Jeremiah 21 - Easy To Read Version

¹ This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. This was when Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent a man named Pashhur and a priest named Zephaniah to Jeremiah. Pashhur {\cf2\super [167]} was the son of a man named Malkijah. Zephaniah was the son of a man named Maaseiah. Pashhur and Zephaniah brought a message for Jeremiah.

² Pashhur and Zephaniah said to Jeremiah, “Pray to the Lord for us. Ask the Lord what will happen. We want to know, because Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will do great things for us, like he did in the past. Maybe the Lord will make Nebuchadnezzar stop attacking us and leave.”

³ Then Jeremiah answered Pashhur and Zephaniah. He said, “Tell King Zedekiah:

⁴ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have weapons of war in your hands. You are using those weapons to defend yourselves against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians. {\cf2\super [168]} But I will make those weapons worthless.

⁵ I myself will fight against you people of Judah. I will fight against you with my own powerful hand. I am very angry with you, so I will fight against you with my own powerful arm. I will fight very hard against you and show how angry I am.

⁶ I will kill the people living in Jerusalem. I will kill people and animals. They will die from terrible sicknesses that will spread all through the city.

⁷ After that happens,’” this message is from the Lord, “‘I will give Zedekiah king of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will also give Zedekiah’s officials to Nebuchadnezzar. Some of the people in Jerusalem will not die from the terrible sicknesses. Some of the people will not be killed with swords. Some of them will not die from hunger. But I will give those people to Nebuchadnezzar. I will let Judah’s enemy win. Nebuchadnezzar’s army wants to kill the people of Judah. So the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be killed with swords. Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy. He will not feel sorry for those people.’

⁸ “Also tell these things to the people of Jerusalem. The Lord says these things: ‘Understand that I will let you choose to live or die.

⁹ Any person that stays in Jerusalem will die. That person will die by a sword, or from hunger, or from a terrible sickness. But any person that goes out of Jerusalem and surrenders to the Babylonian army will live! That army has surrounded the city. So no person can bring food into the city. But any person that leaves the city will save his life.

¹⁰ I have decided to make trouble for the city of Jerusalem. I will not help the city.’” This message is from the Lord. “‘I will give the city of Jerusalem to the king of Babylon. He will burn it with fire.’

¹¹ “Tell these things to Judah’s royal family:\par Listen to the message from the Lord.\par

¹² Family of David, {\cf2\super [169]} \par the Lord says these things:\par ‘You must judge people fairly every day.\par Protect the victims {\cf2\super [170]} from the criminals.\par If you don’t do that,\par then I will become very angry.\par My anger will be like a fire\par that no person will be able to put out.\par This will happen because you\par have done evil things.’\par

¹³ “Jerusalem, I am against you.\par You sit on top of the mountain.\par You sit like a queen over this valley.\par You people of Jerusalem say,\par ‘No person can attack us.\par No person can come into our strong city.’\par But listen to this message from the Lord.\par

¹⁴ ‘You will get the punishment you deserve.\par I will start a fire in your forests.\par That fire will completely burn everything\par around you.’”\par