Jeremiah

8Then the LORD spoke to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes. He said:

Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

9"Pick up some big stones. Bury them in the clay of the brick walkway. It is at the doorway of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes. Do this while the people of Judah watch."

Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

Note"Pharaoh" was the name for the king of Egypt. The brick walkway was flat bricks pressed into clay by the palace door.

10"Then tell them what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. I will set his throne on these stones I have buried. He will spread his royal tent over them.'"

And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

Note"The LORD of Heaven's Armies" is a name for God. It means he leads the armies of heaven. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He was the strongest king at that time. A throne is the special chair a king sits on. Kings took big cloth tents with them when they traveled.

11"'He will come and strike the land of Egypt. Those meant to die will die. Those meant to be taken away will be taken away. Those meant for the sword will fall by the sword.'"

And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.

NoteA sword is a long, sharp blade used in fighting. "Fall by the sword" means to be killed in war.

12"'I will start a fire in the temples of Egypt's gods. He will burn them and carry their gods away. He will wrap the land of Egypt around himself. It will be like a shepherd wrapping himself in his coat. Then he will leave Egypt safely.'"

And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

NoteEgypt's gods were statues kept inside big buildings called temples. People prayed to them there. When an army won, it carried the statues home as prizes. A shepherd takes care of sheep. He can pick up his coat and wrap it around him easily. Taking Egypt would be that easy for this king.

13"'He will smash the stone pillars at the temple of the sun in Egypt. He will burn down the temples of Egypt's gods.'"

He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.

NoteThe temple of the sun stood in a city where people worshiped the sun. The King James calls the place "Bethshemesh," which means "house of the sun." The stone pillars were tall stone posts standing there for worship.

1This is the message God gave to Jeremiah. It was for all the Jews living in Egypt. They lived in the towns of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Noph, and in the land of Pathros.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

NoteThese Jews had run away from their own country, Judah. An enemy army had destroyed their city, so they escaped to Egypt. Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros were places in Egypt. They were far from home. Jeremiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said.

2The LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this. You saw all the trouble I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Look at them today. They are empty piles of ruins. Nobody lives there.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,

NoteThe LORD of Heaven's Armies is a name for God. It means he leads a huge army in heaven. Judah was the land these people came from. Jerusalem was its biggest city.

3This happened because of the wrong things the people did. They made me angry. They burned incense and served other gods. Nobody knew those gods, not them, not you, and not your fathers before you.

Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

NoteIncense is a sweet smelling stuff that people burned. The smoke floated up as a gift to a god. Your fathers means grandparents and families from long ago.

4Still, I sent all my servants the prophets to you. I sent them again and again. They said, please do not do this awful thing that I hate.

Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

NoteA prophet was a person who told others what God said. God sent many of them over many years.

5But the people would not listen. They would not even turn their ears to hear. They did not stop doing wrong. They kept burning incense to other gods.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.

6So my anger poured out like fire. It burned in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Those places were ruined and left empty, just as they are today.

Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.

7Now the LORD God of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this. Why are you hurting yourselves so badly? You are cutting off men and women, children and babies from Judah. This will leave none of you at all.

Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

NoteTo cut off a family means the family stops for good. No children are left to grow up.

8You make me angry by what your hands make. You burn incense to other gods here in Egypt, where you came to live. You are wiping yourselves out. People in every nation will use your name as a bad word.

In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

NoteTheir name would turn into a bad word. When people wished trouble on someone, they would say that name.

9Have you forgotten the wrong things your fathers did? Have you forgotten what the kings of Judah did, and what their wives did? Have you forgotten what you did, and what your wives did? All of it happened in Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10Even today they are not sorry. They do not show me respect. They do not live by my teaching or my rules. I gave those rules to you and to your fathers.

They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.

NoteGod's teaching and rules were laws he gave long ago. They told his people how to live each day.

11So the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this. I have decided to bring trouble on you. I will cut off all of Judah.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

12The few people of Judah who are left made up their minds to go live in Egypt. I will take them away. Every one of them will die there. They will die in war or from hunger. Everyone will die, the least important and the greatest. People will be shocked at them and use their name as a bad word.

And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

NoteThe least important and the greatest means everyone. Poor people and kings would all be included.

13I will punish the people living in Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem. I will use war, hunger, and sickness.

For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:

NoteSickness here means a disease that spreads fast. It could kill many people in one town.

14So none of the people of Judah who went to live in Egypt will get away. They want to go back and live in Judah again. But they will not return. Only a very few will escape and get home.

So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

15Then the men answered Jeremiah. They knew their wives had been burning incense to other gods. All the women standing there answered too. It was a huge crowd. All the people of Judah living in Egypt and in Pathros spoke up.

Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

16They said, you spoke to us using the LORD's name. But we will not listen to you.

As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

17We will do everything we promised to do. We will burn incense to the queen of heaven. We will pour out drink offerings to her. We did this, and so did our fathers, our kings, and our leaders. It was in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty of food. We were fine, and nothing bad happened to us.

But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

NoteThe queen of heaven was a goddess some people worshiped. They believed she made food grow for them. A drink offering meant pouring out wine on the ground. It was a gift for a god.

18But we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven. We stopped pouring out drink offerings to her. Since then we have gone without everything. War and hunger have been killing us.

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

19The women said, we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her. We made cakes shaped like her. Did we do all this without our husbands knowing?

And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

NoteThey baked little cakes shaped like the goddess. Then they gave the cakes to her as a present.

20Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people who had answered him, both the men and the women.

Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,

21He said, you burned incense in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. So did your fathers, your kings, your leaders, and everyone in the land. Do you think the LORD forgot? He remembered every bit of it.

The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?

22The LORD could not put up with it any longer. Your deeds were evil, and the things you did were awful to him. That is why your land is empty ruins today. Nobody lives there, and people are shocked when they see it.

So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

23You burned incense and you sinned against the LORD. You did not obey his voice. You did not live by his teaching, his rules, or his warnings. That is why this trouble came to you, as you can see today.

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, and to all the women, listen to the LORD's message. This is for everyone from Judah who lives in Egypt.

Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

25The LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this. You and your wives made a promise out loud. Then your hands did what you said. You promised to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her. Go ahead then. Keep your promises.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

NoteA promise made to a god was very serious back then. People believed they had to do what they said.

26But listen to the LORD's message, all you people of Judah living in Egypt. The LORD says, I have made a promise using my own great name. No man of Judah in Egypt will ever say my name again. None of them will say, as surely as the Lord GOD lives.

Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.

NoteAs surely as the Lord GOD lives was a way to promise. People said it to show they were telling the truth.

27I am watching over them to bring trouble, not good things. Every man of Judah in Egypt will die by war or hunger, until they are all gone.

Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

28A few will get away from the fighting. They will come back from Egypt to Judah. Then all the people of Judah who went to live in Egypt will know whose words came true, mine or theirs.

Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.

29The LORD says, here is a sign for you. It will show you that I will punish you in this place. Then you will know that my warnings about you will surely come true.

And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

NoteA sign is something that happens to prove a promise. It shows the rest will come true too.

30The LORD says this. Look, I will hand over Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, to his enemies. They want to kill him. I did the same thing to Zedekiah, king of Judah. I handed him over to his enemy, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, who wanted to kill him.

Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

NotePharaoh was the title for the king of Egypt, like calling him King. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. Enemies captured him and took him away. Nebuchadrezzar was the king of Babylon, a strong country far away. His name is also spelled Nebuchadnezzar.

1Jeremiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. Baruch, the son of Neriah, wrote Jeremiah's words on a scroll while Jeremiah said them out loud. This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Then Jeremiah spoke this message to Baruch.

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

NoteA scroll was a long strip of paper rolled up. People wrote on scrolls before books had pages. Baruch was Jeremiah's helper. Jeremiah said the words out loud, and Baruch wrote them down. Judah was the land where these people lived. Kings ruled it, one after another. People counted years by how long a king had ruled.

2This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch.

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch:

NoteThe LORD, in big letters, stands for God's own special name. Israel was the name of God's people long ago.

3You said, "This is so hard for me! The LORD has piled more sadness on top of my hurting. I am worn out from crying. I cannot find any rest."

Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

NoteBaruch is telling God how he feels. Writing down Jeremiah's message was hard and scary work.

4Jeremiah, tell Baruch this. The LORD says, "I built this land up, and now I will tear it down. I planted it, and now I will pull it up. I will do this to the whole land."

Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.

NoteGod talks about the land like a garden and a house. He is saying he made this land grow, and now he will take it apart.

5"And are you hoping for big things for yourself? Do not look for them. I am going to bring trouble on every living person, says the LORD. But wherever you go, I will let you keep your life."

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

Note"Great things" means being important, or rich, or famous. In a war, a soldier who grabbed something got to keep it. God is telling Baruch he will get to keep one thing: his own life.

59This is the message Jeremiah the prophet, a man who told people what God said, gave to Seraiah. Seraiah was the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah. He went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon. It was the fourth year Zedekiah was king. Seraiah was the officer in charge of supplies.

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

NoteA prophet is someone who told people what God said. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. Seraiah's job was taking care of the king's food and supplies on the trip.

60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the trouble that would come on Babylon. All these words were written about her.

So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

NoteA book then was a scroll, a long sheet rolled up. People wrote on it with ink and a reed pen.

61Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, make sure you read all these words out loud."

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

62"Then say, 'LORD, you have said you will wipe out this place. No one will be left, no person and no animal. It will lie empty forever.'"

Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63"When you finish reading the book, tie a stone to it. Throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River."

And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

NoteThe Euphrates is the big river that ran right through the city of Babylon.

64"Then say, 'Babylon will sink like this and never rise again. That is because of the trouble I will bring on her. Her people will grow tired.'" Here the words of Jeremiah end.

And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

NoteThis sentence tells us Jeremiah's own words are finished. The next chapter was added by someone else to tell what happened.

1It was the first year that Darius was king. He was the son of Ahasuerus, and he came from the Medes. He was made king over the land of the Chaldeans, which is Babylon.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

NoteDarius was a new king who ruled Babylon. The Medes were a people from a land east of Babylon. The Chaldeans were the people who had ruled Babylon before. Daniel's people had been carried to Babylon as prisoners.

2In that first year, I, Daniel, was reading the holy books. I learned what the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. A prophet is someone who told people what God said. Jerusalem would lie empty and broken for seventy years.

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

NoteJeremiah was a prophet who lived before Daniel's time. His words were saved on scrolls, long rolls of writing. Jeremiah wrote that Jerusalem would sit empty for seventy years. Jerusalem was the home city Daniel's people had lost.

3So I turned to the Lord God to look for him. I prayed and begged for help. I went without food, wore rough cloth, and sat in ashes.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

NoteGoing without food while you pray is called fasting. Rough cloth was scratchy and plain, not nice to wear. Sitting in ashes showed everyone that you were very sad. People did these things to show they were truly sorry.

16Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him. He was very angry. He sent out an order. All the boys in Bethlehem and the towns nearby were killed. Only boys two years old and younger were killed. He picked that age from what the wise men had told him.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

NoteThe King James says "coasts." Here that word means the land around the town. It has nothing to do with the sea. "Wroth" is an old word for very angry.

17So the words of Jeremiah the prophet came true. He had said:

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

NoteJeremiah was a prophet. He lived hundreds of years before Jesus was born.

18"A voice was heard in the town of Ramah. There was crying and loud, sad weeping. Rachel was weeping for her children. She would not let anyone comfort her, because they were gone."

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

NoteRamah was a town north of Jerusalem. Rachel was a mother of Israel's families long, long ago. Many of her family lived near Ramah. The words show her crying for children who were gone.

13Jesus came to the land around the town of Caesarea Philippi. He asked his followers, "Who do people say that I am? I call myself the Son of Man."

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

NoteCaesarea Philippi was a town far to the north, away from home. "Son of Man" was Jesus' favorite name for himself. It came from an old promise in the Bible about a king God would send.

14They said, "Some say you are John the Baptist. Some say you are Elijah. Others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

NoteJohn the Baptist told people to get ready for Jesus. He had been killed a short time before this. Elijah and Jeremiah were prophets who lived hundreds of years earlier. So the people were saying Jesus seemed like a great man from long ago come back. Prophets were people who told others what God said.

15Then he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?"

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16Simon Peter answered him. He said, "You are the Christ, God's chosen one. You are the Son of the living God."

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Note"Christ" is not a last name. It is a title, like "king" or "captain." It means the special helper God promised to send.