Lamentations 5

New American Standard Bible

A Prayer for Mercy

5 Remember, Lord, what has come upon us;
Look, and see our ^(A)disgrace!
²Our inheritance has been turned over to ^(B)strangers,
Our ^(C)houses to foreigners.
³We have become orphans, ^(D)without a father;
Our mothers are like widows.
⁴^[a]We have to pay for our drinking ^(E)water,
Our wood comes to us at a price.
⁵^[b]Our pursuers are at our necks;
We are worn out, we are given ^(F)no rest.
⁶We have ^[c]submitted to ^(G)Egypt and Assyria ^[d]to get enough bread.
⁷Our ^(H)fathers sinned, and are gone;
It is we who have been burdened with the punishment for their wrongdoings.
⁸^(I)Slaves rule over us;
There is ^(J)no one to rescue us from their hand.
⁹We get our bread ^[e]at the ^(K)risk of our lives
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
¹⁰Our skin has become as ^(L)hot as an oven,
Because of the ravages of hunger.
¹¹They violated the ^(M)women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
¹²Leaders were hung by their hands;
^[f]^(N)Elders were not respected.
¹³Young men ^[g]^(O)worked at the grinding mill,
And youths ^(P)staggered under loads of wood.
¹⁴Elders are absent from the gate,
Young men from their ^(Q)music.
¹⁵The joy of our hearts has ^(R)ended;
Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
¹⁶The ^(S)crown has fallen from our head;
^(T)Woe to us, for we have sinned!
¹⁷Because of this our ^(U)heart is faint,
Because of these things our ^(V)eyes are dim;
¹⁸Because of ^(W)Mount Zion which lies desolate,
^(X)Jackals prowl in it.

¹⁹^(Y)You, Lord, ^[h]rule forever;
Your ^(Z)throne is from generation to generation.
²⁰Why will You ^(AA)forget us forever?
Why do You abandon us for ^[i]so long?
²¹^(AB)Restore us to You, Lord, so that we may be restored;
Renew ^(AC)our days as of old,
²²Unless ^(AD)You have utterly rejected us
And are exceedingly ^(AE)angry with us.

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Footnotes

Lamentations 5:4 Lit We drink our water with silver
Lamentations 5:5 Lit We have been pursued upon
Lamentations 5:6 Lit given Egypt a hand
Lamentations 5:6 Lit to be satisfied with
Lamentations 5:9 Lit with our soul
Lamentations 5:12 Lit The faces of elders
Lamentations 5:13 Lit carried the
Lamentations 5:19 Lit sit
Lamentations 5:20 Lit length of days

Obadiah

New American Standard Bible

Edom Will Be Humbled

¹The vision of Obadiah.

This is what the Lord ^[a]God says concerning ^(A)Edom—

^(B)We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a ^(C)messenger has been sent among the nations saying,
“^(D)Arise, and let’s go up against her for battle”—
²“Behold, I will make you ^(E)small among the nations;
You are greatly despised.
³The ^(F)arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
The one who lives in the clefts of ^[b]the ^(G)rock,
On the height of his dwelling place,
Who says in his heart,
‘^(H)Who will bring me down to earth?’
⁴Though you ^(I)make your home high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the ^(J)stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
⁵“If ^(K)thieves came to you,
If ^[c]robbers by night—
Oh how you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only ^[d]until they had enough?
If grape-pickers came to you,
^(L)Would they not leave some gleanings?
⁶Oh how Esau will be ^(M)searched,
And his hidden treasures searched out!
⁷All the ^(N)people ^[e]allied with you
Will send you to the border,
And the people at peace with you
Will deceive you and overpower you.
They who eat your ^(O)bread
Will set an ambush for you.
(There is ^(P)no understanding ^[f]in him.)
⁸Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“^(Q)Eliminate wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?
⁹Then your ^(R)warriors will be filled with terror, ^(S)Teman,
So that everyone will be ^(T)eliminated from the mountain of Esau by murder.

¹⁰“Because of ^(U)violence to your brother Jacob,
Shame will cover you,
^(V)And you will be eliminated forever.
¹¹On the day that you ^(W)stood aloof,
On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gate
And ^(X)cast lots for Jerusalem—
^(Y)You too were as one of them.
¹²^(Z)Do not ^[g]gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And ^(AA)do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
On the day of their destruction;
Yes, ^(AB)do not ^[h]boast
On the day of their distress.
¹³Do not enter the gate of My people
On the ^(AC)day of their disaster.
You indeed, do not ^[i]gloat over their catastrophe
On the day of their disaster.
And do not ^(AD)lay a hand on their wealth
On the day of their disaster.
¹⁴Do not ^(AE)stand at the crossroads
To eliminate their survivors;
And do not hand over their refugees
On the day of their distress.

The Day of the Lord and the Future

¹⁵“For the ^(AF)day of the Lord is near for all the nations.
^(AG)Just as you have done, it will be done to you.
Your ^(AH)dealings will return on your own head.
¹⁶For just as you ^(AI)drank on ^(AJ)My holy mountain,
All the nations ^(AK)will drink continually.
They will drink ^[j]to the last drop,
And become as if they had never existed.
¹⁷But on Mount ^(AL)Zion there will be those who escape,
And it will be holy.
And the house of Jacob will ^[k]^(AM)possess their ^[l]property.
¹⁸Then the house of Jacob will be a ^(AN)fire,
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau will be like stubble.
And they will set ^[m]them on fire and consume ^[n]them,
So that there will be ^(AO)no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
¹⁹Then those of the ^[o]Negev will ^[p]^(AP)possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the ^[q]Shephelah the ^(AQ)Philistine plain;
Also, ^(AR)they will ^[r]possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin the territory of Gilead.
²⁰And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as ^(AS)Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad,
Will ^[s]possess the ^(AT)cities of the Negev.
²¹^[t]The ^(AU)deliverers will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the ^(AV)kingdom will be the Lord’s.

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Footnotes

Obadiah 1:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Obadiah 1:3 Or Sela
Obadiah 1:5 Lit devastators of the night
Obadiah 1:5 Lit their sufficiency
Obadiah 1:7 Lit of your covenant
Obadiah 1:7 I.e., in Esau; or of it
Obadiah 1:12 Lit look on
Obadiah 1:12 Lit make your mouth large
Obadiah 1:13 Lit look at
Obadiah 1:16 Lit and slurp
Obadiah 1:17 Or take possession of
Obadiah 1:17 or inheritance
Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
Obadiah 1:18 I.e., the people of Esau
Obadiah 1:19 I.e., South country
Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
Obadiah 1:19 I.e., the foothills
Obadiah 1:19 Or take possession of
Obadiah 1:20 Or take possession of
Obadiah 1:21 Or with ancient versions Those who are rescued

2 Kings 25:22-26

New American Standard Bible

Gedaliah Made Governor

²²Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(A)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ²³^(B)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at ^(C)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ²⁴And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

²⁵^(D)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[a]family, came ^[b]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶^(E)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 25:25 Lit seed
2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him

Jeremiah 40:7-41:18

New American Standard Bible

⁷^(A)Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ^[a]children, those of the ^(B)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(C)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(D)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(E)Netophathite, and ^(F)Jezaniah the son of the ^(G)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(H)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(I)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. ¹⁰Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(J)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(K)gather wine, ^(L)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” ¹¹Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(M)Moab and among the sons of ^(N)Ammon and in ^(O)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^[b]left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. ¹²Then all the Jews ^(P)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(Q)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. ¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^(R)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(S)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(T)remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^(U)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

Gedaliah Is Murdered

41 ^(V)Now in the seventh month ^(W)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[c]family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to ^(X)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they ^(Y)were eating bread together there in Mizpah, ²Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and ^(Z)struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ^(AA)put to death the one ^(AB)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. ³Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴Now it happened on the ^[d]next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, ⁵that eighty men ^(AC)came from ^(AD)Shechem, from ^(AE)Shiloh, and from ^(AF)Samaria with ^(AG)their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and ^[e]their bodies ^(AH)gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the ^(AI)house of the Lord. ⁶Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, ^(AJ)weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” ⁷Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him ^(AK)slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern. ⁸But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^(AL)supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

⁹Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed ^[f]because of Gedaliah, it was the ^(AM)one that King Asa had constructed on ^(AN)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead. ¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the ^(AO)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the ^(AP)king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of ^(AQ)Ammon.

Johanan Rescues the People

¹¹But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ^(AR)commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done. ¹²So they took all the men and went to ^(AS)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the ^(AT)large ^[g]pool that is in Gibeon. ¹³Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful. ¹⁴So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(AU)escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon. ¹⁶Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ^(AV)all the remnant of the people whom he had ^[h]recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were ^[i]soldiers, the women, the ^[j]children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷And they went and stayed in ^[k]^(AW)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to ^(AX)proceed into Egypt ¹⁸because of the Chaldeans; for they were ^(AY)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom ^(AZ)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.