'Flee' in the Bible
“Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]!Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile],For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon),And great destruction.
How long [O Lord] must I see the banner [marking the way for flight]And hear the sound of the trumpet [urging the people to run for safety]?
“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin,Out of the midst of Jerusalem!And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah]And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem];For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north,And great destruction.
“The shepherds will have no way to flee,Nor the masters of the flock any [way of] escape.
“Why have I seen it?They are terrifiedAnd have turned back,And their warriors are beaten down.They take flight in hasteWithout looking back;Terror is on every side!”Says the Lord.
Do not let the swift man run,Nor the mighty man escape;In the north by the river EuphratesThey have stumbled and fallen.
“Run! Save your lives,That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
“Give a gravestone to Moab,For she will fall into ruins;Her cities (pastures, farms) will be desolate,Without anyone to live in them.
“Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths [of the desert to escape the judgment of Edom],O inhabitants of Dedan,For I will bring the destruction of Esau (Edom) upon himWhen I inspect and punish him.
“Damascus has become helpless;She has turned away to flee,Terror (panic) has seized her;Anguish and distress have gripped herLike a woman in childbirth.
“Flee, run far away! Dwell in the depths [of the desert],O inhabitants of Hazor,” says the Lord,“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has planned a course of action against youAnd devised a scheme against you.
“Wander away from the midst of BabylonAnd go out of the land of the Chaldeans;Be like the male goats [who serve as leaders] at the head of the flocks.
“Cut off the sower from BabylonAnd the one who handles the sickle at the time of harvest.For fear of the sword of the oppressorEveryone will return to his own peopleAnd everyone will flee to his own land.
Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,The vengeance [of the Lord against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.
Flee out of Babylon,Let every one of you save his life!Do not be destroyed in her punishment,For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance;He is going to pay her what she has earned.
Then the city was broken into, and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night [as Ezekiel prophesied] passing through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They fled by way of the Arabah (the Jordan Valley).