Jer. 46:1‑51:64• 1The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah.
3Make ready buckler and shield, and draw near to battle!
4Harness the horses, and mount ye horsemen, and stand forth with helmets; polish the spears, put on the coats of mail!
5Why do I see them dismayed, turned away back? And their mighty ones are beaten down, and take to flight, and look not back? Terror is on every side, saith Jehovah.
6Let not the swift flee away, neither let the mighty man escape!--Toward the north, hard by the river Euphrates, they have stumbled and fallen.
7Who is this that riseth up as the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
8It is Egypt that riseth up as the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers; and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.
9Go up, ye horses, and drive furiously, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Phut that handle the shield, and the Ludim that handle the bow and bend it.
10For this is the day of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may be avenged of his adversaries; and the sword shall devour, and it shall be sated and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord Jehovah of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country, by the river Euphrates.
11Go up to Gilead, and fetch balm, O virgin-daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou multiply remedies: there is no healing for thee.
12The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the earth; for the mighty man stumbleth against the mighty, they are both fallen together.
13The word that Jehovah spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:
14Declare in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph, and in Tahpanhes; say, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword devoureth round about thee.
15Why are thy valiants swept away? They stood not, for Jehovah did thrust them down.
16He made many to stumble, yea, one fell upon another; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17There did they cry, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the time appointed go by.
18As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely as Tabor among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19Thou, inhabitress, daughter of Egypt, furnish for thyself a captive's baggage, for Noph shall be a desolation and shall be ruined, so that none shall dwell therein.
20Egypt is a very fair heifer; the gad-fly cometh, it cometh from the north.
21Also her hired men in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; for they also have turned back, they have fled away together, they did not stand; for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation.
22Her voice shall go like a serpent's; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it be impenetrable; for they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
24The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith, Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, and her gods, and her kings; yea, Pharaoh and them that confide in him.
26And I will give them into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; but afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith Jehovah.
27But thou, my servant Jacob, fear not, neither be dismayed, Israel: for behold, I will save thee from afar, 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.
28Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, saith Jehovah: 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 I will correct thee with judgment, and I will not hold thee altogether guiltless.
1The word of Jehovah that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gazah.
2Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl,
3at the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his steeds, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels: fathers shall not look back for their children, from feebleness of hands;
4because of the day that cometh to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remaineth; for Jehovah will lay waste the Philistines, the remnant of the island of Caphtor.
5Baldness is come upon Gazah; Ashkelon is cut off, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6Alas! sword of Jehovah, how long wilt thou not be quiet? Withdraw into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7How shouldest thou be quiet?--For Jehovah hath given it a charge: against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore, there hath he appointed it.
1Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed.
2Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee.
3A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction!
4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction.
6Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness.
7For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
8And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.
9Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant.
10Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!
11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
12Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons.
13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?
15Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up in smoke, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
18Come down from thy glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed.
19Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done?
20Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
21And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath;
22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim;
23and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon;
24and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
26Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head?
28Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth.
29We have heard of the arrogance of Moab,--he is very proud;--his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as they say.
31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir heres shall there be moaning.
32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.
33And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
34Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, unto Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations.
35And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
37For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
38It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah.
39They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.
40For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab.
41Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.
43Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
44He 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 her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult.
46Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives.
47But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.
1Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? Why is Malcam heir of Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?
2Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause the clamour of war to be heard in Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall be a desolate heap; and her towns shall be burned with fire; and Israel shall possess them that possessed him, saith Jehovah.
3Howl, Heshbon! for Ai is laid waste; cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro within the enclosures: for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys? Thy valley shall flow down, O backsliding daughter, that trusteth in her treasures, saying, Who shall come against me?
5Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, from all that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall assemble the fugitives.
6And afterwards I will turn the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah.
7Concerning Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom spent?
8Flee, turn back, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I visit him.
9If grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a gleaning? If thieves by night, they would destroy only till they had enough.
10But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, that he is unable to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
11Leave thine orphans, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
12For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and thou indeed, shouldest thou be altogether unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.
13For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
14I have heard a rumour from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations:--Gather yourselves together, and come against her and rise up for the battle.
15For behold, I have made thee small among the nations, despised among men.
16Thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart, hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill. Though thou shouldest make thy nest high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
17And Edom shall be an astonishment: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all the plagues thereof.
18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make them suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen man whom I shall appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
20Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Edom, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them.
21The earth quaketh at the sound of their fall; there is a cry, the sound whereof is heard in the Red sea.
22Behold, he shall come up, and fly as an eagle, and spread forth his wings against Bozrah; and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
23Concerning Damascus. Hamath is put to shame, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is distress on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24Damascus is grown feeble: she turneth herself to flee, and terror hath seized on her; trouble and sorrows have taken hold of her as of a woman in travail.
25How is not the town of praise forsaken, the city of my joy!
26Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all the men of war be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
28Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
29Their tents and their flocks shall they take; their curtains and all their vessels, and their camels, shall they carry away for themselves; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side!
30Flee, wander very far, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31Arise, get you up against the nation at ease, that dwelleth securely, saith Jehovah, which hath neither gates nor bars: they dwell alone.
32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter to every wind them that have the corners of their beard cut off, and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith Jehovah.
33And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever. No one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
34The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36And upon Elam will I bring the four winds, from the four ends of the heavens, and I will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
38And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.
39But it shall come to pass at the end of the days, I will turn the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.
1The word that Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet.
2Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a banner; publish, conceal not! Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed: her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: both man and beast are fled; they are gone.
4In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping as they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God.
5They shall inquire concerning Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to Jehovah, in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they turned them away on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place.
7All that found them devoured them, and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.
8Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flock.
9For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon, an assemblage of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her: from thence shall she be taken. Their arrows shall be as those of a mighty expert man: none shall return empty.
10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all the spoilers thereof shall be satiated, saith Jehovah.
11For ye rejoiced, for ye triumphed, ye plunderers of my heritage; for ye have been wanton as the heifer at grass, and neighed as steeds.
12Your mother hath been sorely put to shame; she that bore you hath been covered with reproach: behold, she is become hindmost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13Because of the wrath of Jehovah, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all her plagues.
14Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah.
15Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand; her ramparts are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for this is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the oppressing sword let them turn every one to his people, and let them flee every one to his own land.
17Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, like as I have visited the king of Assyria.
19And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and in Gilead.
20In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, 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 those whom I leave remaining.
21Go up against the land of double rebellion, against it, and against the inhabitants of visitation; waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22A sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction.
23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou, Babylon, art also taken, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, for thou hast contended with Jehovah.
25Jehovah hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for this is a work for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come ye against her from every quarter, open her storehouses; pile her up like sheaves, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29Call together the archers against Babylon, all those that bend the bow: encamp against her round about; let there be no escaping: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath acted proudly against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets; and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah.
31Behold, I am against thee, proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I visit thee:
32and the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; yea, I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.
33Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah were together oppressed; and all that took them captives held them fast: they refused to let them go.
34Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35The sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men;
36the sword is upon the liars, and they shall become fools; the sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed;
37the 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; the sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed:
38a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad after frightful idols.
39Therefore wild beasts of the desert with jackals shall dwell there, and ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
41Behold, a people cometh from the north, and a great nation. And many kings shall arise from the uttermost parts of the earth.
42They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel, and will not shew mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses--set in array like a man for the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands wax feeble; trouble hath taken hold of him, pangs as of a woman in travail.
44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make him suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen man whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them.
46At the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth hath quaked, and the cry is heard among the nations.
1Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;
2and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.
4And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.
7Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.
8Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.
10Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.
11Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.
12Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.
14Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.
15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
20Thou art my maul, my weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
21and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;
22and with thee 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;
23and with thee will I break in pieces 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 governors and rulers.
24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.
25Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain.
26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
27Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.
28Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.
29And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.
31Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;
32and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
34Nebuchadrezzar 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.
35The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.
37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.
39When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.
44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.
45Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!
46lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that a rumour in another year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.
47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.
49As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51--We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
52--Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.
53Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.
54The sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;
55for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.
56For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the *God of recompences, will certainly requite.
57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
58Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.
60And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.
61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;
62and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;
64and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah. (Jer. 46:1‑51:64)