Jeremiah 21
21
The Lord Will Fight against Jerusalem
1King Zedekiah#21.1 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3. of Judah sent for Pashhur son of Malchiah and for a priest named Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Then he told them, “Talk with Jeremiah for me.”
So they came to me and said, 2#2 K 25.1-11; 2 Ch 36.17-21. “King Nebuchadnezzar#21.2 Nebuchadnezzar: Ruled 605–562 b.c. of Babylonia has attacked Judah. Please ask the Lord to work miracles for our people, as he has done in the past, so that Nebuchadnezzar will leave us alone.”
3-7I told them that the Lord God of Israel had told me to say to King Zedekiah:
The Babylonians have surrounded Jerusalem and want to kill you and your people. You are asking me to save you, but you have made me furious. So I will stretch out my mighty arm and fight against you myself. Your army is using spears and swords to fight the Babylonians, but I will make your own weapons turn and attack you. I will send a horrible disease to kill many of the people and animals in Jerusalem, and there will be nothing left to eat. Finally, I will let King Nebuchadnezzar and his army fight their way to the center of Jerusalem and capture everyone who is left alive, including you and your officials. But Nebuchadnezzar won't be kind or show any mercy—he will have you killed! I, the Lord, have spoken.
8 #
4 Macc 15.2. Then I told them that the Lord had said:
People of Jerusalem, I, the Lord, give you the choice of life or death. 9The Babylonian army has surrounded Jerusalem, so if you want to live, you must go out and surrender to them. But if you want to die because of hunger, disease, or war, then stay here in the city. 10I have decided not to rescue Jerusalem. Instead, I am going to let the king of Babylonia burn it to the ground. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Warns the King of Judah
* 11Pay attention, you that belong
to the royal family.
12Each new day, make sure
that justice is done,
and rescue those
who are being robbed.
Or else my anger will flame up
like a fire that never goes out.
13Jerusalem,
from your mountaintop
you look out over the valleys#21.13 Jerusalem … valleys: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and think you are safe.
But I, the Lord, am angry,
14and I will punish you
as you deserve.
I'll set your palace#21.14 your palace: The Hebrew text has “the forest”; the largest room in the king's palace was known as Forest Hall (see 1 Kings 7.2,3). on fire,
and everything around you
will go up in smoke.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 21
21
Zedekiah’s Request Denied
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur#1Ch 9:12; Neh 11:12; Jr 38:1 son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah#Jr 29:24–29; 37:3; 52:24–27 son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, 2“Inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since King Nebuchadnezzar#21:2 Lit Nebuchadrezzar#2Kg 24:11; 25:22; 2Ch 36:6–13 of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
3But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: 4‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to repel the weapons of war in your hands,#Jr 32:5; 37:8–10 those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans#21:4 = Babylonians who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.#Is 13:4 5I myself will fight against you#1Sm 4:1–5:12; Lm 2:5 with an outstretched hand and a strong arm,#Dt 5:15; 26:8; 1Kg 8:42; Ps 136:12 with anger, fury, and intense wrath. 6I will strike the residents of this city, both people and animals. They will die in a severe plague. 7Afterward — this is the Lord’s declaration — King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people — those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine — I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,#Jr 37:17; 39:5–9; 52:9 to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’#2Ch 36:17
A Warning for the People
8“But tell this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.#Dt 30:15–19; Pr 12:28; Jr 8:3 9Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.#Jr 38:2; 39:18; 45:5 10For I have set my face against this city to bring disaster and not good#Jr 31:28; 39:16; 44:11,27; Am 9:4 — this is the Lord’s declaration. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it.’#Jr 34:2,22; 37:8; 38:18
11“And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 12House of David, this is what the Lord says:
Administer justice every morning,
and rescue the victim of robbery
from his oppressor,#Dt 28:29; Ec 4:1; Jr 22:3
or my anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of your evil deeds.
13Beware! I am against you,#Ezk 13:8
you who sit above the valley,
you atop the rocky plateau —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
you who say, “Who can come down against us?#Jr 49:4
Who can enter our hiding places?”
14I will punish you according to what you have done#Is 3:10 —
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will kindle a fire in your forest#Ezk 20:47
that will consume everything around it.’”#Jr 50:32
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