Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God?” the Lord asks.

“The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch.

The Lord said to the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too!

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to all those he sent into exile to Babylon from Jerusalem,

“I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “The Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, says, ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down. Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared.

“So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right. If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land.

So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say. ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.

Tell them that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Anyone who does not keep the terms of the covenant will be under a curse.

As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you.

Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to give your masters this message.

Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all has already spoken about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

“The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll.

I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, ‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God.

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’

“The Lord God of Israel has a message for you. ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. It stipulated,

So the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me.’”

Then Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to the Lord God of Israel to make your request known to him. Here is what he says to you: