Jeremiah son of Hilkiah. From a family of priests in Anathoth, a village in Benjamin. The LORD first spoke to him in King Josiah’s thirteenth year, and kept speaking to him all through the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, until the month the people of Jerusalem were taken away.
JEREMIAH 1:1–3 · BSB
These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
He said don’t say “I’m only a child.” Go wherever I send you. Say whatever I tell you. Don’t be afraid of them. I’m with you.
JEREMIAH 1:7–8 · BSB
But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
He asked me what I could see. A branch from an almond tree. Right, he said, because I’m watching over my word to make it happen. In our language almond and watching sound almost the same.
JEREMIAH 1:11–12 · BSB
And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied. “You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.”
Second one: a pot on the boil, tipping towards us from the north. That’s where the disaster is coming from.
JEREMIAH 1:13–14 · BSB
Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.” Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.
They’ll fight me. They won’t win. He’s made me a fortified city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall.
JEREMIAH 1:18–19 · BSB
Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
The LORD says he remembers how it was. Us, young, in love, following him through the desert like a bride.
JEREMIAH 2:2 · BSB
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
My people have done two things wrong. They’ve walked away from him, the spring of living water. And they’ve dug their own cisterns. Cracked ones that can’t hold water.
JEREMIAH 2:13 · BSB
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
They tell a piece of wood, you’re my father. They tell a stone, you gave birth to me. Then trouble comes and suddenly it’s “Come and save us!”
JEREMIAH 2:27 · BSB
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Yet in the time of trouble, they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’
My insides. My insides. I’m doubled over. My heart is pounding and I can’t keep quiet. I can hear the trumpet. The battle alarm.
JEREMIAH 4:19 · BSB
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. At the sky, and there was no light. The mountains were shaking. There were no people. Even the birds had gone.
JEREMIAH 4:23–25 · BSB
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled.
He told me to go up and down the streets of Jerusalem and look properly. Search the squares. Find one person who does what’s right and wants the truth, and he’ll forgive the city.
JEREMIAH 5:1 · BSB
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
Relax. He won’t do anything. Nothing bad’s going to happen to us. No war, no famine. The prophets are all hot air.
JEREMIAH 5:12–13 · BSB
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine. The prophets are but wind, for the word is not in them. So let their own predictions befall them.”
Prophets and priests, all of them on the make. They put a plaster on my people’s wound and say “Peace, peace.” There is no peace.
JEREMIAH 6:13–14 · BSB
“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. You’ll find rest for your souls.
They said: we won’t.
JEREMIAH 6:16 · BSB
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
Early in King Jehoiakim’s reign. The LORD sends Jeremiah to stand in the temple courtyard, where people come in from all over Judah to worship, and say every word. Leave nothing out. Maybe they’ll listen.
JEREMIAH 26:1–3 · BSB
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.
Stop chanting “the temple of the LORD” at each other like it keeps you safe. You steal, murder, cheat on your wives, lie under oath, burn incense to Baal, then walk in here and say “we’re safe”? Has his temple become a den of robbers?
JEREMIAH 7:4; JEREMIAH 7:9–11 · BSB
Do not trust in deceptive words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’? Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
Go to Shiloh, he says. That’s the first place he chose to be worshipped. Go and look at what he did to it. He’ll do the same to this temple you trust in.
But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer, therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.
He stood in the LORD’s temple and said it’d end up like Shiloh. We all grabbed him. Priests, prophets, everyone. You’ll die for this.
JEREMIAH 26:8–9 · BSB
and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!” And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
The king’s officials hear about it and come up from the palace. They sit down at the entrance of the New Gate. It’s a trial now, right there.
JEREMIAH 26:10 · BSB
When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate.
We put it to the officials plainly: this man deserves the death sentence. He has prophesied against this city. You heard it with your own ears.
JEREMIAH 26:11 · BSB
Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!”
The kids gather wood, the dads light the fire, the mums knead dough to bake cakes for the Queen of Heaven, a goddess. Whole families at it.
JEREMIAH 7:18 · BSB
The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
Even the stork knows when to come back. The dove, the swift, the thrush all keep their seasons. My people don’t know what the LORD asks of them.
JEREMIAH 8:7 · BSB
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
Don’t let the clever boast about being clever, or the strong about being strong, or the rich about their money. If you want to boast, the LORD says, boast that you know me. That I’m the one who is kind and fair and does what’s right on the earth. That’s what I love.
JEREMIAH 9:23–24 · BSB
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
Their idols: a tree cut down on the hillside, carved, covered in silver and gold, nailed down so it won’t fall over. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch. Can’t talk. Has to be carried because it can’t walk. Don’t be scared of them.
JEREMIAH 10:3–5 · BSB
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”
Found out the people of my own home town have been plotting to kill me. Anathoth. I had no idea. I was like a lamb being led off to be slaughtered. The LORD had to show me. Their message to me: stop prophesying in the LORD’s name or we’ll kill you ourselves.
JEREMIAH 11:18–19; JEREMIAH 11:21 · BSB
And the LORD informed me, so I knew. Then You showed me their deeds. For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.” Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.”
Honest question, LORD. You’re always in the right when I bring you a case. But why do the wicked do so well? Why do cheats have it so easy?
JEREMIAH 12:1 · BSB
Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
His answer: if you’ve raced men on foot and they’ve worn you out, how are you going to keep up with horses? Even your own family has turned on you.
JEREMIAH 12:5–6 · BSB
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan? Even your brothers—your own father’s household—even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
Told to buy a linen loincloth and wear it, and not let it get wet. Then go to Perath and hide it in a crack in the rocks. Went back ages later and dug it up. Ruined. No use for anything.
JEREMIAH 13:1–7 · BSB
This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a loincloth in accordance with the word of the LORD, and I put it around my waist. Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: “Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to Perath and hide it there in a crevice of the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD had commanded me. Many days later the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to Perath, and get the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined—of no use at all.
That’s Judah’s pride, he said. He made them to cling to him like a loincloth clings to a man’s waist. They wouldn’t listen.
JEREMIAH 13:9–11 · BSB
“This is what the LORD says: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, they will be like this loincloth—of no use at all. For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.
Still no rain. The rich send their servants to the cisterns and they come back with empty jars. The ground’s cracked. Farmers covering their heads. Even the doe in the field has left her newborn fawn, because there’s no grass.
JEREMIAH 14:3–5 · BSB
The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
I told the LORD the prophets keep promising no sword, no famine, lasting peace. He said they’re prophesying lies in his name. He never sent them. Never spoke to them.
JEREMIAH 14:13–14 · BSB
“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go!
Never sat with the party crowd. You had your hand on me, so I sat on my own.
JEREMIAH 15:17 · BSB
I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.
Told not to marry or have children here. Not to go to funerals. Not to go to feasts either.
JEREMIAH 16:2; JEREMIAH 16:5; JEREMIAH 16:8 · BSB
“You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.” Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion,” declares the LORD. You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink.
Anyone who trusts in people and turns away from the LORD is under a curse. Anyone who trusts in the LORD is blessed. They’re like a tree planted by water, roots reaching for the stream. Heat comes, the leaves stay green. A dry year, and it still bears fruit.
JEREMIAH 17:5; JEREMIAH 17:7–8 · BSB
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
Told to go down to the potter’s house. He was working at the wheel. The pot he was shaping went wrong in his hands, so he made it into another pot, however he thought best.
JEREMIAH 18:3–4 · BSB
So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel. But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do.
The LORD’s point: you’re the clay, and he’s the potter. If he warns a nation it’ll be torn down and it turns from its evil, he holds back the disaster. And if he promises good to a nation that then does evil, he holds back the good.
JEREMIAH 18:6–10 · BSB
“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring. And if at another time I announce that I will build up and establish a nation or kingdom, and if it does evil in My sight and does not listen to My voice, then I will relent of the good I had intended for it.
Heard them talking. Come on, let’s make plans against Jeremiah. We’ll still have priests and wise men and prophets without him. Let’s take him down with words and ignore everything he says.
JEREMIAH 18:18 · BSB
Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
Should good be paid back with evil? They’ve dug a pit for me. Remember, LORD, I stood in front of you and spoke up for them.
JEREMIAH 18:20 · BSB
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
Bought a clay jar from a potter. Took some of the elders and senior priests out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, by the Potsherd Gate, and told them what the LORD said. Then I smashed the jar in front of them. That’s what he’ll do to this city. Like a pot that can never be mended.
JEREMIAH 19:1–2; JEREMIAH 19:10–11 · BSB
This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests, and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you, Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.
Following reports of what Jeremiah has been saying in the temple courtyard, I had him beaten and placed in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate.
JEREMIAH 20:1–2 · BSB
When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and the chief official in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
But if I say I’ll never mention him again, never speak in his name, it’s like a fire shut up in my bones. I’m worn out holding it in. I can’t.
JEREMIAH 20:9 · BSB
If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
I curse the day I was born. Why did I ever come out of the womb, just to see trouble and sorrow and end my days in shame?
JEREMIAH 20:14; JEREMIAH 20:18 · BSB
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?
I am building myself a great palace. Spacious upstairs rooms, wide windows, cedar panelling, painted red.
JEREMIAH 22:14 · BSB
who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
Built on wrongdoing, by neighbours working for nothing. No wages. Does cedar make you a king? Your father ate and drank too, and he did what was right and fair. He stood up for the poor and needy, and things went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me? says the LORD.
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages, Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him. He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
The days are coming, says the LORD, when he’ll raise up a good Branch from David’s family. A king who rules wisely and does what’s right and fair in the land. His name: The LORD Our Righteousness.
JEREMIAH 23:5–6 · BSB
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
Twenty-three years. From King Josiah’s thirteenth year to today the LORD’s been speaking to me, and I’ve been telling you, again and again. You haven’t listened.
JEREMIAH 25:3 · BSB
“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
So here’s what’s coming. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the one the LORD calls his servant. No more wedding songs. No millstones grinding. No lamplight. This land will be a ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
JEREMIAH 25:9–11 · BSB
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
Brought the whole Rechabite family into one of the side rooms at the LORD’s temple. Set jugs of wine and cups in front of them and said, have a drink.
JEREMIAH 35:2–5 · BSB
“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.” So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
Thanks, but we don’t drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told us not to, ever. No houses, no fields, no vineyards either. Tents, our whole lives. And we have. We’re only in Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar’s army came.
JEREMIAH 35:6–11 · BSB
“We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine. Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’ And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives—neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters. Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops. But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us. So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
Fourth year of King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah dictated everything the LORD has said to him since Josiah’s day, and I wrote it all down on a scroll.
JEREMIAH 36:1–2; JEREMIAH 36:4 · BSB
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today. So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.
He’s banned from the LORD’s temple. So I’m the one reading it out there, on a fast day, when everyone’s in from the towns.
JEREMIAH 36:5–6 · BSB
Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD; so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities.
Fast day, ninth month, city packed. Read the whole scroll out from Gemariah’s room by the New Gate, where everyone could hear.
JEREMIAH 36:9–10 · BSB
Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah. From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.
My son Micaiah heard it and came down to the palace to inform us officials. We summoned Baruch and had him read it again, to us.
JEREMIAH 36:11–15 · BSB
When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. “Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
Ninth month, so the king’s in his winter rooms with the fire going. I’m reading the scroll to him. Every three or four columns, he cuts them off with a knife and drops them in the fire. Until the whole scroll was gone.
JEREMIAH 36:22–23 · BSB
Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him. And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.
“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned. Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Honestly, I’m exhausted. The LORD’s added sorrow to my pain. Worn out from groaning, and no rest.
JEREMIAH 45:1; JEREMIAH 45:3 · BSB
This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: You have said, ‘Woe is me because the LORD has added sorrow to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.’”
A word from the LORD for you, Baruch. Are you looking for great things for yourself? Stop looking. Disaster is coming on everyone. But wherever you go, you’ll come out alive.
JEREMIAH 45:2; JEREMIAH 45:5 · BSB
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”
Nebuchadnezzar has taken King Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah, off to Babylon. The officials of Judah, the craftsmen and the metalworkers went with him.
JEREMIAH 24:1 · BSB
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
Two baskets of figs in front of the temple. One very good, like the ones that ripen early. The other so bad you couldn’t eat them. The good ones are the people taken to Babylon, the LORD says. He’ll keep his eye on them, bring them back, and give them a heart to know him.
JEREMIAH 24:1–7 · BSB
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten. “Jeremiah,” the LORD asked, “what do you see?” “Figs!” I replied. “The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.” Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.
But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.
Wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon. It’s going with the men King Zedekiah is sending to Nebuchadnezzar.
JEREMIAH 29:1; JEREMIAH 29:3 · BSB
This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat what grows. Get married and have children, and let your children marry. Grow there, don’t shrink. Work for the good of the city he’s sent you to, and pray for it. If it does well, so will you.
JEREMIAH 29:4–7 · BSB
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
When Babylon’s seventy years are up, he’ll come and keep his promise and bring you home. He knows the plans he has for you, he says. Plans for your good, not for harm. Plans to give you a future and a hope.
JEREMIAH 29:10–11 · BSB
For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
Copy of my letter to Zephaniah the priest in Jerusalem: You are in charge of the LORD’s temple, and of any madman who sets himself up as a prophet. Why, then, have you not dealt with Jeremiah of Anathoth? He has written to us here saying it will be a long stay. Build houses. Plant gardens.
You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah: ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons. So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
New king, Zedekiah. Envoys in town from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. The LORD told me to make a yoke, the wooden bar oxen wear, and wear it on my neck, and send their kings a message: put your neck under the king of Babylon’s yoke and you’ll stay in your own land.
JEREMIAH 27:1–3; JEREMIAH 27:11 · BSB
At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck. Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. But the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave in its own land, to cultivate it and reside in it, declares the LORD.”
Same to you, King Zedekiah. Serve the king of Babylon and live. Why die? Don’t listen to the prophets telling you otherwise. They’re lying to you.
JEREMIAH 27:12–14 · BSB
And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live! Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie.
Mark my words. The LORD says he has broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years he’ll bring back everything Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple. And King Jeconiah, and everyone who went with him.
JEREMIAH 28:1–4 · BSB
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and carried to Babylon. And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
I said amen. I hope he does. But a prophet who promises peace only gets recognised when it actually comes true.
JEREMIAH 28:6; JEREMIAH 28:9 · BSB
“Amen!” Jeremiah said. “May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied, and may He restore the articles of His house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”
Took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in front of everyone. That’s how the LORD will break Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke off every nation, within two years.
JEREMIAH 28:10–11 · BSB
Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. And in the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations.’” At this, Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.
And in the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations.’” At this, Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.
Word for Hananiah. You broke a yoke of wood. You’ve made one of iron in its place. The LORD didn’t send you, and you’ve got these people trusting a lie. This year you’ll die.
“Go and tell Hananiah that this is what the LORD says: ‘You have broken a yoke of wood, but in its place you have fashioned a yoke of iron.’ Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie. Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
Seraiah, the king’s quartermaster, is going to Babylon with King Zedekiah. Gave him a scroll with everything that’s coming to Babylon written on it. Told him: when you get there, read it all out. Then tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. Babylon will sink like that, and never rise again.
JEREMIAH 51:59–64 · BSB
This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’ When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates. Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.
Nebuchadnezzar is making war on us. Please ask the LORD for us. Perhaps he’ll do one of his miracles, as he has before, and the king of Babylon will withdraw.
JEREMIAH 21:1–2 · BSB
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said, “Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
The LORD says he’s fighting against this city himself. In anger, and in fury.
JEREMIAH 21:3–5 · BSB
But Jeremiah answered, “You are to tell Zedekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city. And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, with anger, fury, and great wrath.
And to the people: the LORD is putting in front of you the way of life and the way of death. Stay in the city and you’ll die in battle, or of hunger, or of disease. Go out and surrender to the Babylonians and live.
Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war.
During the siege King Zedekiah gets everyone in Jerusalem to make a solemn agreement: set your Hebrew slaves free, men and women. They all do. Then they change their minds and take them back.
JEREMIAH 34:8–11 · BSB
After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage. So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them, but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.
The LORD says you turned round and did the right thing. You proclaimed freedom. Then you took it back. So now he’s proclaiming freedom for you. Freedom to fall to war, disease and famine.
JEREMIAH 34:15–17 · BSB
Recently you repented and did what pleased Me; each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My Name. But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves. Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Don’t kid yourselves that they’ve gone for good. Pharaoh’s army will go home, and the Babylonians will be back to burn this city. Even if all that was left of them was wounded men in tents, they’d get up and do it.
JEREMIAH 37:7–10 · BSB
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt. Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down. This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not! Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”
Caught Jeremiah at the Benjamin Gate trying to leave the city. Going over to the Babylonians, obviously.
JEREMIAH 37:12–13 · BSB
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
That’s a lie. I’m not deserting to anyone. I was going to Benjamin to claim my share of the family land.
JEREMIAH 37:12; JEREMIAH 37:14 · BSB
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. “That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials.
King Zedekiah has Jeremiah moved to the courtyard of the guard, with a loaf of bread a day from Bakers’ Street, as long as there’s any bread left in the city.
JEREMIAH 37:21 · BSB
So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Kindly note: Jeremiah is telling everyone that whoever surrenders to the Babylonians will live. He’s taking the heart out of the soldiers we’ve got left, and everyone else. This man should die. He’s not after what’s good for these people. He wants their ruin.
JEREMIAH 38:1–4 · BSB
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people: “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live. This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.” Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
So they take Jeremiah and lower him on ropes into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, in the courtyard of the guard. No water in it. Just mud. And Jeremiah sinks into the mud.
JEREMIAH 38:6 · BSB
So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
Heard what they’d done to Jeremiah. The king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, so I went out to him. Told him: Your Majesty, these men have done something evil. They’ve thrown Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He’ll starve to death down there. There’s no bread left in the city.
JEREMIAH 38:7–9 · BSB
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.”
We understand the king had Jeremiah brought to him. We duly asked Jeremiah what was discussed. He states that he was begging the king not to send him back to Jonathan’s house to die. There were no other witnesses. The matter is closed.
JEREMIAH 38:26–27 · BSB
then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he relayed to them the exact words the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had overheard the conversation.
Tenth year of King Zedekiah. The Babylonian army has Jerusalem surrounded. Jeremiah is shut up in the courtyard of the guard at the palace.
JEREMIAH 32:1–2 · BSB
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.
Popped in to see my cousin Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. Asked if he’d buy my field in Anathoth. He’s family, so he gets first dibs.
JEREMIAH 32:8 · BSB
Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
The LORD told me you’d come. So I bought it. Seventeen shekels of silver weighed out on the scales. Signed, sealed, witnesses, the lot.
JEREMIAH 32:7; JEREMIAH 32:9–10 · BSB
Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
Lord God. You made the heavens and the earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you. The siege ramps are up against the city, and you’ve told me to buy a field.
JEREMIAH 32:17; JEREMIAH 32:24–25 · BSB
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see! Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver and call in witnesses, even though the city has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’”
His answer: I am the LORD, the God of everyone alive. Is anything too hard for me? Fields will be bought in this land again.
JEREMIAH 32:26–27; JEREMIAH 32:43 · BSB
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me? And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’
Still locked up, and he says: call to me and I’ll answer you, and tell you great and hidden things you don’t know.
JEREMIAH 33:1; JEREMIAH 33:3 · BSB
While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
In this place you’re all calling a wasteland, you’ll hear it again. Laughter. Wedding songs. People bringing thank offerings to the LORD’s temple and singing: give thanks to the LORD, he is good, his love lasts for ever.
This is what the LORD says: In this place you say is a wasteland without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted—inhabited by neither man nor beast—there will be heard again the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.
He’s told me to write it all down in a book. The days are coming when he’ll bring his people home to the land he gave their ancestors.
JEREMIAH 30:2–3 · BSB
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
I have loved you with an everlasting love, he says. I’ve drawn you to me with kindness that won’t let go. I’ll build you up again. You’ll pick up your tambourines and go out dancing.
JEREMIAH 31:3–4 · BSB
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion. Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Stop crying, the LORD tells her. Dry your eyes. Your children will come back from the enemy’s land. There’s hope for your future.
JEREMIAH 31:16–17 · BSB
This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.
The days are coming, says the LORD, when he’ll make a new covenant with Israel and Judah. A new agreement, not like the one he made when he took their ancestors by the hand out of Egypt, which they broke. This time he’ll put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts. He’ll be their God and they’ll be his people. Nobody will need to teach their neighbour to know the LORD, because they’ll all know him, from the least to the greatest. He’ll forgive what they’ve done, and never remember their sins again.
JEREMIAH 31:31–34 · BSB
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
Ninth year of Zedekiah, tenth month. Nebuchadnezzar comes with his whole army and builds siege walls all round Jerusalem. Eleventh year, fourth month, ninth day: the famine is so bad there’s no food left for anyone. The wall is broken through.
JEREMIAH 52:4–7 · BSB
So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it. And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food. Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,
Zedekiah and the soldiers run for it at night, through the king’s garden and out by the gate between the two walls. The Babylonians catch up with the king on the plains of Jericho. His army scatters.
JEREMIAH 39:4; JEREMIAH 52:8 · BSB
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah. but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
A month later Nebuzaradan, captain of the king of Babylon’s guard, arrives in Jerusalem. He burns the LORD’s temple, the royal palace, and every house of any size. The Babylonian army pulls down the walls all the way round.
JEREMIAH 52:12–14 · BSB
On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building. And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.
The people still left in the city are taken off to Babylon, along with the ones who’d gone over to the Babylonians. Nebuzaradan leaves some of the very poorest behind, and gives them vineyards and fields.
JEREMIAH 39:9–10 · BSB
Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to him. But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
What really happened that day. King Zedekiah had met Jeremiah at the third entrance of the LORD’s temple and sworn in secret not to kill him. Jeremiah told him: surrender to the king of Babylon’s officers and you’ll live, and this city won’t be burned. The king said he was afraid of the Jews who’d already gone over. And afterwards he told Jeremiah exactly what to say if the officials came asking.
Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.” “If I tell you,” Jeremiah replied, “you will surely put me to death. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.” Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’” But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.” “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, that it may go well with you and you may live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: All the women who remain in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and those women will say: ‘They misled you and overcame you—those trusted friends of yours. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.’ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.” Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,’ then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
In chains at Ramah, with everyone from Jerusalem and Judah being taken off to Babylon.
JEREMIAH 40:1 · BSB
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
The LORD your God said disaster would come on this place, and now he’s done exactly what he said. You people did wrong against him and didn’t listen, and this is what came of it. But you: I’m taking the chains off your wrists today. Come to Babylon with me and I’ll look after you. Or don’t. The whole land is in front of you. Go wherever you see fit.
The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place, and now the LORD has fulfilled it; He has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed His voice, this thing has happened to you. But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains that were on your wrists. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, then come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. Look, the whole land is before you. Wherever it seems good and right to you, go there.”
Nebuchadnezzar himself had given orders about Jeremiah: look after him, don’t let any harm come to him, and do whatever he asks.
JEREMIAH 39:11–12 · BSB
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”
Jeremiah goes to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and stays there among the people left in the land.
JEREMIAH 40:5–6 · BSB
But before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go anywhere else that seems right.” Then the captain of the guard gave him a ration and a gift and released him. So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
A word the LORD gave me for Ebed-Melech back when I was still shut up in the courtyard of the guard: when the city falls, you’ll be rescued. You won’t be handed over to the men you’re afraid of. Because you trusted in him.
And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him: “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you fear. For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’”
Don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Settle in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and it’ll go well for you. I’ll stay here at Mizpah and speak for you when they come. You: bring in the grapes, the summer fruit and the oil, and fill your storage jars.
JEREMIAH 40:9–10 · BSB
Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. As for me, I will stay in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine grapes, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have taken.”
Jews scattered in Moab, Ammon, Edom and further away hear about it and come home to Judah. And they bring in a huge harvest.
JEREMIAH 40:11–12 · BSB
When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them, they all returned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered an abundance of wine grapes and summer fruit.
Warned Gedaliah, flat out: the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill him. He doesn’t believe us.
JEREMIAH 40:13–14 · BSB
Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Are you aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
The seventh month. Ishmael son of Nethaniah, who is from the royal family, comes to Mizpah with ten men, and they eat a meal with Gedaliah. Then they get up and kill him.
JEREMIAH 41:1–2 · BSB
In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and they ate a meal together there. Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land.
We went after Ishmael and found him by the big pool at Gibeon. The people he’d taken from Mizpah saw us and came running over. He got away to the Ammonites with eight men.
JEREMIAH 41:11–15 · BSB
When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the crimes that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. And they found him near the great pool in Gibeon. When all the people with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they rejoiced, and all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and went to the Ammonites.
We’re stopping near Bethlehem on the way to Egypt. After what Ishmael did, we’re afraid of the Babylonians. Jeremiah, pray to the LORD your God for us, the few of us who are left. Ask him which way to go and what to do. Good or bad, we’ll do whatever he says.
JEREMIAH 41:17–18; JEREMIAH 42:2–6 · BSB
And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt to escape the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of the Chaldeans because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes. Pray that the LORD your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.” “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the LORD your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the LORD answers. I will not withhold a word from you.” Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God!”
Ten days later the LORD answered. Stay in this land and he’ll build you up and not pull you down. Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon. The LORD is with you to save you. But go to Egypt and the sword you’re afraid of will catch up with you there.
After ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from him. then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.
They went to Egypt anyway. All of them, as far as Tahpanhes. They took Jeremiah. And me.
JEREMIAH 43:5–7 · BSB
Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been scattered, the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.
Buried some big stones in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes, with people watching. Nebuchadnezzar will set up his throne right on top of them.
JEREMIAH 43:9–10 · BSB
“In the sight of the Jews, pick up some large stones and bury them in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have embedded, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them.
We’re not listening to you. We’re going to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, like we did before, and our parents and our kings, back in Judah. We had plenty to eat then, and nothing went wrong. Since we stopped, it’s been nothing but sword and famine.
JEREMIAH 44:15–18 · BSB
Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah, “As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you! Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster. But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
And before anyone asks: yes, our husbands knew all about the cakes.
JEREMIAH 44:19 · BSB
“Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
Then a long run of messages for the nations around us: Egypt, the Philistines, Moab, Edom and the rest. The last and longest was for Babylon itself. Babylon will be taken. Her gods put to shame.
JEREMIAH 46:1; JEREMIAH 50:1–2 · BSB
This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans: “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
Okay, news from the palace. King Jehoiachin of Judah has been a prisoner here thirty-seven years. The new king of Babylon, Evil-merodach, has let him out. Spoke kindly to him, gave him a seat above all the other kings in Babylon. He’s out of his prison clothes, and he’ll eat at the king’s table every day for the rest of his life.
JEREMIAH 52:31–34 · BSB
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison. And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life. And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.
The books of Samuel
Samuel
Moses
Jacob
