<p class="poetry">One of their own people will be their leader.p> <p class="poetry">Their ruler will come from their own number.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will invite him to approach me, and he will do so.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">For no one would dare approach me on his own.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, affirm it!<n id="4" />p>

&#8216;Oh, Lord <sc>Godsc>,<n id="1" /> you did indeed<n id="2" /> make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength.<n id="3" /> Nothing is too hard for you!

This will happen because<n id="1" /> the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now.<n id="2" /> They have made me so angry that I am determined to remove<n id="3" /> it from my sight.

Tell King Jehoiakim of Judah, &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;You burned the scroll. You asked<n id="1" /> Jeremiah, &#8216;How dare you write in this scroll that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and wipe out all the people and animals on it?&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" />

Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread<n id="1" /> be given to him every day from the baker&#8217;s street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept<n id="2" /> in the courtyard of the guardhouse.p>

Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: &#8220;Take thirty<n id="1" /> men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">Some time later<n id="1" /> Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance<n id="2" /> of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, &#8220;I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer.&#8221;<n id="3" />

The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, &#8216;Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you.<n id="1" /> Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.&#8217;<n id="2" />

All the officials did indeed come and question Jeremiah.<n id="1" /> He told them exactly what the king had instructed him to say.<n id="2" /> They stopped questioning him any further because no one had actually heard their conversation.<n id="3" />

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king&#8217;s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls.<n id="1" /> Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.<n id="2" />

But he<n id="1" /> left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to Jeremiah<n id="1" /> after Nebuzaradan the captain of the royal guard had set him free at Ramah.<n id="2" /> He had taken him there in chains<n id="3" /> along with all the people from Jerusalem<n id="4" /> and Judah who were being carried off to exile to Babylon.

Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was pretending to cry<n id="1" /> as he walked along. When he met them, he said to them, &#8220;Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.&#8221;<n id="2" />

The prophet Jeremiah answered them, &#8220;Agreed!<n id="1" /> I will indeed pray to the <sc>Lordsc> your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the <sc>Lordsc> replies in response to you.<n id="2" /> I will not keep anything back from you.&#8221;

Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear.<n id="1" /> Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the <sc>Lordsc>, affirm it!<n id="2" />

<p class="poetry">Anyone who flees at the sound of terrorp> <p class="poetry">will fall into a pit.p> <p class="poetry">Anyone who climbs out of the pitp> <p class="poetry">will be caught in a trap.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For the time is comingp> <p class="poetry">when I will punish the people of Moab.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, affirm it!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> says,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth.p> <p class="poetry">I will unleash my power against you;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1506; (<i>Ayini>)p> <p class="poetry">I weep because of these things;p> <p class="poetry">my eyes<n id="1" /> flow with tears.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">For there is no one in sight who can comfort me<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">or encourage me.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">My children<n id="5" /> are desolated<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">because an enemy has prevailed.p>

<p class="bodytext">As I watched, I noticed<n id="1" /> a windstorm<n id="2" /> coming from the north &#8211; an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing,<n id="3" /> such that bright light<n id="4" /> rimmed it and came from<n id="5" /> it like glowing amber<n id="6" /> from the middle of a fire.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;Therefore this is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: Because you are more arrogant<n id="1" /> than the nations around you,<n id="2" /> you have not followed my statutes and have not carried out my regulations. You have not even<n id="3" /> carried out the regulations of the nations around you!p>