Jeremiah 34-36
English Standard Version
Zedekiah to Die in Babylon
34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when (A)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army (B)and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to (C)Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: (D)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 (E)You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. (F)You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! (G)Thus says the Lord concerning you: (H)‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. (I)And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall (J)burn spices for you (K)and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, (L)Lachish and (M)Azekah, (N)for these were the only (O)fortified cities of Judah that remained.
8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah (P)had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem (Q)to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 (R)that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, (S)so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves (T)they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. 12 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when (U)I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 (V)‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; (W)you must set him free from your service.’ But (X)your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes (Y)by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and (Z)you made a covenant before me in the (AA)house that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around (AB)and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, (AC)whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.
17 “Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me (AD)by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; (AE)behold, I proclaim to you liberty (AF)to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. (AG)I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of (AH)the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like[a] (AI)the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, (AJ)the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies (AK)and into the hand of those who seek their lives. (AL)Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And (AM)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon (AN)which has withdrawn from you. 22 Behold, (AO)I will command, declares the Lord, and will (AP)bring them back to this city. (AQ)And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. (AR)I will make the cities of Judah a desolation (AS)without inhabitant.”
The Obedience of the Rechabites
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of (AT)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the (AU)Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of (AV)the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the Lord into (AW)the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, (AX)the man of God, which was near (AY)the chamber of the officials, above (AZ)the chamber of (BA)Maaseiah the son of Shallum, (BB)keeper of the threshold. 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for (BC)Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, (BD)that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But (BE)when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of (BF)the army of the Chaldeans and (BG)the army of the Syrians.’ (BH)So we are living in Jerusalem.”
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (BI)Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you (BJ)persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them (BK)persistently, saying, (BL)‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and (BM)do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ (BN)But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, (BO)because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, (BP)I have called to them and they have not answered.”
18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man (BQ)to stand before me.”
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's Scroll
36 In the (BR)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take (BS)a scroll and (BT)write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and (BU)Judah (BV)and all the nations, (BW)from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 (BX)It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, (BY)so that every one may turn from his evil way, and (BZ)that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah called (CA)Baruch the son of Neriah, and (CB)Baruch wrote on (CC)a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah ordered (CD)Baruch, saying, (CE)“I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, 6 so you are to go, and (CF)on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. 7 (CG)It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, (CH)and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
9 (CI)In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, (CJ)in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem (CK)proclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10 Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in (CL)the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord's house.
11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of (CM)Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king's house, into the secretary's chamber, and (CN)all the officials were sitting there: (CO)Elishama the secretary, (CP)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, (CQ)Elnathan (CR)the son of Achbor, (CS)Gemariah the son of (CT)Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of (CU)Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, (CV)“We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” 18 Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, (CW)while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”
20 So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in (CX)the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 It was (CY)the ninth month, and the king was sitting in (CZ)the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. 24 Yet (DA)neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, (DB)nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when (DC)Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah (DD)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the (DE)king's son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and (DF)Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize (DG)Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, (DH)“Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: (DI)He shall have none (DJ)to sit on the throne of David, (DK)and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 (DL)And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to (DM)Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who (DN)wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 34:18 Hebrew lacks them like
Jeremiah 45:1-51:5
English Standard Version
Message to Baruch
45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to (A)Baruch the son of Neriah, (B)when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, (C)in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, (D)‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. (E)I am weary with my groaning, (F)and I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: (G)Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And (H)do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, (I)I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you (J)your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”
Judgment on Egypt
46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (K)concerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. (L)Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in (M)the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 (N)“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 (O)Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
(P)polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their (Q)warriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
(R)they look not back—
(S)terror on every side!
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
(T)in the north by the river Euphrates
(U)they have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, (V)rising like the Nile,
like rivers (W)whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers (X)whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 (Y)Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and (Z)Put who handle the shield,
(AA)men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 (AB)That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
(AC)a day of vengeance,
(AD)to avenge himself on his foes.
(AE)The sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds (AF)a sacrifice
(AG)in the north country (AH)by the river Euphrates.
11 (AI)Go up to Gilead, and take (AJ)balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
(AK)there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
(AL)for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of (AM)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in (AN)Migdol;
proclaim in (AO)Memphis and (AP)Tahpanhes;
say, (AQ)‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for (AR)the sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand[a]
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, (AS)and they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
(AT)because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of (AU)Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 (AV)“As I live, declares the King,
(AW)whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like (AX)Tabor among the mountains
and like (AY)Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 (AZ)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O (BA)inhabitants of Egypt!
For (BB)Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, (BC)without inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful (BD)heifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly (BE)from the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like (BF)fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
(BG)the time of their punishment.
22 “She makes (BH)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
(BI)like those who fell trees.
23 (BJ)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because (BK)they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of (BL)a people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon (BM)Amon of (BN)Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt (BO)and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 (BP)I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. (BQ)Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited (BR)as in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 (BS)“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 (BT)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
(BU)I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Judgment on the Philistines
47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (BV)concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down (BW)Gaza.
2 “Thus says the Lord:
(BX)Behold, waters are rising (BY)out of the north,
(BZ)and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow (CA)the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
(CB)at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers (CC)look not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,
4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
all (CD)the Philistines,
to cut off from (CE)Tyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
(CF)the remnant of the coastland of (CG)Caphtor.
5 (CH)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
(CI)Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
(CJ)how long will you gash yourselves?
6 (CK)Ah, sword of the Lord!
How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
rest and be still!
7 How can it[b] be quiet
(CL)when the Lord has given it a charge?
Against (CM)Ashkelon and against the seashore
(CN)he has appointed it.”
Judgment on Moab
48 (CO)Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to (CP)Nebo, for it is laid waste!
(CQ)Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame (CR)and broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In (CS)Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off (CT)from being a nation!’
You also, O (CU)Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from (CV)Horonaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 (CW)For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;[c]
for (CX)at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry[d] of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like (CY)a juniper in the desert!
7 For, (CZ)because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and (DA)Chemosh (DB)shall go into exile
with (DC)his priests and his officials.
8 (DD)The destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and (DE)the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 (DF)“Cursed is he who does (DG)the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has (DH)settled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his[e] jars in pieces. 13 Then (DI)Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as (DJ)the house of Israel was ashamed of (DK)Bethel, their confidence.
14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of (DL)Moab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have (DM)gone down to slaughter,
declares (DN)the King, (DO)whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 (DP)Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, (DQ)‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 (DR)“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of (DS)Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 (DT)Stand by the way (DU)and watch,
O inhabitant of (DV)Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
(DW)wail and cry!
Tell it beside (DX)the Arnon,
that (DY)Moab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon (DZ)the tableland, upon Holon, and (EA)Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and (EB)Dibon, and (EC)Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and (ED)Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and (EE)Beth-meon, 24 and (EF)Kerioth, and (EG)Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 (EH)The horn of Moab is cut off, and (EI)his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26 (EJ)“Make him drunk, (EK)because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall (EL)wallow in his vomit, (EM)and he too shall be held in derision. 27 (EN)Was not Israel a derision to you? (EO)Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him (EP)you wagged your head?
28 (EQ)“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be (ER)like the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 (ES)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
(ET)his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 (EU)Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of (EV)Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for (EW)Jazer I weep for you,
(EX)O vine of (EY)Sibmah!
(EZ)Your branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of (FA)Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 (FB)Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 (FC)“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to (FD)Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in (FE)the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of (FF)Kir-hareseth. (FG)Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37 (FH)“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. (FI)On all the hands are gashes, and (FJ)around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like (FK)a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! (FL)How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab (FM)has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (FN)one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
(FO)and spread his wings against Moab;
41 (FP)the cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
(FQ)The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of (FR)a woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be (FS)destroyed and be no longer a people,
because (FT)he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 (FU)Terror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
(FV)For I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed (FW)the forehead of Moab,
the crown of (FX)the sons of tumult.
46 (FY)Woe to you, O Moab!
The people of (FZ)Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 (GA)Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
Judgment on Ammon
49 (GB)Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has (GC)Milcom[f] (GD)dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause (GE)the battle cry to be heard
against (GF)Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate (GG)mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O (GH)Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of (GI)Rabbah!
(GJ)Put on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For (GK)Milcom shall go into exile,
(GL)with his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,[g]
(GM)O faithless daughter,
(GN)who trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, (GO)I will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But (GP)afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning (GQ)Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(GR)“Is wisdom no more in (GS)Teman?
(GT)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
(GU)Has their wisdom vanished?
8 (GV)Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of (GW)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
(GX)the time when I punish him.
9 (GY)If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave (GZ)gleanings?
(HA)If thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 (HB)But I have stripped Esau bare;
(HC)I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and (HD)he is no more.
11 (HE)Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
(HF)and let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: (HG)“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, (HH)will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 (HI)For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that (HJ)Bozrah shall become (HK)a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 (HL)I have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
(HM)“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[h]
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you (HN)make your nest as high as the eagle's,
I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 (HO)“Edom shall become a horror. (HP)Everyone who passes by it will be horrified (HQ)and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 (HR)As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their (HS)neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, (HT)no man shall dwell there, (HU)no man shall sojourn in her. 19 (HV)Behold, (HW)like a lion coming up from (HX)the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him[i] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. (HY)For who is like me? (HZ)Who will summon me? (IA)What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against (IB)Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of (IC)Teman: (ID)Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall (IE)the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, (IF)one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against (IG)Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart (IH)of a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus
23 Concerning (II)Damascus:
(IJ)“Hamath and (IK)Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
(IL)they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 (IM)Damascus has become feeble, (IN)she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as (IO)of a woman in labor.
25 How is (IP)the famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 (IQ)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And (IR)I will kindle a fire in the wall of (IS)Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (IT)Ben-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning (IU)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
(IV)“Rise up, advance against (IW)Kedar!
Destroy (IX)the people of the east!
29 (IY)Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their (IZ)curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: (JA)‘Terror on every side!’
30 (JB)Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 (JC)“Rise up, advance against a nation (JD)at ease,
(JE)that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
(JF)that has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 (JG)Their camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
(JH)I will scatter to every wind
(JI)those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become (JJ)a haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
(JK)no man shall dwell there;
(JL)no man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning (JM)Elam, in the beginning of the reign of (JN)Zedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break (JO)the bow of (JP)Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon (JQ)Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of (JR)Elam shall not come. 37 I will (JS)terrify (JT)Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, (JU)my fierce anger, declares the Lord. (JV)I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in (JW)Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days (JX)I will restore the fortunes of (JY)Elam, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Babylon
50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning (JZ)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, (KA)by Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
(KB)‘Babylon is taken,
(KC)Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
(KD)Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For (KE)out of the north a nation has come up against her, (KF)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; (KG)both man and beast shall flee away.
4 (KH)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (KI)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, (KJ)weeping as they come, and they (KK)shall seek the Lord their God. 5 (KL)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, (KM)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an (KN)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 (KO)“My people have been lost sheep. (KP)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, (KQ)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for (KR)they have sinned against the Lord, (KS)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, (KT)the hope of their fathers.’
8 (KU)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, (KV)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon (KW)a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 (KX)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 (KY)“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
(KZ)a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 (LA)Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
(LB)everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
(LC)and hiss because of all her wounds.
14 (LD)Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
(LE)all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
(LF)for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 (LG)Raise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
(LH)her walls are thrown down.
For (LI)this is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
(LJ)do to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
(LK)because of the sword of the oppressor,
(LL)every one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 (LM)“Israel is a hunted sheep (LN)driven away by lions. (LO)First the king of Assyria (LP)devoured him, and now at last (LQ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (LR)has gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, (LS)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, (LT)as I punished the king of Assyria. 19 (LU)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and (LV)he shall feed on (LW)Carmel and in (LX)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in (LY)Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (LZ)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for (MA)I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim,[j]
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.[k]
Kill, (MB)and devote them to destruction,[l]
declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 (MC)The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 (MD)How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
(ME)How Babylon (MF)has become
a horror among the nations!
24 (MG)I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and (MH)you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out (MI)the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
(MJ)pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all (MK)her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
(ML)the time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They (MM)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, (MN)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for (MO)his temple.
29 (MP)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. (MQ)Encamp around her; let no one escape. (MR)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has (MS)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 (MT)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O (MU)proud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
(MV)for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 (MW)The proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
(MX)and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (MY)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; (MZ)they refuse to let them go. 34 (NA)Their Redeemer is strong; (NB)the Lord of hosts is his name. (NC)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against (ND)her officials and her (NE)wise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her (NF)warriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all (NG)the foreign troops in her midst,
that (NH)they may become women!
(NI)A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 (NJ)A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
(NK)For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 (NL)“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,[m] and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 (NM)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, (NN)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 (NO)“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 (NP)“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd (NQ)can stand before me? 45 Therefore hear (NR)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, (NS)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: (NT)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 (NU)At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”
The Utter Destruction of Babylon
51 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up (NV)the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,[n]
2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and (NW)they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
when they come against her from every side
(NX)on the day of trouble.
3 (NY)Let not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
(NZ)devote to destruction[o] all her army.
4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
(OA)and wounded in her streets.
5 (OB)For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
but the land of the Chaldeans[p] is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:15 Hebrew He does not stand
- Jeremiah 47:7 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew you
- Jeremiah 48:5 Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping
- Jeremiah 48:5 Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry
- Jeremiah 48:12 Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their
- Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also verse 3
- Jeremiah 49:4 Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows
- Jeremiah 49:16 Or of Sela
- Jeremiah 49:19 Septuagint, Syriac them
- Jeremiah 50:21 Merathaim means double rebellion
- Jeremiah 50:21 Pekod means punishment
- Jeremiah 50:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 50:39 Hebrew lacks in Babylon
- Jeremiah 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
- Jeremiah 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 51:5 Hebrew their land
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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