“‘But just look at you! ¹  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ²  that will not deliver you. ³ 

But I am not really the one being troubled!” ¹  says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame! ² 

But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian ¹  change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots? ² 

“You must not disobey the Lord your God by saying, ‘We will not stay in this land.’

So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ¹  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ³ 

But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!” ¹ 

the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to ¹  Egypt. You will die there. ² 

“The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods ¹  in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. ² 

Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ¹  But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ²  Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ³  They refuse to change their ways. ⁴ 

So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, ¹  this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, ²  just like I destroyed Shiloh. ³ 

What will you say ¹  when the Lord ²  appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? ³  Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ⁴ 

Then I myself will regather those of my people ¹  who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. ²  They will greatly increase in number.

I made Jerusalem ¹  and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. ²  I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object ³  of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. ⁴  Such is already becoming the case! ⁵ 

Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says to give your masters this message. ² 

For I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you ²  listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” ³ 

He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. ¹  Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!” ² 

They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ¹  I tried over and over again ²  to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. ³ 

You and your people ¹  are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. ²  But fields ³  will again be bought in this land. ⁴ 

Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.” ¹ 

This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ¹  They made me angry ²  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ³  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ⁴  previously knew. ⁵