Jer 26, Jer 49 | ESV | STEP | In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah , king of Judah , this word came from the Lord :

1 ^aIn the beginning of the reign of ^bJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^cStand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^dall the words that I command you to speak to them; ^edo not hold back a word. 3 ^fIt may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^gthat I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^hbecause of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ⁱIf you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 ^jand to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^kurgently, ^lthough you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house ^mlike Shiloh, and I will make this city ⁿa curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

7 ^oThe priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^pthe priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^qlike Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^rwithout inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When ^sthe officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^tentry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 Then ^uthe priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^v“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore ^wmend your ways and your deeds, ^xand obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^yand the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 ^zBut as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^aayou will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

16 ^abThen the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^ac“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 ^adAnd certain of ^aethe elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

^af“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^agDid he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^ahand did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^aiBut we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^ajKiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when ^akKing Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then ^alKing Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^amElnathan the son of ^anAchbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^aowho struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of ^apAhikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 49

Judgment on Ammon

1 ^aqConcerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has ^arMilcom ^asdispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause ^atthe battle cry to be heard
against ^auRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate ^avmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O ^awHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of ^axRabbah!
^ayPut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^azMilcom shall go into exile,
^bawith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys, ^{▼▼Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows}
^bcO faithless daughter,
^bdwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, ^beI will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But ^bfafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”

Judgment on Edom

7 Concerning ^bgEdom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^bh“Is wisdom no more in ^biTeman?
^bjHas counsel perished from the prudent?
^bkHas their wisdom vanished?
8 ^blFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of ^bmDedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
^bnthe time when I punish him.
9 ^boIf grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave ^bpgleanings?
^bqIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 ^brBut I have stripped Esau bare;
^bsI have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and ^bthe is no more.
11 ^buLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
^bvand let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: ^bw“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ^bxwill you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 ^byFor I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that ^bzBozrah shall become ^caa horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

14 ^cbI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
^cc“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock, ^{▼▼Or of Sela}
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you ^cemake your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,

declares the Lord.
17 ^cf“Edom shall become a horror. ^cgEveryone who passes by it will be horrified ^chand will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 ^ciAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^cjneighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^ckno man shall dwell there, ^clno man shall sojourn in her. 19 ^cmBehold, ^cnlike a lion coming up from ^cothe jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac them} run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. ^cqFor who is like me? ^crWho will summon me? ^csWhat shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^ctEdom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^cuTeman: ^cvEven the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall ^cwthe earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, ^cxone shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^cyBozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^czof a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning ^daDamascus:

^db“Hamath and ^dcArpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
^ddthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 ^deDamascus has become feeble, ^dfshe turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as ^dgof a woman in labor.
25 How is ^dhthe famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 ^diTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,

declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And ^djI will kindle a fire in the wall of ^dkDamascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^dlBen-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning ^dmKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

Thus says the Lord:
^dn“Rise up, advance against ^doKedar!
Destroy ^dpthe people of the east!
29 ^dqTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their ^drcurtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: ^ds‘Terror on every side!’
30 ^dtFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!

declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 ^du“Rise up, advance against a nation ^dvat ease,
^dwthat dwells securely,

declares the Lord,
^dxthat has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 ^dyTheir camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
^dzI will scatter to every wind
^eathose who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,

declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become ^eba haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
^ecno man shall dwell there;
^edno man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning ^eeElam, in the beginning of the reign of ^efZedekiah king of Judah.

35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break ^egthe bow of ^ehElam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon ^eiElam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of ^ejElam shall not come. 37 I will ^ekterrify ^elElam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, ^emmy fierce anger, declares the Lord. ^enI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in ^eoElam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

39 “But in the latter days ^epI will restore the fortunes of ^eqElam, declares the Lord.”