Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Then send messengers to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through the envoys who come to Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah.

I'm now sending for all the tribes from the north, declares the LORD, and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I'll bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I'll utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting desolation. I'll destroy the sounds of gladness and rejoicing from them, the sounds of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of the hand mill and also the light of the lamp. This entire land will be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. read more.
"Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever. I'll bring on that land all the things I spoke against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied about the nations. Indeed many nations and great kings will make slaves even of them, and I'll repay them according to their deeds, according to what they have done.'" For this is what the LORD God of Israel says to me, "Take this cup of the wine of burning anger from my hand and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They'll drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I'm sending among them." So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and I made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, its kings and officials to make them into a ruin, an object of horror and scorn, and a curse, as it is this day; Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his officials, his princes, and all his people; all the various people; all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon;

Now I've given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I've even given him the wild animals to serve him.


you will lift up this song of mockery against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has come to an end! How the attacker has ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck down nations in anger with unceasing blows, that oppressed nations in fury with relentless persecution. read more.
The entire earth is at rest and peace; its inhabitants break into song. Even the cypresses rejoice over you, as do the cedars of Lebanon, saying, "Now that you've been laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.' "The afterlife below is all astir to meet you when you arrive; it rouses up the spirits of the dead to greet you everyone who used to be world leaders. It has raised up from their thrones all who used to be kings of the nations. In answer, all of them will tell you, "You've also become as weak as we are! You have become just like us!' Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the noise of your harps. Maggots are spread out beneath you, and worms are your covering." "How you have fallen from heaven, Day Star, son of the Dawn! How you have been thrown down to earth, you who laid low the nation! You said in your heart, "I'll ascend to heaven, above the stars of God. I'll erect my throne; I'll sit on the Mount of Assembly in the far reaches of the north; I'll ascend above the tops of the clouds; I'll make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to join the dead, to the far reaches of the Pit. "Those who see you will stare at you. They will wonder about you: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who made kingdoms quake, who made the world like a desert, who destroyed its cities, who would not open the jails for his prisoners?' All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast away from your grave, like a repulsive branch, your clothing is the slain, those pierced by the sword; those who go down to the Pit. Like a dead body trampled underfoot, you will not be united with them in burial, for you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. People will never mention the descendants of those who practice evil again! Prepare a massacre for his sons because of the guilt of their forefathers! They are not to rise and inherit the earth, and cover the surface of the world with cities." "I will rise up against them," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will eliminate from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants," declares the LORD.

A message concerning the pasture by the Sea. "Like whirlwinds in the Negev sweep on, it comes from the desert, from a distant land. A dire vision has been announced to me: the traitor betrays, and the plunderer takes loot. Get up, Elam! Attack, Media! I am putting a stop to all the groaning she has caused. Therefore my body is racked with pain; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am so upset that I cannot hear; I am so frightened that I cannot see while I'm reeling around. read more.
And as for my heart, horror has terrified me; the twilight I longed for has started to make me tremble. They set the tables; they spread the carpets; they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers! Oil the shields!" For this is what the LORD told me: "Go post a lookout. Have him report what he sees. When he sees chariots, each man with a pair of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him pay attention, full attention." Then the lookout shouted: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and I am stationed at my post throughout the night. Look! Here come riders, each man with a pair of horses!" They're shouting out the answer: "Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and they have shattered all the images of her gods on the ground! O my downtrodden people, my wall! I'll tell you what I have heard from the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel."

"Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.


"Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.

all the kings of the north near and far, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. The king of Sheshak will drink after all the others.


Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They'll trample down my portion. They'll turn my pleasant portion into a desolate desert. They'll make it into a desolate place, and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me. The whole land will be desolate because no one takes it to heart. On all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will come. Indeed, a sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other. There will be no peace for any person. read more.
They have sown wheat, but they have harvested thorns. They have tired themselves out, but they don't show a profit. Now be disappointed about your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you will no longer be their slaves, since I've broken their oppressive yoke upon you to make you walk upright." "But if you won't listen to me and obey all these commands, and if you refuse my statutes, loathe my ordinances, and fail to carry out all of my commands, thereby breaching my covenant, read more.
then I will certainly do this to you: I'll appoint sudden terror to infect you like tuberculosis and fever. Your eyes will fail and your life will waste away. You'll plant in vain, because your enemies will consume what you plant. I'll set my face against you so that you'll be defeated before your enemies. Those who hate you will have dominion over you and you'll keep fleeing even when no one is pursuing you. "If, despite all of this, you still don't listen to me, then I'll punish you seven times more on account of your sins. I'll break your mighty pride. I'll make the heavens to be like iron and the ground like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your land won't yield its produce and the trees of the land won't yield their fruit. "If you live life contrary to me and remain unwilling to listen to me, then I'll add to your wounds seven times more on account of your sins. I'll send wild beasts against you from the open country to deprive you of your children, destroy your cattle, and decrease your number so that your roads become desolate. "If, despite these things, you still won't return to me, but live life contrary to me, then I'll certainly oppose you. I'll take vengeance against you seven fold on account of your sins. I'll bring the sword against you to execute the vengeance of my covenant. When you gather in your cities, I'll send a pestilence. As a result, you'll be delivered into the control of your enemies. When I destroy the source of your bread, ten women will bake bread in one oven. Then they'll return back your bread by weight. You'll eat but won't be satisfied. "If, after all of this time, you don't listen to me, but instead live life contrary to me, I'll oppose you with vicious rage. Indeed, I myself will punish you seven fold on account of your sins. At that time, you'll eat the flesh of your sons and you'll eat the flesh of your daughters. I'll destroy your high places and cut down your sun pillars. Then I'll cast your dead bodies on top of the bodies of your idols. I'll loathe you. I'll lay your cities to waste and destroy your sanctuaries so I don't have to smell the scent of your soothing odors. I'll make the land so desolate that your enemies who live in it will be astonished."

"Listen, you descendants of Israel! Come back to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may come back to those of you who have escaped and survived from domination by the kings of Assyria. Don't be like your ancestors and your relatives, who weren't faithful to the LORD God of their ancestors, who, as a result, made them a desolate horror, as you well know.

"You trusted in your own knowledge. You said, "No one sees me.' Your wisdom and knowledge have misled you. You said in your heart, "I am the one, and there will be none besides me.' "But disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will not be able to ward off; and devastation will come upon you suddenly, and you won't anticipate it.

Again and again, the LORD sent all his servants, the prophets, to you, but you wouldn't listen or even turn your ears in my direction to hear. They said, "Turn, each one of you, from your evil habits and evil deeds, and live in the land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever and ever. Don't follow other gods to serve and worship them. Don't provoke me with the idols you make with your hands, and I won't bring disaster on you.' read more.
But you didn't listen to me," declares the LORD, "so as to provoke me with the idols you make with your hands to your own harm. "Therefore, this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Because you haven't listened to my message, I'm now sending for all the tribes from the north, declares the LORD, and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I'll bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I'll utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting desolation. I'll destroy the sounds of gladness and rejoicing from them, the sounds of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of the hand mill and also the light of the lamp. This entire land will be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. "Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.

"For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon deserted Ashdod will be emptied at high noon; even Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to those who live along the coast, the people of Philistia! This message from the LORD is being spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I'll destroy you until no one lives there!' The Philistine coast will become meadows for shepherds and sheep pens. read more.
The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it; at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will visit them, restoring their prosperity." "I've heard Moab's insults and the curses from those Ammonites by which they defame my people and boast about their territory. Therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, "Moab will surely become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes, unpopulated forever. The survivors of my people will confiscate their property, and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs. This they will have in lieu of their pride, because they have insulted and mocked the people of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. The LORD will incite them to terror, because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away. They will worship him, every person in his own home, including even the coastlands of the nations." "Now as for you, Cush, you will surely be slain by my sword! "And the LORD will attack the north, destroying Assyria. He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin, as dry as a desert wilderness. Flocks will lie down in her midst, along with animals of every kind. Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars, hooting through the vacant windows, "Ruin sits at these doorsills,' for he will expose even the cedar framework. This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly, that told herself, "Me first!' and, "There will be no one else!' How ruined she has become a habitat for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her and make obscene gestures!"

But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening. They made their hearts hard like a diamond, to keep from obeying the Law and the messages that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. read more.
"I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.'" Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.


"Look! I'm giving the order: I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!

The nations will also learn that because of Israel's sin the house of Israel went into captivity, since they were unfaithful in their behavior toward me. As a result, I hid my presence from them, turned them over to the control of their enemies, and they died by violence. It was because of their defilement and transgression that I treated them this way by hiding my presence from them.'"

"I kept on watching until the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothes were white, like snow, and the hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne burned with flaming fire, and its wheels burned with fire. A river of fire flowed out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were serving him, with millions upon millions waiting before him. The court sat in judgment, and record books were unsealed. "I continued watching because of the audacious words that the horn was speaking. I kept observing until the animal was killed and its body destroyed and given over to burning fire. read more.
Now as to the other animals, their authority was removed, but they were granted a reprieve from execution for an appointed period of time."

"Just you wait!" declares the LORD. "The day will come when I stand up as a prosecutor, for I am determined to assemble the nations and to gather the kingdoms, in order to pour out my indignation upon them all of my fierce anger. All the earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.

"This is what I've planned for the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

"Should I not punish them for this?' asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?'

"Israel, can't I deal with you like this potter?" declares the LORD. "Look, Israel, like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand. At one moment I may speak about a nation or a kingdom to uproot it, pull it down, or destroy it. But if that nation about which I spoke turns from its evil way, I'll change my mind about the disaster that I had planned for it. read more.
At another moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to build it or plant it. But if that nation does evil in my eyes by not obeying me, I'll change my mind about the good that I said I would bring on it.

"Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever. I'll bring on that land all the things I spoke against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied about the nations. Indeed many nations and great kings will make slaves even of them, and I'll repay them according to their deeds, according to what they have done.'" read more.
For this is what the LORD God of Israel says to me, "Take this cup of the wine of burning anger from my hand and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They'll drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I'm sending among them." So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and I made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: Jerusalem, the cities of Judah, its kings and officials to make them into a ruin, an object of horror and scorn, and a curse, as it is this day; Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his officials, his princes, and all his people; all the various people; all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod; Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coast lands that are beyond the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz, and those who shave the corners of their beards; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the various people who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; all the kings of the north near and far, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. The king of Sheshak will drink after all the others. "You are to say to them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Drink, get drunk, and vomit! Fall down and don't get up because of the sword I'm sending among you."' And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink it, say to them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "You will surely drink it! Look, I'm beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and do you actually think you will avoid punishment? You won't avoid punishment because I'm summoning the sword against all those who live in the land," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.'" "You are to prophesy all these things against them, and you are to say to them, "The LORD roars from his high place, from his holy dwelling he lifts his voice. He roars loudly against his flock, and against all who live on the earth; he shouts like those treading grapes. A tumult reaches to the ends of the earth because the LORD is bringing an indictment against the nations. He judges all flesh. He has given the wicked over to the sword,' declares the LORD. "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Look, disaster is going from nation to nation, a great storm is being stirred up from the most distant parts of the earth. "Those slain by the LORD on that day will extend from one end of the earth to the other. They won't be mourned for or gathered up or buried. They'll be like dung on the surface of the ground.

"Son of Man, I'm sending you to that rebellious people, the Israelis, who have rebelled against me the same way their ancestors did. And they're still rebels to this very day! They're stubborn and strong willed. I'm sending you to them to tell them what the LORD says. Whether this rebellious group listens to you or not, at least they'll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst!

"So I turned my attention to the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, accompanied with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing and saying: "Lord! Great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and gracious love for those who love him and obey his commandments, we've sinned, we've practiced evil, we've acted wickedly, and we've rebelled, turning away from your commands and from your regulations. read more.
Furthermore, we haven't listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, to our officials, to our ancestors, and to all of the people of the land. "To you, Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, open humiliation even to this day, to the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, both those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the lands to which you drove them because of their unfaithful acts that they committed against you. "Open humiliation belongs to us, LORD, to our kings, our officials, and our ancestors, because we've sinned against you. But to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we've rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws that he gave us through his servants the prophets. And all Israel flouted your Law, turning aside from it and not obeying your voice. Because we've sinned against him, the curse has been poured upon us, along with the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God. "He has confirmed his accusation that he spoke against us and against our rulers who governed us by bringing upon us great calamity, because nowhere in the universe has anything been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. As it's written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has befallen us, but we still haven't sought the LORD our God by turning from our lawlessness to pay attention to your truth. So the LORD watched for the right time to bring the calamity upon us, because the LORD our God is righteous regarding everything he does, but we have not obeyed his voice. "And now, Lord our God, who brought your people from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made a name for yourself that remains to this day we've sinned. We've acted wickedly. Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, please turn your anger and wrath away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an embarrassment to all of those around us.

When they go, I'll cast my net over them. I'll bring them down, as one shoots birds in the sky. I'll chasten them, as the assembly has already heard.

"I have destroyed nations their fortifications are deserted. I have turned their main thoroughfares into wastelands where no one will travel. Their cities are desolate; as a result, not one man remains no, not even a single resident.


"For this is what the LORD says: "When Babylon's seventy years are completed, I'll take note of you and will fulfill my good promises to you by bringing you back to this place.

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, noted in the Scripture the total years that were assigned by the message from the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem: 70 years.

This entire land will be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. "Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.

I'll be found by you,' declares the LORD, "and I'll restore your security and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I've driven you,' declares the LORD. "I'll bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.'

where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."'"

Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon, so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. read more.
The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. They executed Zedekiah's sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon. On the seventh day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem


And the angel of the LORD replied, "LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?"

"For this is what the LORD says: "When Babylon's seventy years are completed, I'll take note of you and will fulfill my good promises to you by bringing you back to this place.

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, noted in the Scripture the total years that were assigned by the message from the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem: 70 years.

"Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, "When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me?

This entire land will be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. "Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.


"Then when the seventy years have passed, I'll judge the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the LORD, I'll judge the land of the Chaldeans for their iniquity and I'll make it a desolation forever.

But if they don't listen, then I'll completely uproot that nation and destroy it," declares the LORD.

"For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because what they say and do opposes the LORD; they keep defying him.

Therefore, look! I'm bringing foreigners in your direction, the most terrifying of nations! They will direct their violence against the grandeur that you've created by your wisdom. They'll send you down to the Pit, and you'll die defiled in the depths of the sea. Is that when you'll say, "I'm God' to the face of those who will be killing you? After all, you're a man, and have never been a god, especially when you're under the control of those who will defile you! read more.
You will die a death fit for the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners." "for I have said it will be so,' declares the LORD."