Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Then all the military leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached

²Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.

³Pray that the LORD your God will show us what to do and where to go.”

⁴“All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the LORD your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!

⁶Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”

⁷Ten days later the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah.

⁸So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.

⁹He said to them, “You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:

¹⁰‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.

¹¹Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.

¹²I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

¹³“But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here;

¹⁴instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’

¹⁵then hear the LORD’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there,

¹⁶the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.

¹⁷That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’

¹⁸“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.’

¹⁹“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today.

²⁰For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’

²¹And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past.

²²So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”

¹When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the LORD their God to all the people,

²Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!

³Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.”

⁴So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to obey the LORD’s command to stay in Judah.

⁵Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.

⁶In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.

⁷The people refused to obey the voice of the LORD and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

⁸Then at Tahpanhes, the LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,

⁹“While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.

¹⁰Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.

¹¹And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.

¹²He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.

¹³He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

¹This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in southern Egypt as well:

²“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins.

³They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods — gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.

⁴“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’

⁵But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.

⁶And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.

⁷“And now the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive — not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms.

⁸Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth.

⁹Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem?

¹⁰To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.

¹¹“Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you!

¹²I will take this remnant of Judah — those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt — and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery.

¹³I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease.

¹⁴Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”

¹⁵Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols — a great crowd of all the Judeans living in northern Egypt and southern Egypt — answered Jeremiah,

¹⁶“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD!

¹⁷We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like — just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles!

¹⁸But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.”

¹⁹“Besides,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer,

²¹“Do you think the LORD did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

²²It was because the LORD could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing — a desolate ruin without inhabitants — as it is today.

²³All these terrible things happened to you because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the LORD. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the LORD, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt.

²⁵This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’

²⁶“But listen to this message from the LORD, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: “As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives.”

²⁷For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.

²⁸Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true — mine or theirs!

²⁹“‘And this is the proof I give you,’ says the LORD, ‘that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here.’

³⁰This is what the LORD says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’”

¹The prophet Jeremiah gave a message to Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, after Baruch had written down everything Jeremiah had dictated to him. He said,

²“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

³You have said, ‘I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven’t I had enough pain already? And now the LORD has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.’

⁴“Baruch, this is what the LORD says: ‘I will destroy this nation that I built. I will uproot what I planted.

⁵Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t do it! I will bring great disaster upon all these people; but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

¹The following messages were given to Jeremiah the prophet from the LORD concerning foreign nations.

²This message concerning Egypt was given in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the king of Judah, on the occasion of the battle of Carchemish when Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, and his army were defeated beside the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

³“Prepare your shields, and advance into battle!

⁴Harness the horses, and mount the stallions. Take your positions. Put on your helmets. Sharpen your spears, and prepare your armor.

⁵But what do I see? The Egyptian army flees in terror. The bravest of its fighting men run without a backward glance. They are terrorized at every turn,” says the LORD.

⁶“The swiftest runners cannot flee; the mightiest warriors cannot escape. By the Euphrates River to the north, they stumble and fall.

⁷“Who is this, rising like the Nile at floodtime, overflowing all the land?

⁸It is the Egyptian army, overflowing all the land, boasting that it will cover the earth like a flood, destroying cities and their people.

⁹Charge, you horses and chariots; attack, you mighty warriors of Egypt! Come, all you allies from Ethiopia, Libya, and Lydia who are skilled with the shield and bow!

¹⁰For this is the day of the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, a day of vengeance on his enemies. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, yes, until it is drunk with your blood! The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will receive a sacrifice today in the north country beside the Euphrates River.

¹¹“Go up to Gilead to get medicine, O virgin daughter of Egypt! But your many treatments will bring you no healing.

¹²The nations have heard of your shame. The earth is filled with your cries of despair. Your mightiest warriors will run into each other and fall down together.”

¹³Then the LORD gave the prophet Jeremiah this message about King Nebuchadnezzar’s plans to attack Egypt.

¹⁴“Shout it out in Egypt! Publish it in the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes! Mobilize for battle, for the sword will devour everyone around you.

¹⁵Why have your warriors fallen? They cannot stand, for the LORD has knocked them down.

¹⁶They stumble and fall over each other and say among themselves, ‘Come, let’s go back to our people, to the land of our birth. Let’s get away from the sword of the enemy!’

¹⁷There they will say, ‘Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is a loudmouth who missed his opportunity!’

¹⁸“As surely as I live,” says the King, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “one is coming against Egypt who is as tall as Mount Tabor, or as Mount Carmel by the sea!

¹⁹Pack up! Get ready to leave for exile, you citizens of Egypt! The city of Memphis will be destroyed, without a single inhabitant.

²⁰Egypt is as sleek as a beautiful heifer, but a horsefly from the north is on its way!

²¹Egypt’s mercenaries have become like fattened calves. They, too, will turn and run, for it is a day of great disaster for Egypt, a time of great punishment.

²²Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away. The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen.

²³They will cut down her people like trees,” says the LORD, “for they are more numerous than locusts.

²⁴Egypt will be humiliated; she will be handed over to people from the north.”

²⁵The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other gods of Egypt. I will punish its rulers and Pharaoh, too, and all who trust in him.

²⁶I will hand them over to those who want them killed — to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army. But afterward the land will recover from the ravages of war. I, the LORD, have spoken!

²⁷“But do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.

²⁸Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, for I am with you,” says the LORD. “I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”

¹This is the LORD’s message to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines of Gaza, before it was captured by the Egyptian army.

²This is what the LORD says: “A flood is coming from the north to overflow the land. It will destroy the land and everything in it — cities and people alike. People will scream in terror, and everyone in the land will wail.

³Hear the clatter of stallions’ hooves and the rumble of wheels as the chariots rush by. Terrified fathers run madly, without a backward glance at their helpless children.

⁴“The time has come for the Philistines to be destroyed, along with their allies from Tyre and Sidon. Yes, the LORD is destroying the remnant of the Philistines, those colonists from the island of Crete.

⁵Gaza will be humiliated, its head shaved bald; Ashkelon will lie silent. You remnant from the Mediterranean coast, how long will you cut yourselves in mourning?

⁶“Now, O sword of the LORD, when will you be at rest again? Go back into your sheath; rest and be still.

⁷“But how can it be still when the LORD has sent it on a mission? For the city of Ashkelon and the people living along the sea must be destroyed.”

¹This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo; it will soon lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured; the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.

²No one will ever brag about Moab again, for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.’ The town of Madmen, too, will be silenced; the sword will follow you there.

³Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction.

⁴All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out.

⁵Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim.

⁶Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness!

⁷Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands!

⁸“All the towns will be destroyed, and no one will escape — either on the plateaus or in the valleys, for the LORD has spoken.

⁹Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them.

¹⁰Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD’s work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!

¹¹“From his earliest history, Moab has lived in peace, never going into exile. He is like wine that has been allowed to settle. He has not been poured from flask to flask, and he is now fragrant and smooth.

¹²But the time is coming soon,” says the LORD, “when I will send men to pour him from his jar. They will pour him out, then shatter the jar!

¹³At last Moab will be ashamed of his idol Chemosh, as the people of Israel were ashamed of their gold calf at Bethel.

¹⁴“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’

¹⁵But now Moab and his towns will be destroyed. His most promising youth are doomed to slaughter,” says the King, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁶“Destruction is coming fast for Moab; calamity threatens ominously.

¹⁷You friends of Moab, weep for him and cry! See how the strong scepter is broken, how the beautiful staff is shattered!

¹⁸“Come down from your glory and sit in the dust, you people of Dibon, for those who destroy Moab will shatter Dibon, too. They will tear down all your towers.

¹⁹You people of Aroer, stand beside the road and watch. Shout to those who flee from Moab, ‘What has happened there?’

²⁰“And the reply comes back, ‘Moab lies in ruins, disgraced; weep and wail! Tell it by the banks of the Arnon River: Moab has been destroyed!’

²¹Judgment has been poured out on the towns of the plateau — on Holon and Jahaz and Mephaath,

²²on Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,

²³on Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,

²⁴on Kerioth and Bozrah — all the towns of Moab, far and near.

²⁵“The strength of Moab has ended. His arm has been broken,” says the LORD.

²⁶“Let him stagger and fall like a drunkard, for he has rebelled against the LORD. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, ridiculed by all.

²⁷Did you not ridicule the people of Israel? Were they caught in the company of thieves that you should despise them as you do?

²⁸“You people of Moab, flee from your towns and live in the caves. Hide like doves that nest in the clefts of the rocks.

²⁹We have all heard of the pride of Moab, for his pride is very great. We know of his lofty pride, his arrogance, and his haughty heart.

³⁰I know about his insolence,” says the LORD, “but his boasts are empty — as empty as his deeds.

³¹So now I wail for Moab; yes, I will mourn for Moab. My heart is broken for the men of Kir-hareseth.

³²“You people of Sibmah, rich in vineyards, I will weep for you even more than I did for Jazer. Your spreading vines once reached as far as the Dead Sea, but the destroyer has stripped you bare! He has harvested your grapes and summer fruits.

³³Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab. The presses yield no wine. No one treads the grapes with shouts of joy. There is shouting, yes, but not of joy.

³⁴“Instead, their awful cries of terror can be heard from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and Jahaz; from Zoar all the way to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up now.

³⁵“I will put an end to Moab,” says the LORD, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods.

³⁶My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.

³⁷The people shave their heads and beards in mourning. They slash their hands and put on clothes made of burlap.

³⁸There is crying and sorrow in every Moabite home and on every street. For I have smashed Moab like an old, unwanted jar.

³⁹How it is shattered! Hear the wailing! See the shame of Moab! It has become an object of ridicule, an example of ruin to all its neighbors.”

⁴⁰This is what the LORD says: “Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Moab.

⁴¹Its cities will fall, and its strongholds will be seized. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

⁴²Moab will no longer be a nation, for it has boasted against the LORD.

⁴³“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the LORD.

⁴⁴“Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will step into a snare. I will see to it that you do not get away, for the time of your judgment has come,” says the LORD.

⁴⁵“The people flee as far as Heshbon but are unable to go on. For a fire comes from Heshbon, King Sihon’s ancient home, to devour the entire land with all its rebellious people.

⁴⁶“What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab! The people of the god Chemosh are destroyed! Your sons and your daughters have been taken away as captives.

⁴⁷But I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!” This is the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Moab.

¹This message was given concerning the Ammonites. This is what the LORD says: “Are there no descendants of Israel to inherit the land of Gad? Why are you, who worship Molech, living in its towns?

²In the days to come,” says the LORD, “I will sound the battle cry against your city of Rabbah. It will become a desolate heap of ruins, and the neighboring towns will be burned. Then Israel will take back the land you took from her,” says the LORD.

³“Cry out, O Heshbon, for the town of Ai is destroyed. Weep, O people of Rabbah! Put on your clothes of mourning. Weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Molech, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands.

⁴You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. You trusted in your wealth, you rebellious daughter, and thought no one could ever harm you.

⁵But look! I will bring terror upon you,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Your neighbors will chase you from your land, and no one will help your exiles as they flee.

⁶But I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

⁷This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Is there no wisdom in Teman? Is no one left to give wise counsel?

⁸Turn and flee! Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan! For when I bring disaster on Edom, I will punish you, too!

⁹Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. If thieves came at night, they would not take everything.

¹⁰But I will strip bare the land of Edom, and there will be no place left to hide. Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors will all be destroyed, and Edom itself will be no more.

¹¹But I will protect the orphans who remain among you. Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”

¹²And this is what the LORD says: “If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You will not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!

¹³For I have sworn by my own name,” says the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”

¹⁴I have heard a message from the LORD that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Form a coalition against Edom, and prepare for battle!”

¹⁵The LORD says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations. You will be despised by all.

¹⁶You have been deceived by the fear you inspire in others and by your own pride. You live in a rock fortress and control the mountain heights. But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you crashing down,” says the LORD.

¹⁷“Edom will be an object of horror. All who pass by will be appalled and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

¹⁸It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the LORD. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.

¹⁹I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”

²⁰Listen to the LORD’s plans against Edom and the people of Teman. Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep, and their homes will be destroyed.

²¹The earth will shake with the noise of Edom’s fall, and its cry of despair will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.

²²Look! The enemy swoops down like an eagle, spreading his wings over Bozrah. Even the mightiest warriors will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

²³This message was given concerning Damascus. This is what the LORD says: “The towns of Hamath and Arpad are struck with fear, for they have heard the news of their destruction. Their hearts are troubled like a wild sea in a raging storm.

²⁴Damascus has become feeble, and all her people turn to flee. Fear, anguish, and pain have gripped her as they grip a woman in labor.

²⁵That famous city, a city of joy, will be forsaken!

²⁶Her young men will fall in the streets and die. Her soldiers will all be killed,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

²⁷“And I will set fire to the walls of Damascus that will burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.”

²⁸This message was given concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which were attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This is what the LORD says: “Advance against Kedar! Destroy the warriors from the East!

²⁹Their flocks and tents will be captured, and their household goods and camels will be taken away. Everywhere shouts of panic will be heard: ‘We are terrorized at every turn!’

³⁰Run for your lives,” says the LORD. “Hide yourselves in deep caves, you people of Hazor, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has plotted against you and is preparing to destroy you.

³¹“Go up and attack that complacent nation,” says the LORD. “Its people live alone in the desert without walls or gates.

³²Their camels and other livestock will all be yours. I will scatter to the winds these people who live in remote places. I will bring calamity upon them from every direction,” says the LORD.

³³“Hazor will be inhabited by jackals, and it will be desolate forever. No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.”

³⁴This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the LORD at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

³⁵This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will destroy the archers of Elam — the best of their forces.

³⁶I will bring enemies from all directions, and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. They will be exiled to countries around the world.

³⁷I myself will go with Elam’s enemies to shatter it. In my fierce anger, I will bring great disaster upon the people of Elam,” says the LORD. “Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.

³⁸I will set my throne in Elam,” says the LORD, “and I will destroy its king and officials.

³⁹But I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹The LORD gave Jeremiah the prophet this message concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians.

²This is what the LORD says: “Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.

³For a nation will attack her from the north and bring such destruction that no one will live there again. Everything will be gone; both people and animals will flee.

⁴“In those coming days,” says the LORD, “the people of Israel will return home together with the people of Judah. They will come weeping and seeking the LORD their God.

⁵They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the LORD with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.

⁶“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

⁷All who found them devoured them. Their enemies said, ‘We did nothing wrong in attacking them, for they sinned against the LORD, their true place of rest, and the hope of their ancestors.’

⁸“But now, flee from Babylon! Leave the land of the Babylonians. Like male goats at the head of the flock, lead my people home again.

⁹For I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. They will join forces to attack Babylon, and she will be captured. The enemies’ arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!

¹⁰Babylonia will be looted until the attackers are glutted with loot. I, the LORD, have spoken!

¹¹“You rejoice and are glad, you who plundered my chosen people. You frisk about like a calf in a meadow and neigh like a stallion.

¹²But your homeland will be overwhelmed with shame and disgrace. You will become the least of nations — a wilderness, a dry and desolate land.

¹³Because of the LORD’s anger, Babylon will become a deserted wasteland. All who pass by will be horrified and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

¹⁴“Yes, prepare to attack Babylon, all you surrounding nations. Let your archers shoot at her; spare no arrows. For she has sinned against the LORD.

¹⁵Shout war cries against her from every side. Look! She surrenders! Her walls have fallen. It is the LORD’s vengeance, so take vengeance on her. Do to her as she has done to others!

¹⁶Take from Babylon all those who plant crops; send all the harvesters away. Because of the sword of the enemy, everyone will run away and rush back to their own lands.

¹⁷“The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions. First the king of Assyria ate them up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones.”

¹⁸Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.

¹⁹And I will bring Israel home again to its own land, to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan, and to be satisfied once more in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰In those days,” says the LORD, “no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah, for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

²¹“Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you,” says the LORD.

²²“Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction.

²³Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth, lies broken and shattered. Babylon is desolate among the nations!

²⁴Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD.

²⁵The LORD has opened his armory and brought out weapons to vent his fury. The terror that falls upon the Babylonians will be the work of the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

²⁶Yes, come against her from distant lands. Break open her granaries. Crush her walls and houses into heaps of rubble. Destroy her completely, and leave nothing!

²⁷Destroy even her young bulls — it will be terrible for them, too! Slaughter them all! For Babylon’s day of reckoning has come.

²⁸Listen to the people who have escaped from Babylon, as they tell in Jerusalem how the LORD our God has taken vengeance against those who destroyed his Temple.

²⁹“Send out a call for archers to come to Babylon. Surround the city so none can escape. Do to her as she has done to others, for she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰Her young men will fall in the streets and die. Her soldiers will all be killed,” says the LORD.

³¹“See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Your day of reckoning has arrived — the day when I will punish you.

³²O land of arrogance, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon that will burn up everything around them.”

³³This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “The people of Israel and Judah have been wronged. Their captors hold them and refuse to let them go.

³⁴But the one who redeems them is strong. His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. He will defend them and give them rest again in Israel. But for the people of Babylon there will be no rest!

³⁵“The sword of destruction will strike the Babylonians,” says the LORD. “It will strike the people of Babylon — her officials and wise men, too.

³⁶The sword will strike her wise counselors, and they will become fools. The sword will strike her mightiest warriors, and panic will seize them.

³⁷The sword will strike her horses and chariots and her allies from other lands, and they will all become like women. The sword will strike her treasures, and they all will be plundered.

³⁸A drought will strike her water supply, causing it to dry up. And why? Because the whole land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them.

³⁹“Soon Babylon will be inhabited by desert animals and hyenas. It will be a home for owls. Never again will people live there; it will lie desolate forever.

⁴⁰I will destroy it as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns,” says the LORD. “No one will live there; no one will inhabit it.

⁴¹“Look! A great army is coming from the north. A great nation and many kings are rising against you from far-off lands.

⁴²They are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. As they ride forward on horses, they sound like a roaring sea. They are coming in battle formation, planning to destroy you, Babylon.

⁴³The king of Babylon has heard reports about the enemy, and he is weak with fright. Pangs of anguish have gripped him, like those of a woman in labor.

⁴⁴“I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Babylon from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”

⁴⁵Listen to the LORD’s plans against Babylon and the land of the Babylonians. Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep, and their homes will be destroyed.

⁴⁶The earth will shake with the shout, “Babylon has been taken!” and its cry of despair will be heard around the world.

¹This is what the LORD says: “I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Babylonia.

²Foreigners will come and winnow her, blowing her away as chaff. They will come from every side to rise against her in her day of trouble.

³Don’t let the archers put on their armor or draw their bows. Don’t spare even her best soldiers! Let her army be completely destroyed.

⁴They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets.

⁵For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has not abandoned Israel and Judah. He is still their God, even though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”

⁶Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped in her punishment! It is the LORD’s time for vengeance; he will repay her in full.

⁷Babylon has been a gold cup in the LORD’s hands, a cup that made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank Babylon’s wine, and it drove them all mad.

⁸But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her. Give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed.

⁹We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land. For her punishment reaches to the heavens; it is so great it cannot be measured.

¹⁰The LORD has vindicated us. Come, let us announce in Jerusalem everything the LORD our God has done.

¹¹Sharpen the arrows! Lift up the shields! For the LORD has inspired the kings of the Medes to march against Babylon and destroy her. This is his vengeance against those who desecrated his Temple.

¹²Raise the battle flag against Babylon! Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen. Prepare an ambush, for the LORD will fulfill all his plans against Babylon.

¹³You are a city by a great river, a great center of commerce, but your end has come. The thread of your life is cut.

¹⁴The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow and has sworn to it by his own name: “Your cities will be filled with enemies, like fields swarming with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.”

¹⁵The LORD made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.

¹⁶When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

¹⁷The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power.

¹⁸Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.

¹⁹But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including his people, his own special possession. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

²⁰“You are my battle-ax and sword,” says the LORD. “With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms.

²¹With you I will shatter armies — destroying the horse and rider, the chariot and charioteer.

²²With you I will shatter men and women, old people and children, young men and young women.

²³With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks, farmers and oxen, captains and officers.

²⁴“I will repay Babylon and the people of Babylonia for all the wrong they have done to my people in Jerusalem,” says the LORD.

²⁵“Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy,” says the LORD. “I will raise my fist against you, to knock you down from the heights. When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of burnt rubble.

²⁶You will be desolate forever. Even your stones will never again be used for building. You will be completely wiped out,” says the LORD.

²⁷Raise a signal flag to the nations. Sound the battle cry! Mobilize them all against Babylon. Prepare them to fight against her! Bring out the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander, and bring a multitude of horses like swarming locusts!

²⁸Bring against her the armies of the nations — led by the kings of the Medes and all their captains and officers.

²⁹The earth trembles and writhes in pain, for everything the LORD has planned against Babylon stands unchanged. Babylon will be left desolate without a single inhabitant.

³⁰Her mightiest warriors no longer fight. They stay in their barracks, their courage gone. They have become like women. The invaders have burned the houses and broken down the city gates.

³¹The news is passed from one runner to the next as the messengers hurry to tell the king that his city has been captured.

³²All the escape routes are blocked. The marshes have been set aflame, and the army is in a panic.

³³This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Babylon is like wheat on a threshing floor, about to be trampled. In just a little while her harvest will begin.”

³⁴“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has eaten and crushed us and drained us of strength. He has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches. He has thrown us out of our own country.

³⁵Make Babylon suffer as she made us suffer,” say the people of Zion. “Make the people of Babylonia pay for spilling our blood,” says Jerusalem.

³⁶This is what the LORD says to Jerusalem: “I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, as well as her springs,

³⁷and Babylon will become a heap of ruins, haunted by jackals. She will be an object of horror and contempt, a place where no one lives.

³⁸Her people will roar together like strong lions. They will growl like lion cubs.

³⁹And while they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will prepare a different kind of feast for them. I will make them drink until they fall asleep, and they will never wake up again,” says the LORD.

⁴⁰“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats to be sacrificed.

⁴¹“How Babylon is fallen — great Babylon, praised throughout the earth! Now she has become an object of horror among the nations.

⁴²The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered by its crashing waves.

⁴³Her cities now lie in ruins; she is a dry wasteland where no one lives or even passes by.

⁴⁴And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon, and make him vomit up all he has eaten. The nations will no longer come and worship him. The wall of Babylon has fallen!

⁴⁵“Come out, my people, flee from Babylon. Save yourselves! Run from the LORD’s fierce anger.

⁴⁶But do not panic; don’t be afraid when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces. For rumors will keep coming year by year. Violence will erupt in the land as the leaders fight against each other.

⁴⁷For the time is surely coming when I will punish this great city and all her idols. Her whole land will be disgraced, and her dead will lie in the streets.

⁴⁸Then the heavens and earth will rejoice, for out of the north will come destroying armies against Babylon,” says the LORD.

⁴⁹“Just as Babylon killed the people of Israel and others throughout the world, so must her people be killed.

⁵⁰Get out, all you who have escaped the sword! Do not stand and watch — flee while you can! Remember the LORD, though you are in a far-off land, and think about your home in Jerusalem.”

⁵¹“We are ashamed,” the people say. “We are insulted and disgraced because the LORD’s Temple has been defiled by foreigners.”

⁵²“Yes,” says the LORD, “but the time is coming when I will destroy Babylon’s idols. The groans of her wounded people will be heard throughout the land.

⁵³Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens and makes her fortifications incredibly strong, I will still send enemies to plunder her. I, the LORD, have spoken!

⁵⁴“Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

⁵⁵For the LORD is destroying Babylon. He will silence her loud voice. Waves of enemies pound against her; the noise of battle rings through the city.

⁵⁶Destroying armies come against Babylon. Her mighty men are captured, and their weapons break in their hands. For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full.

⁵⁷I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her captains, officers, and warriors. They will fall asleep and never wake up again!” says the King, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

⁵⁸This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground, and her massive gates will be burned. The builders from many lands have worked in vain, for their work will be destroyed by fire!”

⁵⁹The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

⁶⁰Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon — all the words written here.

⁶¹He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll.

⁶²Then say, ‘LORD, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’

⁶³When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River.

⁶⁴Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’” This is the end of Jeremiah’s messages.

¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

²But Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.

³These things happened because of the LORD’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.

⁵Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.

⁶By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.

⁷Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

⁸But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.

⁹They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

¹⁰The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.

¹¹Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death.

¹²On August 17 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.

¹³He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.

¹⁴Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.

¹⁵Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.

¹⁶But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.

¹⁸They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.

¹⁹The captain of the guard also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, ladles, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

²⁰The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea with the twelve bronze oxen beneath it, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the LORD’s Temple in the days of King Solomon.

²¹Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference. They were hollow, with walls 3 inches thick.

²²The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1⁄2 feet high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.

²³There were 96 pomegranates on the sides, and a total of 100 pomegranates on the network around the top.

²⁴Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.

²⁵And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; seven of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.

²⁶Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

²⁷And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.

²⁸The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 3,023.

²⁹Then in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year he took 832 more.

³⁰In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more — a total of 4,600 captives in all.

³¹In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on March 31 of that year.

³²He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.

³³He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.

³⁴So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death.

¹Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave.

²She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.

³Judah has been led away into captivity, oppressed with cruel slavery. She lives among foreign nations and has no place of rest. Her enemies have chased her down, and she has nowhere to turn.

⁴The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priests groan, her young women are crying — how bitter is her fate!

⁵Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the LORD has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.

⁶All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem has been stripped away. Her princes are like starving deer searching for pasture. They are too weak to run from the pursuing enemy.

⁷In the midst of her sadness and wandering, Jerusalem remembers her ancient splendor. But now she has fallen to her enemy, and there is no one to help her. Her enemy struck her down and laughed as she fell.

⁸Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated. All she can do is groan and hide her face.

⁹She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “LORD, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.”

¹⁰The enemy has plundered her completely, taking every precious thing she owns. She has seen foreigners violate her sacred Temple, the place the LORD had forbidden them to enter.

¹¹Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. “O LORD, look,” she mourns, “and see how I am despised.

¹²“Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine, which the LORD brought on me when he erupted in fierce anger.

¹³“He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long.

¹⁴“He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands.

¹⁵“The Lord has treated my mighty men with contempt. At his command a great army has come to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled his beloved city like grapes are trampled in a winepress.

¹⁶“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us.”

¹⁷Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the LORD has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”

¹⁸“The LORD is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.

¹⁹“I begged my allies for help, but they betrayed me. My priests and leaders starved to death in the city, even as they searched for food to save their lives.

²⁰“LORD, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.

²¹“Others heard my groans, but no one turned to comfort me. When my enemies heard about my troubles, they were happy to see what you had done. Oh, bring the day you promised, when they will suffer as I have suffered.

²²“Look at all their evil deeds, LORD. Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart.”

¹The Lord in his anger has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem. The fairest of Israel’s cities lies in the dust, thrown down from the heights of heaven. In his day of great anger, the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.

²Without mercy the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel. In his anger he has broken down the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He has brought them to the ground, dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.

³All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fierce anger. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire.

⁴He bends his bow against his people, as though he were their enemy. His strength is used against them to kill their finest youth. His fury is poured out like fire on beautiful Jerusalem.

⁵Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.

⁶He has broken down his Temple as though it were merely a garden shelter. The LORD has blotted out all memory of the holy festivals and Sabbath days. Kings and priests fall together before his fierce anger.

⁷The Lord has rejected his own altar; he despises his own sanctuary. He has given Jerusalem’s palaces to her enemies. They shout in the LORD’s Temple as though it were a day of celebration.

⁸The LORD was determined to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He made careful plans for their destruction, then did what he had planned. Therefore, the ramparts and walls have fallen down before him.

⁹Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground. He has smashed their locks and bars. Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands; her law has ceased to exist. Her prophets receive no more visions from the LORD.

¹⁰The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem sit on the ground in silence. They are clothed in burlap and throw dust on their heads. The young women of Jerusalem hang their heads in shame.

¹¹I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as I see the desperate plight of my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.

¹²They cry out to their mothers, “We need food and drink!” Their lives ebb away in the streets like the life of a warrior wounded in battle. They gasp for life as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.

¹³What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

¹⁴Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.

¹⁵All who pass by jeer at you. They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’ and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”

¹⁶All your enemies mock you. They scoff and snarl and say, “We have destroyed her at last! We have long waited for this day, and it is finally here!”

¹⁷But it is the LORD who did just as he planned. He has fulfilled the promises of disaster he made long ago. He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy. He has caused her enemies to gloat over her and has given them power over her.

¹⁸Cry aloud before the Lord, O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river day and night. Give yourselves no rest; give your eyes no relief.

¹⁹Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger.

²⁰“O LORD, think about this! Should you treat your own people this way? Should mothers eat their own children, those they once bounced on their knees? Should priests and prophets be killed within the Lord’s Temple?

²¹“See them lying in the streets — young and old, boys and girls, killed by the swords of the enemy. You have killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without mercy.

²²“You have invited terrors from all around, as though you were calling them to a day of feasting. In the day of the LORD’s anger, no one has escaped or survived. The enemy has killed all the children whom I carried and raised.”