Message to Baruch

45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to sBaruch the son of Neriah, twhen he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, uin the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, v‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. wI am weary with my groaning, xand I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: yBehold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And zdo you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, aI am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you byour life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Judgment on Egypt

46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet cconcerning the nations.

2 About Egypt. dConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ethe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3  f“Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

4  gHarness the horses;

mount, O horsemen!

Take your stations with your helmets,

fpolish your spears,

put on your armor!

5  Why have I seen it?

They are dismayed

and have turned backward.

Their hwarriors are beaten down

and have fled in haste;

ithey look not back—

jterror on every side!

declares the Lord.

6  “The swift cannot flee away,

nor the warrior escape;

din the north by the river Euphrates

kthey have stumbled and fallen.

7  “Who is this, lrising like the Nile,

like rivers mwhose waters surge?

8  Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers mwhose waters surge.

He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’

9  nAdvance, O horses,

and rage, O chariots!

Let the warriors go out:

men of Cush and oPut who handle the shield,

pmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

10  qThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,

ra day of vengeance,

sto avenge himself on his foes.

tThe sword shall devour and be sated

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord God of hosts holds ua sacrifice

vin the north country wby the river Euphrates.

11  xGo up to Gilead, and take xbalm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

ythere is no healing for you.

12  The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

zfor warrior has stumbled against warrior;

they have both fallen together.”

13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14  “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in bMigdol;

proclaim in bMemphis and bTahpanhes;

say, c‘Stand ready and be prepared,

for dthe sword shall devour around you.’

15  Why are your mighty ones face down?

They do not stand1

because the Lord thrust them down.

16  He made many stumble, fand they fell,

and they said one to another,

‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

gbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’

17  Call the name of hPharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

18  i“As I live, declares the King,

jwhose name is the Lord of hosts,

like kTabor among the mountains

and like lCarmel by the sea, shall one come.

19  mPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,

O ninhabitants of Egypt!

For oMemphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, pwithout inhabitant.

20  “A beautiful qheifer is Egypt,

but a biting fly rfrom the north has come upon her.

21  Even her hired soldiers in her midst

are like sfattened calves;

yes, they have turned and fled together;

they did not stand,

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

tthe time of their punishment.

22  “She makes ua sound like a serpent gliding away;

for her enemies march in force

and come against her with axes

vlike those who fell trees.

23  vThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,

though it is impenetrable,

because wthey are more numerous than locusts;

they are without number.

24  The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;

she shall be delivered into the hand of ra people from the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon xAmon of yThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt zand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 aI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. bAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited cas in the days of old, declares the Lord.

27  d“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,

nor be dismayed, O Israel,

for behold, I will save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

28  dFear not, O Jacob my servant,

declares the Lord,

for I am with you.

I will make a full end of all the nations

to which I have driven you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

eI will discipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Judgment on the Philistines

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet fconcerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down gGaza.

2  “Thus says the Lord:

hBehold, waters are rising iout of the north,

hand shall become an overflowing torrent;

they shall overflow jthe land and all that fills it,

the city and those who dwell in it.

Men shall cry out,

and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.

3  At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,

lat the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,

the fathers mlook not back to their children,

so feeble are their hands,

4  because of the day that is coming to destroy

all fthe Philistines,

to cut off from nTyre and Sidon

every helper that remains.

For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,

othe remnant of the coastland of pCaphtor.

5  qBaldness has come upon Gaza;

rAshkelon has perished.

O remnant of their valley,

show long will you gash yourselves?

6  tAh, sword of the Lord!

How long till you are quiet?

Put yourself into your scabbard;

rest and be still!

7  How can it1 be quiet

uwhen the Lord has given it a charge?

Against vAshkelon and against the seashore

whe has appointed it.”

Judgment on Moab

48 xConcerning Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to yNebo, for it is laid waste!

zKiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;

the fortress is put to shame aand broken down;

2  the renown of Moab is no more.

In bHeshbon they planned disaster against her:

‘Come, let us cut her off cfrom being a nation!’

You also, O dMadmen, shall be brought to silence;

the sword shall pursue you.

3  “A voice! A cry from eHoronaim,

‘Desolation and great destruction!’

4  Moab is destroyed;

her little ones have made a cry.

5  eFor at the ascent of Luhith

they go up weeping;1

for eat the descent of Horonaim

they have heard the distressed cry2 of destruction.

6  Flee! Save yourselves!

You will be like fa juniper in the desert!

7  For, gbecause you trusted in your works and your treasures,

you also shall be taken;

and hChemosh ishall go into exile

with jhis priests and his officials.

8  kThe destroyer shall come upon every city,

and no city shall escape;

the valley shall perish,

and lthe plain shall be destroyed,

as the Lord has spoken.

9  “Give wings to Moab,

for she would fly away;

her cities shall become a desolation,

with no inhabitant in them.

10 m“Cursed is he who does nthe work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11  “Moab has been at ease from his youth

and has osettled on his dregs;

he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

nor has he gone into exile;

so his taste remains in him,

and his scent is not changed.

12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his3 jars in pieces. 13 Then pMoab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as qthe house of Israel was ashamed of rBethel, their confidence.

14  “How do you say, ‘We are heroes

and mighty men of war’?

15  The destroyer of sMoab and his cities has come up,

and the choicest of his young men have tgone down to slaughter,

declares uthe King, uwhose name is the Lord of hosts.

16  The calamity of Moab is near at hand,

and his affliction hastens swiftly.

17  vGrieve for him, all you who are around him,

and all who know his name;

say, w‘How the mighty scepter is broken,

the glorious staff.’

18  x“Come down from your glory,

and sit on the parched ground,

O inhabitant of yDibon!

For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;

he has destroyed your strongholds.

19  zStand by the way zand watch,

O inhabitant of aAroer!

Ask him who flees and her who escapes;

say, ‘What has happened?’

20  Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;

vwail and cry!

Tell it beside bthe Arnon,

that sMoab is laid waste.

21 “Judgment has come upon cthe tableland, upon Holon, and dJahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and yDibon, and eNebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and fKiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and gBeth-meon, 24 and hKerioth, and iBozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 jThe horn of Moab is cut off, and khis arm is broken, declares the Lord.

26 l“Make him drunk, mbecause he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall lwallow in his vomit, nand he too shall be held in derision. 27 oWas not Israel a derision to you? pWas he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him qyou wagged your head?

28  r“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,

O inhabitants of Moab!

Be slike the dove that nests

in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.

29  tWe have heard of the pride of Moab—

he is very proud—

of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,

and the haughtiness of his heart.

30  I know his insolence, declares the Lord;

uhis boasts are false,

his deeds are false.

31  vTherefore I wail for Moab;

I cry out for all Moab;

for the men of wKir-hareseth I mourn.

32  More than for xJazer I weep …