There are times, Jeremiah, ¹  when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. ² 

“Find Jeremiah ¹  and look out for him. ²  Do not do anything to harm him, ³  but do with him whatever he tells you.”

Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune.” ¹  says the Lord. ²  The judgment against Moab ends here.

The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. ¹  The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah ²  in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. ³ 

But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free ¹  from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. ²  But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. ³  You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. ⁴  Go wherever you choose.” ⁵ 

The Lord ¹  began to speak to him ²  in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah.

“I looked at the land and saw ¹  that it was an empty wasteland. ²  I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

And I cried out, ¹  “We are doomed! ²  Our wound is severe! We once thought, ‘This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!’ ³ 

Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ¹  It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ² 

“But ¹  tell the people of Jerusalem ²  that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. ³ 

So I, Jeremiah, tell you, ¹  “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ ² 

So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. ¹ 

“The Lord God of Israel says, ¹  ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll. ² 

Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.” ¹ 

Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah ¹  and all the people of every class, ²  went to the prophet Jeremiah.

So Jeremiah summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people of every class. ¹ 

Then Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to the Lord God of Israel to make your request known to him. Here is what he says to you: ¹ 

“The Lord has told you people who remain in Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be very sure of this: I warn you ¹  here and now. ² 

When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ¹  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ² 

The Lord answered, ¹  “If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you feel secure only ²  in safe and open country, ³  how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? ⁴