So I, the Lord, say this: ¹  ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them.

Then the Lord told me about ¹  some men from Anathoth ²  who were threatening to kill me. ³  They had threatened, ⁴  “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” ⁵ 

So the Lord who rules over all ¹  said, “I will surely ²  punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. ³  Their sons and daughters will die of starvation.

The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts ¹  and put them on. ²  Do not put them in water.” ³ 

The Lord says, “I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, ²  and whose hearts ³  have turned away from the Lord.

The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! ¹  Do not carry any loads ²  in through ³  the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

Therefore, the Lord says, “Ask the people of other nations whether they have heard of anything like this. Israel should have been like a virgin. But she has done something utterly revolting!

“But ¹  tell the people of Jerusalem ²  that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. ³ 

So I, Jeremiah, tell you, ¹  “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ ² 

If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says ¹  ‘You most certainly must drink it! ² 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  says, ‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. ²  A mighty storm of military destruction ³  is rising up from the distant parts of the earth.’

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 

For the Lord who rules over all ¹  has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, ²  the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ ³  and the movable bronze stands. ⁴  He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city.

Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  has already spoken ²  about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

“Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, ¹  ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have ²  only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! ³ 

So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove ¹  you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’” ² 

“The Lord God of Israel says, ¹  ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll. ² 

The Lord says, “I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob. I will show compassion on their ruined homes. ¹  Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. ²  Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site. ³ 

The Lord says to her, ¹  “Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! ²  For your heartfelt repentance ³  will be rewarded. Your children will return from the land of the enemy. I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴ 

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’ ²