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

Moreover, ¹  the Lord says, “Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob. Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. ²  Make your praises heard. ³  Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people. Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’ ⁴ 

You people of Israel, ¹  listen to what the Lord has to say to you.

“The Lord God of Israel says, ¹  ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll. 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.’

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 

Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some ¹  of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! ² 

Yes, ¹  here is what he says: “You hear cries of panic and of terror; there is no peace in sight. ² 

Moreover, ¹  the Lord says to the people of Zion, ²  “Your injuries are incurable; your wounds are severe. ³ 

For the Lord says, “Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab. ¹ 

The Lord says, “I will cause a destructive wind ¹  to blow against ²  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ³ 

They say to a wooden idol, ¹  ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ ²  Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. ³  Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

So ¹  the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying, “This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying, “Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!” ² 

Tell them that the Lord says, ¹  ‘You must obey me! You must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws. ² 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  told me to say to this people, ²  “Take note of what I say. ³  Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!” ⁴ 

Say, ‘Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! ¹  The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²  says, “I will bring a disaster on this place ³  that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! ⁴ 

“You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news ¹  for us here in Babylon.’

But listen to what I say to you and to all these people. ¹ 

How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, ¹  those who teach it ²  have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean. ³ 

Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. ¹  You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. ²