Judgment on the Nations

15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this twine cup of 3fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And uthey will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them va desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and wa curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of xthe land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the yPhilistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and zthe remnant of Ashdod); 21 aEdom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of bTyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the csea; 23 dDedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the emixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of fElam, and all the kings of the gMedes; 26 hall the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of 4Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: i“Drink, jbe drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, kI begin to bring calamity on the city lwhich is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for mI will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’

30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘The Lord will nroar from on high,

And utter His voice from oHis holy habitation;

He will roar mightily against pHis fold.

He will give qa shout, as those who tread the grapes,

Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—

For the Lord has ra controversy with the nations;

sHe will plead His case with all flesh.

He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”

32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Behold, disaster shall go forth

From nation to nation,

And ta great whirlwind shall be raised up

From the farthest parts of the earth.

33 u“And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be vlamented, wor gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

34 “Wail, xshepherds, and cry!

Roll about in the ashes,

You leaders of the flock!

For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;

You shall fall like a precious vessel.

35 And the shepherds will have no 5way to flee,

Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.

36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds,

And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.

For the Lord has plundered their pasture,

37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down

Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

38 He has left His lair like the lion;

For their land is desolate

Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,

And because of His fierce anger.”

Jeremiah Saved from Death

26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in athe court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, ball the words that I command you to speak to them. cDo not diminish a word. 3 dPerhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may erelent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: f“If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the prophets gwhom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like hShiloh, and will make this city ia curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be jdesolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, 1“This man deserves to kdie! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore, lamend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, here mI am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and 2proper to you. 15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

17 nThen certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 o“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

p“Zion shall be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem shall become qheaps of ruins,

And the mountain of the 3temple

Like the 4bare hills of the forest.” ’

19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? rDid he not fear the Lord and sseek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord trelented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. uBut we are doing great evil against ourselves.”

20 Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. 22 Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. 23 And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the 5common people.

24 Nevertheless vthe hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

27 In 1the beginning of the reign of 2Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, aking of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, band put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 c‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and dhave given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 eAnd now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, fMy servant; and gthe beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 hSo all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, iuntil the time of his land comes; jand then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your 3dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they prophesy a klie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

12 I also spoke to lZedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! 13 mWhy will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore ndo not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy oa lie to you; 15 for I have pnot sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, qthe vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts rconcerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away scaptive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—21 yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the tvessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: 22 ‘They shall be ucarried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I vvisit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then wI will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”