17 But you, ^ddress yourself for work;¹ arise, and ^esay to them everything that I command you. ^fDo not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day ^ga fortified city, ^han iron pillar, and ⁱbronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 ⁱThey will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^jI am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

11 ^wFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare¹ and not for evil, ^xto give you a future and a hope. 12 ^yThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^yand I will hear you. 13 ^zYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^awith all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^band I will restore your fortunes and ^cgather you from all the nations and all the places ^dwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^kwhile he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 “Go, and say to ^lEbed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^mBehold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and ⁿnot for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men ^oof whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your ^plife as a prize of war, ^qbecause you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Message to Baruch

1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to ^sBaruch the son of Neriah, ^twhen he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, ^uin the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, ^v‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. ^wI am weary with my groaning, ^xand I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: ^yBehold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And ^zdo you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, ^aI am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you ^byour life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”