21:1 The LORD spoke to Jeremiah¹ when King Zedekiah² sent to him Pashur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah.³ Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask,⁴ 21:2 “Please ask the LORD to come and help us⁵ because King Nebuchadnezzar⁶ of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the LORD will perform one of His miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.”⁷ 21:3 Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah 21:4 that the LORD, the God of Israel, says,⁸ ‘The forces at your disposal⁹ are now outside the walls fighting against the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians¹⁰ who have you under siege. I am going to gather those forces back inside the city.¹¹ 21:5 And in anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength.¹² 21:6 I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, people and animals alike. They will die from terrible diseases. 21:7 And then,¹³ I, the LORD, promise that¹⁴ I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He won’t show them any mercy, any compassion, or any pity.’

21:8 But¹⁵ tell the people of Jerusalem¹⁶ that the LORD says, ‘I am going to give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death.¹⁷ 21:9 Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives.¹⁸ 21:10 For I, the LORD, say that¹⁹ I am determined not to deliver this city but to bring disaster on it.²⁰ It will be handed over to the King of Babylon and he will destroy it with fire.’”²¹

21:11 The LORD told me to say²² to the royal court²³ of Judah,

“Listen to what the LORD says,
21:12 O Royal Family descended from David.²⁴
The LORD says,
‘See to it that people each day²⁵ are judged fairly.²⁶
Deliver those who have been robbed from those²⁷ who oppress them.
Otherwise, my wrath will blaze out against you.
It will burn like a fire that cannot be put out
because of the evil that you have done.²⁸
21:13 Listen you²⁹ who sit enthroned above the valley on a rocky plateau.
I am opposed to you,”³⁰ says the LORD.³¹
“You brag, ‘No one can swoop down on us.
No one can penetrate into our places of refuge.’³²
21:14 But I will punish you as your deeds deserve,”
says the LORD.³³
“I will set fire to your palace
and it will burn up everything around it.’”¹