So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.

Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king. He said to him,

Johanan and all the officers of the troops that had been hiding in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

But Ishmael son of Nethaniah managed to escape from Johanan along with eight of his men, and he went on over to Ammon.

Ten days later the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.

I will have compassion on you so that he in turn will have mercy on you and allow you to return to your land.’

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the nations.

The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning. The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb. How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow, you who remain of Philistia’s power?

How long will you cry out, ‘Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!’

But how can it rest when I, the Lord, have given it orders? I have ordered it to attack the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.

The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh. They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel.

You who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping. Ask them, ‘What has happened?’

For the Lord says, “Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab.

A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. Her people act like madmen because of those idols they fear.

Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read aloud all these prophecies.

Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

ד (Dalet) The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel.

He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.