“For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will My fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

You have led your own selves astray because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’

Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!”

and they went to the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. They went as far as Tahpanhes.

“Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men

and tell them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will pitch his pavilion over them.

I will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods, and he will burn them and take them prisoner. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off his garment, and he will leave there unscathed.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros:

“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities; look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them

“So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, child and infant from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.

You are provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to live for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an object of cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you to bring disaster, to cut off all Judah.

I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague.

“As for the word you spoke to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you!

Instead, we will do everything we said we would: burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food and good things and saw no disaster,

“As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind.

The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today.

Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord’s voice and didn’t follow His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”

This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Pay your vows!’

“Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by My great name, says Yahweh, that My name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.”

I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.

Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to live there for a while, will know whose word stands, Mine or theirs!

This will be a sign to you’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘that I am about to punish you in this place, so you may know that My words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.

This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who want to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who wanted to take his life.’”

This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

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

‘You have said, “Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.”’

“This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot—the whole land!

But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I am about to bring disaster on every living creature’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go.’”

Why have I seen this?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are crushed,
they flee headlong,
they never look back,
terror is on every side!
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters churn?

Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt!
You have multiplied remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.

This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:

As I live—
this is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.
He will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.

Egypt is a beautiful young cow,
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.

Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.

They will cut down her forest—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
though it is dense,
for they are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted.

I will hand them over to those who want to take their lives—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, it will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for I will be with you.
I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have banished you,
but I will not bring destruction on you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh defeated Gaza.

This is what the Lord says:

Look, waters are rising from the north
and becoming an overflowing wadi.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
the cities and their inhabitants.
The people will cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land will wail.

on account of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every remaining ally.
Indeed, the Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the islands of Caphtor.

Baldness is coming to Gaza.
Ashkelon will become silent,
a remnant of their valley.
How long will you gash yourself?

About Moab, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:

Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!

There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:
Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.

The destroyer will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated,
as the Lord has said.

The one who does
the Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed,
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.

Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.

Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel that they trusted in.

The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up,
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.

Moab’s calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.

Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say: How the mighty scepter is shattered,
the glorious staff!

Stand by the highway and look,
resident of Aroer!
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping:
What happened?

Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.

Moab’s horn is chopped off; his arm is shattered.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I know his outburst.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.

Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy.

“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

In Moab, I will stop”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.

Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped; on every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.

On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

“How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”

For this is what the Lord says:

He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab.

Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the Lord.

Panic, pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.

About the Ammonites, this is what the Lord says:

Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad
and his people settled in their cities?

Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will make the shout of battle heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned down.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the Lord.

Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.

Look, I am about to bring terror on you—
this is the declaration of
the Lord God of Hosts—
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each man headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.

But after that, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

About Edom, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?

Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,
for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him
at the time I punish him.

But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.
He will try to hide himself, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.

“For this is what the Lord says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too.

As to the terror you cause,
your presumptuous heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagle,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.

“Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”

About Damascus:

Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
for they have heard a bad report and are agitated;
in the sea there is anxiety that cannot be calmed.

Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the declaration of
the Lord of Hosts.

About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, defeated, this is what the Lord says:

Rise up, go against Kedar,
and destroy the people of the east!

They will take their tents and their flocks
along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.
They will take their camels for themselves.
They will call out to them:
Terror is on every side!

Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.

Rise up, go up against a nation at ease,
one living in security.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They have no doors, not even a gate bar;
they live alone.

Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who shave their temples;
I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Hazor will become a jackals’ den,
a desolation forever.
No one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,
the source of their might.

I will devastate Elam before their enemies,
before those who want to take their lives.
I will bring disaster on them,
My burning anger.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will send the sword after them
until I finish them off.

I will set My throne in Elam,
and I will destroy the king and officials from there.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

In the last days,
I will restore the fortunes of Elam.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Announce to the nations;
proclaim and raise up a signal flag;
proclaim, and hide nothing.
Say: Babylon is captured;
Bel is put to shame;
Marduk is devastated;
her idols are put to shame;
her false gods, devastated.

In those days and at that time—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
weeping as they come,
and will seek the Lord their God.

The Chaldeans will become plunder;
all Babylon’s plunderers will be fully satisfied.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Raise a war cry against her on every side!
She has thrown up her hands in surrender;
her defense towers have fallen;
her walls are demolished.
Since this is the Lord’s vengeance,
take out your vengeance on her;
as she has done, do the same to her.

Cut off the sower from Babylon
as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor’s sword,
each will turn to his own people,
each will flee to his own land.

Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions.
The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria;
the last one who crushed his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.

In those days and at that time—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
one will search for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for Judah’s sins,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive those I leave as a remnant.