Jeremiah

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

1This is the message the LORD gave Jeremiah. At that time Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his whole army, all the kingdoms he ruled, and all their people were attacking Jerusalem and the towns around it.

2Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

2The LORD, the God of Israel, said: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah. Tell him this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

3And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

3You will not get away from him. You will surely be caught and handed over to him. You will look him in the eye and speak with him face to face, and you will go to Babylon.

4Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

4But listen to what the LORD says, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says about you: you will not be killed in battle.

5But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

5You will die peacefully. People burned spices to honor the kings who ruled before you, and they will burn spices for you too. They will mourn for you and say, "Oh, our master!" I myself have said this, says the LORD.

NoteThe KJV says they will "burn odours" for him. This means burning sweet-smelling spices at a royal funeral, a way of honoring a dead king. It does not mean burning his body.

6Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

6So Jeremiah the prophet said all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, there in Jerusalem.

7When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

7This happened while the Babylonian king's army was attacking Jerusalem and the towns of Judah that were still standing. It was attacking Lachish and Azekah, the only walled cities left in Judah.

8This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

8The LORD gave Jeremiah another message. It came after King Zedekiah made an agreement with all the people in Jerusalem to set their slaves free.

9That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

9Every man was to free his Hebrew slaves, both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Jew as a slave.

10Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

10All the officials and all the people agreed to this. They promised to free their male and female slaves and never make them slaves again. So they obeyed and let them go.

11But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

11But later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed and forced them to be slaves again.

12Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. The LORD said:

13Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

13This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made an agreement with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, where they had been slaves. I told them:

14At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

14Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who sold himself to you. He may work for you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your ancestors would not listen to me or pay attention.

15And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

15Not long ago you changed and did what was right in my eyes. Each of you set your neighbor free. You made this promise before me in the house that carries my name.

16But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

16But then you turned around and treated my name as worthless. Each of you took back the men and women you had freed to go where they wished, and forced them to be slaves again.

17Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

17So this is what the LORD says: You did not obey me. You did not set your brothers and neighbors free. So now I set something free for you, says the LORD: war, disease, and hunger. I will make every kingdom on earth shudder at what happens to you.

NoteThis verse plays on the word "liberty." The people would not give freedom to their slaves, so God says he will give them a different kind of freedom: he will set war, disease, and hunger loose on them.

18And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

18These people broke my agreement. They did not keep the promise they made before me when they cut a calf in two and walked between the pieces. So I will treat them like that calf.

NoteCutting an animal in two and walking between the halves was how people sealed a serious promise in that time. It meant, "May this happen to me if I break my word."

19The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

19This includes the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the palace officers, the priests, and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf.

20I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

20I will hand them over to their enemies, to people who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

NoteThe KJV says the bodies will be "meat" for the birds. In 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind, not just animal flesh.

21And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you.

21I will also hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials to their enemies, to people who want to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon that has pulled back from you.

22Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

22Listen, says the LORD, I will give the order and bring that army back to this city. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will leave the towns of Judah empty, with no one living in them.