Jeremiah 49:20–50:45

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.

Chapter 50

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…