This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ¹  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ²  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ³ 

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah while King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem ¹  and the towns around it with a large army. This army consisted of troops from his own army and from the kingdoms and peoples of the lands under his dominion. ² 

But in the seventh month ¹  Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama who was a member of the royal family and had been one of Zedekiah’s chief officers, came with ten of his men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together with him there at Mizpah,

The cherubim spread ¹  their wings, and they rose up from the earth ²  while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

“Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ¹  although they are a rebellious house.

While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. ¹  You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground ²  because I have made you an object lesson ³  to the house of Israel.”

So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ¹  on my shoulder while they watched.

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, ¹  and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the times to come. ²  The dream and the visions you had while lying on your bed ³  are as follows.

While under the influence ¹  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ²  had confiscated ³  from the temple in Jerusalem ⁴  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ⁵ 

“While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days ¹  took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s ²  wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. ³ 

Then the Lord said to Hosea, ¹  “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish ²  the dynasty ³  of Jehu on account of the bloodshed ⁴  in the valley of Jezreel, ⁵  and I will put an end to the kingdom ⁶  of Israel. ⁷ 

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.

But this will be the nature of the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will decay while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.

When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; ¹  he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah ²  turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. ³ 

“Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ²  from another source, ³  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ⁴  that you have achieved royal status ⁵  for such a time as this!”

The mother who had seven children ¹  will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. ²  Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. ³  She will suffer shame and humiliation. ⁴  I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” ⁵  says the Lord.