Jeremiah 34 Cross References - ISV

¹ A Message to ZedekiahThis is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: ² “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Look, I’m giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. ³ You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴ Yet, hear this message from the LORD, king Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the LORD says to you, ‘You won’t die by the sword. ⁵ You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires for your ancestors, the former kings who were before you, so they’ll burn fires for you, wailing, “Oh how terrible, your majesty!”’ For I’ve spoken the message,” declares the LORD.
⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all of this in Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah, ⁷ while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.)
⁸ A Broken Agreement with Hebrew ServantsThis is this message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them. ⁹ Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother. ¹⁰ All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves.
¹² Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ¹³ “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I told them: ¹⁴ “At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation.” But your ancestors didn’t obey me or pay attention. ¹⁵ You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. ¹⁶ But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire, and you forced them to become male and female slaves.”’
¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You haven’t obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I’m going to proclaim a release for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I’ll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ I’ll give over the men who transgressed my covenant, who haven’t fulfilled the terms of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹ the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. ²⁰ I’ll give them to their enemies who are seeking to kill them, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. ²¹ I’ll give Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials into the domination of their enemies, to those who are seeking to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon that is coming against them. ²² Look, I’m in command of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I’ll bring them back to this city. They’ll capture it and burn it with fire, and I’ll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.’”

¹ so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. ² The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. ³ By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. ⁴ The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, ⁵ but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. ⁶ The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. ⁷ They executed Zedekiah’s sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon.
⁸ Jerusalem is Burned and the Temple DemolishedOn the seventh day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem ⁹ and set fire to the LORD’s Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He even incinerated the lavish homes.

¹² He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. ¹³ Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve, and hardened his heart, and would not return to the LORD God of Israel.
¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar’s Third Capture of Jerusalem
Meanwhile, all the officials who supervised the priests and the people remained unfaithful, following the detestable example of the surrounding nations. They polluted the LORD’s Temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people. ¹⁷ Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control,

¹⁵ because I’m about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north,” declares the LORD. “They’ll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

⁵ “By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit. ⁶ Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country’s time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave.

² The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the palace of the king of Judah

⁷ while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.)

¹ The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of ZedekiahThis is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ² On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached. ³ All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including Nergal-sarri-usur, governor of Sinmagir, Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴ and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. ⁵ The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. ⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ The wall of the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.
⁸ The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. ⁹ They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed judgment on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials at Riblah. ¹¹ He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died.

³⁷ You, your majesty, king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory, ³⁸ so that wherever people, wild animals, or birds of the sky live, he has placed them under your control, giving you dominion over them all—you’re that head of gold.

¹ Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimonial AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING
To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth.
Peace and prosperity to you!

²² it’s you, your majesty! You’ve become great and strong, your greatness has grown to the heavens, and your dominion reaches to the distant parts of the earth.

¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages revered and feared him. He executed those whom he desired to execute, he spared those whom he wished to spare, he promoted those whom he desired to promote, and he humbled those whom he wished to humble.

¹¹ Zedekiah Rules in Judah
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.

⁴ ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: “I’m about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. I’ll gather them into the center of this city.

¹⁰ Indeed, I’m firmly decided—I’m sending calamity to this city, not good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire.”’

¹ Instructions for the Kings of JudahThis is what the LORD says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this: ² ‘Listen to this message from the LORD, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates.

³ where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, “Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I’m about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

²⁸ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “I’m about to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. ²⁹ The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me.

²² Look, I’m in command of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I’ll bring them back to this city. They’ll capture it and burn it with fire, and I’ll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.’”

¹ Zedekiah Consults JeremiahJosiah’s son King Zedekiah reigned in place of Jehoiakim’s son Coniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king of the land of Judah. ² But neither he nor his officials nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that were spoken by Jeremiah the prophet.
³ King Zedekiah sent Shelemiah’s son Jehucal and Maaseiah’s son Zephaniah the priest to Jeremiah the prophet, asking him, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.” ⁴ Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people since he had not yet been put in prison.

⁸ and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹ “This is what the LORD says: ‘Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” ‘for they won’t go. ¹⁰ Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.’”’”

²³ “They’ll bring all your women and children out to the Chaldeans, and you won’t escape from their hand. Indeed, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.”

⁸ The Chaldeans burned the palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁴ The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, ⁵ but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. ⁶ The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. ⁷ They executed Zedekiah’s sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon.

⁷ Afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I’ll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people—those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine—into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He’ll execute them with swords and won’t pity them. He won’t spare them, nor will he have compassion on them.”’

⁴ Zedekiah, king of Judah, won’t escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye.

²¹ I’ll give Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials into the domination of their enemies, to those who are seeking to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon that is coming against them.

¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: “Is there a message from the LORD?”
Jeremiah said, “There is,” and then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸ But if you don’t surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they’ll burn it with fire. You won’t escape from their hands.’”

⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah. ⁵ The Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. When they seized him they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed judgment on him. ⁶ At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah’s sons right before his eyes. He also executed all the nobles of Judah. ⁷ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze fetters to take him to Babylon.

¹³ But I’ll throw my net over him. As a result, he’ll be captured with my net, and with it I’ll bring him to Babel, the land of the Chaldeans. He won’t see it, though he’ll die there.

¹⁸ He despised the oath he had made and broke the covenant. Look! Because he willingly submitted, yet he has done all these things, he won’t escape.
¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says, “As long as I live, because he despised my oath and broke my covenant, he’s going to suffer the consequences. ²⁰ I’ll spread my net over him so that he’ll be caught in my snare. I’ll bring him to Babylon and carry out my sentence there because of his treachery toward me.

²⁵ “So now, you dishonored and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come in this time of final punishment,

²⁰ ‘Therefore, look! I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be placed in your grave in peace. Your eyes will never see all the evil that I will bring on this place.’”’”

¹⁴ and he was buried in his own tomb that he had prepared for himself in the City of David. He was laid out on a bier that had been filled with various spices prepared by morticians, and the mourners built a massive bonfire to honor his memory.

¹⁹ In due course, as time passed, two years later his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in agony. His people lit no memorial bonfire for him as they had done for his ancestors. ²⁰ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. He left this earth—to nobody’s regret—and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁸ “Look! I’m going to take you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in your grave in peace so that you won’t have to see all the evil that I’m going to bring to this place and to its inhabitants.”’”
So they all brought back this message to the king.

¹⁸ Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, “They won’t lament for him with these words: ‘How terrible, my brother, How terrible, my sister!’ They won’t lament for him with these words: ‘How terrible, lord, How terrible, your majesty!’

²⁰ The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. About him we had said, “Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”

¹⁶ God will Punish the King“As long as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “in Babylon, that place where the king has enthroned him, whose oath he despised so as to break his covenant, he’ll die with him.

⁴⁶ Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel and His FriendsThen King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel, paid honor to him, and commanded that an offering and incense be presented on his behalf.

¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything—he did not conceal anything from him. Eli said, “He is the LORD. May he do what seems good to him.”

¹⁶ “Be quiet!” Samuel said. “I’ll tell you what the LORD told me last night.”
Saul told him, “Speak.”
¹⁷ So Samuel replied, “Is it not true that though you were small in your own eyes you became head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel? ¹⁸ The LORD sent you on a mission: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they’re destroyed.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the LORD, but grabbed the spoil and did evil in the LORD’s sight?”
²⁰ Saul told Samuel, “I did obey the LORD. I went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I brought Agag king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ The people took some of the spoil—sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be completely destroyed—to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
²² Samuel said, “Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. ²³ Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination, and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected this message from the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”
²⁴ “I’ve sinned,” Saul replied to Samuel. “I’ve broken the LORD’s command and your word, because I was afraid of the people and listened to them.

⁷ But Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says:
“‘I anointed you king—and you became king over Israel.
“‘I delivered you from Saul’s control.
⁸ “‘I gave you your former master’s household.
“‘I placed your former master’s wives right in your arms.
“‘I gave you Israel and Judah.
“‘And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!
⁹ “‘Why did you despise what the LORD has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight?
“‘You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword.
“‘You took his wife to be your own.
“‘You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.
¹⁰ “‘Therefore the sword will never leave your household, because you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
¹¹ “This is what the LORD says:
“‘Listen very carefully!
“‘I’m raising up evil against you right out of your own household.
“‘I’m going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes.
“‘Then I’ll give them to your neighbor.
“‘And then he’s going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!
¹² “‘What you did in secret I’m going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!’”

¹⁹ Ask the king, ‘Did you commit murder? And now you’re going to steal as well?’ Also tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Where the dogs were licking up Naboth’s blood, dogs will also lick up your blood—that’s right—yours!”’”

¹⁴ “As the LORD lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”

⁷ You are to tell them whatever I have to say to them, whether they listen or not, since they are rebellious.”

⁴ John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

²⁷ because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God.

⁵² They’ll besiege all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you have trusted collapse throughout the land. Indeed, they will besiege all your cities, which the LORD your God gave you.”

³ So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. He told them,

¹⁰ The LORD threw the Amorites into a panic right in front of the army of Israel, which then slaughtered many of them at Gibeon. The Israeli army chased them along the road that goes up to Beth-horon, striking them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ While they were fleeing in front of Israel and descending the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD rained down huge hailstones on them as far as Azekah, and they died. More died because of the hailstones than were killed by the Israelis in battle.

¹¹ The king of Jarmuth: 1
The king of Lachish: 1

³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

¹³ During the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria approached all of the walled cities of Judah and seized them. ¹⁴ So Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have offended you. Withdraw from me, and I’ll accept whatever tribute you impose.” So the king of Assyria required Hezekiah to pay him 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.

⁸ Sennacherib Defies God
So Rab-shakeh returned and found the king of Assyria at war with Libnah, because Rab-shakeh had heard that the king had left Lachish.

⁵ Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem and built defensive fortification cities throughout Judah, ⁶ including Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were all fortified cities throughout Judah and Benjamin.

⁴ He also built cities in the hill country of Judah, along with fortresses and guard towers in the forests.

⁵ Warning of the Coming DisasterDeclare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, “Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, ‘Gather together and let’s go to the fortified cities!’

¹⁴ The People RespondWhy are we sitting here? Join together! Let’s go to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has condemned us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.

¹² The towns of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they’ll be no help at all to them in the time of their disaster.

¹ A Message to ZedekiahThis is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns:

¹³ “You inhabitants of Lachish, harness your chariot to your swiftest steed— the daughter of Zion has begun to sin— because within you the transgressions of Israel were revealed.

² “When you acquire a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh he is to go out a free man without paying anything. ³ If he came in by himself, he is to go out by himself. If he was married, his wife is to go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and children belong to her master, and he is to go out by himself.

¹⁰ Instructions for Sabbaths and Sabbatical Years“You are to sow your land and gather its crops for six years, ¹¹ but you are to let it rest the seventh year, leaving it unplanted. The poor of your people may eat from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. You are to do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.

¹⁰ Set aside and consecrate the fiftieth year to declare liberty throughout the land for all of its inhabitants. It is to be a jubilee for you. Every person is to return to his own land that he has inherited. Likewise, every person is to return to his tribe.

³⁹ “If your brother with you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you, you are not to make him serve like a bond slave. ⁴⁰ Instead, he is to serve with you like a hired servant or a traveler who lives with you, until the year of jubilee. ⁴¹ Then he and his children with him may leave to return to his family and his ancestor’s inheritance. ⁴² Since they’re my servants whom I’ve brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. ⁴³ You are not to rule over them with harshness. You are to fear your God.”
⁴⁴ Release of Slaves“As for your male and maid slaves who will be with you, you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations. ⁴⁵ You may also buy from resident aliens who live among you and their families who are with you, whom they fathered in your land. They may become your property. ⁴⁶ You may give them as inherited property to your children after you, to own as properties in perpetuity. You may make bond slaves of them, but no one is to rule over his fellow Israeli with harshness.

¹² Releasing Slaves“When a fellow Hebrew male or female slave is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you are to set them free.

¹⁷ A Covenant is Made
Then Jehoiada entered into a covenant with the LORD, the king, and the people, that they would live as the LORD’s people, and also entered into a covenant with the king and the people.

² The king went up to the LORD’s Temple, accompanied by all the men of Judah, everyone who lived in Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and everyone—including those who were unimportant and those who were important—and he read to them everything written in the Book of the Covenant that had been discovered in the LORD’s Temple. ³ The king stood beside a pillar and made a covenant in the presence of the LORD: to follow after the LORD, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. All the people consented to enter into the covenant.

¹² They also entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, ¹³ and they further agreed that whoever would refuse to seek the LORD God of Israel was to be executed, whether important or unimportant, man or woman. ¹⁴ They also made a vow to the LORD with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. ¹⁵ Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might, and they found him! The LORD also gave them rest in their surrounding lands.

¹⁶ Jehoiada’s Reforms
After this, Jehoiada drew up a covenant between himself as an individual with all the people, and between himself as king, that they would be the LORD’s people.

¹⁰ I’m intending to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel so his burning anger may turn away from us.

³⁰ Then the king went up to the LORD’s Temple, accompanied by the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else from the most important to the least important, and he read out loud all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD’s Temple. ³¹ While standing in his appointed place, the king made a public covenant with the LORD to follow the LORD, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, and to do so with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. ³² He also made everyone who was present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand in agreement with him. As a result, the inhabitants of Jerusalem reconfirmed the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. ³³ Josiah also removed all the detestable things from the territories that belonged to the people of Israel, and made everyone who lived in Israel to serve the LORD their God. For the rest of his life, they didn’t abandon their quest to follow the LORD God of their ancestors.

¹ Settling Some Civil DisputesNow the people along with their spouses complained loudly against their fellow Jews, ² because certain of them kept claiming, “Since we have so many sons and daughters, we must get some grain so we can eat and survive.”
³ Others were saying, “We’re having to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our homes so we can buy grain during this famine.”
⁴ Still others were saying “We’ve borrowed money against our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s taxes. ⁵ Now our bodies are no different than the bodies of our relatives, and our children are like their children. Nevertheless, we’re about to force our sons and daughters into slavery, and some of our daughters are already in bondage. It’s beyond our power to do anything about it, because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
⁶ I became very livid when I heard their complaining and these charges. ⁷ So after thinking it over carefully, I accused the officials and nobles openly, “Every one of you is charging your fellow countrymen interest!” So I opened a public investigation against them.
⁸ I accused them, “To the best of our ability, we’ve been buying back our fellow Jews who had been sold to foreigners. Even now you’re selling your fellow countrymen, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet and never spoke a word.
⁹ So I said, “What you’re doing isn’t right! Shouldn’t you live in the fear of our God to avoid shame from our foreign enemies? ¹⁰ I’m also lending money and grain, as are my fellow-Jews and my servants, but let’s not charge interest. ¹¹ So today please restore to them their fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and homes, along with the one percent interest charge that you’ve assessed them on the grain, wine, and oil.”
¹² They responded, “We will restore these things, and will assess no interest charges against them. We will do what you are requesting!”
So I called the priests and made them take an oath to fulfill this promise. ¹³ I also shook my robes, and said, “May God shake out every man from his house and his possessions who does not keep this promise. May he be emptied out and shaken just like this.”
All the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. And the people kept their promise.

³⁸ “Because of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our descendants of Levi, and our priests hereby set their seals upon it.”

¹ Good News of Deliverance “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed and to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners;

¹⁴ “At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation.” But your ancestors didn’t obey me or pay attention. ¹⁵ You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name.

¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You haven’t obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I’m going to proclaim a release for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I’ll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹³ Someone escaped, arrived, and reported what had happened to Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers Eshcol and Aner were allied with Abram.

¹⁵ because I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. Not only that, I haven’t done anything that deserves me being confined to this pit.”

⁶ When she opened it and saw the child, the little boy suddenly began crying. Filled with compassion for him, she exclaimed, “This is one of the Hebrew children!”

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen to you, and then you and they are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now, let us take a three-day journey into the desert to sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they asked, “What is this noise coming from shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the Ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

⁹ Philistines, be strong and be men, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews just as they have been slaves to you! Be men and fight!”

¹¹ When the two of them showed themselves to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding.”

¹⁴ Indeed many nations and great kings will make slaves even of them, and I’ll repay them according to their deeds, according to what they have done.’”

⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country’s time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave.

⁸ On that day,’ declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, ‘I’ll break the yoke from your neck and will tear off your restraints. Foreigners will no longer make you serve them.

¹⁰ All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them.

⁸ Instead, you yourselves practice doing wrong and cheating others, and brothers at that!

²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelis? So am I. Are they among Abraham’s descendants? So am I.

⁵ Having been circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the nation of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. As far as the Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee.

¹³ A Rebuke of Hypocritical WorshipThen the Lord said: “Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, worship of me has become merely like rules taught by human beings.

¹⁰ Yet in all this her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to me with her whole heart, but rather deceptively,” declares the LORD.
¹¹ A Call for RepentanceThen the LORD told me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

¹⁰ When the Judean officials heard all these things, they came up from the king’s house to the LORD’s Temple and sat in the doorway of the New Gate of the LORD’s Temple.

¹⁶ The Elders Remember Micah’s Similar MessageThe officials and all the people told the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man because he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”

¹² he went down to the palace, to the scribe’s office, where all the officials were sitting. Elishama the scribe, Shemaiah’s son Delaiah, Achbor’s son Elnathan, Shaphan’s son Gemariah, Hananiah’s son Zedekiah, and all the other officials were there.

²⁴ The king and all his officials who were listening to these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

⁴ Then the officials told the king, “Let this man be put to death because he’s undermining the efforts of the soldiers who remain in this city and that of all the people by speaking words like these to them. Indeed, this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.”

²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John, he did much of what he said. In fact, he liked listening to him.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the LORD.”

¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the LORD had predicted.

²⁸ Pray to the LORD! There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail! I’ll let you go, and you need not stay any longer.”

³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he continued to sin. He, along with his officials, hardened his heart. ³⁵ Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, and he did not let the Israelis go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

¹⁷ Now, please forgive my sin only this time, and pray to the LORD your God that he would at least remove this from me.”
¹⁸ Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. ¹⁹ Then the LORD brought a very strong west wind that took the locusts and drove them into the Reed Sea. Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ But the LORD made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn and he would not let the Israelis go.

³ Pharaoh will say about the Israelis, ‘They’re wandering aimlessly in the land, and the desert has closed in on them.’ ⁴ I’ve made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so he will pursue them. But I’ll receive honor by means of Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelis did.
⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done in releasing Israel from serving us?” ⁶ So Pharaoh had his chariot prepared and took his troops with him.
⁷ He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers in charge of each one. ⁸ The LORD made the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stubborn, and he defiantly pursued the Israelis as they were leaving. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them—all the chariot-horses of Pharaoh, along with his horsemen and army—and they overtook them camped by the sea, near Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal Zephon.

⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan, and swore by the life of the LORD that David would not be killed. ⁷ Jonathan summoned David and told him all this. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.
⁸ Saul Again Tries to Kill DavidThe war continued and David went out to fight against the Philistines. He thoroughly defeated them, and they fled before David. ⁹ The evil spirit from the LORD attacked Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand and David was playing the lyre. ¹⁰ Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he jumped away from Saul and the spear stuck in the wall. That night David escaped and fled.
¹¹ Michal Helps David EscapeSaul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him so they could kill him in the morning. David’s wife, Michal, told him, “If you don’t escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be put to death.”

¹⁹ For who would find his enemy and then send him away safely? May the LORD repay you for what you have done for me today.

²¹ Saul Apologizes AgainThen Saul said, “I’ve wronged you. Return, my son David, for I won’t harm you again because my life was precious to you today. Look, I’ve acted foolishly and have made a very great mistake.”

³ The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive. He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good.

³⁴ When he struck them, they sought him; they repented, and eagerly sought God. ³⁵ Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God was their deliverer. ³⁶ But they deceived him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.

⁵ But for those who choose their own devious paths, the LORD will lead them away, along with those who practice evil. Peace be upon Israel.

¹¹ A dog that returns to its vomit is like a fool who reverts to his folly.

¹¹ The Wisdom of Fearing GodWhenever a sentence for a crime is not carried out swiftly, the human mind becomes determined to commit evil.

⁵ Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁴ “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your love is like a morning rain cloud— it passes away like the morning dew.

¹⁶ They return—but not to the Most High. They are like a defective weapon. Their princes will fall by the sword because of their raging tongue, and they will be a laughingstock in the land of Egypt.”

⁶ those who turn away from the LORD, don’t seek the LORD, and never ask for his help.”
The Approaching Day of the LORD

⁴³ The Return of the Unclean Spirit
“Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through waterless places looking for a place to rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That’s just what will happen to this evil generation!”

⁴ Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God’s kindness that is leading you to repent?
⁵ But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. ²² The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud.”

³ The Festival of Unleavened BreadThen Moses told the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, from the house of bondage, because the LORD brought you out from this place with a strong show of force. Moreover, nothing leavened is to be eaten.

¹⁴ Then when your child asks you in the future, ‘What is this?’, you are to say to him, ‘The LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage with a strong show of force.

² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³ Then Moses came and reported all the words of the LORD and all the statutes to the people, and they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the LORD has decreed.”

⁷ He took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They said, “We will put into practice and obey everything that the LORD has decreed.”
⁸ Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD made with you based on all these words.”

² When the LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, ³ it was not with our ancestors that the LORD made this covenant, but with us—we who are here today—all of us who are now living.

⁶ “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt—from the house of slavery.ב

²⁷ As for you, go near and listen to everything that the LORD our God will say to you, then repeat it to us, and we’ll listen and obey.’

¹² be careful not to forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and slavery.

⁸ But the LORD loved you and kept his oath that he made to your ancestors. The LORD brought you out with great power from slavery, from the control of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

¹⁴ then you will become arrogant. You’ll neglect the LORD your God,

¹⁰ Stone him to death, because he sought to lure you from the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the land of slavery.

¹⁵ Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, yet the LORD your God redeemed you. Therefore, I’m giving you these commands today.

¹² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, so keep and observe these statutes.”

¹⁸ Remember to observe this because you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

¹ Remembering the Exodus and ConquestThese are the terms of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelis in the land of Moab in addition to the covenant that he made with them in Horeb.

¹⁷ since the LORD our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery. He did those great things right in front of us, preserving us along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose territory we passed.

⁸ the LORD sent a man who was a prophet to the Israelis and told them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I was the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, delivering you from the house of servitude.

²² Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice,

⁴ which I commanded to your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace. I said, ‘Obey me and do everything that I commanded you. Then you will be my people and I’ll be your God.’

⁷ For I’ve diligently warned your ancestors from the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until now, regularly warning them, saying, “Obey me!”

³² It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹ Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important.

¹ Laws Concerning Servants“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them.

⁷ The LORD told Samuel, “Listen to the people in all that they say to you. In fact, it’s not you they have rejected, but rather they have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ Like all the things they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day, they have forsaken me and followed other gods. They’re also doing the same thing to you.

²² However, Solomon did not force Israelis into conscripted labor, but they did serve as his soldiers, servants, princes, captains, chariot commanders, and cavalry.

²⁵ It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the LORD considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him.

¹³ Nevertheless, the LORD had warned both Israel and Judah by means of every prophet and seer: “Turn away from your evil practices and keep my commandments and statutes according to the entire Law that I gave your ancestors and that I sent to you through my servants, the prophets.” ¹⁴ But they would not listen. Instead, they were stubborn, just like their ancestors had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God.

¹⁰ Now you’re intending to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem to be your slaves. Surely you have your own sins against the LORD your God for which you’re accountable, don’t you?

¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people.

³⁰ You were patient with them for many years, warning them by your Spirit through your prophets. But they would not listen, so you turned them over to the control of people in other lands.

¹ A Call to Return to God This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look! It’s because of your sins that you were sold, and because of your transgressions that your mother was sent away.

⁶ Isn’t this the fast that I have been choosing: to loose the bonds of injustice, and to untie the cords of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

²⁵ From the day your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this present time, I’ve sent all my servants, the prophets, to you, again and again. ²⁶ But they didn’t listen to me, and they didn’t pay attention. They stiffened their necks, and they did more evil than their ancestors.

⁸ But they would not listen or turn their ear, and each of them stubbornly followed his own evil desires. So I brought on them all the consequences of this covenant that I commanded them to fulfill, but they did not.’”
⁹ The LORD told me, “Conspiracy has been found among the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old who refused to listen to my words. They followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant which I made with their ancestors.”

³⁰ Indeed, the Israelis and Judeans have been doing only evil in my presence since their youth. Indeed, the Israelis have done nothing but provoke me by what they have made with their hands,” declares the LORD.

⁸ A Broken Agreement with Hebrew ServantsThis is this message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them. ⁹ Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother.

⁴ “Will you judge them? Son of Man, will you indeed judge them? Teach them about the detestable things that their ancestors did.

⁸ A Brief History of Israel’s Rebellion“But they rebelled against me and weren’t willing to obey me. None of them abandoned their detestable practices or their Egyptian idols. So I said, ‘I’ll pour out my anger on them, extending my fury in the middle of the land of Egypt.’

⁶ A Warning to IsraelThis is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel —and now for a fourth— I will not turn away; because they sold the righteous for money, and the poor for sandals,

⁶ buying the poor for cash, and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’

¹¹ But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening. ¹² They made their hearts hard like a diamond, to keep from obeying the Law and the messages that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies sent by his Spirit through the former prophets.

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am merely human, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I want to do, but instead do what I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I practice what I don’t want to do, I am admitting that the Law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is infected by death?

²⁷ Nevertheless, as soon as Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and wandered around meekly.
²⁸ Later, this message from the LORD came to Elijah the foreigner: ²⁹ “Have you noticed that Ahab has humbled himself in my presence? Because he has humbled himself in my presence, I will not bring his evil to harvest during his lifetime, but I will bring evil to his household during his son’s lifetime.”

³⁰ Israel Begins to Reduce in SizeNevertheless, the LORD told Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what I saw as the right thing to do by completing everything I had in mind regarding Ahab’s dynasty, your sons will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” ³¹ But Jehu did not remain careful to walk in the instruction of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart. He never abandoned the sins of Jeroboam that had caused Israel to sin.

² Jehoash did what the LORD considered to be right during the entire time when Jehoiada the priest was instructing him,

³ He practiced what the LORD considered to be right, but not like his ancestor David did. He acted as his father Joash had done,

³ The king stood beside a pillar and made a covenant in the presence of the LORD: to follow after the LORD, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. All the people consented to enter into the covenant.

²⁹ joined with their relatives and their leaders. They entered into an oath—enforced by a curse—to walk in God’s Law that was given through God’s servant Moses, and to be careful to obey all of the commands of the LORD, our Lord, as well as his regulations and statutes:

¹¹ Let everyone who surrounds the LORD your God make a vow and fulfill it to the Awesome One.

¹⁰⁶ I have given my word and affirmed it, to keep your righteous judgments.

² They seek me day after day, and are eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practices righteousness and has not forsaken the justice of their God. “They ask me to reveal just decisions; they are eager to draw near to God.

¹⁰ and then come to stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, ‘We’re delivered’ so we can continue to do all these things that are repugnant to God? ¹¹ Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout for bandits in your eyes? Look, I’m watching,” declares the LORD.

³⁴ They put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name and defiled it.

⁸ A Broken Agreement with Hebrew ServantsThis is this message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them.

¹⁰ All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. ¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves.

⁸ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

⁷ “You are not to misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave the one who misuses his name unpunished.ד

¹² “You are not to use my name to deceive, thereby defiling the name of your God. I am the LORD.

¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

¹¹ But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves.

²⁰ “When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I’ll set a stumbling block before him. He’ll die. If you don’t warn him, he’ll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won’t be remembered, but you’ll be held responsible for his death.

¹⁶ God will Punish the King“As long as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “in Babylon, that place where the king has enthroned him, whose oath he despised so as to break his covenant, he’ll die with him. ¹⁷ Pharaoh, with his massive army and large battalions won’t protect him when mounds and siege walls are built to destroy many people. ¹⁸ He despised the oath he had made and broke the covenant. Look! Because he willingly submitted, yet he has done all these things, he won’t escape.
¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says, “As long as I live, because he despised my oath and broke my covenant, he’s going to suffer the consequences.

²⁴ But when the righteous person abandons his righteous deeds and commits evil, detestable practices, as wicked people do, he won’t live, will he? None of the righteous acts that he had done will be remembered. He’ll die in his treacherous unfaithfulness and sins that he had committed.”

³⁹ The Coming Regathering of IsraelAnd now, you house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says, “Go ahead and serve your idols, both now and later, but later you’ll listen to me, and you won’t profane my sacred name again by your offerings and idols.

¹² Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness“And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous won’t save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won’t keep them from remaining away when they’re turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.’
¹³ “If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.

⁷ I’ll make my holiness and reputation known in the midst of my people Israel, and I won’t let my holiness be profaned anymore. The nations will learn that I, the LORD, am holy in the midst of Israel.

⁷ By presenting defiled food on my altar. And you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying, ‘The Table of the LORD is contemptible.’

¹² “But you are profaning my name by saying that the Table of the LORD is defiled and that its fruit and its food are contemptible.

²⁸ “But when that servant went away, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, seized him by the throat, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ ²⁹ Then his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ ³⁰ But he refused and had him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt.
³¹ “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very disturbed and went and reported to their master everything that had occurred. ³² Then his master sent for him and told him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled that entire debt for you because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers until he could repay the entire debt.

¹³ The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don’t have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The ones that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature. ¹⁵ But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.”

³⁴ Then the land will finally be pleased with its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time, the land will rest and take its Sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest that it will not have had during your Sabbaths when you were living in it.

¹⁹ do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst.

²⁵ From Defeat to Exile“The LORD will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You’ll go out against them in one direction, but you’ll flee from them in seven directions. Consequently, you’ll be in a state of great terror throughout all the kingdoms of the earth.

⁶⁴ Scattering among the Nations“He’ll scatter you among the peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you’ll serve other gods made of wood and stones, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.

⁶ Adoni-bezek ran off, but they pursued him, caught him, and amputated his thumbs and big toes. ⁷ Adoni-bezek used to brag, “Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I’ve done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there.

¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and then the king’s anger subsided.

² “When they say to you, ‘Where can we go?’, say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Those destined for death, to death will go; those destined for the sword, to the sword will go; and those destined for captivity, to captivity will go.

⁴ I’ll make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

⁹ I’ll make them into a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth; into a cause for contempt, into a byword, into a taunt, and into a curse in all the places to which I drive them. ¹⁰ I’ll send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they’re completely destroyed from the land which I gave them and their ancestors.’”

¹⁸ I’ll pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague, and I’ll make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. I’ll make them a curse, an object of horror, and scorn, and a desolation in all the nations to which I’ve driven them,

²⁴ Look, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it. Because of the sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you said has happened, and you are watching it occur!

³⁶ A Promise of Restoration“Now therefore,” says the LORD God of Israel, “concerning this city about which you are saying, ‘It is being given into the control of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague,’

⁶ Ah, sword of the LORD, how long before you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard, be at rest, be silent! ⁷ How can it be quiet, when the LORD has ordered disaster to come to Ashkelon and the seashore? That’s where he has assigned it.”

⁸ Jerusalem sinned greatly, and she became unclean. All who honored her now despise her, because they saw her naked. She herself groans and turns her face away.

¹⁷ “Or if I were to bring war to that land and say, ‘Hey, sword! Pass throughout the land so I can destroy both man and beasts in it,’ ¹⁸ though these three men lived there, as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “they couldn’t deliver their own sons and daughters. They would only save themselves.
¹⁹ “Or if I were to send a pestilence against that land and pour out my anger in it with bloodshed, destroying both man and beast in it, ²⁰ even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, as I live” says the Lord GOD, “they couldn’t save their own sons or daughters. They would only save their own souls due to their own righteousness.”
²¹ This is what the Lord GOD says, “I’m sending four of my most destructive judgments—military invasion, famine, wild animals, and pestilence—into Jerusalem to destroy both human beings and livestock in it.

²⁴ Then the king gave orders to bring those men who had tried to have Daniel devoured, and they threw them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ pit. They had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overtaken them and crushed all their bones.

² because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.

³⁷ Judging Others
“Stop judging, and you’ll never be judged. Stop condemning, and you’ll never be condemned. Forgive, and you’ll be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you’ll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others.”

⁷ Stop being deceived; God is not to be ridiculed. A person harvests whatever he plants:

¹³ For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

⁶ You have given them blood to drink because they spilled the blood of saints and prophets. This is what they deserve.”

¹⁰ So Abram brought him all these animals and cut each of them in half, down the middle, placing the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half.

¹⁷ When the sun had fully set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a fiery torch passed between the animal pieces. ¹⁸ That very day the LORD made this covenant with Abram: “I’m giving this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—

² Death to the Idolater“You may discover that a man or woman living in one of your cities that the LORD your God is about to give you has done evil in the eyes of the LORD your God by transgressing his covenant.

¹¹ Israel has sinned. They broke my covenant that I commanded them by taking some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. They have stolen, have been deceitful, and have stored what they stole among their own belongings.

¹⁶ When you break the covenant of the LORD your God that he commanded you to obey by going to serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of the LORD will blaze against you, and you will perish quickly from this good land that he gave you.”

¹ A song of Asaph.
The Acceptable Sacrifice God, the LORD, has spoken. He has summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting place.

⁷ “But like Adam, they broke the covenant; in this they have acted deceitfully against me.

¹ Reaping the Wind Storm “Sound the ram’s horn! Like a vulture the enemy will come against the Temple of the LORD, because Israel violated my covenant, transgressing my Law.

¹² King Jehoiachin of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon (as did his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers) during the eighth year of his reign.

¹⁵ He sent Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon, along with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

² after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths left Jerusalem.

⁷ Jeremiah Rescued from the CisternEbed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,

²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain.
²⁸ “‘Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, “This is what the Lord GOD says…”, when the LORD has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They’ve afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner. ³⁰ I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won’t be destroyed, but I found no one, ³¹ so I poured my indignation over them. With my fierce anger, I’ve consumed them. I brought the consequences of their behavior upon them,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

⁶ Furthermore, we haven’t listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, to our officials, to our ancestors, and to all of the people of the land.

⁸ ‘Open humiliation belongs to us, LORD, to our kings, our officials, and our ancestors, because we’ve sinned against you.

¹² ‘He has confirmed his accusation that he spoke against us and against our rulers who governed us by bringing upon us great calamity, because nowhere in the universe has anything been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

¹ The Evil Behavior of the People Poor me! I feel like those who harvest summer fruit, or like those who pick grapes— there are no clusters to eat or any fresh fruit that I want. ² The faithful have died off, and there is not one upright human being in the land. They all stalk one another with lethal intent, a man will even hunt his own brother with a net. ³ And speaking of evil, they practice it eagerly—with both hands! Both leader and judge demand a bribe, the famous confess their perverted desires, and they scheme together. ⁴ The best of them is like a thorn, and their most upright like a hedge of thorns. The day announced by your watchmen— and by your own calculations—approaches. Now it’s your time to be confused! ⁵ Don’t trust your friends, don’t confide in a companion, watch what you say to your wife.

³ Its national officials are roaring lions; its judges are like wolves of the night that don’t leave the bones for the morning. ⁴ Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous. Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary. They give perverse interpretations of the Law.

²⁶ Your dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to chase them away.

⁴⁴ told David, “Come to me! I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and to the beasts of the field.”

⁴⁶ This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I’ll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I’ll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel,

¹¹ Dogs will eat anyone who dies in the city that belongs to Jeroboam’s household. The birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the open field, because the LORD has determined it.’

⁴ Anyone from Baasha’s household who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the sky will eat.”

²³ The LORD also has this to say about Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel within the outer ramparts of Jezreel. ²⁴ Dogs will eat whoever belongs to Ahab and who dies in the city. The birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the fields.’”

³⁴ Later on, after he had come in to eat and drink, he ordered, “Go and see to this cursed woman, and bury her, because she was a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing left of her except her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ So they returned and reported to Jehu, and he responded, “This fulfills this message from the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the foreigner, who said: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh on the property of Jezreel, ³⁷ and her corpse will lie like dung on the surface of the field on the property in Jezreel, but no one will say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

³⁰ You are ruined! What are you doing dressing in scarlet, putting on golden ornaments, and highlighting your eyes with makeup? You are making yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers reject you— they’re out to kill you.

³³ The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the land, and no one will disturb them.

²¹ Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you, all the while threatening you, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the LORD so you won’t die by our hand!”

⁴ “They’ll die of deadly diseases. People won’t mourn for them, nor will they be buried. They’ll be dung on the surface of the ground, and they’ll come to an end with the sword and with famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land.”

⁷ I’ll shatter the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I’ll make them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hands of those seeking their lives. I’ll give their dead bodies as food to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the land.

²⁵ and give you to those who are trying to kill you, whom you fear—that is, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Chaldeans.

¹⁶ Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: “As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life to live, I won’t have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you.”

³⁰ This is what the LORD says: “Look, I’m going to give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and into the hands of those seeking his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking his life.”

³⁷ I’ll terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek to kill them. I’ll bring on them disaster and become fiercely angry at them,” declares the LORD. “I’ll send the sword after them, until I’ve made an end of them.

⁵ Then I’ll fling you out into the desert, you and all those fish in your waterways. You’ll fall out in the open fields; you’ll never be reunited. I’m giving you to the wild beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky, and they will dine on you!

⁴ I’ll fling you up onto the land; I’ll haul you into the field, I’ll make every carrion-eating bird come to dine on you, and I’ll make all the scavenging animals gorge themselves on you.

¹⁷ An Invitation to Dine on Human Flesh“Now as for you, Son of Man, this is what the Lord GOD has to say: ‘Tell all of the birds and wild beasts, “Come! Gather together and participate in the sacrifice that I’m going to make for you. This great sacrifice will take place on the mountains of Israel, where you’ll be eating flesh and drinking blood. ¹⁸ You’ll eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the world’s princes, drinking the blood of these rams, lambs, goats, bulls, all of them fattened as if they’re from Bashan, fit for slaughter! ¹⁹ You’ll eat until you’re fat and satiated. You’ll drink blood until you’re drunk from the sacrifice that I’m going to make for all of you. ²⁰ You’ll be fully satiated at my table, dining on horse flesh, horsemen, elite soldiers, and every kind of warrior,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁷ The Vision of the Angel’s InvitationThen I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great supper of God. ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, both unimportant and important.”
¹⁹ The Vision of the Judgment of the Beast and False ProphetThen I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that belonged to the rider on the horse and that came from his mouth, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

¹⁸ Judah’s Leaders are ExecutedThe captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, three temple officials, ¹⁹ one overseer from the city who supervised the soldiers, five of the king’s advisors who had been discovered in the city, the scribe who served the army captain who mustered the army of the land, and 60 men of the land who were discovered in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, ²¹ where the king of Babylon executed them in the land of Hamath. And so Judah was transported into exile from the land.

³ You won’t escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴ Yet, hear this message from the LORD, king Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the LORD says to you, ‘You won’t die by the sword. ⁵ You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires for your ancestors, the former kings who were before you, so they’ll burn fires for you, wailing, “Oh how terrible, your majesty!”’ For I’ve spoken the message,” declares the LORD.

⁵ Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
⁶ Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, “Look, Pharaoh’s army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt, ⁸ and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹ “This is what the LORD says: ‘Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” ‘for they won’t go. ¹⁰ Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.’”’”
¹¹ Jeremiah Arrested for TreasonWhen the Chaldean army was leaving Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,

⁶ At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah’s sons right before his eyes. He also executed all the nobles of Judah.

¹⁰ The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials at Riblah.

²⁴ Executions and Deportations to BabylonThe captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest, and the three guards of the gate. ²⁵ From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land.

¹¹ So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: “Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the LORD has ordered him to do this.

² The LORD sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets. ³ It was truly by the command of the LORD against Judah that it came, in order to remove them from his sight, because of every sin that Manasseh had committed,

¹⁷ Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control,

¹¹ Then I asked, “For how long, LORD?”
He replied: “Until cities lie waste, without inhabitants, and houses without people; and the land becomes utterly desolate.

⁵ Assyria is an Instrument of Judgment“How terrible it will be for Assyria, the rod of my anger! The club is in their hands! ⁶ I’m sending my fury against a godless nation, and I’ll command him against the people with whom I’m angry to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. ⁷ But this is not what he intends, and this is not what he thinks in his mind; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut down many nations.

³ I myself have commanded my consecrated ones; I have also summoned my warriors, those who rejoice in my triumph, to carry out my angry judgments.

¹² Desolation remains in the city whose gates lie battered into ruins.

²⁶ “‘Didn’t you hear how in the distant past I decided to do it, how I planned from days of old? Now I’ve made it happen— that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps.

¹ Cyrus: God’s Deliverer This is what the LORD says to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, as I strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him and gates that cannot keep closed: ² “I myself will go before you, and he will make the mountains level; I’ll shatter bronze doors and cut through iron bars. ³ I’ll give you concealed treasures and riches hidden in secret places, so that you’ll know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a desert; Zion has become like a desert, Jerusalem a desolation.

⁷ A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruined, and without inhabitants.

¹¹ “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants.”

⁴ ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: “I’m about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. I’ll gather them into the center of this city. ⁵ Because of my anger, wrath, and great fury, I’ll fight against you myself with an outstretched hand and a strong arm. ⁶ I’ll strike down the residents of this city, both people and animals, and they’ll die from a terrible plague. ⁷ Afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I’ll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people—those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine—into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He’ll execute them with swords and won’t pity them. He won’t spare them, nor will he have compassion on them.”’
⁸ “You are to say to this people, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I’m about to set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live. He will save his life as a spoil of war. ¹⁰ Indeed, I’m firmly decided—I’m sending calamity to this city, not good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire.”’

²⁹ The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me.

¹⁰ “This is what the LORD says: ‘You are saying about this place, “It is a ruin without people and without animals.” Yet in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate places without inhabitants and without animals, there will again be heard

¹ The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of ZedekiahThis is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ² On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached.

² “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Look, they’re in ruins today, with no one living in them, ³ because of the wickedness that they did, provoking me to anger by continuing to offer sacrifices and worship other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors had known. ⁴ Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Don’t do this repulsive thing that I hate.” ⁵ ‘But they didn’t listen or pay attention by turning from their wickedness and not offering sacrifices to other gods. ⁶ My wrath and my anger were poured out, and they burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem so that they have become a ruin and a desolate place, as is the case today.’

²² The LORD could no longer bear it because of your evil deeds and the repulsive things that you did. So your land has become a ruin and an object of horror and ridicule without an inhabitant, as is the case today.

⁷ The wall of the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.

¹³ He burned the LORD’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building with fire.

¹ The Sorrowful City How lonely she lies, the city that thronged with people! Like a widow she has become, this great one among nations! The princess among provinces has become a vassal.

²⁷ “Tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “As certainly as I’m alive and living, those who live in the wastelands are certain to die violently, I’ll give those who die in the open fields to the wild animals for food, and whoever takes refuge in caves and fortified places will die of diseases. ²⁸ Then I’ll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them.”

⁶ And when an alarm sounds in the city, the people will tremble, won’t they? If there is trouble in a city, the LORD has brought it about, has he not?”

¹³ The land will become desolate because of its inhabitants, and as a result of their behavior.

¹² And the angel of the LORD replied, “LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?”

¹⁴ ‘I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.’”
Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.

⁷ Then the king became outraged. He sent his troops, and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.