Jeremiah 21
21
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to him, saying:
2 "Question the Lord on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is fighting against us. Perhaps it may be that the Lord will act toward us according to all his wonders, and he may withdraw from us."
3 And Jeremiah said to them: "This is what you shall say to Zedekiah:
4 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, who besiege you at the surrounding walls. And I will gather these things together in the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will make war against you: with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, and in fury, and in indignation, and in great wrath.
6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city; men and beasts will die from a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, thus says the Lord: I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and his people, and those who have been left behind in this city after pestilence and the sword and famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword. And he will not waver, and he will not be lenient, and he will not take pity.
8 And to this people, you shall say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
9 Whoever lives in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will have departed and fled away to the Chaldeans, who besiege you, will live, and his life will be to him like a spoil.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, says the Lord. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.
11 And to the house of the king of Judah, you shall say: Listen to the word of the Lord,
12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord: Judge with judgment from early morning, and rescue anyone who is oppressed by violence from the hand of a false accuser. Otherwise, my indignation may go forth like a fire, and may flare up, and there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the evil of your intentions.
13 Behold, I am against you, O inhabitants of a valley with firm and level ground, says the Lord. And you say: 'Who can strike us? And who can enter into our houses?'
14 But I will visit against you according to the fruit of your intentions, says the Lord. And I will kindle a fire in its forest. And it shall devour everything around it."
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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.