3 Jeremiah answered them: This is what you should tell Zedekiah:
4 The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to turn your own weapons against you, yes, the weapons you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who have surrounded you! I will round them up in the center of the city.
5 Then I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and strong arm in fierce anger and rage.
6 I will strike down those within this city—both people and animals—and they will die of a terrible plague.
7 Afterward, declares the Lord, I will deliver Judah’s King Zedekiah, his servants, and those in this city who have survived plague, war, and famine to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and to their enemies who seek to do them harm. He will put them to the sword without pity, mercy, or compassion.
8 This is what you should tell this people: The Lord says: I’m setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
9 Whoever stays in the city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever leaves the city and surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared.