Jeremiah 45:1–48:47
45 The aword that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to bBaruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the cfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I dfainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” ’
4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, ewhat I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, fI will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your glife to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ”
46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against athe nations. 2 Against bEgypt.
cConcerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ddefeated in the efourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Order 1the 2buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth with your helmets,
Polish the spears,
fPut on the armor!
5 Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back?
Their mighty ones are beaten down;
They have speedily fled,
And did not look back,
For gfear was all around,” says the Lord.
6 “Do not let the swift flee away,
Nor the mighty man escape;
They will hstumble and fall
Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.
7 “Who is this coming up ilike a flood,
Whose waters move like the rivers?
8 Egypt rises up like a flood,
And its waters move like the rivers;
And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth,
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
3The Ethiopians and 4the Libyans who handle the shield,
And the Lydians jwho handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is kthe day of the Lord God of hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
lThe sword shall devour;
It shall be 5satiated and made drunk with their blood;
For the Lord God of hosts mhas a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go nup to Gilead and take balm,
oO virgin, the daughter of Egypt;
In vain you will use many medicines;
pYou shall not be cured.
12 The nations have heard of your qshame,
And your cry has filled the land;
For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;
They both have fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and rstrike the land of Egypt.
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in sMigdol;
Proclaim in 6Noph and in tTahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,
For the sword devours all around you.’
15 Why are your valiant men swept away?
They did not stand
Because the Lord drove them away.
Yes, uone fell upon another.
And they said, ‘Arise!
vLet us go back to our own people
And to the land of our nativity
From the oppressing sword.’
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise.
He has passed by the appointed time!’
18 “As I live,” says the King,
wWhose name is the Lord of hosts,
“Surely as Tabor is among the mountains
And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
19 O xyou daughter dwelling in Egypt,
Prepare yourself yto go into captivity!
For 7Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a very pretty zheifer,
But destruction comes, it comes afrom the north.
21 Also her mercenaries are in her midst like 8fat bulls,
For they also are turned back,
They have fled away together.
They did not stand,
For bthe day of their calamity had come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22 cHer noise shall go like a serpent,
For they shall march with an army
And come against her with axes,
Like those who chop wood.
23 “They shall dcut down her forest,” says the Lord,
“Though it cannot be searched,
Because they are innumerable,
And more numerous than egrasshoppers.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed;
She shall be delivered into the hand
Of fthe people of the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on 9Amon of gNo, 1and Pharaoh and Egypt, hwith their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who itrust in him. 26 jAnd I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. kAfterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says the Lord.
27 “But ldo not fear, O My servant Jacob,
And do not be dismayed, O Israel!
For behold, I will msave you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity;
Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease;
No one shall make him afraid.
28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,
“For I am with you;
For I will make a complete end of all the nations
To which I have driven you,
But I will not make na complete end of you.
I will rightly ocorrect you,
For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”
47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet aagainst the Philistines, bbefore Pharaoh attacked Gaza.
“Behold, cwaters rise dout of the north,
And shall be an overflowing flood;
They shall overflow the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell within;
Then the men shall cry,
And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
3 At the enoise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses,
At the rushing of his chariots,
At the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers will not look back for their children,
1Lacking courage,
4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the fPhilistines,
To cut off from gTyre and Sidon every helper who remains;
For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines,
hThe remnant of the country of iCaphtor. 2
5 jBaldness has come upon Gaza,
kAshkelon is cut off
With the remnant of their valley.
How long will you cut yourself?
6 “O you lsword of the Lord,
How long until you are quiet?
Put yourself up into your scabbard,
Rest and be still!
7 How can 3it be quiet,
Seeing the Lord has mgiven it a charge
Against Ashkelon and against the seashore?
There He has nappointed it.”
48 Against aMoab. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Woe to bNebo!
For it is plundered,
cKirjathaim is shamed and taken;
1The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed—
2 dNo more praise of Moab.
In eHeshbon they have devised evil against her:
‘Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.’
You also shall be cut down, O fMadmen! 2
The sword shall pursue you;
3 A voice of crying shall be from gHoronaim:
‘Plundering and great destruction!’
3Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard;
5 hFor in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping;
For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
And be like 4the ijuniper in the wilderness.
7 For because you have trusted in your works and your jtreasures,
You also shall be taken.
And kChemosh shall go forth into captivity,
His lpriests and his princes together.
8 And mthe plunderer shall come against every city;
No one shall escape.
The valley also shall perish,
And the plain shall be destroyed,
As the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give nwings to Moab,
That she may flee and get away;
For her cities shall be desolate,
Without any to dwell in them.
10 oCursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully,
And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
11 “Moab has been at ease from 5his youth;
He phas settled on his dregs,
And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into captivity.
Therefore his taste remained in him,
And his scent has not changed.
12 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I shall send him 6wine-workers
Who will tip him over
And empty his vessels
And break the bottles.
13 Moab shall be ashamed of qChemosh,
As the house of Israel rwas ashamed of sBethel, their confidence.
14 “How can you say, t‘We are mighty
And strong men for the war’?
15 Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities;
Her chosen young men have ugone down to the slaughter,” says vthe King,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 “The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
And his affliction comes quickly.
17 Bemoan him, all you who are around him;
And all you who know his name,
Say, w‘How the strong staff is broken,
The beautiful rod!’
18 “O xdaughter inhabiting yDibon,
Come down from your glory,
And sit in thirst;
For the plunderer of Moab has come against you,
He has destroyed your strongholds.
19 O inhabitant of zAroer,
aStand by the way and watch;
Ask him who flees
And her who escapes;
Say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is shamed, for he is broken down.
bWail and cry!
Tell it in cArnon, that Moab is plundered.
21 “And judgment has come on the plain country:
On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,
23 On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,
24 On dKerioth and Bozrah,
On all the cities of the land of Moab,
Far or near.
25 eThe 7horn of Moab is cut off,
And his farm is broken,” says the Lord.
26 “Make ghim drunk,
Because he exalted himself against the Lord.
Moab shall wallow in his vomit,
And he shall also be in derision.
27 For hwas not Israel a derision to you?
iWas he found among thieves?
For whenever you speak of him,
You shake your head in jscorn.
Leave the cities and kdwell in the rock,
And be like lthe dove which makes her nest
In the sides of the cave’s mouth.
29 “We have heard the mpride of Moab
(He is exceedingly proud),
Of his loftiness and arrogance and npride,
And of the haughtiness of his heart.”
30 “I know his wrath,” says the Lord,
“But it is not right;
oHis 8lies have made nothing right.
31 Therefore pI will wail for Moab,
And I will cry out for all Moab;
9I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres.
32 qO vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of rJazer.
Your plants have gone over the sea,
They reach to the sea of Jazer.
The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit …