| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, | 1The LORD spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask, |
| 2“Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.” | 2"Please ask the LORD to come and help us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the LORD will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave." |
| 3Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, | 3Jeremiah answered them, "Tell Zedekiah |
| 4‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, 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. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. | 4that the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The forces at your disposal are now outside the walls fighting against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians who have you under siege. I will gather those forces back inside the city. |
| 5I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. | 5In anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength! |
| 6And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. | 6I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases. |
| 7Afterward, declares the LORD, I 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. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’ | 7Then I, the LORD, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.' |
| 8“And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. | 8"But tell the people of Jerusalem that the LORD says, 'I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. |
| 9He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. | 9Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives. |
| 10For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’ | 10For I, the LORD, say that I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.'" |
| 11“And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, | 11The LORD told me to say to the royal court of Judah, "Listen to what the LORD says, |
| 12O house of David! Thus says the LORD: “‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of your evil deeds.’” | 12O royal family descended from David. The LORD says: 'See to it that people each day are judged fairly. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you. It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out because of the evil that you have done. |
| 13“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the LORD; you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter our habitations?’ | 13Listen, you who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau. I am opposed to you,' says the LORD. 'You boast, "No one can swoop down on us. No one can penetrate into our places of refuge." |
| 14I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.” | 14But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,' says the LORD. 'I will set fire to your palace; it will burn up everything around it.'" |
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