New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah (that was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon),
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The word which came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah; this was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.
2 which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
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This word Jeremiah gave out to all the people of Judah and to those living in Jerusalem, saying,
3 For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.
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From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, even till this day, for twenty-three years, the word of the Lord has been coming to me, and I have given it to you, getting up early and talking to you; but you have not given ear.
4 And though the Lord persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear
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And the Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets, getting up early and sending them; but you have not given attention and your ear has not been open to give hearing;
5 when they said, "Turn now, everyone of you, from your evil way and wicked doings, and you will remain upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your ancestors from of old and forever;
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Saying, Come back now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your doings, and keep your place in the land which the Lord has given to you and to your fathers, from times long past even for ever:
6 do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm."
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Do not go after other gods to be their servants and to give them worship, and do not make me angry with the work of your hands, causing evil to yourselves.
7 Yet you did not listen to me, says the Lord, and so you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.
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But you have not given ear to me, says the Lord; so that you have made me angry with the work of your hands, causing evil to yourselves.
8 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words,
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So this is what the Lord of armies has said: Because you have not given ear to my words,
9 I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an object of horror and of hissing, and an everlasting disgrace.
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See, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and make them come against this land, and against its people, and against all these nations on every side; and I will give them up to complete destruction, and make them a cause of fear and surprise and a waste place for ever.
10 And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
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And more than this, I will take from them the sound of laughing voices, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the stones crushing the grain, and the shining of lights.
11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
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All this land will be a waste and a cause of wonder; and these nations will be the servants of the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.
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And it will come about, after seventy years are ended, that I will send punishment on the king of Babylon, and on that nation, says the Lord, for their evil-doing, and on the land of the Chaldaeans; and I will make it a waste for ever.
13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
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And I will make that land undergo everything I have said against it, even everything recorded in this book, which Jeremiah the prophet has said against all the nations.
14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.
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For a number of nations and great kings will make servants of them, even of them: and I will give them the reward of their acts, even the reward of the work of their hands.
15 For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
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For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said to me: Take the cup of the wine of this wrath from my hand, and make all the nations to whom I send you take of it.
16 They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.
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And after drinking it, they will go rolling from side to side, and be off their heads, because of the sword which I will send among them.
17 So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it:
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Then I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and gave a drink from it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me;
18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today;
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Jerusalem and the towns of Judah and their kings and their princes, to make them a waste place, a cause of fear and surprise and a curse, as it is this day;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people;
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Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his servants and his princes and all his people;
20 all the mixed people; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
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And all the mixed people and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon and Gaza and Ekron and the rest of Ashdod;
21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
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Edom and Moab and the children of Ammon,
22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;
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And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the lands across the sea;
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaven temples;
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Dedan and Tema and Buz, and all who have the ends of their hair cut;
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoples that live in the desert;
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And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed people living in the waste land;
25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media;
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And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Sheshach shall drink.
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And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
27 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, get drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.
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And you are to say to them, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Take of this cup and be overcome, and let it come out again from your lips, and from your fall you will never be lifted up again, because of the sword which I will send among you.
28 And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must drink!
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And it will be, if they will not take of the cup in your hand, then you are to say to them, This is what the Lord of armies has said: You will certainly take of it.
29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.
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For see, I am starting to send evil on the town which is named by my name, and are you to be without any punishment? You will not be without punishment: for I will send a sword on all people living on the earth, says the Lord of armies.
30 You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
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So, as a prophet, give out these words among them, and say to them, The voice of the Lord will be sounding like a lion from on high; he will send out his voice from his holy place, like the loud voice of a lion, against his flock; he will give a cry, like those who are crushing the grapes, against all the people of the earth.
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgment with all flesh, and the guilty he will put to the sword, says the Lord.
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A noise will come, even to the end of the earth; for the Lord has a cause against the nations, he will give his decision against all flesh; as for the evil-doers, he will give them to the sword, says the Lord.
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts: See, disaster is spreading from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!
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This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, evil is going out from nation to nation, and a great storm will come up from the inmost parts of the earth.
33 Those slain by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.
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And at that day, the bodies of those whom the Lord has put to death will be seen from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: there will be no weeping for them, their bodies will not be taken up or put to rest in the earth; they will be like waste on the face of the land.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions, and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
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Give cries of grief, you keepers of sheep; give cries for help, rolling yourselves in the dust, you chiefs of the flock: for the days of your destruction have fully come, and I will send you in all directions, and your fall will be like that of the males of the flock.
35 Flight shall fail the shepherds, and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
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There will be no way of flight for the keepers of sheep, no road for the chiefs of the flock to get away safely.
36 Hark! the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock! For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
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A sound of the cry of the keepers of sheep, and the bitter crying of the chiefs of the flock! for the Lord has made waste their green fields.
37 and the peaceful folds are devastated, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
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And there is no sound in the fields of peace, because of the burning wrath of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he has left his covert; for their land has become a waste because of the cruel sword, and because of his fierce anger.
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The lion has come out of his secret place, for the land has become a waste because of the cruel sword, and because of the heat of his wrath.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.