Category: Jeremiah

[25:1] In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, I received a message from the Lord concerning all the people of Judah. (This was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia.)

[25:2] I said to all the people of Judah and of Jerusalem,

[25:3] “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah until this very day, the Lord has spoken to me, and I have never failed to tell you what he said. But you have paid no attention.

[25:4] You would not listen or pay attention, even though the Lord has continued to send you his servants the prophets.

[25:5] They told you to turn from your wicked way of life and from the evil things you are doing, so that you could go on living in the land that the Lord gave you and your ancestors as a permanent possession.

[25:6] They told you not to worship and serve other gods and not to make the Lord angry by worshiping the idols you had made. If you had obeyed the Lord, then he would not have punished you.

[25:7] But the Lord himself says that you refused to listen to him. Instead, you made him angry with your idols and have brought his punishment on yourselves.

[25:8] “So then, because you would not listen to him, the Lord Almighty says,

[25:9] ‘I am going to send for all the peoples from the north and for my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. I am going to bring them to fight against Judah and its inhabitants and against all the neighboring nations. I am going to destroy this nation and its neighbors and leave them in ruins forever, a terrible and shocking sight. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[25:10] I will silence their shouts of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. They will have no oil for their lamps, and there will be no more grain.

[25:11] This whole land will be left in ruins and will be a shocking sight, and the neighboring nations will serve the king of Babylonia for seventy years.

[25:12] After that I will punish Babylonia and its king for their sin. I will destroy that country and leave it in ruins forever.

[25:13] I will punish Babylonia with all the disasters that I threatened to bring on the nations when I spoke through Jeremiah—all the disasters recorded in this book.

[25:14] I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done, and many nations and great kings will make slaves of them.’”

[25:15] The Lord, the God of Israel, said to me, “Here is a wine cup filled with my anger. Take it to all the nations to whom I send you, and make them drink from it.

[25:16] When they drink from it, they will stagger and go out of their minds because of the war I am sending against them.”

[25:17] So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord had sent me, and made them drink from it.

[25:18] Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah, together with its kings and leaders, were made to drink from it, so that they would become a desert, a terrible and shocking sight, and so that people would use their name as a curse—as they still do. the king of Egypt, his officials and leaders; all the Egyptians and all the foreigners in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; all the people of Edom, Moab, and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; all the kings of the Mediterranean lands; the cities of Dedan, Tema, and Buz; all the people who cut their hair short; all the kings of Arabia; all the kings of the desert tribes; all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another. Every nation on the face of the earth had to drink from it. Last of all, the king of Babylonia will drink from it.

[25:27] Then the Lord said to me, “Tell the people that I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, am commanding them to drink until they are drunk and vomit, until they fall down and cannot get up, because of the war that I am sending against them.

[25:28] And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink from it, then tell them that the Lord Almighty has said that they will still have to drink from it.

[25:29] I will begin my work of destruction in my own city. Do they think they will go unpunished? No, they will be punished, for I am going to send war on all the people on earth. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.

[25:30] “You, Jeremiah, must proclaim everything I have said. You must tell these people, ‘The Lord will roar from heaven and thunder from the heights of heaven. He will roar against his people; he will shout like a man treading grapes. Everyone on earth will hear him,

[25:31] and the sound will echo to the ends of the earth. The Lord has a case against the nations. He will bring all people to trial and put the wicked to death. The Lord has spoken.’”

[25:32] The Lord Almighty says that disaster is coming on one nation after another, and a great storm is gathering at the far ends of the earth.

[25:33] On that day the bodies of those whom the Lord has killed will lie scattered from one end of the earth to the other. No one will mourn for them, and they will not be taken away and buried. They will lie on the ground like piles of manure.

[25:34] Cry, you leaders, you shepherds of my people, cry out loud! Mourn and roll in the dust. The time has come for you to be slaughtered, and you will be butchered like rams.

[25:35] There will be no way for you to escape.

[25:38] The Lord has abandoned his people like a lion that leaves its cave. The horrors of war and the Lord's fierce anger have turned the country into a desert.

[26:1] Soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became king of Judah,

[26:2] the Lord said to me, “Stand in the court of the Temple and proclaim all I have commanded you to say to the people who come from the towns of Judah to worship there. Do not leave out anything.

[26:3] Perhaps the people will listen and give up their evil ways. If they do, then I will change my mind about the destruction I plan to bring on them for all their wicked deeds.”

[26:4] The Lord told me to say to the people, “I, the Lord, have said that you must obey me by following the teaching that I gave you,

[26:5] and by paying attention to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I have kept on sending to you. You have never obeyed what they said.

[26:6] If you continue to disobey, then I will do to this Temple what I did to Shiloh, and all the nations of the world will use the name of this city as a curse.”

[26:7] The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard me saying these things in the Temple,

[26:8] and as soon as I had finished all that the Lord had commanded me to speak, they grabbed me and shouted, “You ought to be killed for this!

[26:9] Why have you said in the Lord's name that this Temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will be destroyed and no one will live in it?” Then the people crowded around me.

[26:10] When the leaders of Judah heard what had happened, they hurried from the royal palace to the Temple and took their places at the New Gate.

[26:11] Then the priests and the prophets said to the leaders and to the people, “This man deserves to be sentenced to death because he has spoken against our city. You heard him with your own ears.”

[26:12] Then I said, “The Lord sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this Temple and against this city.

[26:13] You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and must obey the Lord your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.

[26:14] As for me, I am in your power! Do with me whatever you think is fair and right.

[26:15] But be sure of this: if you kill me, you and the people of this city will be guilty of killing an innocent man, because it is the Lord who sent me to give you this warning.”

[26:16] Then the leaders and the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man spoke to us in the name of the Lord our God; he should not be put to death.”

[26:17] After that, some of the elders stood up and said to the people who had gathered,

[26:18] “When Hezekiah was king of Judah, the prophet Micah of Moresheth told all the people that the Lord Almighty had said, ‘Zion will be plowed like a field; Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.’

[26:19] King Hezekiah and the people of Judah did not put Micah to death. Instead, Hezekiah honored the Lord and tried to win his favor. And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he said he would bring on them. Now we are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves.” (

[26:20] There was another man, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim, who spoke in the name of the Lord against this city and nation just as Jeremiah did.

[26:21] When King Jehoiakim and his soldiers and officials heard what Uriah had said, the king tried to have him killed. But Uriah heard about it; so he fled in terror and escaped to Egypt.

[26:22] King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Achbor and some other men to Egypt to get Uriah.

[26:23] They brought him back to King Jehoiakim, who had him killed and his body thrown into the public burial ground.)

[26:24] But because I had the support of Ahikam son of Shaphan, I was not handed over to the people and killed.

[27:1] Soon after Josiah's son Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord told me

[27:2] to make myself a yoke out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and to put it on my neck.

[27:3] Then the Lord told me to send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who had come to Jerusalem to see King Zedekiah.

[27:4] The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, told me to command them to tell their kings that the Lord had said:

[27:5] “By my great power and strength I created the world, human beings, and all the animals that live on the earth; and I give it to anyone I choose.

[27:6] I am the one who has placed all these nations under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and I have made even the wild animals serve him.

[27:7] All nations will serve him, and they will serve his son and his grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then his nation will serve powerful nations and great kings.

[27:8] “But if any nation or kingdom will not submit to his rule, then I will punish that nation by war, starvation, and disease until I have let Nebuchadnezzar destroy it completely.

[27:9] Do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim they can predict the future, either by dreams or by calling up the spirits of the dead or by magic. They all tell you not to submit to the king of Babylonia.

[27:10] They are deceiving you and will cause you to be taken far away from your country. I will drive you out, and you will be destroyed.

[27:11] But if any nation submits to the king of Babylonia and serves him, then I will let it stay on in its own land, to farm it and live there. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[27:12] I said the same thing to King Zedekiah of Judah, “Submit to the king of Babylonia. Serve him and his people, and you will live.

[27:13] Why should you and your people die in war or of starvation or disease? That is what the Lord has said will happen to any nation that does not submit to the king of Babylonia.

[27:14] Do not listen to the prophets who tell you not to surrender to him. They are deceiving you.

[27:15] The Lord himself has said that he did not send them and that they are lying to you in his name. And so he will drive you out, and you will be killed, you and the prophets who are telling you these lies.”

[27:16] Then I told the priests and the people that the Lord had said: “Do not listen to the prophets who say that the Temple treasures will soon be brought back from Babylonia. They are lying to you.

[27:17] Don't listen to them! Submit to the king of Babylonia and you will live! Why should this city become a pile of ruins?

[27:18] If they are really prophets and if they have my message, let them ask me, the Lord Almighty, not to allow the treasures that remain in the Temple and in the royal palace to be taken to Babylonia.” (

[27:21] “Listen to what I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, say about the treasures that are left in the Temple and in the royal palace in Jerusalem:

[27:22] They will be taken to Babylonia and will remain there until I turn my attention to them. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[28:1] That same year, in the fifth month of the fourth year that Zedekiah was king, Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple. In the presence of the priests and of the people he told me

[28:2] that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said: “I have broken the power of the king of Babylonia.

[28:3] Within two years I will bring back to this place all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia.

[28:4] I will also bring back the king of Judah, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, along with all of the people of Judah who went into exile in Babylonia. Yes, I will break the power of the king of Babylonia. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[28:5] Then in the presence of the priests and of all the people who were standing in the Temple, I said to Hananiah,

[28:6] “Wonderful! I hope the Lord will do this! I certainly hope he will make your prophecy come true and will bring back from Babylonia all the Temple treasures and all the people who were taken away as prisoners.

[28:7] But listen to what I say to you and to the people.

[28:8] The prophets who spoke long ago, before my time and yours, predicted that war, starvation, and disease would come to many nations and powerful kingdoms.

[28:9] But a prophet who predicts peace can only be recognized as a prophet whom the Lord has truly sent when that prophet's predictions come true.”

[28:10] Then Hananiah took the yoke off my neck, broke it in pieces,

[28:11] and said in the presence of all the people, “The Lord has said that this is how he will break the yoke that King Nebuchadnezzar has put on the neck of all the nations; and he will do this within two years.” Then I left.

[28:12] Some time after this the Lord told me

[28:13] to go and tell Hananiah: “The Lord has said that you may be able to break a wooden yoke, but he will replace it with an iron yoke.

[28:14] The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that he will put an iron yoke on all these nations and that they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. The Lord has said that he will make even the wild animals serve Nebuchadnezzar.”

[28:15] Then I told Hananiah this, and added, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you are making these people believe a lie.

[28:16] And so the Lord himself says that he is going to get rid of you. Before this year is over you will die because you have told the people to rebel against the Lord.”

[28:17] And Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year.

[29:1] I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders of the people, and to all the others whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia.

[29:2] I wrote it after King Jehoiachin, his mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and of Jerusalem, the engravers, and the skilled workers had been taken into exile.

[29:3] I gave the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. It said:

[29:4] “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those people whom he allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia:

[29:5] ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them.

[29:6] Marry and have children. Then let your children get married, so that they also may have children. You must increase in numbers and not decrease.

[29:7] Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because if they are prosperous, you will be prosperous too.

[29:8] I, the Lord, the God of Israel, warn you not to let yourselves be deceived by the prophets who live among you or by any others who claim they can predict the future. Do not pay any attention to their dreams.

[29:9] They are telling you lies in my name. I did not send them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.’

[29:10] “The Lord says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home.

[29:11] I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.

[29:12] Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.

[29:13] You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.

[29:14] Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken.’

[29:15] “You say that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylonia.

[29:16] Listen to what the Lord says about the king who rules the kingdom that David ruled and about the people of this city, that is, your relatives who were not taken away as prisoners with you.

[29:17] The Lord Almighty says, ‘I am bringing war, starvation, and disease on them, and I will make them like figs that are too rotten to be eaten.

[29:18] I will pursue them with war, starvation, and disease, and all the nations of the world will be horrified at what they see. Everywhere I scatter them, people will be shocked and terrified at what has happened to them. People will make fun of them and use their name as a curse.

[29:19] This will happen to them because they did not obey the message that I kept on sending to them through my servants the prophets. They refused to listen.

[29:20] All of you whom I sent into exile in Babylonia, listen to what I, the Lord, say.’

[29:21] “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has spoken about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are telling you lies in his name. He has said that he will hand them over to the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who will put them to death before your eyes.

[29:22] When the people who were taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia want to bring a curse on someone, they will say, ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylonia roasted alive!’

[29:23] This will be their fate because they are guilty of terrible sins—they have committed adultery and have told lies in the Lord's name. This was against the Lord's will; he knows what they have done, and he is a witness against them. The Lord has spoken.”

[29:26] “The Lord made you a priest in place of Jehoiada, and you are now the chief officer in the Temple. It is your duty to see that every crazy person who pretends to be a prophet is placed in chains with an iron collar around the neck.

[29:27] Why haven't you done this to Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has been speaking as a prophet to the people?

[29:28] He must be stopped because he told the people in Babylonia that they would be prisoners there a long time and should build houses, settle down, plant gardens, and eat what they grow.”

[29:29] Zephaniah read the letter to me,

[29:30] and then the Lord told me

[30:1] The Lord, the God of Israel,

[30:2] said to me, “Write down in a book everything that I have told you,

[30:3] because the time is coming when I will restore my people, Israel and Judah. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[30:4] The Lord says to the people of Israel and Judah,

[30:5] “I heard a cry of terror, a cry of fear and not of peace.

[30:6] Now stop and think! Can a man give birth to a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why is everyone so pale?

[30:7] A terrible day is coming; no other day can compare with it— a time of distress for my people, but they will survive.”

[30:8] The Lord Almighty says, “When that day comes, I will break the yoke that is around their neck and remove their chains, and they will no longer be the slaves of foreigners.

[30:9] Instead, they will serve me, the Lord their God, and a descendant of David, whom I will enthrone as king.

[30:10] “My people, do not be afraid; people of Israel, do not be terrified. I will rescue you from that faraway land, from the land where you are prisoners. You will come back home and live in peace; you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.

[30:11] I will come to you and save you. I will destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not destroy you. I will not let you go unpunished; but when I punish you, I will be fair. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[30:12] The Lord says to his people, “Your wounds are incurable, your injuries cannot be healed.

[30:13] There is no one to take care of you, no remedy for your sores, no hope of healing for you.

[30:14] All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer care about you. I have attacked you like an enemy; your punishment has been harsh because your sins are many and your wickedness is great.

[30:15] Complain no more about your injuries; there is no cure for you. I punished you like this because your sins are many and your wickedness is great.

[30:16] But now, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your enemies will be taken away as prisoners. All who oppress you will be oppressed, and all who plunder you will be plundered.

[30:17] I will make you well again; I will heal your wounds, though your enemies say, ‘Zion is an outcast; no one cares about her.’ I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[30:18] The Lord says, “I will restore my people to their land and have mercy on every family; Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and its palace restored.

[30:19] The people who live there will sing praise; they will shout for joy. By my blessing they will increase in numbers; my blessing will bring them honor.

[30:20] I will restore the nation's ancient power and establish it firmly again; I will punish all who oppress them. their prince from their own people. He will approach me when I invite him, for who would dare come uninvited? They will be my people, and I will be their God. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[31:1] The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, and they will be my people.

[31:2] In the desert I showed mercy to those people who had escaped death. When the people of Israel longed for rest,

[31:3] I appeared to them from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.

[31:4] Once again I will rebuild you. Once again you will take up your tambourines and dance joyfully.

[31:5] Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria, and those who plant them will eat what the vineyards produce.

[31:6] Yes, the time is coming when sentries will call out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Let's go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”

[31:7] The Lord says, “Sing with joy for Israel, the greatest of the nations. Sing your song of praise, ‘The Lord has saved his people; he has rescued all who are left.’

[31:8] I will bring them from the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. The blind and the lame will come with them, pregnant women and those about to give birth. They will come back a great nation.

[31:9] My people will return weeping, praying as I lead them back. I will guide them to streams of water, on a smooth road where they will not stumble. I am like a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my oldest son.”

[31:10] The Lord says, “Nations, listen to me and proclaim my words on the far-off shores. I scattered my people, but I will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guards his flock.

[31:11] I have set Israel's people free and have saved them from a mighty nation.

[31:12] They will come and sing for joy on Mount Zion and be delighted with my gifts— gifts of grain and wine and olive oil, gifts of sheep and cattle. They will be like a well-watered garden; they will have everything they need.

[31:13] Then the young women will dance and be happy, and men, young and old, will rejoice. I will comfort them and turn their mourning into joy, their sorrow into gladness.

[31:14] I will fill the priests with the richest food and satisfy all the needs of my people. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[31:15] The Lord says, “A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children; they are gone, and she refuses to be comforted.

[31:16] Stop your crying and wipe away your tears. All that you have done for your children will not go unrewarded; they will return from the enemy's land.

[31:17] There is hope for your future; your children will come back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[31:18] “I hear the people of Israel say in grief, ‘Lord, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back; we are ready to return to you, the Lord our God.

[31:19] We turned away from you, but soon we wanted to return. After you had punished us, we hung our heads in grief. We were ashamed and disgraced because we sinned when we were young.’

[31:20] “Israel, you are my dearest child, the one I love best. Whenever I mention your name, I think of you with love. My heart goes out to you; I will be merciful.

[31:21] Set up signs and mark the road; find again the way by which you left. Come back, people of Israel, come home to the towns you left.

[31:22] How long will you hesitate, faithless people? I have created something new and different, as different as a woman protecting a man.”