JeremiahChapter 21

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¹This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD. It came when King Zedekiah sent two men to him. They were Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said, ²"Please ask the LORD for us. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Maybe the LORD will do a wonder for us, like all the ones he did in the past. Then Nebuchadnezzar will go away from us." ³But Jeremiah answered, "Tell Zedekiah ⁴that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'You are using weapons of war in your hands. You are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who surround you outside the wall. I will turn those weapons against you. I will gather your enemies' armies into the middle of this city. ⁵I myself will fight against you with my hand reached out and my mighty arm. I will fight with anger, rage, and great fury. ⁶I will strike down the people of this city, both people and animals. They will die from a terrible plague.' ⁷'After that,' says the LORD, 'I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials. I will hand over the people in this city who live through the plague, the sword, and the hunger. I will give them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will kill them with the sword. He will not spare them or show them pity or mercy.' ⁸Also tell these people that this is what the LORD says: 'Look, I am putting in front of you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, hunger, and plague. But whoever goes out and gives himself up to the Chaldeans who surround you will live. He will escape with his life like a prize of war. ¹⁰For I have set my face against this city. I will bring disaster on it, not good, says the LORD. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.' ¹¹Also tell the royal family of Judah to hear the word of the LORD. ¹²Family of David, this is what the LORD says: 'Judge fairly every morning. Rescue the one who has been robbed from the person who mistreats him. If you don't, my anger will go out like fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil things they have done. ¹³Look, I am against you who live above the valley, on top of the rocky plain, says the LORD. You say, "Who can come against us? Who can get into our homes?" ¹⁴I will punish you as your actions deserve, says the LORD. I will start a fire in your forest. It will burn up everything around you.'"