Good News Translation (GNT)

Jeremiah in a Dry Well

1 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard that I was telling the people that

2 the Lord had said, “Whoever stays on in the city will die in war or of starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will not be killed; they will at least escape with their life.”

3 I was also telling them that the Lord had said, “I am going to give the city to the Babylonian army, and they will capture it.”

4 Then the officials went to the king and said, “This man must be put to death. By talking like this he is making the soldiers in the city lose their courage, and he is doing the same thing to everyone else left in the city. He is not trying to help the people; he only wants to hurt them.”

5 King Zedekiah answered, “Very well, then, do what you want to with him; I can’t stop you.”

6 So they took me and let me down by ropes into Prince Malchiah’s well, which was in the palace courtyard. There was no water in the well, only mud, and I sank down in it.

7 However, Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,a eunuch who worked in the royal palace, heard that they had put me in the well. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate.

8 So Ebedmelech went there and said to the king,

9 “Your Majesty, what these men have done is wrong. They have put Jeremiah in the well, where he is sure to die of starvation, since there is no more food in the city.”

10 Then the king ordered Ebedmelech to take with him three men and to pull me out of the well before I died.

11 So Ebedmelech went with the men to the palace storeroom and got some worn-out clothing which he let down to me by ropes.

12 He told me to put the rags under my arms, so that the ropes wouldn’t hurt me. I did this,

13 and they pulled me up out of the well. After that I was kept in the courtyard.

Zedekiah Asks Jeremiah’s Advice

14 On another occasion King Zedekiah had me brought to him at the third entrance to the Temple, and he said, “I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the whole truth.”

15 I answered, “If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you won’t pay any attention.”

16 So King Zedekiah promised me in secret, “I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you.”

17 Then I told Zedekiah that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, “If you surrender to the king of Babylonia’s officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared.

18 But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will burn it down, and you will not escape from them.”

19 But the king answered, “I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured.”

20 I said, “You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey the Lord’s message; then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared.

21 But the Lord has shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender.

22 In it I saw all the women left in Judah’s royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia’s officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went:

‘The king’s best friends misled him,

they overruled him.

And now that his feet have sunk in the mud,

his friends have left him.’”

23 Then I added, “All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians, and you yourself will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia, and this city will be burned to the ground.”

24 Zedekiah replied, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger.

25 If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything.

26 Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there.”

27 Then all the officials came and questioned me, and I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation.

28 And I was kept in the palace courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/38-97f788777c7ff358e14093ad86df746c.mp3?version_id=68—

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 In the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came with his whole army and attacked Jerusalem.

2 On the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king, the city walls were broken through.

(

3 When Jerusalem was captured,all the high officials of the king of Babylonia came and took their places at the Middle Gate, including Nergal Sharezer, Samgar Nebo, Sarsechim, and another Nergal Sharezer.)

4 When King Zedekiah and all his soldiers saw what was happening, they tried to escape from the city during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and escaped in the direction of the Jordan Valley.

5 But the Babylonian army pursued them and captured Zedekiah in the plains near Jericho. Then they took him to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah in the territory of Hamath, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him.

6 At Riblah he put Zedekiah’s sons to death while Zedekiah was looking on, and he also had the officials of Judah executed.

7 After that, he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him placed in chains to be taken to Babylonia.

8 Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

9 Finally Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners to Babylonia the people who were left in the city, together with those who had deserted to him.

10 He left in the land of Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and he gave them vineyards and fields.

Jeremiah’s Release

11 But King Nebuchadnezzar commanded Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, to give the following order:

12 “Go and find Jeremiah and take good care of him. Do not harm him, but do for him whatever he wants.”

13 So Nebuzaradan, together with the high officials Nebushazban and Nergal Sharezer and all the other officers of the king of Babylonia,

14 had me brought from the palace courtyard. They put me under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who was to see that I got home safely. And so I stayed there among the people.

Hope for Ebedmelech

15 While I was still imprisoned in the palace courtyard, the Lord told me

16 to tell Ebedmelech the Ethiopianthat the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, “Just as I said I would, I am going to bring upon this city destruction and not prosperity. And when this happens, you will be there to see it.

17 But I, the Lord, will protect you, and you will not be handed over to the people you are afraid of.

18 I will keep you safe, and you will not be put to death. You will escape with your life because you have put your trust in me. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/39-f2f163b64f968645edecf17c42f2977b.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah Stays with Gedaliah

1 The Lord spoke to me after Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, had set me free at Ramah. I had been taken there in chains, along with all the other people from Jerusalem and Judah who were being taken away as prisoners to Babylonia.

2 The commanding officer took me aside and said, “The Lord your God threatened this land with destruction,

3 and now he has done what he said he would. All this happened because your people sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him.

4 Now, I am taking the chains off your wrists and setting you free. If you want to go to Babylonia with me, you may do so, and I will take care of you. But if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You have the whole country to choose from, and you may go wherever you wish.”

5 When I did not answer,Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylonia has made governor of the towns of Judah. You may stay with him and live among the people, or you may go anywhere you think you should.” Then he gave me a present and some food to take with me, and let me go on my way.

6 I went to stay with Gedaliah in Mizpah and lived among the people who were left in the land.

Gedaliah, Governor of Judah

7 Some of the Judean officers and soldiers had not surrendered. They heard that the king of Babylonia had made Gedaliah governor of the land and had placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia—the poorest people in the land.

8 So Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah from Maacah went with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

9 Gedaliah said to them, “I give you my word that there is no need for you to be afraid to surrender to the Babylonians. Settle in this land, serve the king of Babylonia, and all will go well with you.

10 I myself will stay in Mizpah and be your representative when the Babylonians come here. But you can gather and store up wine, fruit, and olive oil, and live in the villages you occupy.”

11 Meanwhile, all the Israelites who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries, heard that the king of Babylonia had allowed some Israelites to stay on in Judah and that he had made Gedaliah their governor.

12 So they left the places where they had been scattered, and returned to Judah. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and there they gathered in large amounts of wine and fruit.

Gedaliah Is Murdered

13 After this, Johanan and the leaders of the soldiers who had not surrendered came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said to him, “Don’t you know that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael to murder you?” But Gedaliah did not believe it.

15 Then Johanan said privately to him, “Let me go and kill Ishmael, and no one will know who did it. Why should he be allowed to murder you? That would cause all the Jews who have gathered around you to be scattered, and it would bring disaster on all the people who are left in Judah.”

16 But Gedaliah answered, “Don’t do it! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true!”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/40-1f95fa5074fe6d3ac17da487fd9e599a.mp3?version_id=68—

1 In the seventh month of that year, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, went to Mizpah with ten men to see Governor Gedaliah. While they were all eating a meal together,

2 Ishmael and the ten men with him pulled out their swords and killed Gedaliah.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Israelites who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Babylonian soldiers who happened to be there.

4 The next day, before anyone knew about Gedaliah’s murder,

5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves. They were taking grain and incense to offer in the Temple.

6 So Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he came to them, he said, “Please come in to see Gedaliah.”

7 As soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael and his men killed them and threw their bodies in a well.

8 But there were ten men in the group who said to Ishmael, “Please don’t kill us! We have wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he spared them.

9 The well into which Ishmael threw the bodies of the men he had killed was the large onethat King Asa had dug when he was being attacked by King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael filled the well with the bodies.

10 Then he made prisoners of the king’s daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the commanding officer had placed under the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael took them prisoner and started off in the direction of the territory of Ammon.

11 Johanan and all the army leaders with him heard of the crime that Ishmael had committed.

12 So they went after him with their men and overtook him near the large pool at Gibeon.

13 When Ishmael’s prisoners saw Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him, they were glad,

14 and turned and ran to them.

15 But Ishmael and eight of his men got away from Johanan and escaped to the land of Ammon.

16 Then Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him took charge of the people whom Ishmael had taken away as prisoners from Mizpah after murdering Gedaliah—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs.

17-18 They were afraid of the Babylonians because Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylonia had made governor of the land. So they set out for Egypt, in order to get away from the Babylonians. On the way they stopped at Chimham near Bethlehem.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/41-4666e64ac1415b95da7e2ae3847423bf.mp3?version_id=68—

The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray for Them

1 Then all the army leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariahson of Hoshaiah, came with people of every class

2 and said to me, “Please do what we ask you! Pray to the Lord our God for us. Pray for all of us who have survived. Once there were many of us; but now only a few of us are left, as you can see.

3 Pray that the Lord our God will show us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4 I answered, “Very well, then. I will pray to the Lord our God, just as you have asked, and whatever he says, I will tell you. I will not keep back anything from you.”

5 Then they said to me, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey all the commands that the Lord our God gives you for us.

6 Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey him.”

The Lord’s Answer to Jeremiah’s Prayer

7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to me;

8 so I called together Johanan, all the army leaders who were with him, and all the other people.

9 I said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your request has said,

10 ‘If you are willing to go on living in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up. The destruction I brought on you has caused me great sorrow.

11 Stop being afraid of the king of Babylonia. I am with you, and I will rescue you from his power.

12 Because I am merciful, I will make him have mercy on you and let you go back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.’

13-15 “But you people who are left in Judah must not disobey the Lord your God and refuse to live in this land. You must not say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we won’t face war any more or hear the call to battle or go hungry.’ If you say this, then the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you are determined to go and live in Egypt,

16 then the war that you fear will overtake you, and the hunger you dread will follow you, and you will die there in Egypt.

17 All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.’

18 “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.’”

19 Then I continued, “The Lord has told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. And so I warn you now

20 that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to the Lord our God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands.

21 And now I have told you, but you are disobeying everything that the Lord our God sent me to tell you.

22 So then, remember this: you will die in war or of starvation or disease in the land where you want to go and live.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/42-7f69170097c88bc8269df6f7ed6b45e9.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah Is Taken to Egypt

1 I finished telling the people everything that the Lord their God had sent me to tell them.

2 Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other arrogant men said to me, “You are lying. The Lord our God did not send you to tell us not to go and live in Egypt.

3 Baruch son of Neriah has stirred you up against us, so that the Babylonians will gain power over us and can either kill us or take us away to Babylonia.”

4 So neither Johanan nor any of the army officers nor any of the people would obey the Lord’s command to remain in the land of Judah.

5 Then Johanan and all the army officers took everybody left in Judah away to Egypt, together with all the people who had returned from the nations where they had been scattered:

6 the men, the women, the children, and the king’s daughters. They took everyone whom Nebuzaradan the commanding officer had left under the care of Gedaliah, including Baruch and me.

7 They disobeyed the Lord’s command and went into Egypt as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

8 There the Lord said to me,

9 “Get some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the pavementin front of the entrance to the government building here in the city, and let some of the Israelites see you do it.

10 Then tell them that I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, am going to bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to this place, and hewill put his throne over these stones that youburied, and will spread the royal tent over them.

11 Nebuchadnezzar will come and defeat Egypt. Those people who are doomed to die of disease will die of disease, those doomed to be taken away as prisoners will be taken away as prisoners, and those doomed to be killed in war will be killed in war.

12 I will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods, and the king of Babylonia will either burn their gods or carry them off. As shepherds pick their clothes clean of lice, so the king of Babylonia will pick the land of Egypt clean and then leave victorious.

13 He will destroy the sacred stone monuments at Heliopolis in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/43-b4aadbc9d8990f6b86b69de6e10abd7e.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Message to the Israelites in Egypt

1 The Lord spoke to me concerning all the Israelites living in Egypt, in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the southern part of the country.

2 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, said, “You yourselves have seen the destruction I brought on Jerusalem and all the other cities of Judah. Even now they are still in ruins, and no one lives in them

3 because their people had done evil and had made me angry. They offered sacrifices to other gods and served gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever worshiped.

4 I kept sending you my servants the prophets, who told you not to do this terrible thing that I hate.

5 But you would not listen or pay any attention. You would not give up your evil practice of sacrificing to other gods.

6 So I poured out my anger and fury on the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem, and I set them on fire. They were left in ruins and became a horrifying sight, as they are today.

7 “And so I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, now ask why you are doing such an evil thing to yourselves. Do you want to bring destruction on men and women, children and babies, so that none of your people will be left?

8 Why do you make me angry by worshiping idols and by sacrificing to other gods here in Egypt, where you have come to live? Are you doing this just to destroy yourselves, so that every nation on earth will make fun of you and use your name as a curse?

9 Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives?

10 But to this day you have not humbled yourselves. You have not honored me or lived according to all the laws that I gave you and your ancestors.

11 “So then, I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will turn against you and destroy all Judah.

12 As for the people of Judah who are left and are determined to go and live in Egypt, I will see to it that all of them are destroyed. All of them, great and small, will die in Egypt, either in war or of starvation. They will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of them and use their name as a curse.

13 I will punish those who live in Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem—with war, starvation, and disease.

14 None of the people of Judah who are left and have come to Egypt to live will escape or survive. Not one of them will return to Judah, where they long to live once again. No one will return except a few refugees.”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives offered sacrifices to other gods, and all the women who were standing there, including the Israelites who lived in southern Egypt—a large crowd in all—said to me,

16 “We refuse to listen to what you have told us in the name of the Lord.

17 We will do everything that we said we would. We will offer sacrifices to our goddess, the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out wine offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our king and our leaders, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we were prosperous, and had no troubles.

18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and stopped pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing, and our people have died in war and of starvation.”

19 And the women added, “When we baked cakes shaped like the Queen of Heaven, offered sacrifices to her, and poured out wine offerings to her, our husbands approved of what we were doing.”

20 Then I said to all the men and the women who had answered me in this way,

21 “As for the sacrifices which you and your ancestors, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land offered in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—do you think that the Lord did not know about them or that he forgot them?

22 This very day your land lies in ruins and no one lives in it. It has become a horrifying sight, and people use its name as a curse because the Lord could no longer endure your wicked and evil practices.

23 This present disaster has come on you because you offered sacrifices to other gods and sinned against the Lord by not obeying all his commands.”

24-25 I told all the people, especially the women, what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, was saying to the people of Judah living in Egypt: “Both you and your wives have made solemn promises to the Queen of Heaven. You promised that you would offer sacrifices to her and pour out wine offerings to her, and you have kept your promises. Very well, then! Keep your promises! Carry out your vows!

26 But now listen to the vow that I, the Lord, have made in my mighty name to all you Israelites in Egypt: Never again will I let any of you use my name to make a vow by saying, ‘I swear by the living Sovereign Lord!’

27 I will see to it that you will not prosper, but will be destroyed. All of you will die, either in war or of disease, until not one of you is left.

28 But a few of you will escape death and return from Egypt to Judah. Then the survivors will know whose words have come true, mine or theirs.

29 I, the Lord, will give you proof that I will punish you in this place and that my promise to bring destruction on you will come true.

30 I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who was his enemy and wanted to kill him.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/44-39ad3da689eff1475a194fb47d3b10fe.mp3?version_id=68—

God’s Promise to Baruch

1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down what I had dictated to him. Then I told him

2 that the Lord, the God of Israel, had said, “Baruch,

3 you are saying, ‘I give up! The Lord has added sorrow to my troubles. I am worn out from groaning, and I can’t find any rest!’

4 “But I, the Lord, am tearing down what I have built and pulling up what I have planted. I will do this to the entire earth.

5 Are you looking for special treatment for yourself Don’t do it. I am bringing disaster on all people, but you will at least escape with your life, wherever you go. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/45-bde4a4c93486fea0282c75a154fff2bb.mp3?version_id=68—

Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish

1 The Lord spoke to me about the nations,

2 beginning with Egypt. This is what he said about the army of King Neco of Egypt, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah:

3 “The Egyptian officers shout,

‘Get your shields ready

and march into battle!

4 Harness your horses and mount them!

Fall in line and put on your helmets!

Sharpen your spears!

Put on your armor!’

5 “But what do I see?” asks the Lord.

“They are turning back in terror.

Their soldiers are beaten back;

overcome with fear, they run as fast as they can

and do not look back.

6 Those who run fast cannot get away;

the soldiers cannot escape.

In the north, by the Euphrates,

they stumble and fall.

7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks?

8 It is Egypt, rising like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks.

Egypt said, ‘I will rise and cover the world;

I will destroy cities and the people who live there.

9 Command the horses to go

and the chariots to roll!

Send out the soldiers:

men from Ethiopiaand Libya, carrying shields,

and skilled archers from Lydia.’”

10 This is the day of the Sovereign Lord Almighty:

today he will take revenge;

today he will punish his enemies.

His sword will eat them until it is full,

and drink their blood until it is satisfied.

Today the Almighty sacrifices his victims

in the north, by the Euphrates.

11 People of Egypt, go to Gilead

and look for medicine!

All your medicine has proved useless;

nothing can heal you.

12 Nations have heard of your shame;

everyone has heard you cry.

One soldier trips over another,

and both of them fall to the ground.

The Coming of Nebuchadnezzar

13 When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came to attack Egypt, the Lord spoke to me. He said,

14 “Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt,

in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes:

‘Get ready to defend yourselves;

all you have will be destroyed in war!

15 Why has your mighty god Apis fallen?

The Lord has struck him down!’

16 Your soldiers have stumbled and fallen;

each one says to the other,

‘Hurry! Let’s go home to our people

and escape the enemy’s sword!’

17 “Give the king of Egypt a new name—

‘Noisy Braggart Who Missed His Chance.’

18 I, the Lord Almighty, am king.

I am the living God.

As Mount Tabor towers above the mountains

and Mount Carmel stands high above the sea,

so will be the strength of the one who attacks you.

19 Get ready to be taken prisoner,

you people of Egypt!

Memphis will be made a desert,

a ruin where no one lives.

20 Egypt is like a splendid cow,

attacked by a stinging fly from the north.

21 Even her hired soldiers

are helpless as calves.

They did not stand and fight;

all of them turned and ran.

The day of their doom had arrived,

the time of their destruction.

22 Egypt runs away, hissing like a snake,

as the enemy’s army approaches.

They attack her with axes,

like people cutting down trees

23 and destroying a thick forest.

Their soldiers are too many to count;

they outnumber the locusts.

24 The people of Egypt are put to shame;

they are conquered by the people of the north.

I, the Lord, have spoken.”

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “I am going to punish Amon, the god of Thebes, together with Egypt and its gods and kings. I am going to take the king of Egypt and all who put their trust in him,

26 and hand them over to those who want to kill them, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. But later on, people will live in Egypt again, as they did in times past. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord Will Save His People

27 “My people, do not be afraid,

people of Israel, do not be terrified.

I will rescue you from that faraway land,

from the land where you are prisoners.

You will come back home and live in peace;

you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.

28 I will come to you and save you.

I will destroy all the nations

where I have scattered you,

but I will not destroy you.

I will not let you go unpunished;

but when I punish you, I will be fair.

I, the Lord, have spoken.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/46-4acebea24ab2678a5670ccb79c4253bc.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Message about Philistia

1 Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the Lord spoke to me about Philistia.

2 He said:

“Look! Waters are rising in the north

and will rush like a river in flood.

They will cover the land and everything on it,

cities and the people who live there.

People will call out for help;

everyone on earth will cry bitterly.

3 They will hear the hoofbeats of horses,

the clatter of chariots,

the rumble of wheels.

Parents will not turn back for their children;

their hands will hang limp at their sides.

4 The time has come to destroy Philistia,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

all the help that remains.

I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines,

all who came from the shores of Crete.

5 Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza,

and Ashkelon’s people are silent.

How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?

6 You cry out, ‘Sword of the Lord!

How long will you go on slashing?

Go back to your scabbard,

stay there and rest!’

7 But how can it rest,

when I have given it work to do?

I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon

and the people who live on the coast.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/47-a95cb9cf14161aee21636e0da04c13b0.mp3?version_id=68—