Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1 “In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

2 Thus says the Lord: “The people who had remained after the sword, found grace in the desert. Israel will go to his rest.”

3 The Lord appeared to me from a distance: “And I have loved you in perpetual charity. Therefore, showing pity, I have drawn you.

4 And I will build you up again. And you shall be built up, O virgin of Israel. Still shall you be adorned with your timbrels, and still shall you go forth to the singing of those who play.

5 Still shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will not gather the vintage until the time arrives.

6 For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’ “

7 For thus says the Lord: “Exult in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles. Shout, and sing, and say: ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’

8 Behold, I will lead them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, she who is with child, together with she who is giving birth: a great assembly returning to this place.

9 They will approach with weeping. And I will lead them back with mercy. And I will lead them through the torrents of water, by an upright way, and they will not stumble in it. For I have become Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

10 Listen to the word of the Lord, O Gentiles, and announce it amid the islands that are far away, and say: “Whoever has scattered Israel will gather him, and he will guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.”

11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and he has freed him from the hand of one more powerful.

12 And they will arrive and give praise on Mount Zion. And they will flow together, to the good things of the Lord, over grain, and wine, and oil, and the offspring of cattle and herds. And their soul will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer be hungry.

13 Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.

14 And I will inebriate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be filled with my good things, says the Lord.”

15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice has been heard on high: of lamentation, mourning, and weeping; of Rachel crying for her sons and refusing to be consoled over them, because they are not.”

16 Thus says the Lord: “Let your voice cease from crying and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope for your very end, says the Lord. And the sons will return to their own borders.

18 Listening, I heard Ephraim going into captivity: ‘You have chastised me, and I was instructed, like a young untamed bull. Convert me, and I shall be converted. For you are the Lord my God.

19 For after you converted me, I did penance. And after you revealed to me, I struck my thigh. I am confounded and ashamed. For I have endured the disgrace of my youth.’

20 Certainly, Ephraim is an honorable son to me; surely, he is a tender child. For I will still remember him, as in the time when I first spoke about him. Because my heart is stirred up over him, surely I will take pity on him, says the Lord.

21 Establish a watchtower for yourself. Place yourself in bitterness. Direct your heart into the upright way, in which you used to walk. Return, return, O virgin of Israel, to these your cities!

22 How long will you be absorbed in delights, O wandering daughter? For the Lord has created something new upon the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Still they will speak this word in the land of Judah, and in its cities, when I will convert their captivity: ‘May the Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.’

24 And they will live in it: Judah together with all its cities, the farmer and those who drive the flocks.

25 For I have inebriated the weary soul, and I have satisfied every hungry soul.

26 Over this, I was awakened, as if from a deep sleep. And I saw, and my sleep became sweet to me.

27 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and with the offspring of cattle.

28 And just as I have watched over them, so that I may root up, and tear down, and scatter, and destroy, and afflict, so will I watch over them, so that I may build and plant them, says the Lord.

29 In those days, they will no longer say: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’

30 Instead, each one will die for his own iniquity. Each man who will have eaten a bitter grape, his own teeth will be affected.

31 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will form a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

32 not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, so as to lead them away from the land of Egypt, the covenant which they nullified, though I was the ruler over them, says the Lord.

33 But this will be the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will give my law to their inner most being, and I will write it upon their heart. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they will no longer teach, a man his neighbor, and a man his brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord.’ For all will know me, from the littlest of them even to the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin.

35 Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun as the light of the day, who puts the moon and the stars in order as the light of the night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.

36 If these laws fail in my sight, says the Lord, then the offspring of Israel will also fail, so that they will not be a people in my sight for all time.”

37 Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above are able to be measured, and if the foundations of the earth beneath can be examined, I also will cast aside all the offspring of Israel, because of all that they have done, says the Lord.

38 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when a city will be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananel, even to the Gate of the Corner;

39 and the measuring line will go on even further in his sight, over the hill of Gareb, and it will encircle Goah

40 and the entire Valley of dead bodies and ashes, and the entire region of death, even to the torrent of Kedron, and to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east. All this will be the holy place of the Lord. It will not be rooted up, and it will not be torn down, anymore, forever.”

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah. The same is the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

2 It was then that the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem. And Jeremiah, the prophet, was confined to the atrium of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah.

3 For Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had confined him, saying: “Why do you make predictions, saying: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it?

4 And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans. Instead, he will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon. And he will speak to him, mouth to mouth, and he will see him, eye to eye.

5 And he will lead Zedekiah to Babylon. And he will be there until I visit him, says the Lord. So then, if you contend against the Chaldeans, you will have no success.’ “

6 And Jeremiah said: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

7 Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your cousin, will come to you, saying: ‘Buy for yourself my field, which is in Anathoth. For it is your right, as next of kin, to buy it.’

8 And in accord with the word of the Lord, Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me, to the entrance of the prison, and he said to me: ‘Take possession of my field, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. For the right of inheritance is yours, and as the next of kin you may possess it.’ Then I understood that this was the word of the Lord.

9 And I bought the field, which is in Anathoth, from Hanamel, the son of my uncle. And I weighed out the money to him, seven small coins and ten pieces of silver.

10 And I wrote it in a book and signed it, and I summoned witnesses. And I weighed out the silver on a scale.

11 And I received the signed deed of possession, and the stipulations, and the ratifications, with the exterior seals.

12 And I gave the deed of possession to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel, the son of my uncle, in the sight of the witnesses who had been recorded in the book of the purchase, and in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the atrium of the prison.

13 And I instructed Baruch, in their sight, saying:

14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Take these writings, this sealed deed of purchase, and this deed which is open, and place them in an earthen vessel, so that they will be preserved for many days.’

15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Houses, and fields, and vineyards will be possessed still, in this land.’

16 And after I had delivered the deed of possession to Baruch, the son of Neri, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

17 Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Behold, you have made heaven and earth, by your great strength and by your outstretched arm. No word is difficult for you.

18 You act with mercy a thousand-fold, but you repay the iniquity of the fathers into the sinews of their sons after them. The Lord of hosts is your name: most strong, great, and powerful!

19 You are great in counsel and incomprehensible in thought. Your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of Adam, so that you may repay each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his intentions.

20 You caused signs and portents in the land of Egypt, and in Israel, and among men, even until this day. And you have made a name for yourself, just as in this day.

21 And you have led your people Israel away from the land of Egypt, with signs and portents, and with a robust hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

22 And you have given them this land, which you swore, to their fathers, that you would give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

23 And they entered it and possessed it. But they did not obey your voice, and they did not walk in your law. And they did not do all of the things that you commanded them to do. And so, all of these evils have happened to them.

24 Behold, fortifications were built against the city, so as to capture it. And the city was given into the hands of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, before the face of the sword, and of famine, and of pestilence. And what you have spoken has occurred, just as you yourself discern.

25 So why, O Lord God, are you saying to me: ‘Buy a field with money, and summon witnesses,’ while the city is being given into the hands of the Chaldeans?”

26 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

27 “Behold, I am the Lord God; I am above all flesh. Can any word be difficult for me?

28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of the king of Babylon, and they will capture it.

29 And the Chaldeans fighting against this city will advance, and set fire to it, and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs they were offering sacrifice to Baal and were pouring out libations to strange gods, so that they provoked me to wrath.

30 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, from their youth, have continually done evil in my eyes. The sons of Israel, even until now, have been provoking me with the work of their hands, says the Lord.

31 For this city has been a cause of fury and indignation to me, from the day when they built it, until this day, in which it will be taken away from my sight,

32 because of all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, which they have done, provoking me to wrath, they and their kings, their leaders and their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

33 And they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. And though I taught them and instructed them, rising at first light, they were not willing to listen, so that they would receive discipline.

34 And they have placed their idols in the house where my name is invoked, so that they defiled it.

35 And they have built the exalted places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, so that they may initiate their sons and their daughters into Molech, though I did not command, nor did it enter into my heart, that they should do this abomination, and so lead Judah into sin.

36 And now, because of these things, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to this city, about which you say that it will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:

37 Behold, I will gather them together from all the lands to which I have cast them out in my fury, and in my wrath, and in my great indignation. And I will lead them back to this place, and I will cause them to live in confidence.

38 And they will be my people, and I will be their God.

39 And I will give to them one heart and one way, so that they may fear me all their days, and so that it may be well with them, and with their sons after them.

40 And I will form an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not cease to do good for them. And I will put my fear into their heart, so that they do not withdraw from me.

41 And I will rejoice over them, while I do good for them. And I will plant them in this land, in truth, with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

42 For thus says the Lord: Just as I have led over this people all this great evil, so will I lead over them all the good that I am speaking to them now.

43 And fields will be possessed in this land, about which you say that it is desolate because there remains neither man nor beast, and because it has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

44 Fields will be bought for money, and deeds will be written and signed, and witnesses will be summoned, in the land of Benjamin and all around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, and in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities on the plains, and in the cities that are toward the south. For I will convert their captivity, says the Lord.”

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined to the atrium of the prison, saying:

2 “Thus says the Lord, who will prepare, and form, and accomplish it; the Lord is his name.

3 Cry out to me and I will heed you. And I will announce to you great things, things that are certain, though you do not know them.

4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to the houses of this city, and to the houses of the king of Judah, which have been destroyed, and to the fortifications, and to the sword

5 of those who have arrived, so that they may fight with the Chaldeans, and so that they may have their fill of the dead bodies of the men whom I have struck down in my fury and in my indignation, concealing my face from this city, because of all their wickedness:

6 Behold, I will lead over them scars and health, and I will cure them. And I will reveal to them an invocation of peace and truth.

7 And I will convert the turning away of Judah and the turning away of Jerusalem. And I will build them up, just as from the beginning.

8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me. And I will forgive all their iniquities, by which they have offended against me and have despised me.

9 And this will be for me: a name, and a joy, and a praise, and an exultation, among all the nations of the earth who will hear about all the good things that I will accomplish for them. And they will be afraid and troubled over all these good things, and over all the peace, that I will accomplish for them.

10 Thus says the Lord: Still shall there be heard in this place, (which you say is desolate, because there is neither man nor beast,) and in the cities of Judah and outside of Jerusalem, (which are desolate, without man, and without an inhabitant and without cattle,)

11 the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: ‘Confess to the Lord of hosts! For the Lord is good! For his mercy is eternal!’ and the voice of those fulfilling their vows in the house of the Lord. For I will lead back the turning away of the land, just as from the beginning, says the Lord.”

12 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Still shall there be in this place, (which is desolate without man and without beast,) and in all of its cities: a habitation for the shepherds giving rest to their flocks.

13 For even in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities on the plains, and in the cities that are toward the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, still shall the flocks travel by the hand of him who numbers them, says the Lord.

14 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

15 In those days and at that time, I will cause the seedling of justice to spring up from David, and he will accomplish judgment and justice upon the earth.

16 In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in confidence. And this is the name that they will call him: ‘The Lord, our Just One.’

17 For thus says the Lord: There shall not cease to be a man from David sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel.

18 And there shall not cease to be a man from the priests and from the Levites before my face, who offers holocausts, and burns sacrifices, and kills victims, for days without end.”

19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

20 “Thus says the Lord: If my covenant with the day is able to be nullified, or my covenant with the night, such that there would be no day and no night in their time,

21 then, too, my covenant with David, my servant, may be nullified, such that he would not have a son who reigns upon his throne, with both the Levites and the priests as my ministers.

22 Just as the stars of heaven are not able to be numbered, and the sand of the sea is not able to be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of David, my servant, and the Levites, my ministers.”

23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

24 “Have you not seen what this people has spoken? They say: ‘The two families which the Lord had chosen have been rejected.’ And so they have despised my people, as if they were no longer a nation in their sight.

25 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with the day and the night, and my laws over heaven and earth,

26 then truly I will also cast aside the offspring of Jacob, and of David, my servant, so that I do not take up any of his offspring to be leaders over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will lead back their turning way, and I will take pity on them.”

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his entire army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under the authority of his hand, and all the people were making war against Jerusalem and against all of its cities, saying:

2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go, and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.

3 And you will not escape from his hand. Instead, you will be overtaken and captured, and you will be delivered into his hand. And your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth will speak with your mouth, and you will enter into Babylon.

4 Even so, listen to the word of the Lord, Zedekiah, king of Judah: Thus says the Lord to you: You will not die by the sword.

5 Instead, you will die in peace. And, in accord with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn you. And they will mourn you, saying: ‘Alas, lord!’ For I have spoken the word, says the Lord.”

6 And Jeremiah, the prophet, spoke all these words to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in Jerusalem.

7 And the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that remained, against Lachish and against Azekah. For only these remained out of the cities of Judah that were fortified cities.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after king Zedekiah had struck a pact with all the people in Jerusalem, proclaiming

9 that each one should release his man servant, and each one his woman servant, as a free Hebrew man and a free Hebrew woman, and that they should never be rulers over them, that is, over the Jews, their own brothers.

10 Then all the leaders and all the people who entered into the pact, heard that each one should release his man servant, and each one his woman servant, to be free, and that they should no longer rule over them. Therefore, they listened, and they released them.

11 But later on, they turned back. And they took back again their man servants and their woman servants, whom they had released to be free. And they subjugated them as male and female servants.

12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:

13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I struck a pact with your fathers in the day when I led them away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, saying:

14 ‘When seven years have been completed, let each one release his brother, a Hebrew, who had been sold to him. And so he will serve you for six years, and then you shall release him to be free from you.’ But your fathers did not listen to me, nor did they incline their ear.

15 And today you converted, and you did what is right in my eyes, so that you proclaimed liberty, each one to his friend. And you entered into a pact in my sight, in the house in which and over which my name is invoked.

16 But now you have turned back, and you have stained my name. For you have led back again, each one his man servant, and each one his woman servant, whom you had released so that they would be free and under their own authority. And you have subjugated them, so that they would be your servants and handmaids.”

17 Because of this, thus says the Lord: “You have not heeded me, though you proclaimed liberty, each one to his brother and each one to his friend. Behold, I am proclaiming a liberty for you, says the Lord, to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine. And I will cause you to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 And I will give over the men who have betrayed my covenant, and who have not observed the words of the covenant, to which they assented in my sight when they cut the calf into two parts and passed between its parts:

19 the leaders of Judah, and the leaders of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land, who have passed between the parts of the calf.

20 And I will give them into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who are seeking their life. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

21 And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his leaders, I will give over to the hands of their enemies, and to the hands of those who are seeking their lives, and to the hands of the armies of the king of Babylon, which had withdrawn from you.

22 Behold, I will command, says the Lord, and I will lead them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and seize it, and set it on fire. And I will make the cities of Judah into a desolation, for there shall be no inhabitant.”

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying:

2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and lead them into the house of the Lord, into one of the halls of the treasuries. And you shall give them wine to drink.”

3 And so I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the entire house of the Rechabites,

4 and I led them into the house of the Lord, to the treasury of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was near the treasury of the princes, above the storehouse of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, who was the guardian of the entrance.

5 And I placed before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls filled with wine, and chalices. And I said to them, “Drink wine.”

6 And they responded: “We will not drink wine. For Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, instructed us, saying: ‘You shall not drink wine, you and your sons, in perpetuity.

7 And you shall not build houses, and you shall not sow any seeds, and you shall not plant or have vineyards. Instead, you shall live in tents all your days, so that you may live many days upon the face of the earth, in which you are sojourners.’

8 Therefore, we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he has commanded us, so that we do not drink wine all our days, we and our wives, our sons and daughters.

9 And we do not build houses in which to live. And we do not have vineyard, or field, or seed to sow.

10 Instead, we live in tents, and we have been obedient in accord with all that Jonadab, our father, has instructed us.

11 But when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had ascended to our land, we said: ‘Come and let us enter into Jerusalem, before the face of the army of the Chaldeans, and before the face of the army of Syria.’ And we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline, so that you obey my words, says the Lord?

14 The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, in which he instructed his sons, so that they would not drink wine, have prevailed. And they have not drunk wine, even to this day. For they have obeyed the instruction of their father. But I have spoken to you, rising and speaking from early morning, and you did not obey me.

15 And I have sent to you all my servants, the prophets, rising at first light, and sending, and saying: ‘Convert, each one from his wicked way, and make your intentions good. And do not choose to follow strange gods, nor shall you worship them. And then you shall live in the land which I gave to you and to your fathers.’ And yet you have not inclined your ear, and you have not heeded me.

16 So the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have remained firm in the commandment of their father, which he instructed to them, while this people has not been obedient to me.

17 For this reason, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will lead over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every evil that I have declared against them. For I have spoken to them, and they have not listened. I have called to them, and they have not responded to me.”

18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab, your father, and have kept all his precepts, and have done all that he has instructed you,

19 because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: There will not be a man lacking from the stock of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, standing in my sight, for all days.”

1 And it happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: it happened that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:

2 “Take the volume of a book, and you shall write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah, and against all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.

3 Perhaps it may be that the house of Judah, upon hearing all the evils that I have decided to do to them, may return, each one from his wicked way, and then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

4 Therefore, Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken to him, in the volume of a book.

5 And Jeremiah instructed Baruch, saying: “I am confined, and so I am unable to enter into the house of the Lord.

6 Therefore, you shall enter and read from the volume, in which you have written from my mouth the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the house of the Lord on the day of the fast. Moreover, you shall also read them in the hearing of all those of Judah who are arriving from their cities.

7 Perhaps it may happen that they pray in the sight of the Lord, and each one may return from his wicked way. For great is the fury and indignation that the Lord has declared against this people.”

8 And Baruch, the son of Neriah, acted in accord with all that Jeremiah, the prophet, had instructed him, reading from the volume the words of the Lord, in the house of the Lord.

9 And it happened that, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast, in the sight of the Lord, to all the people in Jerusalem, and to the entire multitude which had flowed together, from the cities of Judah, into Jerusalem.

10 And Baruch read from the volume the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, at the treasury of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper vestibule, at the entrance to the new gate of the house of the Lord, in the hearing of all the people.

11 And when Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book,

12 he descended to the house of the king, to the treasury of the scribe. And behold, all the leaders were sitting there: Elishama, the scribe, and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the leaders.

13 And Micaiah announced to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the volume to the ears of the people.

14 And so, all the leaders sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the volume, from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” Therefore, Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the volume in his hand, and he went to them.

15 And they said to him, “Sit and read these things in our hearing.” And Baruch read in their hearing.

16 Therefore, when they had heard all the words, each one looked at his neighbor in astonishment, and they said to Baruch: “We ought to report all these words to the king.”

17 And they questioned him, saying, “Describe to us how you wrote all these words from his mouth.”

18 Then Baruch said to them: “He was speaking with his mouth, as if reading to me. And I wrote in a volume with ink.”

19 And the leaders said to Baruch: “Go away and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

20 And they entered to the king, in the court. Furthermore, they stored the volume in the treasury of Elishama, the scribe. And they announced all the words in the hearing of the king.

21 And the king sent Jehudi to take the volume. And bringing it from the treasury of Elishama, the scribe, he read it in the hearing of the king and of all the leaders who were standing around the king.

22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house, in the ninth month. And there was a hearth placed before him, filled with burning coals.

23 And when Jehudi had read three or four pages, he cut it with a small knife, and he threw it into the fire which was upon the hearth, until the entire volume was consumed by the fire which was upon the hearth.

24 And the king and all his servants, who had heard all these words, were not afraid, and they did not rend their garments.

25 Yet truly, Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah contradicted the king, so that he might not burn the book. But he did not listen to them.

26 And the king instructed Jerahmeel, the son of Amelech, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, so that they would apprehend Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah, the prophet. But the Lord concealed them.

27 And after the king had burned the volume and the words that Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, saying:

28 “Again, take another volume and write in it all the former words, which were in the first volume that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, has burned.

29 And you shall say to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: Thus says the Lord: You have burned that volume, saying: ‘Why have you written in it, announcing that the king of Babylon will advance quickly, and will devastate this land, and will cause both man and beast to cease from it?’

30 Because of this, thus says the Lord against Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: There will be, from him, no one who may sit upon the throne of David. And his dead body shall be cast out: to the heat by day, and to the frost by night.

31 And I will visit against him, and against his offspring, and against his servants for their iniquities. And I will lead over them, and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and over the men of Judah, all the evil that I have declared against them, for they have not listened.”

32 Then Jeremiah took up another volume, and he gave it to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the scribe, who wrote in it, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned with fire. And moreover, there were many more words added than there had been before.

1 And then king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in place of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed him as king in the land of Judah.

2 And neither he himself, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, obeyed the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah, the prophet.

3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Pray to the Lord our God for us.”

4 Now Jeremiah was walking freely in the midst of the people. For they had not yet sent him into the custody of the prison. And then the army of Pharaoh went forth from Egypt. And hearing this, the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, withdrew from Jerusalem.

5 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

6 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: So shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to question me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has gone forth in assistance to you, will return to their own land, into Egypt.

7 And the Chaldeans will return and will make war against this city. And they will seize it and burn it with fire.

8 Thus says the Lord: Do not be willing to deceive your own souls, saying: ‘The Chaldeans will certainly withdraw and go away from us.’ For they will not go away.

9 But even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and if there were left behind from among them only a few wounded men, they would rise up, each one from his tent, and they would burn this city with fire.”

10 Therefore, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,

11 Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, and to distribute a possession there, in the sight of the citizens.

12 And when he had arrived at the gate of Benjamin, the keeper of the gate, whose turn it was to be there, was named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are fleeing to the Chaldeans.”

13 And Jeremiah responded: “That is false. I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. And so Irijah took Jeremiah, and he brought him to the leaders.

14 Therefore, the leaders were angry with Jeremiah, and so they beat him and sent him to the prison that was in the house of Jonathan, the scribe. For he was the chief over the prison.

15 And so Jeremiah went into the house of the prison and into a dungeon. And Jeremiah sat there for many days.

16 Then Zedekiah the king, sending, took him out and questioned him secretly in his house, and he said: “Do you think that there is any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said: “There is.” And he said: “You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

17 And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah: “How have I sinned against you, or your servants, or your people, such that you would cast me into a house of imprisonment?

18 Where are your prophets, who were prophesying to you, and who were saying: ‘The king of Babylon will not overwhelm you and this land?’

19 Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king. Let my petition prevail in your sight. And do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

20 Then king Zedekiah instructed that Jeremiah be confined to the vestibule of the prison, and that they should give him a twist of bread daily, along with stew, until all the bread in the city had been consumed. And Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison.

1 Then Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying:

2 “Thus says the Lord: Whoever will remain in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will flee away from the Chaldeans, will live, and his soul will dwell in safety.

3 Thus says the Lord: This city will certainly be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

4 And the leaders said to the king: “We petition you to put this man to death. For he is deliberately weakening the hands of the men of war, who have remained in this city, and the hands of the people, by speaking to them with these words. For this man is certainly not seeking peace for this people, but evil.”

5 And king Zedekiah said: “Behold, he is in your hands. For it is not fitting for the king to deny you anything.”

6 Therefore, they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Amelech, which was at the entrance to the prison. And they lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the pit, in which there was no water, but only mud. And so Jeremiah descended into the mire.

7 Now Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had sent Jeremiah into the pit, and also that the king was sitting at the gate of Benjamin.

8 And so Ebedmelech departed from the king’s house, and he spoke to the king, saying:

9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have perpetrated against Jeremiah the prophet, casting him into the pit so that he would die there from famine. For there is no more bread in the city.”

10 And so the king instructed Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying: “Take with you thirty men from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dies.”

11 Therefore, Ebedmelech, taking the men with him, entered into the king’s house to a place below the storehouse. And he took from there old garments, no longer in use, and he sent them down by rope to Jeremiah in the pit.

12 And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah: “Place these old garments, and these cut and decaying cloths, under your arms and over the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.

13 And they pulled up Jeremiah with the ropes, and they led him away from the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the vestibule of the prison.

14 And king Zedekiah sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to him at the third gate, which was at the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah: “I will question you about a matter. You shall conceal nothing from me.”

15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “If I announce to you, will you not put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”

16 Then king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah, secretly, saying: “As the Lord lives, who made this soul for us, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of those men who are seeking your life.”

17 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If, having set out, you go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. And you and your house will be safe.

18 But if you will not go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire. And you will not escape from their hand.”

19 And king Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “I am anxious, because of the Jews who have crossed over to the Chaldeans, lest perhaps I may be delivered into their hands, and they may abuse me.”

20 But Jeremiah responded: “They will not deliver you. Listen, I ask you, to the voice of the Lord, which I am speaking to you, and it will be well with you, and your soul will live.

21 But if you refuse to depart, this is the word that the Lord has revealed to me:

22 Behold, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah will be led away to the rulers of the king of Babylon. And the women will say: ‘Your men of peacefulness have led you astray, and they have prevailed against you. They have immersed your feet in mud and have set them in a slippery place. And they have withdrawn from you.’

23 And all your wives and your sons will be led away to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hands. Instead, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will burn this city with fire.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “Let no one know of these words, and you will not die.

25 But if the leaders hear that I have spoken with you, and if they come to you, and say to you: ‘Tell us what you said to the king. Do not conceal it from us, and we will not put you to death. And tell us what the king said to you,’

26 then you shall say to them: ‘I presented my supplication before the king, so that he would not order me to be led back to the house of Jonathan, to die there.’ “

27 Then all the leaders came to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. And he spoke to them in accord with all the words that the king had commanded him. And they withdrew from him, for they had learned nothing.

28 Yet truly, Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison, until the day when Jerusalem was seized. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.

1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, with his entire army, and they besieged it.

2 Then, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, the city was opened.

3 And all the rulers of the king of Babylon entered and were seated at the middle gate: Nergal-Sharezer, the priest of Nebo, Sarsechim, the chief eunuch, Nergal-Sharezer, the chief magi, and all the other rulers of the king of Babylon.

4 And when Zedekiah, the king of Judah, with all the men of war, had seen them, they fled. And they departed from the city at night, by way of the king’s garden, and through the gate which was between the two walls. And they departed along the way of the desert.

5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them. And they overtook Zedekiah in the plain of the desert of Jericho. And having captured him, they led him to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, at Riblah, which is in the land of Hamath. And he declared a judgment against him

6 And the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah, at Riblah, before his eyes. And the king of Babylon killed all the nobles of Judah.

7 Also, he plucked out the eyes of Zedekiah. And he bound him with fetters, to be led away to Babylon.

8 Also, the Chaldeans burned the house of the king and the house of the people with fire, and they overturned the wall of Jerusalem.

9 And Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, and the fugitives who had fled to him, and all the rest of the people who had remained.

10 And Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, released some of the poor people, those who had almost nothing, into the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and cisterns in that day.

11 Now Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had instructed Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, about Jeremiah, saying:

12 “Take him, and set your eyes on him, and you shall do no harm to him at all. But as he is willing, so shall you do with him.”

13 Therefore, Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, sent, and Nebushazban, the chief eunuch, and Nergal-Sharezer, the chief magi, and all the nobles of the king of Babylon sent,

14 and they took Jeremiah from the vestibule of the prison, and they delivered him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, so that he could enter a house and live among the people.

15 But the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah, when he had been confined to the vestibule of the prison, saying: “Go, and speak to Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying:

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words over this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be in your sight in that day.

17 And I will free you in that day, says the Lord. And you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you dread.

18 But when delivering, I will free you. And you will not fall by the sword. Instead, your life will be saved for you, because you had faith in me, says the Lord.”

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, had released him from Ramah, where he had taken him, bound in chains, along with all those who were being carried away from Jerusalem and from Judah, and were being led to Babylon.

2 Therefore, the leader of the military, taking Jeremiah, said to him: “The Lord your God has declared this evil over this place,

3 and he has brought it. And the Lord has done just as he has spoken. For you have sinned against the Lord, and you have not heeded his voice, and so this word has happened to you.

4 Now therefore, behold, I have released you this day from the chains which were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me into Babylon, then come. And I will set my eyes upon you. But if it displeases you to come with me into Babylon, then remain. Behold, all the land is in your sight. Whatever you will choose, and wherever it will please you to go, so shall you go, proceeding to that place.

5 And you may decline to come with me. For you may live with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah. Therefore, you may live with him in the midst of the people. And you may go wherever it will please you to go.” And the leader of the military also gave him foods and gifts, and he released him.

6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And he lived with him in the midst of the people, those who had been left behind in the land.

7 And when all the leaders of the army, who had been dispersed throughout the regions, they and their associates, had heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, governor of the land, and that he had committed to him the men, and women, and children, and the poor of the land, who had not been carried away to Babylon,

8 they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah, with Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai, who were of Netophathi, and Jezaniah, the son of Maacathi, they and their men.

9 And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their companions, saying: “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.

10 Behold, I live at Mizpah, so that I may follow the instruction of the Chaldeans who are sent to us. But as for you, gather the vintage, and the harvest, and the oil, and store it up in your vessels, and dwell in your cities, which you hold.”

11 So then, all the Jews, who were in Moab, and among the sons of Ammon, and in Idumea, and in all the regions, when they had heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judea, and that he had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over them,

12 all the Jews, I say, returned from all the places to which they had fled, and they came into the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and an exceedingly great harvest.

13 Then Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the army, who had been dispersed in the regions, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

14 And they said to him: “Know that Baalis, the king of the sons of Ammon, has sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to strike down your life.” And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, did not believe them.

15 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke to Gedaliah, separately, at Mizpah, saying: “I will go, and I will strike down Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, without anyone knowing; otherwise he may kill you, and all the Jews will be scattered who have been gathered to you, and the remnant of Judah will perish.”

16 And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah: “Do not do this word. For what you have said about Ishmael is false.”