<p class="poetry">I will go to the leaders<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and speak with them.p> <p class="poetry">Surely they know what the <sc>Lordsc> demands.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Surely they know what their God requires of them.&#8221;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authorityp> <p class="poetry">and refuse to submit to him.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">If people want to boast, they should boast about this:p> <p class="poetry">They should boast that they understand and know me.p> <p class="poetry">They should boast that they know and understandp> <p class="poetry">that I, the <sc>Lordsc>, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earthp> <p class="poetry">and that I desire people to do these things,&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="bodytext">says the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<p class="poetry">O royal family descended from David.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;See to it that people each day<n id="2" /> are judged fairly.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Deliver those who have been robbed from those<n id="4" /> who oppress them.p> <p class="poetry">Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you.p> <p class="poetry">It will burn like a fire that cannot be put outp> <p class="poetry">because of the evil that you have done.<n id="5" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those<n id="1" /> who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows.<n id="2" /> Do not kill innocent people<n id="3" /> in this land.

Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;This man should be condemned to die<n id="2" /> because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so<n id="3" /> with your own ears.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;This man should not be condemned to die.<n id="2" /> For he has spoken to us under the authority of the <sc>Lordsc> our God.&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="poetry">For I, the <sc>Lordsc>, affirm<n id="1" /> thatp> <p class="poetry">I will be with you and will rescue you.p> <p class="poetry">I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.p> <p class="poetry">But I will not completely destroy you.p> <p class="poetry">I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.p> <p class="poetry">I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

&#8216;Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, &#8220;Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled<n id="1" /> as my closest relative to buy it.&#8221;&#8217;<n id="2" />

But the Babylonian<n id="1" /> army chased after them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho<n id="2" /> and captured him.<n id="3" /> They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah<n id="4" /> in the territory of Hamath and Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him there.

<p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, tell<n id="1" /> you not to be afraid,p> <p class="poetry">you descendants of Jacob, my servant,p> <p class="poetry">for I am with you.p> <p class="poetry">Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you,p> <p class="poetry">I will not completely destroy you.p> <p class="poetry">I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure.p> <p class="poetry">I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">For the <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath.<n id="1" />

Now it happened just as the <sc>Lordsc> had said! My cousin Hanamel<n id="1" /> came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, &#8216;Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.&#8217; When this happened, I recognized that the <sc>Lordsc> had indeed spoken to me.