Category: Jeremiah

Jeremiah Stays with Gedaliah

1 TheLordspoke to me after Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, had set me free at Ramah. I had been taken there in chains, along with all the other people from Jerusalem and Judah who were being taken away as prisoners to Babylonia.

2 The commanding officer took me aside and said, “TheLordyour God threatened this land with destruction,

3 and now he has done what he said he would. All this happened because your people sinned against theLordand disobeyed him.

4 Now, I am taking the chains off your wrists and setting you free. If you want to go to Babylonia with me, you may do so, and I will take care of you. But if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You have the whole country to choose from, and you may go wherever you wish.”

5 When I did not answer,Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylonia has made governor of the towns of Judah. You may stay with him and live among the people, or you may go anywhere you think you should.” Then he gave me a present and some food to take with me, and let me go on my way.

6 I went to stay with Gedaliah in Mizpah and lived among the people who were left in the land.

Gedaliah, Governor of Judah

7 Some of the Judean officers and soldiers had not surrendered. They heard that the king of Babylonia had made Gedaliah governor of the land and had placed him in charge of all those who had not been taken away to Babylonia—the poorest people in the land.

8 So Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah from Maacah went with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

9 Gedaliah said to them, “I give you my word that there is no need for you to be afraid to surrender to the Babylonians. Settle in this land, serve the king of Babylonia, and all will go well with you.

10 I myself will stay in Mizpah and be your representative when the Babylonians come here. But you can gather and store up wine, fruit, and olive oil, and live in the villages you occupy.”

11 Meanwhile, all the Israelites who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries, heard that the king of Babylonia had allowed some Israelites to stay on in Judah and that he had made Gedaliah their governor.

12 So they left the places where they had been scattered, and returned to Judah. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and there they gathered in large amounts of wine and fruit.

Gedaliah Is Murdered

13 After this, Johanan and the leaders of the soldiers who had not surrendered came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said to him, “Don’t you know that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael to murder you?” But Gedaliah did not believe it.

15 Then Johanan said privately to him, “Let me go and kill Ishmael, and no one will know who did it. Why should he be allowed to murder you? That would cause all the Jews who have gathered around you to be scattered, and it would bring disaster on all the people who are left in Judah.”

16 But Gedaliah answered, “Don’t do it! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/40-1f95fa5074fe6d3ac17da487fd9e599a.mp3?version_id=68—

1 In the seventh month of that year, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, went to Mizpah with ten men to see Governor Gedaliah. While they were all eating a meal together,

2 Ishmael and the ten men with him pulled out their swords and killed Gedaliah.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Israelites who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Babylonian soldiers who happened to be there.

4 The next day, before anyone knew about Gedaliah’s murder,

5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves. They were taking grain and incense to offer in the Temple.

6 So Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he came to them, he said, “Please come in to see Gedaliah.”

7 As soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael and his men killed them and threw their bodies in a well.

8 But there were ten men in the group who said to Ishmael, “Please don’t kill us! We have wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he spared them.

9 The well into which Ishmael threw the bodies of the men he had killed was the large onethat King Asa had dug when he was being attacked by King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael filled the well with the bodies.

10 Then he made prisoners of the king’s daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the commanding officer had placed under the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael took them prisoner and started off in the direction of the territory of Ammon.

11 Johanan and all the army leaders with him heard of the crime that Ishmael had committed.

12 So they went after him with their men and overtook him near the large pool at Gibeon.

13 When Ishmael’s prisoners saw Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him, they were glad,

14 and turned and ran to them.

15 But Ishmael and eight of his men got away from Johanan and escaped to the land of Ammon.

16 Then Johanan and the leaders of the forces with him took charge of the people whom Ishmael had taken away as prisoners from Mizpah after murdering Gedaliah—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs.

17-18 They were afraid of the Babylonians because Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylonia had made governor of the land. So they set out for Egypt, in order to get away from the Babylonians. On the way they stopped at Chimham near Bethlehem.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/41-4666e64ac1415b95da7e2ae3847423bf.mp3?version_id=68—

The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray for Them

1 Then all the army leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariahson of Hoshaiah, came with people of every class

2 and said to me, “Please do what we ask you! Pray to theLordour God for us. Pray for all of us who have survived. Once there were many of us; but now only a few of us are left, as you can see.

3 Pray that theLordour God will show us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4 I answered, “Very well, then. I will pray to theLordour God, just as you have asked, and whatever he says, I will tell you. I will not keep back anything from you.”

5 Then they said to me, “May theLordbe a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey all the commands that theLordour God gives you for us.

6 Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey theLordour God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey him.”

The Lord’s Answer to Jeremiah’s Prayer

7 Ten days later theLordspoke to me;

8 so I called together Johanan, all the army leaders who were with him, and all the other people.

9 I said to them, “TheLord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your request has said,

10 ‘If you are willing to go on living in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up. The destruction I brought on you has caused me great sorrow.

11 Stop being afraid of the king of Babylonia. I am with you, and I will rescue you from his power.

12 Because I am merciful, I will make him have mercy on you and let you go back home. I, theLord, have spoken.’

13-15 “But you people who are left in Judah must not disobey theLordyour God and refuse to live in this land. You must not say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we won’t face war any more or hear the call to battle or go hungry.’ If you say this, then theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you are determined to go and live in Egypt,

16 then the war that you fear will overtake you, and the hunger you dread will follow you, and you will die there in Egypt.

17 All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.’

18 “TheLord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.’”

19 Then I continued, “TheLordhas told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. And so I warn you now

20 that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to theLordour God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands.

21 And now I have told you, but you are disobeying everything that theLordour God sent me to tell you.

22 So then, remember this: you will die in war or of starvation or disease in the land where you want to go and live.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/42-7f69170097c88bc8269df6f7ed6b45e9.mp3?version_id=68—

Jeremiah Is Taken to Egypt

1 I finished telling the people everything that theLordtheir God had sent me to tell them.

2 Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other arrogant men said to me, “You are lying. TheLordour God did not send you to tell us not to go and live in Egypt.

3 Baruch son of Neriah has stirred you up against us, so that the Babylonians will gain power over us and can either kill us or take us away to Babylonia.”

4 So neither Johanan nor any of the army officers nor any of the people would obey theLord’s command to remain in the land of Judah.

5 Then Johanan and all the army officers took everybody left in Judah away to Egypt, together with all the people who had returned from the nations where they had been scattered:

6 the men, the women, the children, and the king’s daughters. They took everyone whom Nebuzaradan the commanding officer had left under the care of Gedaliah, including Baruch and me.

7 They disobeyed theLord’s command and went into Egypt as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

8 There theLordsaid to me,

9 “Get some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the pavementin front of the entrance to the government building here in the city, and let some of the Israelites see you do it.

10 Then tell them that I, theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, am going to bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to this place, and hewill put his throne over these stones that youburied, and will spread the royal tent over them.

11 Nebuchadnezzar will come and defeat Egypt. Those people who are doomed to die of disease will die of disease, those doomed to be taken away as prisoners will be taken away as prisoners, and those doomed to be killed in war will be killed in war.

12 I will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods, and the king of Babylonia will either burn their gods or carry them off. As shepherds pick their clothes clean of lice, so the king of Babylonia will pick the land of Egypt clean and then leave victorious.

13 He will destroy the sacred stone monuments at Heliopolis in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/43-b4aadbc9d8990f6b86b69de6e10abd7e.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Message to the Israelites in Egypt

1 TheLordspoke to me concerning all the Israelites living in Egypt, in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the southern part of the country.

2 TheLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, said, “You yourselves have seen the destruction I brought on Jerusalem and all the other cities of Judah. Even now they are still in ruins, and no one lives in them

3 because their people had done evil and had made me angry. They offered sacrifices to other gods and served gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever worshiped.

4 I kept sending you my servants the prophets, who told you not to do this terrible thing that I hate.

5 But you would not listen or pay any attention. You would not give up your evil practice of sacrificing to other gods.

6 So I poured out my anger and fury on the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem, and I set them on fire. They were left in ruins and became a horrifying sight, as they are today.

7 “And so I, theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, now ask why you are doing such an evil thing to yourselves. Do you want to bring destruction on men and women, children and babies, so that none of your people will be left?

8 Why do you make me angry by worshiping idols and by sacrificing to other gods here in Egypt, where you have come to live? Are you doing this just to destroy yourselves, so that every nation on earth will make fun of you and use your name as a curse?

9 Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives?

10 But to this day you have not humbled yourselves. You have not honored me or lived according to all the laws that I gave you and your ancestors.

11 “So then, I, theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, will turn against you and destroy all Judah.

12 As for the people of Judah who are left and are determined to go and live in Egypt, I will see to it that all of them are destroyed. All of them, great and small, will die in Egypt, either in war or of starvation. They will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of them and use their name as a curse.

13 I will punish those who live in Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem—with war, starvation, and disease.

14 None of the people of Judah who are left and have come to Egypt to live will escape or survive. Not one of them will return to Judah, where they long to live once again. No one will return except a few refugees.”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives offered sacrifices to other gods, and all the women who were standing there, including the Israelites who lived in southern Egypt—a large crowd in all—said to me,

16 “We refuse to listen to what you have told us in the name of theLord.

17 We will do everything that we said we would. We will offer sacrifices to our goddess, the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out wine offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our king and our leaders, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we were prosperous, and had no troubles.

18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and stopped pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing, and our people have died in war and of starvation.”

19 And the women added, “When we baked cakes shaped like the Queen of Heaven, offered sacrifices to her, and poured out wine offerings to her, our husbands approved of what we were doing.”

20 Then I said to all the men and the women who had answered me in this way,

21 “As for the sacrifices which you and your ancestors, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land offered in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—do you think that theLorddid not know about them or that he forgot them?

22 This very day your land lies in ruins and no one lives in it. It has become a horrifying sight, and people use its name as a curse because theLordcould no longer endure your wicked and evil practices.

23 This present disaster has come on you because you offered sacrifices to other gods and sinned against theLordby not obeying all his commands.”

24-25 I told all the people, especially the women, what theLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, was saying to the people of Judah living in Egypt: “Both you and your wives have made solemn promises to the Queen of Heaven. You promised that you would offer sacrifices to her and pour out wine offerings to her, and you have kept your promises. Very well, then! Keep your promises! Carry out your vows!

26 But now listen to the vow that I, theLord, have made in my mighty name to all you Israelites in Egypt: Never again will I let any of you use my name to make a vow by saying, ‘I swear by the living SovereignLord!’

27 I will see to it that you will not prosper, but will be destroyed. All of you will die, either in war or of disease, until not one of you is left.

28 But a few of you will escape death and return from Egypt to Judah. Then the survivors will know whose words have come true, mine or theirs.

29 I, theLord, will give you proof that I will punish you in this place and that my promise to bring destruction on you will come true.

30 I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who was his enemy and wanted to kill him.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/44-39ad3da689eff1475a194fb47d3b10fe.mp3?version_id=68—

God’s Promise to Baruch

1 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down what I had dictated to him. Then I told him

2 that theLord, the God of Israel, had said, “Baruch,

3 you are saying, ‘I give up! TheLordhas added sorrow to my troubles. I am worn out from groaning, and I can’t find any rest!’

4 “But I, theLord, am tearing down what I have built and pulling up what I have planted. I will do this to the entire earth.

5 Are you looking for special treatment for yourself? Don’t do it. I am bringing disaster on all people, but you will at least escape with your life, wherever you go. I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/45-bde4a4c93486fea0282c75a154fff2bb.mp3?version_id=68—

Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish

1 TheLordspoke to me about the nations,

2 beginning with Egypt. This is what he said about the army of King Neco of Egypt, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah:

3 “The Egyptian officers shout,

‘Get your shields ready

and march into battle!

4 Harness your horses and mount them!

Fall in line and put on your helmets!

Sharpen your spears!

Put on your armor!’

5 “But what do I see?” asks theLord.

“They are turning back in terror.

Their soldiers are beaten back;

overcome with fear, they run as fast as they can

and do not look back.

6 Those who run fast cannot get away;

the soldiers cannot escape.

In the north, by the Euphrates,

they stumble and fall.

7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks?

8 It is Egypt, rising like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks.

Egypt said, ‘I will rise and cover the world;

I will destroy cities and the people who live there.

9 Command the horses to go

and the chariots to roll!

Send out the soldiers:

men from Ethiopiaand Libya, carrying shields,

and skilled archers from Lydia.’”

10 This is the day of the SovereignLordAlmighty:

today he will take revenge;

today he will punish his enemies.

His sword will eat them until it is full,

and drink their blood until it is satisfied.

Today the Almighty sacrifices his victims

in the north, by the Euphrates.

11 People of Egypt, go to Gilead

and look for medicine!

All your medicine has proved useless;

nothing can heal you.

12 Nations have heard of your shame;

everyone has heard you cry.

One soldier trips over another,

and both of them fall to the ground.

The Coming of Nebuchadnezzar

13 When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came to attack Egypt, theLordspoke to me. He said,

14 “Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt,

in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes:

‘Get ready to defend yourselves;

all you have will be destroyed in war!

15 Why has your mighty god Apis fallen?

TheLordhas struck him down!’

16 Your soldiers have stumbled and fallen;

each one says to the other,

‘Hurry! Let’s go home to our people

and escape the enemy’s sword!’

17 “Give the king of Egypt a new name—

‘Noisy Braggart Who Missed His Chance.’

18 I, theLordAlmighty, am king.

I am the living God.

As Mount Tabor towers above the mountains

and Mount Carmel stands high above the sea,

so will be the strength of the one who attacks you.

19 Get ready to be taken prisoner,

you people of Egypt!

Memphis will be made a desert,

a ruin where no one lives.

20 Egypt is like a splendid cow,

attacked by a stinging fly from the north.

21 Even her hired soldiers

are helpless as calves.

They did not stand and fight;

all of them turned and ran.

The day of their doom had arrived,

the time of their destruction.

22 Egypt runs away, hissing like a snake,

as the enemy’s army approaches.

They attack her with axes,

like people cutting down trees

23 and destroying a thick forest.

Their soldiers are too many to count;

they outnumber the locusts.

24 The people of Egypt are put to shame;

they are conquered by the people of the north.

I, theLord, have spoken.”

25 TheLordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says, “I am going to punish Amon, the god of Thebes, together with Egypt and its gods and kings. I am going to take the king of Egypt and all who put their trust in him,

26 and hand them over to those who want to kill them, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. But later on, people will live in Egypt again, as they did in times past. I, theLord, have spoken.

The Lord Will Save His People

27 “My people, do not be afraid,

people of Israel, do not be terrified.

I will rescue you from that faraway land,

from the land where you are prisoners.

You will come back home and live in peace;

you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.

28 I will come to you and save you.

I will destroy all the nations

where I have scattered you,

but I will not destroy you.

I will not let you go unpunished;

but when I punish you, I will be fair.

I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/46-4acebea24ab2678a5670ccb79c4253bc.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Message about Philistia

1 Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, theLordspoke to me about Philistia.

2 He said:

“Look! Waters are rising in the north

and will rush like a river in flood.

They will cover the land and everything on it,

cities and the people who live there.

People will call out for help;

everyone on earth will cry bitterly.

3 They will hear the hoofbeats of horses,

the clatter of chariots,

the rumble of wheels.

Parents will not turn back for their children;

their hands will hang limp at their sides.

4 The time has come to destroy Philistia,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

all the help that remains.

I, theLord, will destroy the Philistines,

all who came from the shores of Crete.

5 Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza,

and Ashkelon’s people are silent.

How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?

6 You cry out, ‘Sword of theLord!

How long will you go on slashing?

Go back to your scabbard,

stay there and rest!’

7 But how can it rest,

when I have given it work to do?

I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon

and the people who live on the coast.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/47-a95cb9cf14161aee21636e0da04c13b0.mp3?version_id=68—

The Destruction of Moab

1 This is what theLordAlmighty said about Moab:

“Pity the people of Nebo—

their town is destroyed!

Kiriathaim is captured,

its mighty fortress torn down,

and its people put to shame;

2 the splendor of Moab is gone.

The enemy have captured Heshbon

and plot to destroy the nation of Moab.

The town of Madmen will be silenced;

armies will march against it.

3 The people of Horonaim cry out,

‘Violence! Destruction!’

4 “Moab has been destroyed;

listen to the children crying.

5 Hear the sound of their sobs

along the road up to Luhith,

the cries of distress

on the way down to Horonaim.

6 ‘Quick, run for your lives!’ they say.

‘Run like a wild desert donkey!’

7 “Moab, you trusted in your strength and your wealth,

but now even you will be conquered;

your god Chemosh will go into exile,

along with his princes and priests.

8 Not a town will escape the destruction;

both valley and plain will be ruined.

I, theLord, have spoken.

9 Set up a tombstone for Moab;

it will soon be destroyed.

Its towns will be left in ruins,

and no one will live there again.”

(

10 Curse those who do not do theLord’s work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)

The Cities of Moab Are Destroyed

11 TheLordsaid, “Moab has always lived secure and has never been taken into exile. Moab is like wine left to settle undisturbed and never poured from jar to jar. Its flavor has never been ruined, and it tastes as good as ever.

12 “So now, the time is coming when I will send people to pour Moab out like wine. They will empty its wine jars and break them in pieces.

13 Then the Moabites will be disillusioned with their god Chemosh, just as the Israelites were disillusioned with Bethel, a god in whom they trusted.

14 “Men of Moab, why do you claim to be heroes,

brave soldiers tested in war?

15 Moab and its cities are destroyed;

its finest young men have been slaughtered.

I am the king, theLordAlmighty,

and I have spoken.

16 Moab’s doom approaches;

its ruin is coming soon.

17 “Mourn for that nation, you that live nearby,

all of you that know its fame.

Say, ‘Its powerful rule has been broken;

its glory and might are no more.’

18 You that live in Dibon,

come down from your place of honor

and sit on the ground in the dust;

Moab’s destroyer is here

and has left its forts in ruins.

19 You that live in Aroer,

stand by the road and wait;

ask those who are running away,

find out from them what has happened.

20 ‘Moab has fallen,’ they will answer,

‘weep for it; it is disgraced.

Announce along the Arnon River

that Moab is destroyed!’

21 “Judgment has come on the cities of the plateau: on Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,

22 Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim,

23 Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Bethmeon,

24 Kerioth, and Bozrah. Judgment has come on all the cities of Moab, far and near.

25 Moab’s might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed. I, theLord, have spoken.”

Moab Will Be Humbled

26 TheLordsaid, “Make Moab drunk, because it has rebelled against me. Moab will roll in its own vomit, and people will laugh.

27 Moab, remember how you made fun of the people of Israel? You treated them as though they had been caught with a gang of robbers.

28 “You people who live in Moab, leave your towns! Go and live on the cliffs! Be like the dove that makes its nest in the sides of a ravine.

29 Moab is very proud! I have heard how proud, arrogant, and conceited the people are, how much they think of themselves.

30 I, theLord, know of their arrogance. Their boasts amount to nothing, and the things they do will not last.

31 And so I will weep for everyone in Moab and for the people of Kir Heres.

32 I will cry for the people of Sibmah, even more than for the people of Jazer. City of Sibmah, you are like a vine whose branches reach across the Dead Sea and go as far as Jazer. But now your summer fruits and your grapes have been destroyed.

33 Happiness and joy have been taken away from the fertile land of Moab. I have made the wine stop flowing from the wine presses; there is no one to make the wine and shout for joy.

34 “The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,and their cry can be heard as far as Jahaz; it can be heard by the people in Zoar, and it is heard as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. Even Nimrim Brook has dried up.

35 I will stop the people of Moab from making burnt offerings at their places of worship and from offering sacrifices to their gods. I, theLord, have spoken.

36 “So my heart mourns for Moab and for the people of Kir Heres, like someone playing a funeral song on a flute, because everything they owned is gone.

37 All of them have shaved their heads and cut off their beards. They have all made gashes on their hands, and everyone is wearing sackcloth.

38 On all the housetops of Moab and in all its public squares there is nothing but mourning, because I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants.

39 Moab has been shattered! Cry out! Moab has been disgraced. It is in ruins, and all the surrounding nations make fun of it. I, theLord, have spoken.”

No Escape for Moab

40 TheLordhas promised that a nation will swoop down on Moab like an eagle with its outspread wings,

41 and the towns and fortresses will be captured. On that day Moab’s soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.

42 Moab will be destroyed and will no longer be a nation, because it rebelled against me.

43 Terror, pits, and traps are waiting for the people of Moab. TheLordhas spoken.

44 Whoever tries to escape the terror will fall into the pits, and whoever climbs out of the pits will be caught in the traps, because theLordhas set the time for Moab’s destruction.

45 Helpless refugees try to find protection in Heshbon, the city that King Sihon once ruled, but it is in flames.Fire has burned up the frontiers and the mountain heights of the war-loving people of Moab.

46 Pity the people of Moab! The people who worshiped Chemosh have been destroyed, and their sons and daughters have been taken away as prisoners.

47 But in days to come theLordwill make Moab prosperous again. All of this is what theLordhas said will happen to Moab.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/48-e44b9767bf54c00a11dccbfaee51f15d.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Judgment on Ammon

1 This is what theLordsaid about Ammon: “Where are the men of Israel? Is there no one to defend their land? Why have they let the people who worship Molech take the territory of the tribe of Gad and settle there?

2 But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burned to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them.

3 People of Heshbon, cry out! Ai is destroyed! Women of Rabbah, go into mourning! Put on sackcloth and mourn. Run about in confusion. Your god Molech will be taken into exile, together with his priests and princes.

4 Why do you unfaithful people boast? Your strength is failing. Why do you trust in your power and say that no one would dare attack you?

5 I will bring terror on you from every side. You will all run away. Each one will run for his life, and there will be no one to bring your troops together again.

6 “But later on I will make Ammon prosperous again. I, theLord, have spoken.”

The Lord’s Judgment on Edom

7 This is what theLordAlmighty said about Edom: “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgment? Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do? Has all their wisdom disappeared?

8 People of Dedan, turn and run! Hide! I am going to destroy Esau’s descendants because the time has come for me to punish them.

9 When people pick grapes, they leave a few on the vines, and when robbers come at night, they take only what they want.

10 But Ihave stripped Esau’s descendants completely and uncovered their hiding places, so that they can no longer hide. All the people of Edom are destroyed. Not one of them is left.

11 Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows can depend on me.

12 “If even those who did not deserve to be punished had to drink from the cup of punishment, do you think that you will go unpunished? No, you must drink from the cup!

13 I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will make fun of it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins forever. I, theLord, have spoken.”

14 I said, “Edom, I have received a message from theLord. He has sent a messenger to tell the nations to assemble their armies and to get ready to attack you.

15 TheLordis going to make you weak, and no one will respect you.

16 Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, theLordwill bring you down. TheLordhas spoken.”

17 TheLordsaid, “The destruction that will come on Edom will be so terrible that everyone who passes by will be shocked and terrified.

18 The same thing will happen to Edom that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, theLord, have spoken.

19 Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan River up to the green pasture land, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?

20 So listen to the plan that I have made against the people of Edom, and to what I intend to do to the people of the city of Teman. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.

21 When Edom falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard as far away as the Gulf of Aqaba.

22 The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom’s soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.”

The Lord’s Judgment on Damascus

23 This is what theLordsaid about Damascus: “The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest.

24 The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labor.

25 The famous city that used to be happyis completely deserted.

26 On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed.

27 I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad’s palaces. I, theLordAlmighty, have spoken.”

Judgment on the Tribe of Kedar and the City of Hazor

28 This is what theLordsaid about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: “Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people!

29 Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, ‘Terror is all around you!’

30 “People of Hazor, I, theLord, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says,

31 ‘Come on! We’ll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.’

32 “Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side.

33 Hazor will be made a desert forever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, theLord, have spoken.”

The Lord’s Judgment on Elam

34 Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, theLordAlmighty spoke to me about the country of Elam.

35 He said, “I will kill all the archers who have made Elam so powerful.

36 I will make winds blow against Elam from all directions, and I will scatter her people everywhere, until there is no country where her refugees have not gone.

37 I will make the people of Elam afraid of their enemies, who want to kill them. In my great anger I will destroy the people of Elam and send armies against them until I have wiped them out.

38 I will destroy their kings and leaders, and set up my throne there.

39 But later on I will make the people of Elam prosperous again. I, theLord, have spoken.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/JER/49-d328d2f1c03f306919166639c72da0dc.mp3?version_id=68—