21The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah^o sent to him Pashhur^p son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah^q son of Maaseiah. They said: ²“Inquire^r now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar^a^s king of Babylon^t is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders^u for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

³But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ⁴‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn^v against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians^b who are outside the wall besieging^w you. And I will gather them inside this city. ⁵I myself will fight^x against you with an outstretched hand^y and a mighty arm^z in furious anger and in great wrath. ⁶I will strike^a down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.^b ⁷After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah^c king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,^d sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon^e and to their enemies^f who want to kill them.^g He will put them to the sword;^h he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’ⁱ

⁸“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life^j and the way of death. ⁹Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.^k But whoever goes out and surrenders^l to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.^m ¹⁰I have determined to do this city harmⁿ and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands^o of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’^p

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Footnotes

aHebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
bOr Chaldeans; also in verse 9

Cross references

o 2 Ki 24:18; Jer 52:1
pSee 1 Ch 9:12
qSee 2 Ki 25:18
rSee Ge 25:22; See 2 Ki 22:18
sSee 2 Ki 25:1
tSee Ge 10:10
u Ps 44:1–4; Jer 32:17
v Jer 32:5
w Jer 37:8–10
xSee Jos 10:14; Eze 5:8
ySee 2 Ki 22:13; See Jer 6:12
zSee Ex 3:20
aSee Jer 7:20
bSee Jer 14:12
cSee 2 Ki 25:7; Jer 52:9; Eze 12:14
d Jer 14:12; 27:8
eSee 2 Ch 36:10; Jer 27:6; 32:4; 34:3; 37:17; 38:18; 39:5; Eze 29:19
fSee Lev 26:17; See Jer 19:9
gSee Jer 11:21
hSee Jer 15:9
iSee 2 Ch 36:17; See Jer 15:5; Eze 7:9; Hab 1:6
jSee Dt 30:15
k Jer 14:12; Eze 5:12
l Jer 27:11; 40:9
m Jer 27:12; 38:2, 17; 39:18; 45:5
n Jer 44:11, 27; Am 9:4
oSee Jer 20:4; 32:28; 38:2–3
pSee 2 Ki 25:9; See 2 Ch 36:19