Jeremias 21
1 THE WORD THAT CAME FROM THE LORD TO JEREMIAS, WHEN KING SEDEKIAS SENT TO HIM PASCHOR THE SON OF MELCHIAS, AND SOPHONIAS SON OF BASAEAS, THE PRIEST, SAYING,
This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchijah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah to talk with him. They said,
2 Enquire of the Lord for us; for the king of Babylon has risen up against us; if the Lord will do according to all his wonderful works, and [the king] shall depart from us.
“Please speak with Lord on our behalf because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will do some miracle for us like all those miracles he used to do, so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat from us.”
3 And Jeremias said to them, Thus shall you say to Sedekias king of Juda,
But Jeremiah replied, “Tell Zedekiah this:
4 Thus says the Lord; Behold, I [will] turn back the weapons of war wherewith you fight against the Chaldeans that have besieged you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the midst of this city.
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to turn the weapons you're holding against you, the weapons you're using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonian army outside the wall besieging you. I'm going to bring them right into the center of this city.
5 And I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, with wrath and great anger.
I myself will fight against you with all my power and might, with the full force of my furious anger.
6 And I will strike all the dwellers in this city, [both] men and cattle, with grievous pestilence: and they shall die.
I will kill those living in this city, human beings and animals. They will die from a terrible plague.
7 And after this, thus says the Lord; I will give Sedekias king of Juda, and his servants, and the people that is left in this city from the pestilence, and from the famine, and from the sword, into the hands of their enemies, that seek their lives: and they shall cut them in pieces with the edge of the sword: I will not spare them, and I will not have compassion upon them.
After that, declares the Lord, I'm going to hand you over, Zedekiah king of Judah, as well as your officers and the people who are left in this city after the plague and war and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to your enemies who want you dead. He will attack you; he won't spare you or show you any pity or mercy.
8 And you shall say to this people, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I have set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
Tell the people this as well: This is what the Lord says: Look, I'm placing before you the path of life and the path of death.
9 He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by famine: but he that goes forth to advance to the Chaldeans that have besieged you, shall live, and his life shall be to him for a spoil, and he shall live.
If you stay in this city you'll die either by sword and famine and plague, but if you leave and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging you, you will live. In fact it will be like gaining your life as plunder from a war.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good: it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall consume it with fire.
For I am determined to bring disaster on this city, and not blessings, declares the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.
11 O house of the king of Juda, hear you the word of the Lord.
In addition tell the royal family of the king of Judah to listen to the Lord's message:
12 O house of David, thus says the Lord; Judge judgment in the morning, and act rightly, and rescue the spoiled one from the hand of him that wrongs him, lest mine anger be kindled like fire, and it burn, and there be none to quench [it].
Descendants of David, this is what the Lord says: Make sure you judge fairly every day. Protect those who are being unjustly treated from those corrupt people, otherwise because of their evil actions my anger will blaze out like fire that can't be put out.
13 Behold, I am against you that dwell in the valley of Sor; in the plain country, [even against] them that say, Who shall alarm us? or who shall enter into our habitation?
Watch out, because I'm going to fight against you people who live above the valley on top of a flat rock, declares the Lord. You say, ‘Who can attack us? Who can break down our defenses?’
14 And I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
I'm going to punish you as you deserve for what you've done, declares the Lord. I will set your forest on fire and it will burn up everything around you.”
