The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count.

And I will give them into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his troops. But {afterward} it will [be] inhabited, as [in] days of old," {declares} Yahweh.

"But [as for] you, my servant Jacob, you must not be afraid, and Israel, you must not be dismayed, for look, I [am] going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be quiet, and he will be at ease, and without [one who] makes [him] afraid.

Thou, do not fear, O my Servant Jacob, Urgeth Yahweh, For, with thee, am I: Though I make an end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, Yet of thee, will I not make an end, But will correct thee in measure, And not hold thee, guiltless,

But how can it rest when I, the Lord, have given it orders? I have ordered it to attack the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.

The praise of Moab has come to an end; as for Heshbon, evil has been designed against her; come, let us put an end to her as a nation. But your mouth will be shut, O Madmen; the sword will go after you.

“Run! Save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

But, because you trust in your deeds and your riches, you will also be captured. Chemosh will go out into exile, along with his priests and officials.

But the time is coming when I will send men against Moab who will empty it out. They will empty the towns of their people, then will lay those towns in ruins. I, the Lord, affirm it!

For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them?

I know his wrath, says the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it.

So will I mourn for thee also O Jazer, and for thee, O thou vineyard of Sibmah. Thy wine branches shall come over the sea, and the branches of Jazer but unto the sea. The destroyer shall break into thy harvest and grape gathering:

“So joy and gladness are taken away
From the fruitful field and from the land of Moab.
And I have made the wine cease from the wine presses;
No one treads the grapes with shouting.
Their shouting is not joyful shouting [but is instead, a battle cry].

On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets there will be nothing but mourning, for I'll break Moab like a vessel that no one wants," declares the LORD.

They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of exhaustion: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the brow of Moab, the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.

But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.

But afterwards, will I bring back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, Declareth Yahweh.

But, I, have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, And to conceal himself, shall he not be able! Spoiled, are his seed, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

For, thus saith Yahweh - Lo! they who had not been adjudged to drink the cup, shall surely drink, And art thou, the one to go unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished, but shalt surely drink.

for lo: I will make thee but small among the Heathen, and little regarded among men.

The terror you inspire in others and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you. You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks; you may occupy the highest places in the hills. But even if you made your home where the eagles nest, I would bring you down from there," says the Lord.

Lo! like a lion, will he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink - I will make him run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom over it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before, me?

Enfeebled is Damascus She hath turned to flee But terror, hath seized her, - Anguish and pangs, have seized her as a woman in childbirth.

But how should so worshipful and glorious a city be forsaken?

and upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them against the same four winds. And there shall be no people, but some of Elam shall flee unto them.

But it shall come to pass In the afterpart of the days, That I will bring back the captivity of Elam, Declareth Yahweh.

“Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and lift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘Babylon has been captured,
Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;
Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’

All who find them devour them, but their enemies say, "We're not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors.'

But Babylonia will be put to great shame. The land where you were born will be disgraced. Indeed, Babylonia will become the least important of all nations. It will become a dry and barren desert.

Because of the vexation of Yahweh, she shall not be inhabited, But Shall become a complete desolation, - Every one passing by Babylon, shall be astonished and hiss, over all her plagues.

But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.

In those days and at that time," {declares} Yahweh, "the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there [is] none, and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found, for I will forgive those I left behind.

Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces. But see how that 'hammer' has been broken and shattered! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!

I laid a bird snare for you, and you were caught, Babylon. But you yourself [did] not know. You were discovered and seized, because with Yahweh you measured yourself.

Their redeemer [is] strong, his name [is] Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace [for] the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there. Ostriches will dwell in it too. But no people will ever live there again. No one will dwell there for all time to come.

Lo! as a lion, shall he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, Unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink - I will make them run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom against it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before me?

For Israel and Judah have not been widowed a Of their God, Of Yahweh of hosts, - But, their land, hath been filled with punishment for guilt from the Holy One of Israel

But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. Cry out in mourning over it! Get medicine for her wounds! Perhaps she can be healed!

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed, Leave her and let us go every one to his own land, - For her judgment, reacheth unto the heavens, And mounteth as far as the skies.

By the reason of wisdom, all men are become fools. Confounded be all the casters of images: for the thing that they make is but deceit, and hath no breath.

"Nevertheless, the portion of Jacob is none such: but he that made all things, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, he is the rod of his inheritance.

“But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.

And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

"For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon hath been in her time like as a threshing floor, but shortly shall her harvest come.

Babylon must fall not only [because of] the slain ones of Israel, but also because of Babylon the slain ones of all the earth have fallen.

We are perplexed and ashamed, for we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For foreigners [from Babylon] have come
Into the [most] sacred parts of the sanctuary of the Lord [even those places forbidden to all but the appointed priest].

Yes, but the time will certainly come," says the Lord, "when I will punish her idols. Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

and thou shalt say - O Yahweh! thou, thyself, hast spoken against this place to cut it off, That there be in it no inhabitant Neither man nor beast, - But desolations age-abiding, shall it become!

But in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth Month, the tenth day of the Month, it happened that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with all his Host, came before Jerusalem: and besieged it, and made them bulwarks round about it.

But the army of [the] Chaldeans pursued after the king and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

But, others of the poor of the land, did Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners leave, for vinedressers and for husbandmen.

How alone sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow, once great among the nations, a noblewoman among the nations, but now has become a tribute-payer.

ג GimelJudah has gone into exile
following affliction and harsh slavery;
she lives among the nations
but finds no place to rest.
All her pursuers have overtaken her
in narrow places.

(Pe) Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors have become his enemies. Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage in their midst.

The LORD is in the right, but I rebelled against his commands. Listen, please, all you people, and look at my pain my young men and women have gone into captivity.

I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: My priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, While they sought them food to refresh their souls.

שׁ ShinPeople have heard me groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;
they are glad that You have caused it.
Bring on the day You have announced,
so that they may become like me.

Thy prophets have seen for thee false and foolish visions; And they have not uncovered thine iniquity, to bring back thy captivity, But have seen for thee false oracles and causes of banishment.

He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

He has made my life nothing but pain, he has given me the bitter root in full measure.

But this I call to my mind; therefore I have hope:

But though he causeth grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

As for us, we have sinned and rebelled; but you have not pardoned us.

Thou seest also their sitting down and their rising up. They make their songs of nothing but me.

(Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold -- Alas! -- but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter.

Even the jackal bears the beast and nurses their cubs; [but] the daughter of my people has become ruthless, like ostriches in the wilderness.

ד DaletThe nursing infant’s tongue
clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst.
Little children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any.

{Khet} But now their faces are very black: Insomuch, that thou shouldest not know them in the streets. Their skin cleaveth to their bones; It is withered, and become like a dry stock.

(Mem) But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

(Samek) People cry to them, "Turn away! You are unclean! Turn away! Turn away! Don't touch us!" So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say, "They may not stay here any longer."

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup will pass, you will become drunk and strip yourself bare.

The [punishment] of your iniquity is completed, O daughter of Zion, your exile will not continue; [but] he will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will reveal your sins.

Our pursuers breathe down our necks; we are weary, but there is no rest for us.

Our fathers sinned; they no longer exist,
but we bear their punishment.

But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

but each of them had four faces and four wings.

and their feet were straight feet, - and the sole of their feet was like the sole of the foot of a calf, but sparkling, as shining bronze to look upon;

their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead.

The form of their faces was human, but each of the four also had the face of a lion to the right, the face of an ox to the left, and the face of an eagle behind them.

And from above the expanse that [was] above their heads [there was] the likeness of a throne, {looking like a sapphire}, and above the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness similar to [the] appearance of a human on it, [but] {above it}.

But thou son of man Be not afraid of them Nor of their words, be afraid Though thorns and thistles are about thee, And amongst prickly plants, thou dost dwell, Of their words, be not afraid nor At their faces, be thou dismayed, For a perverse house, they are!

But speak My words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.

But thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee.

For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you;

But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.

[But] look, I have made your face hard {against} their faces and your forehead hard {against} their forehead.

So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Yet if thou shalt warn the wicked, and he shall not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

But thou shalt sleep upon thy left side, and lay the sin of the house of Israel upon thee. Certain days appointed, thou shalt sleep upon that side, and bear their sins.

When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

“But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days.

But I said, “Oh, Lord God, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”