1. This is the message that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. This message came in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. The fourth year of his time as king was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.
2. This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem:
3. I have been a prophet for these past 23 years, from the 13th year that Josiah son of Amon was the king of Judah. And from that time until today, I have spoken messages to you from the Lord again and again. But you have not listened.
4. The Lord has sent his servants, the prophets, to you over and over again. But you have not listened to them. You have not paid any attention to them.
5. Those prophets said, “Change your lives and stop doing evil! If you change, you can return to the land that the Lord gave you and your ancestors long ago. He gave you this land to live in forever.
6. Don’t follow other gods. Don’t serve or worship them. Don’t worship idols that someone has made. That only makes me angry with you. By doing this you only hurt yourselves.”
7. “But you did not listen to me.” This message is from the Lord. “You worshiped idols that someone made, and that made me angry. And it only hurt you.”
8. So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says, “You have not listened to my messages.
9. I will soon send for all the tribes of the north.” This message is from the Lord. “I will soon send for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He is my servant. I will bring those people against the land of Judah and against the people of Judah. I will bring them against all the nations around you too. I will destroy all those countries. I will make those lands like an empty desert forever. People will see those countries, and whistle at how badly they were destroyed.