Jeremiah 39-48
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 39
1Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; 2in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached. 3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 6Then the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7He then blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in shackles of bronze to bring him to Babylon. 8The Chaldeans also burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem. 9And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon. 10But some of the poorest people, who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
11Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,
12Take him and look after him, and do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.'
13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;
14they even sent word and took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.
15Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,
16Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.
17But I will save you on that day,' declares the Lord, 'and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.
18For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as plunder, because you have trusted in Me,' declares the Lord.’?'
Chapter 40
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, 'The Lord your God promised this disaster against this place; 3and the Lord has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you. 4But now, behold, I am setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, do not come. Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.' 5As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, 'Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.' So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift, and let him go. 6Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
7Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.
8So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men.
9Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, 'Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you.
10Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.'
11Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.
12Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.
13Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
14and said to him, 'Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?' But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, 'Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?'
16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, 'Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.'
Chapter 41
1Now in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah, 2Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,
5that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the Lord.
6Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, 'Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!'
7Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.
8But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, 'Do not put us to death, for we have supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.' So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.
9Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had constructed on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.
10Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.
11But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.
12So they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the large pool that is in Gibeon.
13Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful.
14So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon.
16Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.
17And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt
18because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
Chapter 42
1Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the small to the great approached 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, 'Please let our pleading come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God for all this remnant—since we have been left only a few out of many, just as your own eyes now see us— 3that the Lord your God will tell us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.' 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, 'I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the Lord gives you as an answer. I will not withhold a word from you.' 5Then they said to Jeremiah, 'May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us. 6Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well for us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God.'
7Now at the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
8Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people from the small to the great,
9and said to them, 'This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before Him:
10‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent of the disaster that I have inflicted on you.
11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.
12I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.
13But if you are going to say, 'We will not stay in this land,' so as not to listen to the voice of the Lord your God,
14saying, 'No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or hear the sound of a trumpet, or hunger for bread, and we will stay there';
15then in that case listen to the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'If you really set your minds to enter Egypt and go in to reside there,
16then the sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.
17So all the people who set their minds to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague; and they will have no refugees or survivors from the disaster that I am going to bring on them.'?’?'
18For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'As My anger and wrath have gushed out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will gush out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a disgrace; and you will not see this place again.'
19The Lord has spoken to you, you remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt!' You know for certain that I have admonished you today.
20For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.'
21So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the Lord your God in whatever He has sent me to tell you.
22And now you shall know for certain that you will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague in the place where you desire to go to reside.
Chapter 43
1But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent to them, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— 2Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, 'You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; 3but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!' 4So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah. 5Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah— 6the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— 7and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.
8Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews;
10and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to send men and get My servant Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.
11He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.
12And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely.
13He will also smash to pieces the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.'?’?'
Chapter 44
1The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying, 2This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them, 3because of their wickedness which they committed to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abominable thing which I hate.' 5But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods. 6Therefore My wrath and My anger gushed out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become ruins and a desolation as it is this day. 7Now then, this is what the Lord God of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, to eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant, 8provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you are entering to reside, so that you may be eliminated and become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth? 9Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10Yet they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in My Law or My statutes, which I placed before you and before your fathers.'?’
11Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah.
12And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their minds on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or meet their end by famine. From the small to the great, they will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a disgrace.
13And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with plague.
14So there will be no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return to live; for none will return except a few refugees.’?'
15Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,
16As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!
17But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.
18But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine.'
19And,' said the women, 'when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?'
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying,
21As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the Lord not remember them, and did all of this not come into His mind?
22So the Lord was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; so your land has become a place of ruins, an object of horror, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
23Since you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and not obeyed the voice of the Lord nor walked in His Law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this disaster has happened to you, as it has this day.'
24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, 'Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
25This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, 'We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.' By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’
26In return, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'As the Lord God lives.'
27Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword or by famine until they are completely gone.
28Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.
29And this will be the sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.’
30This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’?'
Chapter 45
1This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch: 3‘You said, 'Oh, woe to me! For the Lord has added grief to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.'?’ 4This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: 'Behold, what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land.' 5But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go.’?'
3'Set up the buckler and shield, And advance to the battle!
4Harness the horses, And mount the steeds, Take your stand with helmets on! Polish the spears, Put on the coats of armor!
5Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are retreating, And their warriors are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing back. Terror is on every side!' Declares the Lord.
6Let not the swift man flee, Nor the warrior escape. In the north beside the river Euphrates They have stumbled and fallen.
7Who is this that rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge?
8Egypt rises like the Nile, And like the rivers whose waters surge; And He has said, 'I will rise and cover that land; I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.'
9Go up, you horses, and drive wildly, you chariots, So that the warriors may march forward: Cush and Put, who handle the shield, And the Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.
10For that day belongs to the Lord God of armies, A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the sword will devour and be satisfied, And drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a slaughter for the Lord God of armies, In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.
11Go up to Gilead and obtain balm, Virgin daughter of Egypt! You have used many remedies in vain; There is no healing for you.
14'Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes; Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the sword has devoured those around you.’
15Why have your powerful ones been cut down? They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them away.
16They have repeatedly stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen, one against another. Then they said, ‘Get up, and let’s go back To our own people and our native land, Away from the sword of the oppressor!’
17 They shouted there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but a big noise; He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18As I live,' declares the King, Whose name is the Lord of armies, 'One certainly shall come who is like Tabor among the mountains, Or like Carmel by the sea.
19Make your baggage ready for exile, Daughter living in Egypt, For Memphis will become a desolation; It will be destroyed and deprived of inhabitants.
20Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!
21Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For they too have turned away and have fled together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their disaster has come upon them, The time of their punishment.
22Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23They have cut down her forest,' declares the Lord; 'Certainly it will no longer be found, Even though they are more numerous than locusts And are without number.
24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Turned over to the power of the people of the north.'
25The Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
26I shall hand them over to those who are seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his officers. Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,' declares the Lord.
27'But as for you, Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from far away, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him afraid.
28Jacob My servant, do not fear,' declares the Lord, 'For I am with you. For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you; But I will correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished.'
2This is what the Lord says: 'Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and everything that is in it, The city and those who live in it; And the people will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions, The roar of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the debility of their hands,
4Because of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines, To eliminate from Tyre and Sidon Every surviving ally; For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been destroyed. Remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourself?
6Ah, sword of the Lord, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Rest and stay still.
7How can it be quiet, When the Lord has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore— There He has summoned it.'
Chapter 48
1Concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed; Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The high stronghold has been put to shame and shattered. 2There is no longer praise for Moab; In Heshbon they have devised disaster against her: ‘Come and let’s cut her off from being a nation!’ You too, Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow you. 3The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ 4Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress. 5For they will go up by the ascent of Luhith With continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the anguished cry of destruction. 6Flee, save yourselves, So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness. 7For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, You yourself will also be captured; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his leaders. 8A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the plateau will be destroyed, As the Lord has said. 9Give wings to Moab, For she will flee away; And her cities will become a desolation, Without inhabitants in them. 10Cursed is the one who does the Lord’S work negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood.
12Therefore behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will pour out his vessels and smash his jars.
13And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14How can you say, ‘We are warriors, And men competent for battle’?
15Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities; His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,' Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.
16'The disaster of Moab will soon come, And his catastrophe has hurried quickly.
17Mourn for him, all you who live around him, And all of you who know his name; Say, ‘How the mighty scepter has been broken, A staff of splendor!’
18Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O daughter living in Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds.
19Stand by the road and keep watch, You inhabitant of Aroer; Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, ‘What has happened?’
21Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah, and against Mephaath,
22against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24against Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm broken,' declares the Lord.
26Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.
27Now was Israel not a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.
28Leave the cities and live among the rocky cliffs, You inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance, and his self-exaltation.
30I know his fury,' declares the Lord, 'But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31Therefore I will wail for Moab, For all of Moab I will cry out; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32More than the weeping for Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen.
34From the outcry at Heshbon to Elealeh, to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.
35And I will put an end to Moab,' declares the Lord, 'the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.
36Therefore My heart makes a sound like flutes for Moab; My heart also makes a sound like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced.
37For every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and sackcloth around the waists.
38On all the housetops of Moab and in its public squares there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,' declares the Lord.
39How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.'
41Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the hearts of the warriors of Moab on that day Will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42Moab will be destroyed from being a people Because he has become arrogant toward the Lord.
43Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you, Inhabitant of Moab,' declares the Lord.
44'The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their punishment,' declares the Lord.
45'In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has spread out from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon, And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the loud revelers.
46Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive, And your daughters into captivity.
King James Version
Chapter 39
1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. 2And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. 3And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. 5But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. 6Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 7Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. 9Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
11Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon's princes;
14Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
15Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
17But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
18For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.
Chapter 40
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. 2And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. 3Now the Lord hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. 4And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. 6Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. 7Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon; 8Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 9And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. 11Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; 12Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. 13Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. 15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? 16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.Chapter 41
1Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. 2Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 3Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.
4And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.
6And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
7And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
8But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
9Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.
10Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
11But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
12Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
13Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
14So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
16Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
17And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
18Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
Chapter 42
1Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. 6Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.
7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.
8Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
9And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
10If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God,
14Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
15And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
16Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
17So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
18For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.
19The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
20For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.
21And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.
22Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.
Chapter 43
1And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: 3But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. 4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; 6Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus came they even to Tahpanhes. 8Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; 10And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. 11And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. 12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. 13He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.Chapter 44
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 2Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein, 3Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. 4Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. 5But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. 6Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
7Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
8In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
11Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.
12And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
13For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
14So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
20Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
21The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind?
22So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
24Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
25Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
26Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord God liveth.
27Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
28Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
29And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:
30Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
Chapter 45
1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 3Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.
4Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
5And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
Chapter 46
1The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; 2Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. 3Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
12The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
13The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.
14Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
24The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
26And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.
27But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,
22And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,
23And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
24And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
26Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 39
1In the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it. 2In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into. 3All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king.
4When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the fighting men saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the city gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.
5However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.
6At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles.
7Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
8The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
9Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who remained.
10However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
11Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah:
12"Take him and look after him. Don’t do him any harm, but do for him whatever he says."
13Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, Nebushazban the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the captains of Babylon’s king
14had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard and turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.
15Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard:
16"Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words for disaster and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day.
17But I will rescue you on that day—this is the Lord’s declaration—and you will not be handed over to the men you dread.
18Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in me, you will retain your life like the spoils of war. This is the Lord’s declaration.’"
Chapter 40
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2The captain of the guards took Jeremiah and said to him, "The Lord your God decreed this disaster on this place, 3and the Lord has fulfilled it. He has done just what he decreed. Because you people have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him, this thing has happened. 4Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. Look—the whole land is in front of you. Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there." 5When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him, "Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go." So the captain of the guards gave him a ration and a gift and released him. 6Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.
7All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon.
8So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.
9Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, "Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.
10As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured."
11When all the Judeans in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in all the other lands also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them,
12they all returned from all the places where they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.
13Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
14and warned him, "Don’t you realize that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them.
15Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, "Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and allow all of Judah that has gathered around you to scatter and the remnant of Judah to perish?"
Chapter 41
1In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah, 2but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land. 3Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.
4On the day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one knew yet,
5eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the Lord.
6Ishmael son of Nethaniah came out of Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. When he encountered them, he said, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!"
7But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.
8However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, "Don’t kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!" So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.
9Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one that King Asa had made in the encounter with King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
11When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done,
12they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon.
13When all the people held by Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they rejoiced.
14All the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and rejoined Johanan son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam—men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon.
17They left, stopping in Geruth Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, in order to make their way into Egypt,
18away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
Chapter 42
1Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached 2the prophet Jeremiah and said, "May our petition come before you; pray to the Lord your God on our behalf, on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many, as you can see with your own eyes), 3that the Lord your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do."
5And they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t act according to every word the Lord your God sends you to tell us.
6Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us. We will certainly obey the Lord our God!"
7At the end of ten days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah,
8and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
9He said to them, "This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before him:
10‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you.
11Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him.
12I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.’
13"But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ in order to disobey the Lord your God,
14and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’
15then hear the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and stay there for a while,
16then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels there to Egypt, and you will die there.
17All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.’
18"For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will my fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’
19The Lord has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah: ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Know for certain that I have warned you today!
20You have gone astray at the cost of your lives because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’
21For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the Lord your God in everything he has sent me to tell you.
22Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to stay for a while."
Chapter 43
1When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God—all these words the Lord their God had sent him to give them— 2then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other arrogant men responded to Jeremiah, "You are speaking a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to stay there for a while!’ 3Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!"
4So Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies, and all the people failed to obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah.
5Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies led away the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to stay in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been banished.
6They led away the men, women, children, king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. They also led the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah away.
7They went to the land of Egypt because they did not obey the Lord. They went as far as Tahpanhes.
8Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes:
9"Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men
10and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will pitch his pavilion over them.
11He will come and strike down the land of Egypt —those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword, to the sword.
12I will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods, and he will burn them and take them captive. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off his clothes, and he will leave there unscathed.
13He will smash the sacred pillars of the sun temple in the land of Egypt and burn the temples of the Egyptian gods.’"
Chapter 44
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros: 2"This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them 3because of the evil they committed to anger me, by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your fathers did not know. 4So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again, saying, ‘Don’t commit this detestable action that I hate.’ 5But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods. 6So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.
7"So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.
8You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.
9Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.
11"Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster, to cut off all Judah.
12And I will take away the remnant of Judah, those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace.
13I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague.
14Then the remnant of Judah—those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt—will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing to return to stay, for they will not return except for a few fugitives."
15However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by—a great assembly—and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,
16"As for the word you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!
17Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster,
18but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end."
20But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him:
21"As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind.
22The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today.
23Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord and didn’t follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today."
24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
25This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, "We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her." Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows!’
26"Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord God lives."
27I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.
28Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs!
29This will be a sign to you’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘that I will punish you in this place, so you may know that my words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.
30This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who intend to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who intended to take his life.’"
Chapter 45
1This is the word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3‘You have said, "Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest."’
4"This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: "What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot —the whole land!
5But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing! For I am about to bring disaster on everyone"—this is the Lord’s declaration—"but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go."’"
3Deploy small shields and large; approach for battle!
4Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish the lances; put on armor!
5Why have I seen this? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are crushed, they flee headlong, they never look back, terror is on every side! This is the Lord’s declaration.
6The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River, they stumble and fall.
7Who is this, rising like the Nile, with waters that churn like rivers?
8Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers. He boasts, "I will go up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities with their residents."
9Rise up, you cavalry! Race furiously, you chariots! Let the warriors march out— Cush and Put, who are able to handle shields, and the men of Lud, who are able to handle and string the bow.
10That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies, a day of vengeance to avenge himself against his adversaries. The sword will devour and be satisfied; it will drink its fill of their blood, because it will be a sacrifice to the Lord, the God of Armies, in the northern land by the Euphrates River.
11Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt! You have multiplied remedies in vain; there is no healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your dishonor, and your cries fill the earth, because warrior stumbles against warrior and together both of them have fallen.
14Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol! Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes! Say, "Take positions! Prepare yourself, for the sword devours all around you."
15Why have your strong ones been swept away? Each has not stood, for the Lord has thrust him down.
16He continues to stumble. Indeed, each falls over the other. They say, "Get up! Let’s return to our people and to our native land, away from the oppressor’s sword."
17There they will cry out, "Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he let the opportune moment pass."
18As I live— this is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name— the king of Babylon will come like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.
19Get your bags ready for exile, inhabitant of Daughter Egypt! For Memphis will become a desolation, uninhabited ruins.
20Egypt is a beautiful young cow, but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.
21Even her mercenaries among her are like stall-fed calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee; they will not take their stand, for the day of their calamity is coming on them, the time of their punishment.
22Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake, for the enemy will come with an army; with axes they will come against her like those who cut trees.
23They will cut down her forest— this is the Lord’s declaration— though it is dense, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted.
24Daughter Egypt will be put to shame, handed over to a northern people.
2This is what the Lord says: Look, water is rising from the north and becoming an overflowing wadi. It will overflow the land and everything in it, the cities and their inhabitants. The people will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions, the rumbling of his chariots, and the clatter of their wheels, fathers will not turn back for their sons. They will be utterly helpless
4on account of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5Baldness is coming to Gaza; Ashkelon will become silent. Remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?
6Oh, sword of the Lord! How long will you be restless? Go back to your sheath; be still; be silent!
7How can it rest when the Lord has given it a command? He has assigned it against Ashkelon and the shore of the sea.
Chapter 48
1About Moab, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed; Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive. The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed! 2There is no longer praise for Moab; they plan harm against her in Heshbon: Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood. Also, Madmen, you will be silenced; the sword will follow you. 3A voice cries out from Horonaim, "devastation and a crushing blow!" 4Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out. 5For on the Ascent to Luhith they will be weeping continually, and on the descent to Horonaim will be heard cries of distress over the destruction: 6Flee! Save your lives! Be like a juniper bush in the wilderness. 7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you will be captured also. Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials. 8The destroyer will move against every town; not one town will escape. The valley will perish, and the plain will be annihilated, as the Lord has said. 9Make Moab a salt marsh, for she will run away; her towns will become a desolation, without inhabitant. 10The one who does the Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed. 11Moab has been left quiet since his youth, settled like wine on its dregs. He hasn’t been poured from one container to another or gone into exile. So his taste has remained the same, and his aroma hasn’t changed.
12Therefore look, the days are coming — this is the Lord’s declaration— when I will send pourers to him, who will pour him out. They will empty his containers and smash his jars.
13Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was put to shame because of Bethel that they trusted in.
14How can you say, "We are warriors— valiant men for battle"?
15The destroyer of Moab and its towns has come up, and the best of its young men have gone down to slaughter. This is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name.
16Moab’s calamity is near at hand; his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations, everyone who knows his name. Say, "How the mighty scepter is shattered, the glorious staff!"
18Come down from glory; sit on parched ground, resident of the daughter of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
19Stand by the highway and watch, resident of Aroer! Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping, "What happened?"
20Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21"Judgment has come to the land of the plateau —to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,
22Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,
23Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon,
24Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near.
26"Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
27Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head."
28Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs, residents of Moab! Be like a dove that nests inside the mouth of a cave.
29We have heard of Moab’s pride, great pride, indeed— his insolence, arrogance, pride, and haughty heart.
30I know his outburst. This is the Lord’s declaration. It is empty. His boast is empty.
31Therefore, I will wail over Moab. I will cry out for Moab, all of it; he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah, with more than the weeping for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33Gladness and celebration are taken from the fertile field and from the land of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses; no one will tread with shouts of joy. The shouting is not a shout of joy.
34"There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz —from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate.
35In Moab, I will stop"—this is the Lord’s declaration—"the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.
36Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.
37Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.
38On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants." This is the Lord’s declaration.
39"How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him."
40For this is what the Lord says: Look! He will swoop down like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab.
41The towns have been captured, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.
42Moab will be destroyed as a people because he has exalted himself against the Lord.
44He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit, and he who climbs from the pit will be captured in the trap, for I will bring against Moab the year of their punishment. This is the Lord’s declaration.
45Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow because fire has come out from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It will devour Moab’s forehead and the skull of the noisemakers.
46Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished because your sons have been taken captive and your daughters have gone into captivity.
New Living Translation
Chapter 39
1In January of the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with his entire army to besiege Jerusalem. 2Two and a half years later, on July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, a section of the city wall was broken down. 3All the officers of the Babylonian army came in and sat in triumph at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, and Nebo-sarsekim, a chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon.
5But the Babylonian troops chased them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.
6The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons at Riblah. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.
7Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains to lead him away to Babylon.
8Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned Jerusalem, including the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they tore down the walls of the city.
9Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles to Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had defected to him, and everyone else who remained.
10But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields.
11King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah.
12See that he isn’t hurt,' he said. 'Look after him well, and give him anything he wants.'
13So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser; and the other officers of Babylon’s king
14sent messengers to bring Jeremiah out of the prison. They put him under the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who took him back to his home. So Jeremiah stayed in Judah among his own people.
15The Lord had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison:
16Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction,
17but I will rescue you from those you fear so much.
18Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’'
2The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, 'The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land,
3just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.
4But I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don’t want to come, you may stay here. The whole land is before you — go wherever you like.
5If you decide to stay, then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. He has been appointed governor of Judah by the king of Babylon. Stay there with the people he rules. But it’s up to you; go wherever you like.' Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go.
6So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land.
7The leaders of the Judean military groups in the countryside heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the poor people who were left behind in Judah — the men, women, and children who hadn’t been exiled to Babylon.
8So they went to see Gedaliah at Mizpah. These included: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.
9Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonians meant them no harm. 'Don’t be afraid to serve them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,' he promised.
10As for me, I will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to meet with us. Settle in the towns you have taken, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away.'
11When the Judeans in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the other nearby countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few people in Judah and that Gedaliah was the governor,
12they began to return to Judah from the places to which they had fled. They stopped at Mizpah to meet with Gedaliah and then went into the Judean countryside to gather a great harvest of grapes and other crops.
13Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.
14They said to him, 'Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?' But Gedaliah refused to believe them.
Chapter 41
1But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and had been one of the king’s high officials, went to Mizpah with ten men to meet Gedaliah. While they were eating together, 2Ishmael and his ten men suddenly jumped up, drew their swords, and killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor. 3Ishmael also killed all the Judeans and the Babylonian soldiers who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.
4The next day, before anyone had heard about Gedaliah’s murder,
5eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria to worship at the Temple of the Lord. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves, and had brought along grain offerings and frankincense.
6Ishmael left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he reached them, he said, 'Oh, come and see what has happened to Gedaliah!'
7But as soon as they were all inside the town, Ishmael and his men killed all but ten of them and threw their bodies into a cistern.
8The other ten had talked Ishmael into letting them go by promising to bring him their stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey that they had hidden away.
9The cistern where Ishmael dumped the bodies of the men he murdered was the large one dug by King Asa when he fortified Mizpah to protect himself against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with corpses.
11But when Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders heard about Ishmael’s crimes,
12they took all their men and set out to stop him. They caught up with him at the large pool near Gibeon.
13The people Ishmael had captured shouted for joy when they saw Johanan and the other military leaders.
14And all the captives from Mizpah escaped and began to help Johanan.
15Meanwhile, Ishmael and eight of his men escaped from Johanan into the land of Ammon.
16Then Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders took all the people they had rescued in Gibeon — the soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom Ishmael had captured after he killed Gedaliah.
17They took them all to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt.
18They were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they heard that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonian king.
Chapter 42
1Then all the military leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached 2Jeremiah the prophet. They said, 'Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. 3Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.'
5Then they said to Jeremiah, 'May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!
6Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.'
7Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah.
8So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.
9He said to them, 'You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:
10‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.
11Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.
12I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’
13But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here;
14instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’
15then hear the Lord’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there,
16the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.
17That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’
19Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today.
20For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the Lord your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the Lord our God says, and we will do it!’
21And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the Lord your God any better now than you have in the past.
22So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.'
Chapter 43
1When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people, 2Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, 'You lie! The Lord our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! 3Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.'
4So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah.
5Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.
6In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.
7The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
8Then at Tahpanhes, the Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,
9While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.
10Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.
11And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.
12He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.
13He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’'
Chapter 44
1This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in southern Egypt as well: 2This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins. 3They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods — gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.
4Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’
5But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.
6And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.
7And now the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive — not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms.
8Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth.
9Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem?
10To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.
11Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you!
12I will take this remnant of Judah — those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt — and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery.
13I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease.
14Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.'
15Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols — a great crowd of all the Judeans living in northern Egypt and southern Egypt — answered Jeremiah,
16We will not listen to your messages from the Lord!
17We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like — just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles!
18But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.'
20Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer,
21Do you think the Lord did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
22It was because the Lord could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing — a desolate ruin without inhabitants — as it is today.
23All these terrible things happened to you because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the Lord. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.'
24Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, 'Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt.
25This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, 'We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,' and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’
26But listen to this message from the Lord, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: 'As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.'
27For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.
28Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true — mine or theirs!
29‘And this is the proof I give you,’ says the Lord, ‘that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here.’
30This is what the Lord says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’'
Chapter 45
1The prophet Jeremiah gave a message to Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, after Baruch had written down everything Jeremiah had dictated to him. He said, 2This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3You have said, ‘I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven’t I had enough pain already? And now the Lord has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.’
4Baruch, this is what the Lord says: ‘I will destroy this nation that I built. I will uproot what I planted.
5Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t do it! I will bring great disaster upon all these people; but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go. I, the Lord, have spoken!’'
Chapter 46
1The following messages were given to Jeremiah the prophet from the Lord concerning foreign nations.
3'Prepare your shields, and advance into battle!
4Harness the horses, and mount the stallions. Take your positions. Put on your helmets. Sharpen your spears, and prepare your armor.
5But what do I see? The Egyptian army flees in terror. The bravest of its fighting men run without a backward glance. They are terrorized at every turn,' says the Lord.
6'The swiftest runners cannot flee; the mightiest warriors cannot escape. By the Euphrates River to the north, they stumble and fall.
7'Who is this, rising like the Nile at floodtime, overflowing all the land?
8It is the Egyptian army, overflowing all the land, boasting that it will cover the earth like a flood, destroying cities and their people.
9Charge, you horses and chariots; attack, you mighty warriors of Egypt! Come, all you allies from Ethiopia, Libya, and Lydia who are skilled with the shield and bow!
10For this is the day of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, a day of vengeance on his enemies. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, yes, until it is drunk with your blood! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will receive a sacrifice today in the north country beside the Euphrates River.
11'Go up to Gilead to get medicine, O virgin daughter of Egypt! But your many treatments will bring you no healing.
12The nations have heard of your shame. The earth is filled with your cries of despair. Your mightiest warriors will run into each other and fall down together.'
14'Shout it out in Egypt! Publish it in the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes! Mobilize for battle, for the sword will devour everyone around you.
15Why have your warriors fallen? They cannot stand, for the Lord has knocked them down.
16They stumble and fall over each other and say among themselves, ‘Come, let’s go back to our people, to the land of our birth. Let’s get away from the sword of the enemy!’
17There they will say, ‘Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is a loudmouth who missed his opportunity!’
18'As surely as I live,' says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 'one is coming against Egypt who is as tall as Mount Tabor, or as Mount Carmel by the sea!
19Pack up! Get ready to leave for exile, you citizens of Egypt! The city of Memphis will be destroyed, without a single inhabitant.
20Egypt is as sleek as a beautiful heifer, but a horsefly from the north is on its way!
21Egypt’s mercenaries have become like fattened calves. They, too, will turn and run, for it is a day of great disaster for Egypt, a time of great punishment.
22Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away. The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen.
23They will cut down her people like trees,' says the Lord, 'for they are more numerous than locusts.
24Egypt will be humiliated; she will be handed over to people from the north.'
25The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other gods of Egypt. I will punish its rulers and Pharaoh, too, and all who trust in him.
26I will hand them over to those who want them killed — to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army. But afterward the land will recover from the ravages of war. I, the Lord, have spoken!
27'But do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.
28Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, for I am with you,' says the Lord. 'I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.'
2This is what the Lord says: 'A flood is coming from the north to overflow the land. It will destroy the land and everything in it — cities and people alike. People will scream in terror, and everyone in the land will wail.
3Hear the clatter of stallions’ hooves and the rumble of wheels as the chariots rush by. Terrified fathers run madly, without a backward glance at their helpless children.
4'The time has come for the Philistines to be destroyed, along with their allies from Tyre and Sidon. Yes, the Lord is destroying the remnant of the Philistines, those colonists from the island of Crete.
5Gaza will be humiliated, its head shaved bald; Ashkelon will lie silent. You remnant from the Mediterranean coast, how long will you cut yourselves in mourning?
Chapter 48
1This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo; it will soon lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured; the fortress will be humiliated and broken down. 2No one will ever brag about Moab again, for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’ The town of Madmen, too, will be silenced; the sword will follow you there. 3Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction. 4All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out. 5Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim. 6Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness! 7Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands!
8'All the towns will be destroyed, and no one will escape — either on the plateaus or in the valleys, for the Lord has spoken.
9Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them.
10Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!
11'From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace, never going into exile. He is like wine that has been allowed to settle. He has not been poured from flask to flask, and he is now fragrant and smooth.
12But the time is coming soon,' says the Lord, 'when I will send men to pour him from his jar. They will pour him out, then shatter the jar!
13At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh, as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.
14'You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’
15But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed. His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,' says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16'Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously.
17You friends of Moab, weep for him and cry! See how the strong scepter is broken, how the beautiful staff is shattered!
18'Come down from your glory and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon, for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too. They will tear down all your towers.
19You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’
20'And the reply comes back, ‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced; weep and wail! Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River: Moab has been destroyed!’
21Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau — on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,
22on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24on Kerioth and Bozrah — all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25'The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,' says the Lord.
26'Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard, for he has rebelled against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, ridiculed by all.
27Did you not ridicule the people of Israel? Were they caught in the company of thieves that you should despise them as you do?
28'You people of Moab, flee from your towns and live in the caves. Hide like doves that nest in the clefts of the rocks.
29We have all heard of the pride of Moab, for his pride is very great. We know of his lofty pride, his arrogance, and his haughty heart.
30I know about his insolence,' says the Lord, 'but his boasts are empty — as empty as his deeds.
31So now I wail for Moab; yes, I will mourn for Moab. My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.
32'You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards, I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer. Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea, but the destroyer has stripped you bare! He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.
33Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab. The presses yield no wine. No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy. There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.
35I will put an end to Moab,' says the Lord, 'for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods.
36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.
37The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap.
38There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar.
39How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.'
40This is what the Lord says: 'Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Moab.
41Its cities will fall, and its strongholds will be seized. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
42Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the Lord.
43'Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,' says the Lord.
44'Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will step into a snare. I will see to it that you do not get away, for the time of your judgment has come,' says the Lord.
45'The people flee as far as Heshbon but are unable to go on. For a fire comes from Heshbon, King Sihon’s ancient home, to devour the entire land with all its rebellious people.
English Standard Version
Chapter 39
1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. 4When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king 's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. 6The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 8The Chaldeans burned the king 's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
11Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying,
12"Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you."
13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon
14sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people.
15The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard:
16"Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day.
17But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
18For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’"
Chapter 40
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. 3The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. 5If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go." So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. 6Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
7When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon,
8they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah — Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
9Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
10As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken."
11Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them,
12then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.
13Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
14and said to him, "Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them.
15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, "Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?"
16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael."
Chapter 41
1In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, 2Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.
4On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it,
5eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord.
6And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, "Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam."
7When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern.
8But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields." So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.
9Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
10Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king 's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
11But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
12they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon.
13And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced.
14So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam — soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gibeon.
17And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt
18because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Chapter 42
1Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant — because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us — 3that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do." 4Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you." 5Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. 6Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God."
7At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
8Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest,
9and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him:
10If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you.
11Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand.
12I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.
13But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God
14and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’
15then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there,
16then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die.
17All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.
18"For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more.
19The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day
20that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’
21And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
22Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live."
Chapter 43
1When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, 2Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ 3but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon." 4So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven — 6the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.
8Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:
9"Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh 's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah,
10and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them.
11He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword.
12I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace.
13He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’"
Chapter 44
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ 5But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
11"Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah.
12I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
13I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
14so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives."
15Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
16"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.
17But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster.
18But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine."
19And the women said, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands ' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer:
21"As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind?
22The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
23It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day."
24Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
25Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows!
26Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’
27Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
28And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.
29This shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm:
30Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life."
Chapter 45
1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3You said, ‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’ 4Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up — that is, the whole land. 5And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."
3 "Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle!
4 Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor!
5Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; they look not back — terror on every side! declares the Lord.
6"The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.
7"Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge?
8Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; 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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14"Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour around you.’
15Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the Lord thrust them down.
16He made many stumble, 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, because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 "As I live, declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O inhabitants of Egypt! For Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin, without inhabitant.
20"A beautiful heifer is Egypt, but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
21Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fattened calves; yes, they have turned and fled together; they did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment.
22"She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees.
23 They shall cut down her forest, declares the Lord, though it is impenetrable, because 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 a people from the north."
25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: "Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
26I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 "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 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. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished."
2"Thus says the Lord: Behold, waters are rising out of the north, and shall become an overflowing torrent; they shall overflow 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, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels, the fathers look not back to their children, so feeble are their hands,
4because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has perished. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourselves?
6 Ah, sword of the Lord! How long till you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard; rest and be still!
7How can it be quiet when the Lord has given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore he has appointed it."
2the renown of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they planned disaster against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’ You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you.
3"A voice! A cry from Horonaim, ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have made a cry.
5 For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distressed cry of destruction.
6Flee! Save yourselves! You will be like a juniper in the desert!
7For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go into exile with his priests and his officials.
8 The destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and 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"Cursed is he who does 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 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 jars in pieces.
13Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14"How do you say, ‘We are heroes and mighty men of war’?
15The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up, and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16The calamity of Moab is near at hand, and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 Grieve for him, all you who are around him, and all who know his name; say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff.’
18 "Come down from your glory, and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you; he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is put to shame, for it is broken; wail and cry! Tell it beside the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21"Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
23and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,
24and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
26"Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision.
27Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
28 "Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 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; his boasts are false, his deeds are false.
31 Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.
32More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached to the Sea of Jazer; on your summer fruits and your grapes the destroyer has fallen.
33 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"From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to 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 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 Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
37"For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and 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 a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord.
39How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him."
40For thus says the Lord: "Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab;
41 the cities shall be taken and the strongholds seized. The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;
42Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he magnified himself against the Lord.
43 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. 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 the forehead of Moab, the crown of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are undone, for your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters into captivity.
47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the Lord." Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
New International Version
Chapter 39
1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. 2And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. 3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 4When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.
5But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.
6There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah.
7Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
8The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
9Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people.
10But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
11Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard:
12"Take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks."
13So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon
14sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.
15While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him:
16"Go and tell Ebed-Melek the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city—words concerning disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
17But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear.
18I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.’ "
Chapter 40
1The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 2When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, "The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. 3And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. 4But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please."
5However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, "Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please." Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go.
6So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.
7When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon,
8they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men.
9Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. "Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians, " he said. "Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.
10I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over."
11When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them,
12they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.
13Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
14and said to him, "Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
Chapter 41
1In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there.
4The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it,
5eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the Lord.
6Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them, he said, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam."
7When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.
8But ten of them said to Ishmael, "Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field." So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others.
9Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.
11When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed,
12they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon.
13When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad.
14All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived, whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon.
17And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt
18to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.
Chapter 42
1Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached 2Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. 3Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do."
5Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.
6Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God."
7Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
8So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.
9He said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:
10‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.
11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.
12I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’
13"However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the Lord your God,
14and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’
15then hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,
16then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
17Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’
18This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’
19"Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today
20that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’
21I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you.
22So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle."
Chapter 43
1When Jeremiah had finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God—everything the Lord had sent him to tell them— 2Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ 3But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon."
4So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah.
5Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered.
6They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the men, the women, the children and the king’s daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah along with them.
7So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.
8In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
9"While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes.
10Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them.
11He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
12He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive. As a shepherd picks his garment clean of lice, so he will pick Egypt clean and depart.
13There in the temple of the sun in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’ "
Chapter 44
1This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt: 2"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins 3because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. 4Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.
7"Now this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why bring such great disaster on yourselves by cutting off from Judah the men and women, the children and infants, and so leave yourselves without a remnant?
8Why arouse my anger with what your hands have made, burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves and make yourselves a curse and an object of reproach among all the nations on earth.
9Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your ancestors and by the kings and queens of Judah and the wickedness committed by you and your wives in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?
10To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your ancestors.
11"Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah.
12I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach.
13I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem.
14None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives."
15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah,
16"We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!
17We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm.
18But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine."
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,
21"Did not the Lord remember and call to mind the incense burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem by you and your ancestors, your kings and your officials and the people of the land?
22When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today.
23Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see."
25This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have done what you said you would do when you promised, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.’ "Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!
26But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, "As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives."
27For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.
28Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.
29" ‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’
30This is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’ "
Chapter 45
1When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ 4But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’ "
3"Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle!
4Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor!
5What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side," declares the Lord.
6"The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
7"Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters?
8Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people.’
9Charge, you horses! Drive furiously, you charioteers! March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty— a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11"Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you.
12The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together."
14"Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.’
15Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17There they will exclaim, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.’
18"As surely as I live," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty, "one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea.
19Pack your belongings for exile, you who live in Egypt, for Memphis will be laid waste and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20"Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north.
21The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them, the time 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.
23They will chop down her forest," declares the Lord, "dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted.
24Daughter Egypt will be put to shame, given into the hands of the people of the north."
25The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.
26I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past," declares the Lord.
27"Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. 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," declares the Lord. "Though I completely destroy 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."
2This is what the Lord says: "See how the waters are rising in the north; 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
3at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels. Parents will not turn to help their children; their hands will hang limp.
4For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to remove all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
5Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. You remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?
6" ‘Alas, sword of the Lord, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’
7But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?"
Chapter 48
1Concerning Moab: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered. 2Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon people will plot her downfall: ‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’ You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced; the sword will pursue you. 3Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction. 4Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out. 5They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard. 6Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush in the desert. 7Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. 8The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because the Lord has spoken.
10"A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
11"Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, 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 of Chemosh, as Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.
14"How can you say, ‘We are warriors, men valiant in battle’?
15Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
16"The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly.
17Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff!’
18"Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon, for the one who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities.
19Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
21Judgment has come to the plateau— to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
22to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24to Kerioth and Bozrah— to all the towns of Moab, far and near.
25Moab’s horn is cut off; her arm is broken," declares the Lord.
26"Make her drunk, for she has defied the Lord. Let Moab wallow in her vomit; let her be an object of ridicule.
27Was not Israel the object of your ridicule? Was she caught among thieves, that you shake your head in scorn whenever you speak of her?
28Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks, you who live in Moab. Be like a dove that makes its nest at the mouth of a cave.
29"We have heard of Moab’s pride— how great is her arrogance!— of her insolence, her pride, her conceit and the haughtiness of her heart.
30I know her insolence but it is futile," declares the Lord, "and her boasts accomplish nothing.
31Therefore I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out, I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32I weep for you, as Jazer weeps, you vines of Sibmah. Your branches spread as far as the sea ; they reached as far as 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 from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy. Although there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy.
34"The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.
35In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods," declares the Lord.
36"So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone.
37Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth.
38On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning, for I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants," declares the Lord.
39"How shattered she is! How they wail! How Moab turns her back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her."
40This is what the Lord says: "Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab.
41Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
42Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord.
43Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab," declares the Lord.
44"Whoever flees 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 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; it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters.
New King James Version
Chapter 39
1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated.
4So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain.
5But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
6Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
7Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.
8And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
9Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.
10But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
11Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12“Take him and look after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.”
13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers;
14then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.
15Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16“Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.
17But I will deliver you in that day,” says the Lord, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
18For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’ ”
2And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
3Now the Lord has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the Lord, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.
4And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”
5Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.
6Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.
7And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,
8then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah— Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
9And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
10As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”
11Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
12then all the Jews returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.
13Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
14and said to him, “Do you certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.
Chapter 41
1Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. 2Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 3Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it,
5that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.
6Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!”
7So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him.
8But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren.
9Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
10Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
11But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
12they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon.
13So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad.
14Then all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.
17And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt,
18because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.
Chapter 42
1Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), 3that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.”
5So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you.
6Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”
7And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
8Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
9and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him:
10‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.
11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.
12And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’
13“But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God,
14saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’—
15Then hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there,
16then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.
17So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’
19“The Lord has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
20For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’
21And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, or anything which He has sent you by me.
22Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”
Chapter 43
1Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words, 2that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’ 3But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” 4So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven— 6men, women, children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.
8Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9“Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes;
10and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them.
11When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.
12I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace.
13He shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.” ’ ”
Chapter 44
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 2“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. 4However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!” 5But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. 6So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’
7“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain,
8in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’
11“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah.
12And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach!
13For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence,
14so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.’ ”
15Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying:
16“ As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you!
17But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble.
18But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”
20Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying:
21“The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and did it not come into His mind?
22So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
23Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”
24Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
25Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’
26Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord God lives.”
27Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.
28Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
29And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.’
Chapter 45
1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” ’
4“Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land.
5And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ”
3“Order the buckler and shield, And draw near to battle!
4Harness the horses, And mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets, Polish the spears, Put on the armor!
5Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down; They have speedily fled, And did not look back, For fear was all around,” says the Lord.
6“Do not let the swift flee away, Nor the mighty man escape; They will stumble and fall Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.
7“Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers?
8Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men come forth: The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
10For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, A day of vengeance, That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice In the north country by the River Euphrates.
11“Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines; You shall not be cured.
12The nations have heard of your shame, And your cry has filled the land; For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; They both have fallen together.”
14“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; Proclaim in Noph and in Tahpanhes; Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves, For the sword devours all around you.’
15Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand Because the Lord drove them away.
16He made many fall; Yes, one fell upon another. And they said, ‘Arise! Let us go back to our own people And to the land of our nativity From the oppressing sword.’
17They cried there, ‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!’
18“ As I live,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts, “Surely as Tabor is among the mountains And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
19O you daughter dwelling in Egypt, Prepare yourself to go into captivity! For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
20“Egypt is a very pretty heifer, But destruction comes, it comes from the north.
21Also her mercenaries are in her midst like fat bulls, For they also are turned back, They have fled away together. They did not stand, For the day of their calamity had come upon them, The time of their punishment.
22 Her noise shall go like a serpent, For they shall march with an army And come against her with axes, Like those who chop wood.
23“They shall cut down her forest,” says the Lord, “Though it cannot be searched, Because they are innumerable, And more numerous than grasshoppers.
24The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed; She shall be delivered into the hand Of the people of the north.”
25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on Amon of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
26And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says the Lord.
27“But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid.
28Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord, “For I am with you; For I will make a complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you, But I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”
2Thus says the Lord: “Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
3At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage,
4Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself?
6“O you sword of the Lord, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still!
7How can it be quiet, Seeing the Lord has given it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.”
Chapter 48
1Against Moab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe to Nebo! For it is plundered, Kirjathaim is shamed and taken; The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed— 2 No more praise of Moab. In Heshbon they have devised evil against her: ‘Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.’ You also shall be cut down, O Madmen! The sword shall pursue you; 3A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim: ‘Plundering and great destruction!’ 4“Moab is destroyed; Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard; 5 For in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping; For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 6“Flee, save your lives! And be like the juniper in the wilderness. 7For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, You also shall be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, His priests and his princes together. 8And the plunderer shall come against every city; No one shall escape. The valley also shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As the Lord has spoken. 9“Give wings to Moab, That she may flee and get away; For her cities shall be desolate, Without any to dwell in them. 10 Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood. 11“Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed. 12“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I shall send him wine-workers Who will tip him over And empty his vessels And break the bottles. 13Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14“How can you say, ‘We are mighty And strong men for the war’? 15Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities; Her chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts. 16“The calamity of Moab is near at hand, And his affliction comes quickly. 17Bemoan him, all you who are around him; And all you who know his name, Say, ‘How the strong staff is broken, The beautiful rod!’ 18“O daughter inhabiting Dibon, Come down from your glory, And sit in thirst; For the plunderer of Moab has come against you, He has destroyed your strongholds. 19O inhabitant of Aroer, Stand by the way and watch; Ask him who flees And her who escapes; Say, ‘What has happened?’ 20Moab is shamed, for he is broken down. Wail and cry! Tell it in Arnon, that Moab is plundered. 21“And judgment has come on the plain country: On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath, 22On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim, 23On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon, 24On Kerioth and Bozrah, On all the cities of the land of Moab, Far or near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, And his arm is broken,” says the Lord. 26“Make him drunk, Because he exalted himself against the Lord. Moab shall wallow in his vomit, And he shall also be in derision. 27For was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, You shake your head in scorn. 28You who dwell in Moab, Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, And be like the dove which makes her nest In the sides of the cave’s mouth. 29“We have heard the pride of Moab (He is exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and pride, And of the haughtiness of his heart.” 30“I know his wrath,” says the Lord, “But it is not right; His lies have made nothing right. 31Therefore I will wail for Moab, And I will cry out for all Moab; I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres. 32 O vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazer. Your plants have gone over the sea, They reach to the sea of Jazer. The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage. 33 Joy and gladness are taken From the plentiful field And from the land of Moab; I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses; No one will tread with joyous shouting— Not joyous shouting! 34“From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh and to Jahaz They have uttered their voice, From Zoar to Horonaim, Like a three-year-old heifer; For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate. 35“Moreover,” says the Lord, “I will cause to cease in Moab The one who offers sacrifices in the high places And burns incense to his gods. 36Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, And like flutes My heart shall wail For the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished. 37“For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped; On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth— 38A general lamentation On all the housetops of Moab, And in its streets; For I have broken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the Lord. 39“They shall wail: ‘How she is broken down! How Moab has turned her back with shame!’ So Moab shall be a derision And a dismay to all those about her.”
40For thus says the Lord: “Behold, one shall fly like an eagle, And spread his wings over Moab.
41Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are surprised; The mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed as a people, Because he exalted himself against the Lord.
43 Fear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you, O inhabitant of Moab,” says the Lord.
44“He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For upon Moab, upon it I will bring The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
45“Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon Because of exhaustion. But a fire shall come out of Heshbon, A flame from the midst of Sihon, And shall devour the brow of Moab, The crown of the head of the sons of tumult.
46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh perish; For your sons have been taken captive, And your daughters captive.
