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Jeremiah 21
1599 Geneva Bible
Jeremiah 21
1599 Geneva Bible
21 He prophesieth that Zedekiah shall be taken, and the city burned.
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the Priest, saying,
2 [a]Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us, (for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel maketh war against us) if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may return up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah,
4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will [b]turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babel, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a mighty arm, even in anger and in wrath, and in great indignation.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And after this, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah the King of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city, from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their lives, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword: he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor compassion.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the [c]way of life, and the way of [d]death.
9 (A)He that abideth in this city, shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans, that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a [e]prey.
10 For I have set my face against this city, for evil and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babel, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 ¶ And say unto the house of the King of Judah, Hear ye the word of the Lord.
12 O house of David, Thus saith the Lord, (B)Execute judgment [f]in the morning, and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the wickedness of your works.
13 Behold, I come against thee, [g]O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will visit you according to the fruit of your works, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire [h]in the forest thereof, and it shall devour round about it.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Not that the King was touched with repentance of his sins, and so sought to God, as did Hezekiah, when he sent to Isaiah, 2 Kings 19:1; Isa. 37:2, but because the Prophet might pray unto God to take this present plague away, as Pharaoh sought unto Moses, Exod. 9:28.
- Jeremiah 21:4 To wit, from your enemies to destroy yourselves.
- Jeremiah 21:8 By yielding yourselves to Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 21:8 By resisting him.
- Jeremiah 21:9 As a thing recovered from extreme danger, Jer. 37:2, 39:18 and 45:5.
- Jeremiah 21:12 Be diligent to do justice.
- Jeremiah 21:13 Meaning, Jerusalem which was built part on the hill, and part in the valley, and was compassed about with mountains.
- Jeremiah 21:14 That is, in the houses thereof, which stood as thick as trees in the forest.
Jeremiah 21
New International Version
Jeremiah 21
New International Version
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(A) sent to him Pashhur(B) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(C) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(D) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[a](E) king of Babylon(F) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(G) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(H) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[b] who are outside the wall besieging(I) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(J) against you with an outstretched hand(K) and a mighty arm(L) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(M) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(N) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(O) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(P) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(Q) and to their enemies(R) who want to kill them.(S) He will put them to the sword;(T) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(U)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(V) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(W) But whoever goes out and surrenders(X) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(Y) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(Z) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(AA) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(AB)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(AC) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(AD) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(AE)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(AF)
because of the evil(AG) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(AH) it.
13 I am against(AI) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(AJ)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(AK)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(AL) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(AM) in your forests(AN)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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