Bible in 90 Days
A Prophecy against Moab
48 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Moab:
How horrible it will be for Nebo; it will be destroyed.
Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be captured.
Its stronghold will be put to shame and torn down.
2 People will no longer praise Moab.
The people in Heshbon will plan Moab’s destruction.
“Let’s destroy that nation!”
You will be silenced, city of Madmen.
Death will come after you.
3 People will cry out from Horonaim, “Looting and great destruction!”
4 Moab will be broken.
Its little ones will cry out.
5 People go up the pass of Luhith, crying bitterly as they go.
On the road down to Horonaim they have heard
the distressful cry of destruction.
6 “Run away! Run for your lives!
Run like a wild donkey in the desert.”
7 Since you trust the things you do and your treasures,
you will be captured.
Chemosh will go into captivity with all its priests and officials.
8 The destroyer will come to every city, and no city will escape.
The valley will be destroyed, and the plain will be laid waste
as the Lord has threatened.
9 Put salt on Moab.
It will be destroyed.
Its cities will become deserted ruins.
10 Cursed are those who neglect doing the Lord’s work.
Cursed are those who keep their swords from killing.
11 “Moab has lived securely ever since it was young.
Its people are like wine left to settle in a jar.
They aren’t poured from one jar to another.
They haven’t gone into captivity.
That is why its flavor has remained the same,
and its aroma hasn’t changed.
12 That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will send people to pour Moab out of its jars
and to smash its pitchers.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh
as the nation of Israel was ashamed when it trusted Bethel.
14 “How can you say, ‘We are soldiers and warriors’?
15 The enemy will attack Moab and destroy its cities.
Its finest young men will be slaughtered,”
declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
16 “Moab’s destruction is coming near; disaster is coming quickly.
17 Mourn over it, all of its neighbors and everyone who knows its fame.
Say, ‘Look at the strong staff, the beautiful rod, that is broken!’
18 “People of Dibon, come down from your place of honor
and sit on the dry ground.
The destroyers of Moab will attack you.
They will destroy your fortresses.
19 Stand by the road in Aroer, and watch.
Ask those who are fleeing
and those who are escaping what is happening.
20 They will answer, ‘Moab is disgraced; it is defeated.
Shout loudly, and cry.
Tell the news in Arnon that Moab is destroyed.’
21 “Judgment has come to all the cities on the plain: to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, 22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim, 23 Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, Beth Meon, 24 Kerioth, Bozrah, and on all the cities of Moab, far and near.
25 “Moab’s horn is cut off, and its arm is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Get the people of Moab drunk; they have spoken against the Lord.
They will wallow in their own vomit, and people will laugh at them.
27 People of Moab, didn’t you laugh at the people of Israel?
Were they caught among thieves?
Whenever you talk about them you shake your heads in contempt.
28 People of Moab, abandon your cities.
Live among the cliffs.
Be like doves that make their nests at the entrance of a cave.
29 “We have heard about the arrogance of Moab’s people.
They are very arrogant.
They are very arrogant, conceited, and boastful.
30 I know how arrogant they are,” declares the Lord,
“but it isn’t right.
They brag and don’t do what they say.
31 That is why I will weep for Moab and cry for all of Moab.
I will moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.
32 I will cry for you as Jazer cries.
I will cry for you, grapevines of Sibmah.
Your branches ⌞once⌟ spread as far as the sea,
and they reached as far as the sea of Jazer.
The destroyer will destroy your ripened fruits and your grapes.
33 Joy and gladness have disappeared from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I will stop the wine flowing from the winepresses.
No one will stomp on grapes with shouts of joy.
There will be shouts, but not shouts of joy.
34 “The cry will be heard from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz. It will be heard from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even the streams of Nimrim will dry up. 35 I will stop those in Moab who come to worship sites, those who bring offerings to their gods,” declares the Lord. 36 “That is why I moan for Moab like a flute. I sound like a flute for the people of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they gained has disappeared.
37 “Every head is shaved, and every beard is cut off. There are gashes on every hand and sackcloth on every waist. 38 People in Moab will mourn on every rooftop and in every street. There will be mourning everywhere, because I will break Moab like a jar that no one wants,” declares the Lord. 39 “They will cry, ‘Look how Moab is defeated! Moab turns away in shame!’ Moab has become something ridiculed and something held in contempt by everyone around it.
40 “This is what the Lord says:
The enemy will swoop down like eagles and spread their wings over Moab.
41 The cities will be taken, and the fortified places will be captured.
On that day Moab’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation,
because it spoke against the Lord.
43 Disasters, pits, and traps are in store for those who live in Moab,”
declares the Lord.
44 “Whoever flees from a disaster will fall into a pit.
Whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap.
I will bring a year of punishment to Moab,” declares the Lord.
45 “Those who flee will stand exhausted in the shadow of Heshbon.
A fire will come out of Heshbon and a flame from Sihon.
It will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab
and the skulls of those noisy people.
46 How horrible it will be for you, Moab.
You people of Chemosh will die.
Your sons will be taken away into exile,
and your daughters will be taken away into captivity.
47 But I will restore Moab in the last days,” declares the Lord.
The judgment against Moab ends here.
A Prophecy against Ammon
49 This is what the Lord says about the people of Ammon:
Doesn’t Israel have any children? Doesn’t it have any heirs?
Why, then, has the god Milcom [a] taken over the inheritance
of Gad’s descendants?
Why do Milcom’s people live in Gad’s cities?
2 That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah,
where the people of Ammon live.
It will become a pile of rubble.
Its villages will be burned down.
Then Israel will take possession of its inheritance, says the Lord.
3 Cry loudly, Heshbon, because Ai is destroyed.
Cry, people of Rabbah, put on your sackcloth, and mourn.
Run back and forth between the walls.
Milcom will be taken away into captivity
with its priests and officials.
4 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your fertile valleys, you unfaithful people?
You trust your treasures.
You think, “Who would attack me?”
5 I am going to bring terror on you from all around,
declares the Almighty Lord of Armies.
Everyone will be scattered.
No one will gather the refugees.
6 But afterward, I will return the captives of Ammon, declares the Lord.
A Prophecy against Edom(A)
7 This is what the Lord of Armies says about Edom:
Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?
Has wisdom disappeared from your people?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Turn and run.
Hide in deep caves, inhabitants of Dedan.
When I punish them,
I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau.
9 If people come to pick your grapes,
won’t they leave a few grapes behind?
If thieves come during the night,
won’t they steal only until they’ve had enough?
10 Yet, I will strip the descendants of Esau.
I will find their hiding places.
They won’t be able to hide.
Their children and relatives will be destroyed.
None of their neighbors will say,
11 “Abandon your orphans, and I will keep them alive.
Your widows can trust me.”
12 This is what the Lord says: If those who don’t deserve to drink from the cup still drink from it, why should you go unpunished? You won’t go unpunished. You must drink from it. 13 I take an oath on myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah will become a pile of rubble. It will become something horrifying, ridiculed, ruined, and cursed. All its cities will lie in ruins permanently.
14 I heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger was sent among the nations to say,
“Assemble, and attack Edom.
Get ready for battle.”
15 “Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations
and despised among humanity.
16 You have frightened other people.
Your arrogance has deceived you.
You live on rocky cliffs
and occupy the highest places in the hills.
Even though you build your nest as high as an eagle,
I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
17 “Then Edom will become something horrible.
Everyone who passes by it will be horrified
and hiss at all its wounds.
18 Edom will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities
when they were destroyed.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there,” says the Lord.
19 “I will suddenly chase them from their places
like a lion coming out of the jungle
along the Jordan River into pastureland.
I will appoint over Edom whomever I choose.
Who is like me? Who can challenge me?
Is there any leader who can stand up to me?”
20 Listen to the plans that the Lord is making against Edom
and the things he intends to do to those who live in Teman.
He will surely drag away the little ones of the flock.
He will surely destroy the pasture
because of the people who live in Teman.
21 The earth will quake at the sound of their downfall.
The sound of their crying will be heard at the Red Sea.
22 The enemy will swoop down like eagles
and spread their wings over Bozrah.
On that day Edom’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
A Prophecy against Damascus
23 This is a message about Damascus.
“Hamath and Arpad are worried because they heard the bad news.
They melt in fear.
They are troubled like a sea that can’t be calmed.
24 The people of Damascus are weak.
They turn to flee, but panic grips them.
Anguish and pain grip them like a woman in labor.
25 Why isn’t that famous, happy city abandoned?
26 That is why its young men will die in the streets,
and its soldiers will be silenced that day,”
declares the Lord of Armies.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus
and burn down Benhadad’s palaces.”
A Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28 This is about the tribe of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
Get ready, attack Kedar,
and loot the people from the east.
29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken.
Their tent curtains, utensils, and camels will be carried away.
People will shout to them, “Terror is all around!”
30 Run far away! Find a place to hide,
inhabitants of Hazor, declares the Lord.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has made plans against you
and intends to attack you.
31 Get ready! Attack the nation living peacefully and securely,
declares the Lord.
It is a nation with no gates or bars.
Its people live alone.
32 Their camels will be taken as prizes.
Their large herds will be taken as loot.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the hair on their foreheads.
I will bring disaster on them from every side,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor will be a place where only jackals live.
It will become a permanent wasteland.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there.
A Prophecy against Elam
34 Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.
35 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
I’m going to break the bows of Elam’s archers,
the most important weapon of their strength.
36 I’ll bring the four winds
from the four corners of heaven against Elam
and scatter its people in every direction.
There won’t be a nation
where Elam’s refugees won’t go.
37 I’ll defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies,
in the presence of those who want to kill them.
I’ll bring disaster with my burning anger, declares the Lord.
I’ll send armies after them until I put an end to them.
38 I’ll set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,
declares the Lord.
39 But afterward, I’ll return the captives of Elam, declares the Lord.
A Prophecy against Babylon
50 This is the message that the Lord spoke about Babylon and the land of the Babylonians through the prophet Jeremiah.
2 “Announce this among the nations, and spread the news.
Raise a flag, and announce it.
Don’t hide anything.
Say, ‘Babylon will be captured.
Bel will be put to shame.
Marduk will be filled with terror.
Babylon’s statues will be put to shame.
Its idols will be filled with terror.’
3 A nation from the north will attack Babylon
and destroy its land so that no one will live in it.
People and animals will run away.
4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and Judah will cry as they go together
to seek the Lord their God.
5 They will ask which road goes to Zion and turn in that direction.
They will go there to make a permanent agreement with the Lord.
It will not be forgotten.
6 My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray.
They wander around on the mountains.
They go from mountains to hills.
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 Everyone who finds them eats them.
Their enemies say, ‘We’re not guilty.
They have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture.
They have sinned against the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8 “Run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of the Babylonians.
Be like the male goats that lead the flock.
9 I am going to stir up an alliance of strong nations from the north
and bring it against Babylon.
Those nations will take up positions against Babylon.
Babylon will be captured from the north.
Its enemy’s arrows will be like skilled soldiers
who don’t come back empty-handed.
10 The Babylonians will become the prize.
All who loot them will get everything they want,”
declares the Lord.
11 “You are happy and excited.
You have looted the people who belong to me.
You dance around like calves on the grass
and neigh like stallions.
12 But your mother will be greatly ashamed.
The woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced.
Babylon, you will be the least important nation.
You will become a parched desert.
13 No one will live in Babylon because of the Lord’s anger.
It will be completely abandoned.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified
and hiss at all its wounds.
14 “Take up your positions around Babylon, all you archers with bows.
Shoot at it; don’t save any arrows,
because the people of Babylon have sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout a war cry against them on every side.
They’ll surrender.
Their towers will fall and their walls will be torn down.
Since this is the Lord’s vengeance, take revenge against them.
Do to them what they did to others.
16 Don’t allow anyone in Babylon to plant or harvest.
Everyone will turn to his own people and flee to his own homeland
because of the enemies’ swords.
17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased.
The first to devour them was the king of Assyria.
The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
18 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 I will bring the people of Israel back to their pastures.
They will eat on Mount Carmel and Mount Bashan.
They will eat until they are full
on the mountains of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord,
“people will look for Israel’s crimes, but they will find none.
They will look for Judah’s sins, but none will be found.
I will forgive the faithful few whom I have spared.
21 Attack the land of Merathaim
and the people who live in Pekod.
Claim them for me by killing them with a sword,”
declares the Lord.
“Do everything I commanded you.
22 The noise of battle and great destruction fills the land.
23 The hammer of the whole earth is broken and shattered.
See how desolate Babylon is of all the nations!
24 I will set traps for you, Babylon.
You will be caught, but you won’t know it.
You will be found and captured
because you have opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord will open his armory
and bring out the weapons of his fury,
because the Almighty Lord of Armies
has a job to do in the land of the Babylonians.
26 Attack them from a distance,
open their storehouses,
pile up their corpses like piles of grain,
claim them for me by destroying them,
and don’t leave anyone behind.
27 Kill all their young bulls.
Let them go to be slaughtered.
How horrible it will be for them when their time has come,
the time for them to be punished.
28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees from Babylon
are coming to Zion to tell about
the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance for his temple.
29 “Call together the archers, the soldiers with bows, against Babylon.
Set up blockades around it. Don’t let anyone escape.
Pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done.
Do to them what they did to others.
They have disobeyed the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
30 That is why their young men will die in the streets,
and all their soldiers will be silenced that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “I’m against you, you arrogant city,”
declares the Almighty Lord of Armies.
“Your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
32 Those arrogant people will stumble and fall,
and there will be no one to help them get up.
I will light a fire in their cities
that will burn up everything around them.”
33 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
All the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed.
All their enemies have captured them.
They refuse to let them go.
34 Their defender is strong.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
He will certainly take up their cause
in order to bring rest to the land of Israel
and unrest to the people who live in Babylon.
35 “A sword will kill the Babylonians and everyone who lives in Babylon,”
declares the Lord.
“A sword will kill their officials and their wise men.
36 A sword will kill the false prophets.
They will become fools.
A sword will kill their soldiers and defeat them.
37 A sword will kill their horses, their chariots,
and all the foreigners within their ranks.
They will become women.
A sword will destroy their treasures, and they will be looted.
38 A drought will diminish their water supply, and it will dry up.
Babylon is a land of idols, statues that will go crazy with fear.
39 That is why desert animals will live with hyenas.
Desert owls will also live there.
It will no longer be inhabited or lived in for generations.
40 Babylon will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities
when I, God, destroyed them.
No one will live there.
No human will stay there,” declares the Lord.
41 “People are going to come from the north.
A great nation and many kings will rise from the ends of the earth.
42 They will take hold of bows and spears.
They will be cruel and have no compassion.
They will sound like the sea when it roars.
They will ride horses.
They are ready for war, ready to attack you, people of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and he loses courage.
Anguish will grip him as pain grips a woman in labor.
44 I will suddenly chase them from their places
like a lion coming out of the jungle
along the Jordan River into pastureland.
I will appoint over Babylon whomever I choose.
Who is like me? Who can challenge me?
Is there any leader who can stand up to me?
45 Listen to the plans that the Lord is making against Babylon
and the things he intends to do to the land of the Babylonians.
He will surely drag away the little ones of the flock.
He will surely destroy the pasture because of the Babylonians.
46 The earth will quake at the news that Babylon has been captured.
Its cry will be heard among the nations.”
51 This is what the Lord says:
I will stir up a destructive wind against Babylon
and against the people who live in Leb Kamai.
2 I will send people to winnow [b] Babylon,
to winnow it and strip its land bare.
They will attack it from every direction on the day of trouble.
3 Have the archers bend their bows.
Have them put on their armor.
Don’t spare Babylon’s young men.
Completely destroy its whole army.
4 Babylon’s soldiers will fall down badly wounded in their streets.
They will lie dead in their own land.
5 Israel and Judah haven’t been abandoned by their God, the Lord of Armies, although their land is guilty of abandoning the Holy One of Israel.
6 Run away from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
You shouldn’t die because of Babylon’s crimes.
This is the time for the vengeance of the Lord.
He will pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand.
It made the whole world drunk.
The nations drank its wine.
That is why the nations have gone insane.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be shattered.
Cry for it.
Bring medicine for its pain.
Maybe it can be healed.
9 We wanted to heal Babylon, but it couldn’t be healed.
Let’s abandon it and go to our own land.
God has judged Babylon.
Its judgment is complete.
10 The Lord has brought about our victory.
Let’s announce in Zion what the Lord our God has done.
11 Sharpen the arrows; fill the quivers.
The Lord will stir up the spirit of the kings of the Medes
because his plan is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will avenge his temple.
12 Raise your battle flag in front of the walls of Babylon.
Strengthen the guards.
Station watchmen.
Prepare ambushes.
The Lord will carry out his plans
against the people who live in Babylon.
13 Babylon, you live beside many rivers and are rich with treasures,
but your end has come.
The thread of your life has been cut off.
14 The Lord of Armies has taken an oath on himself:
“I will certainly fill you with many enemy armies.
They will swarm like locusts.
People will shout their victory over you.”
15 The Lord made the earth by his power.
He set up the world by his wisdom.
He stretched out heaven by his understanding.
16 When he thunders, the water in the sky roars.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings wind out of his storehouses.
17 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Metalsmiths are put to shame by their idols.
Their statues are false ⌞gods⌟.
18 They can’t breathe.
They are worthless jokes.
When they are punished, they will disappear.
19 Jacob’s God isn’t like them.
He made everything,
and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
20 “You are my war club and my weapon for battle.
I will use you to crush nations.
I will use you to destroy kingdoms.
21 I will use you to crush horses and their riders.
I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
22 I will use you to crush men and women.
I will use you to crush the old and the young.
I will use you to crush young men and women.
23 I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks.
I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen.
I will use you to crush governors and officials.
24 “In your presence I will pay back Babylon
and all the people who live in Babylon
for all the evil things that they did in Zion,”
declares the Lord.
25 “I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain.
You have destroyed the whole earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will use my power against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a scorched mountain.
26 People won’t find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone.
They won’t find any stones in you to use for a foundation.
You will become permanent ruins,” declares the Lord.
27 Raise your battle flag throughout the world.
Blow the ram’s horn among the nations.
Prepare nations to attack Babylon.
Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it.
Appoint a commander to lead the attack.
Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts.
28 Prepare nations to attack Babylon.
Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies,
and all the countries that they rule.
29 The earth trembles and writhes in pain.
The Lord carries out his plans against Babylon
to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there.
30 The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting.
They stay in their fortified cities.
Their strength has failed. They have become women.
Their buildings are set on fire.
The bars across their gates are broken.
31 Runners run to meet runners.
Messengers follow messengers.
They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured.
32 The river crossings have been taken.
The enemy has burned its marshes,
and its soldiers are terrified.
33 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
The people of Babylon are like a threshing floor [c]
at the time it is trampled.
Their harvest time will come soon.
34 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured us.
He has thrown us into confusion.
He has turned us into empty jars.
He has swallowed us like a monster.
He has filled his belly with our delicacies.
Then he spit us out.
35 The people who live in Zion say,
“May the violence done to us be done to Babylon.”
Jerusalem says,
“May the people of Babylon be held responsible for our deaths.”
36 This is what the Lord says:
I am going to take up your cause and get revenge for you.
I will dry up Babylon’s sea and make its springs dry.
37 Babylon will become piles of rubble.
It will become a dwelling place for jackals,
something horrible, and an object of contempt,
where no one lives.
38 Its people are like roaring lions and growling lion cubs.
39 When they are excited,
I will prepare a feast for them
and make them drunk so that they will shout and laugh.
They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again,
declares the Lord.
40 I will take them to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.
41 “Sheshach has been captured.
Babylon, the city that the whole world praised, has been taken captive.
42 What a horrifying sight Babylon will be to the nations!
The sea will rise over Babylon,
and its roaring waves will cover it.
43 Its cities will be ruined.
It will become a desert, a land where no one lives
and where no human travels.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon.
I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed.
Nations will no longer stream to Babylon,
and its walls will fall.
45 “Leave it, my people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the burning anger of the Lord.
46 Don’t lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land.
One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year.
Rumors of violence are in the land.
Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land.
47 That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s idols.
The whole country will be put to shame,
and all its soldiers will lie dead.
48 Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon,
because destroyers from the north will attack it,”
declares the Lord.
49 Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites
and because they have killed many people throughout the earth,
Babylon must fall.
50 You people who escaped from the sword, leave!
Don’t just stand there.
Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think about Jerusalem.
51 We have been put to shame, and we have been disgraced.
Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone
into the holy places of the Lord’s temple.
52 “That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will punish their idols,
and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land.
53 The people of Babylon might go up to heaven.
They might fortify their strongholds.
But destroyers will still come from me against them,”
declares the Lord.
54 Cries of agony are heard from Babylon.
Sounds of terrible destruction are heard
from the land of the Babylonians.
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon.
He will silence the loud noise coming from it.
Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water.
The noise will be heard everywhere.
56 A destroyer will attack Babylon,
its soldiers will be captured,
and their bows and arrows will be broken.
“I, the Lord, am a God who punishes evil.
I will certainly punish them.
57 I will make their officials and wise men drunk,
along with their governors, officers, and soldiers.
They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up,”
declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
58 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled,
and its high gates will be set on fire.
People exhaust themselves for nothing.
The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire.
59 This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s rule. (Seraiah was the quartermaster.)
60 Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. 61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here, and it will become a permanent ruin.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. 64 Say, ‘Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.’ ”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
The Fall of Jerusalem(B)
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 2 Zedekiah did what the Lord considered evil, as Jehoiakim had done. 3 The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of his sight.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. They set up camp and built dirt ramps around the city walls. 5 The blockade of the city lasted until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.
7 The enemy broke through the city walls, and all Judah’s soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden. While the Babylonians were attacking the city from all sides, they took the road to the plain ⌞of Jericho⌟. 8 The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him. 9 The Babylonians captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as Zedekiah watched. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in a prison, where he stayed until he died.
12 On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. 14 The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.
15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 16 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms.
17 The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars of the Lord’s temple, the stands, and the bronze pool in the Lord’s temple. They shipped all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the bronze utensils used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. 20 The bronze from the 2 pillars, the pool, and the 12 bronze bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple couldn’t be weighed. 21 One pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. 22 The capital that was on it was 7½ feet high with a filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of bronze. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. 23 There were 96 pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was 100.
24 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers. 25 From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 Jews. 29 In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took 832 people from Jerusalem. 30 In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.
King Jehoiakin Released from Prison(C)
31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the imprisonment of King Jehoiakin of Judah, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, freed King Jehoiakin of Judah and released him from prison. 32 He treated him well and gave him a special position higher than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 Jehoiakin no longer wore prison clothes, and he ate his meals in the king’s presence as long as he lived. 34 The king of Babylon gave him a daily food allowance as long as he lived.
The Prophet Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
1 [d]“Look how deserted Jerusalem is!
Once the city was crowded with people.
Once it was important among the nations.
Now it is a widow.
Once it was a princess among the provinces.
Now it does forced labor.
2 Jerusalem cries bitterly at night with tears running down its cheeks.
Out of all those who love the city, no one offers it comfort.
All of Jerusalem’s friends have betrayed it and become its enemies.
3 “Judah has been exiled after ⌞much⌟ suffering and harsh treatment.
Its ⌞people⌟ live among the nations; they find no rest.
Those who chased them caught up with them
in places where there was no way out.
4 “The roads to Zion are deserted.[e]
No one comes to the annual festivals.
No one passes through any of its gates.[f]
Its priests are groaning.
Its young women are made to suffer.
Zion is bitter.
5 Its opponents are now in control.
Its enemies have no worries.
The Lord made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts.
Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity.
6 All splendor has abandoned the people of Zion.
Its influential people were like deer that couldn’t find any pasture.
They ran without any strength ahead of the hunters.
7 “Now, during its suffering and oppression,
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures it had from ancient times,
when its people fell into the power of their enemies
with no one to help them.
Their opponents looked on, and they laughed at Jerusalem’s downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned so much that it has become a filthy thing.
Everyone who used to honor it now despises it.
They’ve seen it naked.
Jerusalem groans and turns away.
9 Jerusalem’s own filth ⌞covers⌟ its clothes.
It gave no thought to its future.
Its downfall was shocking.
No one offers it comfort.
‘O Lord, look at my suffering,
because my enemies have triumphed.’
10 The enemies laid their hands on all of the city’s treasures.
Jerusalem has seen the nations enter the holy place.
‘O Lord, they are the same people
you have forbidden to enter your congregation.’
11 All the people are groaning as they beg for bread.
They trade their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.
‘O Lord, look and see how despised I am!’ ”
Zion Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
12 “Doesn’t this affect all of you who pass by?
Look and see if there’s any pain
like the pain that the Lord has caused me,
like the pain that he has made me suffer on the day of his fierce anger.
13 He sent fire from above.
He made it go deep into my bones.
He spread a net for my feet.
He made me turn back.
He has left me devastated.
He has made me sick all day long.
14 My rebellious acts are a heavy burden for me.
They were tied together by God’s own hands.
They were tied around my neck.
He has weakened me ⌞with them⌟.
The Lord has handed me over to people I cannot oppose.
15 The Lord has treated all the warriors inside my ⌞walls⌟ with contempt.
He called an army to defeat my young men.
The Lord trampled the people of Judah in a winepress.
16 I’m crying because of ⌞all⌟ these things.
My eyes—my eyes flow with tears.
No one can give me the comfort I need to keep me alive.
Everyone is too far away from me.
My children are devastated because my enemies have won.”
17 Zion holds out its hands.
No one offers it comfort.
The Lord has given this order about Jacob:
His own neighbors will become his opponents.
Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18 “The Lord is right in what he did,
because I rebelled against his word.
Please listen, all you people, and look at my pain.
My young women and young men have gone into captivity.
19 I called for those who love me, but they betrayed me.
My priests and leaders breathed their last breath in the city,
looking for food to keep themselves alive.
20 “O Lord, see the distress I’m in!
My stomach is churning.
My heart is pounding because I’ve been very bitter.
In the streets swords kill my children.
Inside the houses it’s like death.
21 “All my enemies have heard that I am groaning.
No one offers me comfort.
All my enemies have heard about my disaster.
They are happy that you did it.
You have allowed the day to come, the one that you had announced.
Let my enemies be like me now.
22 Recall all of their wickedness.
Then deal with them as you have dealt with me
because of all my rebellious acts.
I groan so much and feel so sick at heart.”
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