Bible in 90 Days

²³ The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: ²⁴ “Jeremiah, have you heard what the people are saying? They are saying: ‘The Lord turned away from the two families of Israel and Judah. He chose those people. But now he doesn’t think of them as a nation anymore!’”

²⁵ This is what the Lord says: “If I had not made my agreement with day and night, and if I had not made the laws for the sky and earth, ²⁶ only then might I turn away from Jacob’s descendants. And only then I might not let the descendants of David my servant rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I will be kind to those people. I will cause good things to happen to them again.”

A Warning to Zedekiah

34 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. It came when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with him all his army. And he had the armies of all the kingdoms and peoples he ruled. ² This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said: “Jeremiah, go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will hand the city of Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon very soon. And he will burn it down! ³ You will not escape from the king of Babylon. You will surely be caught and given to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes. He will talk to you face to face. And you will go to Babylon. ⁴ But, Zedekiah king of Judah, listen to the promise of the Lord. This is what the Lord says about you: You will not be killed with a sword. ⁵ You will die in a peaceful way. People made funeral fires to honor your ancestors, who ruled before you. In the same way, people will make a funeral fire to honor you. They will cry for you. They will sadly say, “Ah, master!” I myself make this promise to you, says the Lord.’”

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet gave the message from the Lord to Zedekiah in Jerusalem. ⁷ This was while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem. It was also fighting against the cities of Judah that had not been taken prisoners—Lachish and Azekah. These were the only strong, walled cities left in the land of Judah.

Slaves Are Free

⁸ King Zedekiah had made an agreement with all the people in Jerusalem. He agreed to give freedom to all the Hebrew slaves. After Zedekiah made that agreement, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. ⁹ Everyone was supposed to free his Hebrew slaves. This included all male and female Hebrew slaves. No one was to keep a fellow Jew as a slave. ¹⁰ So the officers and all the people accepted this agreement. Everyone would free their male and female slaves. They would no longer keep them as slaves. So all the slaves were set free. ¹¹ But after that, the people who had slaves changed their minds. So they took back the people they had set free. And they made them slaves again.

¹² Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought your ancestors out of Egypt where they were slaves. When I did that, I made an agreement with them. ¹⁴ I said to your ancestors: ‘At the end of every seven years, each one of you must set his Hebrew slaves free. You might have a fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. You must let him go free after he has served you for six years.’ But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me. ¹⁵ A short time ago you changed your hearts and did what is right. Each of you gave freedom to his fellow Hebrews who were slaves. And you even made an agreement before me. You made it in the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. ¹⁶ But now you have changed your minds. You have shown you do not honor me. Each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free. You have forced them to become slaves again.

¹⁷ “So this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me. You have not given freedom to your fellow Hebrews. Because you have not kept the agreement, I will give freedom, says the Lord. I will give freedom to war. And I will give freedom to terrible diseases and to hunger to kill you. I will make you hated by all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ I will hand over the men who broke my agreement. They have not kept the promises they made before me. These men cut a calf into two pieces before me. And they walked between the two pieces.^{[a] 19} These people made the agreement before me: the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem; the officers of the court; the priests and all the people of the land. ²⁰ So I will hand those people over to their enemies. I will hand them over to everyone who wants to kill them. Their bodies will become food for the birds of the air. And they will become food for the wild animals of the earth. ²¹ I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officers over to their enemies. I will hand them over to everyone who wants to kill them. I will hand Zedekiah and his people over to the army of the king of Babylon. I will do this even though that army has left Jerusalem. ²² I will give the order, says the Lord, to bring the Babylonian army back to Jerusalem. That army will fight against Jerusalem. They will capture it, set it on fire and burn it down. I will destroy the towns in the land of Judah. And they will become empty ruins. No one will live there!”

The Recabite Family

35 When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was his message: ² “Jeremiah, go to the family of Recab. Invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the Temple of the Lord. Offer them wine to drink.”

³ So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah.^[b] Jeremiah was the son of Habazziniah. And I gathered all of Jaazaniah’s brothers and sons. I gathered the whole family of the Recabites together. ⁴ Then I brought them into the Temple of the Lord. We went into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah. Hanan was a man of God. The room was next to the one where the officers stay. It was over the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum. Maaseiah was the doorkeeper in the Temple. ⁵ Then I put some bowls full of wine and some cups before the Recabite family. And I said to them, “Drink some wine.”

⁶ But the Recabite people answered, “We never drink wine. It is because of our ancestor Jonadab son of Recab. He gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. ⁷ Also you must never build houses, plant seeds or plant vineyards. You must never do any of those things. You must live only in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are a wanderer.’ ⁸ So we Recabites have obeyed everything Jonadab our ancestor commanded us. We never drink wine. And our wives, sons and daughters never drink wine. ⁹ We never build houses in which to live. And we never own fields or vineyards. And we never plant crops. ¹⁰ We have lived in tents. And we have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ But Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the country of Judah. We said to each other, ‘Come, we must enter Jerusalem. This is so we can escape the Babylonian army and the Aramean army.’ So we have stayed in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: ‘You should learn a lesson and obey my message,’ says the Lord. ¹⁴ ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine. And that command has been obeyed. Until today the descendants of Jonadab obeyed their ancestor’s command. They do not drink wine. But I am the Lord. I have given you messages again and again. But you did not obey me. ¹⁵ I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again. They said to you, “Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not listened or paid attention to my message. ¹⁶ The descendants of Jonadab obeyed the commands that their ancestor gave them. But the people of Judah have not obeyed me.’

¹⁷ “So the Lord God of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I said many disasters would come to Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem. I will soon bring every one of those disasters on them. I spoke to those people, but they refused to listen. I called out to them, but they did not answer me.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the Recabites, “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the commands of your ancestor Jonadab. You have followed all of Jonadab’s teachings. You have done everything he commanded.’ ¹⁹ So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab to serve me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. This was his message: ² “Jeremiah, get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything I have spoken to you since Josiah was king until now. ³ Maybe the family of Judah will hear what disasters I am planning to bring on them. And maybe they will stop doing wicked things. Then I would forgive them for the sins and the evil things they have done.”

⁴ So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke the messages the Lord had given him. And Baruch wrote those messages on the scroll. ⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I cannot go to the Temple of the Lord. I must stay here. ⁶ So I want you to go to the Temple of the Lord. Go there on a day when the people are giving up eating. Read to all the people of Judah from the scroll. These people come into Jerusalem from the towns where they live. Read the messages from the Lord. Read the words that you wrote on the scroll as I spoke them to you. ⁷ Perhaps they will ask the Lord to help them. Perhaps each one will stop doing wicked things. The Lord has announced that he is very angry with them.” ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. He read aloud the scroll that had the Lord’s messages written on it. He read it in the Lord’s Temple.

⁹ It was the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king. A special time to give up eating was announced. All the people of Jerusalem were supposed to give up eating to honor the Lord. And everyone who had come into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah was supposed to give up eating. ¹⁰ At that time Baruch read the scroll that contained Jeremiah’s words. Baruch read the scroll in the Temple of the Lord to all the people there. He was in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan. Gemariah was a royal assistant. That room was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.

¹¹ A man named Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord. Baruch read them from the scroll. ¹² Micaiah went down to the royal assistant’s room in the king’s palace. All of the officers were sitting there: Elishama the royal assistant; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers. ¹³ Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll.

¹⁴ Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read to the people and come with me.”

So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers. ¹⁵ Then the officers said to Baruch, “Sit down and read the scroll to us.”

So Baruch read the scroll to them. ¹⁶ When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid. And they looked at one another. They said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king about these words.” ¹⁷ Then the officers asked Baruch, “Tell us, Baruch, where did you get these words you wrote on the scroll? Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you?”

¹⁸ “Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke, and I wrote down all the words with ink on this scroll.”

¹⁹ Then the officers said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t tell anyone where you are hiding.”

²⁰ Then the officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him all about the scroll. ²¹ So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then Jehudi read the scroll to the king. And he read it to all the officers who stood around the king. ²² This happened in the ninth month of the year. So King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a small firepot in front of him. ²³ Jehudi began to read from the scroll. But after he had read three or four columns, the king cut those columns off of the scroll with a pen knife. And he threw them into the firepot. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. ²⁴ King Jehoiakim and his servants heard the message from the scroll. But they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes to show their sorrow. ²⁵ Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah tried to talk King Jehoiakim into not burning the scroll. But the king would not listen to them. ²⁶ Instead, the king ordered some men to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. Those men were Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel. But the Lord had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah.

²⁷ The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened after King Jehoiakim had burned the scroll. This was the scroll where Baruch had written all the words Jeremiah had spoken to him. The Lord said: ²⁸ “Jeremiah, get another scroll. Write all the words on it that were on the first scroll. That was the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. ²⁹ Also say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned up that scroll. You said, “Why did Jeremiah write that the king of Babylon will come and destroy this land? Why did he say the king of Babylon will destroy both men and animals in it?” ³⁰ So the Lord says this about Jehoiakim king of Judah: Jehoiakim’s descendants will not sit on David’s throne. When Jehoiakim dies, his body will be thrown out on the ground. It will be left out in the heat of the day. And it will also be left in the cold frost of the night. ³¹ I, the Lord, will punish Jehoiakim and his children. And I will punish his servants. I will do this because they have done evil things. I have promised to bring disasters upon them. And I will bring them upon all the people in Jerusalem and Judah, just as I promised. This is because they have not listened to me.’”

³² So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Baruch son of Neriah was his secretary. As Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote on the scroll. He wrote the same words that were on the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many other words like those words were added to the second scroll.

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. He appointed Zedekiah son of Josiah as king of Judah. Zedekiah took the place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. ² But Zedekiah, his servants and the people of Judah did not listen to the words of the Lord. The Lord had spoken his words through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Now King Zedekiah sent Jehucal and Zephaniah with a message to Jeremiah the prophet. Jehucal was the son of Shelemiah. And Zephaniah the priest was the son of Maaseiah. This was the message: “Jeremiah, pray to the Lord our God for us.”

⁴ At that time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison. So he was free to go anywhere he wanted. ⁵ The army of the king of Egypt had marched from Egypt toward Judah. Now the Babylonian army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem so they could attack it. Then they had heard about the Egyptian army marching toward them. So the Babylonian army left Jerusalem to fight the Egyptian army.

⁶ The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Jehucal and Zephaniah, I know Zedekiah king of Judah sent you to ask me questions. Tell this to King Zedekiah: ‘The army of the king of Egypt marched out of Egypt. They came here to help you against the Babylonian army. But that army will go back to Egypt. ⁸ After that, the Babylonian army will come back here. And they will attack Jerusalem. Then the Babylonian army will take and burn Jerusalem.’

⁹ “This is what the Lord says: People of Jerusalem, do not fool yourselves. Do not say to yourselves: ‘The Babylonian army will surely leave us alone.’ They will not! ¹⁰ You might defeat all of the Babylonian army that is attacking you. But there would still be a few injured men left in their tents. Even those injured men would come from their tents and burn down Jerusalem!”

¹¹ So the Babylonian army left Jerusalem. They left to fight the army of the king of Egypt. ¹² Now Jeremiah wanted to travel from Jerusalem to his home in the land of Benjamin. He was going there to get his share of the property that belonged to his family. ¹³ Jeremiah got to the Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem. But then the captain in charge of the guards arrested him. The captain’s name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. So Irijah the captain arrested Jeremiah. Irijah said, “You are leaving us to join the Babylonian side!”

¹⁴ Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That’s not true! I am not leaving to join the Babylonians.” But Irijah refused to listen to Jeremiah. So he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officers of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Those rulers were very angry with Jeremiah. They gave an order for him to be beaten. Then they put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the royal assistant. Jonathan’s house had been made into a prison. ¹⁶ So those people put Jeremiah into a cell in a dungeon. And Jeremiah was there for a long time.

¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the palace. Zedekiah talked to Jeremiah in private. He asked Jeremiah, “Is there any message from the Lord?”

Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is a message from the Lord. Zedekiah, you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I done against you? What crime have I done to your officers or the people of Jerusalem? Why have you thrown me into prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets now? Those prophets prophesied this message to you: ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land of Judah.’ ²⁰ But now, my master, king of Judah, please listen to me. And please do what I ask of you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the royal assistant. If you do, I will die there!”

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be put under guard in the courtyard. And he ordered that Jeremiah be given bread from the street of the bakers. Jeremiah was to be given bread until there was no more bread in the city. So he stayed under guard in the courtyard.

Jeremiah Is Thrown into a Well

38 Some of the officers heard what Jeremiah was prophesying. They were Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Pashhur son of Malkijah. Jeremiah was telling all the people this message: ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die in war. Or he will die of hunger or terrible diseases. But everyone who surrenders to the Babylonian army will live. They will escape with their lives and live.’ ³ And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city!’”

⁴ Then the officers said to the king, “Jeremiah must be put to death! He is making the soldiers who are still in the city become discouraged. He is discouraging everyone by the things he is saying. He does not want good to happen to us. He wants to ruin the people of Jerusalem.”

⁵ King Zedekiah said to them, “Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you!”

⁶ So the officers took Jeremiah and put him into the well of Malkijah, the king’s son. That well was in the courtyard of the guards. The officers used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the well. It did not have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

⁷ But Ebed-Melech heard that the officers had put Jeremiah into the well. Ebed-Melech was a Cushite, and he was a eunuch in the palace. King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate. ⁸ So Ebed-Melech left the palace and went to the king. Ebed-Melech said, ⁹ “My master and king, the rulers have acted in an evil way. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly! They have thrown him into a well! They have left him there to die! When there is no more bread in the city, he will starve.”

¹⁰ Then King Zedekiah commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite: “Ebed-Melech, take 30 men from the palace with you. Go and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the well before he dies.”

¹¹ So Ebed-Melech took the men with him. And he went to a room under the storeroom in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let those rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the well. ¹² Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms. They will be pads for the ropes.” So Jeremiah did as Ebed-Melech said. ¹³ The men pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard.

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get Jeremiah the prophet. He had Jeremiah brought to the third entrance to the Temple of the Lord. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me. But tell me everything honestly.”

¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, you will probably kill me. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

¹⁶ But King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us breath and life, I will not kill you. And I promise not to give you to the officers who want to kill you.”

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then your life will be saved. And Jerusalem will not be burned down. And you and your family will live. ¹⁸ You must not refuse to surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, Jerusalem will be given to the Babylonian army. They will burn Jerusalem down. And you will not escape from them.’”

¹⁹ Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I’m afraid of some of the Jews. They have already gone over to the side of the Babylonian army. I’m afraid the Babylonians may hand me over to them. And they will treat me badly.”

²⁰ But Jeremiah answered, “The Babylonians will not hand you over to the Jews. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you. And your life will be saved. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender to the Babylonians, the Lord has shown me what will happen. ²² All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out. They will be taken to the important officers of the king of Babylon. Your women will make fun of you with this song:

²³ “All your wives and children will be brought out. They will be given to the Babylonian army. You yourself will not even escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylon. And Jerusalem will be burned down.”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not tell anyone that I have been talking to you. If you do, you will die. ²⁵ Those officers might find out that I talked to you. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to King Zedekiah. And tell us what King Zedekiah said to you. Don’t keep any secrets from us. If you don’t tell us everything, we will kill you.’ ²⁶ If they ask you, tell them this: ‘I was begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die.’”

²⁷ The officers did come to question Jeremiah. So he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. Then the officers said no more to Jeremiah. This was because no one had heard what Jeremiah and the king had discussed.

²⁸ So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem

39 This is how Jerusalem was captured: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He surrounded the city to attack it. This was during the tenth month of the ninth year Zedekiah was king of Judah. ² This lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s eleventh year. Then the city wall was broken through. ³ And all the officers of the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem. They sat down at the Middle Gate. They were Nergal-Sharezer of the district of Samgar; Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other important officers.

⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they ran away. They left Jerusalem at night and went out from the king’s garden. They went through the gate that was between the two walls. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley. ⁵ But the Babylonian army chased them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There Nebuchadnezzar passed his sentence on Zedekiah. ⁶ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. And Nebuchadnezzar killed all the important officers of Judah as Zedekiah watched. ⁷ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put bronze chains on Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.

⁸ The Babylonians set fire to the palace. And they set fire to the houses of the people of Jerusalem. And they broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan was commander of the king’s special guards. He took the people left in Jerusalem as captives. He also took those captives who had surrendered to him earlier. And he took the rest of the people of Jerusalem. He carried them all away to Babylon. ¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, left some of the poor people of Judah behind. They were the people who owned nothing. So on that day he gave them vineyards and fields.

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard: ¹² “Find Jeremiah and take care of him. Do not hurt him. Give him whatever he asks for.” ¹³ So these men sent for Jeremiah: Nebuzaradan, commander of the guards; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other officers of the king of Babylon. ¹⁴ They had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. Gedaliah had orders to take Jeremiah back home. So they took him home, and he stayed among his own people.

¹⁵ While Jeremiah was guarded in the courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to him: ¹⁶ “Jeremiah, go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite this message: ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Very soon I will make my words about Jerusalem come true. They will come true through disaster, not through good times. You will see everything come true with your own eyes. ¹⁷ But I will save you on that day, Ebed-Melech, says the Lord. You will not be handed over to the people you fear. ¹⁸ I will surely save you, Ebed-Melech. You will not die from a sword. But you will escape and live. This will happen because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Is Set Free

40 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was after Nebuzaradan, commander of the guards, had set Jeremiah free at the city of Ramah. He had found Jeremiah in Ramah bound in chains. He was with all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah. They were being taken away to Babylon. ² When commander Nebuzaradan found Jeremiah, Nebuzaradan said to him, “The Lord your God announced this disaster would come to this place. ³ And now the Lord has done everything he said he would do. This disaster happened because the people of Judah sinned against the Lord. You people did not obey the Lord. ⁴ But now I will set you free. I am taking the chains off your wrists. If you want to, come with me to Babylon. And I will take good care of you. But if you don’t want to come, then don’t. Look, the whole country is open to you.” ⁵ Before Jeremiah turned to leave, Nebuzaradan said, “Or go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. The king of Babylon has chosen Gedaliah to be governor over the towns of Judah. Go and live with Gedaliah among the people. Or go anywhere you want.”

Then Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go. ⁶ So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. And Jeremiah stayed with him there. He lived among the people who were left behind in Judah.

The Short Rule of Gedaliah

⁷ There were some officers and their men from the army of Judah. These men were still out in the open country. They heard that the king of Babylon had put Gedaliah son of Ahikam in charge. He was put in charge of the people who were left in the land: the men, women and children who were very poor. They were the ones who were not carried off to Babylon as captives. ⁸ So these soldiers came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan sons of Kareah. Also Seraiah son of Tanhumeth and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite came. And Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite and their men came.

⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, made a promise to them. Gedaliah said, “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon. Then everything will go well for you. ¹⁰ I myself will live in Mizpah. I will speak for you before the Babylonians who come here. You harvest the wine, the summer fruit and the oil. Put what you harvest in your storage jars. Live in the towns you control.”

¹¹ Some Jews were in Moab, Ammon, Edom and other countries. They heard that the king of Babylon had left a few Jews alive in the land. And they heard the king of Babylon had chosen Gedaliah as governor over them. (Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.) ¹² When the people of Judah heard this news, they came back to Judah. They came back to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They came from all the countries where they had been scattered. They gathered a large harvest of wine and summer fruit.

¹³ Johanan son of Kareah came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. All the army officers of Judah still in the open country also came. ¹⁴ Johanan and the officers with him said to Gedaliah, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonite people wants you dead? He has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you.” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵ Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah. He said to Gedaliah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know anything about it. We should not let Ishmael kill you. All the Jews gathered around you would be scattered to different countries again. Then the few people of Judah who are left alive would be lost.”

¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not kill Ishmael! The things you are saying about Ishmael are not true!”

41 In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah came to Gedaliah son of Ahikam. (Nethaniah was the son of Elishama.) Ishmael came with ten of his men to Mizpah. Now Ishmael was a member of the king’s family. He had been one of the officers of the king of Judah. Ishmael and his men ate a meal with Gedaliah at Mizpah. ² While they were eating together, Ishmael and his ten men got up. They killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam with a sword. Gedaliah was the man the king of Babylon had chosen as governor over Judah. ³ Ishmael killed all the Jews with Gedaliah at Mizpah, too. He also killed the Babylonian soldiers who were there with Gedaliah.

^4-5 The day after Gedaliah was murdered, 80 men came to Mizpah. They were bringing grain offerings and incense to the Temple of the Lord. Those 80 men had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves.^[c] They came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria. None of them knew that Gedaliah had been murdered. ⁶ Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He cried as he walked. When he met them, he said, “Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” ⁷ So they went into Mizpah. Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his men killed 70 of them! They threw the bodies into a deep well. ⁸ But the 10 men who were left alive said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley. And we have oil and honey. We have hidden these things in a field.” So Ishmael let those 10 men alone. He did not kill them with the others. ⁹ Now the well where he had thrown the bodies had been made by King Asa. Asa had made the well as a part of his defenses against Baasha king of Israel. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah put dead bodies in it until it was full.

¹⁰ Ishmael captured all the other people in Mizpah. He captured the king’s daughters and all the other people who were left there. They were the people whom Nebuzaradan commander of the guard had chosen Gedaliah son of Ahikam to take care of. So Ishmael son of Nethaniah captured those people. And he started to cross over to the country of the Ammonites.

¹¹ Johanan son of Kareah heard about all the evil things Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done. All the army officers with him heard it, too. ¹² So Johanan and the army officers took their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught him near the big pool of water at Gibeon. ¹³ The captives Ishmael had taken saw Johanan and the army officers. And they became very happy. ¹⁴ Then all the people Ishmael had taken captive turned around. They ran to Johanan son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan. And they ran away to the Ammonites.

¹⁶ So Johanan son of Kareah and all his army officers saved the captives. Ishmael son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Then he had taken those people from Mizpah. Among those left alive were soldiers, women, children and court officers. Johanan brought them back from the town of Gibeon.

The Escape to Egypt

^17-18 Johanan and the other army officers were afraid of the Babylonians. The king of Babylon had chosen Gedaliah son of Ahikam to be governor of Judah. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah. So Johanan was afraid that the Babylonians would be angry. They decided to run away to Egypt. On the way they stayed at Geruth Kimham, near the town of Bethlehem.

42 While there, Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah went to Jeremiah the prophet. All the army officers went with Johanan and Jezaniah. All the people, from the least important to the greatest, all went along, too. ² They said to him, “Jeremiah, please listen to what we ask. Pray to the Lord your God. Pray for all the people left alive from the family of Judah. At one time there were many of us. You can see that there are few of us now. ³ So pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go. And pray he will tell us what we should do.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah the prophet answered, “I understand what you want me to do. I will pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything he says. I will not hide anything from you.”

⁵ Then the people said to Jeremiah, “We will do everything the Lord your God tells us. If we don’t, may the Lord be a true and loyal witness against us. We know he will send you to tell us what to do. ⁶ It does not matter if we like the message or not. We will obey the Lord our God. We are sending you to the Lord for a message from him. We will obey what he says. Then good things will happen to us.”

⁷ Ten days later the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then Jeremiah called for Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him. Jeremiah also called all the other people, from the least important to the greatest. ⁹ Then Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to ask the Lord for what you wanted. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ¹⁰ ‘If you will stay in Judah, I will make you strong. I will not destroy you. I will plant you, and I will not pull you up. This is because I am sad about the disaster I brought on you. ¹¹ Now you are afraid of the king of Babylon. But don’t be afraid of him. Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘I am with you. I will save you. I will rescue you from his power. ¹² I will be kind to you. And the king of Babylon will also treat you with mercy. He will bring you back to your land.’

¹³ “But you might say, ‘We will not stay in Judah.’ If you say that, you will disobey the Lord your God. ¹⁴ Or you might say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt. We will not be bothered with war there. We will not hear the trumpets of war. And in Egypt we will not be hungry.’ ¹⁵ If you say that, listen to the message of the Lord. It is to you who are left alive from Judah. This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you make up your mind to go and live in Egypt, these things will happen: ¹⁶ You are afraid of war. But it will defeat you in the land of Egypt. And you are worried about hunger. But you will be hungry in Egypt. You will die there. ¹⁷ Everyone who goes to live in Egypt will die in war. Or he will die from hunger or terrible disease. No one who goes to Egypt will live. No one will escape the terrible things I will bring to them.’

¹⁸ “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I showed my anger against Jerusalem. I punished the people who lived in Jerusalem. In the same way I will show my anger against you when you go to Egypt. Other nations will speak evil of you. People will be shocked by what has happened to you. You will become a curse word. People will insult you. And you will never see Judah again.’

¹⁹ “You who are left alive in Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ I warn you today. ²⁰ You are making a mistake that will cause your deaths. You sent me to the Lord your God. You said to me, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us everything the Lord says, and we will do it.’ ²¹ So today I have told you the message from the Lord. But you have not obeyed the Lord your God. You have not done all that he sent me to tell you to do. ²² So now be sure you understand this: You want to go to live in Egypt. But you will die by war, hunger or terrible diseases.”

43 So Jeremiah finished telling the people the message from the Lord their God. He told them everything the Lord their God had sent him to tell them.

² Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah and some other men were too proud. They said to Jeremiah, “Jeremiah, you are lying! The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to live there.’ ³ Baruch son of Neriah is causing you to be against us. He wants you to hand us over to the Babylonians. Then they will kill us. Or they will capture us and take us to Babylon.”

⁴ So Johanan, the army officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord’s command. He had commanded them to stay in Judah. ⁵ But Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers took those who were left alive from Judah to Egypt. These were the people who had run away from the Babylonians to other countries. But they had come back to Judah. ⁶ Now Johanan and the army officers took the men, women and children. Among those people were the king’s daughters. And they led them to Egypt. Nebuzaradan commander of the guard had put Gedaliah in charge of those people. (Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam son of Shaphan.) Johanan also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. ⁷ These people did not listen to the Lord. So they all went to Egypt to the town of Tahpanhes.

⁸ In Tahpanhes the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: ⁹ “Take some large stones. Bury them in the clay in the brick pavement. This is in front of the king of Egypt’s palace in Tahpanhes. Do this while the Jews are watching you. ¹⁰ Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And I will set his throne over these stones I have buried. He will spread his covering for shade above these stones. ¹¹ He will come here and attack Egypt. He will bring death to those who are supposed to die. He will make prisoners of those who are to be taken captive. And he will bring war to those who are to be killed with a sword. ¹² Nebuchadnezzar will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn those temples. And he will take the idols away. A shepherd wraps himself in his clothes. In the same way Nebuchadnezzar will wrap Egypt around him. Then he will safely leave Egypt. ¹³ He will destroy the stone pillars in the temple of the sun god in Egypt. And he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’”

Disaster in Egypt

44 Jeremiah received a message from the Lord. It was for all the Jews living in Egypt. It was for the Jews in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis and southern Egypt. This was the message: ² “The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the terrible things I brought on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. Those towns are empty ruins today. ³ And it is because the people who lived there did evil. Those people burned incense to other gods. And that made me angry! Your people and your ancestors did not worship those gods before. ⁴ I sent my prophets to them again and again. Those prophets were my servants. They spoke my message and said to the people, ‘Don’t do this terrible thing. The Lord hates for you to worship other gods.’ ⁵ But they did not listen to the prophets. They did not pay attention. They did not stop doing evil things. They did not stop burning incense to other gods. ⁶ So I showed my great anger against them. I punished the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. My anger made Jerusalem and the towns of Judah empty. They are only ruins and piles of stones today.

⁷ “So the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves by continuing to worship other gods? You are cutting off the men and women, children and babies from the family of Judah. So you leave yourselves without anyone from the family of Judah. ⁸ Why do you want to make me angry by making idols? Why do you burn incense to the gods of Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves. Other nations will speak evil of you. And all the other nations on the earth will make fun of you. ⁹ Have you forgotten about the evil things your ancestors did? And have you forgotten the evil the kings and queens of Judah did? Have you forgotten about the evil you and your wives did? They did these things in Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Even to this day the people of Judah are still too proud. They have not learned to respect me. And they have not followed my teachings. They have not obeyed the laws I gave you and your ancestors!

¹¹ “So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disasters on you. I will destroy the whole family of Judah. ¹² There were a few left alive from Judah. They were determined to go to Egypt and settle there. But they will all die in Egypt. They will be killed in war or die from hunger. From the least important to the greatest, they will be killed in war or die from hunger. Other nations will speak evil about them. People will be shocked by what has happened to them. They will become a curse word. People will insult them. ¹³ I will punish those people who have gone to live in Egypt. I will use swords, hunger and terrible diseases to punish them. I will punish them just as I punished Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Of the people of Judah who were left alive and have gone to Egypt none will escape my punishment. They want to return to Judah and live there. But none of them will live to return to Judah. None of them will return to Judah, except a few people who escape.”

¹⁵ A large group of the people of Judah, who lived in southern Egypt, were meeting together. Among them were many women of Judah who lived in Egypt. They were burning incense to other gods, and their husbands knew it. All these people said to Jeremiah, ¹⁶ “We will not listen to the message from the Lord that you spoke to us. ¹⁷ We promised to make sacrifices to the Queen Goddess! And we will do everything we promised. We will burn incense and pour out drink offerings to worship her. We did that in the past. And our ancestors, kings and officers did that in the past. All of us did those things in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food. We were successful. Nothing bad happened to us. ¹⁸ But then we stopped making sacrifices to the Queen Goddess. And we stopped pouring out drink offerings to her. Since then we have had problems. Our people have been killed in war and by hunger.”

¹⁹ The women said, “Our husbands knew what we were doing. We had their permission to burn incense to the Queen Goddess! We had their permission to pour out drink offerings to her. Our husbands knew we were making cakes that looked like her and that we poured out drink offerings to her.”

²⁰ Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—men and women—who answered him. ²¹ He said to them, “The Lord remembered that you burned incense. You burned it in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You and your ancestors, kings and officers did that. And the people of the land did that. The Lord remembered and thought about it. ²² Then he could not be patient with you any longer. He hated the terrible things you did. So he made your country an empty desert. No one lives there now. Other people curse that country. ²³ All this happened because you burned incense to other gods. You sinned against the Lord. You did not obey him. You did not follow his teachings or the laws he gave you. You did not keep your part of the agreement. This disaster has happened. It is there for you to see.”

²⁴ Then Jeremiah spoke to all those men and also to the women. He said, “People of Judah who are now in Egypt, hear the word of the Lord: ²⁵ The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: You women did what you said you would do. You said, ‘We will keep the promises we made. We promised to make sacrifices to the Queen Goddess. And we promised to pour out drink offerings to her.’ So, go ahead. Do the things you promised you would do. Keep your promises. ²⁶ But hear the word of the Lord. Listen, all you Jews living in Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I use my great name and make this promise: The people of Judah now living in Egypt will never again use my name to make promises. They will never again say, “As surely as the Lord God lives . . .” ²⁷ I am watching over them. I am not watching over them to take care of them, but to hurt them. The Jews who live in Egypt will die from swords or hunger until they are all destroyed. ²⁸ Some people will escape being killed by the sword. They will come back to Judah from Egypt. But there will only be a very few who escape. Then, of the people of Judah who came to live in Egypt, those who are left alive will know. They will know whether my word or their word came true. ²⁹ I will give you a sign that I will punish you here in Egypt,’ says the Lord. ‘Then you will know my promises to hurt you will really happen.’ ³⁰ This is what the Lord says: ‘Hophra king of Egypt has enemies who want to kill him. I will hand over King Hophra to his enemies. I will do this just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to kill Zedekiah.’”

A Message to Baruch

45 It was the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. Jeremiah the prophet told these things to Baruch son of Neriah. And Baruch wrote them on a scroll. This is what Jeremiah said to Baruch: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ³ Baruch, you have said, ‘How terrible it is for me! The Lord has given me sorrow along with my pain. I am tired because of my suffering. I cannot rest.’”

⁴ The Lord said, “Say this to Baruch: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will tear down what I have built. And I will pull up what I have planted. I will do that everywhere in Judah. ⁵ Baruch, you are looking for great things for yourself. Don’t do that! Don’t look for them because I will bring disaster on all the people. The Lord says these things! You will have to go many places. But I will let you escape alive wherever you go.’”

Messages About the Nations

46 The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations:

² This message is about Egypt: This message is about the army of King Neco, king of Egypt. His army was defeated at the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates River. It was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This was in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. This is the Lord’s message to Egypt:

¹³ This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is about Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as he came to attack Egypt:

²⁵ The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: “Very soon I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. And I will punish Egypt, her king and her gods. And I will punish the people who depend on the king. ²⁶ I will let all those people be defeated by their enemies. And those enemies want to kill them. I will give them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But in the future, Egypt will live in peace as it once did,” says the Lord.

A Message to Israel

A Message About the Philistines

47 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is about the Philistine people. It came before the king of Egypt attacked the city of Gaza.

² This is what the Lord says: