Dual Panel1The Lord <03068> spoke <01961> <0834> <01697> to <0413> Jeremiah <03414> when King <04428> Zedekiah <06667> sent <07971> to <0413> him Pashhur <06583> son <01121> of Malkijah <04441> and the priest <03548> Zephaniah <06846> son <01121> of Maaseiah <04641>. Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask <0559>,
2“Please <04994> ask <01875> the Lord <03068> to come and help us, because <03588> King <04428> Nebuchadnezzar <05019> of Babylon <0894> is attacking <03898> us. Maybe <0194> the Lord <03068> will perform <06213> one of his miracles <06381> as in times past and make him stop attacking <05927> us and leave.”
3Jeremiah <03414> answered <0559> them, “Tell <0559> Zedekiah <06667>
4that <03541> the Lord <03068>, the God <0430> of Israel <03478>, says <0559>, ‘The forces <04421> <03627> at your disposal <03027> are now outside <02351> the walls <02346> fighting <03898> against <05921> King <04428> Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon <0894> and the Babylonians <03778> who have you under siege <06696>. I will gather <0622> those <02063> forces back inside <08432> the city <05892>.
5In anger <0639>, in fury <02534>, and in wrath <01419> <07110> I myself <0589> will fight <03898> against <0854> you with my mighty <05186> power <03027> and great <02389> strength <02220>!
6I will kill <05221> everything living <03427> in Jerusalem, people <0120> and animals <0929> alike! They will die <04191> from terrible <01419> diseases <01698>.
7Then <03651> <0310> I, the Lord <03068>, promise <05002> that I will hand <05414> over King <04428> Zedekiah <06667> of Judah <03063>, his officials <05650>, and any of the people <05971> who survive <07604> the war <02719>, starvation <07458>, and disease <01698>. I will hand <03027> them over to King <04428> Nebuchadnezzar <05019> of Babylon <0894> and to their enemies <0341> who want <01245> to kill <01245> them. He will slaughter <05221> them with the sword <02719>. He will not <03808> <03808> show <02347> them any mercy <02347>, compassion <07355>, or <03808> pity <02550>.’
8“But tell <0559> the people <05971> of Jerusalem that the Lord <03069> says <0559>, ‘I will give <05414> you a choice between two courses of action. One will result <01870> in life <02416>; the other will result <01870> in death <04194>.
9Those who stay <03427> in this <02063> city <05892> will die <04191> in battle <02719> or of starvation <07458> or disease <01698>. Those who leave <03318> the city and surrender <05307> to <05921> the Babylonians <03778> who are besieging <06696> it will live <02421>. They will <01961> escape <07998> with their lives <05315>.
10For <03588> I, the Lord <03068>, say <05002> that I am determined <07760> not <03808> to deliver this <02063> city <05892> but to bring disaster <07451> on it. It will be handed over <05414> <03027> to the king <04428> of Babylon <0894> and he will destroy <08313> it with fire <0784>.’”
11The Lord told me to say to the royal <04428> court <01004> of Judah <03063>, “Listen <08085> to what <01697> the Lord <03068> says,
12O royal family <01004> descended from David <01732>. The Lord <03068> says <0559>: ‘See <01777> to it that people each day <01242> are judged <04941> fairly. Deliver <05337> those who have been robbed <01497> from those who oppress <06231> them. Otherwise <06435>, my wrath <02534> will blaze out <03318> against you. It will burn <01197> like a fire <0784> that cannot <0369> be put out <03518> because of the evil <07455> that you have done <04611>.
13Listen <02005>, you who sit enthroned <03427> above the valley <06010> on a rocky <06697> plateau <04334>. I am opposed to you,’ says <05002> the Lord <03068>. ‘You boast <0559>, “No one <04310> can swoop down <05181> on <05921> us. No one <04310> can penetrate <0935> into our places of refuge <04585>.”
14But I will punish <06485> you as your deeds <04611> deserve <06529>,’ says <05002> the Lord <03068>. ‘I will set <03341> fire <0784> to your palace <03293>; it will burn up <0398> everything <03605> around <05439> it.’”