“Do not get married and do not have children here in this land.

The king did not even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll. ¹ 

For the honor of your name, ¹  do not treat Jerusalem ²  with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. ³  Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it! ⁴ 

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

Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive: ¹ 

I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ¹  I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.

Do not pay allegiance to ¹  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ²  Then I will not cause you any harm.’

Then the Lord said, ¹  “As for you, Jeremiah, ²  do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, ³  because I will not listen to you.

Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve ¹  the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you.

¹ The Lord says, “Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ²  Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ³ 

“Therefore, the Lord who rules over all ¹  says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. ² 

Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ¹  It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ² 

We have not built any houses to live in. We do not own any vineyards, fields, or crops.

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! ¹ 

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces ¹  will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away. ² 

For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. ¹ 

So, Jeremiah, ¹  do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. ²  For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.” ³ 

“Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? ¹  If not, why then is he being carried off?

Jeremiah answered, “That’s a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” ¹  But Irijah would not listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials.

Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all.” ¹