Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Agency » In executing judgments
I will be his father. He will be my son. When he does wrong I will correct him just as parents correct children.
Verse Concepts
And I will put enmity (hostility) (hatred) between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers. He will bruise (overwhelm) (crush) you in the head, and you will bruise (overwhelm) (crush) him in the heel. (Romans 16:20)
Verse Concepts
Samuel told Saul: Jehovah sent me to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to Jehovah's words: The Israelites were on their way out of Egypt when the nation of Amalek attacked them. I am Jehovah All-Powerful. I am going to make Amalek pay for what he did to Israel! Go and attack the Amalekites! Destroy them and all their possessions. Do not have any pity. Kill their men, women, children, and even their babies. Slaughter their cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.' read more.
Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem. There were two hundred thousand soldiers from Israel and ten thousand from Judah. Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek. They waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: Go away and leave the Amalekites. That way I will not kill you along with them. So the Kenites left. Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured King Agag of Amalek alive and with the sword he killed all the people. Saul and his men spared Agag's life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs, or anything else that was good. They destroyed only what was useless or worthless. Jehovah spoke to Samuel: I am sorry that I made Saul king. He has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands. Samuel was angry. All night long he pleaded with Jehovah. Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel. There in Carmel he built a monument to himself. Then he went to Gilgal. Samuel went up to Saul. Saul said: Jehovah bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed Jehovah's command. Samuel asked: Why do I hear the sound of cows and sheep? Saul answered: The army brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best sheep and cows to sacrifice to Jehovah your God. But the rest they claimed for God and destroyed them. Be quiet, Samuel told Saul, Let me tell you what Jehovah told me last night. Speak, Saul replied. Samuel said to Saul: You are little in your own eyes. Even though you are a leader of all of the tribes of Israel that Jehovah anointed king over Israel. Jehovah sent you on a mission. He said: Go and destroy those sinners, the Amalekites. Fight against them until every one is dead. Why then did you not obey the voice of Jehovah? Why did you pounce on the plunder? Why did you do evil in the sight of Jehovah?
Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem. There were two hundred thousand soldiers from Israel and ten thousand from Judah. Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek. They waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: Go away and leave the Amalekites. That way I will not kill you along with them. So the Kenites left. Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured King Agag of Amalek alive and with the sword he killed all the people. Saul and his men spared Agag's life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs, or anything else that was good. They destroyed only what was useless or worthless. Jehovah spoke to Samuel: I am sorry that I made Saul king. He has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands. Samuel was angry. All night long he pleaded with Jehovah. Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel. There in Carmel he built a monument to himself. Then he went to Gilgal. Samuel went up to Saul. Saul said: Jehovah bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed Jehovah's command. Samuel asked: Why do I hear the sound of cows and sheep? Saul answered: The army brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best sheep and cows to sacrifice to Jehovah your God. But the rest they claimed for God and destroyed them. Be quiet, Samuel told Saul, Let me tell you what Jehovah told me last night. Speak, Saul replied. Samuel said to Saul: You are little in your own eyes. Even though you are a leader of all of the tribes of Israel that Jehovah anointed king over Israel. Jehovah sent you on a mission. He said: Go and destroy those sinners, the Amalekites. Fight against them until every one is dead. Why then did you not obey the voice of Jehovah? Why did you pounce on the plunder? Why did you do evil in the sight of Jehovah?
The two of them went indoors. The prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu's head and said to him: Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king of my people Israel. You are to kill your master the king of the house of Ahab. I am punishing Jezebel for murdering my prophets and my other servants.
Have you not heard? I did this long ago. I planned it in the past. Now I make it happen so that you will turn fortified cities into piles of rubble. The inhabitants of these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed. They will be like plants in the field, like fresh green grass on the roofs, scorched before it grows up.
God used this visit to Joram to bring about Ahaziah's downfall. While Ahaziah was there, a man named Jehu confronted him and Joram. Jehu was the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah chose to destroy the dynasty of Ahab.
Arise, O Jehovah and confront them! Bring them to their knees! With your sword rescue my life from the wicked. With your power (by your hand) rescue me from mortals, O Jehovah, from mortals who look forward only to this life. You fill their bellies with your treasure. Their children are satisfied with it, and they leave what remains to their children.
How horrible it will be for Assyria! It is the rod of my anger. My fury is in the staff of the Assyrians' hands. I send him against a godless nation. I commission him against the people of my fury to capture booty and to seize plunder, and to trample them down like mud (clay) in the streets.
They come from a far country, from the extremities of the heavens (horizons). Jehovah and his instruments of indignation come to destroy the whole land.
Verse Concepts
See I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. You will reduce the hills to chaff.
Verse Concepts
Show 2 more verses
Suppose nations or kingdoms will not serve or surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will punish those nations by wars, famines, and plagues, until I have put an end to them by Nebuchadnezzar's power, says Jehovah.
Verse Concepts
He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. read more.
I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials.
I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials.
Chariot » For war
Go into battle, you horsemen. Drive wildly, you chariot drivers. March into battle, you warriors, you warriors from Sudan and Put who carry shields, you warriors from Lydia who use bows and arrows.
Verse Concepts
King Benhadad of Syria mustered his entire army, accompanied by thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots, he laid siege on Samaria, and launched attacks against it.
Verse Concepts
The king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon.
Verse Concepts
They came out with all their troops and many horses and chariots. Their army was more numerous than the sand of the seashore.
Verse Concepts
The Philistines assembled to fight Israel. They had thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and as many soldiers as the sand on the seashore. They camped at Michmash, east of Beth Aven.
Verse Concepts
He commanded his officers in charge of his six hundred best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites.
Verse Concepts
He made the wheels of their chariots come off. They could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted: Let us get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for Israel! He is against us!
Verse Concepts
Assemble another army like the one that was destroyed. Horse for horse, and carriage for carriage let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. He listened and did what was suggested.
He sent a large force there with horses and chariots. They surrounded the town at night.
Verse Concepts
King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. This took place in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign. It happened because all Israel was not loyal to Jehovah. Shishak had twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horses, and an army of countless Libyans, Sukkites, and Sudanese from Egypt.
Show 7 more verses
Some boast in chariots and others in horses, but we will boast in the name of Jehovah our God.
Verse Concepts
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth! He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots (instruments of destruction) with fire.
Verse Concepts
They will hear the sound of galloping warhorses, the rattling of enemy chariots, and the rumbling of their wheels. Fathers who lack courage abandon their children.
Verse Concepts
I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
Verse Concepts
Like the noise of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains. It is like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble. They are a strong people set in battle array.
Verse Concepts
The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are dressed in scarlet: the chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress tree [spears] are brandished. The chariots wildly race through the streets. They rush to and fro in the broad ways. They look like torches and they run like lightning.
There is the noise of the whip and the sound of the rattling wheel; the sound of the dashing horse and the bounding chariot.
Verse Concepts
Horse » Used for cavalry
They will hear the sound of galloping warhorses, the rattling of enemy chariots, and the rumbling of their wheels. Fathers who lack courage abandon their children.
Verse Concepts
I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
Verse Concepts
And now, make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.
Verse Concepts
Horses » Often suffered » In battle
I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
Verse Concepts
I will overthrow kingdoms and end their power. I will overturn chariots and their drivers; the horses will die, and their riders will kill one another.
Verse Concepts
Judgments » Inflicted upon » Nations
I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve! Afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Verse Concepts
He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
Persia » Prophecies concerning
PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Verse Concepts
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
I stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius the Mede in his first year. Now I will tell you the truth. Look, there will be three more kings in Persia. Then the fourth will be richer than the others. When he is strong because of his riches he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. A mighty king will stand up and rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. read more.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
You, O king, saw a large statue. This statue was in fact very large. It was very bright as it stood before you. Its appearance was awesome. The statue had a head of pure gold, chest and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass. It had legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. read more.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
I will also bring out Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
Verse Concepts
I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
Verse Concepts
Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Jehovah spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: 'I am going to break the bows of Elam's archers, the most important weapon of their strength. I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction. There will not be a nation where Elam's refugees will not go. read more.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
Jehovah has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylon. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command: Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready! Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush! Jehovah has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. That country has many rivers and rich treasures. Yet its time is up, and its thread of life is cut. read more.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Elam is there with all its soldiers. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They went down below the earth as godless people. They once terrified people in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. The soldiers were godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. They suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead.