Jeremiah · Bible in Basic English
Jeremiah 21 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
2 Will you get directions from the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, is making war against us; it may be that the Lord will do something for us like all the wonders he has done, and make him go away from us.
2 “Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, This is what you are to say to Zedekiah:
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Tell Zedekiah:
4 The Lord God of Israel has said, See, I am turning back the instruments of war in your hands, with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and the Chaldaeans, who are outside the walls and shutting you in; and I will get them together inside this town.
4 ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and I will gather them into the middle of this city.
5 And I myself will be fighting against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even with angry feeling and passion and in great wrath.
5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation.
6 And I will send a great disease on the people living in this town, on man and on beast, causing their death.
6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal. They will die of a great pestilence.
7 And after that, says the Lord, I will give up Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his servants and his people, even those in the town who have not come to their end from the disease and the sword and from need of food, into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hands of their haters, and into the hands of those desiring their death: he will put them to the sword; he will not let anyone get away, he will have no pity or mercy.
7 Afterward,” says Yahweh, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. He will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them, have pity, or have mercy.”’
8 And to this people you are to say, The Lord has said, See, I put before you the way of life and the way of death.
8 “You shall say to this people, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
9 He who keeps in this town will come to his death by the sword and through need of food and through disease; but he who goes out and gives himself up to the Chaldaeans who are shutting you in, will go on living, and will keep his life safe.
9 He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will escape with his life.
10 For my face is turned to this town for evil and not for good, says the Lord: it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will have it burned with fire.
10 For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good,” says Yahweh. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’
11 About the family of the king of Judah. Give ear to the word of the Lord;
11 “Concerning the house of the king of Judah, hear Yahweh’s word:
12 O family of David, this is what the Lord has said: Do what is right in the morning, and make free from the hands of the cruel one him whose goods have been violently taken away, or my wrath will go out like fire, burning so that no one may put it out, because of the evil of your doings.
12 House of David, Yahweh says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 See, I am against you, you who are living on the rock of the valley, says the Lord; you who say, Who will come down against us? or who will get into our houses?
13 Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, and of the rock of the plain,’ says Yahweh. ‘You that say, “Who would come down against us?” or, “Who would enter into our homes?”
14 I will send punishment on you in keeping with the fruit of your doings, says the Lord: and I will put a fire in her woodlands, burning up everything round about her.
14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is around her.’”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Maaseiah
Named as the father of Zephaniah the priest.
Cited in the guide: Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 37:3
Pashhur
Son of Malchijah whom King Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah, and who later heard Jeremiah's preaching and sought his death.
Cited in the guide: Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 38:1
Zephaniah
The priest, son of Maaseiah, whom Zedekiah sent to ask Jeremiah to pray and to whom a letter from Shemaiah was addressed. When Jerusalem fell he was taken as 'the second priest'…
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 25:18; Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25
Cross references (13)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 52:24; Jeremiah 38:1; 2 Kings 25:18–21
- 2 Jeremiah 37:3; Ezekiel 20:1–3; Jeremiah 37:7; Jeremiah 42:4–6; Psalm 44:1–4
- 4 Jeremiah 33:5; Jeremiah 37:8–10; Isaiah 5:5; Jeremiah 32:5; Isaiah 13:4
- 5 Isaiah 63:10; Isaiah 5:25; Jeremiah 32:17; Exodus 6:6; Jeremiah 6:12
- 6 Ezekiel 14:19; Jeremiah 12:3–4; Ezekiel 14:13; Ezekiel 14:17; Jeremiah 33:12
- 7 Jeremiah 37:17; Habakkuk 1:6–10; 2 Kings 25:5–7; Ezekiel 7:9; Ezekiel 17:20–21
- 8 Deuteronomy 30:19; Deuteronomy 30:15; Deuteronomy 11:26; Isaiah 1:19–20
- 9 Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 45:5; Jeremiah 39:18; Jeremiah 14:12; Jeremiah 38:17–23
- 10 Jeremiah 44:11; Amos 9:4; Jeremiah 44:27; Ezekiel 15:7; Jeremiah 52:13
- 11 Jeremiah 17:20; Micah 3:1; Jeremiah 13:18
- 12 Isaiah 1:17; Proverbs 31:8–9; Jeremiah 4:4; Isaiah 1:31; Zechariah 7:9–11
- 13 Lamentations 4:12; Obadiah 3–4; Ezekiel 13:8; Psalm 125:2; Jeremiah 49:4–5
- 14 Isaiah 3:10–11; Proverbs 1:31; Jeremiah 32:19; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Jeremiah 17:10
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences