Jeremiah 21:1–10

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

21This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^uPashhur the son of Malchiah and ^vZephaniah the priest, the son of ^wMaaseiah, saying, ^2x“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^yfor Nebuchadnezzar¹ king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^zall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

³Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, ⁴‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^aBehold, 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. ^bAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. ⁵I myself will fight against you ^cwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^din anger and in fury and in great wrath. ⁶And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. ⁷Afterward, declares the Lord, ^eI 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. ^fHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

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