GetPassageurn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.kingjames:24urn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.kingjames:24The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah , of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin : To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah , in the thirteenth year of his reign . It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah , unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month . Then the word of the LORD came unto me , saying , Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee ; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee , and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations . Then said I , Ah , Lord GOD ! behold , I cannot speak : for I am a child . But the LORD said unto me , Say not , I am a child : for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee , and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak . Be not afraid of their faces : for I am with thee to deliver thee , saith the LORD . Then the LORD put forth his hand , and touched my mouth . And the LORD said unto me , Behold , I have put my words in thy mouth . See , I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms , to root out , and to pull down , and to destroy , and to throw down , to build , and to plant . Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me , saying , Jeremiah , what seest thou ? And I said , I see a rod of an almond tree . Then said the LORD unto me , Thou hast well seen : for I will hasten my word to perform it . And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time , saying , What seest thou ? And I said , I see a seething pot ; and the face thereof is toward the north . Then the LORD said unto me , Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land . For , lo , I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north , saith the LORD ; and they shall come , and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem , and against all the walls thereof round about , and against all the cities of Judah . And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness , who have forsaken me , and have burned incense unto other gods , and worshipped the works of their own hands . Thou therefore gird up thy loins , and arise , and speak unto them all that I command thee : be not dismayed at their faces , lest I confound thee before them . For , behold , I have made thee this day a defenced city , and an iron pillar , and brasen walls against the whole land , against the kings of Judah , against the princes thereof , against the priests thereof , and against the people of the land . And they shall fight against thee ; but they shall not prevail against thee ; for I am with thee , saith the LORD , to deliver thee . Moreover the word of the LORD came to me , saying , Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; I remember thee , the kindness of thy youth , the love of thine espousals , when thou wentest after me in the wilderness , in a land that was not sown . Israel was holiness unto the LORD , and the firstfruits of his increase : all that devour him shall offend ; evil shall come upon them , saith the LORD . Hear ye the word of the LORD , O house of Jacob , and all the families of the house of Israel : Thus saith the LORD , What iniquity have your fathers found in me , that they are gone far from me , and have walked after vanity , and are become vain ? Neither said they , Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt , that led us through the wilderness , through a land of deserts and of pits , through a land of drought , and of the shadow of death , through a land that no man passed through , and where no man dwelt ? And I brought you into a plentiful country , to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof ; but when ye entered , ye defiled my land , and made mine heritage an abomination . The priests said not , Where is the LORD ? and they that handle the law knew me not : the pastors also transgressed against me , and the prophets prophesied by Baal , and walked after things that do not profit . Wherefore I will yet plead with you , saith the LORD , and with your children's children will I plead . For pass over the isles of Chittim , and see ; and send unto Kedar , and consider diligently , and see if there be such a thing . Hath a nation changed their gods , which are yet no gods ? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit . Be astonished , O ye heavens , at this , and be horribly afraid , be ye very desolate , saith the LORD . For my people have committed two evils ; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters , and hewed them out cisterns , broken cisterns , that can hold no water . Is Israel a servant ? is he a homeborn slave ? why is he spoiled ? The young lions roared upon him , and yelled , and they made his land waste : his cities are burned without inhabitant . Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head . Hast thou not procured this unto thyself , in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God , when he led thee by the way ? And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt , to drink the waters of Sihor ? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria , to drink the waters of the river ? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee , and thy backslidings shall reprove thee : know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter , that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God , and that my fear is not in thee , saith the Lord GOD of hosts . For of old time I have broken thy yoke , and burst thy bands ; and thou saidst , I will not transgress ; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest , playing the harlot . Yet I had planted thee a noble vine , wholly a right seed : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me ? For though thou wash thee with nitre , and take thee much soap , yet thine iniquity is marked before me , saith the Lord GOD . How canst thou say , I am not polluted , I have not gone after Baalim ? see thy way in the valley , know what thou hast done : thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways ; A wild ass used to the wilderness , that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure ; in her occasion who can turn her away ? all they that seek her will not weary themselves ; in her month they shall find her . Withhold thy foot from being unshod , and thy throat from thirst : but thou saidst , There is no hope : no ; for I have loved strangers , and after them will I go . As the thief is ashamed when he is found , so is the house of Israel ashamed ; they , their kings , their princes , and their priests , and their prophets , Saying to a stock , Thou art my father ; and to a stone , Thou hast brought me forth : for they have turned their back unto me , and not their face : but in the time of their trouble they will say , Arise , and save us . But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee ? let them arise , if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble : for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods , O Judah . Wherefore will ye plead with me ? ye all have transgressed against me , saith the LORD . In vain have I smitten your children ; they received no correction : your own sword hath devoured your prophets , like a destroying lion . O generation , see ye the word of the LORD . Have I been a wilderness unto Israel ? a land of darkness ? wherefore say my people , We are lords ; we will come no more unto thee ? Can a maid forget her ornaments , or a bride her attire ? yet my people have forgotten me days without number . Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love ? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways . Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents : I have not found it by secret search , but upon all these . Yet thou sayest , Because I am innocent , surely his anger shall turn from me . Behold , I will plead with thee , because thou sayest , I have not sinned . Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way ? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt , as thou wast ashamed of Assyria . Yea , thou shalt go forth from him , and thine hands upon thine head : for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences , and thou shalt not prosper in them . They say , If a man put away his wife , and she go from him , and become another man's , shall he return unto her again ? shall not that land be greatly polluted ? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers ; yet return again to me , saith the LORD . Lift up thine eyes unto the high places , and see where thou hast not been lien with . In the ways hast thou sat for them , as the Arabian in the wilderness ; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness . Therefore the showers have been withholden , and there hath been no latter rain ; and thou hadst a whore's forehead , thou refusedst to be ashamed . Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me , My father , thou art the guide of my youth ? Will he reserve his anger for ever ? will he keep it to the end ? Behold , thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest . The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king , Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done ? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree , and there hath played the harlot . And I said after she had done all these things , Turn thou unto me . But she returned not . And her treacherous sister Judah saw it . And I saw , when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away , and given her a bill of divorce ; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not , but went and played the harlot also . And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom , that she defiled the land , and committed adultery with stones and with stocks . And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart , but feignedly , saith the LORD . And the LORD said unto me , The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah . Go and proclaim these words toward the north , and say , Return , thou backsliding Israel , saith the LORD ; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you : for I am merciful , saith the LORD , and I will not keep anger for ever . Only acknowledge thine iniquity , that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God , and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree , and ye have not obeyed my voice , saith the LORD . Turn , O backsliding children , saith the LORD ; for I am married unto you : and I will take you one of a city , and two of a family , and I will bring you to Zion : And I will give you pastors according to mine heart , which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding . And it shall come to pass , when ye be multiplied and increased in the land , in those days , saith the LORD , they shall say no more , The ark of the covenant of the LORD : neither shall it come to mind : neither shall they remember it ; neither shall they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more . At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD ; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it , to the name of the LORD , to Jerusalem : neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart . In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel , and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers . But I said , How shall I put thee among the children , and give thee a pleasant land , a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations ? and I said , Thou shalt call me , My father ; and shalt not turn away from me . Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband , so have ye dealt treacherously with me , O house of Israel , saith the LORD . A voice was heard upon the high places , weeping and supplications of the children of Israel : for they have perverted their way , and they have forgotten the LORD their God . Return , ye backsliding children , and I will heal your backslidings . Behold , we come unto thee ; for thou art the LORD our God . Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills , and from the multitude of mountains : truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel . For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth ; their flocks and their herds , their sons and their daughters . We lie down in our shame , and our confusion covereth us : for we have sinned against the LORD our God , we and our fathers , from our youth even unto this day , and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God . If thou wilt return , O Israel , saith the LORD , return unto me : and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight , then shalt thou not remove . And thou shalt swear , The LORD liveth , in truth , in judgment , and in righteousness ; and the nations shall bless themselves in him , and in him shall they glory . For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem , Break up your fallow ground , and sow not among thorns . Circumcise yourselves to the LORD , and take away the foreskins of your heart , ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem : lest my fury come forth like fire , and burn that none can quench it , because of the evil of your doings . Declare ye in Judah , and publish in Jerusalem ; and say , Blow ye the trumpet in the land : cry , gather together , and say , Assemble yourselves , and let us go into the defenced cities . Set up the standard toward Zion : retire , stay not : for I will bring evil from the north , and a great destruction . The lion is come up from his thicket , and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way ; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate ; and thy cities shall be laid waste , without an inhabitant . For this gird you with sackcloth , lament and howl : for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us . And it shall come to pass at that day , saith the LORD , that the heart of the king shall perish , and the heart of the princes ; and the priests shall be astonished , and the prophets shall wonder . Then said I , Ah , Lord GOD ! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem , saying , Ye shall have peace ; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul . At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem , A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people , not to fan , nor to cleanse , Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me : now also will I give sentence against them . Behold , he shall come up as clouds , and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind : his horses are swifter than eagles . Woe unto us ! for we are spoiled . O Jerusalem , wash thine heart from wickedness , that thou mayest be saved . How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee ? For a voice declareth from Dan , and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim . Make ye mention to the nations ; behold , publish against Jerusalem , that watchers come from a far country , and give out their voice against the cities of Judah . As keepers of a field , are they against her round about ; because she hath been rebellious against me , saith the LORD . Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee ; this is thy wickedness , because it is bitter , because it reacheth unto thine heart . My bowels , my bowels ! I am pained at my very heart ; my heart maketh a noise in me ; I cannot hold my peace , because thou hast heard , O my soul , the sound of the trumpet , the alarm of war . Destruction upon destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are my tents spoiled , and my curtains in a moment . How long shall I see the standard , and hear the sound of the trumpet ? For my people is foolish , they have not known me ; they are sottish children , and they have none understanding : they are wise to do evil , but to do good they have no knowledge . I beheld the earth , and , lo , it was without form , and void ; and the heavens , and they had no light . I beheld the mountains , and , lo , they trembled , and all the hills moved lightly . I beheld , and , lo , there was no man , and all the birds of the heavens were fled . I beheld , and , lo , the fruitful place was a wilderness , and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD , and by his fierce anger . For thus hath the LORD said , The whole land shall be desolate ; yet will I not make a full end . For this shall the earth mourn , and the heavens above be black : because I have spoken it , I have purposed it , and will not repent , neither will I turn back from it . The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen ; they shall go into thickets , and climb up upon the rocks : every city shall be forsaken , and not a man dwell therein . And when thou art spoiled , what wilt thou do ? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson , though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold , though thou rentest thy face with painting , in vain shalt thou make thyself fair ; thy lovers will despise thee , they will seek thy life . For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail , and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child , the voice of the daughter of Zion , that bewaileth herself , that spreadeth her hands , saying , Woe is me now ! for my soul is wearied because of murderers . Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem , and see now , and know , and seek in the broad places thereof , if ye can find a man , if there be any that executeth judgment , that seeketh the truth ; and I will pardon it . And though they say , The LORD liveth ; surely they swear falsely . O LORD , are not thine eyes upon the truth ? thou hast stricken them , but they have not grieved ; thou hast consumed them , but they have refused to receive correction : they have made their faces harder than a rock ; they have refused to return . Therefore I said , Surely these are poor ; they are foolish : for they know not the way of the LORD , nor the judgment of their God . I will get me unto the great men , and will speak unto them ; for they have known the way of the LORD , and the judgment of their God : but these have altogether broken the yoke , and burst the bonds . Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them , and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them , a leopard shall watch over their cities : every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces : because their transgressions are many , and their backslidings are increased . How shall I pardon thee for this ? thy children have forsaken me , and sworn by them that are no gods : when I had fed them to the full , they then committed adultery , and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses . They were as fed horses in the morning : every one neighed after his neighbour's wife . Shall I not visit for these things ? saith the LORD : and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? Go ye up upon her walls , and destroy ; but make not a full end : take away her battlements ; for they are not the LORD's . For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me , saith the LORD . They have belied the LORD , and said , It is not he ; neither shall evil come upon us ; neither shall we see sword nor famine : And the prophets shall become wind , and the word is not in them : thus shall it be done unto them . Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts , Because ye speak this word , behold , I will make my words in thy mouth fire , and this people wood , and it shall devour them . Lo , I will bring a nation upon you from far , O house of Israel , saith the LORD : it is a mighty nation , it is an ancient nation , a nation whose language thou knowest not , neither understandest what they say . Their quiver is as an open sepulchre , they are all mighty men . And they shall eat up thine harvest , and thy bread , which thy sons and thy daughters should eat : they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds : they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees : they shall impoverish thy fenced cities , wherein thou trustedst , with the sword . Nevertheless in those days , saith the LORD , I will not make a full end with you . And it shall come to pass , when ye shall say , Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us ? then shalt thou answer them , Like as ye have forsaken me , and served strange gods in your land , so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours . Declare this in the house of Jacob , and publish it in Judah , saying , Hear now this , O foolish people , and without understanding ; which have eyes , and see not ; which have ears , and hear not : Fear ye not me ? saith the LORD : will ye not tremble at my presence , which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree , that it cannot pass it : and though the waves thereof toss themselves , yet can they not prevail ; though they roar , yet can they not pass over it ? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart ; they are revolted and gone . Neither say they in their heart , Let us now fear the LORD our God , that giveth rain , both the former and the latter , in his season : he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest . Your iniquities have turned away these things , and your sins have withholden good things from you . For among my people are found wicked men : they lay wait , as he that setteth snares ; they set a trap , they catch men . As a cage is full of birds , so are their houses full of deceit : therefore they are become great , and waxen rich . They are waxen fat , they shine : yea , they overpass the deeds of the wicked : they judge not the cause , the cause of the fatherless , yet they prosper ; and the right of the needy do they not judge . Shall I not visit for these things ? saith the LORD : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land ; The prophets prophesy falsely , and the priests bear rule by their means ; and my people love to have it so : and what will ye do in the end thereof ? O ye children of Benjamin , gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem , and blow the trumpet in Tekoa , and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem : for evil appeareth out of the north , and great destruction . I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman . The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her ; they shall pitch their tents against her round about ; they shall feed every one in his place . Prepare ye war against her ; arise , and let us go up at noon . Woe unto us ! for the day goeth away , for the shadows of the evening are stretched out . Arise , and let us go by night , and let us destroy her palaces . For thus hath the LORD of hosts said , Hew ye down trees , and cast a mount against Jerusalem : this is the city to be visited ; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her . As a fountain casteth out her waters , so she casteth out her wickedness : violence and spoil is heard in her ; before me continually is grief and wounds . Be thou instructed , O Jerusalem , lest my soul depart from thee ; lest I make thee desolate , a land not inhabited . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine : turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets . To whom shall I speak , and give warning , that they may hear ? behold , their ear is uncircumcised , and they cannot hearken : behold , the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach ; they have no delight in it . Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD ; I am weary with holding in : I will pour it out upon the children abroad , and upon the assembly of young men together : for even the husband with the wife shall be taken , the aged with him that is full of days . And their houses shall be turned unto others , with their fields and wives together : for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land , saith the LORD . For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness ; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely . They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly , saying , Peace , peace ; when there is no peace . Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination ? nay , they were not at all ashamed , neither could they blush : therefore they shall fall among them that fall : at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down , saith the LORD . Thus saith the LORD , Stand ye in the ways , and see , and ask for the old paths , where is the good way , and walk therein , and ye shall find rest for your souls . But they said , We will not walk therein . Also I set watchmen over you , saying , Hearken to the sound of the trumpet . But they said , We will not hearken . Therefore hear , ye nations , and know , O congregation , what is among them . Hear , O earth : behold , I will bring evil upon this people , even the fruit of their thoughts , because they have not hearkened unto my words , nor to my law , but rejected it . To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba , and the sweet cane from a far country ? your burnt offerings are not acceptable , nor your sacrifices sweet unto me . Therefore thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will lay stumblingblocks before this people , and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them ; the neighbour and his friend shall perish . Thus saith the LORD , Behold , a people cometh from the north country , and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth . They shall lay hold on bow and spear ; they are cruel , and have no mercy ; their voice roareth like the sea ; and they ride upon horses , set in array as men for war against thee , O daughter of Zion . We have heard the fame thereof : our hands wax feeble : anguish hath taken hold of us , and pain , as of a woman in travail . Go not forth into the field , nor walk by the way ; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side . O daughter of my people , gird thee with sackcloth , and wallow thyself in ashes : make thee mourning , as for an only son , most bitter lamentation : for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us . I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people , that thou mayest know and try their way . They are all grievous revolters , walking with slanders : they are brass and iron ; they are all corrupters . The bellows are burned , the lead is consumed of the fire ; the founder melteth in vain : for the wicked are not plucked away . Reprobate silver shall men call them , because the LORD hath rejected them . The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Stand in the gate of the LORD's house , and proclaim there this word , and say , Hear the word of the LORD , all ye of Judah , that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , Amend your ways and your doings , and I will cause you to dwell in this place . Trust ye not in lying words , saying , The temple of the LORD , The temple of the LORD , The temple of the LORD , are these . For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings ; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour ; If ye oppress not the stranger , the fatherless , and the widow , and shed not innocent blood in this place , neither walk after other gods to your hurt : Then will I cause you to dwell in this place , in the land that I gave to your fathers , for ever and ever . Behold , ye trust in lying words , that cannot profit . Will ye steal , murder , and commit adultery , and swear falsely , and burn incense unto Baal , and walk after other gods whom ye know not ; And come and stand before me in this house , which is called by my name , and say , We are delivered to do all these abominations ? Is this house , which is called by my name , become a den of robbers in your eyes ? Behold , even I have seen it , saith the LORD . But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh , where I set my name at the first , and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel . And now , because ye have done all these works , saith the LORD , and I spake unto you , rising up early and speaking , but ye heard not ; and I called you , but ye answered not ; Therefore will I do unto this house , which is called by my name , wherein ye trust , and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers , as I have done to Shiloh . And I will cast you out of my sight , as I have cast out all your brethren , even the whole seed of Ephraim . Therefore pray not thou for this people , neither lift up cry nor prayer for them , neither make intercession to me : for I will not hear thee . Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ? The children gather wood , and the fathers kindle the fire , and the women knead their dough , to make cakes to the queen of heaven , and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods , that they may provoke me to anger . Do they provoke me to anger ? saith the LORD : do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces ? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD ; Behold , mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place , upon man , and upon beast , and upon the trees of the field , and upon the fruit of the ground ; and it shall burn , and shall not be quenched . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices , and eat flesh . For I spake not unto your fathers , nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt , concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices : But this thing commanded I them , saying , Obey my voice , and I will be your God , and ye shall be my people : and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you , that it may be well unto you . But they hearkened not , nor inclined their ear , but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart , and went backward , and not forward . Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets , daily rising up early and sending them : Yet they hearkened not unto me , nor inclined their ear , but hardened their neck : they did worse than their fathers . Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them ; but they will not hearken to thee : thou shalt also call unto them ; but they will not answer thee . But thou shalt say unto them , This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God , nor receiveth correction : truth is perished , and is cut off from their mouth . Cut off thine hair , O Jerusalem , and cast it away , and take up a lamentation on high places ; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath . For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight , saith the LORD : they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name , to pollute it . And they have built the high places of Tophet , which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom , to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire ; which I commanded them not , neither came it into my heart . Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that it shall no more be called Tophet , nor the valley of the son of Hinnom , but the valley of slaughter : for they shall bury in Tophet , till there be no place . And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven , and for the beasts of the earth ; and none shall fray them away . Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah , and from the streets of Jerusalem , the voice of mirth , and the voice of gladness , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride : for the land shall be desolate . At that time , saith the LORD , they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah , and the bones of his princes , and the bones of the priests , and the bones of the prophets , and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem , out of their graves : And they shall spread them before the sun , and the moon , and all the host of heaven , whom they have loved , and whom they have served , and after whom they have walked , and whom they have sought , and whom they have worshipped : they shall not be gathered , nor be buried ; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth . And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family , which remain in all the places whither I have driven them , saith the LORD of hosts . Moreover thou shalt say unto them , Thus saith the LORD ; Shall they fall , and not arise ? shall he turn away , and not return ? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding ? they hold fast deceit , they refuse to return . I hearkened and heard , but they spake not aright : no man repented him of his wickedness , saying , What have I done ? every one turned to his course , as the horse rusheth into the battle . Yea , the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times ; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming ; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD . How do ye say , We are wise , and the law of the LORD is with us ? Lo , certainly in vain made he it ; the pen of the scribes is in vain . The wise men are ashamed , they are dismayed and taken : lo , they have rejected the word of the LORD ; and what wisdom is in them ? Therefore will I give their wives unto others , and their fields to them that shall inherit them : for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness , from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely . For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly , saying , Peace , peace ; when there is no peace . Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination ? nay , they were not at all ashamed , neither could they blush : therefore shall they fall among them that fall : in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down , saith the LORD . I will surely consume them , saith the LORD : there shall be no grapes on the vine , nor figs on the fig tree , and the leaf shall fade ; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them . Why do we sit still ? assemble yourselves , and let us enter into the defenced cities , and let us be silent there : for the LORD our God hath put us to silence , and given us water of gall to drink , because we have sinned against the LORD . We looked for peace , but no good came ; and for a time of health , and behold trouble ! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan : the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones ; for they are come , and have devoured the land , and all that is in it ; the city , and those that dwell therein . For , behold , I will send serpents , cockatrices , among you , which will not be charmed , and they shall bite you , saith the LORD . When I would comfort myself against sorrow , my heart is faint in me . Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country : Is not the LORD in Zion ? is not her king in her ? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images , and with strange vanities ? The harvest is past , the summer is ended , and we are not saved . For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt ; I am black ; astonishment hath taken hold on me . Is there no balm in Gilead ; is there no physician there ? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered ? Oh that my head were waters , and mine eyes a fountain of tears , that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people ! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men ; that I might leave my people , and go from them ! for they be all adulterers , an assembly of treacherous men . And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies : but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth ; for they proceed from evil to evil , and they know not me , saith the LORD . Take ye heed every one of his neighbour , and trust ye not in any brother : for every brother will utterly supplant , and every neighbour will walk with slanders . And they will deceive every one his neighbour , and will not speak the truth : they have taught their tongue to speak lies , and weary themselves to commit iniquity . Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit ; through deceit they refuse to know me , saith the LORD . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , Behold , I will melt them , and try them ; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people ? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out ; it speaketh deceit : one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth , but in heart he layeth his wait . Shall I not visit them for these things ? saith the LORD : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing , and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation , because they are burned up , so that none can pass through them ; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle ; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled ; they are gone . And I will make Jerusalem heaps , and a den of dragons ; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate , without an inhabitant . Who is the wise man , that may understand this ? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken , that he may declare it , for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness , that none passeth through ? And the LORD saith , Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them , and have not obeyed my voice , neither walked therein ; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart , and after Baalim , which their fathers taught them : Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will feed them , even this people , with wormwood , and give them water of gall to drink . I will scatter them also among the heathen , whom neither they nor their fathers have known : and I will send a sword after them , till I have consumed them . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , Consider ye , and call for the mourning women , that they may come ; and send for cunning women , that they may come : And let them make haste , and take up a wailing for us , that our eyes may run down with tears , and our eyelids gush out with waters . For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion , How are we spoiled ! we are greatly confounded , because we have forsaken the land , because our dwellings have cast us out . Yet hear the word of the LORD , O ye women , and let your ear receive the word of his mouth , and teach your daughters wailing , and every one her neighbour lamentation . For death is come up into our windows , and is entered into our palaces , to cut off the children from without , and the young men from the streets . Speak , Thus saith the LORD , Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field , and as the handful after the harvestman , and none shall gather them . Thus saith the LORD , Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom , neither let the mighty man glory in his might , let not the rich man glory in his riches : But let him that glorieth glory in this , that he understandeth and knoweth me , that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness , judgment , and righteousness , in the earth : for in these things I delight , saith the LORD . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised ; Egypt , and Judah , and Edom , and the children of Ammon , and Moab , and all that are in the utmost corners , that dwell in the wilderness : for all these nations are uncircumcised , and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart . Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you , O house of Israel : Thus saith the LORD , Learn not the way of the heathen , and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven ; for the heathen are dismayed at them . For the customs of the people are vain : for one cutteth a tree out of the forest , the work of the hands of the workman , with the axe . They deck it with silver and with gold ; they fasten it with nails and with hammers , that it move not . They are upright as the palm tree , but speak not : they must needs be borne , because they cannot go . Be not afraid of them ; for they cannot do evil , neither also is it in them to do good . Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee , O LORD ; thou art great , and thy name is great in might . Who would not fear thee , O King of nations ? for to thee doth it appertain : forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations , and in all their kingdoms , there is none like unto thee . But they are altogether brutish and foolish : the stock is a doctrine of vanities . Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish , and gold from Uphaz , the work of the workman , and of the hands of the founder : blue and purple is their clothing : they are all the work of cunning men . But the LORD is the true God , he is the living God , and an everlasting king : at his wrath the earth shall tremble , and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation . Thus shall ye say unto them , The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth , even they shall perish from the earth , and from under these heavens . He hath made the earth by his power , he hath established the world by his wisdom , and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion . When he uttereth his voice , there is a multitude of waters in the heavens , and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings with rain , and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures . Every man is brutish in his knowledge : every founder is confounded by the graven image : for his molten image is falsehood , and there is no breath in them . They are vanity , and the work of errors : in the time of their visitation they shall perish . The portion of Jacob is not like them : for he is the former of all things ; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance : The LORD of hosts is his name . Gather up thy wares out of the land , O inhabitant of the fortress . For thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once , and will distress them , that they may find it so . Woe is me for my hurt ! my wound is grievous : but I said , Truly this is a grief , and I must bear it . My tabernacle is spoiled , and all my cords are broken : my children are gone forth of me , and they are not : there is none to stretch forth my tent any more , and to set up my curtains . For the pastors are become brutish , and have not sought the LORD : therefore they shall not prosper , and all their flocks shall be scattered . Behold , the noise of the bruit is come , and a great commotion out of the north country , to make the cities of Judah desolate , and a den of dragons . O LORD , I know that the way of man is not in himself : it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps . O LORD , correct me , but with judgment ; not in thine anger , lest thou bring me to nothing . Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not , and upon the families that call not on thy name : for they have eaten up Jacob , and devoured him , and consumed him , and have made his habitation desolate . The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Hear ye the words of this covenant , and speak unto the men of Judah , and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; And say thou unto them , Thus saith the LORD God of Israel ; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant , Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt , from the iron furnace , saying , Obey my voice , and do them , according to all which I command you : so shall ye be my people , and I will be your God : That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers , to give them a land flowing with milk and honey , as it is this day . Then answered I , and said , So be it , O LORD . Then the LORD said unto me , Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem , saying , Hear ye the words of this covenant , and do them . For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt , even unto this day , rising early and protesting , saying , Obey my voice . Yet they obeyed not , nor inclined their ear , but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart : therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant , which I commanded them to do ; but they did them not . And the LORD said unto me , A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah , and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem . They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers , which refused to hear my words ; and they went after other gods to serve them : the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers . Therefore thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will bring evil upon them , which they shall not be able to escape ; and though they shall cry unto me , I will not hearken unto them . Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go , and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense : but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble . For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods , O Judah ; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing , even altars to burn incense unto Baal . Therefore pray not thou for this people , neither lift up a cry or prayer for them : for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble . What hath my beloved to do in mine house , seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many , and the holy flesh is passed from thee ? when thou doest evil , then thou rejoicest . The LORD called thy name , A green olive tree , fair , and of goodly fruit : with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it , and the branches of it are broken . For the LORD of hosts , that planted thee , hath pronounced evil against thee , for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah , which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal . And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it , and I know it : then thou shewedst me their doings . But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter ; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me , saying , Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof , and let us cut him off from the land of the living , that his name may be no more remembered . But , O LORD of hosts , that judgest righteously , that triest the reins and the heart , let me see thy vengeance on them : for unto thee have I revealed my cause . Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth , that seek thy life , saying , Prophesy not in the name of the LORD , that thou die not by our hand : Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , Behold , I will punish them : the young men shall die by the sword ; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine : And there shall be no remnant of them : for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth , even the year of their visitation . Righteous art thou , O LORD , when I plead with thee : yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments : Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper ? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously ? Thou hast planted them , yea , they have taken root : they grow , yea , they bring forth fruit : thou art near in their mouth , and far from their reins . But thou , O LORD , knowest me : thou hast seen me , and tried mine heart toward thee : pull them out like sheep for the slaughter , and prepare them for the day of slaughter . How long shall the land mourn , and the herbs of every field wither , for the wickedness of them that dwell therein ? the beasts are consumed , and the birds ; because they said , He shall not see our last end . If thou hast run with the footmen , and they have wearied thee , then how canst thou contend with horses ? and if in the land of peace , wherein thou trustedst , they wearied thee , then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan ? For even thy brethren , and the house of thy father , even they have dealt treacherously with thee ; yea , they have called a multitude after thee : believe them not , though they speak fair words unto thee . I have forsaken mine house , I have left mine heritage ; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies . Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest ; it crieth out against me : therefore have I hated it . Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird , the birds round about are against her ; come ye , assemble all the beasts of the field , come to devour . Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard , they have trodden my portion under foot , they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness . They have made it desolate , and being desolate it mourneth unto me ; the whole land is made desolate , because no man layeth it to heart . The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness : for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land : no flesh shall have peace . They have sown wheat , but shall reap thorns : they have put themselves to pain , but shall not profit : and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD . Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours , that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit ; Behold , I will pluck them out of their land , and pluck out the house of Judah from among them . And it shall come to pass , after that I have plucked them out I will return , and have compassion on them , and will bring them again , every man to his heritage , and every man to his land . And it shall come to pass , if they will diligently learn the ways of my people , to swear by my name , The LORD liveth ; as they taught my people to swear by Baal ; then shall they be built in the midst of my people . But if they will not obey , I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation , saith the LORD . Thus saith the LORD unto me , Go and get thee a linen girdle , and put it upon thy loins , and put it not in water . So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD , and put it on my loins . And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time , saying , Take the girdle that thou hast got , which is upon thy loins , and arise , go to Euphrates , and hide it there in a hole of the rock . So I went , and hid it by Euphrates , as the LORD commanded me . And it came to pass after many days , that the LORD said unto me , Arise , go to Euphrates , and take the girdle from thence , which I commanded thee to hide there . Then I went to Euphrates , and digged , and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it : and , behold , the girdle was marred , it was profitable for nothing . Then the word of the LORD came unto me , saying , Thus saith the LORD , After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah , and the great pride of Jerusalem . This evil people , which refuse to hear my words , which walk in the imagination of their heart , and walk after other gods , to serve them , and to worship them , shall even be as this girdle , which is good for nothing . For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man , so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah , saith the LORD ; that they might be unto me for a people , and for a name , and for a praise , and for a glory : but they would not hear . Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word ; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel , Every bottle shall be filled with wine : and they shall say unto thee , Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine ? Then shalt thou say unto them , Thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will fill all the inhabitants of this land , even the kings that sit upon David's throne , and the priests , and the prophets , and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem , with drunkenness . And I will dash them one against another , even the fathers and the sons together , saith the LORD : I will not pity , nor spare , nor have mercy , but destroy them . Hear ye , and give ear ; be not proud : for the LORD hath spoken . Give glory to the LORD your God , before he cause darkness , and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains , and , while ye look for light , he turn it into the shadow of death , and make it gross darkness . But if ye will not hear it , my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride ; and mine eye shall weep sore , and run down with tears , because the LORD's flock is carried away captive . Say unto the king and to the queen , Humble yourselves , sit down : for your principalities shall come down , even the crown of your glory . The cities of the south shall be shut up , and none shall open them : Judah shall be carried away captive all of it , it shall be wholly carried away captive . Lift up your eyes , and behold them that come from the north : where is the flock that was given thee , thy beautiful flock ? What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee ? for thou hast taught them to be captains , and as chief over thee : shall not sorrows take thee , as a woman in travail ? And if thou say in thine heart , Wherefore come these things upon me ? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered , and thy heels made bare . Can the Ethiopian change his skin , or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also do good , that are accustomed to do evil . Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness . This is thy lot , the portion of thy measures from me , saith the LORD ; because thou hast forgotten me , and trusted in falsehood . Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face , that thy shame may appear . I have seen thine adulteries , and thy neighings , the lewdness of thy whoredom , and thine abominations on the hills in the fields . Woe unto thee , O Jerusalem ! wilt thou not be made clean ? when shall it once be ? The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth . Judah mourneth , and the gates thereof languish ; they are black unto the ground ; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up . And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters : they came to the pits , and found no water ; they returned with their vessels empty ; they were ashamed and confounded , and covered their heads . Because the ground is chapt , for there was no rain in the earth , the plowmen were ashamed , they covered their heads . Yea , the hind also calved in the field , and forsook it , because there was no grass . And the wild asses did stand in the high places , they snuffed up the wind like dragons ; their eyes did fail , because there was no grass . O LORD , though our iniquities testify against us , do thou it for thy name's sake : for our backslidings are many ; we have sinned against thee . O the hope of Israel , the saviour thereof in time of trouble , why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land , and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night ? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied , as a mighty man that cannot save ? yet thou , O LORD , art in the midst of us , and we are called by thy name ; leave us not . Thus saith the LORD unto this people , Thus have they loved to wander , they have not refrained their feet , therefore the LORD doth not accept them ; he will now remember their iniquity , and visit their sins . Then said the LORD unto me , Pray not for this people for their good . When they fast , I will not hear their cry ; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation , I will not accept them : but I will consume them by the sword , and by the famine , and by the pestilence . Then said I , Ah , Lord GOD ! behold , the prophets say unto them , Ye shall not see the sword , neither shall ye have famine ; but I will give you assured peace in this place . Then the LORD said unto me , The prophets prophesy lies in my name : I sent them not , neither have I commanded them , neither spake unto them : they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination , and a thing of nought , and the deceit of their heart . Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name , and I sent them not , yet they say , Sword and famine shall not be in this land ; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed . And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword ; and they shall have none to bury them , them , their wives , nor their sons , nor their daughters : for I will pour their wickedness upon them . Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them ; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day , and let them not cease : for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach , with a very grievous blow . If I go forth into the field , then behold the slain with the sword ! and if I enter into the city , then behold them that are sick with famine ! yea , both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not . Hast thou utterly rejected Judah ? hath thy soul lothed Zion ? why hast thou smitten us , and there is no healing for us ? we looked for peace , and there is no good ; and for the time of healing , and behold trouble ! We acknowledge , O LORD , our wickedness , and the iniquity of our fathers : for we have sinned against thee . Do not abhor us , for thy name's sake , do not disgrace the throne of thy glory : remember , break not thy covenant with us . Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain ? or can the heavens give showers ? art not thou he , O LORD our God ? therefore we will wait upon thee : for thou hast made all these things . Then said the LORD unto me , Though Moses and Samuel stood before me , yet my mind could not be toward this people : cast them out of my sight , and let them go forth . And it shall come to pass , if they say unto thee , Whither shall we go forth ? then thou shalt tell them , Thus saith the LORD ; Such as are for death , to death ; and such as are for the sword , to the sword ; and such as are for the famine , to the famine ; and such as are for the captivity , to the captivity . And I will appoint over them four kinds , saith the LORD : the sword to slay , and the dogs to tear , and the fowls of the heaven , and the beasts of the earth , to devour and destroy . And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth , because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah , for that which he did in Jerusalem . For who shall have pity upon thee , O Jerusalem ? or who shall bemoan thee ? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest ? Thou hast forsaken me , saith the LORD , thou art gone backward : therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee , and destroy thee ; I am weary with repenting . And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land ; I will bereave them of children , I will destroy my people , since they return not from their ways . Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas : I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday : I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly , and terrors upon the city . She that hath borne seven languisheth : she hath given up the ghost ; her sun is gone down while it was yet day : she hath been ashamed and confounded : and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies , saith the LORD . Woe is me , my mother , that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth ! I have neither lent on usury , nor men have lent to me on usury ; yet every one of them doth curse me . The LORD said , Verily it shall be well with thy remnant ; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction . Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel ? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price , and that for all thy sins , even in all thy borders . And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not : for a fire is kindled in mine anger , which shall burn upon you . O LORD , thou knowest : remember me , and visit me , and revenge me of my persecutors ; take me not away in thy longsuffering : know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke . Thy words were found , and I did eat them ; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart : for I am called by thy name , O LORD God of hosts . I sat not in the assembly of the mockers , nor rejoiced ; I sat alone because of thy hand : for thou hast filled me with indignation . Why is my pain perpetual , and my wound incurable , which refuseth to be healed ? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar , and as waters that fail ? Therefore thus saith the LORD , If thou return , then will I bring thee again , and thou shalt stand before me : and if thou take forth the precious from the vile , thou shalt be as my mouth : let them return unto thee ; but return not thou unto them . And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall : and they shall fight against thee , but they shall not prevail against thee : for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee , saith the LORD . And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked , and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible . The word of the LORD came also unto me , saying , Thou shalt not take thee a wife , neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place . For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place , and concerning their mothers that bare them , and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land ; They shall die of grievous deaths ; they shall not be lamented ; neither shall they be buried ; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth : and they shall be consumed by the sword , and by famine ; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven , and for the beasts of the earth . For thus saith the LORD , Enter not into the house of mourning , neither go to lament nor bemoan them : for I have taken away my peace from this people , saith the LORD , even lovingkindness and mercies . Both the great and the small shall die in this land : they shall not be buried , neither shall men lament for them , nor cut themselves , nor make themselves bald for them : Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning , to comfort them for the dead ; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother . Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting , to sit with them to eat and to drink . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes , and in your days , the voice of mirth , and the voice of gladness , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride . And it shall come to pass , when thou shalt shew this people all these words , and they shall say unto thee , Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us ? or what is our iniquity ? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God ? Then shalt thou say unto them , Because your fathers have forsaken me , saith the LORD , and have walked after other gods , and have served them , and have worshipped them , and have forsaken me , and have not kept my law ; And ye have done worse than your fathers ; for , behold , ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart , that they may not hearken unto me : Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not , neither ye nor your fathers ; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night ; where I will not shew you favour . Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that it shall no more be said , The LORD liveth , that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; But , The LORD liveth , that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north , and from all the lands whither he had driven them : and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers . Behold , I will send for many fishers , saith the LORD , and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many hunters , and they shall hunt them from every mountain , and from every hill , and out of the holes of the rocks . For mine eyes are upon all their ways : they are not hid from my face , neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes . And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double ; because they have defiled my land , they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things . O LORD , my strength , and my fortress , and my refuge in the day of affliction , the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth , and shall say , Surely our fathers have inherited lies , vanity , and things wherein there is no profit . Shall a man make gods unto himself , and they are no gods ? Therefore , behold , I will this once cause them to know , I will cause them to know mine hand and my might ; and they shall know that my name is The LORD . The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron , and with the point of a diamond : it is graven upon the table of their heart , and upon the horns of your altars ; Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills . O my mountain in the field , I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil , and thy high places for sin , throughout all thy borders . And thou , even thyself , shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee ; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not : for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger , which shall burn for ever . Thus saith the LORD ; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man , and maketh flesh his arm , and whose heart departeth from the LORD . For he shall be like the heath in the desert , and shall not see when good cometh ; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness , in a salt land and not inhabited . Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD , and whose hope the LORD is . For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters , and that spreadeth out her roots by the river , and shall not see when heat cometh , but her leaf shall be green ; and shall not be careful in the year of drought , neither shall cease from yielding fruit . The heart is deceitful above all things , and desperately wicked : who can know it ? I the LORD search the heart , I try the reins , even to give every man according to his ways , and according to the fruit of his doings . As the partridge sitteth on eggs , and hatcheth them not ; so he that getteth riches , and not by right , shall leave them in the midst of his days , and at his end shall be a fool . A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary . O LORD , the hope of Israel , all that forsake thee shall be ashamed , and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth , because they have forsaken the LORD , the fountain of living waters . Heal me , O LORD , and I shall be healed ; save me , and I shall be saved : for thou art my praise . Behold , they say unto me , Where is the word of the LORD ? let it come now . As for me , I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee : neither have I desired the woeful day ; thou knowest : that which came out of my lips was right before thee . Be not a terror unto me : thou art my hope in the day of evil . Let them be confounded that persecute me , but let not me be confounded : let them be dismayed , but let not me be dismayed : bring upon them the day of evil , and destroy them with double destruction . Thus said the LORD unto me ; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people , whereby the kings of Judah come in , and by the which they go out , and in all the gates of Jerusalem ; And say unto them , Hear ye the word of the LORD , ye kings of Judah , and all Judah , and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem , that enter in by these gates : Thus saith the LORD ; Take heed to yourselves , and bear no burden on the sabbath day , nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem ; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day , neither do ye any work , but hallow ye the sabbath day , as I commanded your fathers . But they obeyed not , neither inclined their ear , but made their neck stiff , that they might not hear , nor receive instruction . And it shall come to pass , if ye diligently hearken unto me , saith the LORD , to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day , but hallow the sabbath day , to do no work therein ; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David , riding in chariots and on horses , they , and their princes , the men of Judah , and the inhabitants of Jerusalem : and this city shall remain for ever . And they shall come from the cities of Judah , and from the places about Jerusalem , and from the land of Benjamin , and from the plain , and from the mountains , and from the south , bringing burnt offerings , and sacrifices , and meat offerings , and incense , and bringing sacrifices of praise , unto the house of the LORD . But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day , and not to bear a burden , even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day ; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof , and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem , and it shall not be quenched . The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Arise , and go down to the potter's house , and there I will cause thee to hear my words . Then I went down to the potter's house , and , behold , he wrought a work on the wheels . And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so he made it again another vessel , as seemed good to the potter to make it . Then the word of the LORD came to me , saying , O house of Israel , cannot I do with you as this potter ? saith the LORD . Behold , as the clay is in the potter's hand , so are ye in mine hand , O house of Israel . At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation , and concerning a kingdom , to pluck up , and to pull down , and to destroy it ; If that nation , against whom I have pronounced , turn from their evil , I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them . And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation , and concerning a kingdom , to build and to plant it ; If it do evil in my sight , that it obey not my voice , then I will repent of the good , wherewith I said I would benefit them . Now therefore go to , speak to the men of Judah , and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I frame evil against you , and devise a device against you : return ye now every one from his evil way , and make your ways and your doings good . And they said , There is no hope : but we will walk after our own devices , and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart . Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Ask ye now among the heathen , who hath heard such things : the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing . Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field ? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken ? Because my people hath forgotten me , they have burned incense to vanity , and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths , to walk in paths , in a way not cast up ; To make their land desolate , and a perpetual hissing ; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished , and wag his head . I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy ; I will shew them the back , and not the face , in the day of their calamity . Then said they , Come , and let us devise devices against Jeremiah ; for the law shall not perish from the priest , nor counsel from the wise , nor the word from the prophet . Come , and let us smite him with the tongue , and let us not give heed to any of his words . Give heed to me , O LORD , and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me . Shall evil be recompensed for good ? for they have digged a pit for my soul . Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them , and to turn away thy wrath from them . Therefore deliver up their children to the famine , and pour out their blood by the force of the sword ; and let their wives be bereaved of their children , and be widows ; and let their men be put to death ; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle . Let a cry be heard from their houses , when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them : for they have digged a pit to take me , and hid snares for my feet . Yet , LORD , thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me : forgive not their iniquity , neither blot out their sin from thy sight , but let them be overthrown before thee ; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger . Thus saith the LORD , Go and get a potter's earthen bottle , and take of the ancients of the people , and of the ancients of the priests ; And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom , which is by the entry of the east gate , and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee , And say , Hear ye the word of the LORD , O kings of Judah , and inhabitants of Jerusalem ; Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will bring evil upon this place , the which whosoever heareth , his ears shall tingle . Because they have forsaken me , and have estranged this place , and have burned incense in it unto other gods , whom neither they nor their fathers have known , nor the kings of Judah , and have filled this place with the blood of innocents ; They have built also the high places of Baal , to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal , which I commanded not , nor spake it , neither came it into my mind : Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that this place shall no more be called Tophet , nor The valley of the son of Hinnom , but The valley of slaughter . And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place ; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies , and by the hands of them that seek their lives : and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven , and for the beasts of the earth . And I will make this city desolate , and an hissing ; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof . And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters , and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness , wherewith their enemies , and they that seek their lives , shall straiten them . Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee , And shalt say unto them , Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Even so will I break this people and this city , as one breaketh a potter's vessel , that cannot be made whole again : and they shall bury them in Tophet , till there be no place to bury . Thus will I do unto this place , saith the LORD , and to the inhabitants thereof , and even make this city as Tophet : And the houses of Jerusalem , and the houses of the kings of Judah , shall be defiled as the place of Tophet , because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven , and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods . Then came Jeremiah from Tophet , whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy ; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house ; and said to all the people , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it , because they have hardened their necks , that they might not hear my words . Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest , who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD , heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things . Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet , and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin , which was by the house of the LORD . And it came to pass on the morrow , that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks . Then said Jeremiah unto him , The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur , but Magor-missabib . For thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will make thee a terror to thyself , and to all thy friends : and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies , and thine eyes shall behold it : and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he shall carry them captive into Babylon , and shall slay them with the sword . Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city , and all the labours thereof , and all the precious things thereof , and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies , which shall spoil them , and take them , and carry them to Babylon . And thou , Pashur , and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity : and thou shalt come to Babylon , and there thou shalt die , and shalt be buried there , thou , and all thy friends , to whom thou hast prophesied lies . O LORD , thou hast deceived me , and I was deceived : thou art stronger than I , and hast prevailed : I am in derision daily , every one mocketh me . For since I spake , I cried out , I cried violence and spoil ; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me , and a derision , daily . Then I said , I will not make mention of him , nor speak any more in his name . But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones , and I was weary with forbearing , and I could not stay . For I heard the defaming of many , fear on every side . Report , say they , and we will report it . All my familiars watched for my halting , saying , Peradventure he will be enticed , and we shall prevail against him , and we shall take our revenge on him . But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one : therefore my persecutors shall stumble , and they shall not prevail : they shall be greatly ashamed ; for they shall not prosper : their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten . But , O LORD of hosts , that triest the righteous , and seest the reins and the heart , let me see thy vengeance on them : for unto thee have I opened my cause . Sing unto the LORD , praise ye the LORD : for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers . Cursed be the day wherein I was born : let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed . Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father , saying , A man child is born unto thee ; making him very glad . And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew , and repented not : and let him hear the cry in the morning , and the shouting at noontide ; Because he slew me not from the womb ; or that my mother might have been my grave , and her womb to be always great with me . Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow , that my days should be consumed with shame ? The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD , when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah , and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest , saying , Inquire , I pray thee , of the LORD for us ; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us ; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works , that he may go up from us . Then said Jeremiah unto them , Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah : Thus saith the LORD God of Israel ; Behold , I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands , wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon , and against the Chaldeans , which besiege you without the walls , and I will assemble them into the midst of this city . And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm , even in anger , and in fury , and in great wrath . And I will smite the inhabitants of this city , both man and beast : they shall die of a great pestilence . And afterward , saith the LORD , I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah , and his servants , and the people , and such as are left in this city from the pestilence , from the sword , and from the famine , into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , and into the hand of their enemies , and into the hand of those that seek their life : and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword ; he shall not spare them , neither have pity , nor have mercy . And unto this people thou shalt say , Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I set before you the way of life , and the way of death . He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword , and by the famine , and by the pestilence : but he that goeth out , and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you , he shall live , and his life shall be unto him for a prey . For I have set my face against this city for evil , and not for good , saith the LORD : it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he shall burn it with fire . And touching the house of the king of Judah , say , Hear ye the word of the LORD ; O house of David , thus saith the LORD ; Execute judgment in the morning , and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor , lest my fury go out like fire , and burn that none can quench it , because of the evil of your doings . Behold , I am against thee , O inhabitant of the valley , and rock of the plain , saith the LORD ; which say , Who shall come down against us ? or who shall enter into our habitations ? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings , saith the LORD : and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof , and it shall devour all things round about it . Thus saith the LORD ; Go down to the house of the king of Judah , and speak there this word , And say , Hear the word of the LORD , O king of Judah , that sittest upon the throne of David , thou , and thy servants , and thy people that enter in by these gates : Thus saith the LORD ; Execute ye judgment and righteousness , and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor : and do no wrong , do no violence to the stranger , the fatherless , nor the widow , neither shed innocent blood in this place . For if ye do this thing indeed , then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David , riding in chariots and on horses , he , and his servants , and his people . But if ye will not hear these words , I swear by myself , saith the LORD , that this house shall become a desolation . For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah ; Thou art Gilead unto me , and the head of Lebanon : yet surely I will make thee a wilderness , and cities which are not inhabited . And I will prepare destroyers against thee , every one with his weapons : and they shall cut down thy choice cedars , and cast them into the fire . And many nations shall pass by this city , and they shall say every man to his neighbour , Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city ? Then they shall answer , Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God , and worshipped other gods , and served them . Weep ye not for the dead , neither bemoan him : but weep sore for him that goeth away : for he shall return no more , nor see his native country . For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah , which reigned instead of Josiah his father , which went forth out of this place ; He shall not return thither any more : But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive , and shall see this land no more . Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness , and his chambers by wrong ; that useth his neighbour's service without wages , and giveth him not for his work ; That saith , I will build me a wide house and large chambers , and cutteth him out windows ; and it is cieled with cedar , and painted with vermilion . Shalt thou reign , because thou closest thyself in cedar ? did not thy father eat and drink , and do judgment and justice , and then it was well with him ? He judged the cause of the poor and needy ; then it was well with him : was not this to know me ? saith the LORD . But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness , and for to shed innocent blood , and for oppression , and for violence , to do it . Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah ; They shall not lament for him , saying , Ah my brother ! or , Ah sister ! they shall not lament for him , saying , Ah lord ! or , Ah his glory ! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass , drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem . Go up to Lebanon , and cry ; and lift up thy voice in Bashan , and cry from the passages : for all thy lovers are destroyed . I spake unto thee in thy prosperity ; but thou saidst , I will not hear . This hath been thy manner from thy youth , that thou obeyedst not my voice . The wind shall eat up all thy pastors , and thy lovers shall go into captivity : surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness . O inhabitant of Lebanon , that makest thy nest in the cedars , how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee , the pain as of a woman in travail ! As I live , saith the LORD , though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand , yet would I pluck thee thence ; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life , and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest , even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , and into the hand of the Chaldeans . And I will cast thee out , and thy mother that bare thee , into another country , where ye were not born ; and there shall ye die . But to the land whereunto they desire to return , thither shall they not return . Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol ? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure ? wherefore are they cast out , he and his seed , and are cast into a land which they know not ? O earth , earth , earth , hear the word of the LORD . Thus saith the LORD , Write ye this man childless , a man that shall not prosper in his days : for no man of his seed shall prosper , sitting upon the throne of David , and ruling any more in Judah . Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture ! saith the LORD . Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people ; Ye have scattered my flock , and driven them away , and have not visited them : behold , I will visit upon you the evil of your doings , saith the LORD . And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them , and will bring them again to their folds ; and they shall be fruitful and increase . And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them : and they shall fear no more , nor be dismayed , neither shall they be lacking , saith the LORD . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch , and a King shall reign and prosper , and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth . In his days Judah shall be saved , and Israel shall dwell safely : and this is his name whereby he shall be called , THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS . Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that they shall no more say , The LORD liveth , which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; But , The LORD liveth , which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country , and from all countries whither I had driven them ; and they shall dwell in their own land . Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets ; all my bones shake ; I am like a drunken man , and like a man whom wine hath overcome , because of the LORD , and because of the words of his holiness . For the land is full of adulterers ; for because of swearing the land mourneth ; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up , and their course is evil , and their force is not right . For both prophet and priest are profane ; yea , in my house have I found their wickedness , saith the LORD . Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness : they shall be driven on , and fall therein : for I will bring evil upon them , even the year of their visitation , saith the LORD . And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria ; they prophesied in Baal , and caused my people Israel to err . I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing : they commit adultery , and walk in lies : they strengthen also the hands of evildoers , that none doth return from his wickedness : they are all of them unto me as Sodom , and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets ; Behold , I will feed them with wormwood , and make them drink the water of gall : for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you : they make you vain : they speak a vision of their own heart , and not out of the mouth of the LORD . They say still unto them that despise me , The LORD hath said , Ye shall have peace ; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart , No evil shall come upon you . For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD , and hath perceived and heard his word ? who hath marked his word , and heard it ? Behold , a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury , even a grievous whirlwind : it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked . The anger of the LORD shall not return , until he have executed , and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart : in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly . I have not sent these prophets , yet they ran : I have not spoken to them , yet they prophesied . But if they had stood in my counsel , and had caused my people to hear my words , then they should have turned them from their evil way , and from the evil of their doings . Am I a God at hand , saith the LORD , and not a God afar off ? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? saith the LORD . Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the LORD . I have heard what the prophets said , that prophesy lies in my name , saying , I have dreamed , I have dreamed . How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies ? yea , they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart ; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour , as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal . The prophet that hath a dream , let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my word , let him speak my word faithfully . What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the LORD . Is not my word like as a fire ? saith the LORD ; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ? Therefore , behold , I am against the prophets , saith the LORD , that steal my words every one from his neighbour . Behold , I am against the prophets , saith the LORD , that use their tongues , and say , He saith . Behold , I am against them that prophesy false dreams , saith the LORD , and do tell them , and cause my people to err by their lies , and by their lightness ; yet I sent them not , nor commanded them : therefore they shall not profit this people at all , saith the LORD . And when this people , or the prophet , or a priest , shall ask thee , saying , What is the burden of the LORD ? thou shalt then say unto them , What burden ? I will even forsake you , saith the LORD . And as for the prophet , and the priest , and the people , that shall say , The burden of the LORD , I will even punish that man and his house . Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour , and every one to his brother , What hath the LORD answered ? and , What hath the LORD spoken ? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more : for every man's word shall be his burden ; for ye have perverted the words of the living God , of the LORD of hosts our God . Thus shalt thou say to the prophet , What hath the LORD answered thee ? and , What hath the LORD spoken ? But since ye say , The burden of the LORD ; therefore thus saith the LORD ; Because ye say this word , The burden of the LORD , and I have sent unto you , saying , Ye shall not say , The burden of the LORD ; Therefore , behold , I , even I , will utterly forget you , and I will forsake you , and the city that I gave you and your fathers , and cast you out of my presence : And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you , and a perpetual shame , which shall not be forgotten . The LORD shewed me , and , behold , two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD , after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah , and the princes of Judah , with the carpenters and smiths , from Jerusalem , and had brought them to Babylon . One basket had very good figs , even like the figs that are first ripe : and the other basket had very naughty figs , which could not be eaten , they were so bad . Then said the LORD unto me , What seest thou , Jeremiah ? And I said , Figs ; the good figs , very good ; and the evil , very evil , that cannot be eaten , they are so evil . Again the word of the LORD came unto me , saying , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel ; Like these good figs , so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah , whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good . For I will set mine eyes upon them for good , and I will bring them again to this land : and I will build them , and not pull them down ; and I will plant them , and not pluck them up . And I will give them an heart to know me , that I am the LORD : and they shall be my people , and I will be their God : for they shall return unto me with their whole heart . And as the evil figs , which cannot be eaten , they are so evil ; surely thus saith the LORD , So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah , and his princes , and the residue of Jerusalem , that remain in this land , and them that dwell in the land of Egypt : And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt , to be a reproach and a proverb , a taunt and a curse , in all places whither I shall drive them . And I will send the sword , the famine , and the pestilence , among them , till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers . The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon ; The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah , and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem , saying , From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah , even unto this day , that is the three and twentieth year , the word of the LORD hath come unto me , and I have spoken unto you , rising early and speaking ; but ye have not hearkened . And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets , rising early and sending them ; but ye have not hearkened , nor inclined your ear to hear . They said , Turn ye again now every one from his evil way , and from the evil of your doings , and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever : And go not after other gods to serve them , and to worship them , and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands ; and I will do you no hurt . Yet ye have not hearkened unto me , saith the LORD ; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Because ye have not heard my words , Behold , I will send and take all the families of the north , saith the LORD , and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon , my servant , and will bring them against this land , and against the inhabitants thereof , and against all these nations round about , and will utterly destroy them , and make them an astonishment , and an hissing , and perpetual desolations . Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth , and the voice of gladness , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride , the sound of the millstones , and the light of the candle . And this whole land shall be a desolation , and an astonishment ; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years . And it shall come to pass , when seventy years are accomplished , that I will punish the king of Babylon , and that nation , saith the LORD , for their iniquity , and the land of the Chaldeans , and will make it perpetual desolations . And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it , even all that is written in this book , which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations . For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also : and I will recompense them according to their deeds , and according to the works of their own hands . For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me ; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand , and cause all the nations , to whom I send thee , to drink it . And they shall drink , and be moved , and be mad , because of the sword that I will send among them . Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand , and made all the nations to drink , unto whom the LORD had sent me : To wit , Jerusalem , and the cities of Judah , and the kings thereof , and the princes thereof , to make them a desolation , an astonishment , an hissing , and a curse ; as it is this day ; Pharaoh king of Egypt , and his servants , and his princes , and all his people ; And all the mingled people , and all the kings of the land of Uz , and all the kings of the land of the Philistines , and Ashkelon , and Azzah , and Ekron , and the remnant of Ashdod , Edom , and Moab , and the children of Ammon , And all the kings of Tyrus , and all the kings of Zidon , and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea , Dedan , and Tema , and Buz , and all that are in the utmost corners , And all the kings of Arabia , and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert , And all the kings of Zimri , and all the kings of Elam , and all the kings of the Medes , And all the kings of the north , far and near , one with another , and all the kingdoms of the world , which are upon the face of the earth : and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them . Therefore thou shalt say unto them , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Drink ye , and be drunken , and spue , and fall , and rise no more , because of the sword which I will send among you . And it shall be , if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink , then shalt thou say unto them , Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Ye shall certainly drink . For , lo , I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name , and should ye be utterly unpunished ? Ye shall not be unpunished : for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth , saith the LORD of hosts . Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words , and say unto them , The LORD shall roar from on high , and utter his voice from his holy habitation ; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation ; he shall give a shout , as they that tread the grapes , against all the inhabitants of the earth . A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth ; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations , he will plead with all flesh ; he will give them that are wicked to the sword , saith the LORD . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , Behold , evil shall go forth from nation to nation , and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth . And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth : they shall not be lamented , neither gathered , nor buried ; they shall be dung upon the ground . Howl , ye shepherds , and cry ; and wallow yourselves in the ashes , ye principal of the flock : for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished ; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel . And the shepherds shall have no way to flee , nor the principal of the flock to escape . A voice of the cry of the shepherds , and an howling of the principal of the flock , shall be heard : for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture . And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD . He hath forsaken his covert , as the lion : for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor , and because of his fierce anger . In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; Stand in the court of the LORD's house , and speak unto all the cities of Judah , which come to worship in the LORD's house , all the words that I command thee to speak unto them ; diminish not a word : If so be they will hearken , and turn every man from his evil way , that I may repent me of the evil , which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings . And thou shalt say unto them , Thus saith the LORD ; If ye will not hearken to me , to walk in my law , which I have set before you , To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets , whom I sent unto you , both rising up early , and sending them , but ye have not hearkened ; Then will I make this house like Shiloh , and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth . So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD . Now it came to pass , when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people , that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him , saying , Thou shalt surely die . Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD , saying , This house shall be like Shiloh , and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant ? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD . When the princes of Judah heard these things , then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD , and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house . Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people , saying , This man is worthy to die ; for he hath prophesied against this city , as ye have heard with your ears . Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people , saying , The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard . Therefore now amend your ways and your doings , and obey the voice of the LORD your God ; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you . As for me , behold , I am in your hand : do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you . But know ye for certain , that if ye put me to death , ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves , and upon this city , and upon the inhabitants thereof : for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears . Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets ; This man is not worthy to die : for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God . Then rose up certain of the elders of the land , and spake to all the assembly of the people , saying , Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah , and spake to all the people of Judah , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Zion shall be plowed like a field , and Jerusalem shall become heaps , and the mountains of the house as the high places of a forest . Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death ? did he not fear the LORD , and besought the LORD , and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them ? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls . And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD , Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim , who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah : And when Jehoiakim the king , with all his mighty men , and all the princes , heard his words , the king sought to put him to death : but when Urijah heard it , he was afraid , and fled , and went into Egypt ; And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt , namely , Elnathan the son of Achbor , and certain men with him into Egypt . And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt , and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king ; who slew him with the sword , and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people . Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah , that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death . In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Thus saith the LORD to me ; Make thee bonds and yokes , and put them upon thy neck , And send them to the king of Edom , and to the king of Moab , and to the king of the Ammonites , and to the king of Tyrus , and to the king of Zidon , by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah ; And command them to say unto their masters , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Thus shall ye say unto your masters ; I have made the earth , the man and the beast that are upon the ground , by my great power and by my outstretched arm , and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me . And now have I given all these lands unto the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon , my servant ; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him . And all nations shall serve him , and his son , and his son's son , until the very time of his land come : and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him . And it shall come to pass , that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon , and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon , that nation will I punish , saith the LORD , with the sword , and with the famine , and with the pestilence , until I have consumed them by his hand . Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets , nor to your diviners , nor to your dreamers , nor to your enchanters , nor to your sorcerers , which speak unto you , saying , Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : For they prophesy a lie unto you , to remove you far from your land ; and that I should drive you out , and ye should perish . But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon , and serve him , those will I let remain still in their own land , saith the LORD ; and they shall till it , and dwell therein . I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words , saying , Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon , and serve him and his people , and live . Why will ye die , thou and thy people , by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence , as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon ? Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you , saying , Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : for they prophesy a lie unto you . For I have not sent them , saith the LORD , yet they prophesy a lie in my name ; that I might drive you out , and that ye might perish , ye , and the prophets that prophesy unto you . Also I spake to the priests and to all this people , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you , saying , Behold , the vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon : for they prophesy a lie unto you . Hearken not unto them ; serve the king of Babylon , and live : wherefore should this city be laid waste ? But if they be prophets , and if the word of the LORD be with them , let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts , that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD , and in the house of the king of Judah , and at Jerusalem , go not to Babylon . For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars , and concerning the sea , and concerning the bases , and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city , Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not , when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon , and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem ; Yea , thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD , and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem ; They shall be carried to Babylon , and there shall they be until the day that I visit them , saith the LORD ; then will I bring them up , and restore them to this place . And it came to pass the same year , in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah , in the fourth year , and in the fifth month , that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet , which was of Gibeon , spake unto me in the house of the LORD , in the presence of the priests and of all the people , saying , Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , saying , I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon . Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD's house , that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place , and carried them to Babylon : And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah , with all the captives of Judah , that went into Babylon , saith the LORD : for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon . Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests , and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD , Even the prophet Jeremiah said , Amen : the LORD do so : the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied , to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house , and all that is carried away captive , from Babylon into this place . Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears , and in the ears of all the people ; The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries , and against great kingdoms , of war , and of evil , and of pestilence . The prophet which prophesieth of peace , when the word of the prophet shall come to pass , then shall the prophet be known , that the LORD hath truly sent him . Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck , and brake it . And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years . And the prophet Jeremiah went his way . Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet , after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah , saying , Go and tell Hananiah , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood ; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations , that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ; and they shall serve him : and I have given him the beasts of the field also . Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet , Hear now , Hananiah ; The LORD hath not sent thee ; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie . Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will cast thee from off the face of the earth : this year thou shalt die , because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD . So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month . Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives , and to the priests , and to the prophets , and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon ; ( After that Jeconiah the king , and the queen , and the eunuchs , the princes of Judah and Jerusalem , and the carpenters , and the smiths , were departed from Jerusalem ; ) By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan , and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah , ( whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ) saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , unto all that are carried away captives , whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon ; Build ye houses , and dwell in them ; and plant gardens , and eat the fruit of them ; Take ye wives , and beget sons and daughters ; and take wives for your sons , and give your daughters to husbands , that they may bear sons and daughters ; that ye may be increased there , and not diminished . And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives , and pray unto the LORD for it : for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Let not your prophets and your diviners , that be in the midst of you , deceive you , neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed . For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name : I have not sent them , saith the LORD . For thus saith the LORD , That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you , and perform my good word toward you , in causing you to return to this place . For I know the thoughts that I think toward you , saith the LORD , thoughts of peace , and not of evil , to give you an expected end . Then shall ye call upon me , and ye shall go and pray unto me , and I will hearken unto you . And ye shall seek me , and find me , when ye shall search for me with all your heart . And I will be found of you , saith the LORD : and I will turn away your captivity , and I will gather you from all the nations , and from all the places whither I have driven you , saith the LORD ; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive . Because ye have said , The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon ; Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David , and of all the people that dwelleth in this city , and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity ; Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Behold , I will send upon them the sword , the famine , and the pestilence , and will make them like vile figs , that cannot be eaten , they are so evil . And I will persecute them with the sword , with the famine , and with the pestilence , and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth , to be a curse , and an astonishment , and an hissing , and a reproach , among all the nations whither I have driven them : Because they have not hearkened to my words , saith the LORD , which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets , rising up early and sending them ; but ye would not hear , saith the LORD . Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD , all ye of the captivity , whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon : Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , of Ahab the son of Kolaiah , and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah , which prophesy a lie unto you in my name ; Behold , I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon ; and he shall slay them before your eyes ; And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon , saying , The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab , whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire ; Because they have committed villany in Israel , and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives , and have spoken lying words in my name , which I have not commanded them ; even I know , and am a witness , saith the LORD . Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite , saying , Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , saying , Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem , and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest , and to all the priests , saying , The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest , that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD , for every man that is mad , and maketh himself a prophet , that thou shouldest put him in prison , and in the stocks . Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth , which maketh himself a prophet to you ? For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon , saying , This captivity is long : build ye houses , and dwell in them ; and plant gardens , and eat the fruit of them . And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet . Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah , saying , Send to all them of the captivity , saying , Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite ; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you , and I sent him not , and he caused you to trust in a lie : Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite , and his seed : he shall not have a man to dwell among this people ; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people , saith the LORD ; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD . The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel , saying , Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book . For , lo , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah , saith the LORD : and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers , and they shall possess it . And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah . For thus saith the LORD ; We have heard a voice of trembling , of fear , and not of peace . Ask ye now , and see whether a man doth travail with child ? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins , as a woman in travail , and all faces are turned into paleness ? Alas ! for that day is great , so that none is like it : it is even the time of Jacob's trouble ; but he shall be saved out of it . For it shall come to pass in that day , saith the LORD of hosts , that I will break his yoke from off thy neck , and will burst thy bonds , and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him : But they shall serve the LORD their God , and David their king , whom I will raise up unto them . Therefore fear thou not , O my servant Jacob , saith the LORD ; neither be dismayed , O Israel : for , lo , I will save thee from afar , and thy seed from the land of their captivity ; and Jacob shall return , and shall be in rest , and be quiet , and none shall make him afraid . For I am with thee , saith the LORD , to save thee : though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee , yet will I not make a full end of thee : but I will correct thee in measure , and will not leave thee altogether unpunished . For thus saith the LORD , Thy bruise is incurable , and thy wound is grievous . There is none to plead thy cause , that thou mayest be bound up : thou hast no healing medicines . All thy lovers have forgotten thee ; they seek thee not ; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy , with the chastisement of a cruel one , for the multitude of thine iniquity ; because thy sins were increased . Why criest thou for thine affliction ? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity : because thy sins were increased , I have done these things unto thee . Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured ; and all thine adversaries , every one of them , shall go into captivity ; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil , and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey . For I will restore health unto thee , and I will heal thee of thy wounds , saith the LORD ; because they called thee an Outcast , saying , This is Zion , whom no man seeketh after . Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents , and have mercy on his dwellingplaces ; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap , and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof . And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry : and I will multiply them , and they shall not be few ; I will also glorify them , and they shall not be small . Their children also shall be as aforetime , and their congregation shall be established before me , and I will punish all that oppress them . And their nobles shall be of themselves , and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them ; and I will cause him to draw near , and he shall approach unto me : for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me ? saith the LORD . And ye shall be my people , and I will be your God . Behold , the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury , a continuing whirlwind : it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked . The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return , until he have done it , and until he have performed the intents of his heart : in the latter days ye shall consider it . At the same time , saith the LORD , will I be the God of all the families of Israel , and they shall be my people . Thus saith the LORD , The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness ; even Israel , when I went to cause him to rest . The LORD hath appeared of old unto me , saying , Yea , I have loved thee with an everlasting love : therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee . Again I will build thee , and thou shalt be built , O virgin of Israel : thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets , and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry . Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria : the planters shall plant , and shall eat them as common things . For there shall be a day , that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry , Arise ye , and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God . For thus saith the LORD ; Sing with gladness for Jacob , and shout among the chief of the nations : publish ye , praise ye , and say , O LORD , save thy people , the remnant of Israel . Behold , I will bring them from the north country , and gather them from the coasts of the earth , and with them the blind and the lame , the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together : a great company shall return thither . They shall come with weeping , and with supplications will I lead them : I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way , wherein they shall not stumble : for I am a father to Israel , and Ephraim is my firstborn . Hear the word of the LORD , O ye nations , and declare it in the isles afar off , and say , He that scattered Israel will gather him , and keep him , as a shepherd doth his flock . For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob , and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he . Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion , and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD , for wheat , and for wine , and for oil , and for the young of the flock and of the herd : and their soul shall be as a watered garden ; and they shall not sorrow any more at all . Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance , both young men and old together : for I will turn their mourning into joy , and will comfort them , and make them rejoice from their sorrow . And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness , and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness , saith the LORD . Thus saith the LORD ; A voice was heard in Ramah , lamentation , and bitter weeping ; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children , because they were not . Thus saith the LORD ; Refrain thy voice from weeping , and thine eyes from tears : for thy work shall be rewarded , saith the LORD ; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy . And there is hope in thine end , saith the LORD , that thy children shall come again to their own border . I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou hast chastised me , and I was chastised , as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me , and I shall be turned ; for thou art the LORD my God . Surely after that I was turned , I repented ; and after that I was instructed , I smote upon my thigh : I was ashamed , yea , even confounded , because I did bear the reproach of my youth . Is Ephraim my dear son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since I spake against him , I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy upon him , saith the LORD . Set thee up waymarks , make thee high heaps : set thine heart toward the highway , even the way which thou wentest : turn again , O virgin of Israel , turn again to these thy cities . How long wilt thou go about , O thou backsliding daughter ? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth , A woman shall compass a man . Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof , when I shall bring again their captivity ; The LORD bless thee , O habitation of justice , and mountain of holiness . And there shall dwell in Judah itself , and in all the cities thereof together , husbandmen , and they that go forth with flocks . For I have satiated the weary soul , and I have replenished every sorrowful soul . Upon this I awaked , and beheld ; and my sleep was sweet unto me . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man , and with the seed of beast . And it shall come to pass , that like as I have watched over them , to pluck up , and to break down , and to throw down , and to destroy , and to afflict ; so will I watch over them , to build , and to plant , saith the LORD . In those days they shall say no more , The fathers have eaten a sour grape , and the children's teeth are set on edge . But every one shall die for his own iniquity : every man that eateth the sour grape , his teeth shall be set on edge . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel , and with the house of Judah : Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt ; which my covenant they brake , although I was an husband unto them , saith the LORD : But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel ; After those days , saith the LORD , I will put my law in their inward parts , and write it in their hearts ; and will be their God , and they shall be my people . And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour , and every man his brother , saying , Know the LORD : for they shall all know me , from the least of them unto the greatest of them , saith the LORD ; for I will forgive their iniquity , and I will remember their sin no more . Thus saith the LORD , which giveth the sun for a light by day , and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night , which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar ; The LORD of hosts is his name : If those ordinances depart from before me , saith the LORD , then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever . Thus saith the LORD ; If heaven above can be measured , and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath , I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done , saith the LORD . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner . And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb , and shall compass about to Goath . And the whole valley of the dead bodies , and of the ashes , and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron , unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east , shall be holy unto the LORD ; it shall not be plucked up , nor thrown down any more for ever . The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah , which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar . For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem : and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison , which was in the king of Judah's house . For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up , saying , Wherefore dost thou prophesy , and say , Thus saith the LORD , Behold , I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he shall take it ; And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans , but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon , and shall speak with him mouth to mouth , and his eyes shall behold his eyes ; And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon , and there shall he be until I visit him , saith the LORD : though ye fight with the Chaldeans , ye shall not prosper ? And Jeremiah said , The word of the LORD came unto me , saying , Behold , Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee , saying , Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth : for the right of redemption is thine to buy it . So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD , and said unto me , Buy my field , I pray thee , that is in Anathoth , which is in the country of Benjamin : for the right of inheritance is thine , and the redemption is thine ; buy it for thyself . Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD . And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son , that was in Anathoth , and weighed him the money , even seventeen shekels of silver . And I subscribed the evidence , and sealed it , and took witnesses , and weighed him the money in the balances . So I took the evidence of the purchase , both that which was sealed according to the law and custom , and that which was open : And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah , the son of Maaseiah , in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son , and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase , before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison . And I charged Baruch before them , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Take these evidences , this evidence of the purchase , both which is sealed , and this evidence which is open ; and put them in an earthen vessel , that they may continue many days . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land . Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah , I prayed unto the LORD , saying , Ah Lord GOD ! behold , thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm , and there is nothing too hard for thee : Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands , and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them : the Great , the Mighty God , the LORD of hosts , is his name , Great in counsel , and mighty in work : for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men : to give every one according to his ways , and according to the fruit of his doings : Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt , even unto this day , and in Israel , and among other men ; and hast made thee a name , as at this day ; And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs , and with wonders , and with a strong hand , and with a stretched out arm , and with great terror ; And hast given them this land , which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them , a land flowing with milk and honey ; And they came in , and possessed it ; but they obeyed not thy voice , neither walked in thy law ; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do : therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them : Behold the mounts , they are come unto the city to take it ; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans , that fight against it , because of the sword , and of the famine , and of the pestilence : and what thou hast spoken is come to pass ; and , behold , thou seest it . And thou hast said unto me , O Lord GOD , Buy thee the field for money , and take witnesses ; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans . Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah , saying , Behold , I am the LORD , the God of all flesh : is there any thing too hard for me ? Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans , and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , and he shall take it : And the Chaldeans , that fight against this city , shall come and set fire on this city , and burn it with the houses , upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal , and poured out drink offerings unto other gods , to provoke me to anger . For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth : for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands , saith the LORD . For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day ; that I should remove it from before my face , Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah , which they have done to provoke me to anger , they , their kings , their princes , their priests , and their prophets , and the men of Judah , and the inhabitants of Jerusalem . And they have turned unto me the back , and not the face : though I taught them , rising up early and teaching them , yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction . But they set their abominations in the house , which is called by my name , to defile it . And they built the high places of Baal , which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom , to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech ; which I commanded them not , neither came it into my mind , that they should do this abomination , to cause Judah to sin . And now therefore thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel , concerning this city , whereof ye say , It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword , and by the famine , and by the pestilence ; Behold , I will gather them out of all countries , whither I have driven them in mine anger , and in my fury , and in great wrath ; and I will bring them again unto this place , and I will cause them to dwell safely : And they shall be my people , and I will be their God : And I will give them one heart , and one way , that they may fear me for ever , for the good of them , and of their children after them : And I will make an everlasting covenant with them , that I will not turn away from them , to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts , that they shall not depart from me . Yea , I will rejoice over them to do them good , and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul . For thus saith the LORD ; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people , so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them . And fields shall be bought in this land , whereof ye say , It is desolate without man or beast ; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans . Men shall buy fields for money , and subscribe evidences , and seal them , and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin , and in the places about Jerusalem , and in the cities of Judah , and in the cities of the mountains , and in the cities of the valley , and in the cities of the south : for I will cause their captivity to return , saith the LORD . Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time , while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison , saying , Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof , the LORD that formed it , to establish it ; the LORD is his name ; Call unto me , and I will answer thee , and shew thee great and mighty things , which thou knowest not . For thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel , concerning the houses of this city , and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah , which are thrown down by the mounts , and by the sword ; They come to fight with the Chaldeans , but it is fill them with the dead bodies of men , whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury , and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city . Behold , I will bring it health and cure , and I will cure them , and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth . And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return , and will build them , as at the first . And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity , whereby they have sinned against me ; and I will pardon all their iniquities , whereby they have sinned , and whereby they have transgressed against me . And it shall be to me a name of joy , a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth , which shall hear all the good that I do unto them : and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it . Thus saith the LORD ; Again there shall be heard in this place , which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast , even in the cities of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem , that are desolate , without man , and without inhabitant , and without beast , The voice of joy , and the voice of gladness , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride , the voice of them that shall say , Praise the LORD of hosts : for the LORD is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD . For I will cause to return the captivity of the land , as at the first , saith the LORD . Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Again in this place , which is desolate without man and without beast , and in all the cities thereof , shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down . In the cities of the mountains , in the cities of the vale , and in the cities of the south , and in the land of Benjamin , and in the places about Jerusalem , and in the cities of Judah , shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them , saith the LORD . Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah . In those days , and at that time , will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land . In those days shall Judah be saved , and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : and this is the name wherewith she shall be called , The LORD our righteousness . For thus saith the LORD ; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings , and to kindle meat offerings , and to do sacrifice continually . And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah , saying , Thus saith the LORD ; If ye can break my covenant of the day , and my covenant of the night , and that there should not be day and night in their season ; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant , that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne ; and with the Levites the priests , my ministers . As the host of heaven cannot be numbered , neither the sand of the sea measured : so will I multiply the seed of David my servant , and the Levites that minister unto me . Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah , saying , Considerest thou not what this people have spoken , saying , The two families which the LORD hath chosen , he hath even cast them off ? thus they have despised my people , that they should be no more a nation before them . Thus saith the LORD ; If my covenant be not with day and night , and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth ; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob , and David my servant , so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob : for I will cause their captivity to return , and have mercy on them . The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD , when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , and all his army , and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion , and all the people , fought against Jerusalem , and against all the cities thereof , saying , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel ; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah , and tell him , Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he shall burn it with fire : And thou shalt not escape out of his hand , but shalt surely be taken , and delivered into his hand ; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon , and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth , and thou shalt go to Babylon . Yet hear the word of the LORD , O Zedekiah king of Judah ; Thus saith the LORD of thee , Thou shalt not die by the sword : But thou shalt die in peace : and with the burnings of thy fathers , the former kings which were before thee , so shall they burn odours for thee ; and they will lament thee , saying , Ah lord ! for I have pronounced the word , saith the LORD . Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem , When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem , and against all the cities of Judah that were left , against Lachish , and against Azekah : for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah . This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD , after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem , to proclaim liberty unto them ; That every man should let his manservant , and every man his maidservant , being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess , go free ; that none should serve himself of them , to wit , of a Jew his brother . Now when all the princes , and all the people , which had entered into the covenant , heard that every one should let his manservant , and every one his maidservant , go free , that none should serve themselves of them any more , then they obeyed , and let them go . But afterward they turned , and caused the servants and the handmaids , whom they had let go free , to return , and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids . Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel ; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt , out of the house of bondmen , saying , At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew , which hath been sold unto thee ; and when he hath served thee six years , thou shalt let him go free from thee : but your fathers hearkened not unto me , neither inclined their ear . And ye were now turned , and had done right in my sight , in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour ; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name : But ye turned and polluted my name , and caused every man his servant , and every man his handmaid , whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure , to return , and brought them into subjection , to be unto you for servants and for handmaids . Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Ye have not hearkened unto me , in proclaiming liberty , every one to his brother , and every man to his neighbour : behold , I proclaim a liberty for you , saith the LORD , to the sword , to the pestilence , and to the famine ; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth . And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant , which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me , when they cut the calf in twain , and passed between the parts thereof , The princes of Judah , and the princes of Jerusalem , the eunuchs , and the priests , and all the people of the land , which passed between the parts of the calf ; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies , and into the hand of them that seek their life : and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven , and to the beasts of the earth . And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies , and into the hand of them that seek their life , and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army , which are gone up from you . Behold , I will command , saith the LORD , and cause them to return to this city ; and they shall fight against it , and take it , and burn it with fire : and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant . The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , saying , Go unto the house of the Rechabites , and speak unto them , and bring them into the house of the LORD , into one of the chambers , and give them wine to drink . Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah , the son of Habaziniah , and his brethren , and all his sons , and the whole house of the Rechabites ; And I brought them into the house of the LORD , into the chamber of the sons of Hanan , the son of Igdaliah , a man of God , which was by the chamber of the princes , which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum , the keeper of the door : And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine , and cups , and I said unto them , Drink ye wine . But they said , We will drink no wine : for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us , saying , Ye shall drink no wine , neither ye , nor your sons for ever : Neither shall ye build house , nor sow seed , nor plant vineyard , nor have any : but all your days ye shall dwell in tents ; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers . Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us , to drink no wine all our days , we , our wives , our sons , nor our daughters ; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in : neither have we vineyard , nor field , nor seed : But we have dwelt in tents , and have obeyed , and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us . But it came to pass , when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land , that we said , Come , and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans , and for fear of the army of the Syrians : so we dwell at Jerusalem . Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem , Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words ? saith the LORD . The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab , that he commanded his sons not to drink wine , are performed ; for unto this day they drink none , but obey their father's commandment : notwithstanding I have spoken unto you , rising early and speaking ; but ye hearkened not unto me . I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets , rising up early and sending them , saying , Return ye now every man from his evil way , and amend your doings , and go not after other gods to serve them , and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers : but ye have not inclined your ear , nor hearkened unto me . Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father , which he commanded them ; but this people hath not hearkened unto me : Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them : because I have spoken unto them , but they have not heard ; and I have called unto them , but they have not answered . And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father , and kept all his precepts , and done according unto all that he hath commanded you : Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever . And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD , saying , Take thee a roll of a book , and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel , and against Judah , and against all the nations , from the day I spake unto thee , from the days of Josiah , even unto this day . It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them ; that they may return every man from his evil way ; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin . Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah : and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD , which he had spoken unto him , upon a roll of a book . And Jeremiah commanded Baruch , saying , I am shut up ; I cannot go into the house of the LORD : Therefore go thou , and read in the roll , which thou hast written from my mouth , the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD's house upon the fasting day : and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities . It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD , and will return every one from his evil way : for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people . And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him , reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD's house . And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , in the ninth month , that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem , and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem . Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD , in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe , in the higher court , at the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house , in the ears of all the people . When Michaiah the son of Gemariah , the son of Shaphan , had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD , Then he went down into the king's house , into the scribe's chamber : and , lo , all the princes sat there , even Elishama the scribe , and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah , and Elnathan the son of Achbor , and Gemariah the son of Shaphan , and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah , and all the princes . Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard , when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people . Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah , the son of Shelemiah , the son of Cushi , unto Baruch , saying , Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people , and come . So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand , and came unto them . And they said unto him , Sit down now , and read it in our ears . So Baruch read it in their ears . Now it came to pass , when they had heard all the words , they were afraid both one and other , and said unto Baruch , We will surely tell the king of all these words . And they asked Baruch , saying , Tell us now , How didst thou write all these words at his mouth ? Then Baruch answered them , He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth , and I wrote them with ink in the book . Then said the princes unto Baruch , Go , hide thee , thou and Jeremiah ; and let no man know where ye be . And they went in to the king into the court , but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe , and told all the words in the ears of the king . So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll : and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber . And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king , and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king . Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month : and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him . And it came to pass , that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves , he cut it with the penknife , and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth , until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth . Yet they were not afraid , nor rent their garments , neither the king , nor any of his servants that heard all these words . Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll : but he would not hear them . But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech , and Seraiah the son of Azriel , and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel , to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet : but the LORD hid them . Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah , after that the king had burned the roll , and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah , saying , Take thee again another roll , and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll , which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned . And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim the king of Judah , Thus saith the LORD ; Thou hast burned this roll , saying , Why hast thou written therein , saying , The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land , and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast ? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah ; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David : and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat , and in the night to the frost . And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity ; and I will bring upon them , and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem , and upon the men of Judah , all the evil that I have pronounced against them ; but they hearkened not . Then took Jeremiah another roll , and gave it to Baruch the scribe , the son of Neriah ; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire : and there were added besides unto them many like words . And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim , whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah . But neither he , nor his servants , nor the people of the land , did hearken unto the words of the LORD , which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah . And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah , saying , Pray now unto the LORD our God for us . Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people : for they had not put him into prison . Then Pharoah's army was come forth out of Egypt : and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them , they departed from Jerusalem . Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah , saying , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel ; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah , that sent you unto me to inquire of me ; Behold , Pharaoh's army , which is come forth to help you , shall return to Egypt into their own land . And the Chaldeans shall come again , and fight against this city , and take it , and burn it with fire . Thus saith the LORD ; Deceive not yourselves , saying , The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us : for they shall not depart . For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you , and there remained but wounded men among them , yet should they rise up every man in his tent , and burn this city with fire . And it came to pass , that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army , Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin , to separate himself thence in the midst of the people . And when he was in the gate of Benjamin , a captain of the ward was there , whose name was Irijah , the son of Shelemiah , the son of Hananiah ; and he took Jeremiah the prophet , saying , Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans . Then said Jeremiah , It is false ; I fall not away to the Chaldeans . But he hearkened not to him : so Irijah took Jeremiah , and brought him to the princes . Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah , and smote him , and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe : for they had made that the prison . When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon , and into the cabins , and Jeremiah had remained there many days ; Then Zedekiah the king sent , and took him out : and the king asked him secretly in his house , and said , Is there any word from the LORD ? And Jeremiah said , There is : for , said he , thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon . Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah , What have I offended against thee , or against thy servants , or against this people , that ye have put me in prison ? Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you , saying , The king of Babylon shall not come against you , nor against this land ? Therefore hear now , I pray thee , O my lord the king : let my supplication , I pray thee , be accepted before thee ; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe , lest I die there . Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison , and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street , until all the bread in the city were spent . Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison . Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan , and Gedaliah the son of Pashur , and Jucal the son of Shelemiah , and Pashur the son of Malchiah , heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people , saying , Thus saith the LORD , He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence : but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live ; for he shall have his life for a prey , and shall live . Thus saith the LORD , This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army , which shall take it . Therefore the princes said unto the king , We beseech thee , let this man be put to death : for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city , and the hands of all the people , in speaking such words unto them : for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people , but the hurt . Then Zedekiah the king said , Behold , he is in your hand : for the king is not he that can do any thing against you . Then took they Jeremiah , and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech , that was in the court of the prison : and they let down Jeremiah with cords . And in the dungeon there was no water , but mire : so Jeremiah sunk in the mire . Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian , one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house , heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon ; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ; Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house , and spake to the king , saying , My lord the king , these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet , whom they have cast into the dungeon ; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is : for there is no more bread in the city . Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian , saying , Take from hence thirty men with thee , and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon , before he die . So Ebed-melech took the men with him , and went into the house of the king under the treasury , and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags , and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah . And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah , Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords . And Jeremiah did so . So they drew up Jeremiah with cords , and took him up out of the dungeon : and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison . Then Zedekiah the king sent , and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD : and the king said unto Jeremiah , I will ask thee a thing ; hide nothing from me . Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah , If I declare it unto thee , wilt thou not surely put me to death ? and if I give thee counsel , wilt thou not hearken unto me ? So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah , saying , As the LORD liveth , that made us this soul , I will not put thee to death , neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life . Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah , Thus saith the LORD , the God of hosts , the God of Israel ; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes , then thy soul shall live , and this city shall not be burned with fire ; and thou shalt live , and thine house : But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes , then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans , and they shall burn it with fire , and thou shalt not escape out of their hand . And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah , I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans , lest they deliver me into their hand , and they mock me . But Jeremiah said , They shall not deliver thee . Obey , I beseech thee , the voice of the LORD , which I speak unto thee : so it shall be well unto thee , and thy soul shall live . But if thou refuse to go forth , this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me : And , behold , all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes , and those women shall say , Thy friends have set thee on , and have prevailed against thee : thy feet are sunk in the mire , and they are turned away back . So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans : and thou shalt not escape out of their hand , but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon : and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire . Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah , Let no man know of these words , and thou shalt not die . But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee , and they come unto thee , and say unto thee , Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king , hide it not from us , and we will not put thee to death ; also what the king said unto thee : Then thou shalt say unto them , I presented my supplication before the king , that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house , to die there . Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah , and asked him : and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded . So they left off speaking with him ; for the matter was not perceived . So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken : and he was there when Jerusalem was taken . In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah , in the tenth month , came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem , and they beseiged it . And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah , in the fourth month , the ninth day of the month , the city was broken up . And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in , and sat in the middle gate , even Nergal-sharezer , Samgar-nebo , Sarsechim , Rab-saris , Nergal-sharezer , Rabmag , with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon . And it came to pass , that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them , and all the men of war , then they fled , and went forth out of the city by night , by the way of the king's garden , by the gate betwixt the two walls : and he went out the way of the plain . But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them , and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho : and when they had taken him , they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath , where he gave judgment upon him . Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes : also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah . Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes , and bound him with chains , to carry him to Babylon . And the Chaldeans burned the king's house , and the houses of the people , with fire , and brake down the walls of Jerusalem . Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city , and those that fell away , that fell to him , with the rest of the people that remained . But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people , which had nothing , in the land of Judah , and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time . Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard , saying , Take him , and look well to him , and do him no harm ; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee . So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent , and Nebushasban , Rab-saris , and Nergal-sharezer , Rabmag , and all the king of Babylon's princes ; Even they sent , and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison , and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan , that he should carry him home : so he dwelt among the people . Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah , while he was shut up in the court of the prison , saying , Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will bring my words upon this city for evil , and not for good ; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee . But I will deliver thee in that day , saith the LORD : and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid . For I will surely deliver thee , and thou shalt not fall by the sword , but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee : because thou hast put thy trust in me , saith the LORD . The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah , when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah , which were carried away captive unto Babylon . And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah , and said unto him , The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place . Now the LORD hath brought it , and done according as he hath said : because ye have sinned against the LORD , and have not obeyed his voice , therefore this thing is come upon you . And now , behold , I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand . If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon , come ; and I will look well unto thee : but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon , forbear : behold , all the land is before thee : whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go , thither go . Now while he was not yet gone back , he said , Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan , whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah , and dwell with him among the people : or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go . So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward , and let him go . Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land . Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields , even they and their men , heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land , and had committed unto him men , and women , and children , and of the poor of the land , of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon ; Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah , even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah , and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth , and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite , and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite , they and their men . And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men , saying , Fear not to serve the Chaldeans : dwell in the land , and serve the king of Babylon , and it shall be well with you . As for me , behold , I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans , which will come unto us : but ye , gather ye wine , and summer fruits , and oil , and put them in your vessels , and dwell in your cities that ye have taken . Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab , and among the Ammonites , and in Edom , and that were in all the countries , heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah , and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan ; Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven , and came to the land of Judah , to Gedaliah , unto Mizpah , and gathered wine and summer fruits very much . Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields , came to Gedaliah to Mizpah , And said unto him , Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee ? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not . Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly , saying , Let me go , I pray thee , and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and no man shall know it : wherefore should he slay thee , that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered , and the remnant in Judah perish ? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah , Thou shalt not do this thing : for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael . Now it came to pass in the seventh month , that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama , of the seed royal , and the princes of the king , even ten men with him , came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah . Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and the ten men that were with him , and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword , and slew him , whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land . Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him , even with Gedaliah , at Mizpah , and the Chaldeans that were found there , and the men of war . And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah , and no man knew it , That there came certain from Shechem , from Shiloh , and from Samaria , even fourscore men , having their beards shaven , and their clothes rent , and having cut themselves , with offerings and incense in their hand , to bring them to the house of the LORD . And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them , weeping all along as he went : and it came to pass , as he met them , he said unto them , Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam . And it was so , when they came into the midst of the city , that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them , and cast them into the midst of the pit , he , and the men that were with him . But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael , Slay us not : for we have treasures in the field , of wheat , and of barley , and of oil , and of honey . So he forbare , and slew them not among their brethren . Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men , whom he had slain because of Gedaliah , was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel : and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain . Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah , even the king's daughters , and all the people that remained in Mizpah , whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam : and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive , and departed to go over to the Ammonites . But when Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces that were with him , heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done , Then they took all the men , and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon . Now it came to pass , that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces that were with him , then they were glad . So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned , and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah . But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men , and went to the Ammonites . Then took Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces that were with him , all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , from Mizpah , after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam , even mighty men of war , and the women , and the children , and the eunuchs , whom he had brought again from Gibeon : And they departed , and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham , which is by Bethlehem , to go to enter into Egypt , Because of the Chaldeans : for they were afraid of them , because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam , whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land . Then all the captains of the forces , and Johanan the son of Kareah , and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah , and all the people from the least even unto the greatest , came near , And said unto Jeremiah the prophet , Let , we beseech thee , our supplication be accepted before thee , and pray for us unto the LORD thy God , even for all this remnant ; ( for we are left but a few of many , as thine eyes do behold us : ) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk , and the thing that we may do . Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them , I have heard you ; behold , I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words ; and it shall come to pass , that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you , I will declare it unto you ; I will keep nothing back from you . Then they said to Jeremiah , The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us , if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us . Whether it be good , or whether it be evil , we will obey the voice of the LORD our God , to whom we send thee ; that it may be well with us , when we obey the voice of the LORD our God . And it came to pass after ten days , that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah . Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces which were with him , and all the people from the least even to the greatest , And said unto them , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel , unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him ; If ye will still abide in this land , then will I build you , and not pull you down , and I will plant you , and not pluck you up : for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you . Be not afraid of the king of Babylon , of whom ye are afraid ; be not afraid of him , saith the LORD : for I am with you to save you , and to deliver you from his hand . And I will shew mercies unto you , that he may have mercy upon you , and cause you to return to your own land . But if ye say , We will not dwell in this land , neither obey the voice of the LORD your God , Saying , No ; but we will go into the land of Egypt , where we shall see no war , nor hear the sound of the trumpet , nor have hunger of bread ; and there will we dwell : And now therefore hear the word of the LORD , ye remnant of Judah ; Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt , and go to sojourn there ; Then it shall come to pass , that the sword , which ye feared , shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt , and the famine , whereof ye were afraid , shall follow close after you there in Egypt ; and there ye shall die . So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there ; they shall die by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence : and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you , when ye shall enter into Egypt : and ye shall be an execration , and an astonishment , and a curse , and a reproach ; and ye shall see this place no more . The LORD hath said concerning you , O ye remnant of Judah ; Go ye not into Egypt : know certainly that I have admonished you this day . For ye dissembled in your hearts , when ye sent me unto the LORD your God , saying , Pray for us unto the LORD our God ; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say , so declare unto us , and we will do it . And now I have this day declared it to you ; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God , nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you . Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence , in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn . And it came to pass , that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God , for which the LORD their God had sent him to them , even all these words , Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah , and Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the proud men , saying unto Jeremiah , Thou speakest falsely : the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say , Go not into Egypt to sojourn there : But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us , for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans , that they might put us to death , and carry us away captives into Babylon . So Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces , and all the people , obeyed not the voice of the LORD , to dwell in the land of Judah . But Johanan the son of Kareah , and all the captains of the forces , took all the remnant of Judah , that were returned from all nations , whither they had been driven , to dwell in the land of Judah ; Even men , and women , and children , and the king's daughters , and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan , and Jeremiah the prophet , and Baruch the son of Neriah . So they came into the land of Egypt : for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD : thus came they even to Tahpanhes . Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes , saying , Take great stones in thine hand , and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln , which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes , in the sight of the men of Judah ; And say unto them , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon , my servant , and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid ; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them . And when he cometh , he shall smite the land of Egypt , and deliver such as are for death to death ; and such as are for captivity to captivity ; and such as are for the sword to the sword . And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt ; and he shall burn them , and carry them away captives : and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt , as a shepherd putteth on his garment ; and he shall go forth from thence in peace . He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh , that is in the land of Egypt ; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire . The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt , which dwell at Migdol , and at Tahpanhes , and at Noph , and in the country of Pathros , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem , and upon all the cities of Judah ; and , behold , this day they are a desolation , and no man dwelleth therein , Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger , in that they went to burn incense , and to serve other gods , whom they knew not , neither they , ye , nor your fathers . Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets , rising early and sending them , saying , Oh , do not this abominable thing that I hate . But they hearkened not , nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness , to burn no incense unto other gods . Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth , and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ; and they are wasted and desolate , as at this day . Therefore now this saith the LORD , the God of hosts , the God of Israel ; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls , to cut off from you man and woman , child and suckling , out of Judah , to leave you none to remain ; In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands , burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt , whither ye be gone to dwell , that ye might cut yourselves off , and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth ? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers , and the wickedness of the kings of Judah , and the wickedness of their wives , and your own wickedness , and the wickedness of your wives , which they have committed in the land of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem ? They are not humbled even unto this day , neither have they feared , nor walked in my law , nor in my statutes , that I set before you and before your fathers . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will set my face against you for evil , and to cut off all Judah . And I will take the remnant of Judah , that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there , and they shall all be consumed , and fall in the land of Egypt ; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine : they shall die , from the least even unto the greatest , by the sword and by the famine : and they shall be an execration , and an astonishment , and a curse , and a reproach . For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt , as I have punished Jerusalem , by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence : So that none of the remnant of Judah , which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there , shall escape or remain , that they should return into the land of Judah , to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there : for none shall return but such as shall escape . Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods , and all the women that stood by , a great multitude , even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt , in Pathros , answered Jeremiah , saying , As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD , we will not hearken unto thee . But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth , to burn incense unto the queen of heaven , and to pour out drink offerings unto her , as we have done , we , and our fathers , our kings , and our princes , in the cities of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem : for then had we plenty of victuals , and were well , and saw no evil . But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven , and to pour out drink offerings unto her , we have wanted all things , and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine . And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven , and poured out drink offerings unto her , did we make her cakes to worship her , and pour out drink offerings unto her , without our men ? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people , to the men , and to the women , and to all the people which had given him that answer , saying , The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem , ye , and your fathers , your kings , and your princes , and the people of the land , did not the LORD remember them , and came it not into his mind ? So that the LORD could no longer bear , because of the evil of your doings , and because of the abominations which ye have committed ; therefore is your land a desolation , and an astonishment , and a curse , without an inhabitant , as at this day . Because ye have burned incense , and because ye have sinned against the LORD , and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD , nor walked in his law , nor in his statutes , nor in his testimonies ; therefore this evil is happened unto you , as at this day . Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people , and to all the women , Hear the word of the LORD , all Judah that are in the land of Egypt : Thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , saying ; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths , and fulfilled with your hand , saying , We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed , to burn incense to the queen of heaven , and to pour out drink offerings unto her : ye will surely accomplish your vows , and surely perform your vows . Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD , all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt ; Behold , I have sworn by my great name , saith the LORD , that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt , saying , The Lord GOD liveth . Behold , I will watch over them for evil , and not for good : and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine , until there be an end of them . Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah , and all the remnant of Judah , that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there , shall know whose words shall stand , mine , or theirs . And this shall be a sign unto you , saith the LORD , that I will punish you in this place , that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil : Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies , and into the hand of them that seek his life ; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , his enemy , and that sought his life . The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah , when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah , in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah , saying , Thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel , unto thee , O Baruch ; Thou didst say , Woe is me now ! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow ; I fainted in my sighing , and I find no rest . Thus shalt thou say unto him , The LORD saith thus ; Behold , that which I have built will I break down , and that which I have planted I will pluck up , even this whole land . And seekest thou great things for thyself ? seek them not : for , behold , I will bring evil upon all flesh , saith the LORD : but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest . The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles ; Against Egypt , against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt , which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish , which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah . Order ye the buckler and shield , and draw near to battle . Harness the horses ; and get up , ye horsemen , and stand forth with your helmets ; furbish the spears , and put on the brigandines . Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back ? and their mighty ones are beaten down , and are fled apace , and look not back : for fear was round about , saith the LORD . Let not the swift flee away , nor the mighty man escape ; they shall stumble , and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates . Who is this that cometh up as a flood , whose waters are moved as the rivers ? Egypt riseth up like a flood , and his waters are moved like the rivers ; and he saith , I will go up , and will cover the earth ; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof . Come up , ye horses ; and rage , ye chariots ; and let the mighty men come forth ; the Ethiopians and the Libyans , that handle the shield ; and the Lydians , that handle and bend the bow . For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts , a day of vengeance , that he may avenge him of his adversaries : and the sword shall devour , and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood : for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates . Go up into Gilead , and take balm , O virgin , the daughter of Egypt : in vain shalt thou use many medicines ; for thou shalt not be cured . The nations have heard of thy shame , and thy cry hath filled the land : for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty , and they are fallen both together . The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet , how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt . Declare ye in Egypt , and publish in Migdol , and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes : say ye , Stand fast , and prepare thee ; for the sword shall devour round about thee . Why are thy valiant men swept away ? they stood not , because the LORD did drive them . He made many to fall , yea , one fell upon another : and they said , Arise , and let us go again to our own people , and to the land of our nativity , from the oppressing sword . They did cry there , Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise ; he hath passed the time appointed . As I live , saith the King , whose name is the LORD of hosts , Surely as Tabor is among the mountains , and as Carmel by the sea , so shall he come . O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt , furnish thyself to go into captivity : for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant . Egypt is like a very fair heifer , but destruction cometh ; it cometh out of the north . Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks ; for they also are turned back , and are fled away together : they did not stand , because the day of their calamity was come upon them , and the time of their visitation . The voice thereof shall go like a serpent ; for they shall march with an army , and come against her with axes , as hewers of wood . They shall cut down her forest , saith the LORD , though it cannot be searched ; because they are more than the grasshoppers , and are innumerable . The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded ; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north . The LORD of hosts , the God of Israel , saith ; Behold , I will punish the multitude of No , and Pharaoh , and Egypt , with their gods , and their kings ; even Pharaoh , and all them that trust in him : And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives , and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , and into the hand of his servants : and afterward it shall be inhabited , as in the days of old , saith the LORD . But fear not thou , O my servant Jacob , and be not dismayed , O Israel : for , behold , I will save thee from afar off , and thy seed from the land of their captivity ; and Jacob shall return , and be in rest and at ease , and none shall make him afraid . Fear thou not , O Jacob my servant , saith the LORD : for I am with thee ; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee : but I will not make a full end of thee , but correct thee in measure ; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished . The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines , before that Pharaoh smote Gaza . Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , waters rise up out of the north , and shall be an overflowing flood , and shall overflow the land , and all that is therein ; the city , and them that dwell therein : then the men shall cry , and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl . At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses , at the rushing of his chariots , and at the rumbling of his wheels , the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands ; Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines , and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth : for the LORD will spoil the Philistines , the remnant of the country of Caphtor . Baldness is come upon Gaza ; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley : how long wilt thou cut thyself ? O thou sword of the LORD , how long will it be ere thou be quiet ? put up thyself into thy scabbard , rest , and be still . How can it be quiet , seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon , and against the sea shore ? there hath he appointed it . Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Woe unto Nebo ! for it is spoiled : Kiriathaim is confounded and taken : Misgab is confounded and dismayed . There shall be no more praise of Moab : in Heshbon they have devised evil against it ; come , and let us cut it off from being a nation . Also thou shalt be cut down , O Madmen ; the sword shall pursue thee . A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim , spoiling and great destruction . Moab is destroyed ; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard . For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up ; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction . Flee , save your lives , and be like the heath in the wilderness . For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures , thou shalt also be taken : and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together . And the spoiler shall come upon every city , and no city shall escape : the valley also shall perish , and the plain shall be destroyed , as the LORD hath spoken . Give wings unto Moab , that it may flee and get away : for the cities thereof shall be desolate , without any to dwell therein . Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully , and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood . Moab hath been at ease from his youth , and he hath settled on his lees , and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel , neither hath he gone into captivity : therefore his taste remained in him , and his scent is not changed . Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will send unto him wanderers , that shall cause him to wander , and shall empty his vessels , and break their bottles . And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh , as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence . How say ye , We are mighty and strong men for the war ? Moab is spoiled , and gone up out of her cities , and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter , saith the King , whose name is the LORD of hosts . The calamity of Moab is near to come , and his affliction hasteth fast . All ye that are about him , bemoan him ; and all ye that know his name , say , How is the strong staff broken , and the beautiful rod ! Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon , come down from thy glory , and sit in thirst ; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee , and he shall destroy thy strong holds . O inhabitant of Aroer , stand by the way , and espy ; ask him that fleeth , and her that escapeth , and say , What is done ? Moab is confounded ; for it is broken down : howl and cry ; and tell ye it in Arnon , that Moab is spoiled , And judgment is come upon the plain country ; upon Holon , and upon Jahazah , and upon Mephaath , And upon Dibon , and upon Nebo , and upon Beth-diblathaim , And upon Kiriathaim , and upon Beth-gamul , and upon Beth-meon , And upon Kerioth , and upon Bozrah , and upon all the cities of the land of Moab , far or near . The horn of Moab is cut off , and his arm is broken , saith the LORD . Make ye him drunken : for he magnified himself against the LORD : Moab also shall wallow in his vomit , and he also shall be in derision . For was not Israel a derision unto thee ? was he found among thieves ? for since thou spakest of him , thou skippedst for joy . O ye that dwell in Moab , leave the cities , and dwell in the rock , and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth . We have heard the pride of Moab , ( he is exceeding proud ) his loftiness , and his arrogancy , and his pride , and the haughtiness of his heart . I know his wrath , saith the LORD ; but it shall not be so ; his lies shall not so effect it . Therefore will I howl for Moab , and I will cry out for all Moab ; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres . O vine of Sibmah , I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer : thy plants are gone over the sea , they reach even to the sea of Jazer : the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage . And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field , and from the land of Moab ; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses : none shall tread with shouting ; their shouting shall be no shouting . From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh , and even unto Jahaz , have they uttered their voice , from Zoar even unto Horonaim , as an heifer of three years old : for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate . Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab , saith the LORD , him that offereth in the high places , and him that burneth incense to his gods . Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes , and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres : because the riches that he hath gotten are perished . For every head shall be bald , and every beard clipped : upon all the hands shall be cuttings , and upon the loins sackcloth . There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab , and in the streets thereof : for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure , saith the LORD . They shall howl , saying , How is it broken down ! how hath Moab turned the back with shame ! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him . For thus saith the LORD ; Behold , he shall fly as an eagle , and shall spread his wings over Moab . Kerioth is taken , and the strong holds are surprised , and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs . And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people , because he hath magnified himself against the LORD . Fear , and the pit , and the snare , shall be upon thee , O inhabitant of Moab , saith the LORD . He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit ; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare : for I will bring upon it , even upon Moab , the year of their visitation , saith the LORD . They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force : but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon , and a flame from the midst of Sihon , and shall devour the corner of Moab , and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones . Woe be unto thee , O Moab ! the people of Chemosh perisheth : for thy sons are taken captives , and thy daughters captives . Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days , saith the LORD . Thus far is the judgment of Moab . Concerning the Ammonites , thus saith the LORD ; Hath Israel no sons ? hath he no heir ? why then doth their king inherit Gad , and his people dwell in his cities ? Therefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites ; and it shall be a desolate heap , and her daughters shall be burned with fire : then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs , saith the LORD . Howl , O Heshbon , for Ai is spoiled : cry , ye daughters of Rabbah , gird you with sackcloth ; lament , and run to and fro by the hedges ; for their king shall go into captivity , and his priests and his princes together . Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys , thy flowing valley , O backsliding daughter ? that trusted in her treasures , saying , Who shall come unto me ? Behold , I will bring a fear upon thee , saith the Lord GOD of hosts , from all those that be about thee ; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth ; and none shall gather up him that wandereth . And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon , saith the LORD . Concerning Edom , thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Is wisdom no more in Teman ? is counsel perished from the prudent ? is their wisdom vanished ? Flee ye , turn back , dwell deep , O inhabitants of Dedan ; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him , the time that I will visit him . If grapegatherers come to thee , would they not leave some gleaning grapes ? if thieves by night , they will destroy till they have enough . But I have made Esau bare , I have uncovered his secret places , and he shall not be able to hide himself : his seed is spoiled , and his brethren , and his neighbours , and he is not . Leave thy fatherless children , I will preserve them alive ; and let thy widows trust in me . For thus saith the LORD ; Behold , they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken ; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished ? thou shalt not go unpunished , but thou shalt surely drink of it . For I have sworn by myself , saith the LORD , that Bozrah shall become a desolation , a reproach , a waste , and a curse ; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes . I have heard a rumour from the LORD , and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen , saying , Gather ye together , and come against her , and rise up to the battle . For , lo , I will make thee small among the heathen , and despised among men . Thy terribleness hath deceived thee , and the pride of thine heart , O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock , that holdest the height of the hill : though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle , I will bring thee down from thence , saith the LORD . Also Edom shall be a desolation : every one that goeth by it shall be astonished , and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof . As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof , saith the LORD , no man shall abide there , neither shall a son of man dwell in it . Behold , he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong : but I will suddenly make him run away from her : and who is a chosen man , that I may appoint over her ? for who is like me ? and who will appoint me the time ? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me ? Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD , that he hath taken against Edom ; and his purposes , that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman : Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out : surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them . The earth is moved at the noise of their fall , at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea . Behold , he shall come up and fly as the eagle , and spread his wings over Bozrah : and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs . Concerning Damascus . Hamath is confounded , and Arpad : for they have heard evil tidings : they are fainthearted ; there is sorrow on the sea ; it cannot be quiet . Damascus is waxed feeble , and turneth herself to flee , and fear hath seized on her : anguish and sorrows have taken her , as a woman in travail . How is the city of praise not left , the city of my joy ! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets , and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day , saith the LORD of hosts . And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus , and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad . Concerning Kedar , and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor , which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite , thus saith the LORD ; Arise ye , go up to Kedar , and spoil the men of the east . Their tents and their flocks shall they take away : they shall take to themselves their curtains , and all their vessels , and their camels ; and they shall cry unto them , Fear is on every side . Flee , get you far off , dwell deep , O ye inhabitants of Hazor , saith the LORD ; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you , and hath conceived a purpose against you . Arise , get you up unto the wealthy nation , that dwelleth without care , saith the LORD , which have neither gates nor bars , which dwell alone . And their camels shall be a booty , and the multitude of their cattle a spoil : and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners ; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof , saith the LORD . And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons , and a desolation for ever : there shall no man abide there , nor any son of man dwell in it . The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah , saying , Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Behold , I will break the bow of Elam , the chief of their might . And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven , and will scatter them toward all those winds ; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come . For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies , and before them that seek their life : and I will bring evil upon them even my fierce anger , saith the LORD ; and I will send the sword after them , till I have consumed them : And I will set my throne in Elam , and will destroy from thence the king and the princes , saith the LORD . But it shall come to pass in the latter days , that I will bring again the captivity of Elam , saith the LORD . The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet . Declare ye among the nations , and publish , and set up a standard ; publish , and conceal not : say , Babylon is taken , Bel is confounded , Merodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded , her images are broken in pieces . For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her , which shall make her land desolate , and none shall dwell therein : they shall remove , they shall depart , both man and beast . In those days , and in that time , saith the LORD , the children of Israel shall come , they and the children of Judah together , going and weeping : they shall go , and seek the LORD their God . They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward , saying , Come , and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten . My people hath been lost sheep : their shepherds have caused them to go astray , they have turned them away on the mountains : they have gone from mountain to hill , they have forgotten their restingplace . All that found them have devoured them : and their adversaries said , We offend not , because they have sinned against the LORD , the habitation of justice , even the LORD , the hope of their fathers . Remove out of the midst of Babylon , and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans , and be as the he goats before the flocks . For , lo , I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her ; from thence she shall be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man ; none shall return in vain . And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her shall be satisfied , saith the LORD . Because ye were glad , because ye rejoiced , O ye destroyers of mine heritage , because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass , and bellow as bulls ; Your mother shall be sore confounded ; she that bare you shall be ashamed : behold , the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness , a dry land , and a desert . Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited , but it shall be wholly desolate : every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished , and hiss at all her plagues . Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about : all ye that bend the bow , shoot at her , spare no arrows : for she hath sinned against the LORD . Shout against her round about : she hath given her hand : her foundations are fallen , her walls are thrown down : for it is the vengeance of the LORD : take vengeance upon her ; as she hath done , do unto her . Cut off the sower from Babylon , and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest : for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people , and they shall flee every one to his own land . Israel is a scattered sheep ; the lions have driven him away : first the king of Assyria hath devoured him ; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones . Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will punish the king of Babylon and his land , as I have punished the king of Assyria . And I will bring Israel again to his habitation , and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan , and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead . In those days , and in that time , saith the LORD , the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for , and there shall be none ; and the sins of Judah , and they shall not be found : for I will pardon them whom I reserve . Go up against the land of Merathaim , even against it , and against the inhabitants of Pekod : waste and utterly destroy after them , saith the LORD , and do according to all that I have commanded thee . A sound of battle is in the land , and of great destruction . How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken ! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations ! I have laid a snare for thee , and thou art also taken , O Babylon , and thou wast not aware : thou art found , and also caught , because thou hast striven against the LORD . The LORD hath opened his armoury , and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation : for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans . Come against her from the utmost border , open her storehouses : cast her up as heaps , and destroy her utterly : let nothing of her be left . Slay all her bullocks ; let them go down to the slaughter : woe unto them ! for their day is come , the time of their visitation . The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon , to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God , the vengeance of his temple . Call together the archers against Babylon : all ye that bend the bow , camp against it round about ; let none thereof escape : recompense her according to her work ; according to all that she hath done , do unto her : for she hath been proud against the LORD , against the Holy One of Israel . Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets , and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day , saith the LORD . Behold , I am against thee , O thou most proud , saith the Lord GOD of hosts : for thy day is come , the time that I will visit thee . And the most proud shall stumble and fall , and none shall raise him up : and I will kindle a fire in his cities , and it shall devour all round about him . Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together : and all that took them captives held them fast ; they refused to let them go . Their Redeemer is strong ; the LORD of hosts is his name : he shall throughly plead their cause , that he may give rest to the land , and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon . A sword is upon the Chaldeans , saith the LORD , and upon the inhabitants of Babylon , and upon her princes , and upon her wise men . A sword is upon the liars ; and they shall dote : a sword is upon her mighty men ; and they shall be dismayed . A sword is upon their horses , and upon their chariots , and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her ; and they shall become as women : a sword is upon her treasures ; and they shall be robbed . A drought is upon her waters ; and they shall be dried up : for it is the land of graven images , and they are mad upon their idols . Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there , and the owls shall dwell therein : and it shall be no more inhabited for ever ; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation . As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof , saith the LORD ; so shall no man abide there , neither shall any son of man dwell therein . Behold , a people shall come from the north , and a great nation , and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth . They shall hold the bow and the lance : they are cruel , and will not shew mercy : their voice shall roar like the sea , and they shall ride upon horses , every one put in array , like a man to the battle , against thee , O daughter of Babylon . The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them , and his hands waxed feeble : anguish took hold of him , and pangs as of a woman in travail . Behold , he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong : but I will make them suddenly run away from her : and who is a chosen man , that I may appoint over her ? for who is like me ? and who will appoint me the time ? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me ? Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD , that he hath taken against Babylon ; and his purposes , that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans : Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out : surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them . At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved , and the cry is heard among the nations . Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will raise up against Babylon , and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me , a destroying wind ; And will send unto Babylon fanners , that shall fan her , and shall empty her land : for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about . Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow , and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine : and spare ye not her young men ; destroy ye utterly all her host . Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans , and they that are thrust through in her streets . For Israel hath not been forsaken , nor Judah of his God , of the LORD of hosts ; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel . Flee out of the midst of Babylon , and deliver every man his soul : be not cut off in her iniquity ; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance ; he will render unto her a recompence . Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand , that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunken of her wine ; therefore the nations are mad . Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed : howl for her ; take balm for her pain , if so she may be healed . We would have healed Babylon , but she is not healed : forsake her , and let us go every one into his own country : for her judgment reacheth unto heaven , and is lifted up even to the skies . The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness : come , and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God . Make bright the arrows ; gather the shields : the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes : for his device is against Babylon , to destroy it ; because it is the vengeance of the LORD , the vengeance of his temple . Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon , make the watch strong , set up the watchmen , prepare the ambushes : for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon . O thou that dwellest upon many waters , abundant in treasures , thine end is come , and the measure of thy covetousness . The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself , saying , Surely I will fill thee with men , as with caterpillers ; and they shall lift up a shout against thee . He hath made the earth by his power , he hath established the world by his wisdom , and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding . When he uttereth his voice , there is a multitude of waters in the heavens ; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth : he maketh lightnings with rain , and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures . Every man is brutish by his knowledge ; every founder is confounded by the graven image : for his molten image is falsehood , and there is no breath in them . They are vanity , the work of errors : in the time of their visitation they shall perish . The portion of Jacob is not like them ; for he is the former of all things : and Israel is the rod of his inheritance : the LORD of hosts is his name . Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war : for with thee will I break in pieces the nations , and with thee will I destroy kingdoms ; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider ; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider ; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman ; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young ; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid ; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock ; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen ; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers . And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight , saith the LORD . Behold , I am against thee , O destroying mountain , saith the LORD , which destroyest all the earth : and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee , and roll thee down from the rocks , and will make thee a burnt mountain . And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner , nor a stone for foundations ; but thou shalt be desolate for ever , saith the LORD . Set ye up a standard in the land , blow the trumpet among the nations , prepare the nations against her , call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat , Minni , and Ashchenaz ; appoint a captain against her ; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers . Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes , the captains thereof , and all the rulers thereof , and all the land of his dominion . And the land shall tremble and sorrow : for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon , to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant . The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight , they have remained in their holds : their might hath failed ; they became as women : they have burned her dwellingplaces ; her bars are broken . One post shall run to meet another , and one messenger to meet another , to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end , And that the passages are stopped , and the reeds they have burned with fire , and the men of war are affrighted . For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor , it is time to thresh her : yet a little while , and the time of her harvest shall come . Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me , he hath crushed me , he hath made me an empty vessel , he hath swallowed me up like a dragon , he hath filled his belly with my delicates , he hath cast me out . The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon , shall the inhabitant of Zion say ; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea , shall Jerusalem say . Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will plead thy cause , and take vengeance for thee ; and I will dry up her sea , and make her springs dry . And Babylon shall become heaps , a dwellingplace for dragons , an astonishment , and an hissing , without an inhabitant . They shall roar together like lions : they shall yell as lion's whelps . In their heat I will make their feasts , and I will make them drunken , that they may rejoice , and sleep a perpetual sleep , and not wake , saith the LORD . I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter , like rams with he goats . How is Sheshach taken ! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised ! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations ! The sea is come up upon Babylon : she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof . Her cities are a desolation , a dry land , and a wilderness , a land wherein no man dwelleth , neither doth any son of man pass thereby . And I will punish Bel in Babylon , and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up : and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him : yea , the wall of Babylon shall fall . My people , go ye out of the midst of her , and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD . And lest your heart faint , and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land ; a rumour shall both come one year , and after that in another year shall come a rumour , and violence in the land , ruler against ruler . Therefore , behold , the days come , that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon : and her whole land shall be confounded , and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her . Then the heaven and the earth , and all that is therein , shall sing for Babylon : for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north , saith the LORD . As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall , so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth . Ye that have escaped the sword , go away , stand not still : remember the LORD afar off , and let Jerusalem come into your mind . We are confounded , because we have heard reproach : shame hath covered our faces : for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house . Wherefore , behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will do judgment upon her graven images : and through all her land the wounded shall groan . Though Babylon should mount up to heaven , and though she should fortify the height of her strength , yet from me shall spoilers come unto her , saith the LORD . A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon , and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans : Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon , and destroyed out of her the great voice ; when her waves do roar like great waters , a noise of their voice is uttered : Because the spoiler is come upon her , even upon Babylon , and her mighty men are taken , every one of their bows is broken : for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite . And I will make drunk her princes , and her wise men , her captains , and her rulers , and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep , and not wake , saith the King , whose name is the LORD of hosts . Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken , and her high gates shall be burned with fire ; and the people shall labour in vain , and the folk in the fire , and they shall be weary . The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah , the son of Maaseiah , when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign . And this Seraiah was a quiet prince . So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon , even all these words that are written against Babylon . And Jeremiah said to Seraiah , When thou comest to Babylon , and shalt see , and shalt read all these words ; Then shalt thou say , O LORD , thou hast spoken against this place , to cut it off , that none shall remain in it , neither man nor beast , but that it shall be desolate for ever . And it shall be , when thou hast made an end of reading this book , that thou shalt bind a stone to it , and cast it into the midst of Euphrates : And thou shalt say , Thus shall Babylon sink , and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her : and they shall be weary . Thus far are the words of Jeremiah . Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign , and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem . And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah . And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD , according to all that Jehoiakim had done . For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah , till he had cast them out from his presence , that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon . And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign , in the tenth month , in the tenth day of the month , that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came , he and all his army , against Jerusalem , and pitched against it , and built forts against it round about . So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah . And in the fourth month , in the ninth day of the month , the famine was sore in the city , so that there was no bread for the people of the land . Then the city was broken up , and all the men of war fled , and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls , which was by the king's garden ; ( now the Chaldeans were by the city round about : ) and they went by the way of the plain . But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king , and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho ; and all his army was scattered from him . Then they took the king , and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath ; where he gave judgment upon him . And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes : he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah . Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah ; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains , and carried him to Babylon , and put him in prison till the day of his death . Now in the fifth month , in the tenth day of the month , which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon , came Nebuzar-adan , captain of the guard , which served the king of Babylon , into Jerusalem , And burned the house of the LORD , and the king's house ; and all the houses of Jerusalem , and all the houses of the great men , burned he with fire : And all the army of the Chaldeans , that were with the captain of the guard , brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about . Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people , and the residue of the people that remained in the city , and those that fell away , that fell to the king of Babylon , and the rest of the multitude . But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen . Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD , and the bases , and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD , the Chaldeans brake , and carried all the brass of them to Babylon . The caldrons also , and the shovels , and the snuffers , and the bowls , and the spoons , and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered , took they away . And the basons , and the firepans , and the bowls , and the caldrons , and the candlesticks , and the spoons , and the cups ; that which was of gold in gold , and that which was of silver in silver , took the captain of the guard away . The two pillars , one sea , and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases , which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD : the brass of all these vessels was without weight . And concerning the pillars , the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits ; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it ; and the thickness thereof was four fingers : it was hollow . And a chapiter of brass was upon it ; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits , with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about , all of brass . The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these . And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side ; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about . And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest , and Zephaniah the second priest , and the three keepers of the door : He took also out of the city an eunuch , which had the charge of the men of war ; and seven men of them that were near the king's person , which were found in the city ; and the principal scribe of the host , who mustered the people of the land ; and threescore men of the people of the land , that were found in the midst of the city . So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them , and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah . And the king of Babylon smote them , and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath . Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land . This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive : in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty : In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons : In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons : all the persons were four thousand and six hundred . And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah , in the twelfth month , in the five and twentieth day of the month , that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah , and brought him forth out of prison , And spake kindly unto him , and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon , And changed his prison garments : and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life . And for his diet , there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon , every day a portion until the day of his death , all the days of his life .