Jeremiah 21:1-10

Judah’s King Zedekiah sent for Pashhur son of Malchiah and for a priest named Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and he told them, “Tell Jeremiah to intercede for us to YAHWEH because Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is coming to war against us. Perhaps YAHWEH will perform an extraordinary miracle for us, as he has done in times past, and cause the king of Babylon to withdraw from us.” YAHWEH spoke through Jeremiah to say to them, “Tell King Zedekiah, ‘Here is what YAHWEH, the God of Israel says to King Zedekiah: Behold! I am going to take the weapons your troops are using to fight the Babylonians who are outside the city, and I will gather them together there. And I myself will fight against you with a strong arm and with all my might. Yes, I will fight against you, fueled by my furious anger and by my great wrath! And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city—both people and animals, and they will die from a great plague. “ ‘And after this, declares YAHWEH, I will hand over Judah’s king, Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and food shortages, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and their enemies. He will slaughter them with the sword and show no mercy, pity, or compassion.’ ” “Furthermore, speak to the people the words of YAHWEH: ‘Behold! I will set before you the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death. Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword and by food shortages and by pestilence, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and they will escape with their lives. “ ‘For I am determined to bring calamity to this city, not good, declares YAHWEH. I will turn the city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it to the ground.’ ”