Jeremiah 44-49

English Standard Version

Judgment for Idolatry

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at ^(A)Migdol, at ^(B)Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of ^(C)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 ^(D)they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, ³because of the evil that they committed, ^(E)provoking me to anger, ^(F)in that they went to make offerings ^(G)and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. ⁴^(H)Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ ⁵^(I)But they did not listen ^(J)or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. ⁶^(K)Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, ^(L)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 ^(M)against yourselves, to cut off from you ^(N)man and woman, ^(O)infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? ⁸^(P)Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, ^(Q)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 ^(R)a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? ⁹Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, ^(S)the evil of the kings of Judah, ^(T)the evil of their^[a] wives, your own evil, ^(U)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, ^(V)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: ^(W)Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. ¹²I will take the remnant of Judah who have ^(X)set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. ^(Y)In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine ^(Z)they shall be consumed. ^(AA)From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, ^(AB)and they shall become an oath, a horror, ^(AC)a curse, and a taunt. ¹³^(AD)I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, ¹⁴^(AE)so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive ^(AF)or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, ^(AG)except some fugitives.”

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that ^(AH)their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in ^(AI)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, ^(AJ)we will not listen to you. ¹⁷^(AK)But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to ^(AL)the queen of heaven ^(AM)and pour out drink offerings to her, ^(AN)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 ^(AO)the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything ^(AP)and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” ¹⁹And the women said,^[b] “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven ^(AQ)and poured out drink offerings to her, was it ^(AR)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, ^(AS)men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: ²¹^(AT)“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, ^(AU)did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind? ²²^(AV)The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and ^(AW)the abominations that you committed. ^(AX)Therefore your land has become ^(AY)a desolation and a waste and a curse, ^(AZ)without inhabitant, as it is this day. ²³It is because you made offerings ^(BA)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 ^(BB)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, ^(BC)all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. ²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(BD)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, ^(BE)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, ^(BF)all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ^(BG)Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, ^(BH)that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, ^(BI)saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’ ²⁷^(BJ)Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. ^(BK)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. ²⁸^(BL)And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, ^(BM)few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, ^(BN)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 ^(BO)my words will surely stand against you for harm: ³⁰Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give ^(BP)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies ^(BQ)and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave ^(BR)Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”

Message to Baruch

45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to ^(BS)Baruch the son of Neriah, ^(BT)when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, ^(BU)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, ^(BV)‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. ^(BW)I am weary with my groaning, ^(BX)and I find no rest.’ ⁴Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: ^(BY)Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. ⁵And ^(BZ)do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, ^(CA)I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you ^(CB)your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Judgment on Egypt

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

²About Egypt. ^(CD)Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ^(CE)the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

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

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

⁷“Who is this, ^(CN)rising like the Nile,
    like rivers ^(CO)whose waters surge?
⁸Egypt rises like the Nile,
    like rivers ^(CP)whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
    I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
⁹^(CQ)Advance, O horses,
    and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
    men of Cush and ^(CR)Put who handle the shield,
    ^(CS)men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
¹⁰^(CT)That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
    ^(CU)a day of vengeance,
    ^(CV)to avenge himself on his foes.
^(CW)The sword shall devour and be sated
    and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ^(CX)a sacrifice
    ^(CY)in the north country ^(CZ)by the river Euphrates.
¹¹^(DA)Go up to Gilead, and take ^(DB)balm,
    O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
    ^(DC)there is no healing for you.
¹²The nations have heard of your shame,
    and the earth is full of your cry;
^(DD)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 ^(DE)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^(DF)Migdol;
    proclaim in ^(DG)Memphis and ^(DH)Tahpanhes;
say, ^(DI)‘Stand ready and be prepared,
    for ^(DJ)the sword shall devour around you.’
¹⁵Why are your mighty ones face down?
    They do not stand^[c]
    because the Lord thrust them down.
¹⁶He made many stumble, ^(DK)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,
    ^(DL)because of the sword of the oppressor.’
¹⁷Call the name of ^(DM)Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

¹⁸^(DN)“As I live, declares the King,
    ^(DO)whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^(DP)Tabor among the mountains
    and like ^(DQ)Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
¹⁹^(DR)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
    O ^(DS)inhabitants of Egypt!
For ^(DT)Memphis shall become a waste,
    a ruin, ^(DU)without inhabitant.

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

²²“She makes ^(DZ)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
    ^(EA)like those who fell trees.
²³^(EB)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
    though it is impenetrable,
because ^(EC)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 ^(ED)a people from the north.”

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

²⁷^(EK)“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^(EL)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.
^(EM)I will discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Judgment on the Philistines

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^(EN)concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down ^(EO)Gaza.

²“Thus says the Lord:
^(EP)Behold, waters are rising ^(EQ)out of the north,
    ^(ER)and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow ^(ES)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,
    ^(ET)at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers ^(EU)look not back to their children,
    so feeble are their hands,
⁴because of the day that is coming to destroy
    all ^(EV)the Philistines,
to cut off from ^(EW)Tyre and Sidon
    every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
    ^(EX)the remnant of the coastland of ^(EY)Caphtor.
⁵^(EZ)Baldness has come upon Gaza;
    ^(FA)Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
    ^(FB)how long will you gash yourselves?
⁶^(FC)Ah, sword of the Lord!
    How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
    rest and be still!
⁷How can it^[d] be quiet
    ^(FD)when the Lord has given it a charge?
Against ^(FE)Ashkelon and against the seashore
    ^(FF)he has appointed it.”

Judgment on Moab

48 ^(FG)Concerning Moab.

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

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

³“A voice! A cry from ^(FN)Horonaim,
    ‘Desolation and great destruction!’
⁴Moab is destroyed;
    her little ones have made a cry.
⁵^(FO)For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;^[e]
for ^(FP)at the descent of Horonaim
    they have heard the distressed cry^[f] of destruction.
⁶Flee! Save yourselves!
    You will be like ^(FQ)a juniper in the desert!
⁷For, ^(FR)because you trusted in your works and your treasures,
    you also shall be taken;
and ^(FS)Chemosh ^(FT)shall go into exile
    with ^(FU)his priests and his officials.
⁸^(FV)The destroyer shall come upon every city,
    and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
    and ^(FW)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^(FX)“Cursed is he who does ^(FY)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 ^(FZ)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^[g] jars in pieces. ¹³Then ^(GA)Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as ^(GB)the house of Israel was ashamed of ^(GC)Bethel, their confidence.

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

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

²¹“Judgment has come upon ^(GR)the tableland, upon Holon, and ^(GS)Jahzah, and Mephaath, ²²and ^(GT)Dibon, and ^(GU)Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, ²³and ^(GV)Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and ^(GW)Beth-meon, ²⁴and ^(GX)Kerioth, and ^(GY)Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. ²⁵^(GZ)The horn of Moab is cut off, and ^(HA)his arm is broken, declares the Lord.

²⁶^(HB)“Make him drunk, ^(HC)because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall ^(HD)wallow in his vomit, ^(HE)and he too shall be held in derision. ²⁷^(HF)Was not Israel a derision to you? ^(HG)Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him ^(HH)you wagged your head?

²⁸^(HI)“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
    O inhabitants of Moab!
Be ^(HJ)like the dove that nests
    in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
²⁹^(HK)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;
    ^(HL)his boasts are false,
    his deeds are false.
³¹^(HM)Therefore I wail for Moab;
    I cry out for all Moab;
    for the men of ^(HN)Kir-hareseth I mourn.
³²More than for ^(HO)Jazer I weep for you,
    ^(HP)O vine of ^(HQ)Sibmah!
^(HR)Your branches passed over the sea,
    reached to the Sea of ^(HS)Jazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
    the destroyer has fallen.
³³^(HT)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^(HU)“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to ^(HV)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 ^(HW)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 ^(HX)Kir-hareseth. ^(HY)Therefore the riches they gained have perished.

³⁷^(HZ)“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. ^(IA)On all the hands are gashes, and ^(IB)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 ^(IC)a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. ³⁹How it is broken! How they wail! ^(ID)How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab ^(IE)has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”

⁴⁰For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, ^(IF)one shall fly swiftly like an eagle
    ^(IG)and spread his wings against Moab;
⁴¹^(IH)the cities shall be taken
    and the strongholds seized.
^(II)The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
    like the heart of ^(IJ)a woman in her birth pains;
⁴²Moab shall be ^(IK)destroyed and be no longer a people,
    because ^(IL)he magnified himself against the Lord.
⁴³^(IM)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.
^(IN)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 ^(IO)the forehead of Moab,
    the crown of ^(IP)the sons of tumult.
⁴⁶^(IQ)Woe to you, O Moab!
    The people of ^(IR)Chemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
    and your daughters into captivity.
⁴⁷^(IS)Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
    in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Judgment on Ammon

49 ^(IT)Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

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

³“Wail, O ^(IZ)Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters of ^(JA)Rabbah!
^(JB)Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^(JC)Milcom shall go into exile,
    ^(JD)with his priests and his officials.
⁴Why do you boast of your valleys,^[i]
    ^(JE)O faithless daughter,
^(JF)who trusted in her treasures, saying,
    ‘Who will come against me?’
⁵Behold, ^(JG)I will bring terror upon you,
    declares the Lord God of hosts,
    from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
    with none to gather the fugitives.

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

Judgment on Edom

⁷Concerning ^(JI)Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(JJ)“Is wisdom no more in ^(JK)Teman?
    ^(JL)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    ^(JM)Has their wisdom vanished?
⁸^(JN)Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of ^(JO)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    ^(JP)the time when I punish him.
⁹^(JQ)If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave ^(JR)gleanings?
^(JS)If thieves came by night,
    would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
¹⁰^(JT)But I have stripped Esau bare;
    ^(JU)I have uncovered his hiding places,
    and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
    and his neighbors; and ^(JV)he is no more.
¹¹^(JW)Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
    ^(JX)and let your widows trust in me.”

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

¹⁴^(KD)I have heard a message from the Lord,
    and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
^(KE)“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
    and rise up for battle!
¹⁵For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
    despised among mankind.
¹⁶The horror you inspire has deceived you,
    and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,^[j]
    who hold the height of the hill.
Though you ^(KF)make your nest as high as the eagle's,
    I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.

¹⁷^(KG)“Edom shall become a horror. ^(KH)Everyone who passes by it will be horrified ^(KI)and will hiss because of all its disasters. ¹⁸^(KJ)As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^(KK)neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^(KL)no man shall dwell there, ^(KM)no man shall sojourn in her. ¹⁹^(KN)Behold, ^(KO)like a lion coming up from ^(KP)the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him^[k] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. ^(KQ)For who is like me? ^(KR)Who will summon me? ^(KS)What shepherd can stand before me? ²⁰Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^(KT)Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^(KU)Teman: ^(KV)Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ²¹At the sound of their fall ^(KW)the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. ²²Behold, ^(KX)one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^(KY)Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^(KZ)of a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

²³Concerning ^(LA)Damascus:

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

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

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

Thus says the Lord:
^(LN)“Rise up, advance against ^(LO)Kedar!
    Destroy ^(LP)the people of the east!
²⁹^(LQ)Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
    their ^(LR)curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
    and men shall cry to them: ^(LS)‘Terror on every side!’
³⁰^(LT)Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
    has made a plan against you
    and formed a purpose against you.

³¹^(LU)“Rise up, advance against a nation ^(LV)at ease,
    ^(LW)that dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
^(LX)that has no gates or bars,
    that dwells alone.
³²^(LY)Their camels shall become plunder,
    their herds of livestock a spoil.
^(LZ)I will scatter to every wind
    ^(MA)those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
    from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
³³Hazor shall become ^(MB)a haunt of jackals,
    an everlasting waste;
^(MC)no man shall dwell there;
    ^(MD)no man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

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

³⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break ^(MG)the bow of ^(MH)Elam, the mainstay of their might. ³⁶And I will bring upon ^(MI)Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of ^(MJ)Elam shall not come. ³⁷I will ^(MK)terrify ^(ML)Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, ^(MM)my fierce anger, declares the Lord. ^(MN)I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, ³⁸and I will set my throne in ^(MO)Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.