5‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to ffill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.
6‘Behold, gI will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
7‘And hI will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places ias at the first.
8‘I will jcleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.
9k‘Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall lfear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’
10“Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—mof which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,
11‘the nvoice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:
o“Praise the LORD of hosts,
For the LORD is good,
For His mercy endures forever”—
and of those who will bring pthe sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD.
12“Thus says the LORD of hosts: q‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
13r‘In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again spass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD.
14t‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that uI will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A vBranch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
3THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
17“For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never wlack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
18‘nor shall the xpriests, the Levites, lack a man to yoffer burnt offerings before Me, to 4kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”
The Permanence of God’s Covenant
19And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
20“Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,
21‘then zMy covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.
22‘As athe host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I bmultiply the descendants of David My servant and the cLevites who minister to Me.’ ”
23Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
24“Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have ddespised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.
25“Thus says the LORD: ‘If eMy covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not fappointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,
26g‘then I will hcast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”
Jeremiah 34
Zedekiah Warned by God
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, awhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, ball the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying,
2“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Go and cspeak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, dI will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
3‘And eyou shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you fface1 to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’
4“Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword.
5‘You shall die in peace; as in gthe ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, hso they shall burn incense for you and ilament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.’ ”
6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
7when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only jthese fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.
Treacherous Treatment of Slaves
8This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim kliberty to them:
9lthat every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—mthat no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage.
10Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go.
11But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.
12Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
13“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I made a ncovenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,
14“At the end of oseven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who 2has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.
15‘Then you 3recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you pmade a covenant before Me qin the house which is called by My name.
16‘Then you turned around and rprofaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom he had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’
17“Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. sBehold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the LORD—t‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to utrouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
18‘And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when vthey cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it—
19‘the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the 4eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—
20‘I will wgive them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their xdead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the
heaven and the beasts of the earth.
21‘And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army ywhich has gone back from you.
22z‘Behold, I will command,’ says the LORD, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it aand take it and burn it with fire; and bI will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”
Jeremiah 35
The Obedient Rechabites
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2“Go to the house of the aRechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of bthe chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites,
4and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, cthe keeper of the 1door.
5Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.”
6But they said, “We will drink no wine, for dJonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink eno wine, you nor your sons, forever.
7‘You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, fthat you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’
8“Thus we have gobeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
9“nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed.
10“But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11“But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, let us hgo to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syrians.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.”
12Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying,
13“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not ireceive instruction to 2obey My words?” says the LORD.
14“The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. jBut although I have spoken to you, krising early and speaking, you did not 3obey Me.
15“I have also sent to you all My lservants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, m‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will ndwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.
16“Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their ofather, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’
17“Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; pbecause I have spoken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ”
18And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you,
19‘therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to qstand before Me forever.” ’ ”
Jeremiah 36
The Scroll Read in the Temple
1Now it came to pass in the afourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
2“Take a bscroll of a book and cwrite on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against dall the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of eJosiah even to this day.
3“It fmay be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may gturn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4Then Jeremiah hcalled Baruch the son of Neriah; and iBaruch wrote on a scroll of a book, 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.
5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD.
6“You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written 2at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house on jthe day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities.
7“It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”
8And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.
9Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
10Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the kentry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house, in the 3hearing of all the people.
The Scroll Read in the Palace
11When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the book,
12he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sitting—lElishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, mElnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
13Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people.
14Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.
15And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.”
17And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—4at his instruction?”
18So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”
19Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.”
The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll
20And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king.
21So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.
22Now the king was sitting in nthe winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him.
23And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, tha
t the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
24Yet they were onot afraid, nor did they ptear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
25Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them.
26And the king commanded Jerahmeel 5the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written 6at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying:
28“Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.
29“And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have burned this scroll, saying, q‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to rcease from here?’ ”
30‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: s“He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be tcast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.
31“I will punish him, his 7family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ”
32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it 8at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.
Jeremiah 37
Zedekiah’s Vain Hope
(2 Kin. 24:17; 2 Chr. 36:10)
1Now King aZedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 360
