Bible verse by verse

[_huckelberry]

typing? I thought it was all cut and paste.

[_spotlight]

typing? I thought it was all cut and paste.

True, there does seem to be idle time between his cutting and pasting now that you mention it.

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 47:1-7

This is the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines of Gaza, prior to capture by the Egyptian army.

This is the Lord's word: “A flood is coming from the north to cover the land. It will destroy it and everything in it—cities and people alike. People will scream in terror, and everyone in the land will mourn.

Listen to the galloping of stallions’ hooves and the rumble of wheels as the chariots speed along. Terrified fathers run wildly, without concern for their helpless children.

The time has arrived for the Philistines to be destroyed, along with their allies in Tyre and Sidon. Yes, the Lord is destroying the remainder of the Philistines, those colonists from the island of Crete.[

Gaza will be humbled, its head shaved; Ashkelon will lie quiet. You survivors of the Mediterranean coast, how long will you cut yourselves in mourning?

Now, sword of the Lord, when will you sleep again -- returning to your sheath; restful and still?

“But how can it be quieted when the Lord has sent it on a mission? For the city of Ashkelon and the coastal citizens must be destroyed.”


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 That which hath been the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smiteth Gaza:

2 `Thus said Jehovah: Lo, waters are coming up from the north, And have been for an overflowing stream, And they overflow the land and its fulness, The city, and the inhabitants in it, And men have cried out, And howled hath every inhabitant of the land.

3 From the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his mighty ones, From the rushing of his chariot, the noise of his wheels, Fathers have not turned unto sons, From feebleness of hands,

4 Because of the day that hath come to spoil all the Philistines, To cut off to Tyre and to Zidon every helping remnant. For Jehovah is spoiling the Philistines, The remnant of the isle of Caphtor.

5 Come hath baldness unto Gaza, Cut off hath been Ashkelon, O remnant of their valley, Till when dost thou cut thyself?

6 Ho, sword of Jehovah, till when art thou not quiet? Be removed unto thy sheath, rest and cease.

7 How shall it be quiet, And Jehovah hath given a charge to it, Against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? There hath He appointed it!'

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 48:1-47

So says the Lord of Hosts, God of Israel:

"Misery to Nebo, for it is demolished. Kiriathaim is humiliated and captured; Misgab is humiliated and totally shocked.

There is no more praise for Moab; in Heshbon they have scheme against her: “Come and let us sever our allegiance as a nation!” You too will be cut down, you Madmen. The sword will chase you.

A sound of crying will rise from Horonaim: “Calamity and great destruction!”

“Moab is finished!” Her children have caused a cry of distress to be heard;

for by the rising of Luhith they will lead with continual weeping; for at the abasement of Horonaim they have heard a cry of destruction.

Run, save yourselves, and be like the juniper in the wilderness.

For because you have trusted in your works and treasures, you will also be captured; and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity together with his priests and administration.

The destroyer will arrive for every city -- no city will escape. The valley will perish, and the plain will be destroyed, as the Lord has said.

Give wings to Moab, that she may fly and escape; because the cities will become wastes, without any to live there.

Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord halfheartedly, and who keeps back his sword from blood.

Moab has been protected from his youth, and undisturbed, like wine on its dreg -- not being emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he been captured. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his aroma has not changed.

As a result, the days will arrive, says the Lord, when I will send those who tip vessels, and they will spill him out, and empty him ---- breaking his bottles.

Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

How can you say, “We are mighty and strong warriors"?

Moab has been devastated and the cities emptied, and her select young men have also gone out to the slaughter, says the King whose name is the Lord of Hosts.

The calamity of Moab is arriving soon, and his affliction hastens fast.

All you surrounding, mourn for him. And all you who him by name, say, “How the strong staff has been broken, the beautiful rod!”

Dear daughter who inhabits Dibon, come down from your pedestal and sit on the parched dirt, for the destroyer of Moab will come upon you ---destroying your fortresses.

Dear citizen of Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Ask him who flees and her who escapes, “What has happened?”

Moab has been humiliated, for it has been torn down. Wail and scream out. Declare it in Arnon, that Moab has been devastated.

And judgment has come upon the plain country: Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,

Dibon, Nebo, Beth Diblathaim,

Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, Beth Meon,

Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, everywhere.

The horn of Moab has been sawn off and his arm has been broken, says the Lord.

Make him drunk, for he spotlighted himself ahead of the Lord. Moab also will roll in his vomit, and he also will be held in scorn.

For was not Israel a joke to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak of him, you wag your head scornfully.

Oh my, you who reside in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the cliffs, and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of cave openings.

We have heard of the pride of Moab (he is very proud), his loftiness, arrogance, pride, and his contemptuous heart.

I know his wrath, says the Lord, but it is worthless. His lies have gained nothing.

Therefore I will howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab. My heart shall mourn for the men of Kir Hareseth.

You vine of Sibmah, I will weep for you more than the weeping of Jazer. Your crops have stretched across the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer. The destroyer has fallen upon your summer harvest and upon that which you stored.

Joy and gladness are taken away from the plentiful field of land of Moab, and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses; no one will tread with shouting. Their shouting will not be those of joy.

From the outcry of Heshbon to Elealeh, and even to Jahaz, they have resounded, from Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath Shelishiyah; for also the waters of Nimrim shall become tainted.

Additionally, I will halt in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and burns incense to his gods.

As a result My heart will wail for Moab like pipes, and for the men of Kir Hareseth, because the treasures that they have aquired have perished.

For every head will be shaved and every beard clipped; upon all the hands will be gashes, and about the loins sackcloth.

There will be wailing everywhere from all the rooftops of Moab and in the streets, for I have broken Moab like a pot that is rejected, says the Lord.

How it is torn down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back with shame! So Moab will be a byword and a terror to all around him.

For this says the Lord:

Look, one will glide as an eagle and spread his wings against Moab.

Kerioth has been captured, and the fortresses seized, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab in that day will be as the heart of a woman in anguish .

Moab will be destroyed from being a nation because he has spotlighted himself over the Lord.

Fear and the pit and the snare will catch you, citizen of Moab, says the Lord.

He who flees from the terror shall fall into a pit, and he who climbs from the pit will be caught in a snare; for I will cause this of Moab, in the year of their punishment, says the Lord.

The refugees exist powerless under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire will come out of Heshbon and flames from the center of Sihon,
and will devour the forehead of Moab and the crown of the head of the riotous.

Misery to you, Moab! The citizens of Chemosh have died and for your sons and daughters have been lead away captive.

Still I will restore Moab some future day, says the Lord.

So far this is Moab's judgment.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Concerning Moab: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Wo unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been broken down.

2 There is no more praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised against it evil: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, thou art cut off, After thee goeth a sword.

3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.

4 Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones.

5 For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard.

6 Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness.

7 For, because of thy trusting in thy works, And in thy treasures, even thou art captured, And gone out hath Chemosh in a removal, His priests and his heads together.

8 And come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah said.

9 Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.

10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.

11 Secure is Moab from his youth, And at rest [is] he for his preserved things, And he hath not been emptied out from vessel unto vessel, And into captivity he hath not gone, Therefore hath his taste remained in him, And his fragrance hath not been changed.

12 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sent to him wanderers, And they have caused him to wander, And his vessels they empty out, And his bottles they dash in pieces.

13 And ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have been ashamed Because of Beth-El their confidence.

14 How do ye say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?

15 Spoiled is Moab, and her cities hath one gone up, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name.

16 Near is the calamity of Moab to come, And his affliction hath hasted exceedingly.

17 Bemoan for him, all ye round about him, And all knowing his name, say ye: How hath it been broken, the staff of strength, The rod of beauty.

18 Come down from honour, sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, For a spoiler of Moab hath come up to thee, He hath destroyed thy fenced places.

19 On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What hath happened?

20 Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,

21 And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain -- unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,

22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,

23 And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,

24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.

25 Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.

26 Declare ye him drunk, For against Jehovah he made himself great And Moab hath stricken in his vomit, And he hath been for a derision -- even he.

27 And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.

28 Forsake cities, and dwell in a rock, Ye inhabitants of Moab, And be as a dove making a nest in the passages of a pit's mouth.

29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceeding proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,

30 I -- I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices -- not right they have done.

31 Therefore for Moab I howl, even for Moab -- all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it doth mourn,

32 With the weeping of Jazer, I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah, Thy branches have passed over a sea, Unto the sea of Jazer they have come, On thy summer fruits, and on thy harvest, A spoiler hath fallen.

33 And removed hath been joy and gladness From the fruitful field, Even from the land of Moab, And wine from wine-presses I have caused to cease, Shouting doth not proceed, The shouting [is] no shouting!

34 Because of the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh, Unto Jahaz they have given their voice, From Zoar unto Horonaim, A heifer of the third [year], For even waters of Nimrim become desolations.

35 And I have caused to cease to Moab, An affirmation of Jehovah, Him who is offering in a high place, And him who is making perfume to his god.

36 Therefore my heart for Moab as pipes doth sound, And my heart for men of Kir-Heres As pipes doth sound, Therefore the abundance he made did perish.

37 For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands cuttings, and on the loins -- sackcloth.

38 On all roofs of Moab, and in her broad-places, All of it -- [is] lamentation, For I have broken Moab as a vessel in which there is no pleasure, An affirmation of Jehovah.

39 How hath it been broken down! they have howled, How hath Moab turned the neck ashamed, And Moab hath been for a derision. And for a terror to all round about her.

40 For thus said Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto Moab.

41 Captured have been the cities, And the strongholds are caught, And the heart of the mighty of Moab Hath been in that day as the heart of a distressed woman.

42 And Moab hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.

43 Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab -- an affirmation of Jehovah,

44 Whoso is fleeing because of the fear falleth into the snare, And whoso is coming up from the snare is captured by the gin, For I bring in unto her -- unto Moab -- The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.

45 In the shadow of Heshbon stood powerless have fugitives, For fire hath gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from within Sihon, And it consumeth the corner of Moab, And the crown of the sons of Shaon.

46 Wo to thee, O Moab, Perished hath the people of Chemosh, For thy sons were taken with the captives, And thy daughters with the captivity.

47 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Moab, In the latter end of the days, An affirmation of Jehovah! Hitherto [is] the judgment of Moab.

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 49:1-39

With regards to the Ammonites: The Lord declares, “Has Israel no sons --- no heir? Why then has Molek (Canaan infant sacrificial god) assumed possession of Gad? Why do his people reside in its towns?

The days are coming, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites and it will become a pile of rubble, and its surrounding villages will be burned. Israel will drive out those who deposed her.

Wail, Heshbon, because A.I. is destroyed! Gasp, citizens of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth/repent and mourn; run here and there inside the walls, for this Molek is bring kicked out,
together with his priests and officials.

Why boast of your fruitful valleys you unfaithful daughter Ammon. You trust in your possessions saying, ‘Who will bother me?’

I will bring terror on you from all those surrounding,” declares the Lord Almighty. “Every one of you will be driven away, and no one will gather the refugees.

“Still afterward, I will restore the possessions of the Ammonites,” declares the Lord.

With regards to Edom, The Lord Almighty says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has advice disappeared from the prudent or decayed?

Turn and run, hide in deep caves, those living in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau (decendents) at the time when I punish him.

If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they steal more than they wanted?

But I will strip Esau naked; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot hide. His warriors are destroyed --- his allies too and neighbors, so there is no one to say,

‘Leave your fatherless children; I will protect them. Your widows can count on me too.’”

The Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to deal with this do, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must take it.

I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a by wood, an object of revulsion and scorn; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”

I have heard a message from the Lord; an envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!”

“Now I will make you insignificant among nations, hated by mankind.

The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will pull you down,” declares the Lord.

“Edom will become an object of revulsion; all who pass by will be disgusted and will scoff because of all its injuries.

As Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, along with their neighboring towns,” says the Lord, “so no one will ever dwell there.

“Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me And what shepherd can stand against me?”

Therefore, hear what the Lord has in store for Edom, what He has purposed against those living in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate.

At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.

Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Regarding Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, for they have heard terrible news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.

Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to run and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor.

Why has the city of fame not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?

Surely, her young men will die in the streets; all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will burn the walls of Damascus; i will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”

Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked, the Lord says: “Arise, and attack Kedar and destroy the people of the East.

Their tents and their flocks will be taken; their tents will be carried off with all their goods and camels. People will shout to them, ‘Terror everywhere!’

“Flee quickly away! Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,” declares the Lord. “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you and devised a plan.

“Arise and attack a nation of leisure, which lives in confidence,” declares the Lord, “a nation that has neither gates nor locks; its people live far from danger.

Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoils of war. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the Lord.

“Hazor will become a place where jackals hangout, a desolate place forever. No one will live.”

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet regarding Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

The Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow of Elam, the cornerstone of their power.

I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not flee.

I will break Elam before their enemies, before those who wish them dead; I will bring disaster on them, even my rage,” declares the Lord. “I will chase them with the sword until I have made an end of them.

I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and administrators,” declares the Lord.

“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in the future,” declares the Lord.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Concerning the sons of Ammon: `Thus said Jehovah: Sons -- hath Israel none? heir -- hath he none? Wherefore hath Malcam possessed Gad? And his people in its cities have dwelt?

2 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sounded unto Rabbah of the sons of Ammon a shout of battle, And it hath been for a heap -- a desolation, And her daughters with fire are burnt, And Israel hath succeeded its heirs, Said hath Jehovah.

3 Howl, Heshbon, for spoiled is A.I., Cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird on sackcloth, Lament, and go to and fro by the hedges, For Malcam into captivity doth go, His priests and his princes together.

4 What -- dost thou boast thyself in valleys? Flowed hath thy valley, O backsliding daughter, Who is trusting in her treasures: Who doth come in unto me?

5 Lo, I am bringing in upon thee a fear, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, From all round about thee, And ye have been driven out each before it, And there is no gatherer of the wandering.

6 And after this I turn back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, An affirmation of Jehovah.'

7 Concerning Edom: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Perished hath counsel from the intelligent? Vanished hath their wisdom?

8 Flee, turn, go deep to dwell, ye inhabitants of Dedan, For the calamity of Esau I brought in upon him, The time I inspected him.

9 If gatherers have come in to thee, They do not leave gleanings, If thieves in the night, They have destroyed their sufficiency!

10 For I -- I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, And to be hidden he is not able, Spoiled [is] his seed, and his brethren, And his neighbours, and he is not.

11 Leave thine orphans -- I do keep alive, And thy widows -- on Me trust ye,

12 For thus said Jehovah: They whose judgment is not to drink of the cup, Do certainly drink, And thou [art] he that is entirely acquitted! Thou art not acquitted, for thou certainly drinkest.

13 For, by Myself, I have sworn, An affirmation of Jehovah, That for a desolation, for a reproach, For a waste, and for a reviling -- is Bozrah, And all her cities are for wastes age-during.

14 A report I have heard from Jehovah, And an ambassador among nations is sent, Gather yourselves and come in against her, And rise ye for battle.

15 For, lo, little I have made thee among nations, Despised among men.

16 Thy terribleness hath lifted thee up, The pride of thy heart, O dweller in clefts of the rock, Holding the high place of the height, For thou makest high as an eagle thy nest, From thence I bring thee down, An affirmation of Jehovah.

17 And Edom hath been for a desolation, Every passer by her is astonished, And doth hiss because of all her plagues.

18 As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, And its neighbours, said Jehovah, No one doth dwell there, Nor sojourn in her doth a son of man.

19 Lo, as a lion he cometh up, Because of the rising of the Jordan, Unto the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause him to run from off her, And who is chosen? concerning her I lay a charge, For who is like Me? and who conveneth Me? And who [is] this shepherd who standeth before Me?

20 Therefore, hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, That He hath counselled concerning Edom, And His devices that He hath devised Concerning the inhabitants of Teman: Drag them out do not little ones of the flock, Make desolate over them doth he not their habitation?

21 From the noise of their fall hath the earth shaken, The cry -- at the sea of Suph is its voice heard.

22 Lo, as an eagle he cometh up, and flieth, And he spreadeth his wings over Bozrah, And the heart of the mighty of Edom hath been in that day, As the heart of a distressed woman!'

23 Concerning Damascus: Ashamed hath been Hamath and Arpad, For an evil report they have heard, They have been melted, in the sea [is] sorrow, To be quiet it is not able.

24 Feeble hath been Damascus, She turned to flee, and fear strengthened her, Distress and pangs have seized her, as a travailing woman.

25 How is it not left -- the city of praise, The city of my joy!

26 Therefore fall do her young men in her broad places, And all the men of war are cut off in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts.

27 And I have kindled a fire against the wall of Damascus, And it consumed palaces of Ben-Hadad!'

28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath smitten: `Thus said Jehovah: Arise ye, go ye up unto Kedar, And spoil the sons of the east.

29 Their tents and their flock they do take, Their curtains, and all their vessels, And their camels, they bear away for themselves, And they called concerning them, Fear [is] round about.

30 Flee, bemoan mightily, go deep to dwell, Ye inhabitants of Hazor -- an affirmation of Jehovah, For given counsel against you hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, Yea, he deviseth against them a device.

31 Rise ye, go up unto a nation at rest, Dwelling confidently, an affirmation of Jehovah, It hath no two-leaved doors nor bar, Alone they do dwell.

32 And their camels have been for a prey, And the multitude of their cattle for a spoil, And I have scattered them to every wind, Who cut off the corner [of the beard], And from all its passages I bring in their calamity, An affirmation of Jehovah.

33 And Hazor hath been for a habitation of dragons, A desolation -- unto the age, No one doth dwell there, nor sojourn in it doth a son of man!'

34 That which hath been the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

35 `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, I am breaking the bow of Elam, The beginning of their might.

36 And I have brought in to Elam four winds, From the four ends of the heavens, And have scattered them to all these winds, And there is no nation whither outcasts of Elam come not in.

37 And I have affrighted Elam before their enemies, And before those seeking their life, And I have brought in against them evil, The heat of Mine anger, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sent after them the sword, Till I have consumed them;

38 And I have set My throne in Elam, And I have destroyed thence King and princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

39 And it hath come to pass, in the latter end of the days, I turn back [to] the captivity of Elam, An affirmation of Jehovah!'

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 50:1-46

The Lord told me to Announce what will occur and don’t skip anything.

Raise the signal flag; yell so all nations can hear—Babylon is to be captured!

Babylon’s god, Marduk will be mortified, petrified, and his idols broken.

The attack on the Babylonians arrives from the north. They and their animals will run, leaving the land empty.

The Lord said: Citizens of Israel and Judah, when these things occur you will weep, and together return to your land and worship me, the Lord your God.

You will seek directions of Zion and then come and join with Me in making an agreement you won’t break or forget.

My people, you are but lost sheep neglected by their shepherds in the hills. You don’t even remember your resting place.

I am your true pastureland, the One who provoded hope to your ancestors. But you left Me, so when your enemies discovered you, and felt no guilt as they chewed you up.

Escape Babylon, my people. Leave that country! Don’t wait for anyone.

Northward I am bringing great nations together. They will attack Babylon and capture it. Arrows they shoot are like the best soldiers, always hitting its mark.

Babylon will be conquered, and its enemies will take whatever they desire.

The Lord said: People of Babylon, you were content to rob My people. You had a grand time, whooping it up more than horses and jumping around like calves threshing grain.

The city of Babylon was as a mother to you. But it shall be disgraced and become only a barren desert.

My rage will demolish Babylon, and no one will reside there. Everyone who passes by will be aghast to discover what has happened.

Babylon has rebelled against Me. Archers, take your positions. Shoot all your arrows at Babylon.

Attack from every side! Babylon surrenders! The enemy demolishes its walls and towers. I am taking my revenge by doing to Babylon what it did elsewhere.

There is no one in Babylon to plant or harvest crops. Even foreigners who stayed there left for their homelands --- frightened by enemy armies.

Israel is a flock of sheep scattered by hungry lions. The king of Assyria first gobbled Israel down. Then Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon, gnawed on Israel’s bones.

I, the Lord Almighty, God of Israel, punished the king of Assyria, and I will also punish the king of Babylon.

But I will return Israel back to its own land. The people will be like sheep eating their fill on Mount Carmel and in Bashan, in the hill country of Ephraim and in Gilead.

I will save a few people from Israel and Judah. I will forgive them so completely that their sin and guilt will vanish, never to be seen.

The Lord said: I told the enemies of Babylon, “Attack the people of Merathaim and Pekod. Kill them all! Destroy their things!”

Sounds of war and destruction can be heard.

Babylon was a hammer striking every country, but now lies broken. What a surprise to the nations of the world!

Babylon challenged Me, Lord God Almighty, but that nation doesn’t know it is snagged in a trap that I set.

I’ve brought out my weapons, and with them I will curse Babylon.

Come from a distance, enemies of Babylon! Scoop up the grain from its storehouses, and destroy it completely, along with everything else.

Kill the soldiers of Babylon, because the time has come for punishment.

Babylon's army destroyed My temple, but soon I will have My revenge. Then refugees from Babylon will tell about it in Zion.

Attack Babylon, enemy archers --- set up camp around the city --- don’t let any escape. It challenged me, the holy God, so do to it what it did to other cities.

People of Babylon, I, the Lord, promise that even your most heroic soldiers will die in the streets.

Babylon, you should be named, “The Proud One.” But the time has come when I, the Lord Almighty, will punish you.

You're proud, but you will trip and fall, and no one will help you up. I will burn your villages, and everything surrounding will go up in flames.

Babylonians were cruel to Israel and Judah. You took them captive, and now you refuse to let them go.

But I, the Lord Almighty, will save and protect them. I will bring peace to their land and problems for yours.

I have declared war on you, your officials, and advisors.

This war will prove that your prophets are liars and fools. And it will frighten your warriors.

Then your chariot horses and the foreigners in your army will refuse to go into battle, and the enemy will carry away everything you love.

Your rivers and canals will dry up. All of this will happen, because your land is full of idols, and they turned you into fools.

Never again will people live in your land—only desert animals, jackals, and unclean birds.

I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns, and I will destroy Babylon just as completely. No one will live there again.

The Lord said:

Far north, a nation with allies have awakened. They are powerful and ready for fighting.

Bows and arrows and swords are in their hands. The soldiers are cruel and show no pity. The hoofbeats of their horses echo like ocean breakers crashing at the shore. The army has lined up for battle and is coming to attack you, citizens of Babylon!

Ever since your king heard about this army, he has weaken with fear; he tosses and turns in pain like a woman at birth.

Babylon, I will attack you like a forest lion, attacking sheep in a meadow along the Jordan. In a moment the flock runs, and the land empty. Who will I choose to attack you? I will do it Myself! No one can force Me to fight or stop Me.

Listen to my plans for you, citizens of Babylon. Your children will be dragged off, and your country destroyed.

The noise of your destruction will be heard among the nations, and the earth will tremble.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 The word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:

2 `Declare ye among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say ye: Captured hath been Babylon, Put to shame hath been Bel, Broken hath been Merodach, Put to shame have been her grievous things, Broken have been her idols.

3 For come up against her hath a nation from the north, It maketh her land become a desolation, And there is not an inhabitant in it. From man even unto beast, They have moved, they have gone.

4 In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Come in do sons of Israel, They and sons of Judah together, Going on and weeping they go, And Jehovah their God they seek.

5 [To] Zion they ask the way, Thitherward [are] their faces: Come in, and we are joined unto Jehovah, A covenant age-during -- not forgotten.

6 A perishing flock hath My people been, Their shepherds have caused them to err, [To] the mountains causing them to go back, From mountain unto hill they have gone, They have forgotten their crouching-place.

7 All finding them have devoured them, And their adversaries have said: We are not guilty, Because that they sinned against Jehovah, The habitation of righteousness, And the hope of their fathers -- Jehovah.

8 Move ye from the midst of Babylon, And from the land of the Chaldeans go out. And be as he-goats before a flock.

9 For, lo, I am stirring up, And am causing to come up against Babylon, An assembly of great nations from a land of the north, And they have set in array against her, From thence she is captured, Its arrow -- as a skilful hero -- returneth not empty,

10 And Chaldea hath been for a spoil, All her spoilers are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah.

11 Because thou rejoicest, because thou exultest, O spoilers of Mine inheritance, Because thou increasest as a heifer [at] the tender grass, And dost cry aloud as bulls,

12 Ashamed hath been your mother greatly, Confounded hath she been that bare you, Lo, the hindermost of nations [is] a wilderness, A dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah it is not inhabited, And it hath been a desolation -- all of it. Every passer by at Babylon is astonished, And doth hiss because of all her plagues.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, All ye treading a bow, Shoot at her, have no pity on the arrow, For against Jehovah she hath sinned.

15 Shout against her round about, She hath given forth her hand, Fallen have her foundations, Thrown down have been her walls, For it [is] the vengeance of Jehovah, Be avenged of her, as she did -- do ye to her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him handling the sickle in the time of harvest, Because of the oppressing sword, Each unto his people -- they turn, And each to his land -- they flee.

17 A scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

18 Therefore thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am seeing after the king of Babylon, And after his land, As I have seen after the king of Asshur;

19 And I have brought back Israel unto his habitation, And he hath fed on Carmel, and on Bashan. And in mount Ephraim, and on Gilead is his soul satisfied.

20 In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Sought is the iniquity of Israel, and it is not, And the sin of Judah, and it is not found, For I am propitious to those whom I leave!

21 Against the land of Merathaim: Go up against it, and unto the inhabitants of Pekod, Waste and devote their posterity, An affirmation of Jehovah, And do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22 A noise of battle [is] in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How hath it been cut and broken, The hammer of the whole earth! How hath Babylon been for a desolation among nations!

24 I have laid a snare for thee, And also -- thou art captured, O Babylon, And thou -- thou hast known, Thou hast been found, and also art caught, For against Jehovah thou hast stirred thyself up.

25 Jehovah hath opened His treasury, And He bringeth out the weapons of His indignation, For a work [is] to the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, In the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come ye in to her from the extremity, Open ye her storehouses, Raise her up as heaps, and devote her, Let her have no remnant.

27 Slay all her kine, they go down to slaughter, Wo [is] on them, for come hath their day, The time of their inspection.

28 A voice of fugitives and escaped ones [Is] from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, The vengeance of His temple.

29 Summon unto Babylon archers, all treading the bow, Encamp against her round about, Let [her] have no escape; Recompense to her according to her work, According to all that she did -- do to her, For unto Jehovah she hath been proud, Unto the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore fall do her young men in her broad places, And all her men of war are cut off in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah.

31 Lo, I [am] against thee, O pride, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, For thy day hath come, the time of thy inspection.

32 And stumbled hath pride, And he hath fallen, and hath no raiser up, And I have kindled a fire in his cities, And it hath devoured all round about him.

33 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Oppressed are the sons of Israel, And the sons of Judah together, And all their captors have kept hold on them, They have refused to send them away.

34 Their Redeemer [is] strong, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name, He doth thoroughly plead their cause, So as to cause the land to rest, And He hath given trouble to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword [is] for the Chaldeans, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it [is] on the inhabitants of Babylon, And on her heads, and on her wise men;

36 A sword [is] on the princes, And they have become foolish; A sword [is] on her mighty ones, And they have been broken down;

37 A sword [is] on his horses and on his chariot, And on all the rabble who [are] in her midst, And they have become women; A sword [is] on her treasuries, And they have been spoiled;

38 A sword [is] on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it [is] a land of graven images, And in idols they do boast themselves.

39 Therefore dwell do Ziim with Iim, Yea, dwelt in her have daughters of the ostrich, And it is not inhabited any more for ever, Nor dwelt in unto all generations.

40 As overthrown by God with Sodom, And with Gomorrah, and with its neighbours, An affirmation of Jehovah, none doth dwell there, Nor sojourn in her doth a son of man.

41 Lo, a people hath come from the north, Even a great nation, And many kings are stirred up from the sides of the earth.

42 Bow and halbert they seize, Cruel [are] they, and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea soundeth, and on horses they ride, Set in array as a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43 Heard hath the king of Babylon their report, And feeble have been his hands, Distress hath seized him; pain as a travailing woman.

44 Lo, as a lion he cometh up, Because of the rising of the Jordan, Unto the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause them to run from off her. And who is chosen? on her I lay a charge, For who [is] like Me? And who doth convene Me? And who [is] this shepherd who standeth before Me?

45 Therefore, hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, That He counselled concerning Babylon, And His devices that He hath devised Concerning the land of the Chaldeans; Drag them out do not little ones of the flock, Doth He not make desolate over them the habitation?

46 From the voice: Captured was Babylon, Hath the earth been shaken, And a cry among nations hath been heard!

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 51:1-64

The Lord says,
“I will cause a destructive wind to howl against Babylon and it's citizens.

I will send people to winnow Babylon like a wind blowing away chaff, and strip her land bare. This will happen when they attack her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her.

Do not give her archers time to string their bows or to put on their armor. Do not spare any of her young men. Completely destroy her entire army.

Let them fall slain in the land of Babylon, mortally wounded in the streets of her cities.

“Israel and Judah will not be forsaken by their God, who rules above everything. For Babylon is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

Get out of Babylon quickly, foreigners. Run to save your lives. Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins. For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge. He will punish Babylon back for what she has done.

Babylon had been a gold cup in the Lord’s hand. She made the world drunk. The nations drank from the wine of her wrath --- making them go mad.

But suddenly Babylon will fall and be destroyed. Weep for it! Get ointment for her wounds! Perhaps she can be healed!

Foreigners living there will say, ‘We administer healing, but she could not be. Let’s leave Babylon and return to own place or origin. For judgment on her will be tremendous. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked to the clouds.’ The exiles from Judah will say, ‘The Lord has brought a great deliverance for us! Come on, let’s go and announce in Zion the Lord's deed!

“Sharpen your arrows! Fill your quivers! The Lord will arouse feelings of hostility among the kings of Media. For he intends to destroy Babylon. For that is how He will get his revenge for the Babylons’ destruction of His temple.

Give the signal to attack Babylon’s ramparts! Bring additional guards! Post them all around the city! Plan an ambush! For the Lord will do what He planned against Babylon. Those living along the rivers of Babylon, the time of your end has arrived. You who are rich in plundered treasure, it is time for your lives to be ended.

The Lord who rules everything has solemnly sworn,‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’

He is the One who by His energy created the earth. He is the One who by His wisdom set the world in orbit, by His understanding he spread out the heavens.

When His voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He causes the clouds to rise from the far-off horizons. He designed the lightning to flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where He harbors it.

All idolaters will be demonstrated to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be embarrassed by the idol he designed. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no life in a statue.

They are worthless, objects to be insulted. When their time of inspection comes, they will be broken. The Lord, among a portion of the descendants of Jacob, is unlike them. For He created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. He is known as the Lord who rules above everything.

“Babylon, you are my war club, my battle weapon. I used you to smash nations and destroy kingdoms.

I used you to smash horses and riders -- chariots and their drivers.

I used you to smash men and women, old men and young.

I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks, farmers and their teams of oxen, governors and leaders.

But I will repay Babylon and all her citizens for all the wicked things they did in Zion before the eyes of you Judeans,” says the Lord.

The Lord says, “Beware! I oppose to you, Babylon! You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth. I will unleash my power against you; I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain.

No one will use any of your stones as a cornerstone nor in the foundation of his house. For you will lie desolate forever,” says the Lord.

“Raise up battle flags throughout the lands. Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle. Prepare the nations to battle against Babylon. Call for these kingdoms to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Select a commander to lead the attack. Send horses against her like a swarm of locusts.

Prepare the nations to do battle against her. Prepare the kings of the Medes and governors and all their leaders. Prepare all the countries they control to do battle against her.

The earth will tremble and roll in agony. For the Lord will carry out His plan to make the land of Babylon a wasteland.

The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting. They will remain in their fortified cities ---losing their strength to do battle. They will act as scared women. The houses in her cities will burn and their city gates will be broken down.

One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon. One messenger after another will come bringing news to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.

They will report that the fords have been captured, the reed marshes have been burned, the soldiers are terrified.

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Fair Babylon will be like a threshing floor which has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested ill come shortly.’

“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devoured me and drove my people out. Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me. He filled his belly with my treasures. He made me an empty plate. He completely cleaned me out.”

The person who lives in Zion says, “May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.” Jerusalem says, “May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.”

Therefore the Lord says, “I will stand up for your cause. I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. I will dry up their sea. I will make their wells run dry.

Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of disgust, a locations where no one lives.

The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for nourishment.

When their appetites are all stirred up, I will set out a banquet for them.I will make them drunk so that they will pass out, they will fall asleep forever, they will never wake up,” says the Lord.

“I will lead them off to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.”

“See how Babylon has been captured! See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!

The sea has swept over Babylon. She has been covered by a flood of its waves.

The towns of Babylon have become heaps of trash. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more nor even passes through them.

I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make him puke what he swallowed. The nations will not come streaming to him any longer. Indeed, the walls of Babylon will collapse.”

“Get out of Babylon, my people! Flee to save your lives from the fierce anger of the Lord!

Do not lose your courage or become afraid regarding the reports that are heard in the land. For a report will come in one year. One report will follow another. There will be violence in the land with rulers fighting each other.”

“So the time will certainly come when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her whole land will be shamed. All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst.

Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will sing joyously concerning Babylon. For destroyers from the north will attack it,” says the Lord.

“Babylon must fall because of the Israelites she has killed, just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell because of Babylon.

You who have escaped death, leave, do not delay. Remember the Lord in a distant place. Think about Jerusalem.

‘We are ashamed because we have been insulted. Our faces show our disgrace. Foreigners have invaded the holy rooms in the Lord’s temple.’

Yes, but the time will definitely arrive,” says the Lord, “when I will punish her idols. Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

Even if Babylon reaches to the sky and fortifies her elevated stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” says the Lord.

Cries of anguish will come from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylon.

The Lord is ready to destroy Babylon, and put an end to her obnoxious noise. Their waves will roar like storm surf. They will make a deafening sound.

For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. Her warriors will be captured -- their bows broken. For the Lord is a God who punishes repays in full.

“I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her governors, leaders, and warriors. They will fall asleep forever and never awake,” Says the King whose name is the Lord who rules over all.

This is what the Lord who rules over all says, “Babylon’s thick wall will be completely demolished. Her high gates will be burned. The nations strive for what is unfulfilling. Countries grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.”

This is the command the prophet Jeremiah told Neriah's son Seraiah, grandson of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign. (Seraiah was a quartermaster.)

Jeremiah recorded on one scroll every judgment that would come upon Babylon—all these prophecies written about Babylon.

Then Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read aloud all these prophecies.

Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’

When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.

Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”

The prophecies of Jeremiah end here.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of Leb -- My withstanders, A destroying wind,

2 And I have sent to Babylon fanners, And they have fanned it, and they empty its land, For they have been against it, Round about -- in the day of evil.

3 Let not the treader tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, Nor have ye pity on her young men, Devote ye to destruction all her host.

4 And fallen have the wounded in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.

5 For, not forsaken is Israel and Judah, By its God -- by Jehovah of Hosts, For their land hath been full of guilt, Against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And deliver ye each his soul, Be not cut off in its iniquity, For a time of vengeance it [is] to Jehovah, Recompence He is rendering to her.

7 A golden cup [is] Babylon in the hand of Jehovah, Making drunk all the earth, Of its wine drunk have nations, Therefore boast themselves do nations.

8 Suddenly hath Babylon fallen, Yea, it is broken, howl ye for it, Take balm for her pain, if so be it may be healed.

9 We healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For come unto the heavens hath its judgment, And it hath been lifted up unto the clouds.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

11 Cleanse ye the arrows, fill the shields, Stirred up hath Jehovah the spirit of the kings of Madia, For against Babylon His device [is] to destroy it, For the vengeance of Jehovah it [is], The vengeance of His temple.

12 Unto the walls of Babylon lift up an ensign, Strengthen the watch, Establish the watchers, prepare the ambush, For Jehovah hath both devised and done that which He spake, Concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Come in hath thine end, the measure of thy dishonest gain.

14 Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts by Himself, That, Surely I have filled thee [with] men as the cankerworm, And they have cried against thee -- shouting.

15 The maker of earth by His power, The establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding stretched out the heavens,

16 At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters [are] in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And He bringeth out wind from His treasures.

17 Brutish hath been every man by knowledge, Put to shame hath been every refiner by a graven image, For false [is] his molten image, And there is no breath in them.

18 Vanity [are] they -- work of errors, In the time of their inspection they perish.

19 Not like these [is] the portion of Jacob, For He [is] former of all things, And [Israel is] the rod of His inheritance, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name.

20 An axe [art] thou to me -- weapons of war, And I have broken in pieces by thee nations, And I have destroyed by thee kingdoms,

21 And I have broken in pieces by thee horse and its rider, And I have broken in pieces by thee chariot and its charioteer,

22 And I have broken in pieces by thee man and woman, And I have broken in pieces by thee old and young, And I have broken in pieces by thee young man and virgin,

23 And I have broken in pieces by thee shepherd and his drove, And I have broken in pieces by thee husbandman and his team, And I have broken in pieces by thee governors and prefects.

24 And I have recompensed to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyes -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

25 Lo, I [am] against thee, O destroying mount, An affirmation of Jehovah, That is destroying all the earth, And I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I have rolled thee from the rocks, And given thee for a burnt mountain.

26 And they take not out of thee a stone for a corner, And a stone for foundations, For desolations age-during art thou, An affirmation of Jehovah.

27 Lift ye up an ensign in the land, Blow a trumpet among nations, Sanctify against it nations, Summon against it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, Appoint against it an infant head, Cause the horse to ascend as the rough cankerworm.

28 Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its dominion.

29 And shake doth the land, and it is pained, For stood against Babylon have the purposes of Jehovah, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.

30 Ceased have the mighty of Babylon to fight, They have remained in strongholds, Failed hath their might, they have become woman, They have burnt her tabernacles, Broken have been her bars.

31 Runner to meet runner doth run, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For, captured hath been his city -- at the extremity.

32 And the passages have been captured, And the reeds they have burnt with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.

33 For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon [is] as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshing -- yet a little, And come hath the time of her harvest.

34 Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us [as] an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.

35 My wrong, and [that of] my flesh [is] on Babylon, Say doth the inhabitant of Zion, And my blood [is] on the inhabitants of Chaldea, Say doth Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am pleading thy cause, And I have avenged thy vengeance, And dried up its sea, and made its fountains dry.

37 And Babylon hath been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps.

39 In their heat I make their banquets, And I have caused them to drink, so that they exult, And have slept a sleep age-during, And awake not -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

40 I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with he-goats.

41 How hath Sheshach been captured, Yea, caught is the praise of the whole earth, How hath Babylon been for an astonishment among nations.

42 Come up against Babylon hath the sea, With a multitude of its billows it hath been covered.

43 Its cities have been for a desolation, A dry land, and a wilderness, A land -- none doth dwell in them, Nor pass over into them doth a son of man.

44 And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed -- from his mouth, And flow no more unto him do nations, Also the wall of Babylon hath fallen.

45 Go forth from its midst, O My people, And deliver ye, each his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of Jehovah,

46 And lest your heart be tender, And ye be afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And come in a year hath the report, And after it in a year the report, And violence [is] in the land, ruler against ruler;

47 Therefore, lo, days are coming, And I have seen after the graven images of Babylon. And all its land is ashamed, And all its pierced ones do fall in its midst.

48 And cried aloud against Babylon Have heavens and earth, and all that [is] in them, For, from the north come to it do the spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

49 Even Babylon [is] to fall, ye pierced of Israel, Even they of Babylon have fallen, Ye pierced of all the earth.

50 Ye escaped of the sword, go on, stand not, Remember ye from afar Jehovah, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.

51 We have been ashamed, for we heard reproach, Covered hath shame our faces, For come in have strangers, against the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah.

52 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have seen after its graven images, And in all its land groan doth the wounded.

53 Because Babylon goeth up to the heavens, And because it fenceth the high place of its strength, From Me come into it do spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

54 A voice of a cry [is] from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.

55 For Jehovah is spoiling Babylon, And hath destroyed out of it a great voice, And sounded have its billows as many waters, Given forth a noise hath their voice.

56 For come in against it -- against Babylon -- hath a spoiler, And captured have been its mighty ones, Broken have been their bows, For the God of recompences -- Jehovah -- doth certainly repay.

57 And I have caused its princes to drink, And its wise men, its governors, And its prefects, and its mighty ones, And they have slept a sleep age-during, And they awake not -- an affirmation of the king, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name.

58 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of Babylon -- The broad one -- is utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet hath commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, in his going with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign -- and Seraiah [is] a quiet prince;

60 and Jeremiah writeth all the evil that cometh unto Babylon on one book -- all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah saith unto Seraiah, `When thou dost enter Babylon, then thou hast seen, and hast read all these words,

62 and hast said: Jehovah, Thou, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that there is none dwelling in it, from man even unto cattle, for it is a desolation age-during.

63 And it hath come to pass, when thou dost finish reading this book, thou dost bind to it a stone, and hast cast it into the midst of Phrat,

64 and said, Thus sink doth Babylon, and it doth not arise, because of the evil that I am bringing in against it, and they have been weary.' Hitherto [are] words of Jeremiah.

[_LittleNipper]

Jeremiah 52:1-34

Zedekiah was 21 when he became king, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal (daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah).

He was a wicked king, just like Jehoiakim was.

Things became so bad at last that the Lord, in his anger, allowed Zedekiah to rebelled against the king of Babylon until he and the people of Israel were ejected from the Lord’s presence in Jerusalem and Judah, and were taken away as captives to Babylon.

In the 9th year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the 10th day of the 10th month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came with all his army against Jerusalem and built forts around it,

and laid siege to the city for 2 years.

Finally, on the 9th day of the 4th month, while the famine in the city was very serious, with the food entirely gone,

the people in the city tore a hole in the city wall and all the soldiers fled from the city during the night, going out by the gate between the two walls near the king’s gardens (for the city was surrounded by the Chaldeans), and ran for it across the fields, toward Arabah.

But the Chaldean soldiers chased them and caught King Zedekiah in some fields near Jericho—for all his army left from him.

They brought him to the king of Babylon who was staying in the city of Riblah in the kingdom of Hamath, and there judgment was passed upon him.

He made Zedekiah watch while his sons and all the princes of Judah were executed before his eyes.

His eyes were dug out, and he was taken in chains to Babylon and put in prison for the rest of his life.

On the 10th day of the 5th month during the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan (captain of the guard) arrived in Jerusalem,

and burned the Temple, the palace and all the larger homes,

and set the Chaldean army to work tearing down the walls of the city.

Then he took to Babylon, as captives, some of the poorest of the people—along with those who survived the city’s destruction, and those who had deserted Zedekiah and had come over to the Babylonian army, and the tradesmen who remained.

But he left some of the poorest people to care for the crops as vinedressers and plowmen.

The Babylonians dismantled the two large bronze pillars that stood at the entrance of the Temple, and the bronze laver and bronze bulls on which it rested, and carted them to Babylon.

And he took along all the bronze pots and kettles, the ash shovels used at the altar, the snuffers, spoons, bowls, and all the other items used in the Temple.

He also took the firepans, the solid gold and silver candlesticks, and the cups and bowls.

The weight of the two enormous pillars, the laver, and twelve bulls was tremendous. They had no way of estimating it. (They had been produced in the days of King Solomon.)

The pillars were each 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference, hollow, 3 inches thick.

The top 7½ feet of each column had bronze decorations, of bronze pomegranates.

There were 96 pomegranates on the sides, and on the swag there were a hundred more.

The captain of the guard took along with him as his prisoners: Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, the three chief Temple guards, one of the commanding officers of the army, seven of the king’s special counselors discovered in the city, the secretary of the general-in-chief of the Jewish army (who was in charge of recruitment), and sixty other men of importance found hiding.

He took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah,

where the king executed everyone.

So it was that Judah’s exile was accomplished.

The number of captives taken to Babylon in the 7th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 3,023.

11 years later, he took 832 more;

5 years after that he sent Nebuzaradan, his captain of the guard, and took 745—a total of 4,600 captives in all.

On February 25 of the 37th year of the imprisonment in Babylon of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, Evil-merodach, who became king of Babylon that year, was kind to King Jehoiachin and brought him out of prison.

He spoke pleasantly to him and gave him preference over all other kings in Babylon;

he gave him new clothes and fed him from the king’s kitchen as long as he lived.

And he was given a regular allowance to cover his daily needs until his death.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 A son of twenty and one years [is] Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim hath done,

3 for, because of the anger of Jehovah, it hath been in Jerusalem and Judah till He hath cast them from before His face, and Zedekiah doth rebel against the king of Babylon.

4 And it cometh to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth of the month, come hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon -- he and all his force -- against Jerusalem, and they encamp against it, and build against it a fortification round about;

5 and the city cometh into siege till the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

6 In the fourth month, in the ninth of the month, when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath been no bread for the people of the land,

7 then is the city broken up, and all the men of war flee, and go forth from the city by night, the way of the gate between the two walls, that [is] by the king's garden -- and the Chaldeans [are] by the city round about -- and they go the way of the plain.

8 And the forces of the Chaldeans pursue after the king, and overtake Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his forces have been scattered from him,

9 and they capture the king, and bring him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he speaketh with him -- judgments.

10 And the king of Babylon slaughtereth the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also all the princes of Judah hath he slaughtered in Riblah;

11 and the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and he bindeth him in brazen fetters, and the king of Babylon bringeth him to Babylon, and putteth him in the house of inspection unto the day of his death.

12 And in the fifth month, in the tenth of the month -- it [is] the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon -- come hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners; he hath stood before the king of Babylon in Jerusalem,

13 and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house he hath burned with fire,

14 and all the walls of Jerusalem round about broken down have all the forces of the Chaldeans that [are] with the chief of the executioners.

15 And of the poor of the people, and the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those who are falling away, who have fallen unto the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the multitude, hath Nebuzar-Adan chief of the executioners, removed;

16 and of the poor of the land hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.

17 And the pillars of brass that [are] to the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brasen sea that [is] in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken, and they bear away all the brass of them to Babylon;

18 and the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister, they have taken away;

19 and the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups, the gold of that which [is] gold, and the silver of that which [is] silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken.

20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen that [are] beneath the bases, that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels.

21 As to the pillars, eighteen cubits [is] the height of the one pillar, and a cord of twelve cubits doth compass it, and its thickness [is] four fingers hollow.

22 And the chapiter upon it [is] of brass, and the height of the one chapiter [is] five cubits, and net-work and pomegranates [are] on the chapiter round about, the whole [is] of brass; and like these have the second pillar, and pomegranates.

23 And the pomegranates are ninety and six on a side, all the pomegranates [are] a hundred on the net-work round about.

24 And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,

25 and out of the city he hath taken a certain eunuch, who hath been inspector over the men of war, and seven men of those seeing the king's face, who have been found in the city, and the head scribe of the host, who mustereth the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land, who are found in the midst of the city;

26 and Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, taketh them, and bringeth them unto the king of Babylon to Riblah,

27 and the king of Babylon smiteth them, and putteth them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he removeth Judah from off its own ground.

28 This [is] the people whom Nebuchadrezzar hath removed: in the seventh year, of Jews, three thousand and twenty and three;

29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar -- from Jerusalem, souls, eight hundred thirty and two;

30 in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar, hath Nebuzar-Adan chief of the guard removed of Jewish souls, seven hundred forty and five; all the souls [are] four thousand and six hundred.

31 And it cometh to pass, in the thirty and seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and fifth of the month, hath Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up, in the year of his reign, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and bringeth him out from the house of restraint,

32 and speaketh with him good things, and setteth his throne above the throne of the kings who [are] with him in Babylon,

33 and he hath changed his prison garments, and he hath eaten bread before him continually, all the days of his life.

34 And his allowance -- a continual allowance -- hath been given to him by the king of Babylon, the matter of a day in its day, till the day of his death -- all days of his life.

[_LittleNipper]

Lamentations consists of five poems each designated as a chapter. The first four are written as acrostics – chapters 1, 2, and 4 each have 22 verses, corresponding to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The first lines beginning with the first letter of that alphabet, the second with the second letter, and so on. Poem/Chapter 3 has 66 verses -- each letter beginning three lines in triplet. Poem 5 is not acrostic but possesses 22 lines.
Lamentations 1:1-22

How empty lies the city,
once so replete!
How like a widow she is,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has become but a slave.

Bitterly she weeps nightly,
tears on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have sacked her;
they have become her enemies.

After affliction and harsh labor,
Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no repose.
All who pursue her capture her
midst her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to her designated holidays.
All her gateways are in ruin,
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she is in bitter anguish.

Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are relaxed.
The Lord has brought her grief
because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile,
captive before the foe.

All the splendor has departed
from Daughter Zion.
Her princes are like deer
without pasture;
in weakness they have fled
before the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and wandering
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
there was no one to help her.
Her enemies looked at her
and laughed at her destruction.

Jerusalem has sinned greatly
and has become unclean.
Once honored she is now despise,
for they have all seen her naked;
she herself gasps
and turns away.

Her period clung to her skirts;
she did not regard the future.
Her fall was astounding;
there was none to comfort her.
“Look, Lord, on my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed.”

The enemy laid hands
on all her treasures;
she saw pagan nations
enter her sanctuary—
those forbidden
to enter Your assembly.

All her people groan
as they seek bread;
they barter their treasures for nourishment
to stay alive.
“Observe, Lord, and consider,
for I am despised.”

“Is it nothing to You, all who pass by?
Look around and observe.
Is any suffering like my suffering
that was inflicted on me,
that the Lord brought upon me
in the day of his fierce anger?

“From on high he sent fire,
sent it down into my bones.
He spread a net for my feet
and pushed me away.
He made me empty,
weakened daily.

“My sins have been formed into a yoke;
by His hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands
of those I cannot withstand.

“The Lord has rejected
all my own warriors;
He has summoned an army against me
to smash my young men.
In his winepress the Lord has trampled
Virgin Daughter Judah.

“This is why I weep
and my eyes overflow tearfully.
No one is near to comfort me,
no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
because the enemy has conjured.”

Zion stretches out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob
that his neighbors become his foes;
Jerusalem has become
an abomination among them.

“The Lord is righteous,
yet I rebelled against His command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.
My young men and young women
have been exiled.

“I called to my allies
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
died in the city
while they searched for food
to remain alive.

“Notice, Lord, my upset!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.

“People perceive my moaning,
but one presently comforts me.
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
they rejoice at what You have done.
May You bring the day you announced
so they may become like me.

“Let all their evil be presented to You;
deal with them
as You have dealt with me
because of all my sins.
My groans are many
and my heart is weak.”


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 How hath she sat alone, The city abounding with people! She hath been as a widow, The mighty among nations! Princes among provinces, She hath become tributary!

2 She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear [is] on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies.

3 Removed hath Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She hath dwelt among nations, She hath not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits.

4 The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted -- and she hath bitterness.

5 Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For Jehovah hath afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary.

6 And go out from the daughter of Zion doth all her honour, Her princes have been as harts -- They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer.

7 Remembered hath Jerusalem [In] the days of her affliction and her mournings, all her desirable things that were from the days of old, In the falling of her people into the hand of an adversary, And she hath no helper; Seen her have adversaries, They have laughed at her cessation.

8 A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward.

9 Her uncleanness [is] in her skirts, She hath not remembered her latter end, And she cometh down wonderfully, There is no comforter for her. See, O Jehovah, mine affliction, For exerted himself hath an enemy.

10 His hand spread out hath an adversary On all her desirable things, For she hath seen -- Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which Thou didst command, `They do not come into the assembly to thee.'

11 All her people are sighing -- seeking bread, They have given their desirable things For food to refresh the body; See, O Jehovah, and behold attentively, For I have been lightly esteemed.

12 [Is it] nothing to you, all ye passing by the way? Look attentively, and see, If there is any pain like my pain, That He is rolling to me? Whom Jehovah hath afflicted In the day of the fierceness of His anger.

13 From above He hath sent fire into my bone, And it subdueth it, He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me backward, He hath made me desolate -- all the day sick.

14 Bound hath been the yoke of my transgressions by His hand, They are wrapped together, They have gone up on my neck, He hath caused my power to stumble, The Lord hath given me into hands, I am not able to rise.

15 Trodden down all my mighty ones hath the Lord in my midst, He proclaimed against me an appointed time, To destroy my young men, A wine-press hath the Lord trodden, To the virgin daughter of Judah.

16 For these I am weeping, My eye, my eye, is running down with waters, For, far from me hath been a comforter, Refreshing my soul, My sons have been desolate, For mighty hath been an enemy.

17 Spread forth hath Zion her hands, There is no comforter for her, Jehovah hath charged concerning Jacob, His neighbours [are] his adversaries, Jerusalem hath become impure among them.

18 Righteous is Jehovah, For His mouth I have provoked. Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and see my pain, My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.

19 I called for my lovers, they -- they have deceived me, My priests and my elders in the city have expired; When they have sought food for themselves, Then they give back their soul.

20 See, O Jehovah, for distress [is] to me, My bowels have been troubled, Turned hath been my heart in my midst, For I have greatly provoked, From without bereaved hath the sword, In the house [it is] as death.

21 They have heard that I have sighed, There is no comforter for me, All my enemies have heard of my calamity, They have rejoiced that Thou hast done [it], Thou hast brought in the day Thou hast called, And they are like to me.

22 Come in doth all their evil before Thee, And one is doing to them as Thou hast done to me, For all my transgressions, For many [are] my sighs, and my heart [is] sick!

[_LittleNipper]

Lamentations 2:1-22

BOY! the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
with a cloud in His anger!
He has ruined from heaven to the earth
the beauty of Israel;
He has forgotten His footstool
in the day of His anger.

The Lord has swallowed without mercy
all the habitations of Jacob;
In His wrath He has demolished
the fortresses of the daughter of Judah;
He has knocked them to the ground;
He has cursed the kingdom and its princes.

He has withdrawn in fierce anger
all of Israel's power;
He has lifted His right hand
from before the enemy.
He is agitated against Jacob
like a flaming fire, devouring all around.

He has drawn back His bow like an enemy,
with his right hand clenched like an adversary;
He has killed all who were once a pleasant consideration;
in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion,
He has dumped out His fury like fire.

The Lord has become like an enemy;
He has devoured Israel,
He has swallowed all her palaces;
He has destroyed her fortresses,
and has increased crying and sorrow
in the daughter of Judah.

He has violently snatched His tabernacle as if it were but a garden;
He has destroyed His place of assembly;
the Lord has caused the solemn holidays and Sabbaths
to be forgotten in Zion.
In his fierce indignation He has despised the king and the priest.

The Lord has neglected His altar,
He has rebuked His sanctuary;
He has given up the walls of her palaces
into enemy control.
They have made a noise in the house of the Lord
as on the day of a solemn feast.

The Lord has decided to destroy
the wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line;
He has not prevented His hand from destroying;
therefore He caused the rampart and the wall to wail;
they deteriorate together.

Her gates have crumbled into the ground;
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are scattered throughout nations;
the Law is no more,
and her prophets discover
no vision from the Lord.

The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground silently;
they throw dust on their heads
and dress in burlap.
The virgins of Jerusalem
bow their heads downward.

My eyes blurred with tears,
my spirit is deeply troubled;
my bile is poured on the ground
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because the children and infants die
in the streets of the city.

They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and juice?”
when they fall like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life empties
on their mothers’ lap.

What can I say for you,
to what shall I compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you,
that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your devastation is great like the sea;
who can heal you?

Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not revealed your sin,
to return your captives,
but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading.

All who pass by
clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying,
“Is this the city that men call
beauty perfected,
the joy of the entire earth?”

All your enemies
speak against you;
they hiss and grind their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed her up!
Certainly this is the day that we desired;
we have found and seen it.”

The Lord has done what He forecasted;
He has fulfilled His word
that He had established long ago.
He has thrown down and has not pitied,
and He has caused the enemy to gain the upper hand;
He has empower your adversaries.

Their soul cried to the Lord:
O wall of the daughter of Zion,
let your tears roll down
like a river continuously;
give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite!

Get up! Cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the watches;
pour out your soul like water
before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands to Him
for the lives of your young children,
who die for hunger
at every street corner.

Observe, Dear Lord, and consider!
To whom have You done this?
Should the women eat their children,
the children who were born healthy?
Should the priest and the prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?

Young and old lie
about in the streets;
my virgins and young men
have been run through by the sword;
You have killed them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered without pitied.

You have invited as to a party the terrors all around;
in the day of the Lord’s anger
no one escaped or survived;
those whom I embraced and nurtured
my enemy destroyed.


Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 How doth the Lord cloud in His anger the daughter of Zion, He hath cast from heaven [to] earth the beauty of Israel, And hath not remembered His footstool in the day of His anger.

2 Swallowed up hath the Lord, He hath not pitied any of the pleasant places of Jacob, He hath broken down in His wrath The fortresses of the daughter of Judah, He hath caused to come to the earth, He polluted the kingdom and its princes.

3 He hath cut off in the heat of anger every horn of Israel, He hath turned backward His right hand From the face of the enemy, And He burneth against Jacob as a flaming fire, It hath devoured round about.

4 He hath trodden His bow as an enemy, Stood hath His right hand as an adversary, And He slayeth all the desirable ones of the eye, In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He hath poured out as fire His fury.

5 The Lord hath been as an enemy, He hath swallowed up Israel, He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed His fortresses, And He multiplieth in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning.

6 And He shaketh as a garden His tabernacle, He hath destroyed His appointed place, Jehovah hath forgotten in Zion the appointed time and sabbath, And despiseth, in the indignation of His anger, king and priest.

7 The Lord hath cast off His altar, He hath rejected His sanctuary, He hath shut up into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces, A noise they have made in the house of Jehovah Like a day of appointment.

8 Devised hath Jehovah to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion, He hath stretched out a line, He hath not turned His hand from destroying, And He causeth bulwark and wall to mourn, Together -- they have been weak.

9 Sunk into the earth have her gates, He hath destroyed and broken her bars, Her king and her princes [are] among the nations, There is no law, also her prophets Have not found vision from Jehovah.

10 Sit on the earth -- keep silent do the elders of the daughter of Zion, They have caused dust to go up on their head, They have girded on sackcloth, Put down to the earth their head have the virgins of Jerusalem.

11 Consumed by tears have been my eyes, Troubled have been my bowels, Poured out to the earth hath been my liver, For the breach of the daughter of my people; In infant and suckling being feeble, In the broad places of the city,

12 To their mothers they say, `Where [are] corn and wine?' In their becoming feeble as a pierced one In the broad places of the city, In their soul pouring itself out into the bosom of their mothers.

13 What do I testify [to] thee, what do I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? What do I equal to thee, and I comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? For great as a sea [is] thy breach, Who doth give healing to thee?

14 Thy prophets have seen for thee a false and insipid thing, And have not revealed concerning thine iniquity, To turn back thy captivity, And they see for thee false burdens and causes of expulsion.

15 Clapped hands at thee have all passing by the way, They have hissed -- and they shake the head At the daughter of Jerusalem: `Is this the city of which they said: The perfection of beauty, a joy to all the land?'

16 Opened against thee their mouth have all thine enemies, They have hissed, yea, they gnash the teeth, They have said: `We have swallowed [her] up, Surely this [is] the day that we looked for, We have found -- we have seen.'

17 Jehovah hath done that which He devised, He hath fulfilled His saying That He commanded from the days of old, He hath broken down and hath not pitied, And causeth an enemy to rejoice over thee, He lifted up the horn of thine adversaries.

18 Cried hath their heart unto the Lord; O wall of the daughter of Zion, Cause to go down as a stream tears daily and nightly, Give not rest to thyself, Let not the daughter of thine eye stand still.

19 Arise, cry aloud in the night, At the beginning of the watches. Pour out as water thy heart, Over against the face of the Lord, Lift up unto Him thy hands, for the soul of thine infants, Who are feeble with hunger at the head of all out-places.

20 See, O Jehovah, and look attentively, To whom Thou hast acted thus, Do women eat their fruit, infants of a handbreadth? Slain in the sanctuary of the Lord are priest and prophet?

21 Lain on the earth [in] out-places have young and old, My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword, Thou hast slain in a day of Thine anger, Thou hast slaughtered -- Thou hast not pitied.

22 Thou dost call as [at] a day of appointment, My fears from round about, And there hath not been in the day of the anger of Jehovah, An escaped and remaining one, They whom I stretched out and nourished, My enemy hath consumed!