Jeremiah 44-51
English Standard Version
Judgment for Idolatry
44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at (A)Migdol, at (B)Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of (C)Pathros, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day (D)they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, (E)provoking me to anger, (F)in that they went to make offerings (G)and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 (H)Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ 5 (I)But they did not listen (J)or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 (K)Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, (L)and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7 And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil (M)against yourselves, to cut off from you (N)man and woman, (O)infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 (P)Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, (Q)making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become (R)a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, (S)the evil of the kings of Judah, (T)the evil of their[a] wives, your own evil, (U)and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, (V)nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
11 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (W)Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have (X)set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. (Y)In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine (Z)they shall be consumed. (AA)From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, (AB)and they shall become an oath, a horror, (AC)a curse, and a taunt. 13 (AD)I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 (AE)so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive (AF)or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, (AG)except some fugitives.”
15 Then all the men who knew that (AH)their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in (AI)Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (AJ)we will not listen to you. 17 (AK)But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to (AL)the queen of heaven (AM)and pour out drink offerings to her, (AN)as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to (AO)the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything (AP)and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 And the women said,[b] “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven (AQ)and poured out drink offerings to her, was it (AR)without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, (AS)men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: 21 (AT)“As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, (AU)did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind? 22 (AV)The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and (AW)the abominations that you committed. (AX)Therefore your land has become (AY)a desolation and a waste and a curse, (AZ)without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 It is because you made offerings (BA)and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies (BB)that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, (BC)all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (BD)You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, (BE)to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! 26 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, (BF)all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: (BG)Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, (BH)that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, (BI)saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’ 27 (BJ)Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. (BK)All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. 28 (BL)And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, (BM)few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, (BN)shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that (BO)my words will surely stand against you for harm: 30 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give (BP)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies (BQ)and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave (BR)Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”
Message to Baruch
45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to (BS)Baruch the son of Neriah, (BT)when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, (BU)in 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, (BV)‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. (BW)I am weary with my groaning, (BX)and I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: (BY)Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And (BZ)do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, (CA)I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you (CB)your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”
Judgment on Egypt
46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (CC)concerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. (CD)Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in (CE)the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 (CF)“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 (CG)Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
(CH)polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their (CI)warriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
(CJ)they look not back—
(CK)terror on every side!
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
(CL)in the north by the river Euphrates
(CM)they have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, (CN)rising like the Nile,
like rivers (CO)whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers (CP)whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 (CQ)Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and (CR)Put who handle the shield,
(CS)men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 (CT)That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
(CU)a day of vengeance,
(CV)to avenge himself on his foes.
(CW)The sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds (CX)a sacrifice
(CY)in the north country (CZ)by the river Euphrates.
11 (DA)Go up to Gilead, and take (DB)balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
(DC)there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
(DD)for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of (DE)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in (DF)Migdol;
proclaim in (DG)Memphis and (DH)Tahpanhes;
say, (DI)‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for (DJ)the sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand[c]
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, (DK)and they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
(DL)because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of (DM)Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 (DN)“As I live, declares the King,
(DO)whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like (DP)Tabor among the mountains
and like (DQ)Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 (DR)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O (DS)inhabitants of Egypt!
For (DT)Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, (DU)without inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful (DV)heifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly (DW)from the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like (DX)fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
(DY)the time of their punishment.
22 “She makes (DZ)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
(EA)like those who fell trees.
23 (EB)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because (EC)they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of (ED)a people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon (EE)Amon of (EF)Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt (EG)and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 (EH)I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. (EI)Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited (EJ)as in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 (EK)“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 (EL)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
(EM)I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Judgment on the Philistines
47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (EN)concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down (EO)Gaza.
2 “Thus says the Lord:
(EP)Behold, waters are rising (EQ)out of the north,
(ER)and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow (ES)the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
(ET)at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers (EU)look not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,
4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
all (EV)the Philistines,
to cut off from (EW)Tyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
(EX)the remnant of the coastland of (EY)Caphtor.
5 (EZ)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
(FA)Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
(FB)how long will you gash yourselves?
6 (FC)Ah, sword of the Lord!
How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
rest and be still!
7 How can it[d] be quiet
(FD)when the Lord has given it a charge?
Against (FE)Ashkelon and against the seashore
(FF)he has appointed it.”
Judgment on Moab
48 (FG)Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to (FH)Nebo, for it is laid waste!
(FI)Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame (FJ)and broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In (FK)Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off (FL)from being a nation!’
You also, O (FM)Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from (FN)Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 (FO)For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;[e]
for (FP)at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry[f] of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like (FQ)a juniper in the desert!
7 For, (FR)because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and (FS)Chemosh (FT)shall go into exile
with (FU)his priests and his officials.
8 (FV)The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and (FW)the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 (FX)“Cursed is he who does (FY)the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has (FZ)settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his[g] jars in pieces. 13 Then (GA)Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as (GB)the house of Israel was ashamed of (GC)Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of (GD)Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have (GE)gone down to slaughter,
declares (GF)the King, (GG)whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 (GH)Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, (GI)‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 (GJ)“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of (GK)Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 (GL)Stand by the way (GM)and watch,
O inhabitant of (GN)Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
(GO)wail and cry!
Tell it beside (GP)the Arnon,
that (GQ)Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon (GR)the tableland, upon Holon, and (GS)Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and (GT)Dibon, and (GU)Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and (GV)Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and (GW)Beth-meon, 24 and (GX)Kerioth, and (GY)Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 (GZ)The horn of Moab is cut off, and (HA)his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 (HB)“Make him drunk, (HC)because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall (HD)wallow in his vomit, (HE)and he too shall be held in derision. 27 (HF)Was not Israel a derision to you? (HG)Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him (HH)you wagged your head?
28 (HI)“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be (HJ)like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 (HK)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
(HL)his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 (HM)Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of (HN)Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for (HO)Jazer I weep for you,
(HP)O vine of (HQ)Sibmah!
(HR)Your branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of (HS)Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 (HT)Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 (HU)“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to (HV)Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in (HW)the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of (HX)Kir-hareseth. (HY)Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 (HZ)“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. (IA)On all the hands are gashes, and (IB)around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like (IC)a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! (ID)How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab (IE)has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (IF)one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
(IG)and spread his wings against Moab;
41 (IH)the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
(II)The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of (IJ)a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be (IK)destroyed and be no longer a people,
because (IL)he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 (IM)Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
(IN)For I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed (IO)the forehead of Moab,
the crown of (IP)the sons of tumult.
46 (IQ)Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of (IR)Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 (IS)Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Judgment on Ammon
49 (IT)Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has (IU)Milcom[h] (IV)dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause (IW)the battle cry to be heard
against (IX)Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate (IY)mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O (IZ)Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of (JA)Rabbah!
(JB)Put on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For (JC)Milcom shall go into exile,
(JD)with his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,[i]
(JE)O faithless daughter,
(JF)who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, (JG)I will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But (JH)afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning (JI)Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(JJ)“Is wisdom no more in (JK)Teman?
(JL)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
(JM)Has their wisdom vanished?
8 (JN)Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of (JO)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
(JP)the time when I punish him.
9 (JQ)If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave (JR)gleanings?
(JS)If thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 (JT)But I have stripped Esau bare;
(JU)I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and (JV)he is no more.
11 (JW)Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
(JX)and let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: (JY)“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, (JZ)will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 (KA)For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that (KB)Bozrah shall become (KC)a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 (KD)I have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
(KE)“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[j]
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you (KF)make your nest as high as the eagle's,
I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 (KG)“Edom shall become a horror. (KH)Everyone who passes by it will be horrified (KI)and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 (KJ)As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their (KK)neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, (KL)no man shall dwell there, (KM)no man shall sojourn in her. 19 (KN)Behold, (KO)like a lion coming up from (KP)the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him[k] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. (KQ)For who is like me? (KR)Who will summon me? (KS)What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against (KT)Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of (KU)Teman: (KV)Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall (KW)the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, (KX)one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against (KY)Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart (KZ)of a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus
23 Concerning (LA)Damascus:
(LB)“Hamath and (LC)Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
(LD)they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 (LE)Damascus has become feeble, (LF)she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as (LG)of a woman in labor.
25 How is (LH)the famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 (LI)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And (LJ)I will kindle a fire in the wall of (LK)Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (LL)Ben-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning (LM)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
(LN)“Rise up, advance against (LO)Kedar!
Destroy (LP)the people of the east!
29 (LQ)Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their (LR)curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: (LS)‘Terror on every side!’
30 (LT)Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 (LU)“Rise up, advance against a nation (LV)at ease,
(LW)that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
(LX)that has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 (LY)Their camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
(LZ)I will scatter to every wind
(MA)those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become (MB)a haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
(MC)no man shall dwell there;
(MD)no man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning (ME)Elam, in the beginning of the reign of (MF)Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break (MG)the bow of (MH)Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon (MI)Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of (MJ)Elam shall not come. 37 I will (MK)terrify (ML)Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, (MM)my fierce anger, declares the Lord. (MN)I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in (MO)Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days (MP)I will restore the fortunes of (MQ)Elam, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Babylon
50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning (MR)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, (MS)by Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
(MT)‘Babylon is taken,
(MU)Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
(MV)Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For (MW)out of the north a nation has come up against her, (MX)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; (MY)both man and beast shall flee away.
4 (MZ)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (NA)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, (NB)weeping as they come, and they (NC)shall seek the Lord their God. 5 (ND)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, (NE)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an (NF)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 (NG)“My people have been lost sheep. (NH)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, (NI)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for (NJ)they have sinned against the Lord, (NK)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, (NL)the hope of their fathers.’
8 (NM)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, (NN)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon (NO)a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 (NP)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 (NQ)“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
(NR)a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 (NS)Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
(NT)everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
(NU)and hiss because of all her wounds.
14 (NV)Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
(NW)all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
(NX)for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 (NY)Raise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
(NZ)her walls are thrown down.
For (OA)this is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
(OB)do to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
(OC)because of the sword of the oppressor,
(OD)every one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 (OE)“Israel is a hunted sheep (OF)driven away by lions. (OG)First the king of Assyria (OH)devoured him, and now at last (OI)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (OJ)has gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, (OK)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, (OL)as I punished the king of Assyria. 19 (OM)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and (ON)he shall feed on (OO)Carmel and in (OP)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in (OQ)Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (OR)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for (OS)I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim,[l]
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.[m]
Kill, (OT)and devote them to destruction,[n]
declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 (OU)The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 (OV)How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
(OW)How Babylon (OX)has become
a horror among the nations!
24 (OY)I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and (OZ)you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out (PA)the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
(PB)pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all (PC)her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
(PD)the time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They (PE)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, (PF)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for (PG)his temple.
29 (PH)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. (PI)Encamp around her; let no one escape. (PJ)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has (PK)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 (PL)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O (PM)proud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
(PN)for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 (PO)The proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
(PP)and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (PQ)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; (PR)they refuse to let them go. 34 (PS)Their Redeemer is strong; (PT)the Lord of hosts is his name. (PU)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against (PV)her officials and her (PW)wise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her (PX)warriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all (PY)the foreign troops in her midst,
that (PZ)they may become women!
(QA)A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 (QB)A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
(QC)For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 (QD)“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,[o] and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 (QE)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, (QF)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 (QG)“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 (QH)“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd (QI)can stand before me? 45 Therefore hear (QJ)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, (QK)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: (QL)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 (QM)At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”
The Utter Destruction of Babylon
51 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up (QN)the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,[p]
2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and (QO)they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
when they come against her from every side
(QP)on the day of trouble.
3 (QQ)Let not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
(QR)devote to destruction[q] all her army.
4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
(QS)and wounded in her streets.
5 (QT)For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
but the land of the Chaldeans[r] is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 (QU)“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
let every one save his life!
(QV)Be not cut off in her punishment,
(QW)for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance,
the repayment he is rendering her.
7 Babylon was (QX)a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
(QY)making all the earth drunken;
(QZ)the nations drank of her wine;
therefore the nations went mad.
8 (RA)Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
(RB)wail for her!
(RC)Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon,
but she was not healed.
(RD)Forsake her, and (RE)let us go
each to his own country,
for (RF)her judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10 (RG)The Lord has brought about our vindication;
(RH)come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11 (RI)“Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!
(RJ)The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of (RK)the Medes, because (RL)his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, (RM)for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for (RN)his temple.
12 (RO)“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
(RP)make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
prepare the ambushes;
(RQ)for the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 (RR)O you who dwell by many waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come;
the thread of your life is cut.
14 (RS)The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, (RT)as many as locusts,
(RU)and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.
15 (RV)“It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
17 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I (RW)break nations in pieces;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I break in pieces man and woman;
with you I break in pieces (RX)the old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces (RY)the young man and the young woman;
23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
with you I break in pieces (RZ)governors and commanders.
24 (SA)“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
declares the Lord,
which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
(SB)and make you a burnt mountain.
26 No (SC)stone shall be taken from you for a corner
and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be (SD)a perpetual waste,
declares the Lord.
27 (SE)“Set up a standard on the earth;
(SF)blow the trumpet among the nations;
(SG)prepare (SH)the nations for war against her;
summon against her (SI)the kingdoms,
(SJ)Ararat, Minni, and (SK)Ashkenaz;
appoint a (SL)marshal against her;
(SM)bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 (SN)Prepare (SO)the nations for war against her,
the kings of (SP)the Medes, (SQ)with their governors (SR)and deputies,
and every (SS)land under their dominion.
29 (ST)The land trembles and writhes in pain,
(SU)for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
without inhabitant.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed;
(SV)they have become women;
(SW)her dwellings are on fire;
(SX)her bars are broken.
31 One (SY)runner runs to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
that his city is taken on every side;
32 the fords have been (SZ)seized,
the marshes are burned with fire,
and the soldiers are in panic.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
(TA)The daughter of Babylon is like (TB)a threshing floor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and (TC)the time of her harvest will come.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon (TD)has devoured me;
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
(TE)he has swallowed me like (TF)a monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
he has rinsed me out.[s]
35 The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
let Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (TG)I will plead your cause
and take vengeance for you.
(TH)I will dry up her sea
and (TI)make her fountain dry,
37 and Babylon shall become (TJ)a heap of ruins,
(TK)the haunt of jackals,
(TL)a horror (TM)and a hissing,
without inhabitant.
38 (TN)“They shall roar together (TO)like lions;
they shall growl like lions' cubs.
39 (TP)While they are inflamed (TQ)I will prepare them a feast
and (TR)make them drunk, that they may become merry,
(TS)then sleep a perpetual sleep
and not wake, declares the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and male goats.
41 “How (TT)Babylon[t] is taken,
(TU)the praise of the whole earth (TV)seized!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
42 (TW)The sea has come up on Babylon;
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a horror,
(TX)a land of drought and a desert,
(TY)a land in which no one dwells,
and through which no son of man passes.
44 And I will punish (TZ)Bel in Babylon,
and (UA)take out of his mouth (UB)what he has swallowed.
(UC)The nations shall no longer flow to him;
(UD)the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 “Go out of the midst of her, (UE)my people!
Let every one save his life
from (UF)the fierce anger of the Lord!
46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
(UG)at the report heard in the land,
(UH)when a report comes in one year
and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
(UI)and ruler is against ruler.
47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when (UJ)I will punish the images of Babylon;
(UK)her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 (UL)Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
(UM)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 44:9 Hebrew his
- Jeremiah 44:19 Compare Syriac; Hebrew lacks And the women said
- Jeremiah 46:15 Hebrew He does not stand
- Jeremiah 47:7 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew you
- Jeremiah 48:5 Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping
- Jeremiah 48:5 Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry
- Jeremiah 48:12 Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their
- Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also verse 3
- Jeremiah 49:4 Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows
- Jeremiah 49:16 Or of Sela
- Jeremiah 49:19 Septuagint, Syriac them
- Jeremiah 50:21 Merathaim means double rebellion
- Jeremiah 50:21 Pekod means punishment
- Jeremiah 50:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 50:39 Hebrew lacks in Babylon
- Jeremiah 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
- Jeremiah 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 51:5 Hebrew their land
- Jeremiah 51:34 Or he has expelled me
- Jeremiah 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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