Jeremiah 21:1-10

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when 1King Zedekiah sent to him 2Pashhur the son of Malchijah and 3Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2“Please 4inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because 5Nebuchadnezzar king of 6Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us 7in accordance with all His 8wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

3But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to 9turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will 10gather them into the middle of this city. 5And I 11Myself will make war against you with an 12outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in 13anger, wrath, and great indignation. 6I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great 14plague. 7Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “15I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He 16will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

8“You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am 17setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9Anyone who 18stays in this city will die by the 19sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. 10For I have 20set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be 21handed over to the king of Babylon and he will 22burn it with fire.”’