What hath the LORD answered? And, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: For ye have perverted the words of the living God, 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, And the city that I gave you and your fathers, And cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, 24 THE LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they 3 were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, So will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, Into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, And I will build them-and not pull them down; And I will plant them-and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: For they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; Surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, And the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, And them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them 3 to be removed Into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, To be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, In all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, Till they be consumed from off the land 25 That I gave unto them and to their fathers. THE word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first 2 year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; the which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 1 Heb. for badness. 2 Hcb. the captivity. 3 Heb. for removing, or, vexation. JEREMIAH XXV. B.C. cir. 606. 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but 4 not hearkened. And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear ye have 5 to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto 6 you and to your fathers for ever and ever: and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your 7 hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith 8 the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them The voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this 16 fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to drink, 18 unto whom the LORD had sent me to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an 19 astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharoah king of Egypt, 20 and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, 21, 22 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, 23, 24 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert. 25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the 26 Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 28 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly 29 drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city 5 which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. 1 Heb. I will cause to perish from them. 3 Or, region by the sea side. 4 Heb. cut off into corners, or, having the 5 Heb. upon which my name is called. 30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, And utter his voice from his holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon his habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; 32 For the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day From one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: They shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; They shall be dung upon the ground. 34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; And wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; 35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, Nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, And an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard : For the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. 37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down Because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion : For their land is 4 desolate Because of the fierceness of the oppressor, And because of his fierce anger. 26 IN THE beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of 2 Judah came this word from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the 3 words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: if so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. 4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to 5 me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and 6 sending them, but ye have not hearkened; then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. 7 So the priests and the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking 8 these words in the house of the LORD. Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took 9 him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LonD, and sat down 5 in the entry of the new 11 gate of the LORD's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, 6 This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. 1 Heb. your days for slaughter. 2 Heb. a vessel of desire. 3 Heb. flight shall perish from the 4 Heb. a desolation. 5 Or, at the door. 6 Heb. The judgment of death is for this man. 12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words 13 that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that 14 he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do 15 with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. 16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the 17 LORD our God. Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to 18 all the assembly of the people, saying, Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a 19 forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought 2 the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. 20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and 21 against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, 22 and went into Egypt. And Jehoiakim the king sent meninto Egypt, namely, 23 Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the 243 common people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. 27 IN the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them 3 upon thy neck, and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah 4 king of Judah; and command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the 5 LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed 6 meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have 7 I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations 8 and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your 6 dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, 10 saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye 11 should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 1 Heb. as it is good and right in your eyes. 2 Heb. the face of the LORD. 3 Heb. sons of the people. 4 Or, hath the LORD said. 5 Or, concerning their masters, saying, &c. 6 Heb. dreams. 12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and 13 his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that 14 will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : 15 for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from 17 Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve 18 the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that 20 remain in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jeru21 salem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. 28 AND it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the 2 LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the 3 king of Babylon. Within 2 two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took 4 away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of 6 the LORD, even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. 7 Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears 8 of all the people; The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, 9 and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him. 10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's 11 neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, 13 saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken 14 the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck 1 Heb. in a lie, or, lyingly. 2 Heb. two years of days. 3 Heb. captivity. |