The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning ¹  all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. ² 

A destructive army ¹  will come marching over the hilltops in the desert. For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon ²  against ³  everyone from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe. ⁴ 

Their houses will be turned over to others as will their fields and their wives. For I will unleash my power ¹  against those who live in this land,” says the Lord.

For the Lord says, “I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it.” ¹ 

They will lay it waste. It will lie parched ¹  and empty before me. The whole land will be laid waste. But no one living in it will pay any heed. ² 

Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ¹ 

So their land will become an object of horror. ¹  People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision. ² 

The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. ¹  So their lands will certainly ²  be laid waste by the warfare of the oppressive nation ³  and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”

Do not listen to them, ¹  because their prophecies are lies. ²  Listening to them will only cause you ³  to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. ⁴ 

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah ¹  and lived there with him. He stayed there to live among the people who had been left in the land of Judah. ² 

So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: ¹  ‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.

“For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken ¹  by their God, the Lord who rules over all. ²  For the land of Babylonia is ³  full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full ¹  on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead. ² 

So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ¹  Do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from a faraway land where you are captives. ²  The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ³ 

But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent ¹  and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands ²  and to their own country.

For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to ¹  the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. ² 

I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. ¹ 

I will punish the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, ¹  the priests, and all the other people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf. ² 

So Johanan son of Kareah, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land.

I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. ¹  They will winnow her and strip her land bare. ²  This will happen when ³  they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her. ⁴