3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^aBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ^bAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you ^cwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^din anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, ^eI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^fHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

12 To ^xZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^w“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^yserve him and his people and live. 13 ^zWhy will you and your people die ^aby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^bas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 ^cDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^vfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^vthey are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^cDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^d‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^vfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 ^cDo not listen to them; ^wserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^ebecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^flet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^gthat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 ^hFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ⁱwhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^hconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ^jThey shall be carried to Babylon ^kand remain there ^luntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^mThen I will bring them back ^jand restore them to this place.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ⁿin the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^owhich was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^pwas shut up in ^qthe court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^rBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 ^sZedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, ^rbut shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And ^the shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ^uThough you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ⁱsent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^jPharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to ^kreturn to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And ^lthe Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^lThey shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 ^mFor even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^lburn this city with fire.’”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^cIf you will surrender to ^dthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^ethen your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to ^dthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^fthen this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^fand they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^gwho have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^hand it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to ^csurrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

23 All your wives and ^jyour sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If ^kthe officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ^l‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”