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Jeremiah 21-24
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jeremiah 21-24
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jerusalem Will Be Captured by the Babylonians
21 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah. They said, 2 “Consult the Lord for us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform miracles for us so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat.”
3 Jeremiah responded to them, “This is what you should say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I’m going to take your weapons away from you. You are using these weapons to fight the king of Babylon as well as the Babylonians who are now blockading you outside the wall. I will bring the Babylonians inside this city. 5 I will fight you in anger, fury, and rage with my powerful hand and my mighty arm. 6 I will defeat those who live in this city, both people and animals. They will die from a terrible plague. 7 Afterwards, declares the Lord, I will hand over Judah’s King Zedekiah, his officials, the people, and everyone else in this city who survives the plague, war, and famine. They will be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. Nebuchadnezzar will kill them with swords. He won’t spare them, show them compassion, or care for them.’
8 “Say to these people, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to give you the choice of life or death. 9 Those who live in this city will die in the war, famine, or plague. Those of you who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. You will escape with your lives. 10 I’ve decided to harm this city, not to do good to it, declares the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.’
11 “Say to the nation of the king of Judah, ‘Listen to the Lord’s word, 12 descendants of David. This is what the Lord says:
Judge fairly every morning.
Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them.
Otherwise, my fury will break out and burn like fire.
No one will be able to put it out
because of the evil things you have done.
13 “ ‘I’m against you, Jerusalem.
You are the city that is in the valley
and on the rock in the plain,’ ”
declares the Lord.
“ ‘But you ask, “Who can attack us?
Who can enter our places of refuge?”
14 “ ‘I will punish you because of the evil things you have done,’ ”
declares the Lord.
“ ‘I will start a fire in your forests,
and it will burn up everything around you.’ ”
Warnings to the Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there: 2 “Listen to the Lord’s word, you officials, you people who come into these gates, and you, king of Judah, the one sitting on David’s throne.
3 “This is what the Lord says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don’t mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don’t oppress them. Don’t kill innocent people in this place. 4 If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David’s throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people. 5 But if you don’t do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,” declares the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.
6 “This is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
This palace is like Gilead to me,
like the top of Lebanon.
I will certainly turn it into a desert,
into cities that no one lives in.
7 I will send people to destroy you.
They will have their own weapons.
They will cut down your finest cedar trees
and throw them on a fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this important city?’ 9 The answer will be: ‘They rejected the promise [a] of the Lord their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Don’t cry for the dead.
Don’t shake your heads at them.
Cry bitterly for those who are taken away,
because they won’t come back to see their homeland.
11 This is what the Lord says about King Josiah’s son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again. 12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.
13 “How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly
and his upper rooms through injustice.
He makes his neighbors work for nothing
and doesn’t pay them for their work.
14 He says, ‘I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.’
He cuts out windows in it,
panels the rooms with cedar,
and paints them red.
15 Do you think you’re a better king than others
because you use more cedar?
Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right.
Everything went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy.
Everything went well for him.
Isn’t this what it means to know me?” asks the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits.
You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people.”
18 This is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of Judah’s King Josiah:
People won’t mourn for him and say,
“How horrible it is for my brother and sister!”
They won’t mourn for him and say,
“How horrible it is for my master and his splendor!”
19 He will receive a donkey’s burial.
He will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go to Lebanon and cry! Raise your voice in Bashan!
Cry out from Abarim, because all your lovers are defeated.”
21 I spoke to you when you were prosperous,
but you said that you wouldn’t listen.
This is how you’ve been ever since you were young.
You don’t listen to me.
22 The wind will blow away all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced by all your wickedness.
23 You live in Lebanon and have your nest in the cedars.
But you will groan when pain strikes you,
pain like a woman giving birth to a child.
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though you, Jehoiakin,[b] son of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, are the signet ring on my right hand, I will pull you off my hand. 25 I will hand you over to those who want to kill you, those you fear—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians. 26 I will throw you and your mother into another land. You weren’t born there, but you will die there. 27 You will want to return to this land, but you won’t be allowed to come home.”
28 This Jehoiakin is like a rejected and broken pot that no one wants.
Is that why he and his descendants will be thrown out
and cast into another land they’ve never heard of?
29 O land, land, land!
Listen to the Lord’s word.
30 This is what the Lord says:
Write this about Jehoiakin: He will be childless.
He won’t prosper in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed him as king.
They won’t sit on David’s throne and rule Judah again.
The Righteous Branch
23 “How horrible it will be for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep in my care,” declares the Lord. 2 “This is what I, the Lord God of Israel, said to the shepherds who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and chased them away. You have not taken care of them, so now I will take care of you by punishing you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.
3 “Then I will gather the remaining part of my flock from all the countries where I chased them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fertile and increase in number. 4 I will put shepherds over them. Those shepherds will take care of them. My sheep will no longer be afraid or terrified, and not one of them will be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will grow a righteous branch for David.
He will be a king who will rule wisely.
He will do what is fair and right in the land.
6 In his lifetime, Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety. This is the name that he will be given: The Lord is our righteousness.
7 “That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people’s oaths will no longer be, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As the Lord lives….’ 8 Instead, their oaths will be, ‘The Lord brought the descendants of the nation of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he [c] had scattered them. As the Lord lives….’ At that time they will live in their own land.
Warnings to the False Prophets
9 “⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets:
I am deeply disturbed.
All my bones tremble.
I am like a drunk,
like a person who has had too much wine,
because of the Lord and his holy words.
10 The land is filled with adulterers.
The land mourns because of the curse.
Pastures in the wilderness have dried up.
The people are evil,
and they use their strength to do the wrong things.
11 The prophets and priests are godless.
Even in my temple I’ve found them doing evil,” declares the Lord.
12 “That is why their own way will become
like slippery paths in the dark.
They will be chased away, and they will fall down in the dark.
I will bring disaster on them.
It is time for them to be punished,” declares the Lord.
13 “⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Samaria:
I saw something disgusting.
The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14 “⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Jerusalem:
I see something horrible.
The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie.
They support those who do evil
so that no one turns back from his wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me,
and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 This is what the Lord of Armies says about the prophets:
I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink.
The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness
throughout the land.
16 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you.
They fill you with false hope.
They speak about visions that they dreamed up.
These visions are not from the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
“The Lord says, ‘Everything will go well for you.’ ”
They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways,
“Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 Who is in the Lord’s inner circle
and sees and hears his word?
Who pays attention and listens to his word?
19 The storm of the Lord will come with his anger.
Like a windstorm, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has done everything he intends to do.
In the last days you will understand this clearly.
21 I didn’t send these prophets,
yet they ran ⌞with their message⌟.
I didn’t speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 If they had been in my inner circle,
they would have announced my words to my people.
They would have turned back from their evil ways
and the evil they have done.
23 “I am a God who is near.
I am also a God who is far away,” declares the Lord.
24 “No one can hide so that I can’t see him,” declares the Lord.
“I fill heaven and earth!” declares the Lord.
25 “I’ve heard the prophets who speak lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will these prophets continue to lie and deceive? 27 They tell each other the dreams they had, because they want to make my people forget my name, as their ancestors forgot my name because of Baal. 28 The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw?” asks the Lord. 29 “Isn’t my word like fire or like a hammer that shatters a rock?” asks the Lord. 30 “I’m against the prophets who steal my words from each other,” declares the Lord. 31 “I’m against the prophets who speak their own thoughts and say that they speak for me. 32 I’m against those who prophesy dreams they made up,” declares the Lord. “They tell the dreams they made up and lead my people astray with their lies and their wild talk. I didn’t send them or command them to go. They don’t help these people at all,” declares the Lord.
33 “When these people, the prophets, or the priests ask you, ‘What revelation has the Lord burdened you with now?’ say to them, ‘You are the burden! I will abandon you, declares the Lord.’ 34 Suppose the prophets, the priests, or these people say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation!’ I will punish them and their families. 35 They should ask their neighbors and their relatives, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ and ‘What did the Lord say?’ 36 They should never again say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation,’ because each person’s word becomes the revelation. They will twist the words of the living God, the Lord of Armies, our God.
37 “Jeremiah, say this to the prophets, ‘What was the Lord’s answer to you?’ and ‘What did the Lord say?’ 38 Suppose they say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation!’ Then say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have said, “This is the Lord’s revelation!” even though I commanded you not to repeat this saying, 39 I will certainly forget you. I will throw you out of my presence and out of the city that I gave you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring eternal disgrace and shame on you. It will never be forgotten.’ ”
The Two Fig Baskets
24 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiakin [d] (son of King Jehoiakim of Judah), the princes of Judah, the skilled workers, and the builders from Jerusalem into captivity and brought them to Babylon. After this, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs set in front of the Lord’s temple. 2 One basket had very good figs, like figs that ripen first. The other basket had very bad figs. These figs were so bad that they couldn’t be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “Figs. Figs that are very good. I also see figs that are very bad, so bad that they can’t be eaten.”
4 The Lord spoke his word to me, 5 “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: The captives of Judah, whom I sent away from here to Babylon, are like these good figs. I will look kindly on them. 6 I will watch over them for their own good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them the desire to know that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will wholeheartedly come back to me.
8 “But this is what the Lord says about the bad figs that are so bad that they can’t be eaten. The Lord says, ‘Like these bad figs, I will abandon King Zedekiah of Judah, his princes, the remaining few in Jerusalem who stayed behind in this land, and those who are living in Egypt. 9 I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them. 10 I will send wars, famines, and plagues until they disappear from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.’ ”
Jeremiah 21-24
New International Version
Jeremiah 21-24
New International Version
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(A) sent to him Pashhur(B) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(C) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(D) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[a](E) king of Babylon(F) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(G) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(H) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[b] who are outside the wall besieging(I) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(J) against you with an outstretched hand(K) and a mighty arm(L) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(M) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(N) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(O) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(P) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(Q) and to their enemies(R) who want to kill them.(S) He will put them to the sword;(T) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(U)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(V) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(W) But whoever goes out and surrenders(X) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(Y) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(Z) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(AA) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(AB)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(AC) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(AD) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(AE)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(AF)
because of the evil(AG) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(AH) it.
13 I am against(AI) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(AJ)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(AK)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(AL) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(AM) in your forests(AN)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(AO) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(AP) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(AQ)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(AR) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(AS) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(AT) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(AU) and do not shed innocent blood(AV) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(AW) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(AX) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(AY) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(AZ) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(BA)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(BB)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(BC) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(BD) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(BE)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(BF) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(BG)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(BH) king or mourn(BI) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(BJ)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[c](BK) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(BL) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(BM) to him who builds(BN) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(BO) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(BP)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(BQ)
and decorates it in red.(BR)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(BS)
so all went well(BT) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(BU)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(BV) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(BW)
on shedding innocent blood(BX)
and on oppression and extortion.”(BY)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(BZ) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(CA) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(CB)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(CC)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(CD)
cry out from Abarim,(CE)
for all your allies(CF) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(CG)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(CH)
you have not obeyed(CI) me.
22 The wind(CJ) will drive all your shepherds(CK) away,
and your allies(CL) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(CM)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[d](CN)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(CO) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[e](CP) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(CQ) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(CR) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[f] 26 I will hurl(CS) you and the mother(CT) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(CU) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(CV) a despised, broken pot,(CW)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(CX) out,
cast into a land(CY) they do not know?
29 O land,(CZ) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(DA)
a man who will not prosper(DB) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(DC) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(DD) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds(DE) who are destroying and scattering(DF) the sheep of my pasture!”(DG) declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(DH) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(DI) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(DJ) you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant(DK) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(DL) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds(DM) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(DN) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(DO)” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[g] a righteous Branch,(DP)
a King(DQ) who will reign(DR) wisely
and do what is just and right(DS) in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.(DT)
This is the name(DU) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(DV)
7 “So then, the days are coming,”(DW) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(DX) 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(DY)
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart(DZ) is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.(EA)
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.(EB)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(EC)
because of the curse[h](ED) the land lies parched
and the pastures(EE) in the wilderness are withered.(EF)
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;(EG)
even in my temple(EH) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;(EI)
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,(EJ)”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(EK)
and led my people Israel astray.(EL)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:(EM)
They commit adultery and live a lie.(EN)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(EO)
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(EP)
They are all like Sodom(EQ) to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(ER)
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,(ES)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness(ET) has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen(EU) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(EV) from their own minds,
not from the mouth(EW) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(EX) to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(EY)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(EZ) of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm(FA) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(FB) of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(FC) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(FD) swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(FE) of the Lord will not turn back(FF)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(FG) these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,(FH)
they would have proclaimed(FI) my words to my people
and would have turned(FJ) them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.(FK)
23 “Am I only a God nearby,(FL)”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(FM) in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(FN)
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(FO) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(FP) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(FQ) of their own minds?(FR) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(FS) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(FT) my name through Baal worship.(FU) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(FV) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(FW) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(FX) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(FY) that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(FZ) the prophets(GA) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’(GB) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(GC)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(GD) with their reckless lies,(GE) yet I did not send(GF) or appoint them. They do not benefit(GG) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message(GH) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(GI) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(GJ) from the Lord,’ I will punish(GK) them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’(GL) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort(GM) the words of the living God,(GN) the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast(GO) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(GP)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Two Baskets of Figs
24 After Jehoiachin[i](GQ) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs(GR) placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;(GS) the other basket had very bad(GT) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(GU) Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent(GV) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.[j] 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back(GW) to this land. I will build(GX) them up and not tear them down; I will plant(GY) them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know(GZ) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,(HA) and I will be their God, for they will return(HB) to me with all their heart.(HC)
8 “‘But like the bad(HD) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah(HE) king of Judah, his officials(HF) and the survivors(HG) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.(HH) 9 I will make them abhorrent(HI) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,(HJ) a curse[k](HK) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish(HL) them. 10 I will send the sword,(HM) famine(HN) and plague(HO) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.(HP)’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
- Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
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