Jeremiah 21
21
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2“Please inquire of the Lord for us, because #21:2 In Hebrew there are two ways of spelling the name of the ruler of Babylon resulting in two English variations: Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar. Nebuchadnezzar II of the Chaldean Dynasty, more commonly known as Nebuchadnezzar the Great, ruled Babylon from 605-562 b.c. He conquered Jerusalem in 597 b.c.Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal [favorably] with us according to all His wonderful works and force him to withdraw from us.”
3Then Jeremiah said to them, “Say this to Zedekiah: 4‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the #21:4 The Chaldeans dominated and ruled Babylonia from 625 b.c., until their empire fell in 539 b.c., but they were known as early as 1000 b.c. as an aggressive, tribal people in the southern region of Babylonia. They were highly skilled in both the science of astronomy and the pseudo-science of astrology. They kept meticulous records of celestial motion and correctly calculated the length of a year to within just a few minutes. Babylon, their capital city, was the center of trade and learning in the western part of Asia. The classical literature of the Chaldeans was written in cuneiform, but the common language, both written and spoken in Babylon, was Akkadian increasingly influenced by Aramaic.Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem). 5I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm in anger, in fury, and in great indignation and wrath. 6I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great virulent disease. 7Then afterward,” says the Lord, “I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the virulent disease, the sword, and the famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them nor have mercy and compassion on them.” ’
8“And to this people you (Jeremiah) shall also say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9He who remains in this city [of Jerusalem] will die by the sword and by famine and by virulent disease. But he who goes outside and surrenders to the #21:9 The Chaldeans became the dominant people in Babylonia when Merodach-baladan declared himself king of Babylon. The words “Chaldean” and “Babylonian” are used interchangeably.Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and his life will be like a prize of war to him. 10For I have set My face against this city to do harm and not good,” says the Lord. “It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.” ’
11“And concerning the royal house of the king of Judah [you shall say], ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12O house of David, thus says the Lord:
“Administer justice in the morning,
And rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor,
That My wrath will not roar up like fire
And burn so [hotly] that none can extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13¶“Understand this, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” says the Lord—
“You who say, ‘Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter into our dwelling places?’
14“But I will punish you in accordance with the [appropriate] consequences of your decisions and your actions,” says the Lord.
“I will kindle a fire in your forest,
And it will devour all that is around you.” ’ ”
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Jeremiah 21
21
God Rejects King Zedekiah’s Request
1This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. It came when Zedekiah king of Judah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah to Jeremiah. He also sent the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. 2They said, “Ask the Lord for us what will happen. We want to know because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will do miracles for us as he did in the past. Maybe he will make Nebuchadnezzar stop attacking us and leave.”
3But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell King Zedekiah this: 4‘Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have weapons of war in your hands. You are using them to defend yourselves against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians. But I will make those weapons useless. The army from Babylon is all around the outside of the city wall. Soon I will bring that army into the center of the city. 5I myself will fight against you with my great power and strength. I am very angry with you. So I will fight against you with my own powerful arm. I will fight very hard against you in my very great anger. 6I will kill everything living in Jerusalem—both people and animals. They will die from terrible diseases. 7Then, says the Lord, I’ll give Zedekiah king of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will also give Zedekiah’s officers to Nebuchadnezzar. Some of the people in Jerusalem will not die from the terrible diseases. Some will not die in battle or from hunger. I will give them also to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will let those win who want to kill the people of Judah. So the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be killed in war. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy or pity or feel sorry for them!’
8“Also tell this to the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will let you choose to live or die. 9Anyone who stays in Jerusalem will die. He will die in war or from hunger or from a terrible disease. But anyone who goes out of Jerusalem and surrenders to the Babylonians who are around the city will live. Anyone who leaves the city will save his life. 10I have decided to make trouble for this city and not to help it, says the Lord. I will give it to the king of Babylon. He will burn it with fire.’
11“Tell these things to Judah’s royal family: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 12Family of David, the Lord says these things:
You must judge people fairly every day.
Protect from criminals
the person who has been robbed.
If you don’t do that, I will become very angry.
My anger will be like a fire that no one can put out.
This will happen because you have done evil things.
13“‘Jerusalem, I am against you.
You sit on top of the mountain.
You sit over this valley, says the Lord.
You say, “No one can attack us.
No one can come into our strong city.”
14But I will give you the punishment you deserve, says the Lord.
I will start a fire in your forests.
It will burn up everything around you!’”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.