'Afar' in the Bible

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.“It is a mighty and enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose language you do not know,Whose words you do not comprehend.

‘Will the snow of [Mount] Lebanon melt and vanish from its rocks [which tower above Israel]?Will the cold, rushing waters of foreign lands [that flow down from the distant land] be dried up?

“Am I a God who is at hand,” says the Lord,“And not a God far away?”

“But as for you, do not fear, O My servant Jacob,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For behold, I will save you from [your captivity in] a distant land,And your descendants from the land of their exile;And Jacob will return and be quiet and secure,And no one will make him afraid.

You who have escaped the sword,Go away! Do not stay!Remember the Lord from far away,And let [desolate] Jerusalem come into your mind.