For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ²  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ³ 

From the city he took an official who was in charge of the soldiers, seven of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens ¹  for military service, and sixty citizens who were discovered in the middle of the city.

“These people have denied what the Lord says. ¹  They have said, ‘That is not so! ²  No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine. ³ 

Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ¹  “We are safe! ²  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ³ 

For our leaders ¹  are stupid. They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ²  So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for ³  have all been scattered.

Not one of them will survive. ¹  I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. ²  A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ³ 

The people I call my own ¹  have turned on me like a lion ²  in the forest. They have roared defiantly ³  at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them. ⁴ 

The Lord told me, ¹  “Tell the king and the queen mother, ‘Surrender your thrones, ²  for your glorious crowns will be removed ³  from your heads. ⁴ 

The Lord cried out, ¹  “Who in the world ²  will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will grieve over you? Who will stop long enough ³  to inquire about how you are doing? ⁴ 

Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to give that prophecy. He went to the Lord’s temple and stood ¹  in its courtyard and called out to all the people.

When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. ¹  Then he put him in the stocks ²  which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. ³ 

May that man be like the cities ¹  that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.

But just watch! ¹  The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! ²  Like a raging storm it will rage down ³  on the heads of those who are wicked.

Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

The Lord says, “The people of Israel who survived death at the hands of the enemy ¹  will find favor in the wilderness as they journey to find rest for themselves.

So the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a male descendant to serve me.’” ¹ 

But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw their bodies ¹  in a cistern.

When all the people that Ishmael had taken captive saw ¹  Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, they were glad.

Turn and flee! Take up refuge in remote places, ¹  you people who live in Dedan. ²  For I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau. I have decided it is time for me to punish them. ³ 

The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more. No one even passes through them. ¹