<p class="poetry">&#8220;It did no good for me to punish your people.p> <p class="poetry">They did not respond to such correction.p> <p class="poetry">You slaughtered your prophetsp> <p class="poetry">like a voracious lion.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

I will kill everything living in Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases.

The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed<n id="1" /> at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.p> <p class="bodytext">So Judah was taken into exile away from its land.

Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah there at Mizpah, &#8220;Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it. Otherwise he will kill you<n id="1" /> and all the Judeans who have rallied around you will be scattered. Then what remains of Judah will disappear.&#8221;

<p class="poetry"><sc>Lordsc>, I know you look for faithfulness.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.p> <p class="poetry">They have become as hardheaded as a rock.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">They refuse to change their ways.<n id="4" />p>

When he heard Jeremiah&#8217;s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged.<n id="1" /> Then he put him in the stocks<n id="2" /> which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.<n id="3" />

and they brought Uriah back from there.<n id="1" /> They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">All your allies have abandoned you.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They no longer have any concern for you.p> <p class="poetry">For I have attacked you like an enemy would.p> <p class="poetry">I have chastened you cruelly.p> <p class="poetry">For your wickedness is so greatp> <p class="poetry">and your sin is so much.<n id="2" />p>

The officials were very angry<n id="1" /> at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners.<n id="2" />p>

He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war.<n id="1" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt.<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah<n id="1" /> about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.p> <p class="poetry">Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.p> <p class="poetry">Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their citiesp> <p class="poetry">and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For they have rebelled so muchp> <p class="poetry">and done so many unfaithful things.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then I said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;<sc>Lordsc>,<n id="1" /> have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?p> <p class="poetry">Do you despise<n id="2" /> the city of Zion?p> <p class="poetry">Why have you struck us with such forcep> <p class="poetry">that we are beyond recovery?<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.p> <p class="poetry">We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then some people<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah!<n id="2" /> There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God&#8217;s word.<n id="3" /> Come on! Let&#8217;s bring charges against him and get rid of him!<n id="4" /> Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">So let their children die of starvation.p> <p class="poetry">Let them be cut down by the sword.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Let their wives lose their husbands and children.p> <p class="poetry">Let the older men die of disease<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and the younger men die by the sword in battle.p>

For the <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8216;I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you.<n id="1" /> You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies.<n id="2" /> I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel who rules over all<n id="1" /> also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so.<n id="2" /> &#8216;I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.

&#8216;The defenders of the city will go out and fight with the Babylonians.<n id="1" /> But they will only fill those houses and buildings with the dead bodies of the people that I will kill in my anger and my wrath.<n id="2" /> That will happen because I have decided to turn my back on<n id="3" /> this city on account of the wicked things they have done.<n id="4" />

For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces<n id="1" /> fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" />p>