“Then address them: ‘This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! I’m sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—my servant, mind you!—and he’ll set up his throne on these very stones that I’ve had buried here and he’ll spread out his canopy over them. He’ll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. He’ll burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods. He’ll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, he’ll pick Egypt clean. And then he’ll walk away without a hand being laid on him. He’ll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egypt’s House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

The Same Fate Will Fall upon All

The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros: “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what’s left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins, and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about. Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, “Please, please—don’t do this, don’t fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion.” But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one. So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they’re still in ruins and wasted.’

“This is the Message of God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected? And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you’ve come to live? You’ll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.

“‘Have you so soon forgotten the evil lives of your ancestors, the evil lives of the kings of Judah and their wives, to say nothing of your own evil lives, you and your wives, the evil you flaunted in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? And to this day, there’s not a trace of remorse, not a sign of reverence, nobody caring about living by what I tell them or following my instructions that I’ve set out so plainly before you and your parents! So this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies decrees: “‘Watch out! I’ve decided to bring doom on you and get rid of everyone connected with Judah. I’m going to take what’s left of Judah, those who have decided to go to Egypt and live there, and finish them off. In Egypt they will either be killed or starve to death. The same fate will fall upon both the obscure and the important. Regardless of their status, they will either be killed or starve. You’ll end up cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. I’ll give those who are in Egypt the same medicine I gave those in Jerusalem: massacre, starvation, and disease. None of those who managed to get out of Judah alive and get away to Egypt are going to make it back to the Judah for which they’re so homesick. None will make it back, except maybe a few fugitives.’”

Jeremiah kept going, but now zeroed in on the women: “Listen, all you who are from Judah and living in Egypt—please, listen to God’s Word. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You women! You said it and then you did it. You said, “We’re going to keep the vows we made to sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out offerings to her, and nobody’s going to stop us!”’ “Well, go ahead. Keep your vows. Do it up big. But also listen to what God has to say about it, all you who are from Judah but live in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name, backed by everything I am—this is God speaking!—that never again shall my name be used in vows, such as “As sure as the Master, God, lives!” by anyone in the whole country of Egypt. I’ve targeted each one of you for doom. The good is gone for good. “‘All the Judeans in Egypt will die off by massacre or starvation until they’re wiped out. The few who get out of Egypt alive and back to Judah will be very few, hardly worth counting. Then that ragtag bunch that left Judah to live in Egypt will know who had the last word.

“But it’s not your day. It’s the Master’s, me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies— the day when I have it out with my enemies, The day when Sword puts an end to my enemies, when Sword exacts vengeance. I, the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will pile them on an altar—a huge sacrifice!— In the great north country, along the mighty Euphrates.

“Why will your bull-god Apis run off? Because God will drive him off. Your ragtag army will fall to pieces. The word is passing through the ranks, ‘Let’s get out of here while we still can. Let’s head for home and save our skins.’ When they get home they’ll nickname Pharaoh ‘Big-Talk-Bad-Luck.’ As sure as I am the living God” —the King’s Decree, God-of-the-Angel-Armies is his name— “A conqueror is coming: like Tabor, singular among mountains; like Carmel, jutting up from the sea! So pack your bags for exile, you coddled daughters of Egypt, For Memphis will soon be nothing, a vacant lot grown over with weeds.

God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Watch out when I visit doom on the god Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I’ll turn them over to those who are out to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar and his military. Egypt will be set back a thousand years. Eventually people will live there again.” God’s Decree. * * *

Get Out While You Can!

The Message on Moab from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: “Doom to Nebo! Leveled to the ground! Kiriathaim demeaned and defeated, The mighty fortress reduced to a molehill, Moab’s glory—dust and ashes. Conspirators plot Heshbon’s doom: ‘Come, let’s wipe Moab off the map.’ The city of Madmen will be struck mute, as killing follows killing. Listen! A cry out of Horonaim: ‘Disaster—doom and more doom!’ Moab will be shattered. Her cries will be heard clear down in Zoar. Up the ascent of Luhith climbers weep, And down the descent from Horonaim, cries of loss and devastation. Oh, run for your lives! Get out while you can! Survive by your wits in the wild! You trusted in thick walls and big money, yes? But it won’t help you now. Your big god Chemosh will be hauled off, his priests and managers with him. A wrecker will wreck every city. Not a city will survive. The valley fields will be ruined, the plateau pastures destroyed, just as I told you. Cover the land of Moab with salt. Make sure nothing ever grows here again. Her towns will all be ghost towns. Nobody will ever live here again. Sloppy work in God’s name is cursed, and cursed all halfhearted use of the sword.

“Moab has always taken it easy— lazy as a dog in the sun, Never had to work for a living, never faced any trouble, Never had to grow up, never once worked up a sweat. But those days are a thing of the past. I’ll put him to work at hard labor. That will wake him up to the world of hard knocks. That will smash his illusions. Moab will be as ashamed of god Chemosh as Israel was ashamed of her Bethel calf-gods, the calf-gods she thought were so great. For how long do you think you’ll be saying, ‘We’re tough. We can beat anyone anywhere’? The destruction of Moab has already begun. Her choice young soldiers are lying dead right now.” The King’s Decree— his full name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. “Yes. Moab’s doom is on countdown, disaster targeted and launched. Weep for Moab, friends and neighbors, all who know how famous he’s been. Lament, ‘His mighty scepter snapped in two like a toothpick, that magnificent royal staff!’

You’re a Broken-Down Has-Been

God’s Message on the Ammonites: “Doesn’t Israel have any children, no one to step into her inheritance? So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad’s land, his followers moving into its towns? But not for long! The time’s coming” —God’s Decree— “When I’ll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon’s big city, with battle cries. She’ll end up a pile of rubble, all her towns burned to the ground. Then Israel will kick out the invaders. I, God, say so, and it will be so. Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins. Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands! Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears. Go into hysterics, run around in circles! Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile, and all his priests and managers right with him. Why do you brag of your once-famous strength? You’re a broken-down has-been, a castoff Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days and vainly thinks, ‘No one can lay a hand on me.’ Well, think again. I’ll face you with terror from all sides.” Word of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. “You’ll be stampeded headlong, with no one to round up the runaways. Still, the time will come when I will make things right with Ammon.” God’s Decree.

Strutting Across the Stage of History

The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom: “Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman? no one with a sense of reality? Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten? Run for your lives! Get out while you can! Find a good place to hide, you who live in Dedan! I’m bringing doom to Esau. It’s time to settle accounts. When harvesters work your fields, don’t they leave gleanings? When burglars break into your house, don’t they take only what they want? But I’ll strip Esau clean. I’ll search out every nook and cranny. I’ll destroy everything connected with him, children and relatives and neighbors. There’ll be no one left who will be able to say, ‘I’ll take care of your orphans. Your widows can depend on me.’”

The Blood Will Drain from the Face of Damascus

The Message on Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad will be in shock when they hear the bad news. Their hearts will melt in fear as they pace back and forth in worry. The blood will drain from the face of Damascus as she turns to flee. Hysterical, she’ll fall to pieces, disabled, like a woman in childbirth. And now how lonely—bereft, abandoned! The once famous city, the once happy city. Her bright young men dead in the streets, her brave warriors silent as death. On that day”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies— “I’ll start a fire at the wall of Damascus that will burn down all of Ben-hadad’s forts.”

The Winds Will Blow Away Elam

God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah on Elam at the outset of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: “Watch this! I’ll break Elam’s bow, her weapon of choice, across my knee. Then I’ll let four winds loose on Elam, winds from the four corners of earth. I’ll blow them away in all directions, landing homeless Elamites in every country on earth. They’ll live in constant fear and terror among enemies who want to kill them. I’ll bring doom on them, my anger-fueled doom. I’ll set murderous hounds on their heels until there’s nothing left of them. And then I’ll set up my throne in Elam, having thrown out the king and his henchmen. But the time will come when I make everything right for Elam again.” God’s Decree.

And now this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, has to say: “Just watch! I’m bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land, the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria. But Israel I’ll bring home to good pastures. He’ll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan, On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead. He will eat to his heart’s content. In those days and at that time”—God’s Decree— “they’ll look high and low for a sign of Israel’s guilt—nothing; Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah’s sin—nothing. These people that I’ve saved will start out with a clean slate. * * *

“I, God, opened my arsenal. I brought out my weapons of wrath. The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, has a job to do in Babylon. Come at her from all sides! Break into her granaries! Shovel her into piles and burn her up. Leave nothing! Leave no one! Kill all her young turks. Send them to their doom! Doom to them! Yes, Doomsday! The clock has finally run out on them. And here’s a surprise: Runaways and escapees from Babylon Show up in Zion reporting the news of God’s vengeance, taking vengeance for my own Temple.

“Do you get it, Mister Pride? I’m your enemy!” Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. “Time’s run out on you: That’s right: It’s Doomsday. Mister Pride will fall flat on his face. No one will offer him a hand. I’ll set his towns on fire. The fire will spread wild through the country.” * * *

And here’s more from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people of Israel are beaten down, the people of Judah along with them. Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel. They won’t let go. But the Rescuer is strong: God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Yes, I will take their side, I’ll come to their rescue. I’ll soothe their land, but rough up the people of Babylon.

Hurricane Persia

There’s more. God says more: “Watch this: I’m whipping up A death-dealing hurricane against Babylon—‘Hurricane Persia’— against all who live in that perverse land. I’m sending a cleanup crew into Babylon. They’ll clean the place out from top to bottom. When they get through there’ll be nothing left of her worth taking or talking about. They won’t miss a thing. A total and final Doomsday! Fighters will fight with everything they’ve got. It’s no-holds-barred. They will spare nothing and no one. It’s final and wholesale destruction—the end! Babylon littered with the wounded, streets piled with corpses. It turns out that Israel and Judah are not widowed after all. As their God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, I am still alive and well, committed to them even though They filled their land with sin against Israel’s most Holy God.

God-of-the-Angel-Armies has solemnly sworn: “I’ll fill this place with soldiers. They’ll swarm through here like locusts chanting victory songs over you.” * * *

By his power he made earth. His wisdom gave shape to the world. He crafted the cosmos. He thunders and rain pours down. He sends the clouds soaring. He embellishes the storm with lightnings, launches the wind from his warehouse. Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish! god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods! Their gods are frauds, dead sticks— deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. They’re nothing but stale smoke. When the smoke clears, they’re gone. But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing; he put the whole universe together, With special attention to Israel. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

“The very land trembles in terror, writhes in pain, terrorized by my plans against Babylon, Plans to turn the country of Babylon into a lifeless moonscape—a wasteland. Babylon’s soldiers have quit fighting. They hide out in ruins and caves— Cowards who’ve given up without a fight, exposed as cowering crybabies. Babylon’s houses are going up in flames, the city gates torn off their hinges. Runner after runner comes racing in, each on the heels of the last, Bringing reports to the king of Babylon that his city is a lost cause. The fords of the rivers are all taken. Wildfire rages through the swamp grass. Soldiers desert left and right. I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, said it would happen: ‘Daughter Babylon is a threshing floor at threshing time. Soon, oh very soon, her harvest will come and then the chaff will fly!’ * * *

“Babylon is finished— the pride of the whole earth is flat on her face. What a comedown for Babylon, to end up inglorious in the sewer! Babylon drowned in chaos, battered by waves of enemy soldiers. Her towns stink with decay and rot, the land empty and bare and sterile. No one lives in these towns anymore. Travelers give them a wide berth. I’ll bring doom on the glutton god-Bel in Babylon. I’ll make him vomit up all he gulped down. No more visitors stream into this place, admiring and gawking at the wonders of Babylon. The wonders of Babylon are no more. Run for your lives, my dear people! Run, and don’t look back! Get out of this place while you can, this place torched by God’s raging anger. Don’t lose hope. Don’t ever give up when the rumors pour in hot and heavy. One year it’s this, the next year it’s that— rumors of violence, rumors of war. Trust me, the time is coming when I’ll put the no-gods of Babylon in their place. I’ll show up the whole country as a sickening fraud, with dead bodies strewn all over the place. Heaven and earth, angels and people, will throw a victory party over Babylon When the avenging armies from the north descend on her.” God’s Decree!

“I’ll get them drunk, the whole lot of them— princes, sages, governors, soldiers. Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep and sleep . . .  and never wake up.” The King’s Decree. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: “The city walls of Babylon—those massive walls!— will be flattened. And those city gates—huge gates!— will be set on fire. The harder you work at this empty life, the less you are. Nothing comes of ambition like this but ashes.” * * *