I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.

They will hear, ‘Run! Save yourselves! Even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the desert!’

Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.

So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live.”

“I will abandon my nation. I will forsake the people I call my own. I will turn my beloved people over to the power of their enemies.

Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers.

You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”

I will provide the priests with abundant provisions. My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.”

I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them firmly in the land.’

The Lord who rules over all has solemnly sworn, ‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’

“Get out of Babylon, my people! Flee to save your lives from the fierce anger of the Lord!

in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem;

So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.”

I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”

in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, carried into exile 745 Judeans. In all 4,600 people went into exile.

You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find.

Even your clothes are stained with the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong; you did not catch them breaking into your homes. Yet, in spite of all these things you have done,

In response to all this I said, “Ah, Lord God, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”

I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!

I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”