The Message (MSG)

Change the Way You’re Living

1 At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this Message came fromGodto Jeremiah:

2-3 “God’s Message: Stand in the court ofGod’s Temple and preach to the people who come from all over Judah to worship inGod’s Temple. Say everything I tell you to say to them. Don’t hold anything back. Just maybe they’ll listen and turn back from their bad lives. Then I’ll reconsider the disaster that I’m planning to bring on them because of their evil behavior.

4-6 “Say to them, ‘This isGod’s Message: If you refuse to listen to me and live by my teaching that I’ve revealed so plainly to you, and if you continue to refuse to listen to my servants the prophets that I tirelessly keep on sending to you—but you’ve never listened! Why would you start now?—then I’ll make this Temple a pile of ruins like Shiloh, and I’ll make this city nothing but a bad joke worldwide.’”

7-9 Everybody there—priests, prophets, and people—heard Jeremiah preaching this Message in the Temple ofGod. When Jeremiah had finished his sermon, saying everything God had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and people all grabbed him, yelling, “Death! You’re going to die for this! How dare you preach—and usingGod’s name!—saying that this Temple will become a heap of rubble like Shiloh and this city be wiped out without a soul left in it!”

All the people mobbed Jeremiah right in the Temple itself.

10 Officials from the royal court of Judah were told of this. They left the palace immediately and came toGod’s Temple to investigate. They held court on the spot, at the New Gate entrance toGod’s Temple.

11 The prophets and priests spoke first, addressing the officials, but also the people: “Death to this man! He deserves nothing less than death! He has preached against this city—you’ve heard the evidence with your own ears.”

12-13 Jeremiah spoke next, publicly addressing the officials before the crowd: “Godsent me to preach against both this Temple and city everything that’s been reported to you. So do something about it! Change the way you’re living, change your behavior. Listen obediently to the Message of yourGod. MaybeGodwill reconsider the disaster he has threatened.

14-15 “As for me, I’m at your mercy—do whatever you think is best. But take warning: If you kill me, you’re killing an innocent man, and you and the city and the people in it will be liable. I didn’t say any of this on my own.Godsent me and told me what to say. You’ve been listening toGodspeak, not Jeremiah.”

16 The court officials, backed by the people, then handed down their ruling to the priests and prophets: “Acquittal. No death sentence for this man. He has spoken to us with the authority of ourGod.”

17-18 Then some of the respected leaders stood up and addressed the crowd: “In the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah, Micah of Moresheth preached to the people of Judah this sermon: This isGod-of-the-Angel-Armies’ Message for you:

“‘Because of people like you,

Zion will be turned back into farmland,

Jerusalem end up as a pile of rubble,

and instead of the Temple on the mountain,

a few scraggly scrub pines.’

19 “Did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah kill Micah of Moresheth because of that sermon? Didn’t Hezekiah honor him and pray for mercy fromGod? And then didn’tGodcall off the disaster he had threatened?

“Friends, we’re at the brink of bringing a terrible calamity upon ourselves.”

20-23 (At another time there had been a man, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, who had preached similarly in the name ofGod. He preached against this same city and country just as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and his royal court heard his sermon, they determined to kill him. Uriah, afraid for his life, went into hiding in Egypt. King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor with a posse of men after him. They brought him back from Egypt and presented him to the king. And the king had him killed. They dumped his body unceremoniously outside the city.

24 But in Jeremiah’s case, Ahikam son of Shaphan stepped forward and took his side, preventing the mob from lynching him.)

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/26-fab130770a46b5e5c8e0a00bebd10305.mp3?version_id=97—

Harness Yourselves Up to the Yoke

1-4 Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah received this Message fromGod: “Make a harness and a yoke and then harness yourself up. Send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send it through their ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge to take back to their masters: ‘This is a Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel. Tell your masters:

5-8 “‘I’m the one who made the earth, man and woman, and all the animals in the world. I did it on my own without asking anyone’s help and I hand it out to whomever I will. Here and now I give all these lands over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have made even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will be under him, then his son, and then his grandson. Then his country’s time will be up and the tables will be turned:Babylonwill be the underdog servant. But until then, any nation or kingdom that won’t submit to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon must take the yoke of the king of Babylon and harness up. I’ll punish that nation with war and starvation and disease until I’ve got them where I want them.

9-11 “‘So don’t for a minute listen to all your prophets and spiritualists and fortunetellers, who claim to know the future and who tell you not to give in to the king of Babylon. They’re handing you a line of lies, barefaced lies, that will end up putting you in exile far from home. I myself will drive you out of your lands, and that’ll be the end of you. But the nation that accepts the yoke of the king of Babylon and does what he says, I’ll let that nation stay right where it is, minding its own business.’”

12-15 Then I gave this same message to Zedekiah king of Judah: “Harness yourself up to the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people. Live a long life! Why choose to get killed or starve to death or get sick and die, which is whatGodhas threatened to any nation that won’t throw its lot in with Babylon? Don’t listen to the prophets who are telling you not to submit to the king of Babylon. They’re telling you lies,preachinglies.God’s Word on this is, ‘I didn’t send those prophets, but they keep preaching lies, claiming I sent them. If you listen to them, I’ll end up driving you out of here and that will be the end of you, both you and the lying prophets.’”

16-22 And finally I spoke to the priests and the people at large: “This isGod’s Message: Don’t listen to the preaching of the prophets who keep telling you, ‘Trust us: The furnishings, plundered fromGod’s Temple, are going to be returned from Babylon any day now.’ That’s a lie. Don’t listen to them. Submit to the king of Babylon and live a long life. Why do something that will destroy this city and leave it a heap of rubble? If they are real prophets and have a Message fromGod, let them come toGod-of-the-Angel-Armies in prayer so that the furnishings that are still left inGod’s Temple, the king’s palace, and Jerusalem aren’t also lost to Babylon. That’s becauseGod-of-the-Angel-Armies has already spoken about the Temple furnishings that remain—the pillars, the great bronze basin, the stands, and all the other bowls and chalices that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take when he took Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim off to Babylonian exile along with all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. He said that the furnishings left behind in the Temple ofGodand in the royal palace and in Jerusalem will be taken off to Babylon and stay there until, inGod’s words, ‘I take the matter up again and bring them back where they belong.’”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/27-49e907caa79ed298d4bd2e3a5f03cfae.mp3?version_id=97—

From a Wooden to an Iron Yoke

1-2 Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah’s fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple ofGodin front of the priests and all the people who were there. Hananiah said:

2-4 “This Message is straight fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Before two years are out I’ll have all the furnishings ofGod’s Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon. I’ll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.’God’s Decree. ‘Yes, I will break the king of Babylon’s yoke. You’ll no longer be in harness to him.’”

5-9 Prophet Jeremiah stood up to prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were inGod’s Temple that day. Prophet Jeremiah said, “Wonderful! Would that it were true—thatGodwould validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon. But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there’s nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We’ll wait and see. If it happens, it happens—and then we’ll know thatGodsent him.”

10-11 At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah’s shoulders and smashed it. And then he addressed the people: “This isGod’s Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations—and within two years.”

Jeremiah walked out.

12-14 Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message fromGod: “Go back to Hananiah and tell him, ‘This isGod’s Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you’ve got iron yoke-bars. This is a Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s own God: I’ve put an iron yoke on all these nations. They’re harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They’ll do just what he tells them. Why, I’m even putting him in charge of the wild animals.’”

15-16 So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, “Hold it, Hananiah!Godnever sent you. You’ve talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies! And soGodsays, ‘You claim to be sent? I’ll send you all right—right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you’ll be dead because you fomented sedition againstGod.’”

17 Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/28-9e0316c14bc3b7a795814e337171c1d8.mp3?version_id=97—

Plans to Give You the Future You Hope For

1-2 This is the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to what was left of the elders among the exiles, to the priests and prophets and all the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem, including King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the government leaders, and all the skilled laborers and craftsmen.

3 The letter was carried by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter said:

4 This is the Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God, to all the exiles I’ve taken from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5 “Build houses and make yourselves at home.

“Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country.

6 “Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away.

7 “Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare.

“Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.”

8-9 Yes. Believe it or not, this is the Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: “Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don’t pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They’re a bunch of liars preaching lies—and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me.”God’s Decree!

10-11 This isGod’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

15-19 “But for right now, because you’ve taken up with these new-fangled prophets who set themselves up as ‘Babylonian specialists,’ spreading the word ‘Godsent them just for us!’Godis setting the record straight: As for the king still sitting on David’s throne and all the people left in Jerusalem who didn’t go into exile with you, they’re facing bad times.God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, ‘Watch this! Catastrophe is on the way: war, hunger, disease! They’re a barrel of rotten apples. I’ll rid the country of them through war and hunger and disease. The whole world is going to hold its nose at the smell, shut its eyes at the horrible sight. They’ll end up in slum ghettos because they wouldn’t listen to a thing I said when I sent my servant-prophets preaching tirelessly and urgently. No, they wouldn’t listen to a word I said.’”God’s Decree.

20-23 “And you—you exiles whom I sent out of Jerusalem to Babylon—listen toGod’s Message to you. As far as Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah are concerned, the ‘Babylonian specialists’ who are preaching lies in my name, I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will kill them while you watch. The exiles from Judah will take what they see at the execution and use it as a curse: ‘Godfry you to a crisp like the king of Babylon fried Zedekiah and Ahab in the fire!’ Those two men, sex predators and prophet-impostors, got what they deserved. They pulled every woman they got their hands on into bed—their neighbors’ wives, no less—and preached lies claiming it was my Message. I never sent those men. I’ve never had anything to do with them.”God’s Decree.

“They won’t get away with a thing. I’ve witnessed it all.”

24-26 And this is the Message for Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: You took it on yourself to send letters to all the people in Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and the company of priests. In your letter you told Zephaniah thatGodset you up as priest replacing priest Jehoiadah. He’s put you in charge ofGod’s Temple and made you responsible for locking up any crazy fellow off the street who takes it into his head to be a prophet.

27-28 “So why haven’t you done anything about muzzling Jeremiah of Anathoth, who’s going around posing as a prophet? He’s gone so far as to write to us in Babylon, ‘It’s going to be a long exile, so build houses and make yourselves at home. Plant gardens and prepare Babylonian recipes.’”

29 The priest Zephaniah read that letter to the prophet Jeremiah.

30-32 ThenGodtold Jeremiah, “Send this Message to the exiles. Tell them whatGodsays about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah is preaching lies to you. I didn’t send him. He is seducing you into believing lies. So this isGod’s verdict: I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. He’s going to end up with nothing and no one. No one from his family will be around to see any of the good that I am going to do for my people because he has preached rebellion against me.”God’s Decree.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/29-42c33c96ac6724365328acbdc749cb51.mp3?version_id=97—

Don’t Despair, Israel

1-2 This is the Message Jeremiah received fromGod: “God’s Message, the God of Israel: ‘Write everything I tell you in a book.

3 “‘Look. The time is coming when I will turn everything around for my people, both Israel and Judah. I,God, say so. I’ll bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors, and they’ll take up ownership again.’”

4 This is the wayGodput it to Israel and Judah:

5-7 “God’s Message:

“‘Cries of panic are being heard.

The peace has been shattered.

Ask around! Look around!

Can men bear babies?

So why do I see all these he-men

holding their bellies like women in labor,

Faces contorted,

pale as death?

The blackest of days,

no day like it ever!

A time of deep trouble for Jacob—

but he’ll come out of it alive.

8-9 “‘And then I’ll enter the darkness.

I’ll break the yoke from their necks,

Cut them loose from the harness.

No more slave labor to foreigners!

They’ll serve theirGod

and the David-King I’ll establish for them.

10-11 “‘So fear no more, Jacob, dear servant.

Don’t despair, Israel.

Look up! I’ll save you out of faraway places,

I’ll bring your children back from exile.

Jacob will come back and find life good,

safe and secure.

I’ll be with you. I’ll save you.

I’ll finish off all the godless nations

Among which I’ve scattered you,

but I won’t finish you off.

I’ll punish you, but fairly.

I won’t send you off with just a slap on the wrist.’

12-15 “This isGod’s Message:

“‘You’re a burned-out case,

as good as dead.

Everyone has given up on you.

You’re hopeless.

All your fair-weather friends have skipped town

without giving you a second thought.

But I delivered the knockout blow,

a punishment you will never forget,

Because of the enormity of your guilt,

the endless list of your sins.

So why all this self-pity, licking your wounds?

You deserve all this, and more.

Because of the enormity of your guilt,

the endless list of your sins,

I’ve done all this to you.

16-17 “‘Everyone who hurt you will be hurt;

your enemies will end up as slaves.

Your plunderers will be plundered;

your looters will become loot.

As for you, I’ll come with healing,

curing the incurable,

Because they all gave up on you

and dismissed you as hopeless—

that good-for-nothing Zion.’

18-21 “Again,God’s Message:

“‘I’ll turn things around for Jacob.

I’ll compassionately come in and rebuild homes.

The town will be rebuilt on its old foundations;

the mansions will be splendid again.

Thanksgivings will pour out of the windows;

laughter will spill through the doors.

Things will get better and better.

Depression days are over.

They’ll thrive, they’ll flourish.

The days of contempt will be over.

They’ll look forward to having children again,

to being a community in which I take pride.

I’ll punish anyone who hurts them,

and their prince will come from their own ranks.

One of their own people shall be their leader.

Their ruler will come from their own ranks.

I’ll grant him free and easy access to me.

Would anyone dare to do that on his own,

to enter my presence uninvited?’God’s Decree.

22 “‘And that’s it: You’ll be my very own people,

I’ll be your very own God.’”

23-24 Look out!God’s hurricane is let loose,

his hurricane blast,

Spinning the heads of the wicked like dust devils!

God’s raging anger won’t let up

Until he’s made a clean sweep

completing the job he began.

When the job’s done

you’ll see it’s been well done.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/30-f82761cb8b04ef6e1f95457990c2ffb9.mp3?version_id=97—

1 “And when that happens”—God’s Decree—

“it will be plain as the sun at high noon:

I’ll be the God of every man, woman, and child in Israel

and they shall be my very own people.”

2-6 This is the wayGodput it:

“They found grace out in the desert,

these people who survived the killing.

Israel, out looking for a place to rest,

met God out looking for them!”

Godtold them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.

Expect love, love, and more love!

And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again,

dear virgin Israel.

You’ll resume your singing,

grabbing tambourines and joining the dance.

You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards

on the Samaritan hillsides,

And sit back and enjoy the fruit—

oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests!

The time’s coming when watchmen will call out

from the hilltops of Ephraim:

‘On your feet! Let’s go to Zion,

go to meet ourGod!’”

7 Oh yes,Godsays so:

“Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob!

Announce the good news to the number-one nation!

Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say,

‘Godhas saved his people,

saved the core of Israel.’

8 “Watch what comes next:

“I’ll bring my people back

from the north country

And gather them up from the ends of the earth,

gather those who’ve gone blind

And those who are lame and limping,

gather pregnant women,

Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,

bring them all back, a huge crowd!

9 “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy

as I take their hands and lead them,

Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,

lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.

Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father

and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!

10-14 “Hear this, nations!God’s Message!

Broadcast this all over the world!

Tell them, ‘The One who scattered Israel

will gather them together again.

From now on he’ll keep a careful eye on them,

like a shepherd with his flock.’

I,God, will pay a stiff ransom price for Jacob;

I’ll free him from the grip of the Babylonian bully.

The people will climb up Zion’s slopes shouting with joy,

their faces beaming because ofGod’s bounty—

Grain and wine and oil,

flocks of sheep, herds of cattle.

Their lives will be like a well-watered garden,

never again left to dry up.

Young women will dance and be happy,

young men and old men will join in.

I’ll convert their weeping into laughter,

lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy.

I’ll make sure that their priests get three square meals a day

and that my people have more than enough.’”God’s Decree.

15-17 Again,God’s Message:

“Listen to this! Laments coming out of Ramah,

wild and bitter weeping.

It’s Rachel weeping for her children,

Rachel refusing all solace.

Her children are gone,

gone—long gone into exile.”

ButGodsays, “Stop your incessant weeping,

hold back your tears.

Collect wages from your grief work.”God’s Decree.

“They’ll be coming back home!

There’s hope for your children.”God’s Decree.

18-19 “I’ve heard the contrition of Ephraim.

Yes, I’ve heard it clearly, saying,

‘You trained me well.

You broke me, a wild yearling horse, to the saddle.

Now put me, trained and obedient, to use.

You are myGod.

After those years of running loose, I repented.

After you trained me to obedience,

I was ashamed of my past, my wild, unruly past.

Humiliated, I beat on my chest.

Will I ever live this down?’

20 “Oh! Ephraim is my dear, dear son,

my child in whom I take pleasure!

Every time I mention his name,

my heart bursts with longing for him!

Everything in me cries out for him.

Softly and tenderly I wait for him.”God’s Decree.

21-22 “Set up signposts to mark your trip home.

Get a good map.

Study the road conditions.

The road out is the road back.

Come back, dear virgin Israel,

come back to your hometowns.

How long will you flit here and there, indecisive?

How long before you make up your fickle mind?

Godwill create a new thing in this land:

A transformed woman will embrace the transformingGod!”

23-24 A Message from Israel’sGod-of-the-Angel-Armies: “When I’ve turned everything around and brought my people back, the old expressions will be heard on the streets: ‘Godbless you!’ . . . ‘O True Home!’ . . . ‘O Holy Mountain!’ All Judah’s people, whether in town or country, will get along just fine with each other.

25 I’ll refresh tired bodies;

I’ll restore tired souls.

26 Just then I woke up and looked around—what a pleasant and satisfying sleep!

27-28 “Be ready. The time’s coming”—God’s Decree—“when I will plant people and animals in Israel and Judah, just as a farmer plants seed. And in the same way that earlier I relentlessly pulled up and tore down, took apart and demolished, so now I am sticking with them as they start over, building and planting.

29 “When that time comes you won’t hear the old proverb anymore,

Parents ate the green apples,

their children got the stomachache.

30 “No, each person will pay for his own sin. You eat green apples, you’re the one who gets sick.

31-32 “That’s right. The time is coming when I will make a brand-new covenant with Israel and Judah. It won’t be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant even though I did my part as their Master.”God’s Decree.

33-34 “This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other aboutGod. They’ll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!”God’s Decree.

If This Ordered Cosmos Ever Fell to Pieces

35 God’s Message, from the God who lights up the day with sun and

brightens the night with moon and stars,

Who whips the ocean into a billowy froth,

whose name isGod-of-the-Angel-Armies:

36 “If this ordered cosmos ever fell to pieces,

fell into chaos before me”—God’s Decree—

“Then and only then might Israel fall apart

and disappear as a nation before me.”

37 God’s Message:

“If the skies could be measured with a yardstick

and the earth explored to its core,

Then and only then would I turn my back on Israel,

disgusted with all they’ve done.”God’s Decree.

38-40 “The time is coming”—it’sGod’s Decree—“whenGod’s city will be rebuilt, rebuilt all the way from the Citadel of Hanamel to the Corner Gate. The master plan will extend west to Gareb Hill and then around to Goath. The whole valley to the south where incinerated corpses are dumped—a death valley if there ever was one!—and all the terraced fields out to the Brook Kidron on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be consecrated to me as a holy place.

“This city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/31-fc85ef971b637da10238eb7602f32c8e.mp3?version_id=97—

Killing and Disease Are on Our Doorstep

1-5 The Message Jeremiah received fromGodin the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was holding Jerusalem under siege. Jeremiah was shut up in jail in the royal palace. Zedekiah, king of Judah, had locked him up, complaining, “How dare you preach, saying, ‘Godsays, I’m warning you: I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will take it over. Zedekiah king of Judah will be handed over to the Chaldeans right along with the city. He will be handed over to the king of Babylon and forced to face the music. He’ll be hauled off to Babylon where he’ll stay until I deal with him.God’s Decree. Fight against the Babylonians all you want—it won’t get you anywhere.’”

6-7 Jeremiah said, “God’s Message came to me like this: Prepare yourself! Hanamel, your uncle Shallum’s son, is on his way to see you. He is going to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth. You have the legal right to buy it.’

8 “And sure enough, just asGodhad said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the legal right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.’

“That did it. I knew it wasGod’s Message.

9-12 “So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I paid him seventeen silver shekels. I followed all the proper procedures: In the presence of witnesses I wrote out the bill of sale, sealed it, and weighed out the money on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy that contained the contract and its conditions and also the open copy—and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. All this took place in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who had signed the deed, as the Jews who were at the jail that day looked on.

13-15 “Then, in front of all of them, I told Baruch, ‘These are orders fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Take these documents—both the sealed and the open deeds—and put them for safekeeping in a pottery jar. ForGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Life is going to return to normal. Homes and fields and vineyards are again going to be bought in this country.”’

16-19 “And then, having handed over the legal documents to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed toGod, ‘DearGod, my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, namedGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do.

20-23 “‘You performed signs and wonders in the country of Egypt and continue to do so right into the present, right here in Israel and everywhere else, too. You’ve made a reputation for yourself that doesn’t diminish. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders—a powerful deliverance!—by merely stretching out your arm. You gave them this land and solemnly promised to their ancestors a bountiful and fertile land. But when they entered the land and took it over, they didn’t listen to you. They didn’t do what you commanded. They wouldn’t listen to a thing you told them. And so you brought this disaster on them.

24-25 “‘Oh, look at the siege ramps already set in place to take the city. Killing and starvation and disease are on our doorstep. The Babylonians are attacking! The Word you spoke is coming to pass—it’s daily news! And yet you,God, the Master, even though it is certain that the city will be turned over to the Babylonians, also told me, Buy the field. Pay for it in cash. And make sure there are witnesses.’”

26-30 ThenGod’s Message came again to Jeremiah: “Stay alert! I amGod, the God of everything living. Is there anything I can’t do? So listen toGod’s Message: No doubt about it, I’m handing this city over to the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He’ll take it. The attacking Chaldeans will break through and burn the city down: All those houses whose roofs were used as altars for offerings to Baal and the worship of who knows how many other gods provoked me. It isn’t as if this were the first time they had provoked me. The people of Israel and Judah have been doing this for a long time—doing what I hate, making me angry by the way they live.”God’s Decree.

31-35 “This city has made me angry from the day they built it, and now I’ve had my fill. I’m destroying it. I can’t stand to look any longer at the wicked lives of the people of Israel and Judah, deliberately making me angry, the whole lot of them—kings and leaders and priests and preachers, in the country and in the city. They’ve turned their backs on me—won’t even look me in the face!—even though I took great pains to teach them how to live. They refused to listen, refused to be taught. Why, they even set up obscene god and goddess statues in the Temple built in my honor—an outrageous desecration! And then they went out and built shrines to the god Baal in the valley of Hinnom, where they burned their children in sacrifice to the god Molech—I can hardly conceive of such evil!—turning the whole country into one huge act of sin.

36 “But there is also this Message from me, theGodof Israel, to this city of which you have said, ‘In killing and starvation and disease this city will be delivered up to the king of Babylon’:

37-40 “‘Watch for this! I will collect them from all the countries to which I will have driven them in my anger and rage and indignation. Yes, I’ll bring them all back to this place and let them live here in peace. They will be my people, I will be their God. I’ll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. What’s more, I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not eventhinkof turning away from me.

41 “‘Oh how I’ll rejoice in them! Oh how I’ll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I’ll plant them in this country and keep them here!’

42-44 “Yes, this isGod’s Message: ‘I will certainly bring this huge catastrophe on this people, but I will also usher in a wonderful life of prosperity. I promise. Fields are going to be bought here again, yes, in this very country that you assume is going to end up desolate—gone to the dogs, unlivable, wrecked by the Babylonians. Yes, people will buy farms again, and legally, with deeds of purchase, sealed documents, proper witnesses—and right here in the territory of Benjamin, and in the area around Jerusalem, around the villages of Judah and the hill country, the Shephelah and the Negev. I will restore everything that was lost.’God’s Decree.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/32-7c2a57ed26bbf10fe7912e0e54ba9e51.mp3?version_id=97—

Things You Could Never Figure Out on Your Own

1 While Jeremiah was still locked up in jail, a second Message fromGodwas given to him:

2-3 “This isGod’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere asGod:‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’

4-5 “This is whatGod, the God of Israel, has to say about what’s going on in this city, about the homes of both people and kings that have been demolished, about all the ravages of war and the killing by the Chaldeans, and about the streets littered with the dead bodies of those killed because of my raging anger—about all that’s happened because the evil actions in this city have turned my stomach in disgust.

6-9 “But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back as good as new. I’ll scrub them clean from the dirt they’ve done against me. I’ll forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And Jerusalem will be a center of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. They’ll get reports on all the good I’m doing for her. They’ll be in awe of the blessings I am pouring on her.

10-11 “Yes,God’s Message: ‘You’re going to look at this place, these empty and desolate towns of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, and say, “A wasteland. Unlivable. Not even a dog could live here.” But the time is coming when you’re going to hear laughter and celebration, marriage festivities, people exclaiming, “ThankGod-of-the-Angel-Armies. He’s so good! His love never quits,” as they bring thank offerings intoGod’s Temple. I’ll restore everything that was lost in this land. I’ll make everything as good as new.’ I,God, say so.

12-13 “God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: ‘This coming desolation, unfit for even a stray dog, is once again going to become a pasture for shepherds who care for their flocks. You’ll see flocks everywhere—in the mountains around the towns of the Shephelah and Negev, all over the territory of Benjamin, around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah—flocks under the care of shepherds who keep track of each sheep.’Godsays so.

A Fresh and True Shoot from the David-Tree

14-18 “‘Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “GodHas Set Things Right for Us.”Godhas made it clear that there will always be a descendant of David ruling the people of Israel and that there will always be Levitical priests on hand to offer burnt offerings, present grain offerings, and carry on the sacrificial worship in my honor.’”

19-22 God’s Message to Jeremiah: “Godsays, ‘If my covenant with day and my covenant with night ever fell apart so that day and night became haphazard and you never knew which was coming and when, then and only then would my covenant with my servant David fall apart and his descendants no longer rule. The same goes for the Levitical priests who serve me. Just as you can’t number the stars in the sky nor measure the sand on the seashore, neither will you be able to account for the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who serve me.’”

23-24 God’s Message to Jeremiah: “Have you heard the saying that’s making the rounds: ‘The two familiesGodchose, Israel and Judah, he disowned’? And have you noticed that my people are treated with contempt, with rumors afoot that there’s nothing to them anymore?

25-26 “Well, here’sGod’s response: ‘If my covenant with day and night wasn’t in working order, if sky and earth weren’t functioning the way I set them going, then, but only then, you might think I had disowned the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, and that I wouldn’t set up any of David’s descendants over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as it is, I will give them back everything they’ve lost. The last word is, I will have mercy on them.’”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/33-4aaa661c9176c8927e16f4a2faf57755.mp3?version_id=97—

Freedom to the Slaves

1 God’s Message to Jeremiah at the time King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon mounted an all-out attack on Jerusalem and all the towns around it with his armies and allies and everyone he could muster:

2-3 “I,God, the God of Israel, direct you to go and tell Zedekiah king of Judah: ‘This isGod’s Message. Listen to me. I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he is going to burn it to the ground. And don’t think you’ll get away. You’ll be captured and be his prisoner. You will have a personal confrontation with the king of Babylon and be taken off with him, captive, to Babylon.

4-5 “‘But listen, O Zedekiah king of Judah, to the rest of the Message ofGod. You won’t be killed. You’ll die a peaceful death. They will honor you with funeral rites as they honored your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will properly mourn your death, weeping, “Master, master!” This is a solemn promise.God’s Decree.’”

6-7 The prophet Jeremiah gave this Message to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, gave it to him word for word. It was at the very time that the king of Babylon was mounting his all-out attack on Jerusalem and whatever cities in Judah that were still standing—only Lachish and Azekah, as it turned out (they were the only fortified cities left in Judah).

8-10 Goddelivered a Message to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people of Jerusalem to decree freedom to the slaves who were Hebrews, both men and women. The covenant stipulated that no one in Judah would own a fellow Jew as a slave. All the leaders and people who had signed the covenant set free the slaves, men and women alike.

11 But a little while later, they reneged on the covenant, broke their promise and forced their former slaves to become slaves again.

12-14 Then Jeremiah received this Message fromGod: “God, the God of Israel, says, ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors when I delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. At the time I made it clear: “At the end of seven years, each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has had to sell himself to you. After he has served six years, set him free.” But your ancestors totally ignored me.

15-16 “‘And now,you—what have you done? First you turned back to the right way and did the right thing, decreeing freedom for your brothers and sisters—and you made it official in a solemn covenant in my Temple. And then you turned right around and broke your word, making a mockery of both me and the covenant, and made them all slaves again, these men and women you’d just set free. You forced them back into slavery.

17-20 “‘So here is what I,God, have to say: You have not obeyed me and set your brothers and sisters free. Here is what I’m going to do: I’m going to setyoufree—God’s Decree—free to get killed in war or by disease or by starvation. I’ll make you a spectacle of horror. People all over the world will take one look at you and shudder. Everyone who violated my covenant, who didn’t do what was solemnly promised in the covenant ceremony when they split the young bull into two halves and walked between them, all those people that day who walked between the two halves of the bull—leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, palace officials, priests, and all the rest of the people—I’m handing the lot of them over to their enemies who are out to kill them. Their dead bodies will be carrion food for vultures and stray dogs.

21-22 “‘As for Zedekiah king of Judah and his palace staff, I’ll also hand them over to their enemies, who are out to kill them. The army of the king of Babylon has pulled back for a time, but not for long, for I’m going to issue orders that will bring them back to this city. They’ll attack and take it and burn it to the ground. The surrounding cities of Judah will fare no better. I’ll turn them into ghost towns, unlivable and unlived in.’”God’s Decree.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/34-b13bac77eba7352c69c2edbfe641ce79.mp3?version_id=97—

Meeting in God’s Temple

1 The Message that Jeremiah received fromGodten years earlier, during the time of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Israel:

2 “Go visit the Recabite community. Invite them to meet with you in one of the rooms inGod’s Temple. And serve them wine.”

3-4 So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, along with all his brothers and sons—the whole community of the Recabites as it turned out—and brought them toGod’s Temple and to the meeting room of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. It was next to the meeting room of the Temple officials and just over the apartment of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who was in charge of Temple affairs.

5 Then I set out chalices and pitchers of wine for the Recabites and said, “A toast! Drink up!”

6-7 But they wouldn’t do it. “We don’t drink wine,” they said. “Our ancestor Jonadab son of Recab commanded us, ‘You are not to drink wine, you or your children, ever. Neither shall you build houses or settle down, planting fields and gardens and vineyards. Don’t own property. Live in tents as nomads so that you will live well and prosper in a wandering life.’

8-10 “And we’ve done it, done everything Jonadab son of Recab commanded. We and our wives, our sons and daughters, drink no wine at all. We don’t build houses. We don’t have vineyards or fields or gardens. We live in tents as nomads. We’ve listened to our ancestor Jonadab and we’ve done everything he commanded us.

11 “But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded our land, we said, ‘Let’s go to Jerusalem and get out of the path of the Chaldean and Aramean armies, find ourselves a safe place.’ That’s why we’re living in Jerusalem right now.”

Why Won’t You Learn Your Lesson?

12-15 Then Jeremiah received this Message fromGod: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, wants you to go tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem that I say, ‘Why won’t you learn your lesson and do what I tell you?’God’s Decree. ‘The commands of Jonadab son of Recab to his sons have been carried out to the letter. He told them not to drink wine, and they haven’t touched a drop to this very day. They honored and obeyed their ancestor’s command. But look at you! I have gone to a lot of trouble to get your attention, and you’ve ignored me. I sent prophet after prophet to you, all of them my servants, to tell you from early morning to late at night to change your life, make a clean break with your evil past and do what is right, to not take up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry of a god that comes down the pike, but settle down and be faithful in this country I gave your ancestors.

15-16 “‘And what do I get from you? Deaf ears. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab carried out to the letter what their ancestor commanded them, but this people ignores me.’

17 “So here’s what is going to happen.God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘I will bring calamity down on the heads of the people of Judah and Jerusalem—the very calamity I warned you was coming—because you turned a deaf ear when I spoke, turned your backs when I called.’”

18-19 Then, turning to the Recabite community, Jeremiah said, “And this is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘Because you have done what Jonadab your ancestor told you, obeyed his commands and followed through on his instructions, receive this Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab at my service! Always!’”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/JER/35-83fb258c2614cf1eed5ffa206d156d41.mp3?version_id=97—