where have you not lain [defiled yourself with idols, see Jer. 2:20]?
You have sat by the roadsides for them [waiting for your lovers]
    like an Arab in the wilderness [known for robbing passing caravans, see Hos. 6:9]
and you have defiled the land
    with your prostitution and your wickedness.
³And the showers have been withheld
    and there has been no late rain [spring rain, before the harvest, see 1 Kings 17:1],
yet you have the forehead of a prostitute,
    you refuse to be ashamed.
⁴Have you not cried out to me at this time,
    My Father, you are the friend of my youth?
⁵Will he harbor resentment forever?
    Will he keep (guard, protect) it until the end?
Behold, you have spoken
    but have done evil as you were able (had the opportunity).

Unfaithful Israel

⁶And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what apostate Israel is doing? She goes up on every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and there she engages in prostitution. ⁷And I said, After she has done all these things, she will return to me, but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. ⁸And I saw that because Israel has taken every opportunity to commit adultery, I have rejected her and given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her deceitful sister Judah did not fear, but she too committed adultery. ⁹And it came to pass, because of her prostitution, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with logs. [Stones and logs are the materials from which idols are made.] ¹⁰And despite all this, her deceitful sister Judah has not turned back to me with all her heart, but remains in her lies, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
     ¹¹And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me: Apostate Israel has proven to be more righteous than her deceitful sister Judah. ¹²Go and proclaim these words to the north and say:

Return, you apostate Israel, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
    I will not hide my face from you,
for I am gracious (caring love – Hebr. chesed), declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
    I will not be angry forever. ¹³But (first – Hebr. ach) know (understand, realize) your sin [Ps. 32:5; Prov 28:13]
    that you have committed against the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim)
when you have wandered here and there (strayed from your ways) to strangers [foreign gods]
    under every leafy tree [where you practiced prostitution, see Jer. 2:20], but have not listened to my voice,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁴Return, backsliding sons, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), for I am your Lord (Adonai), and I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, when I multiply you and cause you to bear fruit in the land, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), then they shall no longer say: The ark of the covenant of the Lord (Yahweh), and it shall not come to mind, and it shall not be remembered, and it shall not be missed (visited), and it shall not be made again. ¹⁷At that time, Jerusalem shall be called "the throne of the Lord (Yahweh)," and all nations shall gather to it, to the name of the Lord (Yahweh), to Jerusalem. And they shall no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. ¹⁸In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together from the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to their fathers. ¹⁹And I say:

How can I not place you among the sons
    and give you a wonderful land,
    the best inheritance among the nations!
And I said: You shall call me my Father
    and shall not turn away from following me. ²⁰Truly, as a deceitful wife leaves her husband,
    so you have acted deceitfully toward me, O house of Israel,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
²¹A voice (listen)! On the bare heights
    a pleading cry is heard from the sons of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways,
    they have forgotten the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim).
²²Return, backsliding sons,
    I will heal your backsliding.
Here we are, we come to you
    because you are the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim).
²³Truly, to falsehood (Hebr. sheqer)
    from the hills [with idol temples] – the tumult (noise, rumbling) on the mountains.
    [May refer to many worshippers, many idols or priests, see Deut. 23:17].
Truly, in the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim)
    is Israel's salvation. ²⁴But shameful things have devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. ²⁵Let us lie down in our shame and let our confusion cover us, because we have sinned against the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim), we and our fathers, from our youth to this day, and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim). 4¹If you are willing to return, Israel,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
return to me
    and if you are willing to cast away your distasteful things from my sight
    and are not willing to waver,
²and swear by the Lord (Yahweh),
    in truth, in righteousness, and in justice,
then the lands will bless themselves in him
    and in him they will have their glory.

Destruction from the north

³Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
    Break up your fallow ground
    and do not sow among thorns.
⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord (Yahweh) [Lev. 12:3; Deut. 10:16; Jer. 31:33; Rom. 2:25–28]
    and remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
lest my wrath go forth like fire
    and burn so that no one can quench it from my presence,
    because of your evil deeds. ⁵Proclaim in Judah and make it known in Jerusalem, and say,
    Blow the shofar in the land,
cry aloud and say,
    Gather yourselves together and let us go to the fortified cities.
⁶Rev a banner [in the direction] of Zion. [Raise a signal flag to lead those seeking refuge to Jerusalem],
    seek refuge (save yourself), do not stand still,
for I will bring evil from the north [the Babylonians, see Jer. 1:13–14],
    a great destruction. ⁷A lion has risen (arisen) from its thicket
    and a destroyer of nations has set out
and gone from his place to make the land desolate,
    so that its cities are destroyed without inhabitants.
⁸Therefore, clothe yourself in sackcloth,
    Lam. and weep,
because the wrath of the Lord (Yahweh)
    will not turn away from us.
⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord (Yahweh),
    that the heart of the king and the princes shall faint (they shall lose courage)
and the priests shall be astonished
    and the prophets shall wonder. ¹⁰And I said, "Alas (oh no), Lord of lords (Adonai Yahweh), you have truly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You shall have peace (shalom),' but the sword has been stretched out against the throat (Hebr. nefesh) [our lives are threatened, see also Ps. 69:2; 105:18; Prov 23:2; Jonah 2:6]. ¹¹At that time it shall be said to this people [Judah] and to Jerusalem, a burning (dry) wind from the barren heights of the desert [shall sweep down upon] the daughter of my people,
not to winnow or to cleanse [grain]. ¹²A wind too strong for this shall come upon me, now I will also speak justice with them. [The wind probably refers to the sirocco, a strong desert wind that was too strong to separate the chaff from the wheat, because it carried away both the wheat and the chaff. God's judgment is likened to this wind that strikes both the good and the wicked.] ¹³Behold, he comes up like a cloud,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind,
    his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us!
    For we are perishing. ¹⁴Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem, so that you may be saved.
    How long will your evil thoughts dwell within you?
¹⁵A voice (listen) tells from Dan
    and disaster is heard from the mountains of Ephraim.
¹⁶Tell (recite) to the nations,
    see, let it be heard over Jerusalem,
scouts come from a distant land
    and make (let be heard) their voices over the cities of Judah.
¹⁷Like watchmen in the field, they surround her,
    because she has rebelled against me,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁸Your ways and your deeds
    have brought these things upon you,
this is your wickedness,
    it is bitter, it reaches into the heart. ¹⁹[I said:] My belly! My belly!
    I writhe in pain, the chambers of my heart, my heart aches within me.
    I cannot be silent,
    because you have heard the voice of the shofar, my soul, the alarm of war (the battle cry). [The word for belly can refer to anything from just the intestines to the entire lower region, but also the entire torso. In this verse, one can assume that the entire body is affected.]
²⁰One disaster after another is proclaimed,
    because the whole land is laid waste (spilled).
Suddenly my tent is destroyed,
    my tent cloths in an instant.
²¹How long shall I see banners [banners carried by the army in battle],
    hear the sound of the shofar? ²²Because my people are fools,
    they do not know me,
they are simple sons
    and they lack understanding,
they are wise in doing evil,
    but they lack knowledge of doing good. ²³I look at the earth, and behold, it is desolate and empty [Gen. 1:2]
    and at the heavens, and there is no light. ²⁴I look at the mountains, and behold,
    they tremble, and all the hills move back and forth.
²⁵I look and see, no man
    and all the birds of the heavens have fled.
²⁶I look, and behold, the fertile fields are a desert
    and all its cities are broken down before the Lord (Yahweh) and before his fierce anger. ²⁷Therefore, the Lord (Yahweh) says this:

The whole land shall be desolate,
    but I will not completely destroy it. ²⁸Over this the earth shall mourn
    and the heavens above shall be blackened (darkened)
because I have spoken it, it is my plan,
    I will not change my mind and I will not take it back. ²⁹At the sound of horsemen and archers,
    the whole city flees,
they go into the thickets
    and up on the rocks,
all the cities are abandoned
    and no one lives there. ³⁰And you, who are devastated [Judah], what are you doing? Why do you dress in scarlet [precious clothes] and cover yourself with gold jewelry? Why do you make your eyes large with paint [put on makeup]?
    You have vainly adorned yourself,
your lovers despise you,
    they seek your soul (your life).
³¹For I have heard a voice like that of a woman in labor,
    the anguish of her who is giving birth to her first child,
the voice of the daughter of Zion, gasping for air,
    waving her hands:
Woe is me,
    for my soul is given over to those who slaughter. 5¹Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem

and see and know
    and seek in its spacious places (squares),
if you can find a man,
    if there is anyone who does what is right, who seeks truth (faithfulness)
    and I will forgive her [the city].
²And if they say, "The Lord (Yahweh) lives,"
    they surely swear falsely. ³Lord (Yahweh), are not your eyes turned toward truth (faithfulness)?
    You have struck them, but they were not affected.
    You have consumed them, but they have refused to accept correction,
they have made their faces harder than rock,
    they have refused to turn back.
⁴And I said: These are truly [spiritually] poor,
    they are fools,
for they do not know the ways of the Lord (Yahweh)
    and the commandments (binding legal decisions) of God (Elohim).
⁵I myself will go to the great [leaders]
    and speak with them,
because they do not know the ways of the Lord (Yahweh)
    and the commandments (binding legal decisions) of their God (Elohim).
But they have all broken the yoke
    and torn off the bonds. [Jer. 2:20] ⁶Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will destroy them,
a leopard will lie in wait (lie in ambush) near their cities,
    all who go out from there will be torn to pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their apostasy has multiplied. ⁷Why should I excuse you?
    Your sons have forsaken me and sworn allegiance to false gods,
and when I have fed them to the full,
    they have committed adultery
    and gathered in crowds at the houses of prostitutes.
⁸They have become like well-fed horses, lustful (in heat) stallions,
    every man neighing after his neighbor's wife. [Jer. 3:6–10] ⁹Shall I not punish you for these things?
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
And shall not my soul take vengeance on such a nation as this? [The phrase recurs in verse 29.] ¹⁰Go up to their [Judah's] vineyard terraces and destroy [Isa. 5:1–7],
    but do not completely destroy them [Jer. 4:27],
remove her shoots (vines, new branches) [representing the people],
    for they are not the Lord's (Yahweh).
¹¹Because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have acted treacherously against me,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹²They have lied about the Lord (Yahweh)
    and they have said: It is not he,
evil shall not come upon us,
    we shall not see the sword, nor famine.
¹³And the prophets shall become wind,
    the word is not in them.
    So shall it be done to them.
¹⁴Therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh), God of hosts (Elohim Sebaot):

Because [since you behave like ostriches] you speak these words,
    behold, I will make the words in your mouth a fire
    and this people wood, and it (the fire) shall devour them. [The word jaan used here means both "because" and "to consider," but it also shares a root with the word for ostrich and therefore also refers to the ostrich's behavior of sticking its head in the sand.]
¹⁵Behold, I will bring a nation from afar over you [from Babylon, see Jer. 4:16], O house of Israel,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
It is a tough people,
    it is an ancient people,
a people whose language you do not know
    and you do not understand what they say. ¹⁶Their pots are an open grave,
    they are all mighty men (men in their prime, full of their own strength and power).
¹⁷And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,
    they shall devour your sons and your daughters,
they shall eat up your small livestock and your flocks,
    they shall eat up your wine and your fig trees,
they shall smite your fortified cities, in which you trust,
    with the sword. ¹⁸But even in those days, declares the Lord (Yahweh), I will not completely destroy you. [See verse 10; Jer. 4:27] ¹⁹And this will happen because you say, "Why has the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) done all this to us?" And you shall say to them, "As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in the land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours. ²⁰Tell this in the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah, saying:

²¹Hear this, I beg you, foolish people without understanding,
    who have eyes but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear [Ps. 115:6; 135:17]:
²²Do you not fear (revere) me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh)?
    Should you not tremble before my face?
Who has laid the sand by the sea,
    an eternal decree (literally "things engraved") that cannot be changed?
Though the waves crash [over the shore], they cannot defeat it [wash away the sand].
    They roar, but they cannot get past [get up on and pass inside the shore].
²³But this people has a rebellious and rebellious heart,
    they have rebelled and gone their own way. ²⁴And they do not say in their hearts:
    Let us now revere (fear) the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) [Prov 1:7; 9:10]
who gives the early rain (autumn rain) and the late rain (spring rain) in its season,
    who keeps (guards, protects, preserves) for us the appointed weeks of harvest.
²⁵Your sins have turned these things away
    and your transgressions have withheld good from you.
²⁶For among my people are wicked men, they spy,
    like bird catchers they lie in wait, they set a trap, they catch men. ²⁷As a cage is full of birds,
    so their houses are full of deceit,
therefore they have become great and rich. ²⁸They have become fat,
    they are prosperous,
they abound in evil deeds,
    they do not defend the needy,
nor the fatherless to make them prosperous,
    and the poor do not receive justice in judgment. ²⁹Shall I not punish you for these things?
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
And shall not my soul take vengeance on such a people as this? [The same phrase is found in verse 9 and frames it.] ³⁰Destruction and terror
    will come upon the land.
³¹The prophets prophesy lies [Deut. 18:14–22]
    and the priests rule by their own authority
and my people love it that way.
    What then shall they do after this?

Jerusalem under siege

6¹Seek refuge, sons of Benjamin,
    [flee] from the midst of Jerusalem!
And blow the shofar in Tekoa [16 km south of Jerusalem]
    and raise a warning signal (light a beacon) over Beit-Kerem [6 km south of Jerusalem],
because evil is looking out [threatening] from the north [Babylon]
    with great destruction. ²The attractive (pleasant, beautiful) and indulgent (sensitive, fragile)
    I will destroy (cut down), the daughter of Zion. ³The shepherds with their flocks come to her,
    they pitch their tents around her,
    each one grazing by his hand. ⁴Prepare for battle against her,
    arise and let us go up at noon.
Woe to us, for the day is fading,
    the shadows of the afternoon are lengthening. ⁵Arise, let us go up by night
    and let us destroy her palaces. ⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty (Yahweh Sebaot) says:

Cut down her trees
    and throw up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished,
    oppression is everywhere in her midst. ⁷Like a cistern overflowing with water,
    so she overflows with wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her.
    Before me are sickness and wounds. ⁸Let yourself be rebuked, Jerusalem,
    lest my soul be cut off from you,
lest I make you desolate,
    a land without inhabitants. ⁹Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

One shall surely gather
    the remnant of Israel like grapes.
Turn your hand like a grape picker
    over the shoots (the new branches).
¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning
    so that they will listen?
Behold, their ear is sluggish (closed)
    and they cannot pay attention.
Behold, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) has become a reproach to them,
    they have no pleasure (love for, joy) in it.
¹¹Therefore, I am filled with the wrath of the Lord (Yahweh),
    I am tired of holding back,
pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the gathering of young men,
because even the man with his wife shall be caught,
    the old man with the one who is full of days (has filled the measure of his days).
¹²And their houses shall be given to others,
    along with their fields and their wives,
for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹³For from the least of them to the greatest of them
    they are all greedy for gain,
and from the prophet to the priest
    they all practice falsehood (deception).
¹⁴And they have healed the wound of my people lightly (not taken it seriously) and said,
    Peace, peace (Hebr. shalom shalom; double peace, tranquility, wholeness—complete harmony),
    but there is no peace (shalom).
¹⁵They should be ashamed because they have done abominable things,
    but they are not ashamed,
    they do not know how to blush.
Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall,
    at the time when I punish those who stumble,
    says the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁶Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Stand at the crossroads
    and look, and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But they say, "We will not walk in it."
¹⁷And I have set watchmen over you:
    Pay attention to the voice of the shofar.
But they say,
    "We will not pay attention."
¹⁸Therefore, listen, O peoples,
    and know, O congregation,
    who is against them. ¹⁹Hear, O earth!
    Behold, I will bring evil upon this people,
    the fruit of their thoughts,
because they have not paid attention
    to my words
    and to my teaching.
They have rejected it. ²⁰What use to me is the incense that comes from Sheba
    and the sweet cane from distant lands?
Your burnt offerings do not bring me mercy (conditional mercy – Hebr. ratson),
    and your sacrifices do not please me. ²¹Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, I will set stumbling blocks before this people
    and the fathers and sons together shall stumble over them,
    the neighbor and his friend, and they shall perish. ²²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, a people is coming from the north
    and a great nation shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. ²³They carry bows and swords (shorter curved swords – Hebr.: kidon)
    they are cruel and without mercy.
With a noise like the roar of the sea, they ride on horses,
    armed for battle against you, poor Zion. [Cf. Jer. 50:41–42 where the same words are directed against Babylon.]
²⁴We have heard the rumor about them [the people from the north],
    our hands grow weak,
anxiety has taken hold of us
    and pain like that of a woman in labor. ²⁵Do not go out into the field
    and do not walk on the road,
for the sword of the enemy is there,
    terror on every side.
²⁶Daughter of my people [dearly loved as a daughter, cf. Jer. 4:11],
    clothe yourself with sackcloth and roll in ashes.
Mourn as for an only son,
    with the most bitter Lam.,
for the destroyer has suddenly
    come upon us. ²⁷I have set a refiner (one who evaluates metals; a tower – Hebr. bachon)
    among my people,
a stronghold,
    and you shall test (Hebr. bachan) their ways. [A tester tests metals and determines their quality, whether they measure up and can be approved. Another vocalization also gives the meaning "tower." The word has the same root as the verb to test. The noun tester is used only here, the verb to test is used 29 times.]

²⁸All are greedy rebels, going about with gossip; they are copper and iron. All act deceitfully. ²⁹The bellows work (blow) frantically
    so that the fire can purify the lead,
but the caster works in vain,
    evil is not separated (removed).
³⁰They shall be called despised silver,
    because the Lord (Yahweh) has rejected them.

False religion

7¹The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), who said: ²Stand in the gate of the Lord's (Yahweh's) house [the temple in Jerusalem]. There you shall proclaim this message: [Jeremiah's name means "the Lord is exalted" or "the Lord raises up." The year is 609 BC, and it is probably during one of the three major pilgrimage festivals when many people are in Jerusalem that he receives this call. Here, between the inner and outer temple courts, Jeremiah is to deliver one of his most difficult but important messages.]

Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord (Yahweh)!
[The message is to the southern kingdom, Judah. The northern kingdom, Israel, has already fallen because of its sin, and the people are scattered in Assyria.] ³Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot),
    the God of Israel (Elohim):

Change your ways and your deeds (make a radical change in your lives; do good),
    and I will dwell among you in this place [in the temple and in the land of Israel].
⁴Stop putting your trust in the lying words [of the false prophets] who say,
    "This is the temple of the Lord (Yahweh),
    the temple of the Lord (Yahweh),
    the temple of the Lord (Yahweh)." [As if the temple and the buildings themselves would protect Jerusalem.] ⁵No, only if you truly change (do good, good – Hebr. jatav jatav) your ways (your life) and your deeds [verse 3].
    If you judge fairly between a man and his fellow man (neighbor),
     ⁶do not oppress the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow,
    do not let innocent blood flow in this place [in Jerusalem]
    and do not harm yourselves by following other gods.
⁷If you stop doing all these things [and start living according to the commandments, see Ex. 20:13],
    then I will dwell among you in this place,
    in the land that I gave to your fathers from ancient times and for all time to come.

⁸Behold, you trust in the words of lies that cannot benefit you.
     ⁹Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, sacrifice to Baal, and follow other gods that you do not know, ¹⁰and come and stand before me in this house, where my name is called, and say, 'We are delivered,' when you do all these abominations? ¹¹Has this house, where my name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? [Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46] Behold, I too have seen it, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
     ¹²Now go, I beg you [Israel], to my place that was in Shiloh [40 km north of Jerusalem], where I first let my name dwell [where the tabernacle stood for 300 years], and see what I have done to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³And now that you [the people of Judah] have done all these things [the same or worse than Israel in the north when the tabernacle stood in Shiloh], declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), I rose early [metaphor for commitment and devotion] and spoke to you [again and again], but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer, ¹⁴therefore I will do to this house, where my name is called, in which you trust, and to this place, which I gave to you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. ¹⁵And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, the whole seed of Ephraim.
     ¹⁶And you, do not pray for this people, do not lift up any cry or plea for them, do not intercede with me, for I will not listen to you. ¹⁷Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, so that they provoke me. ¹⁹Do they provoke me, declares the Lord (Yahweh), do they not provoke themselves to their own shame (to the confusion of their own faces)?
     ²⁰Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, my wrath and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man and upon beast, upon the trees of the field and upon the fruit of the ground, and it shall burn and not be quenched.
     ²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. [The burnt offering was to be burned completely and nothing was to be eaten (Lev. 1:3–9). The other sacrifices were to be burned partially, while selected parts were to be eaten. With sarcasm, the Lord says that he does not care about the sacrifices, as they no longer make any difference to the evil that is already being done, see 1 Sam. 15:22; Prov 15:8; Isa. 1:11–13; Hos. 6:6; Amos 4:4–5; 5:21–22; Mic. 6:6–8; Matt. 23:23.] ²²For I did not speak to your fathers or command them when (on the day – Hebr. bejom) I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, ²³but I commanded them these things, saying, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God (Elohim), and you shall be my people, and walk in all the ways that I command you, that it may be well with you. ²⁴But they did not listen or incline their ears [to hear carefully], but walked in their own counsels, in the stubbornness of their hearts, and went backward, not forward. ²⁵Ever since the day your fathers came out of Egypt to this day, even though I have sent all my servants the prophets, sent them early in the morning [again and again, see also verse 13] ²⁶they have not listened to me, nor turned their ears [to hear], but have stiffened their necks. They have been worse than their fathers.
     ²⁷And you shall speak all these prov to them, but they shall not listen to you. And you shall call to them, but they shall not answer you. ²⁸And you shall say to them: This is the people who do not listen to the voice of the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim), who do not accept correction. Truth (faithfulness) is gone and has been cut off from their mouths. ²⁹Cut off your hair and throw it away, and raise a lament on the bare heights [the high hills without vegetation], for the Lord (Yahweh) has rejected and forsaken his angry generation. ³⁰Because the sons of Judah have done what is evil in my sight, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), they have placed their distasteful things in the house over which my name is called, to defile it. ³¹And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. ³²Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when this place shall no longer be called Topheth, the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter. And they shall bury in Topheth, for lack of place. [Jer. 19:6] ³³And the bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. ³⁴And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall be desolate. [Jer. 16:9; 25:10] 8¹At that time, declares the Lord (Yahweh), they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of the princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves, ²and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and the host of heaven (the stars) that they have loved and that they have served and after which they have walked and which they have sought and which they have worshipped. They shall not be gathered or buried, but shall be like dung on the face of the earth. ³Death shall be chosen rather than life by all who remain, who are left of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot). ⁴And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Does anyone fall without getting up again?
    Does not the one who is on the wrong path turn back and return?
⁵Why does this people of Jerusalem keep falling away?
    They stick to their lies and refuse to turn back. ⁶I am attentive and listening,
    but they do not speak rightly,
no one repents of his wickedness
    and says, 'What have I done?
Every man turns to his own way,
    like a horse rushing headlong into battle.
⁷Even the stork in the sky
    knows its appointed time,
and the turtledove, the swallow, and the swift
    keep (guard, protect, preserve) the time when they are to move [migrate],
but my people do not know
    the Lord's (Yahweh's) commandments (binding legal decisions).
[These migratory birds know when it is time to move to the right place at the right time.] ⁸How can you say, "We are wise (intelligent)
    and the teaching of the Lord (Yahweh) is with us"?
Woe! See, falsehood is used
    by the pen of the writers—falsehood. ⁹The wise (prudent) are ashamed,
    they are dismayed and trapped.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord (Yahweh)
    and what wisdom is there in them?
¹⁰Therefore, I will give their wives to others
    and their fields to those who will occupy them,
from the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain,
from the prophet to the priest,
    all practice falsehood (act deceitfully).
¹¹And they have taken lightly the healing of the daughter
    of my people's injury
and said, Peace, peace (Hebr. shalom shalom; double peace, tranquility, wholeness—complete harmony),
    where there is no peace. [Jer. 6:14] ¹²They shall be ashamed because they have committed abominations,
    they are not ashamed and they do not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall,
    in their time of visitation they shall stumble,
says the Lord (Yahweh).

¹³I will devour them completely,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
there are no grapes on the vine,
    no figs on the fig tree,
and the leaves have withered,
    and I will give them their transgressions. ¹⁴Why are we sitting here? [Jer. 4:5; 9:15; 23:15]
    Let us gather together
and go into the fortified cities
    and let us be cut off (cut down) there [let us die fighting],
because the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) has cut us off (cut us down) [condemned us to death]
    and given us gall to drink,
    because we have sinned against the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁵We expected peace (shalom),
    but no good,
a time for healing,
    but behold, terror [comes].
¹⁶The snorting of his horses
    is heard from Dan,
at the sound of the neighing of his mighty ones,
    the whole land trembles,
and they come and devour the land
    and all that is in it,
    the city and those who dwell in it.
¹⁷For behold, I will send serpents [Num. 21:6], basilisks (poisonous snakes), among you,
    which shall not be charmed,
    and they shall bite you,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁸I comfort myself over my sorrow,
    my heart is faint within me.
¹⁹Behold, a voice, the daughter of my people cries out
    from a land far away:
Is not the Lord (Yahweh) in Zion?
    Is not the king in her?
Why have they provoked me with their carved idols
    and with foreign vanity?
²⁰The harvest is past,
    and summer is ended,
    and we are not saved (rescued).
²¹Over the pain (broken bones, suffering) of the daughter of my people, I am crushed with anguish,
    I am ashes, terror has me in its grip.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is the health of the daughter of my people not restored? 9¹Oh, that my head were water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
    for the daughter of my people who has fallen. ²Who has given me in the desert
    a resting place for travelers
so that I may leave my people
    and depart from them!
For they are all adulterers,
    a band of treacherous traitors.
³And they twist their tongues and bow to lies, and they have grown great in the land, but not in truth, but they continue from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁴Every man must keep (guard, protect, preserve) himself from his neighbor and trust no brother, for all brothers act deceitfully (subtly) and every neighbor goes about with gossip.
⁵And everywhere they defame (Hebr. talal) their neighbor, and they do not speak the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, and they tire themselves with sinning (distorting). ⁶They have their dwelling in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁷Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Behold, I will melt them and test them (as metal is tested),
    how else shall I deal with the daughter of my people?
⁸Their tongue is a sharp arrow,
    it speaks deceitfully,
a man speaks peace (shalom) to his neighbor with his mouth,
    but in his heart he lies in wait for him. ⁹Shall I not punish them for these things?
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
Shall not my soul take vengeance
    on such a people as this?
¹⁰The mountains shall take up a cry and a lament,
    and the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation,
because they are burned so that no one passes by.
    And they do not hear the voice of cattle,
both the birds of the heavens and
    the animals of the field have fled, they are gone.
¹¹And I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
    a dwelling place for jackals,
and I will make the cities of Judah desolate,
    without inhabitants. ¹²Who is a wise man that understands this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken and told about her [Jerusalem]? Why is this land destroyed and laid waste like a desert so that no one passes by? ¹³And the Lord (Yahweh) said: They have forsaken my teaching that I have set before them, and have not listened to my voice, nor walked in it, ¹⁴but have walked after the stubbornness of their hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them. ¹⁵Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them gall to drink. ¹⁶I will scatter them among the nations, which neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. ¹⁷Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Consider and call for the mourners (lamenters, mourners – Hebr. qinen) to come,
    send for the most skilled women [the most experienced professional mourners], so that they may come. ¹⁸And let them hurry to take up lamentation over us,
    so that our eyes may overflow with tears and our eyelids may gush with water. ¹⁹For a voice of lamentation is heard from Zion:
    How are we not destroyed!
We are greatly confused
    because we have forsaken the land,
    because our dwellings have cast us out. ²⁰Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), O women, and let your ears receive the words of his mouth.
    And teach your daughters lamentation, and each one her neighbor lamentation. ²¹Because death [the plague, see Jer. 15:2] enters (goes up) through our windows [the people thought they were safe with barred doors], it [death/the plague] has entered our palaces
    to cut off (slay) our little ones from the streets and our young men from the squares (the open places).
²²Speak! Thus says (proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh):
    And the bodies of men shall be like dung in the open field
    and like a handful after the reaper, which no one gathers. ²³Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Let not the wise man glory in (boast of, praise himself for) his wisdom.
Let not the mighty (influential, strong) glory in (boast about, praise himself for) his strength.
Let not the rich glory in (boast about, praise himself for) his riches. ²⁴But let those who seek glory take pride in this [if anyone is to boast or praise themselves for something, let it be this]:

That he understands and knows (has personal experience of) me, that I am the Lord (Yahweh),
who here on earth acts (works) in:
    love (loyal, faithful love, grace),
    justice (the decision-making process itself, judging fairly), and
    righteousness (purity, love, goodness, faithfulness, help, peace, success, and happiness),
for in this I have my joy (satisfaction), declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), when I will punish all those who are circumcised in their uncircumcision. ²⁶Against Egypt and against Judah and against Edom and against the sons of Ammon and against Moab and against all who have cut the corners of their hair, who dwell in the desert. [The Greek historian Herodotus mentions Arab desert peoples who cut the corners of their hair (see the work History, 3:8 – from the 4th century BC). The hairstyle is an outward sign of idolatry, see Jer. 25:23; 49:32; Lev. 19:27; Deut. 14:1.] For all nations are uncircumcised, but the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart [Acts 7:51].

God and idols

10¹Hear the word that the Lord (Yahweh) speaks to you, O house of Israel. ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Do not learn (literally: do not become apprentices to) the ways of the nations,
    do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
    because the nations are terrified by them.
³For the customs of the nations are vanity,
    because it is a tree cut down from the forest,
    worked by the hand of a woodcutter with an axe. ⁴They cover it with silver and gold
    and fasten it with nails and hammers
    so that it cannot move.
⁵They are like pillars in the cucumber field
    and do not speak.
They must be carried
    because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
    because they cannot do [anything] evil,
    nor can they do good. [But I, Jeremiah, say:]
⁶There is no one, no one but you, Lord (Yahweh),
    you are great,
    great and mighty is your name.
⁷Who would not fear you,
    you King of the nations?
    It belongs to you [it is entirely fitting, you deserve respect].
For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms
    there is no one, no one like you.
⁸But they [the wise of this world, see also Ps. 115:8] are all brutal (brutal, unfeeling) and foolish (stubborn),
    the rebuke (teaching – Hebr. mosar) is futile [plural – in every way futile] like a wooden stick [equally dead, deaf, silent, and mute].
⁹Silver hammered into dishes brought from Tarshish
    and gold from Ophir,
the work of craftsmen and goldsmiths,
    blue and purple are their clothes, they are skillfully made.
¹⁰But the Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) is true,
    he is the living God (Elohim) and eternal King.
At his wrath the earth trembles
    and the nations cannot endure his fury (foaming at the mouth).

¹¹[Here the language shifts to Aramaic.] Thus shall you say to them:

Gods [these idols]
    which the heavens
        and the earth
            have not made (Aramaic la´avadu), [shall]
            be destroyed (Aramaic je´vadul)
        from the earth
    and from under the heavens
these.

[It is the only Aramaic verse in the entire book of Jeremiah, which makes it stand out (Aramaic text appears in only 269 verses in the Old Testament, see Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12–26; Dan. 2:4–7:28). This verse is the central and climactic point in the contrast between the Lord and idols in verses 2-16. God is the living God (verse 10) who created the earth and the heavens (verse 12), not idols. After the three introductory Aramaic words, "Thus shall you say to them," there follow ten words structured in a chiasm. Central to this is an Aramaic play on words with the verbs "made" and "destroyed," which are similar in Aramaic. This reinforces how these idols, which have done nothing, will completely disappear. The destruction on earth is described from God's perspective – I will destroy from under the heavens, see also Ex. 17:14; Deut. 9:14.] ¹²He who has made the earth with his strength and power,
    who has established the world with his wisdom
    and has stretched out (expanded) the heavens (universe) with his knowledge (understanding, insight).
    [See also 2 Sam. 22:10; Jer. 51:15]
¹³At the voice of his utterance, the sound (noise) of [mighty] waters in the heavens,
    he causes the vapors to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
    and brings forth the winds from his treasuries (storage rooms).
¹⁴All mankind [all people who make or worship idols] is completely insensitive (indiscriminate like animals) – completely without knowledge,
    all goldsmiths must be ashamed of their carved idols,
that his cast idols are false,
    there is no spirit in them (they cannot breathe).
¹⁵They are vanity, an imagined work,
    when their time of visitation comes, they shall perish.
¹⁶Jacob's portion is not like these,
    for he is the Creator of all,
and Israel is his inheritance,
    the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) is his name. [Verses 12-16 recur in Jer. 51:15–19.]

Coming destruction

¹⁷Gather up your goods from the field,
    you who remain in the siege. ¹⁸For thus says the Lord (Yahweh):
    Behold, I will hurl out the inhabitants of the land at this time
    and will afflict them so that they may know it. ¹⁹Woe is me for my pain!
    My wound is deep (a serious injury)
but I say, "This is an illness
    and I must bear it."
²⁰My tent is ruined
    and all my tent ropes are broken (severed),
my sons have left me and are no more,
    there is no one left to stretch out my tent
    and set up my tent cloths.
²¹Because the shepherds have become brutal
    and do not ask the Lord (Yahweh),
they have no success
    and their whole flock is scattered.
²²A voice, listen! Behold, it is coming
    and a great tumult from the land of the north
to make the cities of Judah desolate,
    a dwelling place for jackals.

Jeremiah's prayer

²³Lord (Yahweh), I know (am well aware) that man's ways are not his own,
    it is not man who controls the steps he takes.
²⁴Lord (Yahweh), rebuke me, in justice—
    not in your burning nose (wrath),
    otherwise I will be weakened.
²⁵Pour out your wrath upon the nations
    that do not know you
    and upon the families that do not call upon your name,
for they have devoured Jacob,
    they have swallowed him up and consumed him
    and have destroyed his dwelling place.

The covenant is broken

11¹This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh). He said: ²Hear the word and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ³and say to them: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): Cursed (nullified – Hebr. aror) is the man who does not hear (actively listen to) the words of the covenant, ⁴which I commanded your fathers when (in the days when – Hebr. bejom) I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the furnace, and said: Listen to my voice [my words] and do according to all that I command you, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God (Elohim), ⁵that I may confirm the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.
    And I answered and said, "Amen (it is true, let it be so), Lord (Yahweh)."
     ⁶And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, 'Hear the words of the covenant and do them. ⁷I have warned your fathers in those days when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, even to this day I have warned them early [again and again, see Jer. 7:13, 25] and said, 'Obey my voice! [Listen to me!] ⁸But they did not listen or incline their ears, but each man walked in the stubbornness of his own heart. Therefore, I have brought upon them all these words of the covenant which I commanded them to do, but they did not do them.
     ⁹And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have returned to the sins of their fathers, who refused to listen to my prov, and have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. ¹¹Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will bring evil upon them that they shall not be able to escape; and though they cry unto me, I will not hear them. ¹²And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go and cry to the gods to whom they have sacrificed, but they shall not save them in all their time of trouble. ¹³According to the number of your cities, Judah, are your gods, and according to the number of your streets, Jerusalem, you have set up altars to be objects of shame, altars to sacrifice to Baal. ¹⁴And you, do not pray for this people, do not lift up a cry in prayer for them, for I will not listen to them at the time when they cry out to me in their distress.

¹⁵What has my beloved to do in my house
    when I see that she has provoked insults with many,
and the sacred meat is gone from you?
    When you do evil, you triumph. ¹⁶The Lord (Yahweh) gave you the name
    "A lush olive tree, good with good fruit."
To the sound of great tumult
    he has kindled a fire upon it, and its branches are broken off.

¹⁷And the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), who planted you, has spoken evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have done to themselves by provoking me to anger (provoking me) with their sacrifices to [the idol] Baal.

Death threats against Jeremiah

¹⁸And the Lord (Yahweh) has made them aware of it, and I know it since you let me see their deeds. ¹⁹But I was like a docile lamb led to the slaughter, and I did not know that they had devised a cunning plan against me:

Let us destroy the tree with its fruit
    and let us cut him off from the land of the living
    so that his name will no longer be remembered. ²⁰And the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaoth), who judges righteously,
    tests the kidneys and the heart,
let me see your vengeance on them,
    for to you I have revealed my cause. [Jer. 20:12]

²¹Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, "You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord (Yahweh), lest you die by our hand." ²²Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will punish them, their young men shall die by the sword, their sons and daughters shall die by famine. ²³And there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their visitation.

Jeremiah's Lamentation

12¹You are righteous, Lord (Yahweh),
    yet I reproach you,
I will argue with you about your judgments.
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why are all who act treacherously secure?
²You have planted them, they have taken root, they grow,
    they bear fruit.
You are close in their mouths
    but far from their bridles.
³But you, Lord (Yahweh), know me,
    you see me and test my heart toward you.
Take them out to be slaughtered
    and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
⁴How long shall the land mourn
    and all the crops of the field wither?
From the wickedness of those who dwell there, the animals are consumed
    and the birds, because they say, "He does not see our end."

God's answer

⁵Since you have run with the foot soldiers
    and they have exhausted you,
    how can you compete with the horses?
And in a peaceful land you have been secure,
    what will you do in the pride of Jordan?
⁶Since even your brothers and your father's house,
    they too have dealt deceitfully with you,
    they too have cried out loudly after you.
Do not believe them
    because they speak fair words to you.
⁷I have forsaken my house,
    I have cast away my inheritance,
I have given it to my soul (my whole being) loves
    into the hand of her enemy.
⁸My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion in the forest,
she has raised her voice against me,
    therefore I hate her. ⁹Is my inheritance to me
    a speckled bird of prey?
    Are the birds of prey around her?
Come, gather all the animals of the field,
    bring them to devour. ¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
    they have trampled my portion underfoot,
they have given my precious portion
    to a desolate wilderness.
¹¹They have made it a wasteland,
    it mourns over me in desolation,
the whole land has become desolate
    because no man has taken it to heart.
¹²Over all the bare heights [high places without vegetation] in the desert
    destroyers have come
because the sword of the Lord (Yahweh) devours
    from one end of the land to the other end of the land,
    no peace (Hebr. shalom) to all flesh.
¹³They have sown wheat and reaped thorns,
    they have brought pain upon themselves,
they make no profit,
    be ashamed of your merit for the Lord's (Yahweh's) burning wrath. ¹⁴Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Concerning all my evil neighbors, who touch the inheritance that I have given my people Israel to inherit, behold, I will uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵And it shall come to pass, after I have uprooted them, that I will show them mercy (compassion) and bring them back, every man to his inheritance and every man to his land. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will indeed learn the ways of my people, and swear by my name, the Lord (Yahweh) lives, as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established (built up) in the midst of my people. ¹⁷But if they do not listen, then I will uproot that people, uproot and destroy them, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

The exile of Judah

13¹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to me: "Go and take a linen belt and put it on your loins and do not let it come into water." ²And I took a linen belt according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh) and put it on my loins.
     ³And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me a second time, saying ⁴"Take the belt that you have made, which is on your loins, and arise. Go to Perathah and hide it there in a cleft of the rock." ⁵And I went and hid it in Perata, as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded me.
     ⁶And it came to pass after many days that the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "Arise, go to Perathah and take the girdle from there, which I commanded you to hide there." ⁷And I went to Perata and dug and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the belt was ruined, it was useless for anything.
     ⁸And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me. He said: ⁹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): In this way I will make the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem useless. ¹⁰This evil people, who refuse to listen to my prov, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this belt, which is good for nothing. ¹¹For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I have bound myself to the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, declares the Lord (Yahweh), that they may be my people, my renown, my praise, and my glory. But they would not listen.

The wine merchants

¹²And you shall say these words to them:

Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel:
    "Every jar is filled with wine."
And when they say to you:
    "Do we not know that every jar is filled with wine?"
¹³Then you shall say to them:
    Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):
Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of the land, the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests and prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. ¹⁴And I will strike them, one man against his brother, and fathers and sons together, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). I will not have pity, nor will I spare, nor will I have mercy, but I will utterly destroy them.

Threat of captivity

¹⁵Listen and give ear,
    do not be proud, for the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken. ¹⁶Give glory to the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim)
    before it gets dark
and before your foot stumbles
    in the twilight while you search for light,
he turns it into the shadow of death
    and makes a thick darkness.
¹⁷And if you do not listen to it,
    my soul will weep over your pride in secret,
and my eyes will weep and weep
    and run with tears,
because the Lord's (Yahweh's) flock has been carried away into captivity. ¹⁸Tell the king and the queen mother:

"Sit down low [an expression of sorrow or humility],
    for the crowns of your heads have come down,
    your beautiful crowns."
¹⁹The cities of the south (Negev) are shut up
    and there is no one to open them,
all Judah has been carried away captive,
    it is completely carried away captive. ²⁰Lift up your eyes
    and see those who come from the north,
where is the flock that was given to you,
    your beautiful flock?
²¹What will you say when they are appointed over you,
    those you have raised up for yourself [are set] over you, your friends [become] your head?
Will not pain overwhelm you,
    like the pain of a woman in labor?
²²And if you say in your heart,
    "Why have these things happened to me?"
Because of the multitude of your sins,
    your skirts were drawn up,
    and your body (heel) was defiled (exposed).
²³Can a Kushite [an Ethiopian who is dark-skinned] change his skin
    or a leopard [change—remove its black] its spots?
Even you can do what is right,
    who are accustomed to doing evil. ²⁴Therefore, I will scatter them
    like chaff carried away by the winds of the desert.
²⁵This is your lot
    that is measured out for you from me,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
because you have forgotten me
    and relied on lies.
²⁶Therefore, I will lift up your skirts over your face,
    so that your shame may be seen.
²⁷Your adultery and your neighing,
    your shameless prostitution,
on the hills of the field
    I have seen your disgusting deeds.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    You shall not be cleansed. When will that ever happen? 14¹The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: ²Judah mourns and its gates languish,
    they bow down in the ashes (the black) to
    the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem has risen. ³Their nobles send their young men for water,
    they come to the wells but find no water,
their vessels return empty,
    they are ashamed and confused, they cover their heads. ⁴The ground is cracked
    for there has been no rain in the land,
those who plow are ashamed,
    they cover their heads.
⁵The doe calves in the field and abandons her young
    because there is no grass. ⁶And the wild donkey stands on the bare heights [high mountains without vegetation]
    and pants for air like a jackal,
their eyes fail them
    because there is no pasture. ⁷Woe, our eyes see us (testify against us),
    Lord (Yahweh), act for the sake of your name
for our missteps are many,
    we have sinned against you.
⁸The hope of Israel (Hebr. miqveh),
    our savior in times of need,
why should you be a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stops for the night?
⁹Why should you be like a man taken by surprise,
    like a mighty man who cannot save?
You, Lord (Yahweh), are in our midst, and your name is proclaimed over us;
    do not forsake us! ¹⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to this people:

Nevertheless, they have loved to go here and there
    and have not desisted from their steps,
and the Lord (Yahweh) will not give mercy (conditional mercy – Hebr. ratsa).
    Now he will remember their sins
    and punish their transgressions. ¹¹And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for their good [their prosperity].
¹²When they fast, I will not hear their cry, and when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not grant mercy (conditional mercy – Hebr. ratsa), but I will devour them by the sword and by famine and by pestilence. ¹³And I said, "Ah, Lord of lords (Adonai Yahweh), behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall famine afflict you, for I will give you a lasting (stable) peace [peace that stands firm, is truth – Hebr. shalom emet] in this place." ¹⁴And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, I did not command them, I did not speak to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision and divination and things that are nothing, and the deceit of their own hearts. ¹⁵Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, who say that sword and famine shall not come upon this land—by sword and famine these prophets shall perish. ¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and they shall have no one to bury them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for I will pour out their wickedness upon them. ¹⁷And you shall say these words to them:

Let my eyes shed tears
    night and day, and let them not dry,
for the virgin, the daughter of my people, is broken with a great breach
    with a very grievous wound. ¹⁸When I walk out into the field,
    I see those slain by the sword.
And when I enter the city,
    I see those sick with famine.
Yes, because even the prophet and the priest
    have gone to a land they do not know. ¹⁹Have you completely rejected Judah?
    Has your soul (your whole being) despised Zion?
Why have you struck us
    so that there is no healing for us?
We wait (hope) for peace (wholeness in all areas – Hebr. shalom),
    but no good comes
and after a time of healing,
    behold, terror. ²⁰Lord (Yahweh), we know (are familiar with) our wickedness,
    the sin of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. ²¹Do not despise us for the sake of your name,
    do not dishonor the throne of your glory.
Remember:
    Do not break your covenant with us.
²²Is there anyone among the vain [empty idols] of the nations who can bring rain?
    Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim)? So we wait for (hope, bind ourselves to—Hebr. qavah) you
    because you have done all these things. 15¹And the Lord (Yahweh) said to me [Jeremiah]: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my soul cannot be turned toward this people, cast them away from my presence and let them go. ²And it shall come to pass, when they say to you, 'Where shall we go? Then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Those who are destined for death to death
    and those who are destined for the sword to the sword
    and those who are destined for famine to famine
    and those who are destined for captivity to captivity.

³And I will appoint over them four kinds, declares the Lord (Yahweh):
    the sword to slay,
    the dogs to drag away,
    the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy. ⁴And I will make them a terror among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah (Hebr. Chizqijahos), king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem. [The Lord cried out to me:]
⁵Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Or who will mourn for you?
Or who will turn aside to seek your welfare?
⁶You yourself have rejected me,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
you have turned your back on me,
    therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you.
I am weary of comforting (pitying, feeling sorry for, having compassion).
[The Lord now describes to Jeremiah (see verse 1) what he will do to the people:]
⁷So I scattered them with a wind (Hebr. zara mizre)
    in the gates of the land,
I caused them to miscarry (deprived them of their children),
    I destroyed my people when they did not return from their ways. ⁸Their widows became more numerous before me
    than the sand of the sea [an ironic reference to Gen. 22:17; 32:12; 41:49],
I brought upon them (let come upon them), against the mother of young men,
    a destroyer in the middle of the day [when an attack is least expected, see Jer. 6:4],
I will bring distress and terror (sudden fear – Hebr. behalah)
    upon her suddenly.
⁹She who bore seven [children—a large family] wasted away,
    her soul languished,
her sun went down while it was still day,
    she is ashamed and confused
and the rest of them [the people] I will give to the sword
    before their enemies,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). [Jeremiah's Lam.:]
¹⁰Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me,
    a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have not lent
    and no one has lent to me,
yet every one of them curses (takes lightly – Hebr. klal) me. ¹¹The Lord (Yahweh) said:

If I do not deliver you for good,
    if I do not cause the enemy to appeal to you in times of evil, in times of distress. ¹²Can anyone [a person, perhaps referring to Jeremiah] break iron,
    iron from the north [may refer to an enemy from the north, see Jer. 1:14; 4:6; 6:1; 13:20], or copper?
¹³Your strength and your treasures
    I will give as spoil without price,
for all your transgressions
    within all your borders. ¹⁴And I will make you pass over with your enemies
    into a land you do not know,
because a fire has been kindled in my nostrils
    that shall burn upon you. ¹⁵You know, Lord (Yahweh),
    remember me and think of me
    and avenge me for my persecutors,
do not take me away, for you are long-suffering.
    Know that for your sake I have suffered reproach.
¹⁶Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words were to me a joy and the delight of my heart,
because your name was proclaimed over me,
    Lord, God of hosts (Yahweh, Sebaot Elohim).
¹⁷I have not sat in the company of mockers [Hebr. sochaq primarily means to laugh, smile, and enjoy oneself, but can also be used negatively to mean to mock/taunt],
    nor rejoiced (danced, triumphed) with them.
I sat alone because of your hand,
    for you have filled me with wrath (irritation).
¹⁸Why is my pain endless
    and my wound incurable, so that it refuses to be healed?
Do you really want to be to me like a drying up (deceptive) stream,
    like water that cannot be trusted? [Job 6:15] [The image that is painted is a desert landscape with a dry riverbed (a wadi) that only exceptionally becomes filled with water after heavy rain in the adjacent mountainous landscapes.] ¹⁹Therefore, the Lord (Yahweh) says this:

If you turn back, I will bring you back,
    you shall stand before me.
And if you bring forth the precious from the worthless,
    you shall be as my mouth.
Let them return to you [they shall listen to you],
    but you shall not return to them [become like them].
²⁰And for this people
    I will make you a fortified copper wall,
and they shall fight against you
    but they shall not prevail against you,
for I am with you and will save you
    and deliver you,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²¹And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked
    and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.

The day of distress

16¹And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me. He said: ²You shall not take a wife, you shall not have sons and daughters in this place. ³Therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: ⁴They shall die of deadly diseases, they shall not be mourned, they shall not be buried. They shall be like dung on the face of the ground, and they shall be devoured by the sword and by famine, and their bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth.
     ⁵Therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh): Do not enter the house of mourning, do not go to lament, do not mourn for them, for I have taken away my peace (prosperity – Hebr. shalom) from this people, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), the mercy (loving kindness – Hebr. chesed) and the grace (mercy – Hebr. rachamim). [Here, two words are used for the mercy that God has taken away, both the loving kindness and the merciful, eternal grace.] ⁶Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, no one shall mourn for them, no one shall cut themselves or shave their heads for them. ⁷No one shall break bread with them in mourning to comfort them for the dead; no one shall give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.
     ⁸And you shall not enter the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and to drink. ⁹Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
     ¹⁰When you tell all this to the people [of Judah], all these words, they will ask you, 'Why has the Lord (Yahweh) spoken all this great evil against us? And what is our sin? And what is our transgression that we have committed against the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim)? ¹¹And you shall say to them: Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and have walked after other gods and have served them and have worshiped them and have forsaken me and have not kept (guarded, protected, preserved) my teaching, ¹²and you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, you walk every man after the stubbornness of his heart, so that you do not listen to me. ¹³Therefore, I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, and I will show you no mercy (undeserved love – Hebr. chanan).
     ¹⁴Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when it shall no longer be said, 'As the Lord (Yahweh) lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' ¹⁵but instead, 'The Lord (Yahweh) lives, who brought the sons of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the other lands where he had brought them. And I will bring them back to their land that I gave to their fathers.
     ¹⁶Behold, I will send many fishermen, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and they shall fish them, and then I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the clefts of the rocks. ¹⁷Since my eyes are on all their ways, they cannot hide from my face, and their sins are not hidden from my eyes. ¹⁸And first I will repay them double for their sins and transgressions, because they have defiled my land. They have filled my inheritance with the corpses of their distasteful things and their abominations. ¹⁹Lord (Yahweh), my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress. To you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity, and worthless things." ²⁰Should a man make forhimself gods
    that arenot gods? ²¹Therefore, behold, I will make them know (become intimately acquainted with),
    this time I will make them know (become intimately acquainted with)
    my hand and my power
and they shall know (become intimately acquainted with)
    that my name is the Lord (Yahweh). [The word jada used three times in this verse means both to know, to have knowledge of, and to be familiar with. But the most important aspect of the word is that this knowledge or familiarity is of a very intimate and confidential nature.] 17¹The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen
    and with the point of a diamond,
it is engraved on the tablet of the heart
    and on the horns of the altar.
²As the marks of their sons
    are their altars
and their Asherah poles [poles for idol worship]
    are at the leafy trees on the hills.
³The mountains of the field are your strength,
    I will plunder all your treasures,
I will give your high places
    for your transgressions in all your borders.
⁴And you yourself shall be deprived
    of your inheritance that I gave you,
and I will make you serve your enemies
    in a land you do not know,
for you have kindled my wrath (kindled a fire in my nostrils)
    that burns forever.

Summary

⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Cursed is the brave warrior (mighty hero, powerful warrior)
    who trusts (puts his hope in, relies on) in man [Hebr. adam – a fragile human being],
    who seeks his strength in what is flesh [the earthly],
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord (Yahweh).
    [Literally "makes flesh his arm," i.e., relies on his own willpower, strength, and ability].

⁶He is like a dry plant (naked, poor; a bush that never bears fruit) in the wilderness,
    and will never experience the good, even when it comes.
He shall dwell on scorched (dry) ground,
    on salty soil where no one can live. [In contrast to verses 5-6:]
⁷Blessed is the brave warrior (courageous hero, mighty warrior)
    who trusts (puts his hope in, relies on) the Lord (Yahweh),
    and whose trust (hope, protection, security) is the Lord (Yahweh).

⁸He is like a tree planted by water,
    whose roots extend to the river.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes,
    its leaves are always green.
It is not afraid when a dry year comes,
    and it never ceases to bear fruit. [Ps. 1:3] ⁹The heart is deceitful (insidious, treacherous) more than anything else,
    and it is incurably sick [like a wound that never heals]—
    who can [even] understand (be intimately familiar with) it? [The Hebrew word for deceitful, aqov, comes from the same root as the name Jacob, which means heel/footstep/back, see Gen. 25:26; Hos. 12:3. It is used only three times in the Old Testament and describes uneven ground (marked by tracks) in Isa. 40:4 and bloody footsteps in Hos. 6:8.] ¹⁰I, the Lord (Yahweh), penetrate (explore, examine, search) the heart,
    and test (examine) the kidneys [a person's inner thoughts, morals, and motives]
just to give to each one [reward each one] according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his deeds [the result of his actions]. ¹¹Like a hen brooding over eggs she did not lay,
    so is the one who becomes rich but not by right,
in the midst of his days he will leave it (the wealth)
    and he will end up like a fool. ¹²The throne of glory, exalted from the beginning,
    the place of his sanctuary. ¹³The hope of Israel (Hebr. miqveh), the Lord (Yahweh),
    all who forsake you shall be ashamed,
those who leave you shall be written on the ground [and disappear, in contrast to forever in stone, see Job 19:24; John 8:6],
    because they abandon the source of the water of life, the Lord (Yahweh).

Jeremiah's third Lamentation

¹⁴Heal me, Lord (Yahweh), and I shall be healed.
    Save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise. ¹⁵Behold, they say to me:
    "Where is the word of the Lord (Yahweh)?
    Let it be fulfilled now."
¹⁶And I have not shunned being a shepherd after you,
    and the day of sorrow is not my desire,
you know (are intimately acquainted with) it,
    what comes from my lips is before your face.
¹⁷Do not be far from me (cease to exist) as a ruin,
    you are my refuge on the day of evil.
¹⁸Let those who persecute me be ashamed,
    but let me not be ashamed.
Let them be dismayed,
    but let me not be dismayed.
Let the day of evil befall them
    and destroy them with double destruction.
¹⁹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to me:

Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, where the kings of Judah enter and through which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, ²⁰and say to them: Hear (listen to) the word of the Lord (Yahweh), you kings of Judah and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. ²¹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Be careful about this—it concerns your lives [literally: 'keep/guard/protect for the sake of your souls']—do not carry any burdens on the Sabbath day, do not bring anything through the gates of Jerusalem, ²²Do not carry any load out of your houses on the Sabbath day, and do no work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. ²³But you do not listen or incline your ear, but stiffen your neck so that you cannot hear or receive correction. ²⁴But this is what will happen if you listen to me, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and do not bring burdens through the gates of the city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it. ²⁵then kings and princes will come into the gates of the city, sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin and from the Lowlands [Hebr. Shefelah – the lowlands between the Mediterranean coast and the hill country of Judah] and from the mountains and from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁷But you will not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy and not to carry burdens and enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. 18¹The word that came to Jeremiah (Hebr. Yirmeyahó) from the Lord (Yahweh). He [the Lord] said: ²"Get up and go down to the potter's house. There I will let you hear my words."
     ³So I went down to the potter's house and saw him working at the wheel. [Literally, "he was working at the two stones." The two round stones were joined together; one turned the lower one with his feet and worked the clay on the upper one.] ⁴Sometimes the vessel that the potter was making from the clay failed in his hand [something went wrong with the material], then he simply started over and made it into another kind of vessel that he saw was suitable (appropriate). ⁵And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, saying: ⁶As the potter shapes (sculpts – Hebr. yatsar), could I not do the same (in the same way) with you, O house of Israel, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh)? As the clay is shaped in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

⁷At the moment I speak against a people and against a kingdom—to uproot (Hebr. natash) and to tear down (Hebr. natats) and to destroy it,
     ⁸but if the people turn from their evil, which has caused me to speak against them,
    then I will change the evil that I planned to do (Hebr. chashav) to them.

⁹At the moment I speak against a people and against a kingdom—to build it up (Hebr. banah) and to plant it (Hebr. nata) [like the clay in the potter's hand when he starts over, see verse 4],
     ¹⁰but if they do what is evil in my sight, so that they do not listen to my voice,
    then I will change the good that I have said that would benefit them. [The Lord never changes his mind and will always judge evil. But when we who do evil repent from the evil that provokes the Lord's wrath, then he takes it back, not because he changes his mind, but because we repent.]

¹¹And now, I ask you [Jeremiah to prophesy], tell the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, say: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I am shaping (sculpting – Hebr. yatsar) [the same word used for the potter in verse 6] evil against you and devising a plan against you. Come back, I beg you, each one from his evil way, and change your ways [personal paths; life choices] and your [evil] deeds. ¹²But they say, "There is no hope (it is futile), we will continue to follow (walk after) our own plans (thoughts) and each one will do according to the stubbornness (desire) of his evil heart. ¹³Therefore, the Lord (Yahweh) says this:

Ask, I beg you, among the nations,
    who has heard such a thing?
Something very terrible
    has been done by the virgin of Israel. ¹⁴Does the snow of Lebanon fall from the rock of the field?
    Or has the severe cold caused water to flow?
¹⁵Because my people have forgotten me,
    they sacrifice to vanity
and stumble in their ways,
    on the ancient paths,
to walk in byways,
    on a road that is not cleared,
¹⁶to make their land a wonder
    and a constant laughingstock.
Everyone who passes by there
    will be astonished and shake their head.
¹⁷I will scatter them
    with an east wind before the enemy.
I will look at their backs and not their faces,
    on the day of their disaster. ¹⁸And 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 prov from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words." ¹⁹[Then Jeremiah said:] Lord (Yahweh), pay attention (listen) to me
    and listen to the voice of those who contend with (fight against) me. ²⁰Shall evil be rewarded with good?
    For they have dug a pit for [to take] my life (my soul).
Remember how I stood before your face
    to speak good to them, to turn away your wrath from them. ²¹Therefore, give your sons to famine
    and cast them to the power of the sword
and let their wives be deprived of their children and become widows
    and let their men be struck down by death
    and their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
²²Let a cry be heard from their houses,
    when you suddenly bring an army upon them,
for they have dug a pit to catch me
    and hidden a snare for my feet. ²³Lord (Yahweh), you know
    all their counsel against me to kill me,
do not forgive their sin,
    do not blot out their sin from your sight,
but let them stumble (fall) before your face
    and deal with them as in the time of your anger. 19¹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Go and take a potter's clay pot, and take from the elders of the people and from the elders of the priests ²and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the entrance of the gate of Zephah, and proclaim there the word that I will tell you ³and say: Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will bring evil upon this place; whoever hears, his ears shall tingle ⁴because they have forsaken me and have made this place strange and have sacrificed in it to other gods, whom neither their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents ⁵and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to [the idol] Baal, which I did not command, nor speak of, nor come into my mind. ⁶Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when this place shall no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. [Jer. 7:32]
     ⁷And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their lives. And I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth. ⁸And I will make this city a wonder and a hissing; all who pass by it shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. ⁹And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and every man shall eat the flesh of his neighbor through siege and distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their souls (lives) shall oppress them.
     ¹⁰And you shall break the clay pot in the sight of the men who go with you, ¹¹and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot): In this way I will smash this people and this city, as one smashes a potter's vessel so that it cannot be repaired, and they shall bury them in Topheth for lack of a place to bury them. ¹²Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and to its inhabitants. I will make this city like Topheth, ¹³and the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be like the place of Topheth, all the houses on whose roofs they have offered sacrifices to the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.
     ¹⁴And 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: ¹⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her cities all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks, refusing to hear my words.

Jeremiah and the priest Pashchor

20¹And 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]. ²And Pashhur struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin gate in the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ³And 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.] ⁴For thus says the Lord (Yahweh): "Behold, I will make (hand over) you a terror to yourself and to all your friends [whom you cherish and who love you], and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon (the Babylonian king), and he shall carry them away captive to Babylon and smite them with the sword (the sword). ⁵And I will give all the wealth of this city and all that is produced, and all the wealth of the kings of Judah, into the hand of their enemies, who shall destroy them and take them away and carry them to Babylon. ⁶And you, Pashchor, and all who dwell in your house shall go into captivity, and you shall come to Babylon, and there you shall die, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies."

Jeremiah complains about how the message is received

⁷Lord (Yahweh),
    you persuaded me [Jeremiah],
    and I let myself be persuaded.
You seized me
    and became too powerful for me. [You were stronger than my own will; your Holy Spirit overcame my fear.]
I have become a constant laughingstock,
    everyone mocks me,
⁸because every time I speak [receive a prophetic message], I must cry out:
    "Violence and oppression are coming!" [A message of judgment that has not yet been fulfilled.]
The word of the Lord causes me to be mocked all day long.
    [He was considered a false prophet in the eyes of the people.]
⁹Sometimes I think:
    "I will not mention [the Lord's name] or speak [prophesy] in his name,"
but then his message becomes like a fire shut up within me (in my bones).
    I tried to hold it back (endure it), but I could not hold it back any longer.
[The reason I wanted to hold back God's word was that:]
¹⁰I have heard many who slander me [I have heard whispers about me, cf. Ps. 31:12] – terror all around (fear surrounds me).
"Denounce (tell, inform about him – Hebr. nagad), let us denounce him (publicly condemn him – Hebr. nagad)!"
All the people who gave greetings of peace (so-called friends; literally: 'fragile people of my shalom') [Jer. 38:22]
    are watching (guarding) me [now] in case something causes me to stumble (bring me down). They say:
    "Perhaps he will be tricked into doing wrong,
    so that we [gain the upper hand and] can take revenge on him."
¹¹But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior (a terrible warrior),
    so my enemies will fail (fall), they will not prevail against me.
They will be put to shame, because they were foolish (they failed in their plans).
    Their shame will never be forgotten.
¹²And the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaoth)
    who tests the righteous, sees the kidneys and the heart,
let me see your vengeance on them,
    for to you I have revealed my cause. [Jer. 11:20]

¹³Sing to the Lord (Yahweh),
    praise the Lord (Yahweh)
because he has delivered the soul of the poor
    from the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴Cursed (utterly ruined – Hebr. aror) is the day I was born [Job also curses his birthday, see Job 3:1],
    the day my mother gave birth to me, let it not be blessed. ¹⁵Cursed (utterly destroyed – Hebr. aror) is the man
    who brought the news to my father and said:
"A son has been born to you,"
    to make him very happy.
¹⁶And let that man be like the cities
    that the Lord (Yahweh) overthrows and does not repent [Gen. 18],
and let him hear the cry in the morning
    and the alarm at noon,
¹⁷Because he did not strike me from the womb [before I was born]
    and let my mother's womb be my grave
    – and her womb forever pregnant. [Lam. 4:1–3; Job 3:10]
¹⁸Why did I come forth (was I born) from the womb
    to see toil and sorrow
    so that my days are consumed by shame?

Collection of dated messages (chapters 21-29)

Messages to the rulers of Judah

The last ruler of the Southern Kingdom – Zedekiah

[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.] 21¹The 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: ²Ask (inquire and see), I beg you, Lord (Yahweh) on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is fighting against us, perhaps the Lord (Yahweh) will act with us in accordance with all his wonderful deeds so that he [Nebuchadnezzar] will go up from (leave) us.
     ³And Jeremiah said to them, "Thus shall you say to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho): ⁴Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will turn back (turn loose) the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls, and I will gather them into the midst of this city. ⁵And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and with strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. ⁶And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast, and they shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷And afterward, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), I will deliver Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, and his servants and the people who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of Babylon, and into the hands of your enemies and into the hands of those who seek your lives, and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, nor have pity, nor have mercy.
     ⁸And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. [Deut. 30:15, 19] ⁹Whoever stays in the city will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and his soul (life) will be spared. ¹⁰Because I have turned my face against this city for evil and not for good, declares the Lord (Yahweh), it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

The rulers of the southern kingdom

¹¹And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh): ¹²House of David: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Execute justice in the morning and deliver the spoil from the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go forth like fire and burn it up, and none can quench it, because of your evil deeds. ¹³Behold, I am against you, inhabitants of the valley and rock of the plain, declares the Lord (Yahweh). You who say, "Who will come down against us?" or "Who will enter our dwelling place?" ¹⁴And I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the Lord (Yahweh),

and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.

The 18th ruler of the Southern Kingdom – Jehoiakim

22¹So the Lord said [to me, Jeremiah]: Go down [from the temple, which is on higher ground] to the palace of the king of Judah [in Jerusalem] and speak there this prov: ²Say: Hear, O king of Judah [probably Jehoiakim, the 18th ruler of the Southern Kingdom], who sits on David's throne. You and your court and your people, who enter these gates, must listen to what the Lord (Yahweh) says. ³Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

• Administer righteous judgments.
• Do not exploit or be harsh toward (abuse or violate) the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow [the weakest in society].
• Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴If you are careful to obey this command, kings who sit on David's throne and who have horses and chariots will continue to pass through the gates of this palace, followed by their court and their people. ⁵But if you do not listen to these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord (Yahweh), that this house will become a desolate place. ⁶Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are like Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon, yet I will surely make you a wilderness, cities that are uninhabited. ⁷And I will prepare destroyers against you, every man with his weapon, and they shall cut down your choice cedars and cast them into the fire. ⁸And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, "Why has the Lord (Yahweh) done this to this great city?" ⁹And they shall answer, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim) and worshipped other gods and served them.

¹⁰Do not weep for the dead, do not mourn for him,
    but weep loudly for him who is going away,
for he will not return,
    nor see the land where he was born.

[The dead refer to Jehoahaz, king of the Southern Kingdom, who died in 609 BC in a battle against Egypt. The one who is going away is Jochanan, who was sent into exile in Egypt by Pharaoh Necho.]

Shallum – the 15th king of the Northern Kingdom

¹¹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to Shallum, son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah, who reigned in place of his father Joshijahos and who went out from this place: He shall not return here again, ¹²but to the place where he is taken captive, there he shall die, and he shall not see this land again.

The 18th ruler of the Southern Kingdom – Jehoiakim

¹³Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
    and his chambers by injustice,
who uses his neighbor's service
    without pay and does not give him his wages. ¹⁴Who says, "I will build myself a large house
    and spacious rooms"
and cuts out windows for himself
    and makes its roof with cedar wood and paints it with cinnabar (a red paint). ¹⁵Will you reign [as king],
    because you strive to distinguish yourself with cedar wood?
Your father [Josiah] ate and drank and did what was right and just,
    whereupon it was well with him.
¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy in Zechariah
    and it was good.
Is this not to know (be intimately acquainted with) me?
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁷But you have no eyes or heart
    for anything but your greed
and the shedding of innocent blood,
    and oppression and violence—to do it. ¹⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah, king of Judah:

They shall not mourn for him:
    "Alas, my brother!" Or, 'Woe to my sister!'
They shall not mourn for him:
    'Woe to the lord!' Or, 'Woe to his glory!'
¹⁹He shall be buried with the burial of an ass,
    dragged away and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰Go up to Lebanon [in the north along the coast] and cry out,
    and lift up your voice in Bashan [the Golan Heights in the north]
and cry from Avarim [in the east—Avarim is the mountain range northeast of the Dead Sea with Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land, see Deut. 32:49],
    because all your lovers are destroyed. ²¹I speak to you in your wealth,
    but you say, "I will not listen."
This has been your way since your youth,
    that you do not listen to my voice. ²²A wind [metaphor for God's judgment] shall scatter (Hebr. raah) [take away] all your shepherds (Hebr. raah)
    and your lovers shall go into captivity,
then you shall surely be ashamed
    and confounded by all your wickedness (Hebr. raah).
²³You who dwell in Lebanon,
    who build your nest in the cedars,
how will you not moan (groan in pain) when the pains come upon you,
    as upon a woman in labor! [The king of Jerusalem in his palace is likened to a bird that has its safe nest in the majestic cedars of Lebanon, see also verses 6-7 and Obad. 1:3–4.]

the fate of Coniah (Jeconiah)

²⁴I live, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). Although Coniah [short form of Jehoiachin (Hebr. Jehojachin), 19th ruler of the Southern Kingdom, see 1 Chron. 3:1], the son of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), was the signet ring on my right hand, I will tear him away from there, ²⁵and I will deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life and into the hands of those whom you fear, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hands of the Chaldeans. ²⁶And I will cast you out, you and your mother who bore you, to another country where you were not born, and there you shall die. ²⁷But to the land to which they long to return, they shall not return. ²⁸Is that man Coniah a despised idol that is broken into pieces?
    Is he a vessel (utensil, figurine) of no use (without beauty)?
Why are they cast out, he and his seed,
    and cast out to a land they do not know?
²⁹Land, land, land
    – hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh)!
³⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):
Write down this man as childless,
    a man who will not prosper in his days,
none of his seed will prosper,
    sit on the throne of David or continue to reign in Judah. 23¹Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²Therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim), to the shepherds who tend my people [whose mission was to lead the people to good pastures and fresh water]: You have scattered my flock and driven them away, and have not taken care of them. Behold, I will visit upon you your evil deeds, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ³I myself will gather the remnant of my sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own pastures (their home, their own sheepfold), and they will be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will raise up [new responsible] shepherds to feed (protect, tend) them, and my sheep will no longer be afraid or terrified. None of them shall be missing (or lost), declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). [Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were good shepherds who came, but the Messiah is the one who completely fulfilled this prophecy.]

⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord,
    when I will raise up (shoot forth) a righteous branch for David [an heir to his royal family].
He shall reign as king and act wisely,
    and shall execute (create) justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved (rescued)
    and Israel will once again be a safe place to live.
The name he will be given is:
    "The Lord our righteousness (Hebr. Yahweh Tsidqeno)". [In the Old Testament, the prophecies about Jesus are clear. Here in Jeremiah, he is called the shoot of "King David"; in Zech. 3:8, he is referred to as the shoot "my servant"; in Zech. 6:12, the shoot "a man"; and finally, in Isa. 4:2, "the root shoot of the Lord." This corresponds to the four ways in which the Gospels describe Jesus.
Matthew – King Jesus,
Mark – Servant Jesus,
Luke – Son of Man Jesus,
John – Jesus Son of God.]

⁷Behold, the days are coming, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord, when they shall no longer say, "As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out of [slavery in] the land of Egypt," ⁸but: "As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and brought them back from all the countries where I had driven them." Then they shall dwell [safely] in their land. ⁹Concerning the prophets. My heart is broken within me, all my bones tremble; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord (Yahweh) and because of his holy words. ¹⁰Because the land is full of adulterers. Because of curses, the land mourns. The pastures of the wilderness are dried up, and their path is evil, and their strength is not upright. ¹¹For both priest and prophet are ungodly, yes, in my house I have found their wickedness, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹²Therefore, their way shall be like a slippery place in the darkness; they shall stumble and fall there, for I will bring evil upon them in their year of punishment, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹³And I have seen something distasteful [Hebr. tiflah – without salt Job 1:22; 6:6; Col. 4:6]
    among the prophets of Samaria,
they prophesy through Baal
    and cause my people Israel to stumble (go astray, wander, end up in a dead end).
¹⁴And in the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen terrible things,
    they commit adultery and walk in lies
and they stretch out their hands to evildoers
    so that no one returns from his wickedness.
They have all become to me like Sodom
    and its inhabitants like Gomorrah. ¹⁵Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) concerning the prophets:

Behold, I will feed them with wormwood
    and give them water of gall to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness has gone out over the whole land. ¹⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, for they lead you astray.
    They speak visions from their own hearts and not from the mouth of the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁷They keep saying (literally: saying, saying) to those who despise me:
    The Lord (Yahweh) has spoken that you shall have peace (it shall be well with you – Hebr. shalom),
and to all who walk in the stubbornness of their own hearts they say:
    No evil shall befall you.
¹⁸For who has stood in the council of the Lord (Yahweh)
    so that he might perceive and hear his prov?
Who has been attentive to his word
    and listened to it?
¹⁹Behold, a storm of the Lord (Yahweh)
    has gone forth in fury,
a whirlwind, it shall whirl (blow, spin)
    over the heads of the wicked.
²⁰The wrath of the Lord (Yahweh) shall not return
    until it has accomplished (accomplished)
    and until he has fulfilled the purposes of his heart.
In (at) the end of days
    you shall consider (regard) it as perfect (understand, realize the wisdom). [Jer. 30:24]

Do not confuse your own dreams with real prophecies

²¹I have not sent these prophets, yet they run. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesy. ²²And if they had stood in my council, they would have made my people hear my words and turn them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. ²³Am I only a God at hand,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
and not a God afar off?
[God is not just some local idol like Baal, Mot, or Yam who was worshipped in a specific place, but a God who is everywhere, both far away and near.] ²⁴Do you really think that anyone can hide in a secret place so that I cannot see him?
    says the Lord (Yahweh).
Do you not know that I am the one who fills heaven and earth [that I am everywhere, see Ps. 139:7–12]?
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁵I have heard [says the Lord] what the prophets have said, those who prophesy lies in my name, saying again and again, "I have had a dream, I have had a dream." ²⁶How long [must I put up with them]? These prophets prophesy only lies, they prophesy only their own fantasies from their hearts (their inner selves). ²⁷How long will they deliberately try to make my people forget my name (who I am, what I stand for) through the dreams they recount to each other? It is as bad as when their ancestors forgot my name by worshipping the god Baal. ²⁸Let the prophet who has had a dream recount (relate) his dream. Let the one who has received my word speak it faithfully (just as it was given; literally: 'speak the truth'). They [human dreams] are like straw [that blows away with the wind] and cannot be compared to grain [which is God's word and gives life]. I, the Lord (Yahweh), proclaim (say, declare) this. ²⁹Is not my word (message) like a fire [that refines metal], declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), like a hammer that breaks a rock? ³⁰Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), who steal my words from one another. ³¹Behold, I am against the prophets, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), who use their tongues and say, 'He has said. ³²Consider that I am against those who prophesy false dreams, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and count them and let my people wander away (go astray, stray, end up in a dead end) in their lies and in their recklessness. I have not sent them, nor have I commanded them. The gain is no gain (is of no use) to this people, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
     ³³And when this people or the prophet or the priest asks you and says, "What is the Lord's (Yahweh's) message (prophecy, burden – Hebr. masa)?" Then you shall say to them, "What message (prophecy, burden)?" I will cast you out, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ³⁴And the prophet and the priest and the people who say, 'The message (prophetic word, burden) of the Lord (Yahweh)'—I will punish that man and his house.
     ³⁵Because you say every man to his neighbor and every man to his brother, 'What has the Lord (Yahweh) answered? ' And, 'What has the Lord (Yahweh) spoken? ³⁶And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) shall no longer be mentioned, for every man's word shall be his own word (prophetic word, burden), and you will distort the word of the living God (Elohim), the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), our God (Elohim). ³⁷Thus shall you say to the prophet: "What has the Lord (Yahweh) answered you?" And: "What has the Lord (Yahweh) spoken?" ³⁸And if he says, "The Lord's (Yahweh's) message (prophetic word, burden)," therefore thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Because you say this word, 'The word of the Lord (Yahweh)' and I have sent to you, saying, 'You shall not say, "The word of the Lord (Yahweh)"' ³⁹therefore, behold, I will utterly break you down and cast you out, and the city that I gave to your fathers, from my presence, ⁴⁰and I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and everlasting shame that shall not be forgotten.

Two baskets

24¹The Lord (Yahweh) showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs stood before the temple of the Lord (Yahweh) after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away Jeconiah (Hebr. Jechonjaho) [here the spelling varies from the usual Jechonjah, see Jer. 27:20], the son of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqims), king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had taken them to Babylon. ²One basket had very good figs, like the figs of the first harvest [figs can be harvested up to four times during the same season], and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten, so bad were they.
     ³And 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."
     ⁴And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, saying: ⁵"Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): 'As these good figs [in one basket], so I regard the captives of Judah whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans [Babylon]—as something good (Hebr. tovah). ⁶And I will watch over them with kindness (goodwill – Hebr. tovah) and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down, and I will plant them and not uproot them. [Jer. 1:10] ⁷And I will give them a heart to know (be intimately acquainted with) me, that I am the Lord (Yahweh), and they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Elohim), for they shall return to me with all their heart.
     ⁸And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten because they are so bad, so says the Lord (Yahweh): So shall I do to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem that remains in this land, and those who dwell in Egypt. ⁹I will make them a horror among all the kingdoms of the earth, for evil, for shame, and for a proverb, for a taunt, and for a curse in all the places where I drive them. ¹⁰And I will send the sword and famine and pestilence among them until they are consumed from the land I gave to them and their fathers."

Seventy years of Babylonian rule

[The events in this chapter precede those in chapter 24.] 25¹The 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], ²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: ³From the thirteenth year of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, these twenty-three years, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) has come to me, and I have spoken to you, spoken early [again and again, see Jer 7:13, 25; 11:7], but you have not listened.
     ⁴And the Lord (Yahweh) has sent all his servants the prophets to you, sent them early [again and again, see verse 3]—but you have not listened, have not inclined your ears to hear— ⁵and said, 'Turn now, every one of you, from your evil ways and from your evil deeds (actions) and dwell in the land that the Lord (Yahweh) has given to you and to your fathers forever, ⁶and do not follow other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke me with the work of your hands, and I will not harm (punish) you.
     ⁷But you have not listened to me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), but you provoke me with the work of your hands to your own harm.
     ⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot): Because you have not listened to my prov, ⁹behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all the nations around it, and I will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing and an everlasting desolation. ¹⁰And I will cause to cease among them:
    the voice of joy and the voice of gladness,
    the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride,
    the voice of millstones and the light of lamps. ¹¹And the whole land shall be desolate and forsaken, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
     ¹²And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and the people thereof, says the Lord (Yahweh), for their iniquity. And I will make the land of the Chaldeans a perpetual desolation. ¹³And 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. ¹⁴For many nations and great kings have also made them slaves, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.

The cup of wrath

¹⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim), to me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and make all the nations to whom I have sent you drink it. [Isa. 51:17–22; Rev 16:19; 18:6] ¹⁶And they shall be drunk and stagger here and there and become like fools because of the sword that I will send among them.
     ¹⁷And I took the cup from the hand of the Lord (Yahweh) and made all the nations drink it, to whom the Lord (Yahweh) had sent me, ¹⁸Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a horror, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse (take lightly – Hebr. qlalah), as they are today. ¹⁹Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people, ²⁰and all the mixed peoples and all the kings of the land of Uz [Job 1:1] and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and Ashkelon and Gaza and Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod, ²¹Edom and Moab and the sons of Ammon, ²²and all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon and all the kings of the coastland (island) [singular – may refer to Crete] beyond the sea [Mediterranean], ²³Dedan and Tema and Boz and all who have the corners of their hair cut off, ²⁴and all the kings of the Araba, and all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the desert ²⁵and all the kings of Zimri and all the kings of Elam and all the kings of Media, ²⁶and all the kings from the north, far and near, one with the other, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And the king of Sheshach [Babylon] shall drink after them. [The name Sheshach is a cryptogram, see also Jer. 51:41. The method of encryption used is mirrored letters, which was common at that time. Each letter is replaced by the corresponding letter from the other end of the alphabet. In English, this would mean that A is replaced by Z, B by Y, C by W, etc. Another example can be found in Isa. 51:2 where Babylon is replaced with Lev-Qamaj. It is not entirely clear why Jeremiah uses this coding. In verses 8-14, the name Babylon is used in plain text, so it is not out of fear for his life that he tries to hide the name of Babylon.] ²⁷And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Drink and be drunk and vomit (puke) and fall and not rise again because of the sword that I will send among you. ²⁸And it shall come to pass, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand, then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot): You must drink. ²⁹For behold, in the city where my name is invoked, I will begin destruction, and would you be completely pure (without guilt, blameless, without punishment)? You are not pure (blameless), for I will call the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot). ³⁰And you, prophesy against them with all these words and say to them:

The Lord (Yahweh) roars from on high
    and raises his voice from his holy dwelling.
He gives his voice to a mighty roar over his flock,
    he cries out (sings – Hebr. anah) like grape treaders against all the inhabitants of the earth. [It was customary to help each other tread the grapes after the harvest. This was often done to the rhythm of a song. But it was also loud, as it was an expression of joy in the midst of work. The Hebrew word anah used here has several meanings, but among them are both to cry out and to sing.] ³¹A noise comes to the ends of the earth
    because the Lord (Yahweh) has a case against the nations,
he has a reckoning with all flesh
    as with the wicked, he gives them to the sword,
    proclaims (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³²Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation
    and a great storm shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. ³³And those who are slain by the Lord (Yahweh) shall be on that day from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; they shall not be mourned, nor gathered, nor buried. They shall be like dung on the face of the ground (the surface of the earth). ³⁴Wail, you shepherds, and cry,
    and roll yourselves [in the dust, see Jer. 6:26], you leaders of the flock,
for the day of your slaughter has come in fullness (full maturity)
    and I will break you in pieces, and you shall fall like a precious vessel. ³⁵And the shepherds shall have no way to flee,
    nor the leaders of the flock any chance of escape. ³⁶A voice! The cry of the shepherds
    and the wailing of the leaders of the flock.
    For the Lord (Yahweh) has destroyed their pasture.
³⁷And the peaceful flock has been silenced
    before the burning anger of the Lord (Yahweh).
³⁸He has abandoned his lair like a young lion
    because their land has been destroyed before his burning fury and before his burning wrath.

Preaching in the temple – Jeremiah is arrested

[The message comes chronologically before chapter 25. Between chapters 26-45, the text is written in the third person. Jeremiah's scribe Baruch is probably the author, see Jer. 36:4, 18, 32; 45:1–5] 26¹At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah [609/608 BC], this word came from the Lord (Yahweh), saying: ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Stand in the court of the Lord's (Yahweh's) house and speak all these words to the cities of Judah that come to worship in the Lord's (Yahweh's) house, all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not diminish a single word. ³Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways, so that I may relent from the evil I plan to do to them because of their evil deeds. ⁴And you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): If you will not listen to me, to walk in my instruction that I have set before you, ⁵to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I have sent to you, sent them early [again and again, see Jer. 25:4], but you have not listened. ⁶Then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse (take lightly – Hebr. qlalah) to all the nations of the earth.
     ⁷And the priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ⁸And 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. ⁹Why 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).
     ¹⁰And the princes of Judah heard these things, and came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord (Yahweh), and they sat in the entrance of the new gate of the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ¹¹And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, "This man deserves to die, for he prophesies against this city, as you have heard with your own ears."
     ¹²And 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. ¹³And now, change (correct, amend) your ways and your deeds, and listen to the voice of the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim), and the Lord (Yahweh) will change the evil that he has spoken against you. ¹⁴And I, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me what seems good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵Just know for sure that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon its inhabitants, for truly the Lord (Yahweh) has sent me to you, to speak all these words in your ears."
     ¹⁶And the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, "This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim)."
     ¹⁷And some of the elders of the land stood up and spoke to the assembly of all the people, saying ¹⁸"Mic. [the prophet who was a contemporary of Isaiah, see Mic. 1:1; Isa. 1:1] of Moresheth [the city of Moresheth-Gath was located in the hill country, southwest of Jerusalem] prophesied in the days of Hezekiah (Hebr. Chizqijahos), king of Judah [the 13th king of the Southern Kingdom who reigned from 715 to 686 BC], and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Zion shall be plowed like a field
    and Jerusalem shall become a heap of stones
    and the temple mount a forest high place. [Mic. 3:12]

¹⁹Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah kill him? Did he not fear the Lord (Yahweh) and plead before the Lord (Yahweh), and the Lord (Yahweh) changed his mind about the evil he had spoken against them? And we can bring great evil upon our own souls."
     ²⁰And 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. ²¹When King Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim) and all his mighty men and all the princes heard his words, the king sought to put him to death, but Orijaho heard it and was afraid, and fled and went to Egypt. ²²But King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt, Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and several men with him, to Egypt. [The last repetition of "to Egypt" is not included in the Greek translation, but the Hebr. emphasizes Egypt (Hebr. Mitsrajim), whose literal meaning is "twice penetrated."] ²³And they brought Orijaho from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him with the sword and threw his dead body into the graves of the sons of the people.
     ²⁴However, 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.

A symbolic yoke (chapters 27-29)

Warning to the nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar

27¹At 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: ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) to me: Make yourself ropes and yokes and put them on your neck, ³and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who came to Jerusalem to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijah), king of Judah, ⁴and give them a mission to their lord, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Thus shall you say to your lords: ⁵I have made the earth, man, and the beasts that are on the face of the earth, with great power and with my outstretched arm, and I give it to whomever seems right in my eyes. ⁶And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and I have also given him the animals of the field to serve him. ⁷And all nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own country comes, even that. And many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.
     ⁸And it shall come to pass, that the nations and kingdoms which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and which will not put their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, saith the Lord (Yahweh), until I have consumed them with my hand. ⁹But you, do not listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your seers, nor to your sorcerers who tell you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' ¹⁰for they prophesy lies to you, to remove you from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹But the people who submit their necks to the yoke of the king of Babylon to serve him, that people I will leave in their own land, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and they shall till it and dwell there.

Warning to King Zedekiah

¹²And I will speak to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, according to all these words, saying, "Submit your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and you shall live. ¹³Why do you and your people want to die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken concerning the people who will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴And do not listen to the word of the prophets who tell you, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying lies to you, ¹⁵for I have not sent them, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and they prophesy lies in my name, that I may drive you out and destroy you, you and the prophets who prophesy to you."

Warning to the priests and the people

¹⁶And to the priests and to all the people I speak and say: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you and say: Behold, the vessels of the Lord's (Yahweh's) house will soon return from Babylon, for they prophesy lies to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? ¹⁸But if they are prophets and if the word of the Lord (Yahweh) is with them, let them now pray to the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) that the vessels remaining in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem will not go to Babylon. ¹⁹Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the foundations, and concerning the remnant of the vessels that remain in the city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take when he carried away captive Jeconiah (Hebr. Jechonjaho), son of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqims), king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: ²²They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day I remember them, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and I will bring them up and restore them to this place.

The false prophet Hananiah

28¹And it came to pass in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqiyahos), king of Judah, in the fourth year, on the fifth day of the month, that Hananiah, the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying: ²Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), he says: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³Within two full years, I will bring back to this place all the vessels from the house of the Lord (Yahweh) that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah (Hebr. Jechonjah), the son of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
     ⁵But 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), ⁶and 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! ⁷But now, I beg you, listen to these words that I speak in your ears and in the ears of all the people: ⁸The prophets who were before me and before you from long ago prophesied against many countries and against great kingdoms, about war and evil and pestilence. ⁹The prophet who prophesies peace (shalom), when the words of the prophet come true, then the prophet shall be known that the Lord (Yahweh) has truly sent him."
     ¹⁰And the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. ¹¹And 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.
     ¹²And 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: ¹³Go and tell Hananiah, saying, 'You have broken the wooden yoke, but in its place you will make an iron yoke. ¹⁴For thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. They shall serve him, and I have also given him the animals of the field.
     ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord (Yahweh) says: Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because the words you have spoken were a distortion against the Lord (Yahweh).
     ¹⁷And the prophet Hananiah died that same year in the seventh month [Tishri – Sept/Oct].

Jeremiah's letter to those in captivity

29¹And 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 ²after King Jehoiachin (Hebr. Jechonjah) and the queen mother [probably Nechushta, see 2 Kings 24:8] and the leaders and princes of Judah and Jerusalem and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem. ³He sent the letter by (through the hand of) Elasa, the son of Shaphán, and Gemarjah (Hebr. Gemarjaho), the son of Hilkiah (Hebr. Chilqijahos), whom Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He said (wrote) to Babylon:

The Letter to Babylon

⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), to all the exiles whom I have carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵"Build houses
    and live in them;
plant gardens
    and eat their fruit.
⁶Marry and have sons and daughters;
    find wives for your sons
        and allow your daughters to marry so that they too may have sons and daughters.
Become more numerous there,
    not fewer!

⁷Seek (work actively for, appear before the Lord and ask for) the best (peace, prosperity – Hebr. shalom)
    for the city where I have taken you into captivity, and pray to [intercede with] the Lord (Yahweh) for it.
If it prospers,
    you will prosper (literally: in its shalom you will have shalom)." [If the city has been blessed with Hebr. shalom—peace, tranquility, and prosperity—in response to prayers, its praying representatives and spokespersons will also share in that blessing.] ⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim):

"Do not let your prophets and diviners who are among you deceive you (lead you astray, deceive, trick, and exploit you), and do not listen to the dreams that you [or the false prophets/diviners] dream ⁹for they prophesy lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh)." [These prophets and diviners urged the Israelites to rebel against the Babylonians, which was not God's plan, see Jer. 27:9.] ¹⁰For thus says the Lord (Yahweh): "When the word for Babylon is fulfilled—seventy years [probably 609-539 BC, see Jer. 25:11]—I will visit you and fulfill my good word (promise) to you, bringing you back to this place." ¹¹For I [the Lord], I know (am familiar with; am intimately acquainted with) the thoughts (innovative ideas; plans) I am thinking [out] (planning, calculating, working out; "weaving together") for you, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
    [namely] thoughts of peace (thoughts of peace; plans for prosperity)
    – not [thoughts and plans] of evil (misfortune, disaster; of evil) –
    to give you a future and a hope! [Only the Lord knows his purposes—the false prophets do not, see verses 8-9. The Lord assures that even though the 70 years of exile in Babylon must be completed, see verse 10, he has not forsaken his people.] ¹²When you call upon me and come to me in prayer (go and pray to me),
    I will hear (so I will listen to) you. ¹³When you seek (strive, search, and ask for) me,
    you will find (so you will find) me,
if you ask for (come before; approach; seek) me
    with all your heart.

[The verse can also be translated: And you have sought me, and you have found me, for you have sought me with all your heart; see also Deut. 4:29; Dan. 9:4–19; Joel 2:12; Luke 11:9.]

¹⁴And I will let you find (when I let you come to) me [then I will be available to you],
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
and I will bring you back from your captivity and gather you (I will return to your captivity and gather you)
    from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you (expelled, banished),
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
I will let you return (I will bring you back)
    to the place from which I drove you away [deprived and stripped you of your possessions and let you be carried away]. ¹⁵Because you have said, "The Lord (Yahweh) has raised up prophets (has caused prophets to arise) for us in Babylon." [Deut. 18:18] ¹⁶For thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning the king who sits on David's throne and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who have not gone with you into captivity. ¹⁷Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot): Behold, I will send upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them like vile figs that cannot be eaten, because they are so bad. ¹⁸And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and I will make them a horror to all the kings of the earth, a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they have not listened to my words, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), which I sent to them through my servants the prophets, sending them early [again and again, see Jer. 25:4; 26:5], but you have not listened, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁰And you, hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), all you captives [in exile] whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), to Ahab, son of Qolijah, and to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the son of Maaseiah, who prophesied a lie in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall smite them before your eyes, ²²and they shall take up a curse against all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, 'The Lord (Yahweh) will make you like Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire. ²³Because they have done foolish things in Israel and committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken lies in my name, which I commanded them not to do. And I am the one who knows (has intimate knowledge of) and am a witness, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

²⁴To the Nehelamite Shemaiah you shall say: ²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel:

Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying: ²⁶The Lord (Yahweh) has made you priest in place of Jehoiada the priest, so that there may be officials in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) over every madman who comes forward as a self-appointed prophet, so that you may put him in stocks and a neck iron. ²⁷And now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has made himself a prophet to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, 'The captivity will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit. ²⁹And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying: ³¹Send to all those in captivity and say, 'Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you without my sending him, and he has made you believe a lie, ³²therefore thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he shall have no man to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for my people, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), because he has spoken falsely against the Lord (Yahweh).

Message – hope

Restoration of Israel and a new covenant

30¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Yahweh), he said: ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel: Write in a book all the word that I have spoken to you. ³For behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah, declares the Lord (Yahweh), and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.
     ⁴And these are the provisions that the Lord (Yahweh) spoke concerning Israel and Judah. ⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

We have heard a voice of trembling,
    with fear and not peace (tranquility, calm – Hebr. shalom).
⁶Ask, I beg you,
    and see if a man (literally, a masculine) gives birth to children?
Why do I see every man with his hands on his thighs
    like a woman in labor, and everyone's faces turned pale?
⁷Woe! For this is a great day,
    there is none like it,
and it is time for Jacob's distress,
    but he [my people] shall be saved (redeemed) from it. ⁸And it shall come to pass in that day [when deliverance comes, see verse 7],
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot),
that I will break his [Nebuchadnezzar, see Jer. 27:8–11] yoke
    from your neck [second person singular – the center of the chiasmus]
and tear apart their [my people's] bonds (shackles).
    Yes, foreigners shall no longer make him [my people] their slaves. [The shift from the third person (he) at the end of verse 7 to the second person (you) in 8c back to the third person "his" at the end of verse 8 is a common chiastic stylistic device. It emphasizes and reinforces God's personal relationship with his people.] ⁹And they shall serve the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim), and David shall be their king, whom I will raise up for them. ¹⁰And do not fear, O Jacob, my servant,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold,
    I will save (rescue) you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall return and have peace and tranquility,
    and no one shall make him afraid (disturb him with fear of any kind).
¹¹For I am with you,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
to save you,
    for I will make an end of all the nations where I have scattered you,
but I will not make an end of you,
    but I will discipline you in measure and not destroy you completely. ¹²Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Your wound is incurable,
    and your injury is serious. ¹³No one looks at your wound to dress it,
    you have no healing medicine. ¹⁴All your lovers have forgotten you;
    they do not seek you out,
because I have wounded you with the wounds of the enemy,
    with the punishment of the cruel one,
for your great sin,
    because your transgressions have multiplied. ¹⁵Why do you cry out over your wound,
    that your pain is incurable?
Because of the multitude of your sins, when your transgressions have multiplied,
    I have done this to you.

¹⁶Therefore, all who devour you will be devoured,
    and all your adversaries—all of them—will go into captivity.
And those who have destroyed you will be destroyed,
    and all who have taken you as prey, I will give as prey.
¹⁷For I will restore health to you
    and I will heal you of your wounds,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),

because they have called you an outcast:
    She is Zion, there is no one who cares for her. ¹⁸Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob's tents
    and have mercy (compassion - Hebr. rachamim) on his dwellings,
and the city [Jerusalem, and every city in the land] shall be built upon its own ruins (height created by repeated settlement – Hebr. tel)
    and the palace shall stand in its proper place [according to plan].
¹⁹And from them shall come thanksgiving
    and the voice of those who laugh (rejoice),
and I will multiply them and they shall not be diminished,
    I will let them increase and they shall not shrink away.
²⁰And their sons shall be as in former times
    and their congregation shall be well established before my face,
    and I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹And their princes shall be their own,
    and their rulers shall come from among them,
and I will bring him near,
    and he shall approach me,
    for who is he who has promised his heart to approach me,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh)? ²²And you shall be my people,
    and I will be your God (Elohim).
²³Behold, a storm from the Lord (Yahweh)
    has gone forth in fury,
a sweeping storm,
    it shall whirl about over the head of the wicked. ²⁴The burning anger of the Lord (Yahweh) shall not return
    until it has accomplished (accomplished) [all it shall]
    and until he has fulfilled the purposes of his heart.
In (at) the end of days
    you shall consider it. [Jer. 23:20]
31¹At that time, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
    I will be God (Elohim) to all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people [Jer. 30:22].

Israel will be restored, and together with Judah they will praise God

²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): "The people who were left by the sword have found mercy (undeserved love) in the wilderness, where I went to give Israel rest." ³From afar, the Lord (Yahweh) revealed himself to me:

With everlasting love I have loved you,
    therefore I have surrounded (built a fence around) you with my grace (loving care).
⁴I will restore you (build you up),
    and you will be restored, O virgin Israel.
Once again you will take up your tambourine,
    and go out dancing among those who are joyful (laughing, having fun).
⁵Once again you will plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria.
Those who plant them
    will enjoy their fruit. ⁶A day is coming
    when the watchmen on the mountains of Ephraim will call out:
Come, let us go up to Zion
    up to the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim).

⁷For thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Sing with joy for Jacob,
    and shout at the head of the nations [Israel],
proclaim, praise, and say:
    "Lord (Yahweh), save your people, the remnant of Israel."
⁸Behold, I will bring them from the lands of the north,
    and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them [are] the blind and the lame [Isa. 35:5–6; Mic. 4:6–8],
    pregnant women and women in labor [no one will be left behind]—
    a great multitude will return here.
⁹They will come back weeping [in repentance for past sins],
    and I will bring them back in prayer for mercy (undeserved love).
I will lead them along streams of water [Ps. 23:2],
    on a smooth path where they will not stumble.
I will do this because I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son. ¹⁰Listen to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), you nations,
    and tell it in distant coastal lands.
Say, "He who scattered Israel will also gather them,
    and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock (feeds, protects)."
    [Num. 27:17; 2 Sam. 7:7; Ps. 78:70–72; Ezek. 34]
¹¹For the Lord (Yahweh) has delivered Jacob
    and redeemed him from one stronger than he.
¹²They shall come and rejoice in Zion [the temple mount in Jerusalem],
    they shall (flock together and) radiate happiness over all that the Lord (Yahweh) gives,
over grain, wine [from grapes], and oil,
    over young sheep and calves.
Their lives shall be like a water-rich garden,
    never again shall they wither away (suffer hardship). ¹³Then young girls shall dance for joy,
    and young men and old men shall join in the joy.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
    I will give them comfort and joy after their pain. [Ps. 30:12–13; 126]
¹⁴And I will satisfy the souls of the priests with the fat [the best parts of the sacrifice],
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

A voice (a cry) is heard in Ramah [meaning: "height"; can also refer to Bethlehem],
    a lament (Lam. 1:1-3) and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeps for her sons,
    she refuses to be comforted for her sons,
    for they are not (her children are gone). [Matt. 2:18]

[Rama is located 8 km north of Jerusalem, where according to an early tradition Rachel is also buried, see 1 Sam. 10:2 (another tradition places the tomb just north of Bethlehem, see Gen. 35:19). Rachel, who was married to Jacob, was childless for a long time but eventually had two children, Joseph and Benjamin. Her grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are the great northern tribes of Israel. Jeremiah now uses a metaphorical image of her weeping over her beloved "children" who had been captured and taken away to Assyria in 722 BC.] ¹⁶Thus says the Lord [to her]:

Hold back your lamentation (cry of sorrow),
    and shed no more tears,
for you shall receive your reward [your genuine repentance has borne fruit],
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
Your children shall return from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷Yes, there is hope for your descendants (your future),
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
Your children will return to their own land. ¹⁸I have truly heard Ephraim lamenting:
You have disciplined me, and I am disciplined,
    like an untamed calf [Hos 10:11],
turn me back so that I may be converted,
    for you are the Lord my God (Yahweh Elohim).
¹⁹Truly, after I repented,
    I regretted it, and after I gained insight (intimate knowledge), I struck my thigh,
I was ashamed and even humiliated
    because I bore the reproaches of my youth. ²⁰Is Ephraim a beloved son to me?
    Is he a child rocked on my knee?
For as often as I speak of him,
    I still remember him honestly,
therefore my inner being [the strings of my heart vibrate] longs for him,
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²¹Set up road signs for yourself,
    make yourself signposts,
set your heart on the high roads,
    even on the roads you walked,
come back (return), virgin of Israel,
    return to these cities of yours. ²²How long will you turn away,
    you apostate daughter?
The Lord (Yahweh) has created something new on earth—
    a woman shall encompass (surround) a warrior (a man in his prime). ²³Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel: Once again this word shall be spoken in the land of Judah and its cities, when I have restored their captives (from exile):

May the Lord (Yahweh) bless you [Num. 6:24],
    you dwelling place of righteousness,
    you holy mountain.

²⁴In it, Judah [the countryside] and all its cities shall live together [in peace and security]
    – farmers (those who plow) and shepherds [those who wander] with their flocks. ²⁵For I will refresh (water generously; quench the thirst of)
    a weary (tired) soul,
    and every soul that languishes (withered) [that is starved, sorrowful, and distressed]
I will fill (satisfy) [anew]. [Here there is a chiasmus where the miserable condition of the soul (Hebr. nefesh) is repeated twice in the center. However, the verse is framed by two verbs that show how God completely refreshes and fills the needs of the soul. See also Ps. 23:2–3; Matt. 5:6; 11:28–29; John 7:37–38.] ²⁶Here I awoke and looked around, and my sleep had done me good. [This verse can be seen as Jeremiah receiving this message, from Jer. 30:1, as a dream. It may also reflect those who have returned and can now sleep well at night in safety.] [Now follow three sections, all beginning with the same phrase: "Behold, days are coming," see verses 27, 31, 38.] ²⁷Behold, days are coming, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of men and with the seed of beasts. ²⁸And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them [Israel and Judah, see Jer. 1:12] to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to overthrow, so will I watch over them to build and to plant [Jer. 1:10], declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say:

"The fathers have eaten sour (unripe) grapes
    and the sons' teeth are set on edge (are worn, blunt – Hebr. qahah) [and thus sore]."

³⁰Each one shall die for his own sin, all people who eat sour grapes, their teeth shall be bad. [Lam. 5:7; Ezek. 18:2] ³¹Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh),
when I will make a new covenant [Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 8:8–10] with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah;
³²not like the covenant I made
    with their fathers
on the day I took them by the hand
    to bring them out of Egypt.
For though they broke my covenant,
    I was still their husband (spouse),
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³³But this is the covenant that I will make (conclude) with the house of Israel
    after those days, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
I will put my law (Hebr. Torah) within them,
    and I will write it on their hearts [Joel 2:28–29; Ezek. 36:26],
and I will be their God (Elohim),
    and they shall be my people,
³⁴and they shall no longer teach each man his neighbor
    and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord (Yahweh),'
for they shall all know (have an intimate relationship with) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
for I will forgive their transgressions
    and their sins I will remember no more.
³⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Who has given the sun
    for light by day,
and the command to the moon and stars
    to shine by night [Gen. 1:14–18],
who stirs up the sea
    so that its waves roar?
    The Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) is his name.
³⁶If this decree ceases before me,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
then the seed of Israel shall also cease
    to be a people before me forever. ³⁷Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

If the heavens above can be measured
    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will also cast away all the seed of Israel
    for all that they have done,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ³⁸Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when the city [Jerusalem] will be rebuilt for the Lord (Yahweh), from the Tower of Chananel ("Tower of God's Favor" – Hebr. migdal chananel) [Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10] to the Corner Gate [2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chron. 25:23; 26:9; Zech. 14:10]. ³⁹And the measuring line shall be stretched straight to the hill of Gareb [literally: the hill of scabies] and shall turn toward Goath [unknown place near Jerusalem; means "bellowing"]. ⁴⁰And the whole valley with the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields to the Kidron brook, to the corner of the Horse Gate eastward [2 Chron. 23:15; Neh. 3:28], shall be consecrated to the Lord (Yahweh). It shall no longer be torn up or broken down, forever.

Symbolic act – repurchase of fields

32¹The 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. ²And 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.
     ³For Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, had shut him up and said, "Why have you prophesied and said, 'Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it, ⁴and Zedekiah, king of Judah, shall not escape the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes. ⁵And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him, declares the Lord (Yahweh), because you have fought against the Chaldeans but shall not succeed.
     ⁶And Jeremiah said, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, saying ⁷Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your uncle, shall come to you and say, 'Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for you have the right to buy it as a redeemer (Hebr. goel).'
     ⁸And Chanamel, my uncle's son, came to me in the court of the guard, according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), and said to me, 'Buy my field, I beg you, which is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin, for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself." And I knew that this was the word of the Lord (Yahweh). ⁹And I bought the field that is in Anathoth from Chanamel, my uncle's son, and weighed out to him the silver, 17 shekels of silver [200 grams]. ¹⁰And I signed the deed of purchase and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed out the silver for him on the scales. ¹¹And I took the deed of purchase for the purchase, both that which was sealed with the commandment and the statutes, and that which was open. ¹²And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch [Jeremiah's scribe, see Jer. 45:1], the son of Neriah, from Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel, my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard.
     ¹³And I admonished Baruch before them, saying, ¹⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel: Take these agreements, this purchase contract, both the sealed one and this open one, and put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for many days. ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
     ¹⁶And when I gave the deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord (Yahweh) and said:

¹⁷Alas, Lord of hosts (Adonai Yahweh), behold, you have made the heavens and the earth with your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you, ¹⁸who shows mercy (caring love – Hebr. chesed) to thousands and repays the sins of the fathers in the bosom of their sons after them. God (El) the great, the mighty, the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) is his name. ¹⁹Great, counselor, and generous (abundant) in execution (work done), whose eyes are open over the ways of all the sons of men, to give to each man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds, ²⁰who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt to this day, and in Israel, and among mankind, and made a name for himself to this day, ²¹and brought forth your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders and with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror, ²²and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³And they came and took possession of it, but they did not listen to your voice or walk in your instruction. They have not done any of the things you commanded them to do. Therefore, you have brought all this evil upon them.
     ²⁴Behold, the siege ramps have come to the city to take it, and the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. Because the sword and famine and pestilence and what you have spoken are coming to pass, and behold, you see it. ²⁵And you have said to me, Lord God (Adonai Yahweh): Buy a field for silver and call in witnesses, but the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

²⁶And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying: ²⁷Behold, I am the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of all flesh. Is anything too hard (wonderful) for me? ²⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall take it, ²⁹and the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set the city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have sacrificed to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me. ³⁰Because the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have done only what is evil in my sight from their youth, because the sons of Israel have provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, declares the Lord (Yahweh), ³¹because this city has been a provocation to my anger and to my wrath from the day it was built until this day, therefore I will remove it from my presence, ³²because of all the evil that the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have done to provoke me, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³And they have turned their backs to me and not their faces, and though I taught (instructed) them early [again and again, see Jer. 7:13], they would not hear (obey) and did not accept admonition (rebuke – Hebr. mosar). ³⁴And they set their abominations in the house where my name is called, to defile it. ³⁵And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to sacrifice their sons and their daughters to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it ever enter my mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
     ³⁶And now, therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel, thus concerning this city, of which you say, "It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence": ³⁷Behold, I will gather them from all the countries where I have driven them in my anger and in my wrath and in great indignation, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety, ³⁸and they shall be my people, and I will be their God (Elohim). ³⁹And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good (their best; literally: 'for their good') and their children after them. ⁴⁰And I will make an everlasting covenant with them—I will never turn away from them, but will always do good to them. I will put my reverence in their hearts so that they will not depart from (leave) me. ⁴¹And I will rejoice over them for their prosperity (their best; literally: 'for their good'), and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all my heart and with all my soul.
     ⁴²Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh): As I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I have spoken [promised] to them. ⁴³And the fields shall be bought in this land, of which you say, 'It is desolate, without man or beast, it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. ⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for silver, and a deed shall be written and sealed, and witnesses called in the land of Benjamin and in the cities around Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah and in the cities of the hill country and in the cities of the lowlands (Hebr. Shefelas) and in the cities of the south, for I will restore their captives, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

Restoration of Israel

33¹And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying: ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the Creator, the Lord (Yahweh) who formed it to stand firm, the Lord (Yahweh) is his name. ³Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great [plural] and mighty (enclosed, hidden, cut off, fortified, inaccessible) [plural] things, which you do not know (lack intimate knowledge of).
     ⁴For thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel, concerning the houses of the city and the houses of the king of Judah, which are broken down to heaps and to ramparts, ⁵where they will come to fight with the Chaldeans, to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I have slain in my anger and in my fury. And for all their wickedness, I have hidden my face from the city. ⁶Behold, I will bring health (wholeness – Hebr. arocha) and healing (Hebr. marfe) and restoration (to repair, to make whole – Hebr. rafa) and I will reveal (uncover) to them an abundance of peace (shalom) and truth. ⁷And I will bring back the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel, and will build them up as they were in the beginning. ⁸And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity that they have sinned against me, and I will forgive all their iniquities that they have sinned against me and that they have transgressed against me. ⁹And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace (shalom) that I do unto them.
     ¹⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Once again there shall be heard in this place, which is called desolate without man and without beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, which are desolate without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, a voice of the bridegroom and a voice of the bride, a voice saying,

Give thanks to the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot)
    for the Lord (Yahweh) is good
    for his mercy (caring love – Hebr. chesed) endures forever.

¹²Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Once again, this place that is burned, without man or animal, and all its cities, will be inhabited by shepherds who let their flocks rest. ¹³In the cities of the hill country [Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron] and in the cities of the lowlands (Hebr. Shefelas) [Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Beit-Shemesh] and in the cities of the south and in the land of Benjamin and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will once again pass under the hand of the one who counts them, says the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁴Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh), when I will fulfill the good (wonderful, gracious) word (promise) that I have spoken to the house of Israel [in the north] and to the house of Judah [in the south].

¹⁵In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous shoot (a branch) to grow up to David,
    and he shall execute judgments (binding legal decisions)
    and righteousness in the land. [Jesus shall reign here on earth.]
¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely,
    and this is what she (Jerusalem) will be called:
    "The Lord (Yahweh) our righteousness."

¹⁷For thus says the Lord (Yahweh): There shall never be cut off a descendant of David who sits on the throne of the house of Israel. ¹⁸And to the priests, the Levites, there shall never be a lack of a descendant (not be cut off) before my face, who offers burnt offerings and to burn grain offerings and perform sacrifices every day (without interruption). ¹⁹And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying: ²⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that there is no day and night in their appointed times, ²¹then my covenant with my servant David shall also be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, my servants. ²²As the host of heaven (the stars) cannot be counted, and as the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so will I multiply the seed of my servant David and the Levites who minister to me. ²³And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying: ²⁴Do you not see what this people has spoken and said: The two families that the Lord (Yahweh) has chosen, he has rejected (cast away), and my people despise them for no longer being a nation before them. ²⁵Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): If my covenant with day and night ceases, if I have not established the ordinances of heaven and earth (literally, "things engraved"), ²⁶then I will also reject the seed of Jacob and my servant David, so that I will not take his seed to reign over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will bring back their captives and will have mercy on them (eternal mercy and compassion – Hebr. rachamim).

Message to kings (chapters 34-35)

Warning to Zedekiah

34¹The 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: ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): Go and speak to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, and say to him: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire, ³and you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand, and your eyes shall see the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon.
     ⁴But hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah. Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) concerning you: You shall not die by the sword. ⁵You shall die in peace (Hebr. shalom), and with the cremation of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, they shall cremate you and mourn for you, saying, "Alas, my lord!" for I have spoken my word, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
     ⁶And the prophet Jeremiah spoke all these prov to Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, in Jerusalem. ⁷And the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem and against the cities that remained in Judah, against Lachish and against Azekah, for only these remained of the fortified cities of Judah.

Freedom for slaves

⁸The 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, ⁹to let every man his male servant and every man his female servant, who were Hebrew men or Hebrew women, go free, so that no one would be a slave to his own brother [countryman]. ¹⁰And all the princes and all the people listened, who had entered into the covenant to let every man his servant and every man his maid go free, so that no one would make them slaves anymore. They listened and let them go. ¹¹But afterward they turned and brought back the servants and maidservants whom they had let go free, and made them submit as servants and maidservants (again).
     ¹²Therefore, the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying ¹³Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Israel (Elohim): I made a covenant with your fathers on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (slavery), saying: ¹⁴At the end of every seven years, every man shall let his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you and has served you for six years, go free from you. But your fathers did not listen to me and did not turn their ears [to hear carefully]. ¹⁵And today you have turned and done what is right in my eyes, in proclaiming liberty to every man for his neighbor. And you have made a covenant before my face, in the house that is called by my name. ¹⁶But you turned and profaned my name, and each man took back his male servant and each woman her female servant whom you had let go free, according to their desire, and made them submit to become servants and maidservants to you.
     ¹⁷Therefore, this is what the Lord (Yahweh) says: You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty to every man to his brother and every man to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim your freedom, declares the Lord (Yahweh), to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the terms of the covenant which they made before me, who cut the calf in two and passed between its pieces, ¹⁹the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the leaders and the priests, and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, ²⁰I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who seek their lives, and their bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
     ²¹And Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, and his princes, I will give into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who seek their lives, and into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, which has come up against you. ²²Behold, I will command, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and cause them to return to this city, and they shall fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.

The Rechabites

35¹The 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: ²"Go to the house of the Rechavites and speak to them and bring them to the house of the Lord (Yahweh), into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink." [The Rechabites were a nomadic tribe related to the Canaanites (1 Chron. 2:55) and descended from Jonadav (2 Kings 10:15). They are associated with working with metal and making chariots, see 2 Kings 10. The reason Jeremiah includes this prophetically symbolic event is to compare the loyalty of this family in keeping a promise to an ancestor who lived 250 years earlier with the unfaithfulness of the people of Judah toward the living God's command.] ³And I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah [not the prophet's son, but the Rechabite Jeremiah's son], the son of Chavatsinja, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites ⁴and brought them to the house of the Lord (Yahweh) into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, who was in the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper. ⁵And I set before the sons of the house of Rechab jars full of wine and cups, and said to them, "Drink wine."
     ⁶But they said, "We will not drink wine, for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You and your sons shall never drink wine. ⁷And you shall not build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, nor own anything, but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn. ⁸And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadav, the son of Rechav, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters, ⁹and not to build houses to dwell in, nor to have vineyards or fields or grain. ¹⁰And we have lived in tents and have listened and done everything that Jonadav, our father, commanded us. ¹¹And it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against the land, that we said, 'Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Arameans,' so we are living in Jerusalem."
     ¹²And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah, saying: ¹³Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel: Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Will you not receive correction and listen to my words? declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ¹⁴The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, have been obeyed, and to this day they do not drink, for they have listened to their father's command. But I have spoken to you, I have risen up and spoken (alternative translation: spoken many times and often), but you have not listened to me. ¹⁵I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sent them many times and often, saying, 'Return, I beg you, from your evil ways. Change your behavior and do not follow other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land that I have given to you and your fathers. But you have not turned your ear and listened to me. ¹⁶Because the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have kept the commandment of their father that he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me,
     ¹⁷therefore, says the Lord (Yahweh), God of hosts (Sebaot Elohim), God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened. I called to them, but they did not answer.
     ¹⁸And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah says: Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), 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, ¹⁹therefore, says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): There shall never be cut off from Jonadab, the son of Rechab, a descendant who stands before me every day (forever).

Jeremiah's suffering as a prophet of the Lord (chapters 36-45)

Introduction

36¹And 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: ²"Take a scroll and write in it all the words that I have spoken against Israel and against Judah and against all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, to this day. ³Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I intend to do to them, so that they may turn back, every man from his evil way, and I may forgive their transgressions and their sins."
     ⁴And 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. ⁵ And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am confined; I cannot go to the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ⁶therefore go and read in the scroll what you have written from my mouth, the words of the Lord (Yahweh), in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) on a fast day, and you shall also read it in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities. ⁷Perhaps they will present their prayers before the Lord (Yahweh) and turn every man from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken against this people."
     ⁸And 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). ⁹And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim), son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month [Kislev – Nov/Dec], that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord (Yahweh), all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. ¹⁰And 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.
     ¹¹And when Mic. (Hebr. Michaiho), the son of Gemariah (Hebr. Gemarjahos), the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord (Yahweh) from the whole scroll, ¹²he went down to the king's house into the scribe's chamber. And behold, all the princes were sitting there, the scribe Elishama and Delayaho, the son of Shemajah, and Elnatan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah (Hebr. Gemarjaho), the son of Shaphán, and Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. ¹³And Mic. (Hebr. Michaiho) told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the scroll in the ears of the people. ¹⁴And all the princes sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take the scroll from your hand, from which you have read in the ears of the people, and come." ¹⁵And they said to him, "Sit down, we pray thee, and read it in our ears." And Baruch read it to them (in their ears). ¹⁶And it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, that they were afraid, every man toward his neighbor, and they said to Baruch, "We must certainly tell the king all these words." ¹⁷And they asked Baruch and said, "Tell us, we pray thee, how didst thou write down all these words from his mouth?" ¹⁸And Baruch said to them, "He spoke all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll."
     ¹⁹And the princes said to Baruch, "Go and hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and let no man know where you are."
     ²⁰And they came into the king's court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of the scribe Elishama, and they told all the words in the ears of the king. ²¹And the king sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king. ²²And the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month [Kislev – Nov/Dec; when the rainy season has begun and it is cold and damp], and the stove was burning before him. ²³And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that he (the king) cut it (the scroll) with the knife and threw it into the fire that was in the stove, until the whole scroll was consumed by the fire that was in the stove. ²⁴And they were not afraid and did not tear their clothes, the king and all his servants who heard all these words. ²⁵And even Elnathan and Delayaho and Gemariah (Hebr. Gemarjaho) had pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not listen to them. ²⁶And 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.
     ²⁷And 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 ²⁸"Take another scroll and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, has burned. ²⁹And concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you shall say: Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): You have burned this scroll and said, 'Why have you written in it and said, 'The king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land, and will cause man and beast to cease from it'? ³⁰Therefore, this is what the Lord (Yahweh) says about Jehoiakim, king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his dead body will be thrown out to the heat of the day and the cold of the night. ³¹And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their sins, and I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the men of Judah all the evil that I have spoken to them, but they did not listen."
     ³²And 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.

Jeremiah's warning – Egypt a false security

37¹And Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), reigned as king in place of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqims), whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah. ²And 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.
     ³And 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)."
     ⁴And Jeremiah came and went out among the people, for they had not put him in prison. ⁵And Pharaoh's army had come up from Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them, they broke camp from Jerusalem.
     ⁶And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying ⁷"Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come to help you, shall return to its own land, Egypt. ⁸And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against the city, and they shall take it and burn it with fire.
     ⁹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Do not deceive yourselves, saying, 'The Chaldeans will surely leave us,' for they will not leave. ¹⁰Even though you have defeated the entire army of the Chaldeans who fought against you, and those who remain are wounded men among them, they will nevertheless rise up, every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire."
     ¹¹And it came to pass that the army of the Chaldeans broke camp from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, ¹²and Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion among the people. ¹³And 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."
     ¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And 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.
     ¹⁶And Jeremiah came to the dungeon and to the cells, and Jeremiah sat there many days. ¹⁷And 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."
     ¹⁸And 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? ¹⁹Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land'? ²⁰And now, please listen to me, my lord the king: Let my prayer come before you, I beg you, that you do not send me back to the house of Jehonathan the scribe, for I will die there."
     ²¹And 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.

Jeremiah is thrown into a cistern to die

38¹And 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, ²"Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Those who remain in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live, and their lives shall be spared, and they shall live. ³Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): This city shall surely be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it."
     ⁴And the princes said to the king, "We beg you, let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the warriors who remain in this city and the hands of the people, when he speaks such words to them, for this man is not seeking the good of the people but their harm."
     ⁵And Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), the king, said, "Behold, he is in your hand, for the king is not the one who can do anything against you."
     ⁶And 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 verse 1], 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.
     ⁷Ebed-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], ⁸so Ebed-Melech left the royal palace to go and speak to the king, saying: ⁹"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]."
     ¹⁰The 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."
     ¹¹So 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. ¹²Ebed-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, ¹³and they pulled him up out of the cistern with the ropes. But Jeremiah had to stay in the guardhouse [as a prisoner].

Conversation with the unfaithful Zedekiah

¹⁴Then 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."
     ¹⁵And 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."
     ¹⁶And 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."
     ¹⁷And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God of hosts (Elohim Sebaot), 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. ¹⁸But if you do not go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand."
     ¹⁹And 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."
     ²⁰And 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. ²¹But if you refuse to go out, this is the word of the Lord (Yahweh) that he has shown me: ²²Behold, all the women who have left the house of the king of Judah shall be taken away to the princes of the king of Babylon, and these women shall say:

Your [so-called] close friends (literally: 'your fragile people of peace' or 'fragile people of your shalom') [Jer. 20:10] have deceived you
    and overcome you.
Your feet have sunk into the mire
    and they have turned back [your friends have forsaken you].

²³And they shall bring forth all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans, and you shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and you shall cause this city to be burned with fire."
     ²⁴Then Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know these words, and you shall not die." ²⁵But if the princes hear that I have spoken to you and they come to you and say to you, "Tell us what you have spoken to the king and what the king has spoken to you, do not hide it from us, and we will not kill you," ²⁶then you shall say to them, 'I made my plea before the king that he would not let me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.
     ²⁷And 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.
     ²⁸And Jeremiah remained in the guardhouse until the day Jerusalem was captured. And it came to pass when Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem

39¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, in the tenth month [Tevet – Dec/Jan], Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his entire army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ²In the eleventh year of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijahos), in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city ³so that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the middle gate, Nergal-Sharetser, Samgar-Nevo, Sarsechim, Rav-Saris, Nergal-Sharetser Ravmag, and all the other princes of the king of Babylon. ⁴When Zedekiah, king of Judah, and all his warriors saw them, they tried to flee. So they went out of the city by night, taking the road through the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and he [Zedekiah] went out by the Arabah road [westward toward the Jordan Valley].
     ⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and caught Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho [in the Jordan Valley; he intended to flee to Moab or Ammon and seek asylum], and when they had caught him, they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath [central Syria], and he [Nebuchadnezzar] pronounced judgment on him. ⁶And the king of Babylon smote the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah, before his eyes. Also all the nobles (leaders) of Judah the king of Babylon smote. ⁷And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon.
     ⁸And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹And Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city, and those who had deserted to him, the rest of the people who remained. ¹⁰But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left the poor of the people who had nothing in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
     ¹¹And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave orders concerning Jeremiah to Nevuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying ¹²"Take him and look after him well (literally: set your eye upon him) and do him no harm, but do to him as he speaks to you." ¹³Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, and Nevushazban, the commander (Hebr. rav-saris), and Nergal-Sharezer, Ravmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon [sent word], ¹⁴and 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.

Jeremiah's conversation with the kind Ebed-Melech

¹⁵And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court, saying: ¹⁶Go and speak to Ebed-Melech (meaning the king's servant), the Cushite, and say, "Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷But I will deliver you on that day, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), and you shall not be given into the hands of the men you fear. ¹⁸I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall escape with your life as a prize of war, because you have trusted in me, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh)."

Jeremiah is set free

40¹The 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. ²And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "The Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) spoke this evil against this place ³and the Lord (Yahweh) has brought it to pass and done as he spoke, because you have sinned against the Lord (Yahweh) and have not listened to his voice, therefore these things have come upon you. ⁴And now, behold, I release you today from the chains that are on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look favorably upon you; but if it is evil in your eyes to go with me to Babylon, do not go. See, the whole land is before you; wherever it is good and right in your eyes to go, go there." ⁵But he did not want to return. "Then return to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go wherever it seems good to you to go."
    And the captain of the guard gave him provisions and a gift and let him go. ⁶And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.

Gedalja is killed

⁷And when all the captains of the forces in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, governor over the land, and had committed to him the men, the women, the children, and the weak who were left in the land, who had not been carried away captive to Babylon, ⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, Ishmael (Hebr. Yishmael), the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Pahath-moab the Netophathite, and Jezaniah, the son of Maacah, they and their men. ⁹And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰And I, behold, I will dwell in Mizpah, to represent before the Chaldeans who come to us; but you, gather your wine and summer fruit and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in the cities that you have taken."
     ¹¹And all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and in all the countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them. ¹²Then all the Jews returned from the places where they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered grapes and summer crops in great abundance.
     ¹³And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the field, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴and said to him, "Do you know that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, to take your life?" But Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, did not believe them.
     ¹⁵And Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly and said, "Let me go, I beg you, and I will strike down Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who have gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?"
     ¹⁶But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely about Ishmael." 41¹And it came to pass in the seventh month [Tishri – Sept/Oct], that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of royal descent (birth) and one of the king's chief officers, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and there they ate bread together in Mizpah. ²Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, rose up and struck Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. ³Ishmael killed all the Jews who were with him at Mizpah, along with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the warriors.
     ⁴And it came to pass on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, that no man knew it. ⁵And there came men from Shechem [present-day Nablus, see Gen. 12:6], from Shiloh, and from Samaria, 80 men who had their beards shaved and their clothes torn and had cut themselves, and they had grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the Lord (Yahweh). ⁶And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all the way as he went, and it came to pass when he met them that he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam." ⁷And it came to pass, when they entered the city, that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, slew them, and cast them into the midst of the cistern, he and the men that were with him. ⁸But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have stores hidden in the field of wheat and barley, oil and honey." So he refrained and did not kill them among their brothers. ⁹And the cistern (well) into which Ishmael threw all the dead bodies of the men he had killed beside Gedaliah was the one that King Asa had made out of fear of Baasha, king of Israel. Ishmael, the son of Netanyahu, filled it with those who had been killed.
     ¹⁰And Ishmael carried away captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters, and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, carried them captive and departed to go over to the sons of Ammon.
     ¹¹But when Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done, ¹²they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and found him at the great waters in Gibeon. ¹³And it came to pass, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, that they were glad. ¹⁴And all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah looked around and returned and went to Johanan, the son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, fled from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon.

Flight to Egypt

¹⁶And Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the men, the warriors, the women, the children, and the leaders whom he had brought back from Gibeon, ¹⁷and they left and lived in Geruth Kimham, which is near Bethlehem, to go to Egypt, ¹⁸because of the Chaldeans, for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 42¹And all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least even unto the greatest, came near ²and 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, ³that the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) may tell us what way we should go and what we should do." ⁴And 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 shall come to pass that whatever the Lord (Yahweh) answers you, I will tell you; I will not hide anything from you."
     ⁵And 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. ⁶Whether it is good or whether it is evil, we will listen to the voice of the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) to whom we have sent you, that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim)."
     ⁷And it came to pass after ten days that the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah. ⁸And he called for Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, ⁹and said to them, "Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel, to those who sent me to present your prayers before him: ¹⁰If you continue to dwell in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will change my mind about the evil that I have done to you. ¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord (Yahweh), for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. ¹²And I will show you mercy (compassion – Hebr. rachamim) and caress you and bring you back to your own land.
     ¹³But if you say, 'We will not dwell in this land,' and do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim), ¹⁴and say, "No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, hear the sound of the trumpet, or hunger for bread, and there we will dwell." ¹⁵so now, listen to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), you remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): If you really set your face to go to Egypt and go there and dwell there, ¹⁶then it shall come to pass that the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you fear will follow you closely there in Egypt, and there you shall die. ¹⁷This is what will happen to all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt and live there. They will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and none of them will be left or escape the evil I will bring upon them. ¹⁸Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): As my anger and my wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt, and you will become an object of horror and astonishment, a curse and a reproach, and you will never see this place again.
     ¹⁹The Lord (Yahweh) has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah: Do not go to Egypt; know for certain that I have warned you today. ²⁰For you have acted treacherously against yourselves (your own souls), because you have sent me to the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) and said, Pray for us to the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim), and whatever the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) says, you shall tell us, and we will do it. ²¹And today I have told you, but you have not listened to the voice of the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) in anything that he has sent me to you. ²²And now, know for certain that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where your desire is to go and dwell." 43¹And 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, ²that 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 shall not go to Egypt to dwell there,' ³but Baruch, the son of Neriah, has turned against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us and carry us away captive to Babylon."
     ⁴And Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not listen to the voice of the Lord (Yahweh) to dwell in the land of Judah. ⁵And Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all the countries where they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah, ⁶the 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, ⁷and they came to the land of Egypt, for they did not listen to the voice of the Lord (Yahweh), and they came to Tahpanhes.

Jeremiah's warning—Egypt cannot protect

⁸And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying: ⁹"Take large stones in your hand and hide them in the mortar of the foundation at the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah ¹⁰and say to them, 'This is what the Lord (Yahweh), the God of hosts (Sebaot Elohim), the God of Israel (Elohim), says: Behold, I will send for and bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them. ¹¹And he shall come and strike the land of Egypt, and those who are destined for death shall die, and those who are destined for captivity shall go into captivity, and those who are destined for the sword shall fall by the sword. ¹²And I will kindle a fire in the house of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall fold up the land of Egypt as a shepherd folds up his garments, and he shall go forth from there in peace (shalom). ¹³He will break the pillars of Beit-Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt, and he will burn the houses of the gods of Egypt with fire." 44¹The 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: ²"Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): You have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon the cities of Judah, and behold, this day they are desolate, and no one dwells in them ³because of the evil they have done in provoking me by going to sacrifice and serve other gods whom neither they nor you nor your fathers have known. ⁴And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them early and often, saying, 'Do not do these abominable things that I hate. ⁵But they did not listen and did not incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, to refrain from sacrificing to other gods. ⁶Therefore, my wrath and my anger are poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they are lost and destroyed as they are this day.
     ⁷And now the Lord (Yahweh), the God of hosts (Elohim Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), says: Why have you committed this great evil against yourselves (your own souls)? You are cutting off (cutting away) men and women, children and infants from the midst of Judah, leaving none remaining. ⁸You provoke me with the work of your hands when you sacrifice to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to dwell, so that you are cut off (cut off) and become a curse and a reproach among the peoples of the earth. ⁹Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your fathers and the evil deeds of the kings of Judah and the evil deeds of their wives and your own evil deeds and the evil deeds of your wives that they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰They [your people] have not humbled themselves [bowed down in humility before God] to this day. They have not feared and have not walked in my teaching (Hebr. Torah) or in my statutes (literally: things engraved) that I set before you and your fathers.
     ¹¹Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): I have set my face against you for evil, and to cut off (cut down) all Judah. ¹²And I will take the remnant of Judah who have turned their faces to go to Egypt and dwell there, and they shall be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine; they shall die from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an abomination, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach. ¹³For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, ¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or remain, so that they may return to the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there, for no one shall return except the exiles [the captives in Babylon]."
     ¹⁵And 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: ¹⁶"The word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord (Yahweh), we will not listen to. ¹⁷But we will certainly carry out every word that has come out of our mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then we had plenty of bread and were well off and saw no evil. ¹⁸But since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been devoured by the sword and by famine. ¹⁹And is it we who have sacrificed to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her? Have we made cakes for her with her image (made an image – Hebr. atsav) and poured out drink offerings to her without our husbands?"
     ²⁰And Jeremiah spoke to all the people, to the men and to the women, to all the people who had given him this answer, saying: ²¹"The sacrifices that you have offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, has not the Lord (Yahweh) remembered them, and have they not come up into his heart? ²²And the Lord (Yahweh) can no longer lift up his face for all your evil deeds, because of the abominations you have committed. Therefore, your land has become a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without inhabitants, as it is today. ²³Because you have sacrificed and sinned against the Lord (Yahweh) and have not listened to the voice of the Lord (Yahweh), have not walked in his teaching, not in his statutes (literally: things engraved) and not in his ordinances (testimonies), therefore this evil has befallen you as it is today."
     ²⁴And 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: ²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim): Both you and your wives have spoken with your mouths, and with your hands you have fulfilled it, saying, 'We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed to sacrifice to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her. You will certainly fulfill your vows and certainly carry out your promises. ²⁶Therefore, hear the word of the Lord (Yahweh), all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord (Yahweh), that my name shall no longer be mentioned in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, 'The Lord God (Adonai Yahweh) lives,' in all Egypt. ²⁷Behold, I am watching over them for evil and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine until there is an end of them. ²⁸And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, a small number, and they shall know, all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell there, whose word shall stand (remain, be strong, be upright, be successful, do good, help—Hebr. qom), mine or theirs.
     ²⁹And this shall be the sign unto you, saith (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know (be intimately acquainted with) that my words do indeed stand against you for evil. ³⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Chafra [also known as Apries, ruled 587-570 BC], king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his soul (life), as I delivered Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life."

Summary

45¹The 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: ²"Thus says the Lord (Yahweh), the God (Elohim) of Israel, concerning you, Baruch: ³You say, 'Woe is me! For the Lord (Yahweh) has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary of my Lam., and I find no rest (peace).
     ⁴Thus shall you say to him:

Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):
Behold, what I have built up
    I will tear down
and what I have planted
    I will uproot,
and this throughout the land. ⁵And you seek great things for yourself, do not seek them, for behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), but your soul (your life) I will give you as a spoil in all the places where you go."

Nine nations

Egypt

46¹The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to Jeremiah concerning the nations. ²To Egypt. Concerning Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, whose army is by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah (Hebr. Joshijahos), king of Judah.

³Prepare your small [round] shield and your large [rectangular] battle shield
    and come to battle. ⁴Harness the horses
    and mount up, you horsemen,
and take your positions
    with your helmets,
polish your spears,
    put on your armor (Hebr. ciyron).
⁵Why do I see them terrified
    and turning back?
And their mighty men are struck down
    and they have fled in haste without looking back,
    terror on every side,

proclaims (says, declares) the Lord (Yahweh).

⁶The swift cannot flee,
    the mighty cannot escape,
in the north by the river Euphrates
    they have stumbled and fallen.

⁷Who is this like the Nile that rises,
    like the river whose waters swirl around?
⁸Egypt is like the Nile that rises,
    and like the river whose waters swirl around,
and he says, "I will rise up, I will cover the earth,
    I will destroy the city and its inhabitants."
⁹Mount the horses
    and prepare the chariots
and let the mighty men (men in their prime, full of their own strength and power) go forth.
    Cush [present-day Ethiopia and Sudan] and Put (Hebr. Pot) [corresponds to present-day Libya] to handle the shield,
    the Lodites to handle and bend the bow.
¹⁰And on that day the Lord (Adonai), the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot),
    will have a day of vengeance when he avenges his adversaries,
and the sword will devour and be satiated
    and will be drunk with their blood,
for the Lord (Adonai), the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), slaughters in the land
    of the north by the river Euphrates.

¹¹Go up to Gilead and get yourself balm,
    you virgin daughter of Egypt,
you use many medicines in vain,
    for there is no cure for you. ¹²The nations have heard of your shame [Egypt's great defeat],
    and the earth is full of your cries (screams),
for [in their panic-stricken flight] one hero stumbles over another
    and they both fall together.

¹³The 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 verses 14-24.]

¹⁴Tell it in Egypt and let it be heard in Migdol
    and let it be heard in Noph [Memphis] and Tahpanhes,
saying, "Stand firm and prepare yourself
    for the sword has devoured all around you."
¹⁵Why are your mighty ones [all the idols of Egypt] overturned?
    He [Apis, the greatest god, represented as a bull] did not stand because the Lord (Yahweh) threw him down. ¹⁶He caused many to stumble,
    they fell one upon another, and [the Egyptian merchants abroad] said:
"Arise, and let us return to our own people
    and to our native land, from the oppressive sword."
¹⁷They cried out there: "Pharaoh, king of Egypt—a commotion (great tumult, chaos),
    he has passed the appointed time (neglected his time)." [Can also be interpreted as him getting a nickname: The noise that never came.]
¹⁸I live, proclaims (says, proclaims) the King,
    whose name is Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot).
As surely as Tabor among the mountains
    and Carmel by the sea, he shall come.
¹⁹You daughter who dwells in Egypt,
    dress yourself for captivity,
for Nof [Memphis] shall become desolate
    and shall be laid waste without inhabitants.

²⁰Egypt is a very beautiful heifer
    but a "swarm of biting insects" (Hebr. qeres) [Nebuchadnezzar who] comes out of the north, they are coming. [Hebr. qeres is only used here, the word derives from the word to bite, wave or pull together. It probably refers to a biting or flying insect. The metaphor and parallelism here suggest that it probably refers to a swarm of flies attacking livestock – the heifer Egypt.] ²¹Even the merchants in her midst
    are like calves in the stall,
for they have turned back, they have all fled together,
    they do not stay [in the "stall"],
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    the time of their visitation. ²²Their sound is like that of a fleeing serpent,
    for they march with an army
    and come against them with axes
    like woodcutters. ²³They cut down the forest,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
so that it cannot be searched,
    for they are more than locusts, they cannot be counted.
²⁴The daughter of Egypt is put to shame.
    She is given into the hands of the people of the north.

²⁵The Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim), says: Behold, I will punish Amon [an Egyptian sun god] of No [Thebe, present-day Luxor] and Pharaoh and Egypt with her gods and her kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ²⁶And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; and afterward it shall be inhabited as in former days, declares the Lord (Yahweh).

²⁷But fear not, Jacob, my servant.
    Do not be dismayed, Israel,
for behold, I will save you from afar,
    and your seed (your descendants) from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall be quiet again
    and at ease, and no one shall disturb him. ²⁸Fear not, Jacob, my servant, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
    for I am with you,
I will utterly destroy all the nations
    where I have driven you,
but I will not utterly destroy you,
    and I will discipline you in measure,
    but I will not destroy you completely.

Seven nations – from south to north

[Now follow seven nations between the superpowers of Egypt (Jer. 46) in the south and Babylon (Jer. 50–51) in the north. The list goes from south, then east, and finally north.]

The Philistines

47¹The 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.] ²Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, waters are rising from the north
    [the same metaphor used for the Egyptian army (Jer. 46:8), used here for Babylon]
    and will become a flooding stream,
and it will flood the land and all who are in it,
    the city and those who live in it,
and the men will cry out
    and all the inhabitants of the land will wail.
³From the sound of his strong, stamping hooves,
    the rush of his chariots, the clatter of his wheels,
the fathers do not look after their sons (children) ...
    their hands sink down (are weak).
⁴Over the day that is coming to destroy all of Philistia,
    to cut off from Tyre and from Sidon every helper that remains [Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Tyre lasted 13 years],
for the Lord (Yahweh) has destroyed the Philistines,
    the remnant of the island of Chaftor [Crete].
    [The Philistines are believed to have originated in Crete, see Deut. 2:23; Amos 9:7.]
⁵Baldness [an outward sign of mourning, see Amos 8:10] has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon has been destroyed, the remnant of their valley, how long will you cut (harm) yourself? ⁶Woe! The sword of the Lord (Yahweh) [a symbol of the Lord's judgment],
    how long will it continue before it becomes silent?
Stick yourself in your sheath,
    rest and be still. ⁷How will you be silent?
    But the Lord (Yahweh) has given you a mission against Ashkelon,
and against the seashore,
    there he has determined it.

Moab

48¹To Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim):

Woe to [the city of] Nebo! For it is doomed.
    Qirjatim must be ashamed, it is taken.
    Misgav must be ashamed and terrified. ²The praise of Moab is no more.
    In Heshbon [35 km east of Jericho] they have devised evil against her:
"Come, let us destroy them (cut them off) [the Moabites] as a people."
    Even you, Madmen [a city in Moab; means mound; also similar to the word for be silent] shall be silenced (Hebr. damam), the sword shall pursue you. ³A voice cries out from Choronim:
    "Destruction and great ruin!"
⁴Moab is destroyed,
    her little ones have let out a cry.
⁵For with the rising of Luchits with unceasing weeping
    they shall rise up,
for in the descent of Choronim
    they have heard the cry of anguish:
⁶Flee! Save your lives
    and be like a tamarisk in the desert.
⁷Because you have trusted in your work
    and in your treasures, you shall be captured
and Kemosh shall go into captivity,
    his priests and his princes together.
⁸And the destroyer shall come upon every city
    and no city shall escape,
    the valley shall perish
    and the field shall be destroyed,
    as the Lord (Yahweh) has said.
⁹Give wings to Moab,
    for she must fly and depart,
and her cities shall become a desolate place
    with no one living there. ¹⁰Cursed (exterminated, utterly destroyed – Hebr. arar) is he who does the Lord's (Yahweh's) work with a sluggish hand,
    and cursed (Hebr. arar) is he who holds back his sword from blood. ¹¹Moab has been easy from his youth
    and he has settled [like wine] on the bottom
and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel
    – he has not gone into captivity,
therefore his taste remains with him
    and his fragrance has not changed.
¹²Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
when I will send to him those who plow (turn up)
    and they shall plow him
and they shall empty his vessels
    and break his pots in pieces.
¹³And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh
    as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. ¹⁴How do you say, "We are mighty men (men in their prime, full of their own strength and power),
    warriors for battle"?
¹⁵Moab is ruined, and they have gone up into her cities
    and her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,
declares (says, proclaims) the King,
    whose name is the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot).
¹⁶The disaster for Moab is coming
    and her sorrow is hastening greatly.
¹⁷Mourn (lament) for him, all you who are around him,
    and all you who know (are familiar with) his name.
Say, "How the mighty staff is broken,
    the beautiful scepter!"
     ¹⁸You daughter who dwells in Dibon,
    come down from your glory and sit thirsty,
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you,
    he has broken down your strongholds. ¹⁹O inhabitants of Aroer,
    stand by the road and watch,
ask him who flees and him who escapes.
    Say, "What has happened?"
²⁰Moab must be ashamed, for it is destroyed,
    mourn and cry out,
tell it in Arnon,
    that Moab is destroyed. ²¹And judgment has come to the plain,
    to Cholon and to Jahetsa and over Mejfaat
²²and over Dibon and over [the city] Nebo
    and over Beit-Divlatajim
²³and over Kirjatajim and over Beit-Gamol
    and over Beit-Meon
²⁴and over Qeriot and over Botsra
    and over all the cities of the land of Moab, near and far.
²⁵The horn of Moab is cut off
    and its arm is broken,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). [The horn is a symbol of strength.] ²⁶Make him drunk
    for he has made himself great before the Lord (Yahweh)
and Moab shall wallow in his vomit
    and he shall also become a laughingstock.
²⁷Was not Israel a laughingstock to you?
    Was he found among thieves?
For as often as you spoke of him,
    you shook your head.
²⁸And you who live in Moab,
    leave the cities and live among the rocks
and be like doves
    that build their nests at the mouth of the hole (mouth).
²⁹We have heard of Moab's pride,
    he is very proud,
his exaltation and his pride
    and his arrogance and the haughtiness of his heart. ³⁰I know (am well acquainted with) his arrogance, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh), it is ill-founded, his exaltation has not brought anything well-founded. ³¹Therefore, I will lament for Moab;
    yes, I will cry out for all of Moab,
    for the men of Qir-Cheres [the city is often associated with the ancient capital of Moab; meaning "wall of clay shards"] my heart will groan. ³²More than for the weeping of Jazer, I will weep for you,
    wine of Sibmah,
your branches reached to the sea,
    they stretched over the sea of Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen upon your summer harvest
    and upon your vineyard. ³³And joy and gladness have been taken away
    from your fruitful fields and from the land of Moab
and I have let the wine cease from your winepresses,
    no one shall tread with shouts,
    the shouts shall not be shouts. [People used to tread the grapes in the winepress to the beat of rhythmic songs, as it was customary to stand together in the winepress and keep a steady, common rhythm in the treading.] ³⁴From the cries of Cheshbon to Elale to Ahat
    you have raised your voice,
from Tsoar to Choronajim,
    a three-year-old heifer, even the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate. ³⁵And I will make an end in Moab,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
on him who sacrifices on high places
    and him who sacrifices to his gods.
³⁶Therefore my heart moans for Moab
    like a flute,
and my heart moans
    like a flute for the men of Qir-Cheres [in Moab],
because his abundance has been lost.
³⁷All heads are bald
    and all beards are shaven,
all hands are scarred
    and sackcloth is worn over the hips.
³⁸On all the rooftops of Moab
    and in its open places—everywhere there is lamentation,
for I have crushed Moab like a vessel
    that has no beauty,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³⁹How broken he is! They wail!
    How Moab has turned his back in shame.
So Moab will become a mockery
    and a horror to all around him. ⁴⁰Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, he will hover like an eagle
    and spread his wings over Moab. ⁴¹The cities are taken
    and the strongholds [natural strongholds, caves, and cliffs – Hebr. masad; the same word as the famous ancient fortress Masada in the Negev desert] are besieged,
and the heart of Moab's mighty men (men in their prime, full of strength and power)
    shall be on that day like the heart of a woman in her labor pains.
⁴²And Moab shall cease to be a people
    because he has made himself great against the Lord (Yahweh).
⁴³Terror and the abyss, a snare are upon you (literally: you), inhabitants of Moab,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
⁴⁴He who flees from terror
    shall fall into the abyss
and he who climbs out of the abyss
    shall be caught in the snare,
for I will bring it upon her,
    upon Moab your year of visitation (year of reckoning/visitation) [when injustice is judged], declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁴⁵In the shadow of Cheshbon
    the refugees stand without strength,
for a fire has gone forth from Cheshbon,
    and a flame from the midst of Sihon
and it devours the corners of Moab
    and the crown on the head of the raging ones. ⁴⁶Woe to you, Moab!
    The people of Chemosh are scattered,
for your sons are carried away captive
    and your daughters are in captivity.
⁴⁷But I will bring back the captives of Moab
    at the end of the days (in the days to come),
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). This is the judgment of Moab.

Ammon

49¹To the sons of Ammon. Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Does Israel have no sons,
    or does he have no heir?
Why does Malkam take possession of Gad
    and his people dwell in its cities?
²Therefore, behold, days are coming,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
when I will sound a battle cry
    against Rabbah, the sons of Ammon,
and it will come and it will become a ruin (a mound created by repeated settlement – Hebr. tel)
    and her daughters will be burned with fire.
Then Israel shall dispossess those
    who have dispossessed him,
    says the Lord (Yahweh).
³Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed;
    cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
put on sackcloth,
    Lam. and run to and fro within the walls,
for Malkam shall go into captivity,
    his priests and his princes together. ⁴Why do you shine in the valleys,
    your flowing valleys,
you daughter of apostasy,
    you trust in your treasures and say,
    "Who will come to me?"
⁵Behold, I will bring terror upon you,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot),
from all who dwell around you,
    and you shall be driven out,
every man straight ahead (straight ahead)
    and no one shall gather those who flee.
⁶But afterward I will bring back the captives of the sons of Ammon,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

Edom

⁷To Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
    Has [good] counsel departed (wandered away) from the wise?
    Has wisdom perished?
⁸Flee, turn back, take refuge [in caves or far out in the wilderness],
    you inhabitants of Dedan,
for I am bringing disaster on Esau,
    the time when I will punish him.
⁹If the grape harvesters come to you,
    would they not leave any grapes picked [Lev. 19:10; Deut. 24:21]?
If thieves come at night,
    would they not destroy until they have had their fill? [Obad. 1:5]
¹⁰But I have stripped Esau,
    I have uncovered his secret places
    so that he cannot hide.
His seed (offspring) is lost, and his brothers and his neighbors
    and he is no more. [Obad. 1:6]
¹¹Leave your fatherless, I am behind them (will preserve them)
    and let your widows trust in me. ¹²For thus says the Lord (Yahweh): Behold, those who are not worthy to drink your cup shall surely drink it, and shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink it. ¹³For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord (Yahweh), that Bozrah shall become a horror, a reproach, a desolation, and a reproach, and all its cities shall be perpetual ruins. ¹⁴I have heard a message from the Lord (Yahweh)
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
"Gather yourselves together and come against her
    and rise up for battle."
¹⁵For behold, I will make you small among the nations
    and despised among men. ¹⁶Your wickedness has deceived you,
    the pride of your heart,
you who dwell in the cleft of the rock
    and in the heights of the hill,
though you make your nest as high as the eagle's,
    I will bring you down from there, declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁷And Edom shall become a wonder,
    all who pass by shall be astonished and hiss at all its plagues. ¹⁸As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown
    and its neighboring cities,
    says the Lord (Yahweh),
no man shall dwell there,
    nor shall any son of man dwell there. ¹⁹Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan
    against the stronghold,
for I will suddenly make him run away from there
    and I will set the chosen one over it,
for who is like me? And who will appoint a time for me?
    And who is the shepherd who will stand before my face?
²⁰Therefore, listen to the counsel of the Lord (Yahweh) that he has given to Edom,
    and his purposes that he has promised to the inhabitants of Teman,
surely the least of the flock shall drive him away,
    surely their dwelling place shall be appalled at them. ²¹The earth trembles at the sound of their fall; there is a cry;
    their sound is heard in the Reed Sea (Hebr. jam sof) [Red Sea].
²²Behold, he will come up like an eagle
    and swoop down and spread his wings toward Bozrah,
and the heart of the mighty men of Edom (men in their prime, full of their own strength and power)
    will be like the heart of a woman in labor on that day.

Damascus

²³To Damascus.

Chamat is ashamed and Arpad,
    for they have heard evil rumors,
they have melted away,
    their anguish is in the sea, it cannot be silenced (calmed, soothed). [The word for melt signifies a change that cannot be resisted. People are shaking with fear and cannot do anything about the situation.] ²⁴Damascus has become weak [has let go—is paralyzed],
    she turns to flee
    but fear has besieged her,
anxiety and labor pains have taken hold of her,
    like a woman in childbirth.
²⁵How forsaken shall the praised city [Damascus] become,
    the city of my joy!
²⁶Therefore, her young men shall fall in her squares (open places)
    and all her warriors shall be silenced on that day,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot).
²⁷And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus
    and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

Kedar

²⁸To Qedar and to the kingdom of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated. Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Arise, go up against Qedar
    and destroy the sons of the east. ²⁹You shall take their tents and their flocks,
    they themselves shall carry away their tent cloths
and all their utensils
    and their camels
and they shall cry out over them:
    "Terror on every side."
³⁰Flee, flee far away,
    hide (take refuge) deep [in caves or far out in the wilderness], inhabitants of Hazor,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has taken counsel against you
    and has devised a plan against you.
³¹Arise, go up to a land that is peaceful (lives in peace),
    that dwells without care,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
that has neither gates nor bars,
    that dwells apart.
³²And their camels shall become prey,
    and their multitude of cattle shall be lost,
and I will scatter to all the winds (directions)
    those who have [as outward evidence of their idolatry] cut the edges [cut their hair short at the temples, see Jer. 9:26; 25:23; Deut. 14:1],
    and from all their sides I will bring their calamity,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³³And Hazor shall become a dwelling place for jackals,
    a desolate place forever,
no man shall dwell there
    and no son of man shall live there.

Elam

³⁴The word of the Lord (Yahweh) that came to the prophet Jeremiah, to Elam [current soutwest Iran, the region where Susa was located, se Dan. 8:2], at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho), king of Judah. He said: ³⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,
    the leader of their strength.
³⁶And I will bring upon Elam the four winds
    from the four corners of the heavens,
and will scatter them
    to all these winds (cardinal points)
and there shall be no nation
    where the scattered of Elam shall not come. ³⁷And I will make Elam terrified before their enemies
    and before those who seek their souls (lives),
and I will bring evil upon them,
    my fierce anger,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
and I will send the sword after them
    until I have devoured them.
³⁸And I will set my throne in Elam
    and will cut off from it kings and princes,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³⁹But it shall come to pass in days to come,
    that I will bring back the captives of Elam,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).

Babylon

50¹The word that the Lord (Yahweh) speaks concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of the prophet Jeremiah. ²Tell among the nations and proclaim,
    raise a banner,
    proclaim, do not conceal it, say:
"Babylon is taken,
    Bel is put to shame,
    Merodach is dismayed,
her idols are put to shame,
    her gods are dismayed."
³Out of the north a nation will come against her [the Medo-Persian Empire]
    that will make her land desolate
and no one will live there
    – from man to beast – they have fled, they are gone. ⁴In those days and at that time,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
the sons of Israel shall come and the sons of Judah together,
    they shall go weeping and seek the Lord their God (Yahweh Elohim).
⁵They shall ask for Zion [Jerusalem]
    with their faces turned along the way:
"Come and join yourselves to the Lord (Yahweh)
    in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten."
⁶My people have become lost sheep,
    their shepherd has led them astray,
    they have turned away on the mountains,
they have gone from mountain to hill,
    they have forgotten their resting place.
⁷All who found them have devoured them,
    and their adversaries say, "We are not guilty,"
because they have sinned against the Lord (Yahweh), the home of righteousness,
    and the hope (Hebr. miqveh) of their fathers, the Lord (Yahweh). ⁸Flee from the midst of Babylon and go forth,
    out of the land of the Chaldeans
and be like the goats
    before the flock.
⁹For behold, I will stir up and bring a gathering of great nations from the north
    to come up against Babylon,
and they shall prepare themselves against her,
    from there she shall be taken,
their bows shall be like a mighty man
    made childless, none shall return in vain. ¹⁰And the Chaldeans shall be destroyed,
    all who destroy her shall be satisfied,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
¹¹Because you are glad, because you rejoice,
    you who plunder my inheritance,
because you leap (kiss) like a heifer in green pasture
    and bellow like strong oxen,
¹²your mother will be thoroughly ashamed,
    she who bore you will be perplexed.
Behold, the most distant peoples will become a desert,
    a dry land, a wilderness.
¹³Because of the wrath of the Lord (Yahweh), it shall not be inhabited,
    but it shall be completely desolate.
All who pass by Babylon shall be appalled
    and whistle [in shock] at all her plagues. ¹⁴Take up your positions against Babylon all around,
    all you who bend the bow,
shout against her,
    spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord (Yahweh).
¹⁵Cry out against her on every side,
    so that she surrenders,
    her pillars have fallen,
her walls are torn down,
    it is the Lord's (Yahweh's) vengeance, take vengeance on her,
    as she has done, do [the same] to her. ¹⁶Exterminate (cut off) the sowers of Babylon
    and him who holds the sickle during the harvest,
for fear of the oppressive sword
    each shall turn to his own people,
    and each shall flee to his own land. ¹⁷Israel is a scattered flock,
    the lions have driven him away.
First the king of Assyria devoured him,
    and finally Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, crushed his bones. ¹⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim):

Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
    as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹I will bring Israel back to its pasture,
    and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan,
and his soul will be satisfied
    in the mountains of Ephraim and in Gilead. ²⁰In those days and at that time,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
they shall seek the sin of Israel,
    but it shall not be found,
and the sin of Judah,
    but it shall not be found,
    for I will forgive those whom I have left as a remnant.
²¹Go up against the land of Merathaim,
    go up against it,
    and against the inhabitants of Pekod.
Destroy and utterly ruin, pursue them,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
and do according to all that I have commanded you.
²²Hear! The battle is in the land
    and great destruction.
²³How the hammer of the world is broken and shattered!
    How Babylon has become a wasteland among the nations!
²⁴I have laid a snare for you,
    and you are caught, Babylon,
you were not vigilant,
    you are found and caught
    because you have fought against the Lord (Yahweh).
²⁵The Lord (Yahweh) has opened his armoury
    and brought out the weapons of his wrath (literally, his fury).
This is the work of the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot)
    in the land of the Chaldeans.
²⁶Come against her from all sides,
    open her granaries,
    throw her up like a pile of stones
and destroy her completely,
    leaving nothing of her behind.
²⁷Slay all her bulls,
    let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
    the time of their visitation (inspection, reckoning, and punishment).
²⁸Hear! They flee and escape from the land of Babylon
    to tell Zion [Jerusalem],
the vengeance of the Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim),
    the vengeance for his temple.
²⁹Gather the archers against Babylon,
    all who draw the bow,
encamp against her all around,
    let none of them escape,
repay her according to her deeds,
    according to all she has done, do [the same] to her.
For she has been proud (arrogant) against the Lord (Yahweh),
    against the Holy One of Israel.
³⁰Therefore, her young men shall fall in her open places (squares),
    and her warriors shall be silenced on that day,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
³¹Behold, I am against you, O proud (arrogant),
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot),
for your day has come,
    the time when I will punish you.
³²And the proud (arrogant) shall stumble and fall,
    and no one shall raise him up.
And I will kindle my fire in his cities,
    and it shall devour all around him. ³³Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

The sons of Israel
    and the sons of Judah are oppressed together,
and all who have taken them captive
    hold them fast and will not let them go.
³⁴Their Redeemer is strong,
    the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) is his name.
He will plead their cause with power,
    so that he may give the earth (land) rest
    and confuse the inhabitants of Babylon. ³⁵A sword is upon the Chaldeans,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
and upon the inhabitants of Babylon
    and upon her princes and her wise men. ³⁶A sword is near the boasters (the boastful),
    and they shall become fools,
a sword is near her mighty men (men in their prime, full of their own strength and power),
    and they shall be dismayed (discouraged).
³⁷A sword will come upon their horses and upon their chariots
    and upon all the mixed peoples (non-Jews) who are in her midst,
    and they will become like women [who do not fight, see Nah. 3:13].
A sword upon her treasures
    and they will be carried away.
³⁸Drought is upon her waters
    and they shall be dried up,
for it is a land of idols
    and they are mad (run) after the terrifying. ³⁹Therefore, wild cats will dwell there with jackals
    and ostriches will dwell there
and it will never be inhabited again forever,
    no one will dwell there from generation to generation.
⁴⁰As when God (Elohim) overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
    and their neighboring cities,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
so no man shall dwell there
    and no son of man shall dwell there. ⁴¹Behold, a people is coming from the north
    and a great nation and many kings
    shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. ⁴²They take up bow and spear,
    they are cruel and have no compassion.
Their voice is like the roaring sea
    and they ride on horses in formation,
like a man to battle
    against you, daughter of Babylon.
⁴³The king of Babylon has heard the rumor about them,
    and his hand has become weak (tired, feeble),
anxiety has seized him,
    and pain like that of a woman in labor.
⁴⁴Behold, he shall come up like a lion
    from the thickets of the Jordan
against the stronghold,
    for I will suddenly cause them to flee from it,
and the one who is chosen,
    I will appoint over it,
    for who is like me?
And who will set a time for me?
    And who is the shepherd who will stand before me?
⁴⁵Therefore, listen to the counsel of the Lord (Yahweh),
    which he has determined against Babylon,
    and his purposes which he has determined against the land of the Chaldeans.
Surely the least of the flock shall depart with them,
    surely their dwellings shall become a terror to them.
⁴⁶For the sound of Babylon's conquest shall make the earth tremble,
    and the cry shall be heard among the nations. 51¹Thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, I will raise up against Babylon
    and against those who dwell in Lev-Qamaj [Babylon], a destructive wind. [The name Lev-Qamaj is a cryptogram. The method of encryption used is mirrored letters. Each letter is replaced by the corresponding letter from the other end of the alphabet. In English, this would mean that A is replaced by Z, B by Ä, C by Å, etc. Another example can be found in Jer. 25:26 and Jer. 51:41, where Babylon is replaced by Sheshach.] ²And I will send strangers to Babylon,
    who will blow against her
and they will make her land empty,
    for on the day of evil I will be against her all around. ³Let the archers draw their bows against her
    and let them rise up against her in their armor,
and spare not her young men,
    destroy all her armies completely.
⁴And they shall fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
    and be cast out into her streets. ⁵For Israel shall not be forsaken (like a widow), nor shall Judah be forsaken,
    by their God (Elohim), by the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaoth),
for their [the Babylonians'] land is full of guilt
    towards the saints of Israel. ⁶Flee from the midst of Babylon
    and save every man his soul (his life),
    lest you be cut off in her sin,
for it is the time of the Lord's (Yahweh's) vengeance,
    he will repay her. ⁷Babylon has been a golden bowl in the hand of the Lord (Yahweh)
    that has intoxicated the whole earth,
the nations have drunk of her wine,
    therefore all the nations are foolish (mad).
⁸Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed,
    mourn for her,
apply balm to her pain,
    if she can be healed. ⁹We would have healed Babylon,
    but she is not healed,
abandon her and let us each go to our own country,
    for her judgment reaches the heavens and is lifted up to the skies.
¹⁰The Lord (Yahweh) has brought forth our righteousness.
    Come and let us recount in Zion [Jerusalem]
    what the Lord our God (Yahweh Elohim) has done!
¹¹Make the arrows shiny,
    fill the basket!
The Lord (Yahweh) has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
    because his decision is against Babylon to destroy it.
For it is the vengeance of the Lord (Yahweh),
    the vengeance for his temple.
¹²Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon,
    make the watchmen strong (firm, secure, brave),
set the watchmen (in place),
    prepare ambushes,
for the Lord (Yahweh) has determined it
    and done what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. ¹³You who dwell on many waters [Babylon was located on the Euphrates and was surrounded by water channels],
    abundant in riches,
your end has come,
    the measure of your greed. ¹⁴The Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) has sworn by himself:
    I will surely fill you with people like locusts,
    and they will raise a cry (war cry) against you. [Verses 15-19 are repeated from Jer. 10:12–16; except that "Israel" is not mentioned in Jer. 51:19. In Jer. 10:1–25, the contrast is between the idols and God; here it is between the power of populous Babylon and the power of God.] ¹⁵He who made the earth with his strength and power,
    who established the world with his wisdom
    and stretched out (expanded) the heavens (universe) with his knowledge (understanding, insight). [Jer. 10:12] [Here the Hebr. word nata is used, meaning to expand, to stretch out, referring to the heavens, the universe, see 2 Sam. 22:10.]
¹⁶At the voice of his utterance, the sound (noise) of [mighty] waters in the heavens,
    he causes the vapors to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
    and brings forth the winds from his treasuries (storage rooms).
¹⁷All of humanity [all people who make or worship idols] is completely insensitive (indiscriminate like animals) – completely without knowledge,
    all goldsmiths must be ashamed of their carved idols,
that his cast idols are false,
    there is no spirit in them (they cannot breathe).
¹⁸They are vanity, an imagined work,
    when their time of visitation comes, they shall perish.
¹⁹Jacob's part is not like these,
    for he is the one who formed (sculpted, designed – Hebr. jatsar) everything,
and his inheritance tribe, the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot)
    is his name.
²⁰You are my hammer
    and weapon of war
and with you I will scatter the nations,
    and with you I will destroy kingdoms,
²¹and with you I will scatter horses and riders,
    and with you I will scatter chariots and riders,
²²and with you I will scatter men and women,
    and with you I will scatter the old men and the young,
    and with you I will scatter the young men and the maidens,
²³and with you I will scatter the shepherd and his flock,
    and with you I will scatter the husbands and the yokes of their oxen,
    and with you I will scatter the rulers and the governors. ²⁴And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, declares the Lord (Yahweh). ²⁵Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh),
who destroys the whole earth,
    and I will stretch out my hand against you
    and roll you down from the cliffs
    and make you a burnt mountain. ²⁶And from you no stone shall be taken for a corner (a cornerstone),
    no stone for a foundation (a foundation stone),
    but you shall be desolate forever,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh).
²⁷Raise a banner in the land,
    blow the shofar among the nations,
prepare the nations against her,
    call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander (general, marshal) against her,
    let the horses come up like the hairy locusts. ²⁸Separate the nations against her,
    the kings of the Medes and their officials,
and all their rulers
    and all the countries under their rule. ²⁹And the land trembles and is in anguish,
    for the plans of the Lord (Yahweh) are being carried out against Babylon
to make the land of Babylon desolate,
    without inhabitants. ³⁰The mighty men of Babylon (Hebr. ish gibborim) cease to fight,
    they remain in their strongholds,
their mighty men have failed,
    they have become like women,
her dwelling is ravaged by fire,
    her bars are broken.
³¹One runner meets another runner,
    messengers meet messengers [from all directions come messengers],
to tell the king of Babylon
    that his city is taken in every quarter (end, outskirts).
³²The strongholds are besieged,
    and the palaces are burned with fire,
    and the warriors are terrified. ³³For thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), the God of Israel (Elohim):

The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
    at the time when it is trodden,
    a little while and the time of harvest will come to her. ³⁴Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has devoured me,
    he has crushed me,
    he has set me down like an empty vessel,
he has devoured me like a dragon,
    he has filled his mouth with my delicacies,
    he has washed me clean (taken everything from me, deprived me of everything).
³⁵The violence done to me shall come upon Babylon,
    says the inhabitants of Zion,
and my blood shall come upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,
    says Jerusalem. ³⁶Therefore, thus says the Lord (Yahweh):

Behold, I will plead your cause
    and take vengeance on your behalf,
and I will dry up her sea
    and make her spring dry. ³⁷And Babylon shall become heaps,
    a dwelling place for jackals,
an astonishment and a hissing,
    without inhabitants. ³⁸They shall roar together like young lions,
    they shall growl like lion cubs.
³⁹With their heat I will prepare their feast
    and I will make them drunk,
so that they will convulse and sleep an eternal sleep
    and not wake up,
declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁴⁰I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams with goats. ⁴¹How Sheshach [Babylon; a cryptogram, see Jer. 25:26; 52:2] has not been taken,
    and the fame of the whole world has been silenced!
How Babylon has become a wonder
    among the nations!
⁴²The sea has come up over Babylon,
    she is covered with its overflowing waves.
⁴³Her cities have become desolate,
    a dry land and a desert,
a land where no man dwells
    and no son of man passes by. ⁴⁴And I will punish Bel in Babylon,
    and I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed,
and the nations will no longer flee to him,
    the wall of Babylon has fallen. ⁴⁵My people, come out from among her and save yourselves
    from the burning wrath of the Lord (Yahweh).
⁴⁶And do not let your heart be dismayed,
    do not fear the rumor that will be heard in the land,
for a rumor will come one year and after that another year a (new) rumor,
    and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. ⁴⁷Therefore, behold, days are coming
    when I will judge the carved idols of Babylon
and all her land will be ashamed,
    and all her slain will fall in her midst.
⁴⁸Then the heavens and the earth and everything in them
    will sing for joy over Babylon,
for destroyers will come upon her from the north,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁴⁹As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
    so shall the slain of Babylon fall throughout the land.
⁵⁰You who have escaped the sword,
    go, do not stand still,
remember the Lord (Yahweh) from afar
    and let Jerusalem come to your mind. ⁵¹We are ashamed
    because we have heard reproaches,
    confusion has covered our faces,
for strangers have entered
    the sanctuary of the Lord (Yahweh).
⁵²Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord (Yahweh),
    when I will judge her carved idols,
and throughout her land
    the wounded shall groan. ⁵³Though Babylon rises to the heavens,
    and she fortifies the heights of her strength,
    yet the destroyers from me will come to her,
    declares (says, proclaims) the Lord (Yahweh). ⁵⁴Listen, a cry from Babylon
    and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans. ⁵⁵For the Lord (Yahweh) destroys Babylon
    and ruins her great voice,
and their waves roar like many waters,
    the sound of their voice is clear. ⁵⁶For the destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon,
    and her mighty men are taken,
their bows are scattered,
    for the Lord (Yahweh) is a God (El) who repays (retaliates),
    he will compensate [retaliate to the fullest extent].
⁵⁷And I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,
    her governors and her rulers and her mighty men,
and they shall sleep an eternal sleep
    and not awake,
    declares (says, proclaims) the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot). ⁵⁸Thus says the Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sebaot):

The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown,
    and her high gates shall be burned with fire,
and the people shall labor in vain,
    and the nations shall be troubled by the fire (all will try to extinguish the fire, but it cannot be extinguished). ⁵⁹This 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]. ⁶⁰And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written about Babylon. ⁶¹And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, be sure to read all these words ⁶²and say, 'Lord (Yahweh), you have spoken about this place to destroy (cut down) it, so that no one will live there, no man or animal, but it will be desolate forever. ⁶³And when you have finished reading this book, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴and 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 Jer. 1:1.]

Appendix

Zedekiah's reign (2 Kings 24:18-25:30)

[The book ends with a historical appendix similar to the text in 2 Kings 24:18–25:30.] 52¹Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) was 21 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem [597-586 BC]. His mother's name was Chamothal, Jer. [the third person with that name in this book, see also Jer. 35:3] daughter from Libnah [a city in the Lowlands (Hebr. Shefelah); 30 km east of Ashkelon and 50 km southwest of Jerusalem]. ²And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (Yahweh), following all that Jehoiakim (Hebr. Jehojaqim) [his brother who reigned from 609 to 597 BC] had done. ³Because of the Lord's (Yahweh's) anger, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he cast them out [from the land and] from his presence.
    And Zedekiah (Hebr. Tsidqijaho) rebelled against the king of Babylon.
     ⁴And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month [Tevet], on the tenth day of the month [January 15, 588 BC], that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he and his whole army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it, and they built siege works against it all around. ⁵And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of Zedekiah as king [586 BC].
     ⁶In the fourth month [Tamuz], on the 9th day of the month [July 18—18 months after the siege began], the famine was so severe in the city [because all the supplies were exhausted] that there was no bread for the people of the land. ⁷And the city was stormed (a breakthrough occurred) and all the warriors [from Judah in the city] fled and left the city at night through the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden.
[The garden is mentioned again in Neh. 3:15 in connection with the Siloam Pool and the stairs that led down from the City of David via the Tyropeon Valley. The "two walls" probably refer to the walls on the east and west sides along the valley.] The Chaldeans (Babylonians) had surrounded the city. Then they [the Jewish soldiers who fled] took the road to Arava [the plain north and south of the Dead Sea]. [The intention was to flee eastward via the Jordan Valley to Moab or Ammon, which had previously received people fleeing from the Babylonians, see Jer. 40:14; 41:15.] ⁸But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plain of Jericho (Hebr. arava), and his whole army was scattered from him. ⁹And they took the king and carried him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed judgment on him (judged him). ¹⁰And the king of Babylon smote (slaughtered) Zedekiah's sons before his eyes. He also smote [slaughtered] all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹And he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and the king of Babylon bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day he died.

The destruction of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:8-17)

[One month later.] ¹²In the fifth month [Hebrew month of Av], on the tenth day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem [August 17, 586 BC]. ¹³And he burned the house of the Lord (Yahweh) and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁴And all the army of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] that were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. ¹⁵Some of the weakest (poorest) of the people, the part of the people who remained in the city together with the deserters who had gone over to the Babylonian king, these Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive. ¹⁶But the weakest (poorest) of the land, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left behind to work in the vineyards and fields (to do slave labor).
     ¹⁷[Before the Babylonian army burned the temple, they plundered the temple and the city and took everything of value. And the bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord (Yahweh) [1 Kings 7:15–22] and the bases [1 Kings 7:27] and the bronze sea [1 Kings 7:23–26] that were in the house of the Lord (Yahweh's) house, the Chaldeans broke into pieces and carried its bronze to Babylon.] ¹⁸And the vessels and the shovels and the wick trimmers and the pans and all the bronze utensils used in the service, they took away. ¹⁹And the cups, the four basins, the bowls, the pans, the menorah, the vessels, and the bowls, whatever was of gold—gold [the repetition may indicate that it is pure gold], and whatever was of silver—silver, the captain of the guard took away.
     ²⁰The two pillars, the single sea, and the twelve bronze oxen under the bases that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord (Yahweh), the bronze from all these utensils had no (missing) [measured] weight. ²¹And the pillars, the height of one pillar was 18 cubits [8 meters], and a measuring line of 12 cubits [5.4 meters] went around it, and its thickness was four fingers, it was hollow. ²²And a capital of bronze was on top of it, and the height of the capital was 5 cubits [2.3 meters], with a network and pomegranates above the capital all around, all of bronze. And in the same way was the second pillar with pomegranates. ²³And there were 96 pomegranates on the outside, all the pomegranates were 100 on the network all around.
     ²⁴And the captain of the guard [Nevozaradan] took Seraja, the high priest, and Tsefanjaho, his deputy (his successor), and the three doorkeepers, ²⁵and from the city he took a leader who was set over the warriors and seven men of those who saw the king's face, whom they found in the city, and the scribe of the army commander, who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men from the people of the land who were found in the middle of the city. ²⁶And Nevozaradan, the leader of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon, to Rivla. ²⁷And the king of Babylon struck them down and killed them in Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah was carried away captive out of its land.

Three deportations of captives to Babylon

²⁸This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive:

In the 7th year [597 BC]
    3,023 Jews. ²⁹In the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon [586 BC]
    832 persons (souls – Hebr. nefesh) from Jerusalem. ³⁰In the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar [581 BC], Nevozaradan, the leader of the guard, took away
    745 Jewish persons (souls).

In total, there were 4,600 persons (souls) [total number of these three groups].

Jehoiachin is released (2 Kings 25:27-30)

³¹And it came to pass in the 37th year of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the 12th month [Adar – Feb/Mar], on the 25th day of the month [March 31, 561 BC], that Evil-Merodach, king of Babylon [Nebuchadnezzar's son; reigned 562-560 BC], in the year he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison. ³²And he [Evil-Merodach, the new king of Babylon] spoke kindly to him [Jehoiachin] and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. [He treated him better than the other defeated kings.] ³³And he [Jehoiachin] was allowed to take off his prison clothes [and was given new clothes suitable for a king] and ate bread constantly [was invited to eat] before him [Evil-Merodach] as long as he lived (all the days of his life). [Cf. 2 Sam. 9:13] ³⁴And his allowance (Hebr. apanage) was a regular allowance given to him by the king, a fixed portion (ration) every day, all the days of his life (as long as he lived).