Bible in 90 Days
A Prophecy against Moab
48 To Moab: This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“How terrible for Nebo, for it’s laid waste.
Kiriathaim is put to shame, it’s captured.
The fortress is put to shame, it’s shattered.
2 The pride of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they plotted evil against her:
‘Come and let’s eliminate her as a nation.’
Madmen[a] will also be silenced,
and the sword will pursue you.
3 The sound of crying will come from Horonaim,
devastation and great destruction.
4 Moab will be destroyed;
her little ones will cry out.
5 Indeed, at the ascent of Luhith
people will go up with bitter weeping.
At the descent of Horonaim
the anguished cries over the destruction will be heard.
6 Flee, save your lives,
and you will be like a wild donkey[b] in the desert.
7 But, because you trust in your deeds and your riches,
you will also be captured.
Chemosh[c] will go out into exile,
along with his priests and officials.
8 A destroyer will come to every town
and no town will escape.
The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed.”
This[d] is what the Lord has said!
9 “Put salt[e] on Moab[f]
for she will surely fall.
Her towns will become desolate places,[g]
without any inhabitants in them.
10 Cursed is the one who is slack
in doing the Lord’s work.
Cursed is the one who holds back his sword
from shedding[h] blood.
11 Moab has been at ease from his youth.
He has been undisturbed like wine[i] on its dregs
and not poured from vessel to vessel.
He has not gone into exile.
Therefore, his flavor has remained,
and his aroma has not changed.
12 “Therefore, look, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I’ll send those who tip over vessels[j] to him, and they’ll tip him over. They’ll empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 Moab will be ashamed because of Chemosh just as the house of Israel was ashamed because of Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How can you say, ‘We’re strong warriors,
and soldiers ready[k] for battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed,
and the enemy[l] will come up against her cities.
Her finest young men will go down to slaughter,”
declares the King,
whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
16 “Moab’s disaster is near at hand,
and his calamity is coming very quickly.
17 Mourn for him, all who live around him,
and all who know his name.
Say, ‘Oh how the mighty rod is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 “Come down from glory, and sit on parched ground,
O woman who lives in Dibon,
for the destroyer of Moab will come up
against you to destroy you.
He will destroy your strongholds.
19 Stand by the road and keep watch,
O woman who lives in Aroer.
Ask the man who flees and the woman who escapes.
Say, ‘What happened’?
20 Moab will be put to shame,
for it will be destroyed.
Wail and cry out.
Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau:[m]
to Holon and Jahzah,
and against Mephaath,
22 Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24 against Kerioth, Bozrah,
and all the towns in the land of Moab,
both far and near.
25 The strength[n] of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make him drunk for he has exalted himself
against the Lord.
Moab will wallow in his vomit,
and he will be the object of mocking.
27 Wasn’t Israel an object of mocking for you?
Wasn’t he treated like a thief,[o]
so that whenever you spoke about him
you shook your head in contempt?[p]
28 Abandon the cities, and live on the cliffs,[q]
you inhabitants of Moab.
Be like a dove that builds a nest
by the mouth of a cave.
29 We have heard about Moab’s pride—
he’s very proud—
his haughtiness, his arrogance,
his insolence, and his conceit.[r]
30 I know his gall,”
declares the Lord,
“and it’s futile;
the boasting that they do is futile.
31 Therefore, I’ll wail for Moab,
and for the whole of Moab I’ll cry out,
for the men of Kir-heres I’ll moan.
32 More than the weeping for Jazer,[s]
I’ll weep for you, vine of Sibmah.[t]
Your branches spread out to the sea,
and reached as far as the Sea of Jazer.[u]
On your summer fruit and grapes[v]
the destroyer will fall.
33 Gladness and rejoicing will be taken away
from the fruitful land.[w]
From the land of Moab I’ll cause the wine
in the wine presses to stop flowing.[x]
The workers won’t tread[y] the grapes with a loud shout.[z]
There will be no shout!
34 “From the cry of Heshbon, to Elealeh, to Jahaz they have lifted up their voice. From Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah, even the waters of Nimrim will become a desolate place. 35 In Moab,” declares the Lord, “I’ll put an end to the one who offers a burnt offering on the high place and to the one who burns incense to his gods. 36 Therefore my heart wails for Moab like flutes[aa] and my heart wails for the men of Kir-heres like flutes. Therefore they’ll lose the abundance they produced. 37 Indeed every head will be bald[ab] and every beard cut short.[ac] There will be gashes on all the hands[ad] and sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets there will be nothing but mourning, for I’ll break Moab like a vessel that no one wants,” declares the Lord. 39 “How it will be shattered! How they’ll wail! How Moab will turn his back in shame! Moab will be an object of ridicule and terror to all those around him.”
40 For this is what the Lord says:
“Look, like an eagle one will fly swiftly
and spread his wings against Moab.
41 The towns[ae] will be captured
and the strongholds seized.
On that day the hearts of the warriors of Moab
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation[af]
because he exalted himself against the Lord.
43 Terror, pit, and trap will be used[ag] against you
who live in Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “The one who flees from the terror
will fall into a pit.
And the one who comes up out of the pit
will be caught in a trap.
For I’ll bring upon her, that is upon Moab,
the time of her[ah] punishment,”
declares the Lord.
45 “The fugitives will stand without strength
in the shadow of Heshbon,
for fire will go out from Heshbon
and a flame from the middle of Sihon.
It will devour the forehead of Moab
and the heads of the rebellious people.[ai]
46 How terrible for you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh[aj] will perish.
Indeed, your sons will be taken into captivity,
and your daughters as well.[ak]
47 But I’ll restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days,”
declares the Lord.
This concludes the judgment on Moab.
Prophecies against Ammon
49 To the people of Ammon:
This is what the Lord says:
“Does Israel have no sons?
Does he have no heir?
Why then has Milcom[al] taken possession of Gad,
and his people settled in its towns?
2 Therefore, look, the time is[am] coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I’ll cause a battle cry to be heard in
Rabbah[an] of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its towns will be burned with fire.
Israel will take possession of those who possessed him,”
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, because Ai is destroyed.
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah,
put on sackcloth and lament.
Run back and forth inside the walls,
for Milcom is going into exile
along with his priests and his princes.
4 Why do you boast in your valleys?
Your valley is flowing away, faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures,
saying, ‘Who will come against me?’
5 Look, I’m bringing terror on you from all around you,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
“You will be driven out, fleeing recklessly,[ao]
and there will be no one to gather the fugitives.
6 But afterwards I’ll restore the fortunes of
the people of Ammon,”[ap]
declares the Lord.
Prophecies against Edom
7 To Edom:
This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished among the prudent?
Is their wisdom gone?
8 Flee, turn around!
Go to a remote place to stay,
residents of Dedan!
For I’ll bring Esau’s[aq] disaster on him
at the time when I punish him.
9 If the grape harvesters came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came at night, they would destroy
only until they had enough.
10 But I’ll strip Esau bare.
I’ll uncover his hiding places so he cannot conceal himself.
His offspring, his relatives,
and his neighbors will be destroyed,
and he will no longer exist.
11 Leave your orphans. I’ll keep them alive.
Let your widows trust in me.”
12 For this is what the Lord says: “Look, those who don’t deserve[ar] to drink the cup will surely drink it, and will you actually go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished! You will certainly drink it![as] 13 Indeed, I’ve sworn by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a waste, and an object of ridicule. All her towns will become perpetual ruins.”
14 I’ve heard a message from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent
among the nations:
“Gather together and come up against her,
and rise up to fight.
15 Indeed, I’ll make you the least of the nations,
despised among men.
16 The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you.
You who live in hidden places in the rocks,
who hold on to the heights of the hill,
although you make your nest high like the eagle,
I’ll bring you down from there,”
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and will scoff[at] because of all her wounds. 18 Just like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their[au] neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there. No human being will reside in it. 19 Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round,[av] so I’ll drive them[aw] away from her in an instant, and I’ll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?” 20 Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom, and the strategy that he devised against the inhabitants of Teman. Surely he will drag the little ones of the flock away. Surely their pasture will be desolate because of them. 21 The earth will quake at the sound of their fall. A cry—it’s her voice—is heard at the Reed[ax] Sea. 22 Look, he will rise up and fly swiftly like an eagle. He will spread his wings against Bozrah, and on that day the hearts of the warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Prophecies against Damascus
23 To Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad will be humiliated.
Their courage melts because they have heard bad news.
There is anxiety like[ay] the sea that cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus will become weak.
She will turn to flee, but panic will seize her.
Distress and anguish will take hold of her
like that of[az] a woman giving birth.
25 Why[ba] is the famous city,[bb] the joyful town,
not abandoned?
26 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets,
and all her soldiers will be silenced on that day,”
declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
27 “I’ll kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
and it will devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”
Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor
28 To Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed:
This is what the Lord says:
“Arise, go against Kedar!
Plunder the people of the east!
29 Take their tents and their flocks,
their tent curtains and all their goods.
Take their camels away from them.
Cry out against them, ‘Terror is all around!’
30 Flee! Run away quickly!
Go to a remote place to stay, residents of Hazor,”
declares the Lord.
“For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has formed a plan
and devised a strategy against them.
31 “Arise, go up against a nation at ease, living securely,”
declares the Lord,
“without gates or bars, living alone.
32 Their camels will become booty,
their many herds will become spoil.
I’ll scatter to the winds
those who shave the corners of their beards,[bc]
and I’ll bring disaster on them from every side,”
declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a dwelling place for jackals,
a perpetual wasteland.
No one will live there;
no human being will reside in it.”
Prophecies against Elam
34 This is what came as a message from the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah:
35 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Look, I’m going to break the bow of Elam,
the finest of their troops.
36 I’ll bring the four winds against Elam
from the four corners of the heavens,
and I’ll scatter them to all these winds.
There will be no nation to which the exiles
from Elam won’t go.
37 I’ll terrify Elam before their enemies
and before those who seek to kill them.
I’ll bring on them disaster and become fiercely angry at them,”
declares the Lord.
“I’ll send the sword after them,
until I’ve made an end of them.
38 I’ll put my throne in Elam,
and destroy the king and the officials there,”
declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days I’ll restore
the fortunes of Elam,”
declares the Lord.
Prophecies against Babylon
50 This is[bd] the message that the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans.
2 “Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Lift up a banner and proclaim.
Don’t conceal anything.[be]
Say, ‘Babylon will be captured.
Bel[bf] will be disgraced,
and Marduk will be destroyed.
Her idols will be disgraced,
and her filthy images will be destroyed.’
3 For a nation from the north will go up against her.
It will make her land into an object of horror,
and no one will live in it.
Both people and animals will wander off,
and they’ll leave.
4 In those days, and at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel will come together
with the people of Judah.
They’ll be weeping as they travel along,
and they’ll be seeking the Lord their God.
5 They’ll ask the way to Zion,
turning their faces in that direction.
They’ll come[bg] and join themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant that won’t be forgotten.
6 My people have become lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray,
turning them toward the mountains.
They go from mountain to hill.
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who find them devour them,
but their enemies say, ‘We’re not guilty,
because they have sinned against
the Lord, the habitation of righteousness,
the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8 Move away from the middle of Babylon,
and go out of the land of the Chaldeans.
Be like male goats at the head[bh] of the flock.
9 Indeed, I’m going to stir up
and bring against Babylon
a great company of nations
from the land of the north.
They’ll deploy for battle against her,
and from there she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior;
they won’t miss their targets.[bi]
10 The Chaldeans will become plunder,
and all who plunder them will get more than enough,”
declares the Lord.
11 “Though you rejoice, though you exult,
you plunderers of my inheritance,
though you skip around like a heifer in the grass[bj]
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother will be greatly devastated,
she who gave birth to you will be ashamed.
She will become the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the anger of the Lord
she won’t be inhabited,
but will be utterly devastated.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified
and will scoff[bk] because of all her wounds.
14 Deploy the troops all around Babylon.
All who bend the bow, shoot at her
and spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise a battle cry against her on every side.
She has surrendered,[bl] her pillars have fallen,
her walls are thrown down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her;
as she has done, do to her.
16 Eliminate from Babylon the one who plants seeds
and the one who uses the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor’s sword, let each one turn
toward his own people and flee to his own land.”
Hope for Israel
17 “Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward[bm] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed[bn] his bones. 18 Therefore this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I’m about to judge the king of Babylon and his land, just as I’ve judged the king of Assyria. 19 I’ll bring Israel back to his pasture. He will graze on Carmel, on Bashan, on Mt. Ephraim, and on Gilead—his hunger will be satisfied. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘the iniquity of Israel will be searched for, but there will be none; and the sin of Judah, but none will be found, because I’ll pardon those I leave as a remnant.’”
God’s Judgment on Babylon
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim[bo]
and the inhabitants of Pekod.[bp]
Kill them with swords, and completely destroy them,”
declares the Lord,
“and do everything that I’ve commanded you.
22 The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction.
23 How the hammer of all the earth is cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
24 I’ll set a trap for you,
and you will be caught, Babylon,
but you don’t realize it.
You will be found and also seized,
because you challenged the Lord!
25 “The Lord will open his armory,
and bring out the weapons of his anger.
Indeed, a work of the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
will be in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from afar.[bq]
Open up her barns.
Pile her up like heaps of grain,
and completely destroy her.
Don’t leave any survivors.
27 Put all her bulls to the sword,
let them go down to the slaughter.
How terrible for them because their day has come,
the time of their judgment.
28 “The sound of fugitives and refugees
will come from the land of Babylon
to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
vengeance for his Temple.
29 “Summon many to Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Camp all around her,
let no one escape.
Repay her according to her deeds.
Do to her just as she has done.
For she has behaved arrogantly against the Lord,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore, her warriors will fall in her streets,
and all her soldiers will be silenced on that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “Look, I’m against you, arrogant one,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
“Indeed your day is coming,
the time of your judgment.
32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and there will be no one to lift him up.
I’ll set fire to his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.”
33 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“The people of[br] Israel are oppressed,
along with the people of [bs] Judah.
All their captors have held on to them
and refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer[bt] is strong,
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
He will vigorously plead their case
in order to bring rest to the earth,
but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans,”
declares the Lord,
“and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
against her officials and her wise men.
36 A sword against the diviners.[bu]
They’ll be made fools.
A sword against her warriors.
They’ll be shattered.
37 A sword against her horses, against her chariots,[bv]
and against all the foreign troops[bw] in her midst.
They’ll become women.
A sword against her treasures.
They’ll be plundered.
38 A drought against her waters.
They’ll dry up.
For it’s a land of idols,
and they go mad over their terrifying images.
39 Therefore the desert creatures
along with hyenas will live there.
They’ll live in it with ostriches,
but people won’t live in it again.
They won’t inhabit it from generation to generation.
40 Just as when God overthrew Sodom,
Gomorrah, and their neighbors,”
declares the Lord,
“so also no one will live there.
No human being will reside in it.
41 “Look, people are coming from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
from the ends of the earth.
42 They grab bow and spear.
They’re cruel and show no mercy.
Their sound roars like the sea,
as they ride on horses
deployed like men ready for battle
against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the news about them,
and his hands hang limp.
Distress has seized him,
like a woman in labor.
44 “Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round,[bx] so I’ll drive them away from her in an instant, and I’ll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?” 45 Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, and the strategy that he devised against the land of the Chaldeans. Surely they’ll drag the little ones of the flock away. Surely their pasture will be desolate because of them. 46 At the shout that Babylon has been seized, the earth will be shaken, and the cry will be heard among the nations.
Judgment against Babylon
51 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, I’m going to stir up a destroying wind
against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai.[by]
2 I’ll send foreigners to Babylon,
and they’ll winnow her,
and devastate[bz] her land.
They’ll come against her from every side
on the day of her[ca] disaster.
3 Don’t let the archer[cb] bend the bow;
don’t let him rise up in his armor.
Don’t spare her young men.
Completely destroy her entire army.
4 The slain will fall in the land of Chaldea,
pierced through in her streets.
5 Indeed, Israel and Judah haven’t been
abandoned[cc] by their[cd] God,
by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
although their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.”
6 Flee from Babylon,[ce]
and each of you, escape with your life!
Don’t be destroyed[cf] because of her guilt,
for it’s time for the Lord’s vengeance.
He is paying back what is due to her.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
making the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine,
therefore the nations have gone mad.
8 Suddenly, Babylon fell down and was shattered.
Wail for her!
Bring balm for her wound,
perhaps she will be healed.
9 We tried to heal Babylon,
but she wouldn’t be healed.
Leave her, and let each of us go to his own country.
For her judgment has reached to the heavens,
and is lifted up to the sky.
10 The Lord will vindicate us.
Come! Let us declare the work of the Lord our God in Zion.
11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit
of the kings of the Medes—
he has decided to destroy Babylon.
Indeed, it’s the Lord’s vengeance,
vengeance for his Temple.
12 Lift up the battle standard[cg] against Babylon’s walls.
Strengthen the guard;
post watchmen.[ch]
Set men in position for an ambush.
For the Lord will both plan and carry out what he has
declared against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who live beside many waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come,
your life thread is cut.[ci]
14 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies
has sworn by himself:
“I’ll surely fill you with soldiers[cj] like a swarm of locusts,
and they’ll sing songs of victory over you.”
Praise to the God of Jacob
15 He made the earth by his power.
He established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he spread out the heavens.
16 When his voice sounds, there is thunder from
the waters of heaven,
and he makes clouds rise up
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings wind out of his storehouses.
17 Everyone is stupid[ck] and without knowledge.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols,
for his images are false,[cl]
and there is no life in them.
18 They’re worthless, a work of mockery,
and when the time of punishment comes,[cm]
they’ll perish.
19 The Portion of Jacob[cn] is not like these.
He made everything,
including the tribe of his inheritance.
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
The Lord’s Instrument of Judgment
20 “You are my war-club and
weapons of war.
I’ll smash nations with you
and destroy kingdoms with you.
21 I’ll smash the horse and its rider with you.
I’ll smash the chariot and its rider with you.
22 I’ll smash man and woman with you.
I’ll smash old man and young boy with you.
I’ll smash young man and young woman[co] with you.
23 I’ll smash the shepherd and his flock with you.
I’ll smash the farmer and his team of oxen with you.
I’ll smash governors and officials with you.
24 “Before your eyes I’ll repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they did in Zion,” declares the Lord.
25 “Look, I’m against you, destroying mountain,
who destroys the whole earth,”
declares the Lord.
“I’ll stretch out my hand against you
and roll you down from the crags.
And I’ll make you a burned-out mountain.
26 They won’t get a cornerstone
or a foundation stone from you,
because you will be a wasteland forever,”
declares the Lord.
27 Lift up a battle standard in the land.
Blow a trumpet among the nations.
Consecrate the nations against her.
Summon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni,
and Ashkenaz against her.
Appoint a commander against her,
bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 Consecrate the nations against her,
the kings of the Medes, their governors, their prefects,
and every land under their domination.
29 The land quakes and writhes
because the Lord’s purposes
against Babylon stand firm,
to make the land of Babylon a waste without inhabitants.
30 The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting.
They stay in their strongholds;
their strength is dried up;
they have become like women.
Her buildings are set on fire;
the bars of her gates are broken.
31 One runner runs to meet another runner,[cp]
and one messenger to meet another messenger,[cq]
to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been seized
from one end to the other.[cr]
32 The fords have been captured,
and the marshes burned with fire.
The soldiers are terrified.
33 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
the God of Israel, says:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time when it’s pounded down.[cs]
In just a little while, the time of her harvest will come.”
Judah’s Complaint against Babylon
34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me
and crushed me.
He set me down
like an empty vessel.
He swallowed me like a monster,
and filled his belly with my delicacies.
Then he washed me away.
35 May the violence done to me
and my flesh be on Babylon,”
says the inhabitant of Zion.
“May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
says Jerusalem.
36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Look, I’m going to argue your case
and take vengeance for you.
I’ll dry up her sea
and make her fountain dry.[ct]
37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins,
a refuge for jackals,
a desolate place
and an object of scorn.[cu]
38 They’ll roar together like young lions;
they’ll growl like lion cubs.
39 When they’re excited[cv] I’ll serve them their banquet,
and make them drunk until they’re merry.
They’ll sleep forever and won’t wake up,”
declares the Lord.
40 “I’ll bring them down like lambs for the slaughter,
like rams with male goats.
41 “How Sheshak[cw] will be captured,
and the prince of all the earth seized!
How Babylon will become an object of horror
among the nations!
42 The sea will come up against Babylon,
and she will be covered by wave upon wave.[cx]
43 Her cities will become an object of horror,
a dry land and a desert,
a land in which no one lives,
and through which no human being passes.
44 I’ll punish Bel[cy] in Babylon,
and I’ll make what he has swallowed
come out of his mouth.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
Even the wall of Babylon will fall.
45 “Come out of her, my people,
flee for your lives from the Lord’s anger!
46 Do this[cz] now, so your heart does not grow faint,
and so you don’t become frightened
because of the rumors[da] that are heard in the land—
a rumor comes one year[db] and then after it
another rumor[dc] comes the next year[dd]
about violence in the land
and one ruler against another ruler.[de]
47 Therefore, look, days are coming
when I’ll punish the idols of Babylon.
Her entire land will be put to shame,
and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 Then the heavens and the earth
and all that are in them
will shout for joy about Babylon
because the destroyers will come
out of the north against her,”
declares the Lord.
49 “So Babylon will fall
because of the slain of Israel,
even as the slain of all the earth
have fallen because of Babylon.
50 Go, you who escaped the sword!
Don’t stand around!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We have been put to shame
because we have heard insults.
Disgrace has covered our faces because foreigners have
come into the Holy Places of the Lord’s house.
52 “Therefore, look, days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I’ll punish her idols,
and throughout her land the wounded will groan.
53 Though Babylon should reach up to the heavens
and fortify her high fortresses,
from me destroyers will come to her,”
declares the Lord.
54 “The sound of a cry is coming from Babylon,
great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.
55 For the Lord is destroying Babylon,
and he will make the loud sounds from her disappear.[df]
Their waves will roar like many waters,
the noise of their voices will sound forth.
56 Indeed, the destroyer is coming against her,
against Babylon.
Her warriors are captured,
and her bows are broken.
For the Lord is a God of recompense,
and he will repay in full.
57 I’ll make their leaders, their wise men,
their governors, their deputies,
and their warriors drunk so that they sleep forever
and don’t wake up,”
declares the King
whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
58 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely leveled,
and its high gate set on fire.
and so the peoples toil for nothing,
and the nations weary themselves only for fire.”
Jeremiah’s Symbolic Message against Babylon
59 This is[dg] the message that Jeremiah the prophet delivered[dh] to Neriah’s son Seraiah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disasters that would come on Babylon, all these things that were written about Babylon. 61 Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘Lord, you have declared about this place that you would destroy it so that there wouldn’t be an inhabitant in it, neither human nor animal, because it will be a wasteland forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock around it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. 64 Then say, ‘Babylon will sink like this and won’t rise from the disaster that I’m bringing on her. Her people[di] will be exhausted.’”
This concludes the writings of Jeremiah.
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 Zedekiah[dj] had done evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 Because Jerusalem and Judah had angered the Lord, he cast them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, 4 and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. 5 The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of[dk] King Zedekiah. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 The wall of[dl] the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.[dm]
8 The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. 9 They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon[dn] passed judgment on him. 10 The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials[do] at Riblah. 11 He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died.
The Destruction of the Temple
12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—it was the nineteenth year of the reign of[dp] King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served[dq] the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 He burned the Lord’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building[dr] with fire. 14 All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.[ds]
17 The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the Lord’s Temple and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the Lord’s Temple, and they carried all the[dt] bronze to Babylon. 18 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze utensils that were used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard took away the bowls, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the lamp stands, the pans, and the bowls for libations, both those made of gold and those made of silver. 20 There was too much bronze to weigh in the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze oxen that were under the sea,[du] and the stands which King Solomon had made for the Lord’s Temple. 21 Each of the pillars was twelve cubits[dv] high and its circumference twelve cubits.[dw] It was hollow and about a handbreadth[dx] thick. 22 On each pillar[dy] was a capital of bronze, and the height of each capital was five cubits.[dz] Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar was like this, including the pomegranates. 23 There were 96 pomegranates open to view.[ea] In all, there were 100 pomegranates all around the latticework.
Executions and Deportations to Babylon
24 The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest,[eb] and the three guards of the gate.[ec] 25 From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; 29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile[ed] numbered 4,600.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
31 In the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, showed favor to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the other[ee] kings who were in Babylon with him. 33 Jehoiachin[ef] changed his prison clothes and regularly dined with the king[eg] as long as he lived. 34 As for his living expenses, a regular allowance was given him daily by the king of Babylon as long as he lived,[eh] until the day of his death.
The Sorrowful City[ei]
1 How lonely she lies,
the city that thronged with people!
Like a widow she has become,
this great one among nations!
The princess among provinces
has become a vassal.
2 Bitterly she cries in the night,
as tears stream down[ej] her cheeks.
No one consoles her
of all her friends.
All her neighbors have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile
to escape affliction and servitude.
She that sat among the nations,
has found no rest.
All her pursuers overtook her
amid narrow passes.
4 The roads that lead to Zion are in mourning,
because no one travels to the festivals.
All her gates are desolate;
her priests are moaning.
Her young women[ek] are grieving,[el]
and she is bitter.
5 Her adversaries dominate her,
her enemies prosper.
For the Lord has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away,
taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy.
6 Fled from cherished[em] Zion
are all that were her splendor.
Her princes have become like deer
that cannot find their feeding grounds.
They flee with strength exhausted
from their pursuers.
7 Jerusalem remembers[en]
her time of affliction and misery;
all her valued belongings[eo]
of days gone by,
when her people fell into enemy hands,
with no one to help her,
and her enemies stared at her,
mocking her downfall.
8 Jerusalem sinned greatly,
and she became unclean.[ep]
All who honored her now despise her,
because they saw her naked.
She herself groans
and turns her face away.
9 Uncleanness has soiled her skirts,
and she gave no thought to what would follow.
She fell in such a startling way,
with no one to comfort her.
Look, Lord, upon my affliction,
because my enemy is boasting.
10 The adversary seized in his hands
everything she valued.
She watched the nations[eq]
enter her sanctuary;
those you forbade to enter
your place of meeting.
11 All her people groaned
as they searched for food.
They traded their valuables in order to eat,
to keep themselves alive.[er]
Look, Lord, and see
how I have become dishonored.
12 May it not befall you,[es]
all who pass along the road!
Look and see:
Is there any grief
like my grief
dealt out to me,
by which the Lord afflicted me
in the time of his fierce wrath?
13 He sent fire from on high,[et]
making it penetrate my bones.[eu]
He stretched out a net at my feet,
forcing me to turn back.
He made me desolate;
I’m fainting all day long.
14 The yoke of my sins was bound on,[ev]
fastened together by his hand.
They settled on my neck;
he caused my strength to fail.
The Lord placed me in the power
of those I cannot resist.
15 He rejected all the valiant men—
the Lord, in my midst.
He set a time to meet with me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled, as in a winepress,
the fair virgin that is[ew] Judah.
16 Because of all this, I weep;
my eyes[ex] stream with tears
because far from me
is the comforter of my soul.
My children are sorrowful,
because the enemy has won.
17 Zion spreads out her hands;[ey]
no one is there to comfort her.
The Lord has issued an order against[ez] Jacob,
that all who are around him are to be his enemies;
Jerusalem has become
unclean among them.
18 The Lord is in the right,
but I rebelled against his commands.
Listen, please, all you people,
and look at my pain—
my young men and women[fa]
have gone into captivity.
19 I called out to my lovers,[fb]
but they deceived me.
My priests and my elders
have died within the city
while looking for something to eat
to keep themselves alive.
20 Look, Lord, how distressed I am;
all my insides are churning.
My heart is troubled within me,
because I vigorously rebelled.
Outside the sword brings loss of life,
while at home death rules.
21 People[fc] heard how I groan,
with no one to comfort me.
All my adversaries have heard about my troubles;
they rejoice that you have caused them.
Bring on the day you have promised,
so my adversaries[fd] will become like me.
22 May all of their wickedness come to your attention,
and deal with them
as you have done with me
because of all my transgressions.
For I am constantly groaning,
and my heart is faint.
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