Month: December 2019

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1 TheLordspoke to me in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was also the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.

2 At that time the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking Jerusalem, and I was locked up in the courtyard of the royal palace.

3 King Zedekiah had imprisoned me there and had accused me of announcing that theLordhad said, “I am going to let the king of Babylonia capture this city,

4 and King Zedekiah will not escape. He will be handed over to the king of Babylonia; he will see him face-to-face and will speak to him in person.

5 Zedekiah will be taken to Babylonia, and he will remain there until I deal with him. Even if he fights the Babylonians, he will not be successful. I, theLord, have spoken.”

6 TheLordtold me

7 that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum’s son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself.

8 Then, just as theLordhad said, Hanamel came to me there in the courtyard and asked me to buy the field. So I knew that theLordhad really spoken to me.

9 I bought the field from Hanamel and weighed out the money to him; the price came to seventeen pieces of silver.

10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the money on scales.

11 Then I took both copies of the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the contract and its conditions, and the open copy—

12 and gave them to Baruch, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of the people who were sitting in the courtyard.

13 Before them all I said to Baruch,

14 “TheLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, has ordered you to take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy, and to place them in a clay jar, so that they may be preserved for years to come.

15 TheLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, has said that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

16 After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, I prayed,

17 “SovereignLord, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you.

18 You have shown constant love to thousands, but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are a great and powerful God; you are theLordAlmighty.

19 You make wise plans and do mighty things; you see everything that people do, and you reward them according to their actions.

20 Long ago you performed miracles and wonders in Egypt, and you have continued to perform them to this day, both in Israel and among all the other nations, so that you are now known everywhere.

21 By means of miracles and wonders that terrified our enemies, you used your power and might to bring your people Israel out of Egypt.

22 You gave them this rich and fertile land, as you had promised their ancestors.

23 But when they came into this land and took possession of it, they did not obey your commands or live according to your teaching; they did nothing that you had ordered them to do. And so you brought all this destruction on them.

24 “The Babylonians have built siege mounds around the city to capture it, and they are attacking. War, starvation, and disease will make the city fall into their hands. You can see that all you have said has come true.

25 Yet, SovereignLord, you are the one who ordered me to buy the field in the presence of witnesses, even though the city is about to be captured by the Babylonians.”

26 Then theLordsaid to me,

27 “I am theLord, the God of all people. Nothing is too difficult for me.

28 I am going to give this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army; they will capture it

29 and set it on fire. They will burn it down, together with the houses where people have made me angry by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out wine offerings to other gods.

30 From the very beginning of their history the people of Israel and the people of Judah have displeased me and made me angry by what they have done.

31 The people of this city have made me angry and furious from the day it was built. I have decided to destroy it

32 because of all the evil that has been done by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, together with their kings and leaders, their priests and prophets.

33 They turned their backs on me; and though I kept on teaching them, they would not listen and learn.

34 They even placed their disgusting idols in the Temple built for my worship, and they have defiled it.

35 They have built altars to Baal in Hinnom Valley, to sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I did not command them to do this, and it did not even enter my mind that they would do such a thing and make the people of Judah sin.”

A Promise of Hope

36 TheLord, the God of Israel, said to me, “Jeremiah, the people are saying that war, starvation, and disease will make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylonia. Now listen to what else I have to say.

37 I am going to gather the people from all the countries where I have scattered them in my anger and fury, and I am going to bring them back to this place and let them live here in safety.

38 Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

39 I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants.

40 I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

41 I will take pleasure in doing good things for them, and I will establish them permanently in this land.

42 “Just as I have brought this disaster on these people, so I am going to give them all the good things that I have promised.

43 The people are saying that this land will be like a desert where neither people nor animals live, and that it will be given over to the Babylonians. But fields will once again be bought in this land.

44 People will buy them, and the deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will take place in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, and in the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah. I will restore the people to their land. I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/32-45335ad652c654b5662dbcedb1089dc0.mp3?version_id=68—

Another Promise of Hope

1 While I was still in prison in the courtyard, theLord’s message came to me again.

2 TheLord, who made the earth, who formed it and set it in place, spoke to me. He whose name is theLordsaid,

3 “Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about.

4 I, theLord, the God of Israel, say that the houses of Jerusalem and the royal palace of Judah will be torn down as a result of the siege and the attack.

5 Some will fight against the Babylonians, who will fill the houseswith the corpses of those whom I am going to strike down in my anger and fury. I have turned away from this city because of the evil things that its people have done.

6 But I will heal this city and its people and restore them to health. I will show them abundant peace and security.

7 I will make Judah and Israel prosperous, and I will rebuild them as they were before.

8 I will purify them from the sins that they have committed against me, and I will forgive their sins and their rebellion.

9 Jerusalem will be a source of joy, honor, and pride to me; and every nation in the world will fear and tremble when they hear about the good things that I do for the people of Jerusalem and about the prosperity that I bring to the city.”

10 TheLordsaid, “People are saying that this place is like a desert, that it has no people or animals living in it. And they are right; the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are empty; no people or animals live there. But in these places you will hear again

11 the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say,

‘Give thanks to theLordAlmighty,

because he is good

and his love is eternal.’

I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, theLord, have spoken.”

12 TheLordAlmighty said, “In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep.

13 In the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, shepherds will once again count their sheep. I, theLord, have spoken.”

14 TheLordsaid, “The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise that I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

15 At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will do what is right and just throughout the land.

16 The people of Judah and of Jerusalem will be rescued and will live in safety. The city will be called ‘TheLordOur Salvation.’

17 I, theLord, promise that there will always be a descendant of David to be king of Israel

18 and that there will always be priests from the tribe of Levi to serve me and to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices.”

19 TheLordsaid to me,

20 “I have made a covenant with the day and with the night, so that they always come at their proper times; and that covenant can never be broken.

21 In the same way I have made a covenant with my servant David that he would always have a descendant to be king, and I have made a covenant with the priests from the tribe of Levi that they would always serve me; and those covenants can never be broken.

22 I will increase the number of descendants of my servant David and the number of priests from the tribe of Levi, so that it will be as impossible to count them as it is to count the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore.”

23 TheLordsaid to me,

24 “Have you noticed how people are saying that I have rejected Israel and Judah, the two families that I chose? And so they look with contempt on my people and no longer consider them a nation.

25 But I, theLord, have a covenant with day and night, and I have made the laws that control earth and sky.

26 And just as surely as I have done this, so I will maintain my covenant with Jacob’s descendants and with my servant David. I will choose one of David’s descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will be merciful to my people and make them prosperous again.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/33-f1fb1f6ea2bcff44a0a7ce8ff55cce8b.mp3?version_id=68—

A Message for Zedekiah

1 TheLordspoke to me when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army, supported by troops from all the nations and races that were subject to him, were attacking Jerusalem and its nearby towns.

2 TheLord, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to King Zedekiah of Judah, “I, theLord, will hand this city over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it down.

3 You will not escape; you will be captured and handed over to him. You will see him face-to-face and talk to him in person; then you will go to Babylonia.

4 Zedekiah, listen to what I say about you. You will not be killed in battle.

5 You will die in peace, and as people burned incense when they buried your ancestors, who were kings before you, in the same way they will burn incense for you. They will mourn over you and say, ‘Our king is dead!’ I, theLord, have spoken.”

6 Then I gave this message to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem

7 while the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking the city. The army was also attacking Lachish and Azekah, the only other fortified cities left in Judah.

Deceitful Treatment of Slaves

8 King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem had made an agreement to set free

9 their Hebrew slaves, both male and female, so that no one would have an Israelite as a slave.

10 All the people and their leaders agreed to free their slaves and never to enslave them again. They did set them free,

11 but later they changed their minds, took them back, and forced them to become slaves again.

12 Then theLord,

13 the God of Israel, told me to say to the people: “I made a covenant with your ancestors when I rescued them from Egypt and set them free from slavery. I told them that

14 every seven years they were to set free any Hebrew slave who had served them for six years. But your ancestors would not pay any attention to me or listen to what I said.

15 Just a few days ago you changed your minds and did what pleased me. All of you agreed to set all Israelites free, and you made a covenant in my presence, in the Temple where I am worshiped.

16 But then you changed your minds again and dishonored me. All of you took back the slaves whom you had set free as they desired, and you forced them into slavery again.

17 So now, I, theLord, say that you have disobeyed me; you have not given all Israelites their freedom. Very well, then, I will give you freedom: the freedom to die by war, disease, and starvation. I will make every nation in the world horrified at what I do to you.

18-19 The officials of Judah and of Jerusalem, together with the palace officials, the priests, and all the leaders, made a covenant with me by walking between the two halves of a bull that they had cut in two. But they broke the covenant and did not keep its terms. So I will do to these people what they did to the bull.

20 I will hand them over to their enemies, who want to kill them, and their corpses will be eaten by birds and wild animals.

21 I will also hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to those who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the Babylonian army, which has stopped its attack against you.

22 I will give the order, and they will return to this city. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make the towns of Judah like a desert where no one lives. I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/34-8d6c202088d50a9c8701c581b609aefa.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah and the Rechabites

1 When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, theLordsaid to me,

2 “Go to the members of the Rechabite clan and talk to them. Then bring them into one of the rooms in the Temple and offer them some wine.”

3 So I took the entire Rechabite clan—Jaazaniah (the son of another Jeremiah, who was Habazziniah’s son) and all his brothers and sons—

4 and brought them to the Temple. I took them into the room of the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah. This room was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, an important official in the Temple, and near the rooms of the other officials.

5 Then I placed cups and bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Have some wine.”

6 But they answered, “We do not drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told us that neither we nor our descendants were ever to drink any wine.

7 He also told us not to build houses or farm the land and not to plant vineyards or buy them. He commanded us always to live in tents, so that we might remain in this land where we live like strangers.

8 We have obeyed all the instructions that Jonadab gave us. We ourselves never drink wine, and neither do our wives, our sons, or our daughters.

9-10 We do not build houses for homes—we live in tents—and we own no vineyards, fields, or grain. We have fully obeyed everything that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the country, we decided to come to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Syrian armies. That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”

12-13 Then theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, “I, theLord, ask you why you refuse to listen to me and to obey my instructions.

14 Jonadab’s descendants have obeyed his command not to drink wine, and to this very day none of them drink any. But I have kept on speaking to you, and you have not obeyed me.

15 I have continued to send you all my servants the prophets, and they have told you to give up your evil ways and to do what is right. They warned you not to worship and serve other gods, so that you could go on living in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not listen to me or pay any attention to me.

16 Jonadab’s descendants have obeyed the command that their ancestor gave them, but you people have not obeyed me.

17 So now, I, theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, will bring on you people of Judah and of Jerusalem all the destruction that I promised. I will do this because you would not listen when I spoke to you, and you would not answer when I called you.”

18 Then I told the Rechabite clan that theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, had said, “You have obeyed the command that your ancestor Jonadab gave you; you have followed all his instructions, and you have done everything he commanded you.

19 So I, theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, promise that Jonadab son of Rechab will always have a male descendant to serve me.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/35-949e8dda14c7a4ac9569925ba57afc5e.mp3?version_id=68—

Baruch Reads the Scroll in the Temple

1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, theLordsaid to me,

2 “Get a scroll and write on it everything that I have told you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything that I have told you from the time I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, up to the present.

3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the destruction that I intend to bring on them, they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins.”

4 So I called Baruch son of Neriah and dictated to him everything that theLordhad said to me. And Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll.

5 Then I gave Baruch the following instructions: “I am no longer allowed to go into the Temple.

6 But I want you to go there the next time the people are fasting. You are to read the scroll aloud, so that they will hear everything that theLordhas said to me and that I have dictated to you. Do this where everyone can hear you, including the people of Judah who have come in from their towns.

7 Perhaps they will pray to theLordand turn from their evil ways, because theLordhas threatened this people with his terrible anger and fury.”

8 So Baruch read theLord’s words in the Temple exactly as I had told him to do.

9 In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, the people fasted to gain theLord’s favor. The fast was kept by all who lived in Jerusalem and by all who came there from the towns of Judah.

10 Then, while all the people were listening, Baruch read from the scroll everything that I had said. He did this in the Temple, from the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, the court secretary. His room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.

The Scroll Is Read to the Officials

11 Micaiah, the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll what theLordhad said.

12 Then he went to the royal palace, to the room of the court secretary, where all the officials were in session. Elishama, the court secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there.

13 Micaiah told them everything that he had heard Baruch read to the people.

14 Then the officials sent Jehudi (the son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah, and great-grandson of Cushi) to tell Baruch to bring the scroll that he had read to the people. Baruch brought them the scroll.

15 “Sit down,” they said, “and read the scroll to us.” So Baruch did.

16 After he had read it, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We must report this to the king.”

17 Then they asked him, “Tell us, now, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?”

18 Baruch answered, “Jeremiah dictated every word of it to me, and I wrote it down in ink on this scroll.”

19 Then they told him, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

The King Burns the Scroll

20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the court secretary, and went to the king’s court, where they reported everything to the king.

21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He took it from the room of Elishama and read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him.

22 It was winter and the king was sitting in his winter palace in front of the fire.

23 As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up.

24 But neither the king nor any of his officials who heard all this was afraid or showed any sign of sorrow.

25 Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he paid no attention to them.

26 Then he ordered Prince Jerahmeel, together with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest me and my secretary Baruch. But theLordhad hidden us.

Jeremiah Writes Another Scroll

27 After King Jehoiakim had burned the scroll that I had dictated to Baruch, theLordtold me

28 to take another scroll and write on it everything that had been on the first one.

29 TheLordtold me to say to the king, “You have burned the scroll, and you have asked Jeremiah why he wrote that the king of Babylonia would come and destroy this land and kill its people and its animals.

30 So now, I, theLord, say to you, King Jehoiakim, that no descendant of yours will ever rule over David’s kingdom. Your corpse will be thrown out where it will be exposed to the sun during the day and to the frost at night.

31 I will punish you, your descendants, and your officials because of the sins all of you commit. Neither you nor the people of Jerusalem and of Judah have paid any attention to my warnings, and so I will bring on all of you the disaster that I have threatened.”

32 Then I took another scroll and gave it to my secretary Baruch, and he wrote down everything that I dictated. He wrote everything that had been on the first scroll and similar messages that I dictated to him.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/36-7c92b860178a47ed743d962b38357800.mp3?version_id=68—

Zedekiah’s Request to Jeremiah

1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia made Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah in the place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.

2 But neither Zedekiah nor his officials nor the people obeyed the message which theLordhad given me.

3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to ask me to pray to theLordour God on behalf of our nation.

4 I had not yet been put in prison and was still moving about freely among the people.

5 The Babylonian army had been besieging Jerusalem, but when they heard that the Egyptian army had crossed the Egyptian border, they retreated.

6 Then theLord, the God of Israel, told me

7 to say to Zedekiah, “The Egyptian army is on its way to help you, but it will return home.

8 Then the Babylonians will come back, attack the city, capture it, and burn it down.

9 I, theLord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians will not come back, because they will.

10 Even if you defeat the whole Babylonian army, so that only wounded men are left, lying in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city to the ground.”

Jeremiah Is Arrested and Imprisoned

11 The Babylonian army retreated from Jerusalem because the Egyptian army was approaching.

12 So I started to leave Jerusalem and go to the territory of Benjamin to take possession of my share of the family property.

13 But when I reached the Benjamin Gate, the officer in charge of the soldiers on duty there, a man by the name of Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah, stopped me and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”

14 I answered, “That’s not so! I’m not deserting.” But Irijah would not listen to me. Instead, he arrested me and took me to the officials.

15 They were furious with me and had me beaten and locked up in the house of Jonathan, the court secretary, whose house had been made into a prison.

16 I was put in an underground cell and kept there a long time.

17 Later on King Zedekiah sent for me, and there in the palace he asked me privately, “Is there any message from theLord?”

“There is,” I answered, and added, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylonia.”

18 Then I asked, “What crime have I committed against you or your officials or this people, to make you put me in prison?

19 What happened to your prophets who told you that the king of Babylonia would not attack you or the country?

20 And now, Your Majesty, I beg you to listen to me and do what I ask. Please do not send me back to the prison in Jonathan’s house. If you do, I will surely die there.”

21 So King Zedekiah ordered me to be locked up in the palace courtyard. I stayed there, and each day I was given a loaf of bread from the bakeries until all the bread in the city was gone.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/37-7958f2e0bfe9b6ca126bf10fea919a62.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah in a Dry Well

1 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard that I was telling the people that

2 theLordhad said, “Whoever stays on in the city will die in war or of starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will not be killed; they will at least escape with their life.”

3 I was also telling them that theLordhad said, “I am going to give the city to the Babylonian army, and they will capture it.”

4 Then the officials went to the king and said, “This man must be put to death. By talking like this he is making the soldiers in the city lose their courage, and he is doing the same thing to everyone else left in the city. He is not trying to help the people; he only wants to hurt them.”

5 King Zedekiah answered, “Very well, then, do what you want to with him; I can’t stop you.”

6 So they took me and let me down by ropes into Prince Malchiah’s well, which was in the palace courtyard. There was no water in the well, only mud, and I sank down in it.

7 However, Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,a eunuch who worked in the royal palace, heard that they had put me in the well. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate.

8 So Ebedmelech went there and said to the king,

9 “Your Majesty, what these men have done is wrong. They have put Jeremiah in the well, where he is sure to die of starvation, since there is no more food in the city.”

10 Then the king ordered Ebedmelech to take with him three men and to pull me out of the well before I died.

11 So Ebedmelech went with the men to the palace storeroom and got some worn-out clothing which he let down to me by ropes.

12 He told me to put the rags under my arms, so that the ropes wouldn’t hurt me. I did this,

13 and they pulled me up out of the well. After that I was kept in the courtyard.

Zedekiah Asks Jeremiah’s Advice

14 On another occasion King Zedekiah had me brought to him at the third entrance to the Temple, and he said, “I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the whole truth.”

15 I answered, “If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you won’t pay any attention.”

16 So King Zedekiah promised me in secret, “I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you.”

17 Then I told Zedekiah that theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, had said, “If you surrender to the king of Babylonia’s officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared.

18 But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will burn it down, and you will not escape from them.”

19 But the king answered, “I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured.”

20 I said, “You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey theLord’s message; then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared.

21 But theLordhas shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender.

22 In it I saw all the women left in Judah’s royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia’s officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went:

‘The king’s best friends misled him,

they overruled him.

And now that his feet have sunk in the mud,

his friends have left him.’”

23 Then I added, “All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians, and you yourself will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia, and this city will be burned to the ground.”

24 Zedekiah replied, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger.

25 If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything.

26 Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there.”

27 Then all the officials came and questioned me, and I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation.

28 And I was kept in the palace courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/38-97f788777c7ff358e14093ad86df746c.mp3?version_id=68—

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 In the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came with his whole army and attacked Jerusalem.

2 On the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king, the city walls were broken through.

(

3 When Jerusalem was captured,all the high officials of the king of Babylonia came and took their places at the Middle Gate, including Nergal Sharezer, Samgar Nebo, Sarsechim, and another Nergal Sharezer.)

4 When King Zedekiah and all his soldiers saw what was happening, they tried to escape from the city during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and escaped in the direction of the Jordan Valley.

5 But the Babylonian army pursued them and captured Zedekiah in the plains near Jericho. Then they took him to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah in the territory of Hamath, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him.

6 At Riblah he put Zedekiah’s sons to death while Zedekiah was looking on, and he also had the officials of Judah executed.

7 After that, he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him placed in chains to be taken to Babylonia.

8 Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

9 Finally Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners to Babylonia the people who were left in the city, together with those who had deserted to him.

10 He left in the land of Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and he gave them vineyards and fields.

Jeremiah’s Release

11 But King Nebuchadnezzar commanded Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, to give the following order:

12 “Go and find Jeremiah and take good care of him. Do not harm him, but do for him whatever he wants.”

13 So Nebuzaradan, together with the high officials Nebushazban and Nergal Sharezer and all the other officers of the king of Babylonia,

14 had me brought from the palace courtyard. They put me under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who was to see that I got home safely. And so I stayed there among the people.

Hope for Ebedmelech

15 While I was still imprisoned in the palace courtyard, theLordtold me

16 to tell Ebedmelech the Ethiopianthat theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, had said, “Just as I said I would, I am going to bring upon this city destruction and not prosperity. And when this happens, you will be there to see it.

17 But I, theLord, will protect you, and you will not be handed over to the people you are afraid of.

18 I will keep you safe, and you will not be put to death. You will escape with your life because you have put your trust in me. I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/39-f2f163b64f968645edecf17c42f2977b.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah Stays with Gedaliah

1 TheLordspoke to me after Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, had set me free at Ramah. I had been taken there in chains, along with all the other people from Jerusalem and Judah who were being taken away as prisoners to Babylonia.

2 The commanding officer took me aside and said, “TheLordyour God threatened this land with destruction,

3 and now he has done what he said he would. All this happened because your people sinned against theLordand disobeyed him.

4 Now, I am taking the chains off your wrists and setting you free. If you want to go to Babylonia with me, you may do so, and I will take care of you. But if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You have the whole country to choose from, and you may go wherever you wish.”

5 When I did not answer,Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylonia has made governor of the towns of Judah. You may stay with him and live among the people, or you may go anywhere you think you should.” Then he gave me a present and some food to take with me, and let me go on my way.

6 I went to stay with Gedaliah in Mizpah and lived among the people who were left in the land.

Gedaliah, Governor of Judah

7 Some of the Judean officers and soldiers had not surrendered. They heard that the king of Babylonia had made Gedaliah governor of the land and had placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia—the poorest people in the land.

8 So Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah from Maacah went with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

9 Gedaliah said to them, “I give you my word that there is no need for you to be afraid to surrender to the Babylonians. Settle in this land, serve the king of Babylonia, and all will go well with you.

10 I myself will stay in Mizpah and be your representative when the Babylonians come here. But you can gather and store up wine, fruit, and olive oil, and live in the villages you occupy.”

11 Meanwhile, all the Israelites who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries, heard that the king of Babylonia had allowed some Israelites to stay on in Judah and that he had made Gedaliah their governor.

12 So they left the places where they had been scattered, and returned to Judah. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and there they gathered in large amounts of wine and fruit.

Gedaliah Is Murdered

13 After this, Johanan and the leaders of the soldiers who had not surrendered came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said to him, “Don’t you know that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael to murder you?” But Gedaliah did not believe it.

15 Then Johanan said privately to him, “Let me go and kill Ishmael, and no one will know who did it. Why should he be allowed to murder you? That would cause all the Jews who have gathered around you to be scattered, and it would bring disaster on all the people who are left in Judah.”

16 But Gedaliah answered, “Don’t do it! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/40-1f95fa5074fe6d3ac17da487fd9e599a.mp3?version_id=68—

1 In the seventh month of that year, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, went to Mizpah with ten men to see Governor Gedaliah. While they were all eating a meal together,

2 Ishmael and the ten men with him pulled out their swords and killed Gedaliah.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Israelites who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Babylonian soldiers who happened to be there.

4 The next day, before anyone knew about Gedaliah’s murder,

5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves. They were taking grain and incense to offer in the Temple.

6 So Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he came to them, he said, “Please come in to see Gedaliah.”

7 As soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael and his men killed them and threw their bodies in a well.

8 But there were ten men in the group who said to Ishmael, “Please don’t kill us! We have wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he spared them.

9 The well into which Ishmael threw the bodies of the men he had killed was the large onethat King Asa had dug when he was being attacked by King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael filled the well with the bodies.

10 Then he made prisoners of the king’s daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the commanding officer had placed under the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael took them prisoner and started off in the direction of the territory of Ammon.

11 Johanan and all the army leaders with him heard of the crime that Ishmael had committed.

12 So they went after him with their men and overtook him near the large pool at Gibeon.

13 When Ishmael’s prisoners saw Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him, they were glad,

14 and turned and ran to them.

15 But Ishmael and eight of his men got away from Johanan and escaped to the land of Ammon.

16 Then Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him took charge of the people whom Ishmael had taken away as prisoners from Mizpah after murdering Gedaliah—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs.

17-18 They were afraid of the Babylonians because Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylonia had made governor of the land. So they set out for Egypt, in order to get away from the Babylonians. On the way they stopped at Chimham near Bethlehem.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/41-4666e64ac1415b95da7e2ae3847423bf.mp3?version_id=68—