24 And Jehovah showed me, and, look! two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, after Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah and the craftsmen and the builders of bulwarks, from Jerusalem that he might bring them to Babylon. 2 As for the one basket, the figs were very good, like early figs; and as for the other basket, the figs were very bad, so that they could not be eaten for badness.

3 And Jehovah proceeded to say to me: “What are you seeing, Jeremiah?” So I said: “Figs, the good figs being very good, and the bad ones being very bad, so that they cannot be eaten for badness.”

4 Then the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying: 5 “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘Like these good figs, so I shall regard the exiles of Judah, whom I will send away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans, in a good way. 6 And I will set my eye upon them in a good way, and I shall certainly cause them to return to this land. And I will build them up, and I shall not tear down; and I will plant them, and I shall not uproot. 7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they must become my people, and I myself shall become their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

8 “‘And like the bad figs that cannot be eaten for badness, this in fact is what Jehovah has said: “So I shall give Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes and the remnant of Jerusalem who are remaining over in this land and those who are dwelling in the land of Egypt— 9 I will also give them over for quaking, for calamity, in all the kingdoms of the earth, for reproach and for a proverbial saying, for a taunt and for a malediction, in all the places to which I shall disperse them. 10 And I will send against them the sword, the famine and the pestilence, until they come to their finish off the ground that I gave to them and to their forefathers.”’”

25 The word that occurred to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that is, the first year of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon; 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke concerning all the people of Judah and concerning all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, and down to this day, these twenty-three years the word of Jehovah has occurred to me, and I kept speaking to YOU people, rising up early and speaking, but YOU did not listen. 4 And Jehovah sent to YOU all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them], but YOU did not listen, neither did YOU incline YOUR ear to listen, 5 they saying, ‘Turn back, please, every one from his bad way and from the badness of YOUR dealings, and continue dwelling upon the ground that Jehovah gave to YOU and to YOUR forefathers from long ago and to a long time to come. 6 And do not walk after other gods in order to serve them and to bow down to them, that YOU may not offend me with the work of YOUR hands, and that I may not cause calamity to YOU.’

7 “‘But YOU did not listen to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘to the intent that YOU might offend me with the work of YOUR hands, for calamity to yourselves.’

8 “Therefore this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘“For the reason that YOU did not obey my words, 9 here I am sending and I will take all the families of the north,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even [sending] to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of astonishment and something to whistle at and places devastated to time indefinite. 10 And I will destroy out of them the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the hand mill and the light of the lamp. 11 And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”’

12 “‘And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘their error, even against the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite. 13 And I will bring in upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, even all that is written in this book that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For even they themselves, many nations and great kings, have exploited them as servants; and I will repay them according to their activity and according to the work of their hands.’”

15 For this is what Jehovah the God of Israel said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of rage out of my hand, and you must make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink it. 16 And they must drink and shake back and forth and act like crazed men because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

17 And I proceeded to take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah and to make all the nations drink to whom Jehovah had sent me: 18 namely, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and her kings, her princes, to make them a devastated place, an object of astonishment, something to whistle at and a malediction, just as at this day; 19 Pharaoh the king of Egypt and his servants and his princes and all his people; 20 and all the mixed company, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and Ashkelon and Gaza and Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod; 21 Edom and Moab and the sons of Ammon; 22 and all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon and the kings of the island that is in the region of the sea; 23 and Dedan and Tema and Buz and all those with hair clipped at the temples; 24 and all the kings of the Arabs and all the kings of the mixed company who are residing in the wilderness; 25 and all the kings of Zimri and all the kings of Elam and all the kings of the Medes; 26 and all the kings of the north who are near and far away, one after the other, and all the [other] kingdoms of the earth that are on the surface of the ground; and the king of Sheshach himself will drink after them.

27 “And you must say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “Drink and get drunk and puke and fall so that YOU cannot get up because of the sword that I am sending among YOU.”’ 28 And it must occur that in case they refuse to take the cup out of your hand to drink, you must also say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: “YOU will drink without fail. 29 For, look! it is upon the city upon which my name is called that I am starting off in bringing calamity, and should YOU yourselves in any way go free of punishment?”’

“‘YOU will not go free of punishment, for there is a sword that I am calling against all the inhabitants of the earth,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.

30 “And as for you, you will prophesy to them all these words, and you must say to them, ‘From on high Jehovah himself will roar, and from his holy dwelling he will give forth his voice. Without fail he will roar upon his abiding place. A shout like that of those treading [the winepress] he will sing out against all the inhabitants of the earth.’

31 “‘A noise will certainly come clear to the farthest part of the earth, for there is a controversy that Jehovah has with the nations. He must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

32 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Look! A calamity is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest itself will be roused up from the remotest parts of the earth. 33 And those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth. They will not be bewailed, neither will they be gathered up or be buried. As manure on the surface of the ground they will become.’

34 “Howl, YOU shepherds, and cry out! And wallow about, YOU majestic ones of the flock, because YOUR days for slaughtering and for YOUR scatterings have been fulfilled, and YOU must fall like a desirable vessel! 35 And a place to flee to has perished from the shepherds, and a means of escape from the majestic ones of the flock. 36 Listen! The outcry of the shepherds, and the howling of the majestic ones of the flock, for Jehovah is despoiling their pasturage. 37 And the peaceful abiding places have been rendered lifeless because of the burning anger of Jehovah. 38 He has left his covert just like a maned young lion, for their land has become an object of astonishment because of the maltreating sword and because of his burning anger.”

26 In the beginning of the royal rule of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word occurred from Jehovah, saying: 2 “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Stand in the courtyard of the house of Jehovah, and you must speak concerning all the cities of Judah that are coming in to bow down at the house of Jehovah all the words that I will command you to speak to them. Do not take away a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and return, each one from his bad way, and I shall have to feel regret for the calamity that I am thinking to execute upon them because of the badness of their dealings. 4 And you must say to them: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘If YOU will not listen to me by walking in my law that I have put before YOU, 5 by listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I am sending to YOU, even rising up early and sending [them], whom YOU have not listened to, 6 I will, in turn, make this house like that in Shiloh, and this city I shall make a malediction to all the nations of the earth.’”’”

7 And the priests and the prophets and all the people began to hear Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah. 8 So it came about that when Jeremiah had completed speaking all that Jehovah had commanded [him] to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying: “You will positively die. 9 Why is it that you have prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, ‘Like that in Shiloh is how this house will become, and this very city will be devastated so as to be without an inhabitant’?” And all the people kept congregating themselves about Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.

10 In time the princes of Judah got to hear these words, and they proceeded to come up from the house of the king to the house of Jehovah and to sit down in the entrance of the new gate of Jehovah. 11 And the priests and the prophets began to say to the princes and to all the people: “To this man the judgment of death belongs, because he has prophesied concerning this city just as YOU have heard with YOUR own ears.”

12 At that Jeremiah said to all the princes and to all the people: “It was Jehovah that sent me to prophesy concerning this house and concerning this city all the words that YOU have heard. 13 And now make YOUR ways and YOUR dealings good, and obey the voice of Jehovah YOUR God, and Jehovah will feel regret for the calamity that he has spoken against YOU. 14 And as for me, here I am in YOUR hand. Do to me according to what is good and according to what is right in YOUR eyes. 15 Only YOU should by all means know that, if YOU are putting me to death, it is innocent blood that YOU are putting upon yourselves and upon this city and upon her inhabitants, for in truth Jehovah did send me to YOU to speak in YOUR ears all these words.”

16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: “There is no judgment of death belonging to this man, for it was in the name of Jehovah our God that he spoke to us.”

17 Furthermore, certain ones of the older men of the land rose up and began saying to all the congregation of the people: 18 “Micah of Moresheth himself happened to be prophesying in the days of Hezekiah the king of Judah and went on to say to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: “Zion herself will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the House will be for high places of a forest.”’ 19 Did Hezekiah the king of Judah and all those of Judah by any means put him to death? Did he not fear Jehovah and proceed to soften the face of Jehovah, so that Jehovah got to feeling regret for the calamity that he had spoken against them? So we are working up a great calamity against our souls.

20 “And there also happened to be a man prophesying in the name of Jehovah, Urijah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. And he kept prophesying against this city and against this land in accord with all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the princes got to hear his words, and the king began seeking to put him to death. When Urijah got to hear [of it] he at once became afraid and ran away and came into Egypt. 22 But King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor and other men with him to Egypt. 23 And they proceeded to bring Urijah out from Egypt and to bring him to King Jehoiakim, who then struck him down with the sword and cast his dead body into the graveyard of the sons of the people.”

24 Moreover, it was the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan that proved to be with Jeremiah, in order not to give him into the hand of the people to have him put to death.