For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. ¹  I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’” ² 

“When you tell these people about all this, ¹  they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’

The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all. ¹ 

“Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river. ¹  They will be like an overflowing stream. They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood. They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants. People will cry out in alarm. Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.

“I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem ¹  or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ² 

“So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, ¹  asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

I, the Lord, promise that ¹  I will hand Pharaoh Hophra ²  king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”

The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. ¹ 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  has solemnly sworn, ²  ‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. ³  They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’

So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ¹  The Lord affirms it! ² 

Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! ¹  I, the Lord, affirm it! ² 

He said through them, ¹  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ²  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ³ 

The sounds of battle ¹  will resound to the ends of the earth. For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. ²  He will pass judgment on all humankind and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ ³  The Lord so affirms it! ⁴ 

Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to ¹  the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation ²  in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ³ 

I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, ¹  “Submit ²  to the yoke of servitude to ³  the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.

He sent it with Elasah son of Shaphan ¹  and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. ²  King Zedekiah of Judah had sent these men to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. ³  The letter said:

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 

So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, ¹  “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, ²  I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.” ³ 

I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. ¹  You will escape with your life ²  because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ³ 

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him. ¹  This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. ²