Beginning
49 1 The word of the Lord against the Ammonites, 7 Edom, 23 Damascus, 28 Kedar, 34 and Elam.
1 Unto the children of [a]Ammon thus saith the Lord, Hath Israel no sons? or hath he none heir? Why then hath their king [b]possessed Gad? and his people dwelt in [c]his cities?
2 Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause a noise of war to be heard in [d]Rabbah of the Ammonites, and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire: then shall Israel possess those that possessed him, saith the Lord.
3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: cry ye daughters of Rabbah: gird you with sackcloth: mourn and run to and fro by the hedges: for their king shall go into captivity; and his Priests, and his Princes likewise.
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the [e]valleys? thy valley floweth away, O rebellious daughter: she trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
5 Behold, I will bring [f]a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, of all those that be about thee, and ye shall be scattered every man [g]right forth, and none shall gather him that fleeth.
6 And [h]afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon.
7 ¶ To Edom thus saith the Lord of hosts, Is wisdom no more in [i]Teman? is counsel perished from their children? is their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee, ye inhabitants of Dedan ([j]they are turned back, and have consulted to dwell) for I have brought the destruction of Esau upon him, and the time of his visitation.
9 If the [k]grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some grapes? if thieves come by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
10 For I have discovered Esau: I have uncovered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren and his neighbors, and there shall be none to say,
11 Leave thy [l]fatherless children, and I will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me.
12 For thus saith the Lord, [m]Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup, have assuredly drunken, and art thou he that shall escape free? thou shalt not go free, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that [n]Bozrah shall be waste, and for a reproach, and a desolation, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual desolations.
14 I have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather you together, and come against [o]her, and rise up to the battle.
15 For lo, I will make thee but small among the heathen, and despised among men.
16 Thy [p]fear, and the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, and keepest 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 desolate: everyone that goeth by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof,
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and of Gomorrah, and the places thereof near about, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the sons of men remain in it.
19 Behold, [q]he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the strong dwelling place: for I will make Israel to rest, even I will make [r]him to haste away from her, and who is a chosen man that I may appoint against her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is the [s]shepherd that will stand before me?
20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that he hath devised against Edom, and his purpose that he hath conceived, against the inhabitants of Teman: surely the least [t]of the flock shall draw them out: surely [u]he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall: the cry of their voice is heard in the red sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up, and fly as the eagle, [v]and spread his wings over Bozrah, and at that day shall the heart of the strong men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in travail.
23 ¶ Unto [w]Damascus he saith, Hamath is confounded and Arpad, for they have heard evil tidings, and they are faint hearted as one on the fearful sea that can not rest:
24 Damascus is discouraged, and turneth herself to flight, [x]and fear hath seized her: anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in travail.
25 How is the glorious [y]city not reserved, the city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her 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, which shall consume the palaces of [z]Ben-Hadad.
28 Unto [aa]Kedar, and to the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel shall smite, thus saith the Lord, Arise, and go up unto Kedar, and destroy the men of the East.
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: yea, they shall take to themselves their [ab]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 ([ac]they have consulted to dwell) O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord: for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel hath taken counsel against you, and hath devised a purpose against you.
31 [ad]Arise, and get you up unto the wealthy nation that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, but dwell alone.
32 And their camels shall be a bootie, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil, and I will scatter them into all winds, and to the utmost corners, and I will bring their destruction from all the sides thereof, saith the Lord.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and desolation forever: there shall no man dwell there, nor the sons of men remain in it.
34 ¶ The words of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the Prophet, concerning [ae]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 [af]bow of Elam, even the chief of their strength.
36 And upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them towards all these winds, and there shall be no nation, whither the fugitives of Elam shall not come.
37 For I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and before them that seek their lives, and will bring upon them a plague, even the indignation of my wrath, saith the Lord, and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
38 And I will set my [ag]throne in Elam, and I will destroy both the king and the princes from thence, saith the Lord: but [ah]in the latter days I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.
50 He prophesieth the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of Israel which was in captivity.
1 The word that the Lord spake concerning Babel, and concerning the land of the Chaldeans by the [ai]ministry of Jeremiah the Prophet.
2 Declare among the nations, and publish it, and set up a standard, proclaim it and conceal it not: say, [aj]Babel is taken, Bel is confounded, [ak]Merodach is broken down: her idols are confounded, and their images are burst in pieces.
3 For out of the North [al]there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land waste, and none shall dwell therein: they shall flee, and depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall [am]come, they, and the children of Judah together, going, and [an]weeping shall they go, and seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us cleave to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 ¶ My people hath been as lost sheep: their [ao]shepherds have caused them to go astray, and have turned them away to the mountains: they have gone from [ap]mountain to hill, and forgotten their resting place.
7 All that found them have devoured them, and their enemies said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, [aq]the habitation of justice, even the Lord the hope of their fathers.
8 [ar]Flee from the midst of Babel, and depart out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be ye as the he goats [as]before the flock.
9 For lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babel a multitude of mighty nations from the North country, and they shall set themselves in array against her, whereby she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a strong man, which is expert, for none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her, [at]shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because you were glad and rejoiced in destroying mine heritage, and because ye are grown fat, as the calves in the grass, [au]and neighed like strong horses,
12 Therefore your mother shall be sore confounded, and she that bare you shall be ashamed, behold, the uttermost of the nations shall be a desert, a dry land, and a wilderness.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but shall be wholly desolate: everyone that goeth by Babel, shall be astonished, [av]and hiss at all her plagues.
14 [aw]Put yourselves in array against Babel round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath [ax]sinned against the Lord.
15 Cry against her round about: she hath [ay]given her hand: her foundations are fallen, and her walls are destroyed: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her: as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Destroy the [az]sower from Babel, and him that handleth the scythe in the time of harvest: because of the sword of the oppressor they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.
17 Israel is like scattered sheep: the lions have dispersed them: first the king of [ba]Assyria hath devoured him, and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel hath broken his [bb]bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Behold, I will visit the king of Babel, and his land, as I have visited the King of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation: he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and at 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 be merciful unto them whom I reserve.
21 Go up against the land of the [bc]rebels, even against it and against the inhabitants (A)of [bd]Pekod: destroy, and lay it waste after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A cry of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the [be]hammer of the whole world destroyed, and broken! how is Babel become desolate among the nations!
24 I have snared thee, and thou art taken, O Babel, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his treasure, and hath brought forth the weapons of his wrath: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her [bf]from the utmost border: open her storehouses, tread on her as on sheaves, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Destroy all her [bg]bullocks: let them go down to the slaughter. Woe unto them, for their day is come, and the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that [bh]flee, and escape out of the land of Babel to declare in Zion, the vengeance of the Lord our God, and the vengeance of his Temple.
29 Call up the archers against Babel: all ye that bend the bow, besiege it round about: let none thereof escape: (B)recompense her according to her work, and according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, even against the holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be destroyed in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I come unto thee, O proud man, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, even the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the 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, and would not let them go.
34 But their strong redeemer, whose Name is the Lord of hosts, he shall maintain their cause, that he may give rest to the land, [bi]and disquiet the inhabitants of Babel.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babel, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the [bj]soothsayers, and they shall dote: a sword is upon her strong men, and they shall be afraid.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the multitude that are in the midst of her, and they shall be like women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be spoiled.
38 A [bk]drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they dote upon their idols.
39 Therefore the [bl]Ziims with the Iims shall dwell there, and [bm]the ostriches shall dwell therein: for it shall be no more inhabited, neither shall it be inhabited from generation unto generation.
40 As God destroyed (C)Sodom and Gomorrah with the places thereof near about, saith the Lord: so shall no man dwell there, neither shall the son of man remain therein.
41 ¶ Behold, a people shall come from the North, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from [bn]the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the buckler: they are cruel and unmerciful: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, and be put in array like men to the battle against thee, O daughter of Babel.
43 The king of Babel hath heard the report of them, and his hands [bo]waxed feeble: sorrow came upon him, even sorrow as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he (D)shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the strong habitation: for I will make Israel to rest, and I will make them to haste away from her: and who is a chosen man that I may appoint against her? for who is like me, and who will appoint me the time? and who is the [bp]shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath devised against Babel, and his purpose that he hath conceived 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 winning of Babel the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
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