Jeremiah 49:20–50:45

²⁰So listen to what the Lord has planned

against the people of Edom.

Hear what he has planned against those who live in Teman.

Edom’s young people will be dragged away.

The Lord will completely destroy

their grasslands because of them.

²¹When the earth hears Edom fall, it will shake.

The people’s cries will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.

²²Look! An enemy is coming.

It’s like an eagle diving down.

It will spread its wings over Bozrah.

At that time the hearts of Edom’s soldiers

will tremble in fear.

They’ll be like the heart of a woman having a baby.

A Message About Damascus

²³Here is what the Lord says about Damascus. He says,

“The people of Hamath and Arpad are terrified.

They have heard bad news.

They have lost all hope.

They are troubled like the rolling sea.

²⁴The people of Damascus have become weak.

They have turned to run away.

Panic has taken hold of them.

Suffering and pain have taken hold of them.

Their pain is like the pain of a woman having a baby.

²⁵Why hasn’t the famous city been deserted?

It is the town I take delight in.

²⁶You can be sure its young men will fall dead in the streets.

All of its soldiers will be put to death at that time,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

²⁷“I will set the walls of Damascus on fire.

It will burn up the strong towers of King Ben-Hadad.”

A Message About Kedar and Hazor

²⁸Here is what the Lord says about the land of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, was planning to attack them.

The Lord says to the armies of Babylonia,

“Prepare for battle. Attack Kedar.

Destroy the people of the east.

²⁹Their tents and flocks will be taken away from them.

Their tents will be carried off.

All of their goods and camels will be stolen.

People will shout to them,

‘There is terror on every side!’

³⁰“Run away quickly!

You who live in Hazor, stay in deep caves,”

announces the Lord.

“Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia,

has made plans against you.

He has decided to attack you.

³¹“Armies of Babylonia, prepare for battle.

Attack a nation that feels secure.

Its people do not have any worries,”

announces the Lord.

“That nation does not have gates or heavy metal bars.

Its people live all alone.

³²Their camels will be stolen.

Their large herds will be taken away.

I will scatter to the winds those who are in places far away.

I will bring trouble on them from every side,”

announces the Lord.

³³“Hazor will become a home for wild dogs.

It will be a dry and empty desert forever.

No one will live in that land.

No one will stay there even for a short time.”

A Message About Elam

³⁴A message came to me from the Lord. It was about Elam. It came shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah.

³⁵The Lord who rules over all said,

“Elam’s bow is the secret of its strength.

But I will break it.

³⁶I will bring the four winds against Elam.

I will bring them from all four directions.

I will scatter Elam’s people to the four winds.

They will be taken away

to every nation on earth.

³⁷I will use Elam’s enemies to smash them.

Those who are trying to take their lives will kill them.

I will bring trouble on Elam’s people.

My anger will burn against them,”

announces the Lord.

“I will chase them with swords.

I will hunt them down

until I have destroyed them.

³⁸I will set up my throne in Elam.

I will destroy its king and officials,”

announces the Lord.

³⁹“But in days to come I will bless Elam

with great success again,”

announces the Lord.

A Message About Babylonia

50Here is the message the Lord spoke through me about the city of Babylon and the land of Babylonia. He said,

²“Announce this message among the nations.

Lift up a banner.

Let the nations hear the message.

Do not keep anything back.

Say, ‘Babylon will be captured.

The god Bel will be put to shame.

Marduk will be filled with terror.

Babylon’s gods will be put to shame.

The gods its people made will be filled with terror.’

³A nation from the north will attack it.

That nation will destroy Babylonia.

No one will live there.

People and animals alike will run away.

⁴“A new day is coming,”

announces the Lord.

“At that time the people of Israel and Judah will gather together.

They will come in tears to me.

I am the Lord their God.

⁵They will ask how to get to Zion.

Then they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come and join themselves to me.

They will enter into the covenant I make with them.

It will last forever.

It will never be forgotten.

⁶“My people have been like lost sheep.

Their shepherds have led them down the wrong path.

They have caused them to wander in the mountains.

They have wandered over mountains and hills.

They have forgotten that I am their true resting place.

⁷Everyone who found them destroyed them.

Their enemies said, ‘We aren’t guilty.

They sinned against the Lord.

He gave them everything they needed.

He has always been Israel’s hope.’

⁸“People of Judah, run away from Babylon.

Leave the land of Babylonia.

Be like the goats that lead the flock.

⁹I will stir up great nations

that will join forces against Babylon.

I will bring them from the land of the north.

They will take up their battle positions against Babylon.

They will come from the north and capture it.

Their arrows will be like skilled soldiers.

They will not miss their mark.

¹⁰So the riches of Babylonia will be taken away.

All those who steal from it will have more than enough,”

announces the Lord.

¹¹“People of Babylonia, you have stolen what belongs to me.

That has made you glad and full of joy.

You dance around like a young cow on a threshing floor.

You neigh like stallions.

¹²Because of that, you will bring great shame on your land.

Your whole nation will be dishonored.

It will become the least important of the nations.

It will become a dry and empty desert.

¹³Because I am angry with it, no one will live there.

It will be completely deserted.

All those who pass by it will be shocked.

They will make fun of it because of all of its wounds.

¹⁴“All you who draw the bow,

take up your battle positions around Babylon.

Shoot at it! Do not spare any arrows!

Its people have sinned against me.

¹⁵Shout against them on every side!

They are giving up.

The towers of the city are falling.

Its walls are being pulled down.

I am paying its people back.

So pay them back yourselves.

Do to them what they have done to others.

¹⁶Do not leave anyone in Babylonia to plant the fields.

Do not leave anyone to harvest the grain.

Let each of them return to his own people.

Let him run away to his own land.

If he doesn’t, his enemy’s sword will bring him great harm.

¹⁷“Israel is like a scattered flock

that lions have chased away.

The first lion that ate them up

was the king of Assyria.

The last one that broke their bones

was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia.”

¹⁸The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,

“I punished the king of Assyria.

In the same way, I will punish

the king of Babylonia and his land.

¹⁹But I will bring Israel back to their own grasslands.

I will feed them on Mount Carmel and in Bashan.

I will satisfy their hunger

on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰A new day is coming,”

announces the Lord.

“At that time people will search for Israel’s guilt.

But they will not find any.

They will search for Judah’s sins.

But they will not find any.

That is because I will forgive the people I have spared.

²¹“Enemies of Babylonia, attack their land of Merathaim.

Make war against those who live in Pekod.

Chase them and kill them. Destroy them completely,”

announces the Lord.

“Do everything I have commanded you to do.

²²The noise of battle is heard in the land.

It is the noise of a great city being destroyed!

²³It has been broken to pieces.

It was the hammer that broke the whole earth.

How empty Babylonia is among the nations!

²⁴Babylonia, I set a trap for you.

And you were caught before you knew it.

You were found and captured.

That is because you opposed me.

²⁵I have opened up my storeroom.

I have brought out the weapons I use when I am angry.

I am the Lord and King who rules over all.

I have work to do in the land of the Babylonians.

²⁶So come against it from far away.

Open up its storerooms.

Stack everything up like piles of grain.

Completely destroy that country.

Do not leave anyone alive there.

²⁷Kill all of its people.

Let them die in battle.

How terrible it will be for them!

Their time to be judged has come.

Now they will be punished.

²⁸Listen to those who have escaped.

Listen to those who have returned from Babylonia.

They are announcing in Zion

how I have paid Babylonia back.

I have paid it back for destroying my temple.

²⁹“Send for men who are armed with bows and arrows.

Send them against Babylon.

Set up camp all around it.

Do not let anyone escape.

Pay it back for what its people have done.

Do to them what they have done to others.

They have dared to disobey me.

I am the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰You can be sure its young men will fall dead in the streets.

All of its soldiers will be put to death at that time,”

announces the Lord.

³¹“Proud Babylonians, I am against you,”

announces the Lord.

The Lord who rules over all says,

“Your day to be judged has come.

It is time for you to be punished.

³²You proud people will trip and fall.

No one will help you up.

I will start a fire in your towns.

It will burn up everyone who is around you.”

³³The Lord who rules over all says,

“The people of Israel are being treated badly.

So are the people of Judah.

Those who have captured them are holding them.

They refuse to let them go.

³⁴But I am strong and will save them.

My name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.

I will stand up for them.

I will bring peace and rest to their land.

But I will bring trouble to those who live in Babylonia.

³⁵“A sword is coming against the Babylonians!”

announces the Lord.

“It is coming against those who live in Babylonia.

It is coming against their officials and wise men.

³⁶A sword is coming against their prophets.

But they are not really prophets at all!

So they will look foolish.

A sword is coming against their soldiers!

They will be…