| Former half | Relation | Latter half |
| 1 Introduction (1:1-3) 1:3 and continued through the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the downfall and exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah. | History of kings, exile | 81 Jehoiachin favored in captivity (52:31-34) 52:31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the inaugural year of his reign, took up the case of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and released him from prison. |
| 2 Jeremiah's call and commission (1:4-19) 1:14 And from the north, said the LORD to me, evil will boil over upon all who dwell in the land | Disaster from north | 80 The destruction of Jerusalem (52:12-30) 52:28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar led away captive |
| 3 God pleads with Israel to repent (2:1-3:5) 2:19 Your own wickedness chastises you, your own infidelities punish you. Know then, and see, how evil and bitter is your forsaking the LORD, your God, And showing no fear of me, says the Lord, the GOD of hosts. | Repaying of evil against the LORD | 79 The reign of Zedekiah (52:1-11) 52:2 He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 52:3 Indeed, what was done in Jerusalem and in Judah so angered the LORD that he cast them out from his presence. |
| 3 God pleads with Israel to repent (2:1-3:5) 2:26 As the thief is shamed when caught, so shall the house of Israel be shamed: They, their kings and their princes, their priests and their prophets; | King is shamed | 79 The reign of Zedekiah (52:1-11) 52:10 As Zedekiah looked on, the king of Babylon slew his sons as well as all the princes of Judah at Riblah. 52:11 Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters, and had him brought to Babylon and kept in prison until the day of his death. |
| 4 A call to repentance (3:6-13) 3:12 Go, proclaim these words toward the north, and say: Return, rebel Israel, says the LORD, I will not remain angry with you; For I am merciful, says the LORD, I will not continue my wrath forever. | Proclamation for repentance / of ruin | 78 Jeremiah's command to Seraiah (51:59-64) 51:64 and say: Thus shall Babylon sink. Never shall she rise, because of the evil I am bringing upon her. |
| 5 Return to Zion (3:14-18) 3:17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the LORD'S throne; there all nations will be gathered together to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem, and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness. | Forgiveness of sin | 77 Judgment on Babylon (50:1-51:58) 50:20 In those days, at that time, says the LORD: They shall seek Israel's guilt, but it shall be no more, and Judah's sins, but these shall no longer be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve. |
| 5 Return to Zion (3:14-18) 3:18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel; together they will come from the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers as a heritage. | Return to Zion | 77 Judgment on Babylon (50:1-51:58) 50:19 But I will bring back Israel to her fold, to feed on Carmel and Bashan, And on Mount Ephraim and Gilead, till she has her fill. |
| 6 A call to repentance (3:19-4:4) 4:4Lest my anger break out like fire, and burn till none can quench it, because of your evil deeds. | Anger of the LORD | 76 Judgment on Elam (49:34-39) 49:37I will bring evil upon them, my burning wrath, says the LORD. |
| 7 Invasion and desolation of Judah threatened (4:5-31) 4:6Evil I bring from the north, and great destruction. | Disaster comes from the north | 75 Judgment on nations (47:1-49:33) 47:2Behold: waters are rising from the north, a torrent in flood; It shall flood the land and all that is in it, the cities and their people |
| 8 The utter corruption of God's people (5:1-31) 5:18 Yet even in those days, says the LORD, I will not wholly destroy you. | The LORD doesn't wholly destroy Israel | 74 Babylonia will strike Egypt (46:13-28) 46:28for I am with you; I will make an end of all the nations to which I have driven you, But of you I will not make an end: |
| 9 The imminence and horror of the invasion (6:1-30) 6:25Beware of the enemys sword; terror on every side! | Terror on every side | 73 Judgment on Egypt (46:1-12) 46:5Terror on every side, says the LORD! |
| 10 Jeremiah proclaims God's judgment on the nation (7:1-15) 7:4 Put not your trust in the deceitful words: "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!" | Do not expect | 72 A word of comfort to Baruch (45:1-5) 45:5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not! |
| 11 The people's disobedience (7:16-8:3) 7:18The children gather wood, their fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, while libations are poured out to strange gods in order to hurt me. | Offering for the queen of heaven | 71 Denunciation of persistent idolatry (44:1-30) 44:17 Rather will we continue doing what we had proposed; we will burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her, |
| 12 The prophet perversity of the whole nation (8:4-9:5) 8:19Is the LORD no longer in Zion, is her King no longer in her midst? | There is no king | 70 Jeremiah warns of judgment (43:8-13) 43:10I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and bring him here. He will set his throne upon these stones which I, Jeremiah, have sunk, and stretch his canopy over them. |
| 13 The prophet mourns for the people (9:6-25) 9:10 I will turn Jerusalem into a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; The cities of Judah I will make into a waste, where no one dwells. | No one dwells in Judah | 69 Escape to Egypt (43:1-7) 43:7 Against the LORD'S command they went to Egypt, and arrived at Tahpanhes.... |
| 14 Idolatory has brought ruin on Israel (10:1-16) 10:5 Fear them not, they can do no harm, neither is it in their power to do good. (10:5) | Bringing disasters | 68 Jeremiah advises survivors not to migrate (42:1-22) 42:17 not one shall survive or escape the evil that I will bring upon them. (42:17) |
| 15 The coming exile (10:17-25) 10:20 My tent is ruined, all its cords are severed. My sons have left me, they are no more: no one to pitch my tent, no one to raise its curtains. | Captured | 67 Insurrection against Gedaliah (41:1-18) 41:10 Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, led away the remnant of the people left in Mizpah and the princesses, whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, had confided to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam. |
| 16 Israel and Judah have broken the covenant (11:1-17) 11:4 which I enjoined upon your fathers the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that iron foundry, saying: Listen to my voice and do all that I command you. Then you shall be my people, and I will be your God. | If you listen to commands, you can stay in the land | 66 Jeremiah with Gedaliah the governor (40:7-16) 40:9and their men not to be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: to stay in the land and submit to the king of Babylon, for their own welfare; |
| 17 Jeremiah complains to God (11:18-12:6) 11:23for I will bring misfortune upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment. | Disaster as punishment caused by the LORD | 65 Jeremiah is released (40:1-6) 40:2"The LORD, your God, foretold the ruin of this place. 40:3 Now he has brought about in deed what he threatened; because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this fate has befallen you. |
| 18 God replies to Jeremiah (12:7-17) 12:12The LORD has a sword which consumes the land, from end to end: no peace for all mankind. | Ruined by swords | 64 Jeremiah, set free, remembers Ebed-melech (39:15-18) 39:18 I will make certain that you escape and do not fall by the sword. Your life shall be spared as booty, because you trusted in me, says the LORD. |
| 19 The linen loincloth (13:1-14) 13:9So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem. | Prophecy / fulfillment of punishment against Judah and Jerusalem | 63 The fall of Jerusalem (39:1-14) 39:1 In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army marched against Jerusalem and besieged it. |
| 20 Exile threatened (13:15-27) 13:18 Say to the king and to the queen mother: come down from your throne; From your heads fall your magnificent crowns. | Abdication of king | 62 Zedekiah consults Jeremiah again (38:14-28) 38:17If you surrender to the princes of Babylon's king, you shall save your life; this city shall not be destroyed with fire, and you and your family shall live. |
| 21 The great drought (14:1-22) 14:3but when they come to the cisterns They find no water and return with empty jars. Ashamed, despairing, they cover their heads | Empty cistern | 61 Jeremiah in the cistern (38:1-13) 38:6There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. |
| 22 Punishment is inevitable (15:1-9) 15:2Thus says the LORD: Whoever is marked for death, to death; whoever is marked for the sword, to the sword; whoever is marked for famine, to famine; whoever is marked for captivity, to captivity. | Prophecy about ruin | 60 Jeremiah is imprisoned (37:1-21) 37:9 Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves with the thought that the Chaldeans will leave you for good, because they shall not leave! 37:10 Even if you were to defeat the whole Chaldean army now attacking you, and only the wounded remained, each in his tent, these would rise up and destroy the city with fire. |
| 23 Jeremiah complains again and is reassured (15:10-21) 15:21 I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent. | Salvation for prophet | 59 The scroll read in the temple (36:1-32) 36:26 but commanded Jerahmeel, a royal prince, and Seraiah, son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch, the secretary, and the prophet Jeremiah. But the LORD kept them concealed. |
| 24 Jeremiah's celibacy and message (16:1-13) 16:8 Enter not a house where people are celebrating, to sit with them eating and drinking. | Don't drink | 58 The Rechabites commended (35:1-19) 35:6 "We do not drink wine," they said to me: "Jonadab, Rechab's son, our father, forbade us in these words: 'Neither you nor your children shall ever drink wine. |
| 25 God will restore Israel (16:14-21) 16:14"As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt"; | Exodus | 57 Treacherous treatment of slaves (34:8-22) 34:13The day I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place where they were slaves, I made this covenant with them: |
| 26 Judah's sin and punishment (17:1-13) 17:4 You will relinquish your hold on your heritage which I have given you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you know not: | Prophecy about captivity | 56 Death in captivity predicted for Zedekiah (34:1-7) 34:3You shall see the king of Babylon and speak to him face to face. Then you shall be taken to Babylon. |
| 27 Jeremiah prays for vindication (17:14-18) 17:14 Heal me, LORD, that I may be healed; save me, that I may be saved, for it is you whom I praise. | Salvation of the LORD | 55 Covenant with David (33:19-26) 33:26For I will change their lot and show them mercy. |
| 28 Hallow the sabbath day (17:19-27) 17:26 To it people will come from the cities of Judah and the neighborhood of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the foothills, from the hill country and the Negeb, to bring holocausts and sacrifices, cereal offerings and incense and thank offerings to the house of the LORD. | Restoration of the temple | 54 Healing after punishment (33:1-18) 33:11 the cry of joy, the cry of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, the voice of the bride, the sound of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, singing, "Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good; his mercy endures forever." |
| 29 The potter and the clay (18:1-17) 18:7 Sometimes I threaten to uproot and tear down and destroy a nation or a kingdom. 18:8 But if that nation which I have threatened turns from its evil, I also repent of the evil which I threatened to do. | Punishment and forgiveness | 53 God's assurance of the people's return (32:26-44) 32:37 Behold, I will gather them together from all the lands to which in anger, wrath, and great rage I banish them; I will bring them back to this place and settle them here in safety. |
| 30 A plot against Jeremiah (18:18-23) 18:21So now, deliver their children to famine, do away with them by the sword. | Sword, hunger | 52 Jeremiah prays for understanding (32:16-25) 32:24the city will be handed over to the Chaldeans who are attacking it, amid sword, famine, and pestilence. |
| 31 The broken earthenware jug (19:1-15) 19:10 And you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who went with you, 19:11 and say to them: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Thus will I smash this people and this city, as one smashes a clay pot so that it cannot be repaired. | What potter made | 51 Jeremiah buys a field during the siege (32:6-15) 32:14Take these deeds, both the sealed and the open deed of purchase, and put them in an earthen jar, so that they can be kept there a long time. |
| 32 Jeremiah persecuted by Pashhur (20:1-6) 20:2 So he had the prophet scourged and placed in the stocks at the upper Gate of Benjamin in the house of the LORD. | Jeremiah is imprisoned | 50 Jeremiah is imprisoned (32:1-5) 32:2and the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned in the quarters of the guard, at the king's palace. |
| 33 Jeremiah denounces his persecutors (20:7-18) 20:9 I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; | Speaking to know the LORD | 49 A new covenant (31:27-40) 31:34 No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, |
| 34 Jerusalem will fall to Nebuchadrezzar (21:1-14) 21:14I will punish you, says the LORD, as your deeds deserve! | Punishment for evildoing | 48 The joyful return of the exiles (31:1-26) 31:18You chastised me, and I am chastened; I was an untamed calf. |
| 35 Exhortation to repent (22:1-30) 22:4 If you carry out these commands, kings who succeed to the throne of David will continue to enter the gates of this palace, riding in chariots or mounted on horses, with their ministers, and their people. | Throne of David | 47 Distress and salvation of Jacob (30:1-24) 30:9 instead, they shall serve the LORD, their God, and David, their king, whom I will raise up for them. |
| 36 Restoration after exile (23:1-8) 23:1 Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture (23:1) | Evil shepherd | 46 The letter of Shemaiah (29:24-32) 29:26 The LORD has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be police officers in the house of the LORD, to take action against all madmen and those who pose as prophets, by putting them into the stocks or the pillory (29:26) |
| 37 False prophets of hope denounced (23:9-40) 23:21 I did not send these prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. | Pseudo prophet is not sent | 45 Restoration promised (29:1-23) 29:21 the God of Israel, has to say about those who prophesy lies to you in my name, Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah (29:21) |
| 38 The good and the bad figs (24:1-10) 24:1 king of Babylon, had exiled from Jerusalem Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah | The exiles of Judah | 44 Hananiah opposes Jeremiah and dies (28:1-17) 28:4 I will bring back to this place Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon |
| 39 The Babylonian captivity foretold (25:1-14) 25:12 when the seventy years have elapsed, I will punish the king of Babylon | The end of the rule of Babylon | 43 The sign of the yoke (27:1-22) 27:22 To Babylon they shall be brought, and there they shall remain, until the day I look for them, says the LORD; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place. |
| 40 The cup of God's wrath (25:15-38) 25:30 Prophesy against them all these things and say to them (25:30) | The prophecy of the LORD | 42 Death of Uriah (26:20-24) 26:20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD (26:20) |