12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

15 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

17 Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me:

18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,

22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,

23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,

24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,

25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,

26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.

30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.

32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.

35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture.

37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

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12 “But when the seventy years(A) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon(B) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[a] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate(C) forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written(D) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved(E) by many nations(F) and great kings; I will repay(G) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup(H) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send(I) you drink it. 16 When they drink(J) it, they will stagger(K) and go mad(L) because of the sword(M) I will send among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent(N) me drink it: 18 Jerusalem(O) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin(P) and an object of horror and scorn,(Q) a curse[b](R)—as they are today;(S) 19 Pharaoh king(T) of Egypt,(U) his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;(V) all the kings of the Philistines(W) (those of Ashkelon,(X) Gaza,(Y) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom,(Z) Moab(AA) and Ammon;(AB) 22 all the kings of Tyre(AC) and Sidon;(AD) the kings of the coastlands(AE) across the sea; 23 Dedan,(AF) Tema,(AG) Buz(AH) and all who are in distant places[c];(AI) 24 all the kings of Arabia(AJ) and all the kings of the foreign people(AK) who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri,(AL) Elam(AM) and Media;(AN) 26 and all the kings of the north,(AO) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms(AP) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[d](AQ) will drink it too.

27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk(AR) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword(AS) I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink(AT), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster(AU) on the city that bears my Name,(AV) and will you indeed go unpunished?(AW) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword(AX) on all(AY) who live on the earth,(AZ) declares the Lord Almighty.’

30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“‘The Lord will roar(BA) from on high;
    he will thunder(BB) from his holy dwelling(BC)
    and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread(BD) the grapes,
    shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult(BE) will resound to the ends of the earth,
    for the Lord will bring charges(BF) against the nations;
he will bring judgment(BG) on all(BH) mankind
    and put the wicked to the sword,(BI)’”
declares the Lord.

32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster(BJ) is spreading
    from nation to nation;(BK)
a mighty storm(BL) is rising
    from the ends of the earth.”(BM)

33 At that time those slain(BN) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered(BO) up or buried,(BP) but will be like dung lying on the ground.

34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;(BQ)
    roll(BR) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered(BS) has come;
    you will fall like the best of the rams.[e](BT)
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
    the leaders of the flock no place to escape.(BU)
36 Hear the cry(BV) of the shepherds,(BW)
    the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
    for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
    because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion(BX) he will leave his lair,
    and their land will become desolate(BY)
because of the sword[f] of the oppressor(BZ)
    and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.(CA)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
  2. Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
  3. Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
  4. Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
  5. Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
  6. Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger

27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

15 For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

19 For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city.

20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21 Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

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Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah[a](A) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke(B) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. Then send(C) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,(D) Tyre and Sidon(E) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: With my great power and outstretched arm(F) I made(G) the earth and its people and the animals(H) that are on it, and I give(I) it to anyone I please. Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant(J) Nebuchadnezzar(K) king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.(L) All nations will serve(M) him and his son and his grandson until the time(N) for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate(O) him.

“‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish(P) that nation with the sword,(Q) famine(R) and plague,(S) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets,(T) your diviners,(U) your interpreters of dreams,(V) your mediums(W) or your sorcerers(X) who tell you, ‘You will not serve(Y) the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies(Z) to you that will only serve to remove(AA) you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke(AB) of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live(AC) there, declares the Lord.”’”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke(AD) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.(AE) 13 Why will you and your people die(AF) by the sword, famine and plague(AG) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen(AH) to the words of the prophets(AI) who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies(AJ) to you. 15 ‘I have not sent(AK) them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.(AL) Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,(AM) both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles(AN) from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen(AO) to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.(AP) Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead(AQ) with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,(AR) the movable stands and the other articles(AS) that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried(AT) Jehoiachin[b](AU) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 27:1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also 27:3,12 and 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim (Most Septuagint manuscripts do not have this verse.)
  2. Jeremiah 27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin

46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;

Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.

Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.

Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the Lord.

Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.

10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.

13 The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.

14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.

15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them.

16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.

17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.

22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.

27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.

How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.

48 Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.

A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.

Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken.

Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein.

10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

14 How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?

15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,

23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,

24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.

28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.

29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.

32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.

33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.

34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

36 Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.

37 For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord.

39 They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.

40 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.

44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.

47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

49 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.

Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?

Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.

And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord.

Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.

If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14 I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.

16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.

17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.

27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.

30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord.

33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:

38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.

39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.

50 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.

They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.

Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.

For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.

10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.

11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;

12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.

15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.

25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.

27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.

31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.

32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.

33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.

36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.

37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.

38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

51 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,

32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord.

49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord.

54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

55 Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

58 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

62 Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

A Message About Egypt

46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:(A)

Concerning Egypt:(B)

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho(C) king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish(D) on the Euphrates(E) River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(F) son of Josiah king of Judah:

“Prepare your shields,(G) both large and small,
    and march out for battle!
Harness the horses,
    mount the steeds!
Take your positions
    with helmets on!
Polish(H) your spears,
    put on your armor!(I)
What do I see?
    They are terrified,
they are retreating,
    their warriors are defeated.
They flee(J) in haste
    without looking back,
    and there is terror(K) on every side,”
declares the Lord.
“The swift cannot flee(L)
    nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates(M)
    they stumble and fall.(N)

“Who is this that rises like the Nile,
    like rivers of surging waters?(O)
Egypt rises like the Nile,(P)
    like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
    I will destroy cities and their people.’(Q)
Charge, you horses!
    Drive furiously, you charioteers!(R)
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a](S) and Put who carry shields,
    men of Lydia(T) who draw the bow.
10 But that day(U) belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
    a day of vengeance(V), for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour(W) till it is satisfied,
    till it has quenched its thirst with blood.(X)
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice(Y)
    in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.(Z)

11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,(AA)
    Virgin(AB) Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
    there is no healing(AC) for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
    your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
    both will fall(AD) down together.”

13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(AE) to attack Egypt:(AF)

14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
    proclaim it also in Memphis(AG) and Tahpanhes:(AH)
‘Take your positions and get ready,
    for the sword devours(AI) those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
    They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.(AJ)
16 They will stumble(AK) repeatedly;
    they will fall(AL) over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
    to our own people(AM) and our native lands,
    away from the sword of the oppressor.’(AN)
17 There they will exclaim,
    ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;(AO)
    he has missed his opportunity.(AP)

18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,(AQ)
    whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor(AR) among the mountains,
    like Carmel(AS) by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,(AT)
    you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis(AU) will be laid waste(AV)
    and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
    but a gadfly is coming
    against her from the north.(AW)
21 The mercenaries(AX) in her ranks
    are like fattened calves.(AY)
They too will turn and flee(AZ) together,
    they will not stand their ground,
for the day(BA) of disaster is coming upon them,
    the time(BB) for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
    as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
    like men who cut down trees.(BC)
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
    “dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,(BD)
    they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
    given into the hands of the people of the north.(BE)

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes,(BF) on Pharaoh,(BG) on Egypt and her gods(BH) and her kings, and on those who rely(BI) on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands(BJ) of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king(BK) of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited(BL) as in times past,” declares the Lord.

27 “Do not be afraid,(BM) Jacob(BN) my servant;(BO)
    do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.(BP)
Jacob will again have peace and security,
    and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
    for I am with you,”(BQ) declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy(BR) all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

A Message About the Philistines

47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines(BS) before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:(BT)

This is what the Lord says:

“See how the waters are rising in the north;(BU)
    they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
    the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
    all who dwell in the land will wail(BV)
at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
    at the noise of enemy chariots(BW)
    and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
    their hands will hang limp.(BX)
For the day has come
    to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
    who could help Tyre(BY) and Sidon.(BZ)
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,(CA)
    the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[b](CB)
Gaza will shave(CC) her head in mourning;
    Ashkelon(CD) will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
    how long will you cut(CE) yourselves?

“‘Alas, sword(CF) of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’(CG)
But how can it rest
    when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
    to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”(CH)

A Message About Moab(CI)

48 Concerning Moab:(CJ)

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Woe to Nebo,(CK) for it will be ruined.
    Kiriathaim(CL) will be disgraced and captured;
    the stronghold[c] will be disgraced and shattered.
Moab will be praised(CM) no more;
    in Heshbon[d](CN) people will plot her downfall:
    ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’(CO)
You, the people of Madmen,[e] will also be silenced;
    the sword will pursue you.
Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,(CP)
    cries of great havoc and destruction.
Moab will be broken;
    her little ones will cry out.[f]
They go up the hill to Luhith,(CQ)
    weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaim(CR)
    anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
Flee!(CS) Run for your lives;
    become like a bush[g] in the desert.(CT)
Since you trust in your deeds and riches,(CU)
    you too will be taken captive,
and Chemosh(CV) will go into exile,(CW)
    together with his priests and officials.(CX)
The destroyer(CY) will come against every town,
    and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
    and the plateau(CZ) destroyed,
    because the Lord has spoken.
Put salt(DA) on Moab,
    for she will be laid waste[h];(DB)
her towns will become desolate,
    with no one to live in them.

10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
    A curse on anyone who keeps their sword(DC) from bloodshed!(DD)

11 “Moab has been at rest(DE) from youth,
    like wine left on its dregs,(DF)
not poured from one jar to another—
    she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
    and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
    and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
    and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed(DG) of Chemosh,(DH)
    as Israel was ashamed
    when they trusted in Bethel.(DI)

14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,(DJ)
    men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
    her finest young men(DK) will go down in the slaughter,(DL)
    declares the King,(DM) whose name is the Lord Almighty.(DN)
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;(DO)
    her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
    all who know her fame;(DP)
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,(DQ)
    how broken the glorious staff!’

18 “Come down from your glory
    and sit on the parched ground,(DR)
    you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,(DS)
for the one who destroys Moab
    will come up against you
    and ruin your fortified cities.(DT)
19 Stand by the road and watch,
    you who live in Aroer.(DU)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
    ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
    Wail(DV) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon(DW)
    that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateau(DX)
    to Holon,(DY) Jahzah(DZ) and Mephaath,(EA)
22     to Dibon,(EB) Nebo(EC) and Beth Diblathaim,
23     to Kiriathaim,(ED) Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,(EE)
24     to Kerioth(EF) and Bozrah(EG)
    to all the towns(EH) of Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s horn[i](EI) is cut off;
    her arm(EJ) is broken,”
declares the Lord.

26 “Make her drunk,(EK)
    for she has defied(EL) the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;(EM)
    let her be an object of ridicule.(EN)
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?(EO)
    Was she caught among thieves,(EP)
that you shake your head(EQ) in scorn(ER)
    whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
    you who live in Moab.
Be like a dove(ES) that makes its nest
    at the mouth of a cave.(ET)

29 “We have heard of Moab’s pride(EU)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
    and the haughtiness(EV) of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
    “and her boasts(EW) accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wail(EX) over Moab,
    for all Moab I cry out,
    I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.(EY)
32 I weep for you, as Jazer(EZ) weeps,
    you vines of Sibmah.(FA)
Your branches spread as far as the sea[j];
    they reached as far as[k] Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
    on your ripened fruit and grapes.
33 Joy and gladness are gone
    from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine(FB) from the presses;
    no one treads them with shouts of joy.(FC)
Although there are shouts,
    they are not shouts of joy.

34 “The sound of their cry rises
    from Heshbon(FD) to Elealeh(FE) and Jahaz,(FF)
from Zoar(FG) as far as Horonaim(FH) and Eglath Shelishiyah,
    for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.(FI)
35 In Moab I will put an end
    to those who make offerings on the high places(FJ)
    and burn incense(FK) to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart laments(FL) for Moab like the music of a pipe;
    it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.(FM)
    The wealth they acquired(FN) is gone.
37 Every head is shaved(FO)
    and every beard(FP) cut off;
every hand is slashed
    and every waist is covered with sackcloth.(FQ)
38 On all the roofs in Moab
    and in the public squares(FR)
there is nothing but mourning,
    for I have broken Moab
    like a jar(FS) that no one wants,”
declares the Lord.
39 “How shattered(FT) she is! How they wail!
    How Moab turns her back in shame!
Moab has become an object of ridicule,(FU)
    an object of horror to all those around her.”

40 This is what the Lord says:

“Look! An eagle is swooping(FV) down,
    spreading its wings(FW) over Moab.
41 Kerioth[l](FX) will be captured
    and the strongholds taken.
In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors(FY)
    will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(FZ)
42 Moab will be destroyed(GA) as a nation(GB)
    because she defied(GC) the Lord.
43 Terror(GD) and pit and snare(GE) await you,
    you people of Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees(GF) from the terror
    will fall into a pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring on Moab
    the year(GG) of her punishment,”
declares the Lord.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
    the fugitives stand helpless,
for a fire has gone out from Heshbon,
    a blaze from the midst of Sihon;(GH)
it burns the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls(GI) of the noisy boasters.
46 Woe to you, Moab!(GJ)
    The people of Chemosh are destroyed;
your sons are taken into exile
    and your daughters into captivity.

47 “Yet I will restore(GK) the fortunes of Moab
    in days to come,”
declares the Lord.

Here ends the judgment on Moab.

A Message About Ammon

49 Concerning the Ammonites:(GL)

This is what the Lord says:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has Israel no heir?
Why then has Molek[m](GM) taken possession of Gad?(GN)
    Why do his people live in its towns?
But the days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when I will sound the battle cry(GO)
    against Rabbah(GP) of the Ammonites;
it will become a mound of ruins,(GQ)
    and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out
    those who drove her out,(GR)
says the Lord.
“Wail, Heshbon,(GS) for Ai(GT) is destroyed!
    Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth(GU) and mourn;
    rush here and there inside the walls,
for Molek(GV) will go into exile,(GW)
    together with his priests and officials.
Why do you boast of your valleys,
    boast of your valleys so fruitful?
Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,(GX)
    you trust in your riches(GY) and say,
    ‘Who will attack me?’(GZ)
I will bring terror on you
    from all those around you,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
“Every one of you will be driven away,
    and no one will gather the fugitives.(HA)

“Yet afterward, I will restore(HB) the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.

A Message About Edom(HC)(HD)

Concerning Edom:(HE)

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?(HF)
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom decayed?
Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,(HG)
    you who live in Dedan,(HH)
for I will bring disaster on Esau
    at the time when I punish him.
If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?
If thieves came during the night,
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
    I will uncover his hiding places,(HI)
    so that he cannot conceal himself.
His armed men are destroyed,
    also his allies and neighbors,
    so there is no one(HJ) to say,
11 ‘Leave your fatherless children;(HK) I will keep them alive.
    Your widows(HL) too can depend on me.’”

12 This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup(HM) must drink it, why should you go unpunished?(HN) You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. 13 I swear(HO) by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah(HP) will become a ruin and a curse,[n] an object of horror(HQ) and reproach;(HR) and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”(HS)

14 I have heard a message from the Lord;
    an envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Assemble yourselves to attack it!
    Rise up for battle!”

15 “Now I will make you small among the nations,
    despised by mankind.
16 The terror you inspire
    and the pride(HT) of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks,(HU)
    who occupy the heights of the hill.
Though you build your nest(HV) as high as the eagle’s,
    from there I will bring you down,”
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror;(HW)
    all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff
    because of all its wounds.(HX)
18 As Sodom(HY) and Gomorrah(HZ) were overthrown,
    along with their neighboring towns,”
says the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell(IA) in it.

19 “Like a lion(IB) coming up from Jordan’s thickets(IC)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like(ID) me and who can challenge me?(IE)
    And what shepherd(IF) can stand against me?”

20 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,(IG)
    what he has purposed(IH) against those who live in Teman:(II)
The young of the flock(IJ) will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.(IK)
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;(IL)
    their cry(IM) will resound to the Red Sea.[o]
22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop(IN) down,
    spreading its wings over Bozrah.(IO)
In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors(IP)
    will be like the heart of a woman in labor.(IQ)

A Message About Damascus

23 Concerning Damascus:(IR)

“Hamath(IS) and Arpad(IT) are dismayed,
    for they have heard bad news.
They are disheartened,
    troubled like[p] the restless sea.(IU)
24 Damascus has become feeble,
    she has turned to flee
    and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(IV)
25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
    the town in which I delight?
26 Surely, her young men(IW) will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced(IX) in that day,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
27 “I will set fire(IY) to the walls of Damascus;(IZ)
    it will consume(JA) the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.(JB)

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning Kedar(JC) and the kingdoms of Hazor,(JD) which Nebuchadnezzar(JE) king of Babylon attacked:

This is what the Lord says:

“Arise, and attack Kedar
    and destroy the people of the East.(JF)
29 Their tents and their flocks(JG) will be taken;
    their shelters will be carried off
    with all their goods and camels.
People will shout to them,
    ‘Terror(JH) on every side!’

30 “Flee quickly away!
    Stay in deep caves,(JI) you who live in Hazor,(JJ)
declares the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar(JK) king of Babylon has plotted against you;
    he has devised a plan against you.

31 “Arise and attack a nation at ease,
    which lives in confidence,”
declares the Lord,
“a nation that has neither gates nor bars;(JL)
    its people live far from danger.
32 Their camels(JM) will become plunder,
    and their large herds(JN) will be spoils of war.
I will scatter to the winds(JO) those who are in distant places[q](JP)
    and will bring disaster on them from every side,”
declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor(JQ) will become a haunt of jackals,(JR)
    a desolate(JS) place forever.
No one will live there;
    no people will dwell(JT) in it.”

A Message About Elam

34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(JU) early in the reign of Zedekiah(JV) king of Judah:

35 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow(JW) of Elam,
    the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds(JX)
    from the four quarters of heaven;(JY)
I will scatter them to the four winds,
    and there will not be a nation
    where Elam’s exiles do not go.
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes,
    before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
    even my fierce anger,”(JZ)
declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword(KA)
    until I have made an end of them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam
    and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the Lord.

39 “Yet I will restore(KB) the fortunes of Elam
    in days to come,”
declares the Lord.

A Message About Babylon(KC)

50 This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon(KD) and the land of the Babylonians[r]:

“Announce and proclaim(KE) among the nations,
    lift up a banner(KF) and proclaim it;
    keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;(KG)
    Bel(KH) will be put to shame,(KI)
    Marduk(KJ) filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
    and her idols(KK) filled with terror.’
A nation from the north(KL) will attack her
    and lay waste her land.
No one will live(KM) in it;
    both people and animals(KN) will flee away.

“In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together(KO)
    will go in tears(KP) to seek(KQ) the Lord their God.
They will ask the way(KR) to Zion
    and turn their faces toward it.
They will come(KS) and bind themselves to the Lord
    in an everlasting covenant(KT)
    that will not be forgotten.

“My people have been lost sheep;(KU)
    their shepherds(KV) have led them astray(KW)
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill(KX)
    and forgot their own resting place.(KY)
Whoever found them devoured(KZ) them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,(LA)
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
    the Lord, the hope(LB) of their ancestors.’

“Flee(LC) out of Babylon;(LD)
    leave the land of the Babylonians,
    and be like the goats that lead the flock.
For I will stir(LE) up and bring against Babylon
    an alliance of great nations(LF) from the land of the north.(LG)
They will take up their positions against her,
    and from the north she will be captured.(LH)
Their arrows(LI) will be like skilled warriors
    who do not return empty-handed.
10 So Babylonia[s] will be plundered;(LJ)
    all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.

11 “Because you rejoice and are glad,
    you who pillage my inheritance,(LK)
because you frolic like a heifer(LL) threshing grain
    and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother will be greatly ashamed;
    she who gave you birth will be disgraced.(LM)
She will be the least of the nations—
    a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.(LN)
13 Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
    but will be completely desolate.(LO)
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;(LP)
    they will scoff(LQ) because of all her wounds.(LR)

14 “Take up your positions around Babylon,
    all you who draw the bow.(LS)
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,(LT)
    for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout(LU) against her on every side!
    She surrenders, her towers fall,
    her walls(LV) are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance(LW) of the Lord,
    take vengeance on her;
    do to her(LX) as she has done to others.(LY)
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
    and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword(LZ) of the oppressor
    let everyone return to their own people,(MA)
    let everyone flee to their own land.(MB)

17 “Israel is a scattered flock(MC)
    that lions(MD) have chased away.
The first to devour(ME) them
    was the king(MF) of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones(MG)
    was Nebuchadnezzar(MH) king(MI) of Babylon.”

18 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king(MJ) of Assyria.(MK)
19 But I will bring(ML) Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied(MM)
    on the hills(MN) of Ephraim and Gilead.(MO)
20 In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,(MP)
and for the sins(MQ) of Judah,
    but none will be found,
    for I will forgive(MR) the remnant(MS) I spare.

21 “Attack the land of Merathaim
    and those who live in Pekod.(MT)
Pursue, kill and completely destroy[t] them,”
declares the Lord.
    “Do everything I have commanded you.
22 The noise(MU) of battle is in the land,
    the noise of great destruction!
23 How broken and shattered
    is the hammer(MV) of the whole earth!(MW)
How desolate(MX) is Babylon
    among the nations!
24 I set a trap(MY) for you, Babylon,
    and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured(MZ)
    because you opposed(NA) the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
    and brought out the weapons(NB) of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
    in the land of the Babylonians.(NC)
26 Come against her from afar.(ND)
    Break open her granaries;
    pile her up like heaps of grain.(NE)
Completely destroy(NF) her
    and leave her no remnant.
27 Kill all her young bulls;(NG)
    let them go down to the slaughter!(NH)
Woe to them! For their day(NI) has come,
    the time(NJ) for them to be punished.
28 Listen to the fugitives(NK) and refugees from Babylon
    declaring in Zion(NL)
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,(NM)
    vengeance for his temple.(NN)

29 “Summon archers against Babylon,
    all those who draw the bow.(NO)
Encamp all around her;
    let no one escape.(NP)
Repay(NQ) her for her deeds;(NR)
    do to her as she has done.
For she has defied(NS) the Lord,
    the Holy One(NT) of Israel.
30 Therefore, her young men(NU) will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “See, I am against(NV) you, you arrogant one,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day(NW) has come,
    the time for you to be punished.
32 The arrogant(NX) one will stumble and fall(NY)
    and no one will help her up;(NZ)
I will kindle a fire(OA) in her towns
    that will consume all who are around her.”

33 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“The people of Israel are oppressed,(OB)
    and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
    refusing to let them go.(OC)
34 Yet their Redeemer(OD) is strong;
    the Lord Almighty(OE) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause(OF)
    so that he may bring rest(OG) to their land,
    but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

35 “A sword(OH) against the Babylonians!”(OI)
    declares the Lord
“against those who live in Babylon
    and against her officials and wise(OJ) men!
36 A sword against her false prophets!
    They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!(OK)
    They will be filled with terror.(OL)
37 A sword against her horses and chariots(OM)
    and all the foreigners in her ranks!
    They will become weaklings.(ON)
A sword against her treasures!(OO)
    They will be plundered.
38 A drought on[u] her waters!(OP)
    They will dry(OQ) up.
For it is a land of idols,(OR)
    idols that will go mad with terror.

39 “So desert creatures(OS) and hyenas will live there,
    and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
    or lived in from generation to generation.(OT)
40 As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah(OU)
    along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell in it.(OV)

41 “Look! An army is coming from the north;(OW)
    a great nation and many kings
    are being stirred(OX) up from the ends of the earth.(OY)
42 They are armed with bows(OZ) and spears;
    they are cruel(PA) and without mercy.(PB)
They sound like the roaring sea(PC)
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Babylon.(PD)
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
    and his hands hang limp.(PE)
Anguish has gripped him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(PF)
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets(PG)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen(PH) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?(PI)
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”

45 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
    what he has purposed(PJ) against the land of the Babylonians:(PK)
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;(PL)
    its cry(PM) will resound among the nations.

51 This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir(PN) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon(PO) and the people of Leb Kamai.[v]
I will send foreigners(PP) to Babylon
    to winnow(PQ) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day(PR) of her disaster.
Let not the archer string his bow,(PS)
    nor let him put on his armor.(PT)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy[w] her army.
They will fall(PU) down slain in Babylon,[x]
    fatally wounded in her streets.(PV)
For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken(PW)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[y] is full of guilt(PX)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

“Flee(PY) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.(PZ)
It is time(QA) for the Lord’s vengeance;(QB)
    he will repay(QC) her what she deserves.
Babylon was a gold cup(QD) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
Babylon will suddenly fall(QE) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm(QF) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

“‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(QG) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment(QH) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

10 “‘The Lord has vindicated(QI) us;
    come, let us tell in Zion
    what the Lord our God has done.’(QJ)

11 “Sharpen the arrows,(QK)
    take up the shields!(QL)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(QM) of the Medes,(QN)
    because his purpose(QO) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(QP)
    vengeance for his temple.(QQ)
12 Lift up a banner(QR) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(QS)
    prepare an ambush!(QT)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(QU)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(QV)
    and are rich in treasures,(QW)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.(QX)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(QY)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(QZ)
    and they will shout(RA) in triumph over you.

15 “He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom(RB)
    and stretched(RC) out the heavens by his understanding.(RD)
16 When he thunders,(RE) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(RF)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(RG)

17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(RH)
    they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless,(RI) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion(RJ) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance(RK)
    the Lord Almighty is his name.

20 “You are my war club,(RL)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(RM) nations,(RN)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(RO)
    with you I shatter chariot(RP) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(RQ)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(RR)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(RS) Babylon(RT) and all who live in Babylonia[z] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

25 “I am against(RU) you, you destroying mountain,
    you who destroy the whole earth,”(RV)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand(RW) against you,
    roll you off the cliffs,
    and make you a burned-out mountain.(RX)
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
    nor any stone for a foundation,
    for you will be desolate(RY) forever,”
declares the Lord.

27 “Lift up a banner(RZ) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:(SA)
    Ararat,(SB) Minni and Ashkenaz.(SC)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(SD)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,(SE)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.(SF)
29 The land trembles(SG) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes(SH) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste(SI) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.(SJ)
30 Babylon’s warriors(SK) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.(SL)
Her dwellings are set on fire;(SM)
    the bars(SN) of her gates are broken.
31 One courier(SO) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,(SP)
32 the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,(SQ)
    and the soldiers terrified.(SR)

33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon(SS) is like a threshing floor(ST)
    at the time it is trampled;
    the time to harvest(SU) her will soon come.(SV)

34 “Nebuchadnezzar(SW) king of Babylon has devoured(SX) us,(SY)
    he has thrown us into confusion,
    he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
    and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
    and then has spewed(SZ) us out.
35 May the violence(TA) done to our flesh[aa] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.(TB)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 46:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Jeremiah 47:4 That is, Crete
  3. Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
  4. Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
  5. Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
  6. Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
  7. Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
  8. Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
  9. Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  10. Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
  11. Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
  12. Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities
  13. Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also in verse 3
  14. Jeremiah 49:13 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed.
  15. Jeremiah 49:21 Or the Sea of Reeds
  16. Jeremiah 49:23 Hebrew on or by
  17. Jeremiah 49:32 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
  18. Jeremiah 50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45
  19. Jeremiah 50:10 Or Chaldea
  20. Jeremiah 50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
  21. Jeremiah 50:38 Or A sword against
  22. Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
  23. Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  24. Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
  25. Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
  26. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
  27. Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children