Bible in 90 Days

⁹ ¶ My heart is broken within me because of the prophets, all my bones shake; I was like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, before the LORD, and before the words of his holiness.

¹⁰ For the land is full of adulterers; for because of the oath the land is deserted; the booths of the wilderness are dried up, and their course was evil, and their force was not right.

¹¹ For both prophet and priest are feigned; even in my house I have found their wickedness, said the LORD.

¹² Therefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be driven on and fall therein; for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

¹³ And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal and caused my people Israel to err.

¹⁴ I have also seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they committed adultery and walked by lies; they strengthened also the hands of evildoers, that no one is converted from his malice; they are all of them unto me as Sodom and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

¹⁵ Therefore, thus hath the LORD of the hosts said against those prophets: Behold, I will cause them to eat wormwood and make them drink the waters of gall, for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth upon all the land.

¹⁶ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

¹⁷ They say boldly unto those that stir me to anger, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto anyone that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

¹⁸ For who has stood in the secret of the LORD and has seen and heard his word? Who has paid attention to his word and heard it?

¹⁹ Behold, that the whirlwind of the LORD shall go forth with fury, and the whirlwind which is ready shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

²⁰ The anger of the LORD shall not return until he has executed and until he has performed the thoughts of his heart: in the last of the days ye shall understand it with understanding.

²¹ I did not send those prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.

²² But if they had stood in my secret, they would also have caused my people to hear my words, and they would have caused them to return from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.

²³ Am I a God of the near only, said the LORD, and not a God of the far?

²⁴ Can any hide himself in hiding places that I shall not see him? said the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? said the LORD.

²⁵ I have heard what those prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

²⁶ How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies and that prophesy the deceit of their own heart?

²⁷ Do they not think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which each one tells his neighbour, so much that their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal?

²⁸ The prophet with whom the dream came, let him tell the dream; and he with whom my word came, let him speak my true word. What is the chaff to the wheat? said the LORD.

²⁹ Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

³⁰ Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words each one from his neighbour.

³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that sweeten their tongues and say, He said.

³² Behold, I am against those that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and did tell them, and caused my people to err by their lies, and by their flattery; yet I did not send them, nor command them; and they did not profit this people at all, said the LORD.

³³ ¶ And when this people or the prophet or the priest shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will forsake you, said the LORD.

³⁴ And as for the prophet and the priest and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will visit upon that man and upon his house.

³⁵ Thus shall ye say each one to his neighbour and each one to his brother, What has the LORD answered? and, What has the LORD spoken?

³⁶ And never again shall it come to your memory to say, The burden of the LORD; for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of the hosts, our God.

³⁷ Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What has the LORD answered thee? and, What has the LORD spoken?

³⁸ But if ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus hath the LORD said: Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

³⁹ therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will uproot you from my presence and the city that I gave you and your fathers:

⁴⁰ and I will place an everlasting reproach upon you, and eternal shame, which shall never be forgotten.

24 ¶ The LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the princes of Judah with the carpenters and smiths from Jerusalem, and had taken them to Babylon.

² One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very evil figs, which could not be eaten, they were so evil.

³ Then the LORD said unto me, What dost thou see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, so evil that they cannot be eaten.

⁴ Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁵ Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said: Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

⁶ For I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will return them to this land, and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

⁷ And I will give them a heart that they might know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

⁸ And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil, surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes and the residue of Jerusalem that remained in this land and that dwell in the land of Egypt:

⁹ And I give them to be removed, for evil unto all the kingdoms of the earth, for infamy, and for reproach and for a proverb, and for a curse unto all the places where I shall drive them.

¹⁰ And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence upon them until they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

25 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, which is the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

² this spoke Jeremiah the prophet unto all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

³ From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, which are twenty-three years, the word of the LORD has come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and giving notice; but ye have not hearkened.

⁴ And the LORD has sent unto you all his slaves the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear,

⁵ when they said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

⁶ and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

⁷ Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD, that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁸ ¶ Therefore thus saith the LORD of the hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,

⁹ behold, I will send and take all the families of the north wind, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my slave, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

¹⁰ And I will cause them to lose the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

¹¹ And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these Gentiles shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹² And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished, that I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that people their own evil, said the LORD and upon the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations.

¹³ And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have spoken against it, with all that is written in this book, prophesied by Jeremiah against all the Gentiles.

¹⁴ For many Gentiles and great kings shall serve themselves of them also; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.

¹⁵ ¶ For thus hath the LORD God of Israel said unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury from my hand and cause all the Gentiles, to whom I send thee, to drink of it.

¹⁶ And they shall drink and be moved and become mad, before the sword that I will send among them.

¹⁷ Then took I the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the Gentiles to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me,

¹⁸ unto Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah and to its kings and to its princes, that I might place them into desolation, into astonishment, and into hissing, and into a curse, as this day,

¹⁹ unto Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his slaves and to his princes and to all his people,

²⁰ and to all the mingled people and to all the kings of the land of Uz and to all the kings of the land of the Philistines and to Ashkelon and to Gaza and to Ekron and to the remnant of Ashdod,

²¹ to Edom and to Moab and to the sons of Ammon,

²² and to all the kings of Tyre and to all the kings of Zidon and to all the kings of the isles which are of that side of the sea,

²³ and to Dedan, and to Tema and to Buz and to all that are in the utmost corners,

²⁴ and to all the kings of Arabia and to all the kings of the mingled peoples, the Arabia that dwells in the desert,

²⁵ and to all the kings of Zimri and to all the kings of Elam and to all the kings of the Medes,

²⁶ and to all the kings of the north wind, those of far and those of near, one with another and to all the kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face of the earth and the king of Sheshach {Babylon} shall drink after them.

²⁷ Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said; Drink and be drunken, and vomit and fall, and ye shall not rise in the presence of the sword which I send among you.

²⁸ And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from thine hand to drink, then thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Ye must certainly drink.

²⁹ For, Behold, I begin to bring evil upon the city which is called by my name, and should ye only be absolved? Ye shall not be absolved, for I bring the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, said the LORD of the hosts.

³⁰ ¶ Therefore, thou shalt prophesy against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high and from the habitation of his holiness he shall utter his voice; in fury he shall roar upon his habitation; he shall sing the song of those that tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹ The noise came even to the ends of the earth; for it is judgment of the LORD with the Gentiles; he is the Judge of all flesh; he will give those that are wicked to the sword, said the LORD.

³² Thus saith the LORD of the hosts, Behold, the evil goes forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

³³ And the slain of the LORD shall be in that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be as dung upon the ground.

³⁴ Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the dust, ye principals of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like an enticing vessel.

³⁵ And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor for the principals of the flock to escape.

³⁶ The voice of the cry of the shepherds and a howling of the principals of the flock shall be heard! For the LORD has spoiled their pasture.

³⁷ And the quiet pastures shall be cut off by the fierce anger of the LORD.

³⁸ He has forsaken his habitation, as the young lion; for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of his fierce anger.

26 ¶ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD said: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I commanded thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:

³ peradventure they will hearken and turn each man from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

⁴ And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD said: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

⁵ to hearken to the words of my slaves the prophets, whom I send unto you, rising up early and sending them, unto whom ye have not hearkened,

⁶ then I will make this house like Shiloh and will give this city as a curse to all the Gentiles of the earth.

⁷ ¶ And the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

⁸ Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

⁹ Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

¹⁰ When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house.

¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets spoke unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he has prophesied against this city as ye have heard with your ears.

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

¹³ Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and hear the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD himself will repent of the evil that he has pronounced against you.

¹⁴ As for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and meet unto you.

¹⁵ But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon its inhabitants; for of a truth the LORD has sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

¹⁶ ¶ Then the princes and all the people said unto the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.

¹⁷ Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the congregation of the people, saying,

¹⁸ Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the temple mount as the high places of a forest.

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? Did he not fear the LORD and besought the LORD, and the LORD himself repented of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Shall we commit such great evil against our souls?

²⁰ There was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

²¹ And Jehoiakim the king heard his words and all his mighty men and all the princes, and the king sought to put him to death, but when Urijah understood it, he was afraid and fled and went into Egypt.

²² And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him into Egypt;

²³ and they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

²⁴ Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

27 ¶ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD said unto me: Make thee bonds and yokes and put them upon thy neck;

³ and thou shalt send them to the king of Edom and to the king of Moab and to the king of the Ammonites and to the king of Tyre and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the ambassadors which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

⁴ and thou shalt command them to say unto their masters, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said; Thus shall ye say unto your masters:

⁵ I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom was upright in my eyes.

⁶ And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my slave; and even the beasts of the field I have given him that they might serve him.

⁷ And all the Gentiles shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his own land shall come also; and many nations and great kings shall serve him.

⁸ And it shall come to pass, that the people and the kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that people I will visit, saith the LORD, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence, until I have finished placing all of them under his hand.

⁹ Therefore do not hearken unto your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your sorcerers, nor to your enchanters, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

¹⁰ For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

¹¹ But the people that submit their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, said the LORD; and they shall till it and dwell therein.

¹² ¶ I spoke also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Submit your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and live.

¹³ Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken unto the people that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴ Therefore do not hearken unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you.

¹⁵ For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

¹⁶ Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Hearken not unto the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you.

¹⁷ Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon and live: why should this city be laid waste?

¹⁸ But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them pray now unto the LORD of the hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem, not go to Babylon.

¹⁹ For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,

²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

²¹ yea, thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said concerning the vessels that remained in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem;

²² they shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them, said the LORD; and afterwards I will bring them up and restore them to this place.

28 ¶ And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spoke unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel spoken, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³ Within two full years I will bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried them to Babylon:

⁴ and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD,

⁶ therefore the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD confirm thy words with which thou hast prophesied that the vessels of the LORD’s house and all those that are carried away captive are to be returned from Babylon unto this place.

⁷ Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears and in the ears of all the people,

⁸ The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

⁹ The prophet which prophesied of peace, when the word of the prophet should come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD has truly sent him.

¹⁰ ¶ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.

¹¹ And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the Gentiles within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² And after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,

¹³ Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make yokes of iron instead.

¹⁴ For thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these Gentiles, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him; and I have even given him the beasts of the field.

¹⁵ Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD has not sent thee; and thou hast made this people to trust in a lie.

¹⁶ Therefore thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I will send thee away from upon the face of the earth; this year thou shalt die because thou hast spoken rebellion against the LORD.

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

29 ¶ Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

² (after Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

³ by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

⁴ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon,

⁵ Build houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them;

⁶ take wives and beget sons and daughters; give wives unto your sons and give husbands unto your daughters, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be multiplied there and not diminished.

⁷ And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

⁸ ¶ For thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said: Let not your prophets and your diviners that are in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye dream.

⁹ For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, said the LORD.

¹⁰ For thus hath the LORD said, That after seventy years are accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and quicken my good word upon you to cause you to return to this place.

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think concerning you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you the end that you wait for.

¹² Then ye shall call upon me, and ye shall walk in my ways and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, for ye shall seek me with all your heart.

¹⁴ And I will be found of you, said the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the Gentiles and from all the places where I have driven you, said the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵ ¶ But ye have said, The LORD has raised us up prophets in Babylon;

¹⁶ know that thus hath the LORD said of the king that sits upon the throne of David and of all the people that dwell in this city and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

¹⁷ thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence and will make them like the evil figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

¹⁸ And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will give them over as a reproach to all the kingdoms of the earth, as a curse, and as an astonishment, and a hissing, and an affront, unto all the Gentiles where I have driven them:

¹⁹ because they did not hearken unto my words, said the LORD, which I sent unto them by my slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye did not hear, said the LORD.

²⁰ Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have cast out of Jerusalem unto Babylon:

²¹ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said regarding Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and regarding Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy falsely unto you in my name; Behold, I deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;

²² and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

²³ because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken a word falsely in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know and am a witness, saith the LORD.

²⁴ ¶ Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

²⁵ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel spoken, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah and to all the priests, saying,

²⁶ The LORD has made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should preside in the house of the LORD over every man that is furious and prophesies, putting him in the prison and in the stocks.

²⁷ Now therefore why hast thou not reprehended Jeremiah of Anathoth, for prophesying falsely unto you?

²⁸ For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build houses and dwell in them and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

³⁰ Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,

³¹ Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus hath the LORD said concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah has prophesied unto you, and I did not send him, and he caused you to trust upon a lie;

³² therefore thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I visit upon Shemaiah the Nehelamite and upon his generation: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold that good which I do unto my people, said the LORD, because he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.

30 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD God of Israel spoken, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.

³ For, Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will turn the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, said the LORD, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

⁴ And these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

⁵ For thus hath the LORD said; We have heard a voice of trembling, of terror, and not of peace.

⁶ Ask now, and see whether the man doth travail with child? for I have seen that every man has his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces have turned pale.

⁷ Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

⁸ For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of the hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no longer place him in servitude,

⁹ but they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

¹⁰ ¶ Therefore fear thou not, O my slave Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I am he that saves thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall turn, and shall rest, and be quiet, and there shall be no one left to scatter him.

¹¹ For I shall be with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee; and I shall make a full end in all Gentiles among whom I scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will chastise thee with judgment and will not cut thee off altogether.

¹² For thus hath the LORD said, Thy breach is incurable, and thy sore is grievous.

¹³ There is no one to judge thy cause unto health; there is no cure, nor are there any medicines for thee.

¹⁴ All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they do not seek thee; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the whip of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

¹⁵ Why dost thou cry out for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the greatness of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

¹⁶ Therefore all those that devour thee shall be devoured; and all those that afflict thee, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and those that trampled upon thee shall be trodden down, and all that prey upon thee I will give for a prey.

¹⁷ For I will cause healing to come for thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, said the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after.

¹⁸ ¶ Thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob’s tents and have mercy on his dwelling places and the city shall be built upon her own hill, and the temple according to her judgment shall stand.

¹⁹ And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of people that live in joy: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be decreased; I will multiply them, and they shall not be cut down.

²⁰ Their sons shall also be as at first, and their congregation shall be confirmed before me, and I will visit all their oppressors.

²¹ And of him shall be their Rock, and from the midst of him shall their Governor come forth; and I will cause him to come near, and he shall draw near unto me: for who is this that softened his heart to approach unto me? said the LORD.

²² And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

²³ Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, the whirlwind which is preparing itself; it shall remain upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴ The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return until he has done it and until he has performed the intents of his heart; in the end of the days ye shall understand this.

31 ¶ In that time, said the LORD, I will be the God unto all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

² Thus hath the LORD said, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness as I went to cause Israel to find rest.

³ The LORD has appeared of old unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an eternal love: therefore, I have put up with thee with mercy.

⁴ Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tambourines and shalt go forth in the chorus of dancers.

⁵ Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant and shall eat them as common things.

⁶ For there shall be a day in which the watchmen upon the Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let us go up into Zion unto the LORD our God.

⁷ For thus hath the LORD said; Rejoice in Jacob with joy, and give shouts of joy at the head of the Gentiles; cause this to be heard, give praise, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

⁸ Behold, I turn them from the land of the north wind and gather them from the coasts of the earth; there shall be blind and lame among them, and women with child and those that travail with child together; a great company shall return there.

⁹ They shall come with weeping, but with mercies I will cause them to return; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble; for I shall be a father to Israel, and Ephraim shall be my firstborn.

¹⁰ ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, O ye Gentiles, and cause it to be known in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.

¹¹ For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

¹² Therefore they shall come and do praises in the height of Zion and shall run unto the goodness of the LORD, unto the bread, and unto the wine, and unto the oil, and unto the gain of the flock and of the herd and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

¹³ Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

¹⁴ And I will satiate the soul of the priest with fatness, and my people shall be filled with my goodness, said the LORD.

¹⁵ Thus hath the LORD said; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her sons, she refused to be comforted regarding her sons, because they perished.

¹⁶ Thus hath the LORD said; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷ There is also hope for thine end, saith the LORD, and the sons shall come again to their own border.

¹⁸ ¶ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast afflicted me, and I was chastised as an indomitable bullock: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.

¹⁹ Surely after I was turned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, and even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth.

²⁰ Peradventure is Ephraim a precious son unto me? Peradventure is he unto me a delightful child? With all this since I spoke of him, I have remembered him constantly. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him; in tenderness I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

²¹ Establish signs, make thee high markers; consider the highway with great care, even the way which thou didst come; return, O virgin of Israel, return unto these thy cities.

²² How long wilt thou wander, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD will bring forth a new thing upon the earth, A woman shall compass the man.

²³ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said; Even yet shall they speak this word in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof when I shall turn their captivity: The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness.

²⁴ And Judah shall dwell in her, and also in all her cities, husbandmen, and those that go forth with flocks.

²⁵ For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have filled every sorrowful soul.

²⁶ Upon this I awoke, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

²⁷ ¶ Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.

²⁸ And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up and to break down and to throw down and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them, to build and to plant, said the LORD.

²⁹ In those days they shall no longer say, The fathers have eaten the sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

³⁰ But each one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

³¹ Behold, the days come, said the LORD, in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Jacob and with the house of Judah:

³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt because they invalidated my covenant although I was a husband unto them, said the LORD;

³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the LORD, I will give my law in their souls and write it in their hearts and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

³⁴ And they shall no longer teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, said the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

³⁵ ¶ Thus hath the LORD said, who gives the sun for light by day, and the laws of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who divides the sea and the waves thereof roar; The LORD of the hosts is his name;

³⁶ If these laws depart from before me, said the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

³⁷ Thus hath the LORD said: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, said the LORD.

³⁸ Behold, the days come, said the LORD, and the city shall be built unto the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

³⁹ And the measuring line shall extend before him upon the hill Gareb and shall compass about to Goath.

⁴⁰ And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes with the burnt fat, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

32 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar;

² for then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it?

⁴ And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of 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;

⁵ and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, said the LORD; if ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?

⁶ And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁷ Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle comes unto thee, saying, Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

⁸ So Hanameel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

⁹ And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰ And I subscribed the evidence and sealed it and took witnesses and weighed him the money in the balances.

¹¹ So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open.

¹² And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncle’s son and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase before all the Jews that were in the court of the guard.

¹³ And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel, said: Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both that which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel that they may continue many days.

¹⁵ For thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be bought and sold again in this land.

¹⁶ ¶ Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,

¹⁷ Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing hidden from thee;

¹⁸ that thou dost show mercy in thousands and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them, the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of the hosts, is his name,

¹⁹ great in counsel and magnificent in works: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men to give unto each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings;

²⁰ who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and in the man, and hast made thee a name, as at this day;

²¹ and hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with a stretched out arm and with great terror;

²² and hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

²³ and they came in and possessed it; but they did not hear thy voice, neither did they walk in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou didst command them to do, therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.

²⁴ Behold the siege engines are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it because of the sword and of the famine and of the pestilence, and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou dost see it.

²⁵ And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy the field for money and take witnesses; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶ ¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁷ Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: peradventure shall any thing be covered unto me?

²⁸ Therefore thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:

²⁹ and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

³⁰ For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have done only evil before me from their youth: for the sons of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, said the LORD.

³¹ For this city has been unto me as a provocation of my anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face

³² because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and of the sons of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³ And they have turned unto me the back and not the face: when I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they did not hearken to receive chastisement;

³⁴ but they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

³⁵ And they built altars unto Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I did not command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

³⁶ And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto this city, of which ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine and by the pestilence;

³⁷ behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in my anger, in my fury and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

³⁸ and they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

³⁹ and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever for the good of them and of their sons after them:

⁴⁰ and I will make an eternal covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good, and I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me.

⁴¹ And, I will rejoice with them doing them good, and I will plant them in this land with truth, with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

⁴² For thus hath the LORD said; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I speak regarding them.

⁴³ And they shall possess inheritance in this land, of which ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

⁴⁴ Men shall buy fields for money and subscribe evidences and seal them and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah and in the cities of the mountains and in the cities of the valley and in the cities of the south; for I will cause their captivity to turn, saith the LORD.

33 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

² Thus hath said the LORD that makes it, the LORD that forms it to establish it; the LORD is his name;

³ Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and difficult things, which thou dost not know.

⁴ For thus hath the LORD the God of Israel said concerning the houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the siege engines and by the sword

⁵ (because they came 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 because I hid my face from this city due to all her wickedness):

⁶ behold, I will bring her healing and medicine, and I will cure them and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

⁷ And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to turn and will build them, as at the first.

⁸ And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, with which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their sins, with which they have sinned against me and with which they rebelled against me.

⁹ And it shall be unto me a name of joy, of praise and of glory among all the Gentiles of the earth, who shall have heard all the good that I do unto them and they shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I shall do unto them.

¹⁰ ¶ Thus hath the LORD said: Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say is desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,

¹¹ the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those that shall say, Praise the LORD of the hosts; for the LORD is good; for his mercy endures for ever: and of those that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captivity of the land to turn as at the first, said the LORD.

¹² Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, there shall be booths of shepherds who shall cause the flocks to lie down.

¹³ In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that counts them, said the LORD.

¹⁴ Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will confirm the good Word which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

¹⁵ In those days and at that time, I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶ In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name with which she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

¹⁷ ¶ For thus hath the LORD said: David shall never lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

¹⁸ neither shall the priests the Levites lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings and to kindle grain offerings and to do sacrifice continually.

¹⁹ And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰ Thus hath the LORD said; If ye can break my covenant with the day, and my covenant with the night, such that there should not be day nor night in their season,

²¹ then may also my covenant be broken with David my slave, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites and priests, my ministers.

²² As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my slave and the Levites that minister unto me.