Category: Jeremiah

Murder

1-3 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, came. He had royal blood in his veins and had been one of the king’s high-ranking officers. He paid a visit to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah with ten of his men. As they were eating together, Ishmael and his ten men jumped to their feet and knocked Gedaliah down and killed him, killed the man the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land. Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were stationed there.

4-5 On the second day after the murder of Gedaliah—no one yet knew of it—men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, eighty of them, with their beards shaved, their clothing ripped, and gashes on their bodies. They were pilgrims carrying grain offerings and incense on their way to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.

6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to welcome them, weeping ostentatiously. When he greeted them he invited them in: “Come and meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”

7-8 But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his henchmen slaughtered the pilgrims and dumped the bodies in a cistern. Ten of the men talked their way out of the massacre. They bargained with Ishmael, “Don’t kill us. We have a hidden store of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey out in the fields.” So he held back and didn’t kill them with their fellow pilgrims.

9 Ishmael’s reason for dumping the bodies into a cistern was to cover up the earlier murder of Gedaliah. The cistern had been built by King Asa as a defense against Baasha king of Israel. This was the cistern that Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled with the slaughtered men.

10 Ishmael then took everyone else in Mizpah, including the king’s daughters entrusted to the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam by Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, as prisoners. Rounding up the prisoners, Ishmael son of Nethaniah proceeded to take them over into the country of Ammon.

11-12 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him heard about the atrocities committed by Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They set off at once after Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him at the large pool at Gibeon.

13-15 When all the prisoners from Mizpah who had been taken by Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They were so happy! They all rallied around Johanan son of Kareah and headed back home. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah got away, escaping from Johanan with eight men into the land of Ammon.

16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him gathered together what was left of the people whom Ishmael son of Nethaniah had taken prisoner from Mizpah after the murder of Gedaliah son of Ahikam—men, women, children, eunuchs—and brought them back from Gibeon.

17-18 They set out at once for Egypt to get away from the Chaldeans, stopping on the way at Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem. They were afraid of what the Chaldeans might do in retaliation of Ishmael son of Nethaniah’s murder of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor of the country.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/41-3abaac0204ed9f1527ec787d672b7601.mp3?version_id=97—

What You Fear Will Catch Up with You

1-3 All the army officers, led by Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, accompanied by all the people, small and great, came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, “We have a request. Please listen. Pray to yourGodfor us, what’s left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are! Pray that yourGodwill tell us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4 Jeremiah the prophet said, “I hear your request. And I will pray to yourGodas you have asked. WhateverGodsays, I’ll pass on to you. I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back.”

5-6 They said to Jeremiah, “LetGodbe our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don’t do everything that yourGoddirects you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we’ll do it. We’ll obey whatever ourGodtells us. Yes, count on us. We’ll do it.”

7-8 Ten days laterGod’s Message came to Jeremiah. He called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, including all the people, regardless of how much clout they had.

9-12 He then spoke: “This is the Message fromGod, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer. He says, ‘If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you. You don’t have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I’m on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do. I’ll pour mercy on you. What’s more,hewill show you mercy! He’ll let you come back to your very own land.’

13-17 “But do not say, ‘We’re not staying around this place,’ refusing to obey the command of yourGodand saying instead, ‘No! We’re off to Egypt, where things are peaceful—no wars, no attacking armies, plenty of food. We’re going to live there.’ If what’s left of Judah is headed down that road, then listen toGod’s Message. This is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies says: ‘If you have determined to go to Egypt and make that your home, then the very wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt and the starvation you dread will track you down in Egypt. You’ll die there! Every last one of you who is determined to go to Egypt and make it your home will either be killed, starve, or get sick and die. No survivors, not one! No one will escape the doom that I’ll bring upon you.’

18 “This is the Message fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘In the same way that I swept the citizens of Jerusalem away with my anger and wrath, I’ll do the same thing all over again in Egypt. You’ll end up being cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. And you’ll never see your homeland again.’

19-20 “Godhas plainly told you, you leftovers from Judah, ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Could anything be plainer? I warn you this day that you are living out a fantasy. You’re making a fatal mistake.

“Didn’t you just now send me to yourGod, saying, ‘Pray for us to ourGod. Tell us everything thatGodsays and we’ll do it all’?

21-22 “Well, now I’ve told you, told you everything he said, and you haven’t obeyed a word of it, not a single word of what yourGodsent me to tell you. So now let me tell you what will happen next: You’ll be killed, you’ll starve to death, you’ll get sick and die in the wonderful country where you’ve determined to go and live.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/42-aaa3b6173ed53a5568196e6343180ef4.mp3?version_id=97—

Death! Exile! Slaughter!

1-3 When Jeremiah finished telling all the people the whole Message that theirGodhad sent him to give them—all these words—Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah, backed by all the self-important men, said to Jeremiah, “Liar! OurGodnever sent you with this message telling us not to go to Egypt and live there. Baruch son of Neriah is behind this. He has turned you against us. He’s playing into the hands of the Babylonians so we’ll either end up being killed or taken off to exile in Babylon.”

4 Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and the people along with them, wouldn’t listen toGod’s Message that they stay in the land of Judah and live there.

5-7 Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers gathered up everyone who was left from Judah, who had come back after being scattered all over the place—the men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, all the people that Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had left in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and last but not least, Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. They entered the land of Egypt in total disobedience ofGod’s Message and arrived at the city of Tahpanhes.

8-9 While in Tahpanhes,God’s Word came to Jeremiah: “Pick up some large stones and cover them with mortar in the vicinity of the pavement that leads up to the building set aside for Pharaoh’s use in Tahpanhes. Make sure some of the men of Judah are watching.

10-13 “Then address them: ‘This is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! I’m sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—my servant, mind you!—and he’ll set up his throne on these very stones that I’ve had buried here and he’ll spread out his canopy over them. He’ll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. He’ll burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods. He’ll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, he’ll pick Egypt clean. And then he’ll walk away without a hand being laid on him. He’ll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egypt’s House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/43-ee161cd42e2f017e2e2203a93ef7ee26.mp3?version_id=97—

The Same Fate Will Fall upon All

1-6 The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros: “This is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what’s left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins, and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about. Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, “Please, please—don’t do this, don’t fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion.” But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one. So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they’restillin ruins and wasted.’

7-8 “This is the Message ofGod,God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected? And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you’ve come to live? You’ll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.

9-11 “‘Have you so soon forgotten the evil lives of your ancestors, the evil lives of the kings of Judah and their wives, to say nothing of your own evil lives, you and your wives, the evil you flaunted in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? And to this day, there’s not a trace of remorse, not a sign of reverence, nobody caring about living by what I tell them or following my instructions that I’ve set out so plainly before you and your parents! So this is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies decrees:

11-14 “‘Watch out! I’ve decided to bring doom on you and get rid of everyone connected with Judah. I’m going to take what’s left of Judah, those who have decided to go to Egypt and live there, and finish them off. In Egypt they will either be killed or starve to death. The same fate will fall upon both the obscure and the important. Regardless of their status, they will either be killed or starve. You’ll end up cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. I’ll give those who are in Egypt the same medicine I gave those in Jerusalem: massacre, starvation, and disease. None of those who managed to get out of Judah alive and get away to Egypt are going to make it back to the Judah for which they’re so homesick. None will make it back, except maybe a few fugitives.’”

Making Goddess Cookies

15-18 The men who knew that their wives had been burning sacrifices to the no-gods, joined by a large crowd of women, along with virtually everyone living in Pathros of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: “We’re having nothing to do with what you tell us isGod’s Message. We’re going to go right on offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, keeping up the traditions set by our ancestors, our kings and government leaders in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem in the good old days. We had a good life then—lots of food, rising standard of living, and no bad luck. But the moment we quit sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her, everything fell apart. We’ve had nothing but massacres and starvation ever since.”

19 And then the women chimed in: “Yes! Absolutely! We’re going to keep at it, offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her. Aren’t our husbands behind us? They like it that we make goddess cookies and pour out our offerings to her.”

20-23 Then Jeremiah spoke up, confronting the men and the women, all the people who had answered so insolently. He said, “The sacrifices that you and your parents, your kings, your government officials, and the common people of the land offered up in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—don’t you thinkGodnoticed? He noticed, all right. And he got fed up. Finally, he couldn’t take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. Your land became a wasteland, a death valley, a horror story, a ghost town. And it continues to be just that. This doom has come upon you because you kept offering all those sacrifices, and you sinned againstGod! You refused to listen to him, wouldn’t live the way he directed, ignored the covenant conditions.”

24-25 Jeremiah kept going, but now zeroed in on the women: “Listen, all you who are from Judah and living in Egypt—please, listen toGod’s Word.God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You women! You said it and then you did it. You said, “We’re going to keep the vows we made to sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out offerings to her, and nobody’s going to stop us!”’

25-27 “Well, go ahead. Keep your vows. Do it up big. But also listen to whatGodhas to say about it, all you who are from Judah but live in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name, backed by everything I am—this isGodspeaking!—that never again shall my name be used in vows, such as “As sure as the Master,God, lives!” by anyone in the whole country of Egypt. I’ve targeted each one of you for doom. The good is gone for good.

27-28 “‘All the Judeans in Egypt will die off by massacre or starvation until they’re wiped out. The few who get out of Egypt alive and back to Judah will beveryfew, hardly worth counting. Then that ragtag bunch that left Judah to live in Egypt will know who had the last word.

29-30 “‘And this will be the evidence: I will bring punishment right here, and by this you’ll know that the decrees of doom against you are the real thing. Watch for this sign of doom: I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, those who are out to kill him, exactly as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah to his enemy Nebuchadnezzar, who was after him.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/44-609739a51718fd9797e316cc3173e7f4.mp3?version_id=97—

God’s Piling On the Pain

1 This is what Jeremiah told Baruch one day in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign as he was taking dictation from the prophet:

2-3 “These are the words ofGod, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another.Godis piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’

4-5 “ButGodsays, ‘Look around. What I’ve built I’m about to wreck, and what I’ve planted I’m about to rip up. And I’m doing it everywhere—all over the whole earth! So forget about making any big plans for yourself. Things are going to get worse before they get better. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive through the whole business.’”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/45-277d556e986a41213e793bb2ce2e313b.mp3?version_id=97—

You Vainly Collect Medicines

1 God’s Messages through the prophet Jeremiah regarding the godless nations.

2-5 The Message to Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt at the time it was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon while camped at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah:

“‘Present arms!

March to the front!

Harness the horses!

Up in the saddles!

Battle formation! Helmets on,

spears sharpened, armor in place!’

But what’s this I see?

They’re scared out of their wits!

They break ranks and run for cover.

Their soldiers panic.

They run this way and that,

stampeding blindly.

It’s total chaos, total confusion, danger everywhere!”

God’s Decree.

6 “The swiftest runners won’t get away,

the strongest soldiers won’t escape.

In the north country, along the River Euphrates,

they’ll stagger, stumble, and fall.

7-9 “Who is this like the Nile in flood?

like its streams torrential?

Why, it’s Egypt like the Nile in flood,

like its streams torrential,

Saying, ‘I’ll take over the world.

I’ll wipe out cities and peoples.’

Run, horses!

Roll, chariots!

Advance, soldiers

from Cush and Put with your shields,

Soldiers from Lud,

experts with bow and arrow.

10 “But it’s not your day. It’s the Master’s, me,God-of-the-Angel-Armies—

the day when I have it out with my enemies,

The day when Sword puts an end to my enemies,

when Sword exacts vengeance.

I, the Master,God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

will pile them on an altar—a huge sacrifice!—

In the great north country,

along the mighty Euphrates.

11-12 “Oh, virgin Daughter Egypt,

climb into the mountains of Gilead, get healing balm.

You will vainly collect medicines,

for nothing will be able to cure what ails you.

The whole world will hear your anguished cries.

Your wails fill the earth,

As soldier falls against soldier

and they all go down in a heap.”

Egypt’s Army Slithers Like a Snake

13 The Message thatGodgave to the prophet Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was on his way to attack Egypt:

14 “Tell Egypt, alert Migdol,

post warnings in Noph and Tahpanhes:

‘Wake up! Be prepared!

War’s coming!’

15-19 “Why will your bull-god Apis run off?

BecauseGodwill drive him off.

Your ragtag army will fall to pieces.

The word is passing through the ranks,

‘Let’s get out of here while we still can.

Let’s head for home and save our skins.’

When they get home they’ll nickname Pharaoh

‘Big-Talk-Bad-Luck.’

As sure as I am the living God”

—the King’s Decree,God-of-the-Angel-Armies is his name—

“A conqueror is coming: like Tabor, singular among mountains;

like Carmel, jutting up from the sea!

So pack your bags for exile,

you coddled daughters of Egypt,

For Memphis will soon be nothing,

a vacant lot grown over with weeds.

20-21 “Too bad, Egypt, a beautiful sleek heifer

attacked by a horsefly from the north!

All her hired soldiers are stationed to defend her—

like well-fed calves they are.

But when their lives are on the line, they’ll run off,

cowards every one.

When the going gets tough,

they’ll take the easy way out.

22-24 “Egypt will slither and hiss like a snake

as the enemy army comes in force.

They will rush in, swinging axes

like lumberjacks cutting down trees.

They’ll level the country”—God’s Decree—“nothing

and no one standing for as far as you can see.

The invaders will be a swarm of locusts,

innumerable, past counting.

Daughter Egypt will be ravished,

raped by vandals from the north.”

25-26 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Watch out when I visit doom on the god Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I’ll turn them over to those who are out to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar and his military. Egypt will be set back a thousand years. Eventually people will live there again.”God’s Decree.

27-28 “But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.

Israel, there’s no need to worry.

Look up! I’ll save you from that far country,

I’ll get your children out of the land of exile.

Things are going to be normal again for Jacob,

safe and secure, smooth sailing.

Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.

Depend on it, I’m on your side.

I’ll finish off all the godless nations

among which I’ve scattered you,

But I won’t finish you off.

I have more work left to do on you.

I’ll punish you, but fairly.

No, I’m not finished with you yet.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/46-de50fcf5d43358c13b563c6622bedac3.mp3?version_id=97—

It’s Doomsday for Philistines

1-5 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah regarding the Philistines just before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. This is whatGodsays:

“Look out! Water will rise in the north country,

swelling like a river in flood.

The torrent will flood the land,

washing away city and citizen.

Men and women will scream in terror,

wails from every door and window,

As the thunder from the hooves of the horses will be heard,

the clatter of chariots, the banging of wheels.

Fathers, paralyzed by fear,

won’t even grab up their babies

Because it will be doomsday for Philistines, one and all,

no hope of help for Tyre and Sidon.

Godwill finish off the Philistines,

what’s left of those from the island of Crete.

Gaza will be shaved bald as an egg,

Ashkelon struck dumb as a post.

You’re on your last legs.

How long will you keep flailing?

6 “Oh, Sword ofGod,

how long will you keep this up?

Return to your scabbard.

Haven’t you had enough? Can’t you call it quits?

7 “But how can it quit

when I,God, command the action?

I’ve ordered it to cut down

Ashkelon and the seacoast.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/47-95a35744abef6ad5d6aa31a6d63d827f.mp3?version_id=97—

Get Out While You Can!

1-10 The Message on Moab fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel:

“Doom to Nebo! Leveled to the ground!

Kiriathaim demeaned and defeated,

The mighty fortress reduced to a molehill,

Moab’s glory—dust and ashes.

Conspirators plot Heshbon’s doom:

‘Come, let’s wipe Moab off the map.’

Dungface Dimon will loudly lament,

as killing follows killing.

Listen! A cry out of Horonaim:

‘Disaster—doom and more doom!’

Moab will be shattered.

Her cries will be heard clear down in Zoar.

Up the ascent of Luhith

climbers weep,

And down the descent from Horonaim,

cries of loss and devastation.

Oh, run for your lives! Get out while you can!

Survive by your wits in the wild!

You trusted in thick walls and big money, yes?

But it won’t help you now.

Your big god Chemosh will be hauled off,

his priests and managers with him.

A wrecker will wreck every city.

Not a city will survive.

The valley fields will be ruined,

the plateau pastures destroyed, just as I told you.

Cover the land of Moab with salt.

Make sure nothing ever grows here again.

Her towns will all be ghost towns.

Nobody will ever live here again.

Sloppy work inGod’s name is cursed,

and cursed all halfhearted use of the sword.

11-17 “Moab has always taken it easy—

lazy as a dog in the sun,

Never had to work for a living,

never faced any trouble,

Never had to grow up,

never once worked up a sweat.

But those days are a thing of the past.

I’ll put him to work at hard labor.

That will wake him up to the world of hard knocks.

That will smash his illusions.

Moab will be as ashamed of god Chemosh

as Israel was ashamed of her Bethel calf-gods,

the calf-gods she thought were so great.

For how long do you think you’ll be saying, ‘We’re tough.

We can beat anyone anywhere’?

The destruction of Moab has already begun.

Her choice young soldiers are lying dead right now.”

The King’s Decree—

his full name,God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

“Yes. Moab’s doom is on countdown,

disaster targeted and launched.

Weep for Moab, friends and neighbors,

all who know how famous he’s been.

Lament, ‘His mighty scepter snapped in two like a toothpick,

that magnificent royal staff!’

18-20 “Come down from your high horse, pampered beauty of Dibon.

Sit in dog dung.

The destroyer of Moab will come against you.

He’ll wreck your safe, secure houses.

Stand on the roadside,

pampered women of Aroer.

Interview the refugees who are running away.

Ask them, ‘What’s happened? And why?’

Moab will be an embarrassing memory, nothing left of the place.

Wail and weep your eyes out!

Tell the bad news along the Arnon river.

Tell the world that Moab is no more.

21-24 “My judgment will come to the plateau cities: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath; on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim; on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon; on Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of Moab, far and near.

25 “Moab’s link to power is severed.

Moab’s arm is broken.”God’s Decree.

The Sheer Nothingness of Moab

26-27 “Turn Moab into a drunken sot, drunk on the wine of my wrath, a dung-faced drunk, filling the country with vomit—Moab a falling-down drunk, a joke in bad taste. Wasn’t it you, Moab, who made crude jokes over Israel? And when they were caught in bad company, didn’t you cluck and gossip and snicker?

28 “Leave town! Leave! Look for a home in the cliffs,

you who grew up in Moab.

Try living like a dove

who nests high in the river gorge.

29-33 “We’ve all heard of Moab’s pride,

that legendary pride,

The strutting, bullying, puffed-up pride,

the insufferable arrogance.

I know”—God’s Decree—“his rooster-crowing pride,

the inflated claims, the sheer nothingness of Moab.

But I will weep for Moab,

yes, I will mourn for the people of Moab.

I will even mourn for the people of Kir-heres.

I’ll weep for the grapevines of Sibmah

and join Jazer in her weeping—

Grapevines that once reached the Dead Sea

with tendrils as far as Jazer.

Your summer fruit and your bursting grapes

will be looted by brutal plunderers,

Lush Moab stripped

of song and laughter.

And yes, I’ll shut down the winepresses,

stop all the shouts and hurrahs of harvest.

34 “Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, and the people in Jahaz will hear the cries. They will hear them all the way from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.

35 “I will put a stop in Moab”—God’s Decree—“to all hiking to the high places to offer burnt sacrifices to the gods.

36 “My heart moans for Moab, for the men of Kir-heres, like soft flute sounds carried by the wind. They’ve lost it all. They’ve got nothing.

37 “Everywhere you look are signs of mourning:

heads shaved, beards cut,

Hands scratched and bleeding,

clothes ripped and torn.

38 “In every house in Moab there’ll be loud lamentation, on every street in Moab, loud lamentation. As with a pottery jug that no one wants, I’ll smash Moab to bits.”God’s Decree.

39 “Moab ruined!

Moab shamed and ashamed to be seen!

Moab a cruel joke!

The stark horror of Moab!”

40-42 God’s verdict on Moab. Indeed!

“Look! An eagle is about to swoop down

and spread its wings over Moab.

The towns will be captured,

the fortresses taken.

Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight,

like a woman giving birth to a baby.

There’ll be nothing left of Moab, nothing at all,

because of his defiant arrogance against me.

43-44 “Terror and pit and trap

are what you have facing you, Moab.”God’s Decree.

“A man running in terror

will fall into a trap.

A man climbing out of a pit

will be caught in a trap.

This is my agenda for Moab

on doomsday.”God’s Decree.

45-47 “On the outskirts of Heshbon,

refugees will pull up short, worn out.

Fire will flame high from Heshbon,

a firestorm raging from the capital of Sihon’s kingdom.

It will burn off Moab’s eyebrows,

will scorch the skull of the braggarts.

That’s all for you, Moab!

You worshipers of Chemosh will be finished off!

Your sons will be trucked off to prison camps;

your daughters will be herded into exile.

But yet there’s a day that’s coming

when I’ll put things right in Moab.

“For now, that’s the judgment on Moab.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/48-9e5577ae9e5fdc8adcd830c3e7d89de0.mp3?version_id=97—

You’re a Broken-Down Has-Been

1-6 God’s Message on the Ammonites:

“Doesn’t Israel have any children,

no one to step into her inheritance?

So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad’s land,

his followers moving into its towns?

But not for long! The time’s coming”

—God’s Decree—

“When I’ll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon’s big city,

with battle cries.

She’ll end up a pile of rubble,

all her towns burned to the ground.

Then Israel will kick out the invaders.

I,God, say so, and it willbeso.

Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins.

Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands!

Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears.

Go into hysterics, run around in circles!

Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile,

and all his priests and managers right with him.

Why do you brag of your once-famous strength?

You’re a broken-down has-been, a castoff

Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days

and vainly thinks, ‘No one can lay a hand on me.’

Well, think again. I’ll face you with terror from all sides.”

Word of the Master,God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

“You’ll be stampeded headlong,

with no one to round up the runaways.

Still, the time will come

when I will make things right with Ammon.”God’s Decree.

Strutting Across the Stage of History

7-11 The Message ofGod-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom:

“Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman?

no one with a sense of reality?

Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten?

Run for your lives! Get out while you can!

Find a good place to hide,

you who live in Dedan!

I’m bringing doom to Esau.

It’s time to settle accounts.

When harvesters work your fields,

don’t they leave gleanings?

When burglars break into your house,

don’t they take only what they want?

But I’ll strip Esau clean.

I’ll search out every nook and cranny.

I’ll destroy everything connected with him,

children and relatives and neighbors.

There’ll be no one left who will be able to say,

‘I’ll take care of your orphans.

Your widows can depend on me.’”

12-13 Indeed.Godsays, “I tell you, if there are people who have to drink the cup of God’s wrath even though they don’t deserve it, why would you think you’d get off? You won’t get off. You’ll drink it. Oh yes, you’ll drink every drop. And as for Bozrah, your capital, I swear by all that I am”—God’s Decree—“that that city will end up a pile of charred ruins, a stinking garbage dump, an obscenity—and all her daughter-cities with her.”

14 I’ve just heard the latest fromGod.

He’s sent an envoy to the nations:

“Muster your troops and attack Edom.

Present arms! Go to war!”

15-16 “Ah, Edom, I’m dropping you to last place among nations,

the bottom of the heap, kicked around.

You think you’re so great—

strutting across the stage of history,

Living high in the impregnable rocks,

acting like king of the mountain.

You think you’re above it all, don’t you,

like an eagle in its aerie?

Well, you’re headed for a fall.

I’ll bring you crashing to the ground.”God’s Decree.

17-18 “Edom will end up trash. Stinking, despicable trash. A wonder of the world in reverse. She’ll join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors in the sewers of history.”Godsays so.

“No one will live there,

no mortal soul move in there.

19 “Watch this: Like a lion coming up

from the thick jungle of the Jordan

Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,

I will come upon Edom and pounce.

I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?

The shepherds of Edom are helpless before me.”

20-22 So, listen to this plan thatGodhas worked out against Edom, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for those who live in Teman:

“Believe it or not, the young, the vulnerable—

mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.

Believe it or not, the flock

in shock, helpless to help, will watch it happen.

The very earth will shudder because of their cries,

cries of anguish heard at the distant Red Sea.

Look! An eagle soars, swoops down,

spreads its wings over Bozrah.

Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight,

like a woman giving birth to a baby.”

The Blood Will Drain from the Face of Damascus

23-27 The Message on Damascus:

“Hamath and Arpad will be in shock

when they hear the bad news.

Their hearts will melt in fear

as they pace back and forth in worry.

The blood will drain from the face of Damascus

as she turns to flee.

Hysterical, she’ll fall to pieces,

disabled, like a woman in childbirth.

And now how lonely—bereft, abandoned!

The once famous city, the once happy city.

Her bright young men dead in the streets,

her brave warriors silent as death.

On that day”—Decree ofGod-of-the-Angel-Armies—

“I’ll start a fire at the wall of Damascus

that will burn down all of Ben-hadad’s forts.”

Find a Safe Place to Hide

28-33 The Message on Kedar and the sheikdoms of Hazor who were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This isGod’s Message:

“On your feet! Attack Kedar!

Plunder the Bedouin nomads from the east.

Grab their blankets and pots and pans.

Steal their camels.

Traumatize them, shouting, ‘Terror! Death! Doom!

Danger everywhere!’

Oh, run for your lives,

You nomads from Hazor.”God’s Decree.

“Find a safe place to hide.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

has plans to wipe you out,

to go after you with a vengeance:

‘After them,’ he says. ‘Go after these relaxed nomads

who live free and easy in the desert,

Who live in the open with no doors to lock,

who live off by themselves.’

Their camels are there for the taking,

their herds and flocks, easy picking.

I’ll scatter them to the four winds,

these defenseless nomads on the fringes of the desert.

I’ll bring terror from every direction.

They won’t know what hit them.”God’s Decree.

“Jackals will take over the camps of Hazor,

camps abandoned to wind and sand.

No one will live there,

no mortal soul move in there.”

The Winds Will Blow Away Elam

34-39 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah on Elam at the outset of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. This is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies says:

“Watch this! I’ll break Elam’s bow,

her weapon of choice, across my knee.

Then I’ll let four winds loose on Elam,

winds from the four corners of earth.

I’ll blow them away in all directions,

landing homeless Elamites in every country on earth.

They’ll live in constant fear and terror

among enemies who want to kill them.

I’ll bring doom on them,

my anger-fueled doom.

I’ll set murderous hounds on their heels

until there’s nothing left of them.

And then I’ll set up my throne in Elam,

having thrown out the king and his henchmen.

But the time will come when I make

everything right for Elam again.”God’s Decree.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/49-7b88f1923f9aa8d226c10534d08259a1.mp3?version_id=97—

Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can

1-3 The Message ofGodthrough the prophet Jeremiah on Babylon, land of the Chaldeans:

“Get the word out to the nations! Preach it!

Go public with this, broadcast it far and wide:

Babylon taken, god-Bel hanging his head in shame,

god-Marduk exposed as a fraud.

All her god-idols shuffling in shame,

all her play-gods exposed as cheap frauds.

For a nation will come out of the north to attack her,

reduce her cities to rubble.

Empty of life—no animals, no people—

not a sound, not a movement, not a breath.

4-5 “In those days, at that time”—God’s Decree—

“the people of Israel will come,

And the people of Judah with them.

Walking and weeping, they’ll seek me, theirGod.

They’ll ask directions to Zion

and set their faces toward Zion.

They’ll come and hold tight toGod,

bound in a covenant eternal they’ll never forget.

6-7 “My people were lost sheep.

Their shepherds led them astray.

They abandoned them in the mountains

where they wandered aimless through the hills.

They lost track of home,

couldn’t remember where they came from.

Everyone who met them took advantage of them.

Their enemies had no qualms:

‘Fair game,’ they said. ‘They walked out onGod.

They abandoned the True Pasture, the hope of their parents.’

8-10 “But now, get out of Babylon as fast as you can.

Be rid of that Babylonian country.

On your way. Good sheepdogs lead, but don’t you be led.

Lead the way home!

Do you see what I’m doing?

I’m rallying a host of nations against Babylon.

They’ll come out of the north,

attack and take her.

Oh, they know how to fight, these armies.

They never come home empty-handed.

Babylon is ripe for picking!

All her plunderers will fill their bellies!”God’s Decree.

11-16 “You Babylonians had a good time while it lasted, didn’t you?

You lived it up, exploiting and using my people,

Frisky calves romping in lush pastures,

wild stallions out having a good time!

Well, your mother would hardly be proud of you.

The woman who bore you wouldn’t be pleased.

Look at what’s come of you! A nothing nation!

Rubble and garbage and weeds!

Emptied of life by my holy anger,

a desert of death and emptiness.

Travelers who pass by Babylon will gasp, appalled,

shaking their heads at such a comedown.

Gang up on Babylon! Pin her down!

Throw everything you have against her.

Hold nothing back. Knock her flat.

She’s sinned—oh, how she’s sinned, against me!

Shout battle cries from every direction.

All the fight has gone out of her.

Her defenses have been flattened,

her walls smashed.

‘OperationGod’s Vengeance.’

Pile on the vengeance!

Do to her as she has done.

Give her a good dose of her own medicine!

Destroy her farms and farmers,

ravage her fields, empty her barns.

And you captives, while the destruction rages,

get out while the getting’s good,

get out fast and run for home.

17 “Israel is a scattered flock,

hunted down by lions.

The king of Assyria started the carnage.

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,

Has completed the job,

gnawing the bones clean.”

18-20 And now this is whatGod-of-the-Angel-Armies,

the God of Israel, has to say:

“Just watch! I’m bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land,

the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria.

But Israel I’ll bring home to good pastures.

He’ll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan,

On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead.

He will eat to his heart’s content.

In those days and at that time”—God’s Decree—

“they’ll look high and low for a sign of Israel’s guilt—nothing;

Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah’s sin—nothing.

These people that I’ve saved will start out with a clean slate.

21 “Attack Merathaim, land of rebels!

Go after Pekod, country of doom!

Hunt them down. Make a clean sweep.”God’s Decree.

“These are my orders. Do what I tell you.

22-24 “The thunderclap of battle

shakes the foundations!

The Hammer has been hammered,

smashed and splintered,

Babylon pummeled

beyond recognition.

I set out a trap and you were caught in it.

O Babylon, you never knew what hit you,

Caught and held in the steel grip of that trap!

That’s what you get for taking onGod.

25-28 “I,God, opened my arsenal.

I brought out my weapons of wrath.

The Master,God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

has a job to do in Babylon.

Come at her from all sides!

Break into her granaries!

Shovel her into piles and burn her up.

Leave nothing! Leave no one!

Kill all her young turks.

Send them to their doom!

Doom to them! Yes, Doomsday!

The clock has finally run out on them.

And here’s a surprise:

Runaways and escapees from Babylon

Show up in Zion reporting the news ofGod’s vengeance,

taking vengeance for my own Temple.

29-30 “Call in the troops against Babylon,

anyone who can shoot straight!

Tighten the noose!

Leave no loopholes!

Give her back as good as she gave,

a dose of her own medicine!

Her brazen insolence is an outrage

againstGod, The Holy of Israel.

And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets,

her soldiers dead, silent forever.”God’s Decree.

31-32 “Do you get it, Mister Pride? I’m your enemy!”

Decree of the Master,God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

“Time’s run out on you:

That’s right: It’s Doomsday.

Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.

No one will offer him a hand.

I’ll set his towns on fire.

The fire will spread wild through the country.”

33-34 And here’s more fromGod-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The people of Israel are beaten down,

the people of Judah along with them.

Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel.

They won’t let go.

But the Rescuer is strong:

God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Yes, I will take their side,

I’ll come to their rescue.

I’ll soothe their land,

but rough up the people of Babylon.

35-40 “It’s all-out war in Babylon”—God’s Decree—

“total war against people, leaders, and the wise!

War to the death on her boasting pretenders, fools one and all!

War to the death on her soldiers, cowards to a man!

War to the death on her hired killers, gutless wonders!

War to the death on her banks—looted!

War to the death on her water supply—drained dry!

A land of make-believe gods gone crazy—hobgoblins!

The place will be haunted with jackals and scorpions,

night-owls and vampire bats.

No one will ever live there again.

The land will reek with the stench of death.

It will join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,

the cities I did away with.”God’s Decree.

“No one will live there again.

No one will again draw breath in that land, ever.

41-43 “And now, watch this! People pouring

out of the north, hordes of people,

A mob of kings stirred up

from far-off places.

Flourishing deadly weapons,

barbarians they are, cruel and pitiless.

Roaring and relentless, like ocean breakers,

they come riding fierce stallions,

In battle formation, ready to fight

you, Daughter Babylon!

Babylon’s king hears them coming.

He goes white as a ghost, limp as a dishrag.

Terror-stricken, he doubles up in pain, helpless to fight,

like a woman giving birth to a baby.

44 “And now watch this: Like a lion coming up

from the thick jungle of the Jordan,

Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,

I’ll take over and pounce.

I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?

All the so-called shepherds are helpless before me.”

45-46 So, listen to this plan thatGodhas worked out against Babylon, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for dealing with Chaldea:

Believe it or not, the young,

the vulnerable—mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.

Believe it or not, the flock

in shock, helpless to help, watches it happen.

When the shout goes up, “Babylon’s down!”

the very earth will shudder at the sound.

The news will be heard all over the world.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JER/50-3639c82e14eee1774aa1ab8f0d8a6ff4.mp3?version_id=97—