King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
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Soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became king of Judah,
2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
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the Lord said to me, "Stand in the court of the Temple and proclaim all I have commanded you to say to the people who come from the towns of Judah to worship there. Do not leave out anything.
3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
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Perhaps the people will listen and give up their evil ways. If they do, then I will change my mind about the destruction I plan to bring on them for all their wicked deeds."
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
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The Lord told me to say to the people, "I, the Lord, have said that you must obey me by following the teaching that I gave you,
5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
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and by paying attention to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I have kept on sending to you. You have never obeyed what they said.
6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
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If you continue to disobey, then I will do to this Temple what I did to Shiloh, and all the nations of the world will use the name of this city as a curse."
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
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The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard me saying these things in the Temple,
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
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and as soon as I had finished all that the Lord had commanded me to speak, they grabbed me and shouted, "You ought to be killed for this!
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
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Why have you said in the Lord's name that this Temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will be destroyed and no one will live in it?" Then the people crowded around me.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house.
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When the leaders of Judah heard what had happened, they hurried from the royal palace to the Temple and took their places at the New Gate.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
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Then the priests and the prophets said to the leaders and to the people, "This man deserves to be sentenced to death because he has spoken against our city. You heard him with your own ears."
12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
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Then I said, "The Lord sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this Temple and against this city.
13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
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You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and must obey the Lord your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.
14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.
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As for me, I am in your power! Do with me whatever you think is fair and right.
15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
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But be sure of this: if you kill me, you and the people of this city will be guilty of killing an innocent man, because it is the Lord who sent me to give you this warning."
16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
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Then the leaders and the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man spoke to us in the name of the Lord our God; he should not be put to death."
17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
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After that, some of the elders stood up and said to the people who had gathered,
18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
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"When Hezekiah was king of Judah, the prophet Micah of Moresheth told all the people that the Lord Almighty had said, "Zion will be plowed like a field; Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.'
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
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King Hezekiah and the people of Judah did not put Micah to death. Instead, Hezekiah honored the Lord and tried to win his favor. And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he said he would bring on them. Now we are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves."
20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:
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(There was another man, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim, who spoke in the name of the Lord against this city and nation just as Jeremiah did.
21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
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When King Jehoiakim and his soldiers and officials heard what Uriah had said, the king tried to have him killed. But Uriah heard about it; so he fled in terror and escaped to Egypt.
22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
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King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Achbor and some other men to Egypt to get Uriah.
23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
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They brought him back to King Jehoiakim, who had him killed and his body thrown into the public burial ground.)
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
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But because I had the support of Ahikam son of Shaphan, I was not handed over to the people and killed.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.