Jeremiah 25-26

Jeremiah 25

¹The word that hath been unto Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, -- it is the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, --

²Which Jeremiah the prophet hath spoken concerning all the people of Judah, even unto all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

³‘From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and unto this day -- this three and twentieth year -- hath the word of Jehovah been unto me, and I speak unto you, rising early and speaking, and ye have not hearkened;

⁴And Jehovah hath sent unto you all His servants, the prophets, rising early and sending, and ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear, saying:

⁵‘Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell on the ground that Jehovah hath given to you and to your fathers from age unto age,

⁶And ye do not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow yourselves to them, nor do ye provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I do no evil to you;

⁷And ye have not hearkened unto Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- so as to provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands for evil to you.

⁸‘Therefore thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Because that ye have not obeyed My words,

⁹Lo, I am sending, and have taken all the families of the north -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- even unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and have brought them in against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about, and have devoted them, and appointed them for an astonishment, and for a hissing, and for wastes age-during.

¹⁰And I have destroyed from them the voice of rejoicing, and the voice of joy, voice of bridegroom and voice of bride, noise of millstones, and the light of lamps.

¹¹And all this land hath been for a waste, for an astonishment, and these nations have served the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹²‘And it hath come to pass, at the fulness of seventy years, I charge against the king of Babylon, and against that nation -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- their iniquity, and against the land of the Chaldeans, and have appointed it for desolations age-during.

¹³And I have brought in on that land all My words that I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, that Jeremiah hath prophesied concerning all the nations.

¹⁴For laid service on them -- also them -- have many nations and great kings, and I have given recompence to them according to their doing, and according to the work of their hands.

¹⁵‘For thus said Jehovah God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury out of My hand, and thou hast caused all the nations to drink it unto whom I am sending thee;

¹⁶And they have drunk, and shaken themselves and shewn themselves foolish, because of the sword that I am sending among them.

¹⁷‘And I take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah, and cause all the nations to drink unto whom Jehovah sent me:

¹⁸Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, And its kings, its heads, To give them to waste, to astonishment, To hissing, and to reviling, as at this day.

¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, And his heads, and all his people,

²⁰And all the mixed people, And all the kings of the land of Uz, And all the kings of the land of the Philistines, And Ashkelon, and Gazzah, and Ekron, And the remnant of Ashdod,

²¹Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon,

²²And all the kings of Tyre, And all the kings of Zidon, And the kings of the isle that is beyond the sea,

²³Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, And all cutting the corners of the beard,

²⁴And all the kings of Arabia, And all the kings of the mixed people, Who are dwelling in the wilderness,

²⁵And all the kings of Zimri, And all the kings of Elam, And all the kings of Media,

²⁶And all the kings of the north, The near and the far off, one unto another, And all the kingdoms of the earth, That are on the face of the ground, And king Sheshach drinketh after them.

²⁷And thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts God of Israel, Drink ye, yea drink abundantly, And vomit, and fall, and rise not, Because of the sword that I am sending among you.

²⁸And it hath come to pass, When they refuse to receive the cup out of thy hand to drink, That thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Ye do certainly drink.

²⁹For lo, in the city over which My name is called, I am beginning to do evil, And ye -- ye are entirely acquitted! Ye are not acquitted, for a sword I am proclaiming, For all inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts.

³⁰And thou, thou dost prophesy unto them all these words, and hast said unto them: Jehovah from the high place doth roar, And from His holy habitation giveth forth His voice, He surely roareth for His habitation, A shout as of treaders down, God answereth all the inhabitants of the land,

³¹Wasting hath come unto the end of the earth, For a controversy hath Jehovah with nations, He hath executed judgment for all flesh, The wicked! He hath given them to the sword, An affirmation of Jehovah.

³²Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, evil is going out from nation to nation, And a great whirlwind is stirred up from the sides of the earth.

³³And the pierced of Jehovah have been in that day, From the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth, They are not lamented, nor gathered, nor buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are.

³⁴Howl, ye shepherds, and cry, And roll yourselves, ye honourable of the flock, For full have been your days, For slaughtering, and for your scatterings, And ye have fallen as a desirable vessel.

³⁵And perished hath refuge from the shepherds, And escape from the honourable of the flock.

³⁶A voice is of the cry of the shepherds, And a howling of the honourable of the flock, For Jehovah is spoiling their pasture.

³⁷And the peaceable habitations have been cut down, Because of the fierceness of the anger of Jehovah.

³⁸He hath forsaken, as a young lion, His covert, Surely their land hath become a desolation, Because of the oppressing fierceness, And because of the fierceness of His anger!

Jeremiah 26

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, hath this word been from Jehovah, saying:

²‘Thus said Jehovah, Stand thou in the court of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast spoken unto all those of the cities of Judah who are coming in to bow themselves in the house of Jehovah, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them, thou dost not diminish a word.

³If so be they hearken, and turn back each from his evil way, then I have repented concerning the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, because of the evil of their doings.

⁴‘And thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah, If ye do not hearken unto Me, to walk in My law, that I set before you,

⁵To hearken to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I am sending unto you, yea, rising early and sending, and ye have not hearkened,

⁶Then I have given up this house as Shiloh, and this city I give up for a reviling to all nations of the earth.'

⁷And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, hear Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah,

⁸And it cometh to pass, at the completion of Jeremiah's speaking all that Jehovah hath commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people catch him, saying, Thou dost surely die,

⁹Wherefore hast thou prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, ‘As Shiloh this house shall be, and this city is wasted, without inhabitant?' and all the people are assembled unto Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.

¹⁰And the heads of Judah hear these things, and they go up from the house of the king to the house of Jehovah, and sit in the opening of the new gate of Jehovah.

¹¹And the priests and the prophets speak unto the heads, and unto all the people, saying, ‘Judgment of death is for this man, for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.'

¹²And Jeremiah speaketh unto all the heads, and unto all the people, saying, ‘Jehovah sent me to prophesy concerning this house, and concerning this city, all the words that ye have heard;

¹³And now, amend your ways, and your doings, and hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God, and Jehovah doth repent concerning the evil that He hath spoken against you.

¹⁴‘And I, lo, I am in your hand, do to me as is good and as is right in your eyes;

¹⁵Only, know ye certainly, that if ye are putting me to death, surely innocent blood ye are putting on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly hath Jehovah sent me unto you to speak in your ears all these words.'

¹⁶And the heads and all the people say unto the priests and unto the prophets, ‘There is not for this man a judgment of death, for in the name of Jehovah our God he hath spoken unto us.'

¹⁷And certain of the elders of the land rise up, and speak unto all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸‘Micah the Morashtite hath been prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he saith unto all the people of Judah, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Zion is a plowed field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house is for high places of a forest.

¹⁹‘Put him at all to death did Hezekiah king of Judah, and all Judah? Did he not fear Jehovah? yea, he appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah repenteth concerning the evil that He spake against them; and we are doing great evil against our souls.

²⁰‘And also there hath been a man prophesying in the name of Jehovah, Urijah son of Shemaiah, of Kirjath-Jearim, and he prophesieth against this city, and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah,

²¹And the king Jehoiakim, and all his mighty ones, and all the heads, hear his words, and the king seeketh to put him to death, and Urijah heareth, and feareth, and fleeth, and goeth in to Egypt.

²²And the king Jehoiakim sendeth men to Egypt -- Elnathan son of Achbor, and men with him unto Egypt --

²³And they bring out Urijah from Egypt, and bring him in unto the king Jehoiakim, and he smiteth him with a sword, and casteth his corpse unto the graves of the sons of the people.'

²⁴Only, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan hath been with Jeremiah so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.