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Jer. 25–27
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25

1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (this was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, Yahweh’s word has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened.

4Yahweh has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear), 5saying, “Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forever more. 6Don’t go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don’t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; then I will do you no harm.”

7“Yet you have not listened to me,” says Yahweh, “that you may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.”

8Therefore Yahweh of Armies says: “Because you have not heard my words, 9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says Yahweh, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around. I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10Moreover 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 lamp. 11This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever. 13I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings will make bondservants of them, even of them. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.”

15For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16They will drink, and reel back and forth, and be insane, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

17Then I took the cup at Yahweh’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom Yahweh had sent me: 18Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, with its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is today; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, with his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon; 22and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have the corners of their beard cut off; 24and all the kings of Arabia, all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness; 25and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth. The king of Sheshach will drink after them.

27“You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”’ 28It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “You shall surely drink. 29For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You will not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says Yahweh of Armies.”’

30“Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and tell them,

“‘Yahweh will roar from on high,

and utter his voice from his holy habitation.

He will mightily roar against his fold.

He will give a shout, as those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31A noise will come even to the end of the earth;

for Yahweh has a controversy with the nations.

He will enter into judgment with all flesh.

As for the wicked, he will give them to the sword,”’ says Yahweh.”

32Yahweh of Armies says,

“Behold, evil will go out from nation to nation,

and a great storm will be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.”

33The slain of Yahweh will be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They won’t be lamented. They won’t be gathered or buried. They will be dung on the surface of the ground.

34Wail, you shepherds, and cry.

Wallow in dust, you leader of the flock;

for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have fully come,

and you will fall like fine pottery.

35The shepherds will have no way to flee.

The leader of the flock will have no escape.

36A voice of the cry of the shepherds,

and the wailing of the leader of the flock,

for Yahweh destroys their pasture.

37The peaceful folds are brought to silence

because of the fierce anger of Yahweh.

38He has left his covert, as the lion;

for their land has become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppression,

and because of his fierce anger.

26

1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh: 2“Yahweh says: ‘Stand in the court of Yahweh’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in Yahweh’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Don’t omit a word. 3It may be they will listen, and every man turn from his evil way, that I may relent from the evil which I intend to do to them because of the evil of their doings.’” 4You shall tell them, “Yahweh says: ‘If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, 5to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them—but you have not listened— 6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”

7The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in Yahweh’s house. 8When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You shall surely die! 9Why have you prophesied in Yahweh’s name, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate, without inhabitant?’” All the people were crowded around Jeremiah in Yahweh’s house.

10When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to Yahweh’s house; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house. 11Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, “Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey Yahweh your God’s voice; then Yahweh will relent from the evil that he has pronounced against you. 14But as for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes. 15Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for in truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

16Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: “This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.”

17Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18“Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says:

“‘Zion will be plowed as a field,

and Jerusalem will become heaps,

and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’

19Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!”

20There was also a man who prophesied in Yahweh’s name, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21When 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 Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt. 22Then Jehoiakim the king sent Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him into Egypt. 23They fetched Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

24But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they didn’t give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

27

1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2Yahweh says to me: “Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck. 3Then send them to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the children of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Give them a command to their masters, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “You shall tell your masters: 5‘I have made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm. I give it to whom it seems right to me. 6Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. I have also given the animals of the field to him to serve him. 7All the nations will serve him, his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their bondservant.

8“‘“‘It will happen that I will punish the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,’ says Yahweh, ‘with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9But as for you, don’t listen to your prophets, to your diviners, to your dreams, to your soothsayers, or to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon;” 10for they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, so that I would drive you out, and you would perish. 11But the nation that brings their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, that nation I will let remain in their own land,’ says Yahweh; ‘and they will till it and dwell in it.’”’”

12I spoke 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. 13Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon;’ for they prophesy a lie to you. 15For I have not sent them,” says Yahweh, “but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

16Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Yahweh says, “Don’t listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of Yahweh’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon;’ for they prophesy a lie to you. 17Don’t listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city become a desolation? 18But if they are prophets, and if Yahweh’s word is with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Armies, that the vessels which are left in Yahweh’s house, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don’t go to Babylon. 19For Yahweh of Armies says concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the bases, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21yes, Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in Yahweh’s house, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: 22‘They will be carried to Babylon, and there they will be, until the day that I visit them,’ says Yahweh; ‘then I will bring them up, and restore them to this place.’”

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