Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ¹  Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

Hezekiah welcomed ¹  them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ² 

A carpenter takes measurements; ¹  he marks out an outline of its form; ²  he scrapes ³  it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, ⁴  like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. ⁵ 

So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, ¹  who lives securely, who says to herself, ²  ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ³  I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’ ⁴ 

Look all around you! ¹  All of them gather to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry; you will put them on as if you were a bride.

Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, ¹  he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ²  and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

They lament, ¹  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ²  you oppress your workers. ³ 

Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ¹  Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ²  bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out ³  on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen ¹  me. ²  He has commissioned ³  me to encourage ⁴  the poor, to help ⁵  the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,

I predestine you to die by the sword, ¹  all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ²  because I called to you, and you did not respond, I spoke and you did not listen. You did evil before me; ³  you chose to do what displeases me.”

So I will choose severe punishment ¹  for them; I will bring on them what they dread, because I called, and no one responded, I spoke and they did not listen. They did evil before me; ²  they chose to do what displeases me.”

For this is what the Lord says: “Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river, the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ¹  You will nurse from her breast ²  and be carried at her side; you will play on her knees.

“How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to ¹  the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ²  Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ³ 

“So tell them, ¹  ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ ²  And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know ³  that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’

Because of this, the Lord said, ¹  “You must repent of such words and thoughts! If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. ²  If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless, I will again allow you to be my spokesman. ³  They must become as you have been. You must not become like them. ⁴ 

If you do this, ¹  then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession ²  and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. ³  This city will always be filled with people. ⁴ 

Then some people ¹  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ³  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁴  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder ¹  and carry it off to Babylon.

So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ¹  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ²  I, the Lord, affirm it! ³ 

For I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that the time will come when I will reverse the plight ²  of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors ³  and they will take possession of it once again.’” ⁴