Jer 21:1-10, 27:12-28:17, 34:2-22, 37:2-21, 38:14-28 | ESV | STEP | This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest , the son of Maaseiah , saying ,

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^aPashhur the son of Malchiah and ^bZephaniah the priest, the son of ^cMaaseiah, saying, 2 ^d“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^efor Nebuchadnezzar ^{▼▼Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, an alternate spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) occurring frequently from Jeremiah 21–52; this latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency} king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^gall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^hBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ⁱAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you ^jwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^kin anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, ^lI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^mHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ⁿ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, ^oI set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die ^pby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and ^qsurrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live ^rand shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For ^sI have set my face against this city for harm and ^tnot for good, declares the Lord: ^uit shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Jeremiah 27:12-22

12 To ^vZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^w“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^xserve him and his people and live. 13 ^yWhy will you and your people die ^zby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^aaas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 ^abDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^acfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^adthey are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^aeDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^af‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^agfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 ^ahDo not listen to them; ^aiserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^ajbecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^aklet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^althat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 ^amFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^anwhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^aoconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ^apThey shall be carried to Babylon ^aqand remain there ^aruntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^asThen I will bring them back ^atand restore them to this place.”

Jeremiah 28

Hananiah the False Prophet

1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of ^auZedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of ^avAzzur, the prophet from ^awGibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^axI have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 ^ayWithin ^aztwo years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place ^baJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, ^bbfor I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^bc“Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 ^bdThe prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 ^beAs for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the ^bfyoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ^bg“Thus says the Lord: ^bhEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of ^biall the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet ^bjHananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations ^bkan iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^bland they shall serve him, ^bmfor I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, ^bnthe Lord has not sent you, ^boand you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, ^bpbecause you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah 34:2-22

2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to ^bqZedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^brBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 ^bsYou shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. ^btYou shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! ^buThus says the Lord concerning you: ^bv‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. ^bwAnd as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall ^bxburn spices for you ^byand lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, ^bzLachish and ^caAzekah, ^cbfor these were the only ^ccfortified cities of Judah that remained.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah ^cdhad made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem ^ceto make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 ^cfthat everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, ^cgso that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves ^chthey had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. 12 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when ^ciI brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 ^cj‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; ^ckyou must set him free from your service.’ But ^clyour fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes ^cmby proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and ^cnyou made a covenant before me in the ^cohouse that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around ^cpand profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, ^cqwhom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

17 “Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me ^crby proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; ^csbehold, I proclaim to you liberty ^ctto the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. ^cuI will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of ^cvthe covenant that they made before me, I will make them like ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks them like} ^cxthe calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, ^cythe eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies ^czand into the hand of those who seek their lives. ^daTheir dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And ^dbZedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon ^dcwhich has withdrawn from you. 22 Behold, ^ddI will command, declares the Lord, and will ^debring them back to this city. ^dfAnd they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. ^dgI will make the cities of Judah a desolation ^dhwithout inhabitant.”

Jeremiah 37:2-21

2 ^diBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 King Zedekiah sent ^djJehucal the son of ^dkShelemiah, and ^dlZephaniah the priest, the son of ^dmMaaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please ^dnpray for us to the Lord our God.” 4 ^doNow Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, ^dpfor he had not yet been put in prison. 5 ^dqThe army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when ^drthe Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, ^dsthey withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^dtsent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^duPharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to ^dvreturn to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And ^dwthe Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^dxThey shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 ^dyFor even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^dzburn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when ^eathe Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^ebthe land of Benjamin ^ecto receive his portion there ^edamong the people. 13 When he was at ^eethe Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^efShelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^eg“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^ehthe officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^eiand imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

16 ^ejWhen Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^eksecretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^el“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^emthat you have put me in prison? 19 ^enWhere are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^eolet my humble plea come before you and ^epdo not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^eqthe court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, ^eruntil all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^esthe court of the guard.

Jeremiah 38:14-28

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore ^etsecretly to Jeremiah, ^eu“As the Lord lives, ^evwho made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^ewthese men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^exIf you will surrender to ^eythe officials of the king of Babylon, ^ezthen your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to ^fathe officials of the king of Babylon, ^fbthen this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^fcand they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^fdwho have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^feand it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to ^ffsurrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

^fg“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and ^fhyour sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If ^fithe officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ^fj‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained ^fkin the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.