And he will take Zedekiah away to Babylon, where he will be till I have pity on him, says the Lord: though you are fighting with the Chaldaeans, things will not go well for you?

Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, "Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled as my closest relative to buy it."'

Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, 'Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.' When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me.

And I give the purchase-book unto Baruch son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my uncle's son, and before the eyes of the witnesses, those writing in the purchase-book, before the eyes of all the Jews who are sitting in the court of the prison.

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Again are houses and fields and vineyards bought in this land.'

Ah Lord God! see, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm, and there is nothing you are not able to do:

You show unfailing love to thousands. But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all.

Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

You are the one who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and continue to do so until this day, both in Israel and among the rest of humanity. You made a reputation for yourself that continues to this day.

Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

And come in have the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city, and they have set this city on fire, and have burned it, and the houses on whose roofs they made perfume to Baal, and poured out libations to other gods, so as to provoke Me to anger.

For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been only doing evil in Mine eyes, from their youth; for the sons of Israel are only provoking Me with the work of their hands -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

And they turn unto Me the neck, and not the face, and teaching them, rising early and teaching, and they are not hearkening to accept instruction.

And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

'And now, therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning this city, of which ye are saying, It hath been given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence,

and bought hath been the field in this land of which ye are saying, A desolation it is, without man and beast, it hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

Yea, land shall be bought for money, and evidences made thereupon and sealed before witnesses in the country of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem: in the cities of Judah; in the cities that are upon the mountains; and in them that lie beneath; yea, and in the cities that are in the desert. For I will bring their prisoners hither again, sayeth the LORD.'"

These are the words of the Lord, who is doing it, the Lord who is forming it, to make it certain; the Lord is his name;

For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;

they are coming in to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the carcases of men, whom I have smitten in Mine anger, and in My fury, and for whom I have hidden My face from this city, because of all their evil:

Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,

Is a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, The voice of those saying, Thank Jehovah of Hosts, for Jehovah is good, For His kindness is to the age, Who are bringing in thanksgiving to the house of Jehovah, For I turn back the captivity of the land, As at the first, said Jehovah.

Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have established the good word That I spake unto the house of Israel, And concerning the house of Judah.

'Thus said Jehovah: If ye do break My covenant of the day, And My covenant of the night, So that they are not daily and nightly in their season,

I will make the children who follow one another in the line of my servant David very numerous. I will also make the Levites who minister before me very numerous. I will make them all as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sands which are on the seashore.'"

Hast thou not considered what this people have spoken, saying: The two families on which Jehovah fixed, He doth reject them, And my people they despise -- So that they are no more a people before them!

The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah -- and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his force, and all kingdoms of the land of the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all its cities -- saying:

As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face; you will go to Babylon.

and the forces of the king of Babylon are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that are left -- against Lachish, and against Azekah, for these have been left among the cities of Judah, cities of fortresses.

The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after the making by the king Zedekiah of a covenant with all the people who are in Jerusalem, to proclaim to them liberty,

At the end of seven years every man is to let go his countryman who is a Hebrew, who has become yours for a price and has been your servant for six years; you are to let him go free: but your fathers gave no attention and did not give ear.

And I have given the men who are transgressing My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant that they have made before Me, by the calf, that they have cut in two, and pass through between its pieces --

yea I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them who are seeking their life, - and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.

And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you.

The words which the LORD spake unto Jeremiah, in the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, are these:

“Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the [side] chambers; then give them [who are pledged not to drink wine] some wine to drink.”

But they said, We will take no wine: for Jonadab, the son of Rechab our father, gave us orders, saying, You are to take no wine, you or your sons, for ever:

and a house ye do not build, and seed ye do not sow, and a vineyard ye do not plant, nor have ye any; for in tents do ye dwell all your days, that ye may live many days on the face of the ground whither ye are sojourning.

But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans [who rule Babylon] and for fear of the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

but thou hast entered -- and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;

Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord, and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are great.”

And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah have all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who are coming in from cities of Judah to Jerusalem;

and he goeth down to the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.

Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye are.

And the king sendeth Jehudi to take the roll, and he taketh it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi readeth it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the heads who are standing by the king;

And the king and all his servants who are hearing all these words have not been afraid, nor rent their garments.

You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it: The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?’

and the force of Pharaoh hath come out of Egypt, and the Chaldeans, who are laying siege against Jerusalem, hear their report, and go up from off Jerusalem.

The Lord, the God of Israel, has said: This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to get directions from me: See, Pharaoh's army, which has come out to your help, will go back to Egypt, to their land.

Thus saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans are certainly gone away from us; for they are not gone.

for though ye had smitten all the force of the Chaldeans who are fighting with you, and there were left of them wounded men -- each in his tent -- they rise, and have burnt this city with fire.'

When he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he seized and arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to join the Chaldeans [of Babylon]!”

and the heads are wroth against Jeremiah, and have smitten him, and put him in the prison-house -- the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it they had made for a prison-house.

Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

These are the words of the Lord: Whoever goes on living in this town will come to his death by the sword or through need of food or by disease: but whoever goes out to the Chaldaeans will keep his life out of the power of the attackers and be safe.

And the heads say unto the king, 'Let, we pray thee, this man be put to death, because that he is making feeble the hands of the men of war, who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking unto them according to these words, for this man is not seeking for the peace of this people, but for its evil.'

Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: "Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies."

And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, 'Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.'

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, These are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel: If you go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then you will have life, and the town will not be burned with fire, and you and your family will be kept from death:

And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

But if you [are] refusing to surrender, this [is] the thing that Yahweh has shown me.

And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

'And all thy wives, and thy sons, are brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou dost not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon thou art caught, and this city is burnt with fire.'

Then you are to say to them, I made my request to the king, that he would not send me back to my death in Jonathan's house.

And the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to him, and the remnant of the people who are left, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, removed to Babylon.

But I will protect you [Ebed-melech] on that day,” says the Lord, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.

The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, hath sent him from Ramah, in his taking him -- and he a prisoner in chains -- in the midst of all the removal of Jerusalem and of Judah, who are removed to Babylon.

And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which are upon thy hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will look well unto thee; but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee; whither it seemeth good and right unto thee to go, thither go.

and Jeremiah cometh in unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelleth with him, in the midst of the people who are left in the land.

And all the heads of the forces that are in the field hear, they and their men, that the king of Babylon hath appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land, and that he hath charged him with men, and women, and infants, and of the poor of the land, of those who have not been removed to Babylon;

and I, lo, I am dwelling in Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who are come in unto us, and ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruit, and oil, and put in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken.'

And also all the Jews who are in Moab, and among the sons of Ammon, and in Edom, and who are in all the lands, have heard that the king of Babylon hath given a remnant to Judah, and that he hath appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan,

And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces that are in the field, have come in unto Gedaliah to Mizpah,

and said to him, "{Are you at all aware} that Baalis, the king of the {Ammonites}, has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You must not do this thing, for you [are] telling a lie about Ishmael."

And it cometh to pass, at their coming in unto the midst of the city, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah doth slaughter them, at the midst of the pit, he and the men who are with him.

And Ishmael taketh captive all the remnant of the people who are in Mizpah, the daughters of the king, and all the people who are left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, hath committed to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah taketh them captive, and goeth to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

And hear doth Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces that are with him, of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah hath done,

Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

And it cometh to pass, when all the people who are with Ishmael see Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who are with him, that they rejoice.

And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who are with him, take all the remnant of the people whom he hath brought back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah -- after he had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam -- mighty ones, men of war, and women, and infants, and eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon,

and they go and abide in the habitations of Chimham, that are near Beth-Lehem, to go to enter Egypt,

And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)

That the Lord your God may make clear to us the way in which we are to go and what we are to do.

Whether good or evil, to the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we are sending thee, we do hearken; because it is good for us when we hearken to the voice of Jehovah our God.'

and he calleth unto Johanan son of Kareah, and unto all the heads of the forces that are with him, and to all the people, from the least even unto the greatest,

And said to them, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to put your request before him:

Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

And if ye are saying, We do not dwell in this land -- not to hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God,

then in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you are really determined to go to Egypt and to reside there [temporarily],

then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

Thus are all the men who have set their faces to enter Egypt to sojourn there; they die -- by sword, by hunger, and by pestilence, and there is not to them a remnant and an escaped one, because of the evil that I am bringing in upon them;

You have led your own selves astray because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’

And now be certain that you will come to your end by the sword and by being short of food and by disease, in the place to which you are pleased to go for a living-place.

Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the proud and insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are not telling the truth! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go into Egypt to live there.’

"Take some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh's residence here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching.

And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.

The word that hath been unto Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who are dwelling in the land of Egypt -- who are dwelling in Migdol, and in Tahpanhes, and in Noph, and in the land of Pathros -- saying,