Jeremiah 21
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from YHWH, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
Yahweh gave me another message when King Zedekiah [of Judah] sent [a man who was also named] Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, and a priest named Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, [to talk to me. They pleaded with me], saying,
2 Inquire, I pray thee, of YHWH for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that YHWH will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
“[The army of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Please speak to Yahweh for us. [Ask him if he will help us]. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar’s [army] to leave by performing a miracle for us, like the miracles he performed [previously].”
3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
I replied to them, “[Go back to King] Zedekiah. Tell him,
4 Thus saith YHWH Elohim of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
‘This is what Yahweh, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says: “I will cause your weapons to be useless in fighting against the king of Babylon and his army that is outside the walls of Jerusalem, attacking. I will enable them to enter into the center of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
I myself will fight against your [army] with my very great power, [MTY, DOU] because I am very angry with you.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
I will send a very (terrible plague/big sickness) on the people of this city, and on their domestic animals, and [many of] them will die.”
7 And afterward, saith YHWH, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
And Yahweh says there are many people in this city who want to kill you. So, he will enable [the army of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and other people in this city to capture [you], King Zedekiah, and your officials, and [all the other] people who do not die from the plague. His army will slaughter your soldiers; they will not act mercifully toward you(pl) or pity you at all. [DOU]’
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith YHWH; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
And tell this to [all] the people: ‘Yahweh says that you must decide whether you want to die or to remain alive.
9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
Everyone who remains in Jerusalem will die. They will be killed in battles or die from being hungry or from diseases. But those who surrender to the army of Babylon that is surrounding your city will remain alive. They will escape dying.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith YHWH: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
[That will happen] because I, Yahweh, have decided to cause this city to experience disasters, not to experience something good. The army of the king of Babylon will capture this city and will destroy it [completely] by fire.’”
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of YHWH;
[Yahweh also told me to] say this to the family of the king of Judah: “Listen to this message from Yahweh!
12 O house of David, thus saith YHWH; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
This is what he says to you descendants of King David: ‘Every day, make fair decisions for the people whom you judge. Help those who have been robbed. Rescue/Save them from those [SYN] who (oppress them/treat them cruelly). If you do not do that, I will be angry and punish [MTY] you with a fire that will be impossible to extinguish, because of [all] the sins that you have committed.
13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith YHWH; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
I will fight against you people [of Jerusalem], you who live on top of a rocky hill above the valley. [I will fight against] you people who boast, saying, “No one can attack us and break through [our defenses].”
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith YHWH: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
I will punish you for your wicked deeds like you deserve to be punished; [It will be as though] I will light a fire in your forests that will burn up everything around you!’”
