THE BOOK OF
JEREMIAH
CHAPTERS 40-52
1 ¶ The 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.
2 And the captain
of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God
hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
3 Now 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.
4 And 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.
5 Now 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.
6 Then went
Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
7 ¶ Now 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;
8
Then 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.
9 And 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.
10 As 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.
11
Likewise 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;
12 Even 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.
13 Moreover
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the
fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
14 And 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.
15 Then 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?
16 But Gedaliah
the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this
thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
1 ¶ Now 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.
2 Then 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.
3 Ishmael 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.
4 And it came to
pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
5
That 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.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8
But 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.
9 Now 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.
10 Then 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.
11 ¶ But 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,
12 Then 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.
13 Now 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.
14 So all the
people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
15 But Ishmael
the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the
Ammonites.
16 Then 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:
17 And they
departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go
to enter into Egypt,
18
Because 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.
1 ¶ Then 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,
2 And 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:)
3
That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the
thing that we may do.
4 Then 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.
5 Then 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.
6 Whether 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.
7 ¶ And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of
the LORD came unto Jeremiah.
8 Then 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,
9 And said unto them,
Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your
supplication before him;
10 If 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.
11 Be 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.
12 And I will
shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
13 But if ye say,
We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,
14 Saying, 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:
15
And 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;
16 Then 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.
17 So 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.
18 For 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.
19 The LORD hath
said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt:
know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
20 For 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.
21 And 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.
22 Now 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.
1 ¶ And 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,
2 Then 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:
3
But 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.
4 So 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.
5
But 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;
6 Even 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.
7 So they came
into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came
they even to Tahpanhes.
8 ¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in
Tahpanhes, saying,
9
Take 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;
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 He 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.
1 ¶ The 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,
2 Thus 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,
3 Because 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.
4
Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and
sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5 But they
hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no
incense unto other gods.
6 Wherefore 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.
7 Therefore 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;
8
In 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?
9 Have 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?
10 They 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.
11
Therefore 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.
12 And 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.
13 For 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:
14 So 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.
15 ¶ Then 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,
16 As for the
word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken
unto thee.
17 But 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.
18 But 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.
19 And 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?
20 ¶ Then 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,
21 The 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?
22 So 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.
23 Because 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.
24 Moreover
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:
25 Thus 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.
26 Therefore 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.
27 Behold, 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.
28
Yet 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.
29 And 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:
30
Thus 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.
1 ¶ The 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,
2 Thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;
3 Thou 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.
4 Thus 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.
5 And 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.
1 ¶ The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the
prophet against the Gentiles;
2
Against 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.
3 Order ye the
buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4 Harness the
horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.
5 Wherefore have
I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten
down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith
the LORD.
6 Let not the
swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.
7 Who is this
that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
8 Egypt riseth up
like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go
up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants
thereof.
9
Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come
forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians,
that handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is
the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of
his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath
a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up into
Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use
many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
12 ¶ The 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.
13 The word that
the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
should come and smite the land of Egypt.
14 Declare 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.
15 Why are thy
valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.
16 He made many
to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again
to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17 They did cry
there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.
18 As I live,
saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the
mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19
O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity:
for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
20 Egypt is like
a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.
21 Also her hired
men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand,
because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their
visitation.
22 The voice
thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come
against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23 They shall cut
down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because
they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.
24 The daughter
of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the
people of the north.
25 The 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:
26 And 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.
27 But 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.
28 Fear thou not,
O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full
end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full
end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
1 ¶ The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the
prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2 Thus saith the
LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing
flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them
that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land
shall howl.
3 At the noise of
the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots,
and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;
4 Because of the
day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and
Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the
remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5 Baldness is
come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6 O thou sword of
the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy
scabbard, rest, and be still.
7 How can it be
quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the
sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
1 ¶ Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken:
Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
2 There shall be
no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou
shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
3 A voice of
crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
4 Moab is
destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5 For in the
going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6 Flee, save your
lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
7 For because
thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken:
and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes
together.
8
And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape:
the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD
hath spoken.
9 Give wings unto
Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate,
without any to dwell therein.
10 Cursed be he
that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
11 Moab hath been
at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been
emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore
his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
12 Therefore,
behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers,
that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their
bottles.
13 And Moab shall
be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their
confidence.
14 ¶ How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the
war?
15
Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men
are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of
hosts.
16 The calamity
of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17 All ye that
are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the
strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!
18
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit
in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy
thy strong holds.
19 O inhabitant
of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that
escapeth, and say, What is done?
20
Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in
Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21 And judgment
is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon
Mephaath,
22 And upon
Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim,
23
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon,
24 And upon
Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or
near.
25 The horn of
Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.
26 Make ye him
drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall
wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27 For was not
Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest
of him, thou skippedst for joy.
28 O ye that
dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove
that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.
29
We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness,
and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his
wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.
31 Therefore will
I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.
32 O vine of
Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone
over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon
thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
33 And joy and
gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab;
and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with
shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.
34 From the cry
of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their
voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the
waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
35
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that
offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36 Therefore mine
heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes
for the men of Kirheres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished.
37
For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the
hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
38 There shall be
lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof:
for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.
39
They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the
back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about
him.
40 For thus saith
the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over
Moab.
41 Kerioth is
taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts
in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42 And Moab shall
be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the
LORD.
43 Fear, and the
pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
44
He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that
getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon
it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
45 They that fled
stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come
forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the
tumultuous ones.
46 Woe be unto
thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives,
and thy daughters captives.
47 Yet will I
bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far
is the judgment of Moab.
1 ¶ Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath
Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his
people dwell in his cities?
2 Therefore,
behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be
heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be
heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
3 Howl, O
Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with
sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go
into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
4
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O
backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come
unto me?
5 Behold, I will
bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be
about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall
gather up him that wandereth.
6
And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon,
saith the LORD.
7 ¶ Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is
wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom
vanished?
8 Flee ye, turn
back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity
of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
9 If
grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if
thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
10 But I have
made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to
hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
11 Leave thy
fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in
me.
12 For thus saith
the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have
assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
13 For I have
sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a
reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual
wastes.
14 I have heard a
rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen,
saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15 For, lo, I
will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
16 Thy
terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that
dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though
thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from
thence, saith the LORD.
17 Also Edom
shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and
shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
18 As in the
overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the
LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
19
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against
the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her:
and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and
who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before
me?
20 Therefore hear
the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his
purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the
least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations
desolate with them.
21 The earth is
moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the
Red sea.
22
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over
Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the
heart of a woman in her pangs.
23 ¶ Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and
Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow
on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath
seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the
city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her
young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in
that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume
the palaces of Benhadad.
28 ¶ Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of
Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD;
Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
29
Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to
themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they
shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
30 Flee, get you
far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31 Arise, get you
up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which
have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
32 And their
camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will
scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring
their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
33 And Hazor
shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man
abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
34 ¶ The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the
prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah,
saying,
35
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the
chief of their might.
36 And upon Elam
will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter
them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts
of Elam shall not come.
37
For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before
them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce
anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have
consumed them:
38 And I will set
my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith
the LORD.
39
But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again
the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
1 ¶ The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and
against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is
broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the
north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate,
and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days,
and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and
the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the
LORD their God.
5 They shall ask
the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall
not be forgotten.
6 My people hath
been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have
turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they
have forgotten their restingplace.
7 All that found
them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not,
because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the
LORD, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove out of
the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as
the he goats before the flocks.
9 ¶ For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against
Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country:
and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be
taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in
vain.
10 And Chaldea
shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.
11 Because ye
were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as
bulls;
12 Your mother
shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the
hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the
wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate:
every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves
in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her,
spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD.
15 Shout against
her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls
are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance
upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut off the
sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest:
for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and
they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a
scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of
Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will
bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and
Gilead.
20 In those days,
and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found:
for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
21 ¶ Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against
it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly
destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have
commanded thee.
22 A sound of
battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the
hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a
desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,
and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast
striven against the LORD.
25 The LORD hath
opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for
this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against
her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and
destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her
bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is
come, the time of their visitation.
28
The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to
declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together
the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round
about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according
to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against
the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore
shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut
off in that day, saith the LORD.
31 Behold, I am
against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is
come, the time that I will visit thee.
32
And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up:
and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about
him.
33 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel
and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them
captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34
Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall
throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet
the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is
upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and
upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36
A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her
mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is
upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people
that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon
her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
38
A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the
land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the
wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell
there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for
ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof,
saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell
therein.
41 Behold, a
people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be
raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall
hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon
horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O
daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of
Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took
hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he
shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation
of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a
chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will
appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear
ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his
purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make
their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise
of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the
nations.
1 ¶ Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will
raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that
rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2 And will send
unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the
day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Against him
that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men;
destroy ye utterly all her host.
4 Thus the slain
shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in
her streets.
5 For Israel hath
not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though
their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee out of the
midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her
iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her
a recompence.
7 Babylon hath
been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken:
the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is
suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be
she may be healed.
9 We would have
healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one
into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 The LORD hath
brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of
the LORD our God.
11 Make bright
the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings
of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Set up the
standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen,
prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he
spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O thou that
dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come,
and the measure of thy covetousness.
14 The LORD of hosts
hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with
caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
15 He hath made
the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
16
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he
maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Every man is
brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for
his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18
They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation
they shall perish.
19 The portion of
Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the
rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
20 Thou art my
battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 And with thee
will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in
pieces the chariot and his rider;
22 With thee also
will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old
and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 I will also
break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I
break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break
in pieces captains and rulers.
24 And I will
render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
25 Behold, I am
against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth:
and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks,
and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 And they shall
not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
27 Set ye up a
standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations
against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and
Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the
rough caterpillers.
28
Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the
captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
29 And the land
shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed
against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an
inhabitant.
30
The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in
their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned
her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31 One post shall
run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of
Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
32
And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with
fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a
threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of
her harvest shall come.
34
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me,
he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath
filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
35 The violence
done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say;
and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take
vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
37 And Babylon
shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an
hissing, without an inhabitant.
38 They shall
roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.
39
In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken,
that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the
LORD.
40 I will bring
them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
41 How is
Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is
Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of
the waves thereof.
43 Her cities are
a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth,
neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
44 And I will
punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45 My people, go
ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce
anger of the LORD.
46 And lest your
heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in
another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against
ruler.
47 Therefore,
behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of
Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall
in the midst of her.
48
Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for
Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
49 As Babylon
hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of
all the earth.
50 Ye that have
escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar
off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We are
confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers
are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.
52 Wherefore,
behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven
images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify
the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the
LORD.
54 A sound of a
cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
55 Because the
LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice;
when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
56 Because the
spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken,
every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely
requite.
57 And I will
make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers,
and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith
the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
58 Thus saith the
LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high
gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the
folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 ¶ The word which Jeremiah the prophet
commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with
Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And
this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
60 So Jeremiah
wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these
words that are written against Babylon.
61
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt
see, and shalt read all these words;
62 Then shalt
thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none
shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for
ever.
63
And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that
thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:
64 And thou shalt
say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will
bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
1 ¶ Zedekiah was one and twenty years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 And he did that
which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had
done.
3
For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and
Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled
against the king of Babylon.
4 And it came to
pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of
the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts
against it round about.
5 So the city was
besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 And in the
fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city,
so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
7 Then the city
was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls,
which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round
about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
8 But the army of
the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of
Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
9
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to
Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
10 And the king
of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the
princes of Judah in Riblah.
11 Then he put
out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains,
and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12 ¶ Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the
month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into
Jerusalem,
13 And burned the
house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem,
and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
14 And all the
army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all
the walls of Jerusalem round about.
15 Then
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor
of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and
those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and
the rest of the multitude.
16 But
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for
vinedressers and for husbandmen.
17 Also the
pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the
brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
18 The caldrons
also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all
the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
19 And the
basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the
candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and
that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the
guard away.
20 The two
pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king
Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was
without weight.
21 And concerning
the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet
of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it
was hollow.
22 And a chapiter
of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with
network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The
second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
23
And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the
pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
24 ¶ And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief
priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
25 He took also
out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which
were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the
people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were
found in the midst of the city.
26 So Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to
Riblah.
27
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in
the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
28 This is the
people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three
thousand Jews and three and twenty:
29 In the
eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem
eight hundred thirty and two persons:
30 In the three
and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the
persons were four thousand and six hundred.
31 ¶ And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year
of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth
month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of
Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of
Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
32 And spake
kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were
with him in Babylon,
33
And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before
him all the days of his life.
34 And for his
diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a
portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.