Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,
(after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem),
by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying,
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon:
Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply ye there, and be not diminished.
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye {Or, dream}cause to be dreamed.
For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah.
For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you {Hebrew: a latter end and hope.}hope in your latter end.
And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be found of you, saith Jehovah, and I will {Or, return to}turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be {Or, a terror unto}tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;
because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah.
Hear ye therefore the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie unto you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
because they have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I commanded them not; and I am he that knoweth, and am witness, saith Jehovah.
And {Or, unto}concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak, saying,
Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thine own name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
Jehovah hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Jehovah, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in {Or, the collar}shackles.
Now therefore, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who maketh himself a prophet to you,
forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them?
And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,
Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie;
therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto my people, saith Jehovah, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah.
Querverweise zu Jeremia 29,16 Jer 29,16
by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying,
One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first-ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.
Thus saith Jehovah, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house:
But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that Jehovah hath showed me:
Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, {Hebrew: The men of thy peace.}Thy familiar friends have {Or, deceived thee}set thee on, and have prevailed over thee: now that thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.
And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans; and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and {Hebrew: thou shalt burn &c.}thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy {Or, against}unto them,
and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the {Or, ravines}watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and {Or, bear their guilt}made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be {Hebrew: blotted out.}abolished.
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that {Or, I have broken for myself their &c.}I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon.
And he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
that the kingdom might be {Hebrew: low.}base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.
For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet hath done all these things; he shall not escape.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head.
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;
it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? {Or, it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree}the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.
And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: {Or, terrors by reason of the sword are upon my people}they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.
For there is a trial; and {Or, what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more &c.}what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.
Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which {Or, compasseth them about}entereth into their chambers.
I have set the {Or, glittering}threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.
{Hebrew: Make thyself one.}Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, {Or, whither is thy face set?}whithersoever thy face is set.
I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,
Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a {Hebrew: hand.}place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.
In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth {Or, for}in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.
And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the {Or, punishment}iniquity of the end,
thus saith the Lord Jehovah: {Or, I will remove &c.}Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this shall be {Hebrew: not this.}no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
{Hebrew: An overthrow, overthrow, overthrow, will I make it.}I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day: the king of Babylon {Hebrew: leaned upon.}drew close unto Jerusalem this selfsame day.
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:
gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under {Hebrew: it.}the caldron; make it boil well; yea, let the bones thereof be boiled in the midst of it.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose {Or, scum}rust is therein, and whose {Or, scum}rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen upon it.
For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.
That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.
Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed.
She hath wearied {Or, me}herself with toil; yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust {Or, is in the fire}goeth not forth by fire.
{Or, For thy filthy lewdness}In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed thee and thou wast not cleansed, thou shalt not be cleansed from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my wrath toward thee to rest.
I, Jehovah, have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.