| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD while king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his authority, along with all the people were fighting against Jerusalem and all its towns: | 1King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: |
| 2"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'Go and speak to king Zedekiah of Judah. Say to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Look, I'm giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will set it on fire. | 2“Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. |
| 3You won't escape from him. You will certainly be captured and given into his control. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.'"' | 3You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon. |
| 4Yet, hear this message from the LORD, king Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the LORD says to you, 'You won't die by the sword. | 4“‘But listen to this promise from the LORD, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the LORD says: You will not be killed in war |
| 5You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires for your ancestors, the former kings who were before you, so they'll burn fires for you, wailing, "Oh how terrible, your majesty!"' For I've spoken the message," declares the LORD. | 5but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the LORD.’” |
| 6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all of this in Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah, | 6So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah. |
| 7while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.) | 7At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah—the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured. Freedom for Hebrew Slaves |
| 8This is this message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming release for them. | 8This message came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves. |
| 9Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother. | 9He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves—both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage. |
| 10All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. | 10The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command, |
| 11But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves. | 11but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again. |
| 12Then this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: | 12So the LORD gave them this message through Jeremiah: |
| 13"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I told them: | 13“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. |
| 14"At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation." But your ancestors didn't obey me or pay attention. | 14I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me. |
| 15You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. | 15Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. |
| 16But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire, and you forced them to become male and female slaves."' | 16But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again. |
| 17"Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'You haven't obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I'm going to proclaim a release for you,' declares the LORD, 'a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I'll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. | 17“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth. |
| 18I'll give over the men who transgressed my covenant, who haven't fulfilled the terms of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— | 18Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. |
| 19the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. | 19Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath. |
| 20I'll give them to their enemies who are seeking to kill them, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. | 20I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals. |
| 21I'll give Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his officials into the domination of their enemies, to those who are seeking to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon that is coming against them. | 21“I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although they have left Jerusalem for a while, |
| 22Look, I'm in command of them,' declares the LORD, 'and I'll bring them back to this city. They'll capture it and burn it with fire, and I'll turn the towns of Judah into desolate places without inhabitants.'" | 22I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.” |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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