In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifth ¹  day of the twelfth month, ²  Evil-Merodach, in the first year of his reign, pardoned ³  King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah while King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem ¹  and the towns around it with a large army. This army consisted of troops from his own army and from the kingdoms and peoples of the lands under his dominion. ² 

I will make many stumble. ¹  They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. ²  They will say, ‘Get up! Let’s go back to our own people. Let’s go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’ ³ 

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah ²  about the drought. ³ 

Zephaniah the priest read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah. ¹ 

So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me, ¹ 

At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ¹ 

So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres. For the wealth they have gained will perish.

Before Jeremiah could turn to leave, the captain of the guard added, “Go back ¹  to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern ²  the towns of Judah. Go back and live with him ³  among the people. Or go wherever else you choose.” Then the captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go.

“Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.” ¹  But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me.

Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out. ¹  To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I ²  have spoken to you over and over again, ³  but you have not obeyed me!

Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind. ¹ 

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. ¹  Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. ² 

you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong, so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’ But, watch out! ¹  I will bring down judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

If you are careful to ¹  obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. ² 

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal ¹  son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur ²  son of Malkijah had heard ³  the things that Jeremiah had been telling the people. They had heard him say,

Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹  “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. ²  Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple.

Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb. ¹ 

“I, the Lord, do these things. I, the Lord, form the plan to bring them about. ¹  I am known as the Lord. I say to you,