The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

 1 The word which came unto ^aJeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him ^bPashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

 2 Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for ^aNebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

 3 ¶Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

 4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you ^awithout the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

 5 And I myself will fight against you with an ^aoutstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

 7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver ^aZedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of ^bBabylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not ^cspare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

 8 ¶And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of ^alife, and the way of death.

 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and ^afalleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his ^blife shall be unto him for a prey.

 10 For I have set my ^aface against this city for ^bevil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of ^cBabylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

 11 ¶And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord;

 12 O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

 13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, ^aWho shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

 14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.