The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?”

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after Jehoiakim had burned the scroll containing what Jeremiah had spoken and Baruch had written down.

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away.

Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt.

I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.

Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way.

Early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.

Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”

When the Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood by one of the wheels.

“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’?

“‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, they coat it with whitewash.

“What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “‘The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb?’

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:

In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, a refugee came to me from Jerusalem saying, “The city has been defeated!”

Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate, they have been given to us for food.”

Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:

You say, “When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!

The Lord who rules over all says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’”