Old Testament · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 21

Jerusalem Will Fall to Babylon

1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2Inquire, please, on our behalf of the LORD, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonders, that he may go up from us.

3And Jeremiah said to them, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah: 4Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am turning back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will gather them into the midst of this city. 5And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man^a and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence.

7And afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their soul^b; and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, nor have pity, nor have compassion.

8And to this people you shall say, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9He who dwells in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who besiege you shall live, and his soul shall be to him for a spoil. 10For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, declares the LORD; into the hand of the king of Babylon it shall be given, and he shall burn it with fire.

A Message to the House of David

11And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of the LORD; 12O house of David, thus says the LORD: Render judgment^c in the morning, and deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

13Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the LORD; you who say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our dwellings?
14And I will visit upon you according to the fruit of your doings, declares the LORD; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.