Jeremiah 21 · The Lantern

Jerusalem Will Fall to Babylon

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, saying:

Inquire now of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will do with us according to all his wonders, and he will go up from us.

And Jeremiah said to them: Thus you will say to Zedekiah:

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: See, I am turning back the weapons of war that are in your hand, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the midst of this city.

And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, and in anger and in wrath and in great rage.

And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; by a great pestilence they will die.

And after that — the utterance of the LORD — I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, and those remaining in this city from the pestilence, from the sword and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their soul. And he will strike them by the mouth of the sword; he will not spare them and will not pity and will not have compassion.

And to this people you will say: Thus says the LORD: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.

Through your works you have revealed the everlasting structure of the world. You, Lord, created the earth. You are faithful throughout all generations, righteous in your judgments, marvelous in strength and majesty, wise in creating and prudent in establishing what exists. You are good in all that is observed and faithful to those who trust in you.

It was not God's law that became the cause of my being brought into subjection to corruption, but the devil, that he might be made manifest. He wrought evil through that which is good. The inventor of evil became and was proved to be the greatest of all sinners. "For we know that the law is spiritual." So the law cannot injure anyone in any way.

(Verse 8 and following) And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live, and shall have his life as a prize of war.

The one who stays in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence; and the one who goes out and falls to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live, and his soul will be to him as spoil.

For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good — the utterance of the LORD. Into the hand of the king of Babylon it will be given, and he will burn it with fire.

A Message to the House of David

And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of the LORD.

House of David, thus says the LORD: Judge judgment in the morning, and deliver the robbed one from the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.

See, I am against you, dweller of the valley, rock of the plain — the utterance of the LORD — you who say: Who will come down against us, and who will come into our dwellings?

And I will attend to you according to the fruit of your deeds — the utterance of the LORD — and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all around her.

Jeremiah21

Jerusalem Will Fall to Babylon

A Message to the House of David