Jeremiah 43

⁸and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die!

⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.

²²Now therefore, know for sure that by sword and famine and plague you will die in the place where you desire to go to reside.”

⁷But the Lord told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.

³Pray that the Lord your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.”

⁴“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the Lord your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the Lord answers. I will not withhold a word from you.”

¹⁷Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.

⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.

¹When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—everything that the Lord had sent him to say—

⁵Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁴Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

²⁶Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.

⁶the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.

¹This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

⁴So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah.

¹⁰From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the Lord, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the Lord your God sends you to tell us.

⁶Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God!”

⁵But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

³Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

¹⁶While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁰‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you.

¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from him.

¹¹When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them,

¹²they all returned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered an abundance of wine grapes and summer fruit.

¹⁵But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him took the whole remnant of the people from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children, and court officials he had brought back from Gibeon.

¹⁹Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

¹⁰But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

⁷When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest of the land and had not been exiled to Babylon,

¹So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

²It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah—the daughters of the king along with all the others who remained in Mizpah—over whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.

¹⁰There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.

¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:

¹⁶The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

⁴For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

¹⁴“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’

¹⁸The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

¹⁶While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

⁹for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained!

⁷Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

¹⁶The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

¹This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests,

²and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you,

²“Go down at once to the potter’s house, and there I will give you My message.”

³So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel.

⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.

⁶⁴Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.

¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

¹“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem.

¹¹Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

¹⁸“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

¹⁵For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

⁵For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.

²⁰You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.

¹³I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

²If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord God.

⁹Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people;

¹This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.

²“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹³This is what the Lord God says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.

¹This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.

¹⁸The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.

¹⁹May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

⁷Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.

²⁵The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.

¹⁸In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.