Jeremiah 21

1 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,

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,

2 “[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].”

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.

3 I replied to them, “[Go back to King] Zedekiah. Tell him,

And Jeremias said to them, Thus shall ye say to Sedekias king of Juda,

4 ‘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.

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I [will] turn back the weapons of war wherewith ye fight against the Chaldeans that have besieged you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the midst of this city.

5 I myself will fight against your [army] with my very great power, [MTY, DOU] because I am very angry with you.

And I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, with wrath and great anger.

6 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.”

And I will smite all the dwellers in this city, [both] men and cattle, with grievous pestilence: and they shall die.

7 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]’

And after this, thus saith 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.

8 And tell this to [all] the people: ‘Yahweh says that you must decide whether you want to die or to remain alive.

And thou shalt say to this people, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I have set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

9 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.

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.

10 [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.’”

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.

11 [Yahweh also told me to] say this to the family of the king of Judah: “Listen to this message from Yahweh!

O house of the king of Juda, hear ye the word of the Lord.

12 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.

O house of David, thus saith 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].

13 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].”

Behold, I am against thee that dwellest 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?

14 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!’”

And I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.