Jeremiah 31-40
Jeremiah 21-30 New Testament Old Testament Jeremiah 41-50
Jeremiah 31
1 ¶At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of
Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall
plant, and shall eat them as common things.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 ¶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.
11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that
was stronger than he.
12 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.
13 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.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall
be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
15 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.
16 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.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come
again to their own border.
18 ¶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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
23 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.
24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof
together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful
soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
27 ¶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.
28 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.
29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour
grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31 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:
32 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:
33 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.
34 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.
35 ¶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:
36 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.
37 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.
38 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.
39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb,
and shall compass about to Goath.
40 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.
Jeremiah 32
1 ¶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.
2 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.
3 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;
4 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;
5 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.
6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed
him the money in the balances.
11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according
to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12 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.
13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 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.
15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and
vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
16 ¶Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of
Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,
17 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:
18 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,
19 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:
20 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;
21 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;
22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to
give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 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:
24 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.
25 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.
26 ¶Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for
me?
28 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:
29 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.
30 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.
31 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,
32 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.
33 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.
34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to
defile it.
35 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.
36 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;
37 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:
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 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:
40 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.
41 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.
42 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.
43 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.
44 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.
Jeremiah 33
1 ¶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,
2 Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish
it; the LORD is his name;
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not.
4 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;
5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to 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.
6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal
unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return,
and will build them, as at the first.
8 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.
9 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.
10 ¶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,
11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.
17 ¶For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne
of the house of Israel;
18 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.
19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
20 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;
21 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.
22 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.
23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 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.
25 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;
26 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.
Jeremiah 34
1 ¶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,
2 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:
3 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.
4 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:
5 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.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in
Jerusalem,
7 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.
8 ¶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;
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
13 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,
14 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.
15 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:
16 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.
17 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.
18 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,
19 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;
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
Jeremiah 35
1 ¶The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
2 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.
3 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;
4 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:
5 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.
6 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:
7 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.
8 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;
9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field,
nor seed:
10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that
Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 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.
12 ¶Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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:
17 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.
18 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:
19 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.
Jeremiah 36
1 ¶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,
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the
house of the LORD:
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 ¶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.
10 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.
11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the
book all the words of the LORD,
12 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.
13 Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch
read the book in the ears of the people.
14 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.
15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read
it in their ears.
16 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.
17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these
words at his mouth?
18 Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his
mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let
no man know where ye be.
20 ¶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.
21 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.
22 Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire
on the hearth burning before him.
23 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.
24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any
of his servants that heard all these words.
25 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.
26 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.
27 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,
28 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.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim 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?
30 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.
31 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.
32 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.
Jeremiah 37
1 ¶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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him
into prison.
5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that
besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of
Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is
come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it,
and burn it with fire.
9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall
surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
10 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.
11 ¶And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from
Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to
separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah
had remained there many days;
17 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.
18 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?
19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of
Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
20 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.
21 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.
Jeremiah 38
1 ¶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,
2 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.
3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king
of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
4 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.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not
he that can do any thing against you.
6 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.
7 Now when Ebedmelech 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;
8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 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.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence
thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon,
before he die.
11 So Ebedmelech 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.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast
clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did
so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and
Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
14 ¶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.
15 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?
16 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.
17 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:
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed
me:
22 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.
23 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.
24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou
shalt not die.
25 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:
26 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.
27 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.
28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was
taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Jeremiah 39
1 ¶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
besieged it.
2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of
the month, the city was broken up.
3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle
gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer,
Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him
to Babylon.
8 And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with
fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.
9 Then Nebuzaradan 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.
10 But Nebuzaradan 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.
11 ¶Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as
he shall say unto thee.
13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and
Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon's princes;
14 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.
15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the
court of the prison, saying,
16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech 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.
17 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.
18 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.
Jeremiah 40
1 ¶The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzaradan 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.
2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy
God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with
him among the people that were left in the land.
7 ¶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;
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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;
12 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.
13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that
were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
14 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.
15 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?
16 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.