Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, said, "Look, I [am] going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, and her gods, and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him.

"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.

You must not be afraid, my servant Jacob," {declares} Yahweh, "for I [am] with you. For I will make a complete destruction in all the nations where I scattered you, but you I will not make a complete destruction, though I will chastise you to the measure, and I will certainly not leave you unpunished."

The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning [the] Philistines {before} Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

Because of the day that is coming to destroy all [the] Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and from Sidon every survivor [who could] help, for Yahweh [is] destroying [the] Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

Concerning Moab, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Woe to Nebo, for it is devastated. It is ashamed, Kiriathaim is captured. Misgab is ashamed, and it is filled with terror.

Moab is broken, her little ones {make heard} a cry for help.

For the ascent of Luhith, in weeping they go weeping, For on the slope of Horonaim they have heard [the] distresses of [the] cry of distress of [the] destruction.

Flee! Save your life! {For} you must not be like the juniper tree in the desert.

For because of your trusting in your works and in your treasures, even you yourselves will be taken, and Chemosh will go out into the exile, his priests and his officials together.

Give salt for Moab, for certainly she will go to ruin, and her towns will become as a desolation, {without} an inhabitant in them.

How can you say, 'we [are] warriors, and men of might for the battle.'

Mourn for him, all his surroundings, and all those who knew his name. Say, 'How [the] staff of might is broken, [the] staff of glory.'

Come down from glory and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, he has destroyed your fortifications.

Moab is ashamed, for it is filled with terror. Wail and cry out, tell [it] by Arnon that Moab is devastated.

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

Now [was] not Israel the laughingstock to you? Or was he found among thieves? For {as often as} you spoke over him you shook [your head].

{Therefore} over Moab I wail, and for all of Moab I cry out, for the people of Kir-heres I moan.

More than the weeping of Jazer I weep for you, O vine Sibmah. Your branches cross over [the] sea, up to the sea of Jazer they reach. Upon your summer fruit and upon your vintage [the] destroyer has fallen.

From the cry for help of Heshbon, up to Elealeh, up to Jahaz, they give their voice, from Zoar up to Horonaim, [up to] Eglath-shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim have become as a desolation.

And I will cause to disappear for Moab," {declares} Yahweh, "[the] one who presents a sacrifice [at] a high place, and [the one who] burns a smoke offering to his gods.

{Therefore} my heart moans for Moab like the flute. It moans for the people of Kir-heres like the flute. {Therefore} [the] wealth they gained has perished.

For [on] every head [is] baldness, and every beard is trimmed. On all [the] hands, slashes, and on [the] loins, sackcloth.

On all the roofs of Moab, and in its public squares, [there is] wailing everywhere. For I have broken Moab like a vessel, there is no delight in it," {declares} Yahweh.

"How it is filled with terror! [How] they wail! How Moab has turned [his] back! He is disgraced! So Moab has become as a derision, and as a terror for all his surrounding [peoples]."

For thus says Yahweh, "Look, like an eagle he will swoop down, and he will spread out his wings against Moab.

"He [who] flees {before} the dread will fall into the pit, and the [one who] climbs up from the pit will be caught in the trapping net, for I will bring on Moab the year of their punishment," {declares} Yahweh.

"In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stand without strength, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, and a flame from Sihon. And it has eaten the forehead of Moab, and the skulls of the people of tumult.

Woe to you, Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished. For your sons have been taken into captivity, and your daughters into captivity.

Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last of the days," {declares} Yahweh. {Thus far} [is] the judgment of Moab.

Concerning the {Ammonites}: Thus says Yahweh, "Are there no sons for Israel? Or is there no heir for him? Why has Milcom taken possession of Gad, and his people dwelled in its towns?

{Therefore} look, days [are] coming," {declares} Yahweh, "and I will sound against Rabbah, the {Ammonites}, [the] alarm of [the] war, and it will become as a mound of desolation, and its daughters will burn in the fire. Then Israel will dispossess his dispossessors," says Yahweh.

"Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated. Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah, put on sackcloth. Lament and run back and forth among the walls. For Milcom will go into exile, his priests and his officials together.

Flee! Turn back! {Get down low}! O inhabitants of Dedan. For I will bring upon him the disaster of Esau [at the] time [when] I will punish him.

If grape-gatherers come to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves in the night, they destroy [only] {enough for them}.

For thus says Yahweh, "Look, those {who are not condemned} to drink the cup must certainly drink [it]. And [are] you the one who will go entirely unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you must certainly drink [it].

For I have sworn by myself," {declares} Yahweh, "that Bozrah will become as a horror, as a disgrace, as a waste, and as a curse. And all her towns will be {everlasting sites of ruins}."

I have heard a message from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent among the nations. "Gather and come against her, and rise for the battle."

"For look, I will make you small among the nations, despised by the humankind.

Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan to {a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream}. So {I will chase him away hurriedly} from it. And whoever [is] chosen I will appoint over it. For who [is] like me, and who can summon me? And who [is] this, [the] shepherd who can stand {before me}?"

Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are ashamed, for they have heard bad news; they melt. [There is] concern in the sea. It is not able to keep quiet.

"And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Ben-hadad."

They will take their tents, and their flocks, their tent curtains, and all their equipment, and their camels they will carry away for themselves, and they will call to them, 'Terror [is] from all around.'

Flee! Wander far away! {Get down low}! O inhabitants of Hazor," {declares} Yahweh. "For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has planned a plan against you. And he has schemed a scheme against you.

Rise up, go up against a nation [which is] at ease, living {securely}," {declares} Yahweh. "[There are] no gates and [there are] no bars for them, they dwell alone.

And I will bring to Elam four winds, from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will not be a nation where the scattered people of Elam will not go.

For a nation will come up against her from [the] north. It will make her land as a horror, and an inhabitant will not be in her. From humans to animals they [all] will wander [off]. They will go [away].

For look, I [am] going to stir up, and I [am] going to bring against Babylon a contingent of great nations from [the] land of [the] north. And they will draw up a battle formation against her, from there she will be captured. Their arrows [are] like a warrior [who has] achieved success, he does not return without success.

Draw up a battle formation at Babylon all around, all those who bend [the] bow, shoot at her. You must not spare arrows, for she has sinned against Yahweh.

Raise a war cry against her on all sides. {She has surrendered}. Her towers have fallen, her walls are ruined. For this [is] the vengeance of Yahweh. Take revenge on her. As she has done [to others], [so] do to her.

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.

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.

Yahweh has opened his armory, and he has brought out the weapons of his wrath, for it [is] a word for my Lord Yahweh of hosts in the land of [the] Chaldeans.

Come against her from [the] end, open her granaries. Pile her up like heaps and destroy her. Let there be no remnant for her.

Massacre all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughtering. Woe to them, for [their] day has come, the time of their punishment.

[There is the] sound of fugitives and survivors from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance for his temple.

Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend [the] bow. Encamp all around her, there must not be for her an escape. Take revenge on her according to her deeds. According to all that she has done, [so] do to her. For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently, against the Holy One of Israel.

"Look, I [am] against you, arrogant [one]," {declares} Lord Yahweh of hosts, "for your day has come, [the] time [when] I will punish you.

And [the] arrogant [one] will stumble and fall, and there is no [one who] raises [him] up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him."

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "The people of Israel [are] oppressed, and the people of Judah likewise, {for} all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free.

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.

A drought [will come] against her waters, and they will dry up, for it [is] a land of images, and because of the frightful [objects], they act like madmen.

{Therefore} desert creatures will live [there] with jackals, and daughters of ostriches will inhabit her. And she will not be inhabited again {forever}, and she will not be dwelt in {for all generations}.

They keep hold of bow and short sword. They [are] cruel and they have no mercy. Their sound [is] like the sea, it roars, and upon horses they ride. Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle, against you, O daughter of Babylon.

The king of Babylon heard their report and his hands grew slack. Anxiety has seized him, fear and pain like the [woman who] gives birth.

Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets of the Jordan against {a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream}, so {I will chase them away quickly} from her, and I will appoint whoever [is] chosen over her. For who [is] like me, and who can summon me, and who [is] this shepherd who can stand {before me}?

At [the] sound, 'Babylon has been captured,' the earth will quake, and a cry for help among the nations will be heard."

And I will send winnowers to Babylon, and they will winnow her, and they will lay waste her land, for they will be against her from all sides on [the] day of disaster.

For neither Israel nor Judah [is] a widower from their God, from Yahweh of hosts, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel."

Flee from the midst of Babylon and save each one his life. You must not perish because of her guilt. For this [is the] time of vengeance for Yahweh, he [will] repay her what is deserved.

Suddenly Babylon has fallen and she is shattered. Wail over her! Take balm for her wounds, perhaps she may be healed.

We tried to heal Babylon, and she was not healed. Forsake her and let us go each one to his country, for her judgment has reached to the heavens, and it has been lifted up to [the] skies.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. Because his plan concerning Babylon [is] to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance for his temple.

Against the walls of Babylon raise a banner; {post a strong watch}, post watchmen, prepare the ambushes, for Yahweh has both planned as well as performed what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

At the giving of his voice [there is] a roar of waters in the heavens, and he causes [the] patches of mist to go up from [the] end of [the] earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings out [the] wind from his storehouses.

All humankind turns out to be stupid, without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by [the] divine image. For his cast image [is] a lie, and [there is] no breath in them.

The portion of Jacob [is] not like these, for he [is] the creator of {everything}, and the tribe of his inheritance. Yahweh of hosts [is] his name.

[He says], "You [are] a war club for me, a weapon of battle, and I smash nations with you, and I destroy kingdoms with you.

They will not take from you a stone for a corner, and a stone for a foundation, for you will be {an everlasting desolation}," {declares} Yahweh.

Raise a banner in the land; blow a horn among the nations; prepare for holy war against her; summon [the] nations against her, the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; summon against her an official; bring up horses like bristling creeping locusts.

Prepare [the] nations for holy war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and all their officials, and every land of their dominion.

And the land quakes and writhes, for the plans of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon as a horror, {without} inhabitant.

The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight, they remain in the strongholds, their power has dried up, they have become as women. Her dwelling places are set on fire, her bars are broken.

And the fords have been seized, and the reed marshes have been burned with fire, and {the soldiers} are horrified.

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshing floor [at the] time it [is] trodden down, {just a little while} and the time of the harvest will come for her."

Then [the] heaven and [the] earth and all that [is] in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for from [the] north the destroyers will come to it," {declares} Yahweh.

Survivors of [the] sword, go! You must not linger! Remember Yahweh from far [away], and let Jerusalem come to your {mind}.

We are ashamed, for we have heard taunts, disgrace covers our faces, for strangers have come to the holy places of the house of Yahweh.

[The] sound of a cry for help from Babylon, and a great collapse from the land of [the] Chaldeans.

For Yahweh [is] devastating Babylon, and he obliterates [her] loud noise from her. Their waves roar like mighty waters, the roar of their voices resounds.

For a destroyer [is] coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors are captured. Their bows are broken; for Yahweh [is] a God of recompense, certainly he will repay.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished, and her high gates will burn with fire, and [the] peoples will labor {for nothing}, and [the] nations {for fire}, and they will grow weary."

And you must say, 'Yahweh, you yourself spoke against this place, to destroy it, so that [there will] not be in it [anything] living, from humankind to animals, for it will be {an everlasting desolation}.'

And you must say, 'Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, {because of} the face of the disasters that I [am] bringing on her, and they will grow weary.'" {Thus far} the words of Jeremiah.

For because of the {anger} of Yahweh this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until his casting them from his {presence}. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

In the fourth month, on [the] ninth [day] of the month, the famine in the city became severe and there was no food for the people of the land.

And he burned the {temple} of Yahweh, and the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house he burned with fire.

The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze oxen that [were] under the kettle stands which King Solomon had made for the {temple} of Yahweh--there was not a weight for the bronze of all these vessels!

Now the pillars, [the] height of one pillar [was] eighteen cubits, and a thread of twelve cubits surrounded it, and its thickness [was] four fingers, hollowed out.

And from the city he took one high official who was chief officer over {the soldiers}, and seven men of {the king's advisors} who were found in the city, and the secretary of the commander of the army who levied for military service the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.