The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah and the fourth year of joy came the son of Josiah, king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to meet. And I have spoken to you rising early and speaking, but you have not listened, and the Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell on the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, and I will not harm you.
Yet you have not listened to me, says the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own herd. Therefore thus does the Lord of hosts. Because you have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the North, says the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of earth, 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, and this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years.
Then it will come to pass when 70 years are completed that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation that landed the caldians for their iniquity, says the Lord, and I will make it a perpetual desolation. So I will bring on that land all my words, which I pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also, and I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. But thus says the Lord God of Israel to me, take this wine cup of fury from my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it, and they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and made all the nations drink to whom the Lord had sent me. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation and astonishment, the hissing and a curse, as it is this day. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people, all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of us, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, namely Ashkelon, Gaza, Agron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon. All the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coastline which are across the sea, Dedan, Timah, Buzz, and all who are in the farthest corners.
All the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed multitude while in the desert. All the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes. All the kings of the North, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also, the king of Shoshak shall drink after them.
Therefore, you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, drink, be drunk, and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among them. And it shall be if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, you shall certainly drink. For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by my name, and should you be utterly unpunished, you shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy against them all these words and say to them, the Lord will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation.
He will roar mildly against his fold, he will give a shout as those who tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise will come to the ends of the earth, but the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He will plead his case with all flesh, he will give those who are wicked to the sword, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, disaster shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth.
And at that day the slend of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth, even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried. They shall become refused on the ground. Whale, shepherds, and cry.
Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter and your dispersion are fulfilled. You shall fall like a precious vessel, and the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a wailing of the leaders of the flock will be heard.
But the Lord has plundered their pasture, and the peaceful dwellings are cut down, because of the fierce anger of the Lord. He has left his lair like a lion, but their land is desolate, because of the fearless of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger. In the beginning of the reign of Joachim, the son of Josiah, King of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, Thus says the Lord, standing the court of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.
Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purposed to bring on them because of the evil of their doings. And you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, to heed the words of my servant, the prophets who might send to you, both rising up early and sinning them, but you have not heeded, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city accursed 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 what happened when Jeremiah had made an end to speaking all the glory commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people ceased in saying, you will surely die.
Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and the 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, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people saying, This man deserves a die, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against the city with all the words that you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that he has pronounced against you. As for me, here I am, in your hand, do with me as seems good and proper to you.
But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants. For truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing. So all the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people saying, My God of Morisheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and spoke to all the people of Judah saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare heels of the forest.
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put into death? Did He not fear the Lord and seek the Lord's favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them, but we were doing great evil against ourselves. Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Yeraija the son of Shamea of Kajath Jirim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.
And when Jehoi came the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Yeraija heard it, he was afraid and fled and went to Egypt. And Joy came the king, sent men to Egypt, El Nathan the son of Akmur, another man who went to Egypt, and brought Yeraija from Egypt and brought him to Joy came the king, who killed him with a sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless, the hand of a high king of the son of Shefhan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
In the beginning of the reign of the reign of the son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus says the Lord to me, make for yourselves bonds and yolks and put them on your net and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah, and command them to say to their masters, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus you shall say to your masters, I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to me. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and the beast of the field I have also given him to serve. So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son, until the time of his land comes, and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them, and shall be that the nation and kingdom, which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish, says the Lord, with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soussayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon.
For they prophesy lie to you, to remove you far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land, says the Lord, and they shall till it, and dwell in it. I also 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. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
And you are saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy lie to you, for I have not sent them, says the Lord, yet they prophesy lie in my name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you. Also I spoke to the priests, and to all the people, saying, thus says the Lord, do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon, for they prophesy lie to you. Do not listen to them, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be laid waste?
But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is 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 the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon. For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in the city, which Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon did not take when he carried away captive, Jack and I of the son of Jhoyi came, King of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Yes, thus says 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 Jerusalem. They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them, says the Lord, then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.