Jeremiah 46-52

English Standard Version

Judgment on Egypt

46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^(A)concerning the nations.

²About Egypt. ^(B)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 ^(C)the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³^(D)“Prepare buckler and shield,
    and advance for battle!
⁴^(E)Harness the horses;
    mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
    ^(F)polish your spears,
    put on your armor!
⁵Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
    and have turned backward.
Their ^(G)warriors are beaten down
    and have fled in haste;
^(H)they look not back—
    ^(I)terror on every side!
declares the Lord.

⁶“The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
^(J)in the north by the river Euphrates
^(K)they have stumbled and fallen.

⁷“Who is this, ^(L)rising like the Nile,
    like rivers ^(M)whose waters surge?
⁸Egypt rises like the Nile,
    like rivers ^(N)whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
    I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
⁹^(O)Advance, O horses,
    and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
    men of Cush and ^(P)Put who handle the shield,
    ^(Q)men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
¹⁰^(R)That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
    ^(S)a day of vengeance,
    ^(T)to avenge himself on his foes.
^(U)The sword shall devour and be sated
    and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ^(V)a sacrifice
    ^(W)in the north country ^(X)by the river Euphrates.
¹¹^(Y)Go up to Gilead, and take ^(Z)balm,
    O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
    ^(AA)there is no healing for you.
¹²The nations have heard of your shame,
    and the earth is full of your cry;
^(AB)for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
    they have both fallen together.”

¹³The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^(AC)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^(AD)Migdol;
    proclaim in ^(AE)Memphis and ^(AF)Tahpanhes;
say, ^(AG)‘Stand ready and be prepared,
    for ^(AH)the sword shall devour around you.’
¹⁵Why are your mighty ones face down?
    They do not stand^[a]
    because the Lord thrust them down.
¹⁶He made many stumble, ^(AI)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,
    ^(AJ)because of the sword of the oppressor.’
¹⁷Call the name of ^(AK)Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

¹⁸^(AL)“As I live, declares the King,
    ^(AM)whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^(AN)Tabor among the mountains
    and like ^(AO)Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
¹⁹^(AP)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
    O ^(AQ)inhabitants of Egypt!
For ^(AR)Memphis shall become a waste,
    a ruin, ^(AS)without inhabitant.

²⁰“A beautiful ^(AT)heifer is Egypt,
    but a biting fly ^(AU)from the north has come upon her.
²¹Even her hired soldiers in her midst
    are like ^(AV)fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
    they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    ^(AW)the time of their punishment.

²²“She makes ^(AX)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
    ^(AY)like those who fell trees.
²³^(AZ)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
    though it is impenetrable,
because ^(BA)they are more numerous than locusts;
    they are without number.
²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
    she shall be delivered into the hand of ^(BB)a people from the north.”

²⁵The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^(BC)Amon of ^(BD)Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^(BE)and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ²⁶^(BF)I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^(BG)Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^(BH)as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

²⁷^(BI)“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^(BJ)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.
^(BK)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 ^(BL)concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down ^(BM)Gaza.

²“Thus says the Lord:
^(BN)Behold, waters are rising ^(BO)out of the north,
    ^(BP)and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow ^(BQ)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.
³At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
    ^(BR)at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers ^(BS)look not back to their children,
    so feeble are their hands,
⁴because of the day that is coming to destroy
    all ^(BT)the Philistines,
to cut off from ^(BU)Tyre and Sidon
    every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
    ^(BV)the remnant of the coastland of ^(BW)Caphtor.
⁵^(BX)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
    ^(BY)Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
    ^(BZ)how long will you gash yourselves?
⁶^(CA)Ah, sword of the Lord!
    How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
    rest and be still!
⁷How can it^[b] be quiet
    ^(CB)when the Lord has given it a charge?
Against ^(CC)Ashkelon and against the seashore
    ^(CD)he has appointed it.”

Judgment on Moab

48 ^(CE)Concerning Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to ^(CF)Nebo, for it is laid waste!
    ^(CG)Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame ^(CH)and broken down;
²    the renown of Moab is no more.
In ^(CI)Heshbon they planned disaster against her:
    ‘Come, let us cut her off ^(CJ)from being a nation!’
You also, O ^(CK)Madmen, shall be brought to silence;
    the sword shall pursue you.

³“A voice! A cry from ^(CL)Horonaim,
    ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
⁴Moab is destroyed;
    her little ones have made a cry.
⁵^(CM)For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;^[c]
for ^(CN)at the descent of Horonaim
    they have heard the distressed cry^[d] of destruction.
⁶Flee! Save yourselves!
    You will be like ^(CO)a juniper in the desert!
⁷For, ^(CP)because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
    you also shall be taken;
and ^(CQ)Chemosh ^(CR)shall go into exile
    with ^(CS)his priests and his officials.
⁸^(CT)The destroyer shall come upon every city,
    and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
    and ^(CU)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^(CV)“Cursed is he who does ^(CW)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 ^(CX)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. ¹³Then ^(CY)Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as ^(CZ)the house of Israel was ashamed of ^(DA)Bethel, their confidence.

¹⁴“How do you say, ‘We are heroes
    and mighty men of war’?
¹⁵The destroyer of ^(DB)Moab and his cities has come up,
    and the choicest of his young men have ^(DC)gone down to slaughter,
    declares ^(DD)the King, ^(DE)whose name is the Lord of hosts.
¹⁶The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
    and his affliction hastens swiftly.
¹⁷^(DF)Grieve for him, all you who are around him,
    and all who know his name;
say, ^(DG)‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
    the glorious staff.’

¹⁸^(DH)“Come down from your glory,
    and sit on the parched ground,
    O inhabitant of ^(DI)Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
    he has destroyed your strongholds.
¹⁹^(DJ)Stand by the way ^(DK)and watch,
    O inhabitant of ^(DL)Aroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
    say, ‘What has happened?’
²⁰Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
    ^(DM)wail and cry!
Tell it beside ^(DN)the Arnon,
    that ^(DO)Moab is laid waste.

²¹“Judgment has come upon ^(DP)the tableland, upon Holon, and ^(DQ)Jahzah, and Mephaath, ²²and ^(DR)Dibon, and ^(DS)Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, ²³and ^(DT)Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and ^(DU)Beth-meon, ²⁴and ^(DV)Kerioth, and ^(DW)Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. ²⁵^(DX)The horn of Moab is cut off, and ^(DY)his arm is broken, declares the Lord.

²⁶^(DZ)“Make him drunk, ^(EA)because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall ^(EB)wallow in his vomit, ^(EC)and he too shall be held in derision. ²⁷^(ED)Was not Israel a derision to you? ^(EE)Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him ^(EF)you wagged your head?

²⁸^(EG)“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
    O inhabitants of Moab!
Be ^(EH)like the dove that nests
    in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
²⁹^(EI)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.
³⁰I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
    ^(EJ)his boasts are false,
    his deeds are false.
³¹^(EK)Therefore I wail for Moab;
    I cry out for all Moab;
    for the men of ^(EL)Kir-hareseth I mourn.
³²More than for ^(EM)Jazer I weep for you,
    ^(EN)O vine of ^(EO)Sibmah!
^(EP)Your branches passed over the sea,
    reached to the Sea of ^(EQ)Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
    the destroyer has fallen.
³³^(ER)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^(ES)“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to ^(ET)Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. ³⁵And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in ^(EU)the high place and makes offerings to his god. ³⁶Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of ^(EV)Kir-hareseth. ^(EW)Therefore the riches they gained have perished.

³⁷^(EX)“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. ^(EY)On all the hands are gashes, and ^(EZ)around the waist is sackcloth. ³⁸On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like ^(FA)a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. ³⁹How it is broken! How they wail! ^(FB)How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab ^(FC)has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”

⁴⁰For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, ^(FD)one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
    ^(FE)and spread his wings against Moab;
⁴¹^(FF)the cities shall be taken
    and the strongholds seized.
^(FG)The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
    like the heart of ^(FH)a woman in her birth pains;
⁴²Moab shall be ^(FI)destroyed and be no longer a people,
    because ^(FJ)he magnified himself against the Lord.
⁴³^(FK)Terror, pit, and snare
    are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!
declares the Lord.
⁴⁴He who flees from the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
^(FL)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 ^(FM)the forehead of Moab,
    the crown of ^(FN)the sons of tumult.
⁴⁶^(FO)Woe to you, O Moab!
    The people of ^(FP)Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
    and your daughters into captivity.
⁴⁷^(FQ)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 ^(FR)Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
Why then has ^(FS)Milcom^[f] ^(FT)dispossessed Gad,
    and his people settled in its cities?
²Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
    declares the Lord,
when I will cause ^(FU)the battle cry to be heard
    against ^(FV)Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate ^(FW)mound,
    and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
    says the Lord.

³“Wail, O ^(FX)Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters of ^(FY)Rabbah!
^(FZ)Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^(GA)Milcom shall go into exile,
    ^(GB)with his priests and his officials.
⁴Why do you boast of your valleys,^[g]
    ^(GC)O faithless daughter,
^(GD)who trusted in her treasures, saying,
    ‘Who will come against me?’
⁵Behold, ^(GE)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 ^(GF)afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”

Judgment on Edom

⁷Concerning ^(GG)Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(GH)“Is wisdom no more in ^(GI)Teman?
    ^(GJ)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    ^(GK)Has their wisdom vanished?
⁸^(GL)Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of ^(GM)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    ^(GN)the time when I punish him.
⁹^(GO)If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave ^(GP)gleanings?
^(GQ)If thieves came by night,
    would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
¹⁰^(GR)But I have stripped Esau bare;
    ^(GS)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 ^(GT)he is no more.
¹¹^(GU)Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
    ^(GV)and let your widows trust in me.”

¹²For thus says the Lord: ^(GW)“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ^(GX)will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. ¹³^(GY)For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that ^(GZ)Bozrah shall become ^(HA)a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

¹⁴^(HB)I have heard a message from the Lord,
    and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
^(HC)“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
    and rise up for battle!
¹⁵For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
    despised among mankind.
¹⁶The 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 ^(HD)make your nest as high as the eagle's,
    I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.

¹⁷^(HE)“Edom shall become a horror. ^(HF)Everyone who passes by it will be horrified ^(HG)and will hiss because of all its disasters. ¹⁸^(HH)As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^(HI)neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^(HJ)no man shall dwell there, ^(HK)no man shall sojourn in her. ¹⁹^(HL)Behold, ^(HM)like a lion coming up from ^(HN)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. ^(HO)For who is like me? ^(HP)Who will summon me? ^(HQ)What shepherd can stand before me? ²⁰Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^(HR)Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^(HS)Teman: ^(HT)Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ²¹At the sound of their fall ^(HU)the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. ²²Behold, ^(HV)one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^(HW)Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^(HX)of a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

²³Concerning ^(HY)Damascus:

^(HZ)“Hamath and ^(IA)Arpad are confounded,
    for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
    ^(IB)they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
²⁴^(IC)Damascus has become feeble, ^(ID)she turned to flee,
    and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
    as ^(IE)of a woman in labor.
²⁵How is ^(IF)the famous city not forsaken,
    the city of my joy?
²⁶^(IG)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
    and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
²⁷And ^(IH)I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^(II)Damascus,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of ^(IJ)Ben-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

²⁸Concerning ^(IK)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

Thus says the Lord:
^(IL)“Rise up, advance against ^(IM)Kedar!
    Destroy ^(IN)the people of the east!
²⁹^(IO)Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
    their ^(IP)curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
    and men shall cry to them: ^(IQ)‘Terror on every side!’
³⁰^(IR)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^(IS)“Rise up, advance against a nation ^(IT)at ease,
    ^(IU)that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
^(IV)that has no gates or bars,
    that dwells alone.
³²^(IW)Their camels shall become plunder,
    their herds of livestock a spoil.
^(IX)I will scatter to every wind
    ^(IY)those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
    from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
³³Hazor shall become ^(IZ)a haunt of jackals,
    an everlasting waste;
^(JA)no man shall dwell there;
    ^(JB)no man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

³⁴The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning ^(JC)Elam, in the beginning of the reign of ^(JD)Zedekiah king of Judah.

³⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break ^(JE)the bow of ^(JF)Elam, the mainstay of their might. ³⁶And I will bring upon ^(JG)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 ^(JH)Elam shall not come. ³⁷I will ^(JI)terrify ^(JJ)Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, ^(JK)my fierce anger, declares the Lord. ^(JL)I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, ³⁸and I will set my throne in ^(JM)Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

³⁹“But in the latter days ^(JN)I will restore the fortunes of ^(JO)Elam, declares the Lord.”

Judgment on Babylon

50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^(JP)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^(JQ)by Jeremiah the prophet:

²“Declare among the nations and proclaim,
    set up a banner and proclaim,
    conceal it not, and say:
^(JR)‘Babylon is taken,
    ^(JS)Bel is put to shame,
    Merodach is dismayed.
^(JT)Her images are put to shame,
    her idols are dismayed.’

³“For ^(JU)out of the north a nation has come up against her, ^(JV)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^(JW)both man and beast shall flee away.

⁴^(JX)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(JY)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^(JZ)weeping as they come, and they ^(KA)shall seek the Lord their God. ⁵^(KB)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^(KC)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^(KD)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

⁶^(KE)“My people have been lost sheep. ^(KF)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. ⁷All who found them have devoured them, ^(KG)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^(KH)they have sinned against the Lord, ^(KI)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^(KJ)the hope of their fathers.’

⁸^(KK)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^(KL)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. ⁹For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^(KM)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^(KN)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

¹¹^(KO)“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
    O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
    and neigh like stallions,
¹²your mother shall be utterly shamed,
    and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
    ^(KP)a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
¹³^(KQ)Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
    but shall be an utter desolation;
^(KR)everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
    ^(KS)and hiss because of all her wounds.
¹⁴^(KT)Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
    ^(KU)all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
    ^(KV)for she has sinned against the Lord.
¹⁵^(KW)Raise a shout against her all around;
    she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
    ^(KX)her walls are thrown down.
For ^(KY)this is the vengeance of the Lord:
    take vengeance on her;
    ^(KZ)do to her as she has done.
¹⁶Cut off from Babylon the sower,
    and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^(LA)because of the sword of the oppressor,
    ^(LB)every one shall turn to his own people,
    and every one shall flee to his own land.

¹⁷^(LC)“Israel is a hunted sheep ^(LD)driven away by lions. ^(LE)First the king of Assyria ^(LF)devoured him, and now at last ^(LG)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(LH)has gnawed his bones. ¹⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^(LI)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^(LJ)as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹^(LK)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^(LL)he shall feed on ^(LM)Carmel and in ^(LN)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^(LO)Gilead. ²⁰In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(LP)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^(LQ)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, ^(LR)and devote them to destruction,^[l]
declares the Lord,
    and do all that I have commanded you.
²²^(LS)The noise of battle is in the land,
    and great destruction!
²³^(LT)How the hammer of the whole earth
    is cut down and broken!
^(LU)How Babylon ^(LV)has become
    a horror among the nations!
²⁴^(LW)I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
    and ^(LX)you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
    because you opposed the Lord.
²⁵The Lord has opened his armory
    and brought out ^(LY)the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
    in the land of the Chaldeans.
²⁶Come against her from every quarter;
    open her granaries;
^(LZ)pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
    let nothing be left of her.
²⁷Kill all ^(MA)her bulls;
    let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
    ^(MB)the time of their punishment.

²⁸“A voice! They ^(MC)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^(MD)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^(ME)his temple.

²⁹^(MF)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^(MG)Encamp around her; let no one escape. ^(MH)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^(MI)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ³⁰^(MJ)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 ^(MK)proud one,
    declares the Lord God of hosts,
^(ML)for your day has come,
    the time when I will punish you.
³²^(MM)The proud one shall stumble and fall,
    with none to raise him up,
^(MN)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: ^(MO)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^(MP)they refuse to let them go. ³⁴^(MQ)Their Redeemer is strong; ^(MR)the Lord of hosts is his name. ^(MS)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 ^(MT)her officials and her ^(MU)wise men!
³⁶A sword against the diviners,
    that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^(MV)warriors,
    that they may be destroyed!
³⁷A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
    and against all ^(MW)the foreign troops in her midst,
    that ^(MX)they may become women!
^(MY)A sword against all her treasures,
    that they may be plundered!
³⁸^(MZ)A drought against her waters,
    that they may be dried up!
^(NA)For it is a land of images,
    and they are mad over idols.

³⁹^(NB)“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^(NC)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^(ND)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

⁴¹^(NE)“Behold, a people comes from the north;
    a mighty nation and many kings
    are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
⁴²They 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^(NF)“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 ^(NG)can stand before me? ⁴⁵Therefore hear ^(NH)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^(NI)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^(NJ)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ⁴⁶^(NK)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 ^(NL)the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon,
    against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,^[n]
²and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
    and ^(NM)they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
    when they come against her from every side
    ^(NN)on the day of trouble.
³^(NO)Let not the archer bend his bow,
    and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
    ^(NP)devote to destruction^[o] all her army.
⁴They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
    ^(NQ)and wounded in her streets.
⁵^(NR)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.

⁶^(NS)“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
    let every one save his life!
^(NT)Be not cut off in her punishment,
    ^(NU)for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance,
    the repayment he is rendering her.
⁷Babylon was ^(NV)a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
    ^(NW)making all the earth drunken;
^(NX)the nations drank of her wine;
    therefore the nations went mad.
⁸^(NY)Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
    ^(NZ)wail for her!
^(OA)Take balm for her pain;
    perhaps she may be healed.
⁹We would have healed Babylon,
    but she was not healed.
^(OB)Forsake her, and ^(OC)let us go
    each to his own country,
for ^(OD)her judgment has reached up to heaven
    and has been lifted up even to the skies.
¹⁰^(OE)The Lord has brought about our vindication;
    ^(OF)come, let us declare in Zion
    the work of the Lord our God.

¹¹^(OG)“Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!

^(OH)The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of ^(OI)the Medes, because ^(OJ)his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, ^(OK)for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for ^(OL)his temple.

¹²^(OM)“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
    ^(ON)make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
    prepare the ambushes;
^(OO)for the Lord has both planned and done
    what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
¹³^(OP)O you who dwell by many waters,
    rich in treasures,
your end has come;
    the thread of your life is cut.
¹⁴^(OQ)The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, ^(OR)as many as locusts,
    ^(OS)and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

¹⁵^(OT)“It is he who made the earth by his power,
    who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
¹⁶When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
¹⁷Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
    and there is no breath in them.
¹⁸They are worthless, a work of delusion;
    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
¹⁹Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
    for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
    the Lord of hosts is his name.

²⁰“You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I ^(OU)break nations in pieces;
    with you I destroy kingdoms;
²¹with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
    with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
²²with you I break in pieces man and woman;
    with you I break in pieces ^(OV)the old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces ^(OW)the young man and the young woman;
²³    with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
    with you I break in pieces ^(OX)governors and commanders.

²⁴^(OY)“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.

²⁵“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
declares the Lord,
    which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
    and roll you down from the crags,
    ^(OZ)and make you a burnt mountain.
²⁶No ^(PA)stone shall be taken from you for a corner
    and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be ^(PB)a perpetual waste,
    declares the Lord.

²⁷^(PC)“Set up a standard on the earth;
    ^(PD)blow the trumpet among the nations;
^(PE)prepare ^(PF)the nations for war against her;
    summon against her ^(PG)the kingdoms,
    ^(PH)Ararat, Minni, and ^(PI)Ashkenaz;
appoint a ^(PJ)marshal against her;
    ^(PK)bring up horses like bristling locusts.
²⁸^(PL)Prepare ^(PM)the nations for war against her,
    the kings of ^(PN)the Medes, ^(PO)with their governors ^(PP)and deputies,
    and every ^(PQ)land under their dominion.
²⁹^(PR)The land trembles and writhes in pain,
    ^(PS)for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
    without inhabitant.
³⁰The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed;
    ^(PT)they have become women;
^(PU)her dwellings are on fire;
    ^(PV)her bars are broken.
³¹One ^(PW)runner runs to meet another,
    and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
    that his city is taken on every side;
³²the fords have been ^(PX)seized,
    the marshes are burned with fire,
    and the soldiers are in panic.
³³For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
^(PY)The daughter of Babylon is like ^(PZ)a threshing floor
    at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
    and ^(QA)the time of her harvest will come.”

³⁴“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon ^(QB)has devoured me;
    he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
    ^(QC)he has swallowed me like ^(QD)a monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
    he has rinsed me out.^[q]
³⁵The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
    let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
    let Jerusalem say.
³⁶Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, ^(QE)I will plead your cause
    and take vengeance for you.
^(QF)I will dry up her sea
    and ^(QG)make her fountain dry,
³⁷and Babylon shall become ^(QH)a heap of ruins,
    ^(QI)the haunt of jackals,
^(QJ)a horror ^(QK)and a hissing,
    without inhabitant.

³⁸^(QL)“They shall roar together ^(QM)like lions;
    they shall growl like lions' cubs.
³⁹^(QN)While they are inflamed ^(QO)I will prepare them a feast
    and ^(QP)make them drunk, that they may become merry,
^(QQ)then sleep a perpetual sleep
    and not wake, declares the Lord.
⁴⁰I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and male goats.

⁴¹“How ^(QR)Babylon^[r] is taken,
    ^(QS)the praise of the whole earth ^(QT)seized!
How Babylon has become
    a horror among the nations!
⁴²^(QU)The sea has come up on Babylon;
    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
⁴³Her cities have become a horror,
    ^(QV)a land of drought and a desert,
^(QW)a land in which no one dwells,
    and through which no son of man passes.
⁴⁴And I will punish ^(QX)Bel in Babylon,
    and ^(QY)take out of his mouth ^(QZ)what he has swallowed.
^(RA)The nations shall no longer flow to him;
    ^(RB)the wall of Babylon has fallen.

⁴⁵“Go out of the midst of her, ^(RC)my people!
    Let every one save his life
    from ^(RD)the fierce anger of the Lord!
⁴⁶Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
    ^(RE)at the report heard in the land,
^(RF)when a report comes in one year
    and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
    ^(RG)and ruler is against ruler.

⁴⁷“Therefore, behold, the days are coming
    when ^(RH)I will punish the images of Babylon;
^(RI)her whole land shall be put to shame,
    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
⁴⁸^(RJ)Then the heavens and the earth,
    and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
    ^(RK)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
⁴⁹Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
    ^(RL)just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.

⁵⁰^(RM)“You who have escaped from the sword,
    go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
⁵¹^(RN)‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
    ^(RO)dishonor has covered our face,
^(RP)for foreigners have come
    into the holy places of the Lord's house.’

⁵²“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when ^(RQ)I will execute judgment upon her images,
^(RR)and through all her land
    the wounded shall groan.
⁵³Though Babylon should ^(RS)mount up to heaven,
    and though she should ^(RT)fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
    declares the Lord.

⁵⁴^(RU)“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
⁵⁵For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
    and stilling her mighty voice.
^(RV)Their waves roar like many waters;
    the noise of their voice is raised,
⁵⁶for a destroyer has come upon her,
    upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
    their bows are broken in pieces,
^(RW)for the Lord is a God of recompense;
    he will surely repay.
⁵⁷^(RX)I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
    ^(RY)her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
    declares ^(RZ)the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

⁵⁸“Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad ^(SA)wall of Babylon
    shall be leveled to the ground,
^(SB)and her high gates
    shall be burned with fire.
^(SC)The peoples labor for nothing,
    and ^(SD)the nations weary themselves only for fire.”

⁵⁹The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah ^(SE)the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, ^(SF)in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. ⁶⁰^(SG)Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, ^(SH)all these words that are written concerning Babylon. ⁶¹And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, ⁶²and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so ^(SI)that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be ^(SJ)desolate forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this book, ^(SK)^(SL)tie a stone to it ^(SM)and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴and say, ^(SN)‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, ^(SO)and they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

52 ^(SP)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ²And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(SQ)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ³For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. ⁴^(SR)And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. ⁵So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁸But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. ¹⁰The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at ^(SS)Riblah. ¹¹^(ST)He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison ^(SU)till the day of his death.

The Temple Burned

¹²^(SV)In the fifth month, on ^(SW)the tenth day of the month—that was ^(SX)the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who ^(SY)served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁴And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and ^(SZ)the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹⁷And the ^(TA)pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the ^(TB)bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ^(TC)carried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸And they took away ^(TD)the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; ¹⁹^(TE)also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and ^(TF)the lampstands and ^(TG)the dishes for incense ^(TH)and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.

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
Jeremiah 51:34 Or he has expelled me
Jeremiah 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon

Jeremiah 46-52

New International Version

A Message About Egypt

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

²Concerning 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:

³“Prepare your shields,^(G) both large and small,
    and march out for battle!
⁴Harness the horses,
    mount the steeds!
Take your positions
    with helmets on!
Polish^(H) your spears,
    put on your armor!^(I)
⁵What 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.
⁶“The swift cannot flee^(L)
    nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates^(M)
    they stumble and fall.^(N)

⁷“Who is this that rises like the Nile,
    like rivers of surging waters?^(O)
⁸Egypt 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)
⁹Charge, 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.
¹⁰But 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.
¹²The nations will hear of your shame;
    your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
    both will fall^(AD) down together.”

¹³This 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.’
¹⁵Why will your warriors be laid low?
    They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.^(AJ)
¹⁶They 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)
¹⁷There 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.
¹⁹Pack 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)
²¹The 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.
²²Egypt 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)
²³They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
    “dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,^(BD)
    they cannot be counted.
²⁴Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
    given into the hands of the people of the north.^(BE)”

²⁵The 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. ²⁶I 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.
²⁸Do 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)

²This 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)
³at 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)
⁴For 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)
⁵Gaza will shave^(CC) her head in mourning;
    Ashkelon^(CD) will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
    how long will you cut^(CE) yourselves?

⁶“‘Alas, sword^(CF) of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’^(CG)
⁷But 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.
²Moab 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.
³Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,^(CP)
    cries of great havoc and destruction.
⁴Moab will be broken;
    her little ones will cry out.^[f]
⁵They 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.
⁶Flee!^(CS) Run for your lives;
    become like a bush^[g] in the desert.^(CT)
⁷Since 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)
⁸The 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.
⁹Put 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.
¹²But 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.
¹³Then 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’?
¹⁵Moab 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.
¹⁷Mourn 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)
¹⁹Stand by the road and watch,
    you who live in Aroer.^(DU)
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
    ask them, ‘What has happened?’
²⁰Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
    Wail^(DV) and cry out!
Announce by the Arnon^(DW)
    that Moab is destroyed.
²¹Judgment 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.
²⁵Moab’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)
²⁷Was 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?
²⁸Abandon 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.
³⁰I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
    “and her boasts^(EW) accomplish nothing.
³¹Therefore I wail^(EX) over Moab,
    for all Moab I cry out,
    I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.^(EY)
³²I 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.
³³Joy 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)
³⁵In 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.
³⁷Every head is shaved^(FO)
    and every beard^(FP) cut off;
every hand is slashed
    and every waist is covered with sackcloth.^(FQ)
³⁸On 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.”

⁴⁰This is what the Lord says:

“Look! An eagle is swooping^(FV) down,
    spreading its wings^(FW) over Moab.
⁴¹Kerioth^[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)
⁴²Moab will be destroyed^(GA) as a nation^(GB)
    because she defied^(GC) the Lord.
⁴³Terror^(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.
⁴⁶Woe 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?
²But 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.
³“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.
⁴Why 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)
⁵I 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)

⁶“Yet afterward, I will restore^(HB) the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.

A Message About Edom^(HC)^(HD)

⁷Concerning 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?
⁸Turn 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.
⁹If 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?
¹⁰But 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.’”

¹²This 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. ¹³I 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)

¹⁴I 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.
¹⁶The 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)
¹⁸As 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?”

²⁰Therefore, 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)
²¹At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;^(IL)
    their cry^(IM) will resound to the Red Sea.^[o]
²²Look! 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

²³Concerning 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)
²⁴Damascus 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)
²⁵Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
    the town in which I delight?
²⁶Surely, 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

²⁸Concerning 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)
²⁹Their 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.
³²Their 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

³⁴This 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:

³⁵This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow^(JW) of Elam,
    the mainstay of their might.
³⁶I 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.
³⁷I 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.
³⁸I 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]:

²“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.’
³A 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.

⁴“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.
⁵They 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.

⁶“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)
⁷Whoever 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.’

⁸“Flee^(LC) out of Babylon;^(LD)
    leave the land of the Babylonians,
    and be like the goats that lead the flock.
⁹For 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.
¹⁰So 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,
¹²your 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)
¹³Because 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.
¹⁵Shout^(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)
¹⁶Cut 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.”

¹⁸Therefore 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)
¹⁹But 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)
²⁰In 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.
²²The noise^(MU) of battle is in the land,
    the noise of great destruction!
²³How broken and shattered
    is the hammer^(MV) of the whole earth!^(MW)
How desolate^(MX) is Babylon
    among the nations!
²⁴I 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.
²⁵The 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)
²⁶Come 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.
²⁷Kill 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.
²⁸Listen 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.
³⁰Therefore, 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.
³²The 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.”

³³This 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)
³⁴Yet 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!
³⁶A sword against her false prophets!
    They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!^(OK)
    They will be filled with terror.^(OL)
³⁷A 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.
³⁸A 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)
⁴⁰As 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)
⁴²They 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)
⁴³The 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)
⁴⁴Like 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?”

⁴⁵Therefore, 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.
⁴⁶At 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]
²I 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.
³Let 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.
⁴They will fall^(PU) down slain in Babylon,^[x]
    fatally wounded in her streets.^(PV)
⁵For 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.

⁶“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.
⁷Babylon 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.
⁸Babylon will suddenly fall^(QE) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm^(QF) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

⁹“‘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)
¹²Lift 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.
¹³You who live by many waters^(QV)
    and are rich in treasures,^(QW)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.^(QX)
¹⁴The 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)
¹⁶When 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.
¹⁸They are worthless,^(RI) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁹He 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,
²¹with you I shatter horse and rider,^(RO)
    with you I shatter chariot^(RP) and driver,
²²with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,^(RQ)
²³with 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)
²⁶No 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)
²⁸Prepare 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)
²⁹The 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)
³⁰Babylon’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.
³¹One courier^(SO) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,^(SP)
³²the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,^(SQ)
    and the soldiers terrified.^(SR)”

³³This 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.
³⁵May 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)

³⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your cause^(TC)
    and avenge^(TD) you;
I will dry up^(TE) her sea
    and make her springs dry.
³⁷Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt^(TF) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,^(TG)
    a place where no one lives.^(TH)
³⁸Her people all roar like young lions,^(TI)
    they growl like lion cubs.
³⁹But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,^(TJ)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever^(TK) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.^(TL)
⁴⁰“I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.^(TM)

⁴¹“How Sheshak^[ab]^(TN) will be captured,^(TO)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate^(TP) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
⁴²The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves^(TQ) will cover her.
⁴³Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert^(TR) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.^(TS)
⁴⁴I will punish Bel^(TT) in Babylon
    and make him spew out^(TU) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
    And the wall^(TV) of Babylon will fall.

⁴⁵“Come out^(TW) of her, my people!
    Run^(TX) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger^(TY) of the Lord.
⁴⁶Do not lose heart^(TZ) or be afraid^(UA)
    when rumors^(UB) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
⁴⁷For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols^(UC) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced^(UD)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.^(UE)
⁴⁸Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout^(UF) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north^(UG)
    destroyers^(UH) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

⁴⁹“Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.^(UI)
⁵⁰You who have escaped the sword,
    leave^(UJ) and do not linger!
Remember^(UK) the Lord in a distant land,^(UL)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

⁵¹“We are disgraced,^(UM)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”^(UN)

⁵²“But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,^(UO)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.^(UP)
⁵³Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens^(UQ)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers^(UR) against her,”
declares the Lord.

⁵⁴“The sound of a cry^(US) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction^(UT)
    from the land of the Babylonians.^[ac]
⁵⁵The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence^(UU) her noisy din.
Waves^(UV) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
⁵⁶A destroyer^(UW) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.^(UX)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay^(UY) in full.
⁵⁷I will make her officials^(UZ) and wise^(VA) men drunk,^(VB)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep^(VC) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,^(VD) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

⁵⁸This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall^(VE) will be leveled
and her high gates^(VF) set on fire;
the peoples^(VG) exhaust^(VH) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”^(VI)

⁵⁹This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,^(VJ) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah^(VK) king of Judah in the fourth^(VL) year of his reign. ⁶⁰Jeremiah had written on a scroll^(VM) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. ⁶¹He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. ⁶²Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate^(VN) forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.^(VO) ⁶⁴Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more^(VP) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people^(VQ) will fall.’”^(VR)

The words of Jeremiah end^(VS) here.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(VT)^(VU)^(VV)

52 Zedekiah^(VW) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.^(VX) ²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim^(VY) had done. ³It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,^(VZ) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.^(WA)

Now Zedekiah rebelled^(WB) against the king of Babylon.

⁴So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth^(WC) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem^(WD) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works^(WE) all around it.^(WF) ⁵The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.^(WG) ⁷Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.^(WH) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[ad] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^[ae] ⁸but the Babylonian^[af] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁹and he was captured.^(WI)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^(WJ) in the land of Hamath,^(WK) where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(WL) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.^(WM)

¹²On the tenth day of the fifth^(WN) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan^(WO) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³He set fire^(WP) to the temple^(WQ) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses^(WR) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ¹⁴The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls^(WS) around Jerusalem. ¹⁵Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile^(WT) some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen^[ag] and those who had deserted^(WU) to the king of Babylon. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan left behind^(WV) the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,^(WW) the movable stands^(WX) and the bronze Sea^(WY) that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.^(WZ) ¹⁸They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,^(XA) dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.^(XB) ¹⁹The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,^(XC) sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,^(XD) dishes^(XE) and bowls used for drink offerings^(XF)—all that were made of pure gold or silver.^(XG)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 46:9 That is, the upper Nile region
Jeremiah 47:4 That is, Crete
Jeremiah 48:1 Or captured; / Misgab
Jeremiah 48:2 The Hebrew for Heshbon sounds like the Hebrew for plot.
Jeremiah 48:2 The name of the Moabite town Madmen sounds like the Hebrew for be silenced.
Jeremiah 48:4 Hebrew; Septuagint / proclaim it to Zoar
Jeremiah 48:6 Or like Aroer
Jeremiah 48:9 Or Give wings to Moab, / for she will fly away
Jeremiah 48:25 Horn here symbolizes strength.
Jeremiah 48:32 Probably the Dead Sea
Jeremiah 48:32 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts as far as the Sea of
Jeremiah 48:41 Or The cities
Jeremiah 49:1 Or their king; also in verse 3
Jeremiah 49:13 That is, its name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that it is cursed.
Jeremiah 49:21 Or the Sea of Reeds
Jeremiah 49:23 Hebrew on or by
Jeremiah 49:32 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
Jeremiah 50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45
Jeremiah 50:10 Or Chaldea
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.
Jeremiah 50:38 Or A sword against
Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 52:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 17
Jeremiah 52:7 Or the Jordan Valley
Jeremiah 52:8 Or Chaldean; also in verse 14
Jeremiah 52:15 Or the populace

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 46-52

English Standard Version

Judgment on Egypt

Judgment on the Philistines

Judgment on Moab

Judgment on Ammon

Judgment on Edom

Judgment on Damascus

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

Judgment on Elam

Judgment on Babylon

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

The Temple Burned

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 46-52

New International Version

A Message About Egypt

A Message About the Philistines

A Message About Moab^(CI)

A Message About Ammon

A Message About Edom^(HC)^(HD)

A Message About Damascus

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

A Message About Elam

A Message About Babylon^(KC)

The Fall of Jerusalem^(VT)^(VU)^(VV)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 46-52 English Standard Version

Judgment on Egypt

Judgment on the Philistines

Judgment on Moab

Judgment on Ammon

Judgment on Edom

Judgment on Damascus

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

Judgment on Elam

Judgment on Babylon

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

The Temple Burned

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 46-52 New International Version

A Message About Egypt

A Message About the Philistines

A Message About Moab(CI)

A Message About Ammon

A Message About Edom(HC)(HD)

A Message About Damascus

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

A Message About Elam

A Message About Babylon(KC)

The Fall of Jerusalem(VT)(VU)(VV)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 46-52

English Standard Version

Jeremiah 46-52

New International Version

A Message About Moab^(CI)

A Message About Edom^(HC)^(HD)

A Message About Babylon^(KC)

The Fall of Jerusalem^(VT)^(VU)^(VV)