Jer 37, Jer 50 | ESV | STEP | Zedekiah the son of Josiah , whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah , reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim .

1 ^aZedekiah the son of Josiah, ^bwhom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of ^cConiah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 ^dBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 King Zedekiah sent ^eJehucal the son of ^fShelemiah, and ^gZephaniah the priest, the son of ^hMaaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please ⁱpray for us to the Lord our God.” 4 ^jNow Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, ^kfor he had not yet been put in prison. 5 ^lThe army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when ^mthe Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, ⁿthey withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^osent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^pPharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to ^qreturn to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And ^rthe Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^sThey shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 ^tFor even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^uburn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when ^vthe Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^wthe land of Benjamin ^xto receive his portion there ^yamong the people. 13 When he was at ^zthe Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^aaShelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^ab“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^acthe officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^adand imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

16 ^aeWhen Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^afsecretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^ag“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^ahthat you have put me in prison? 19 ^aiWhere are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^ajlet my humble plea come before you and ^akdo not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^althe court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, ^amuntil all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^anthe court of the guard.

Jeremiah 50

Judgment on Babylon

1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^aoBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^apby Jeremiah the prophet:

2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
^aq‘Babylon is taken,
^arBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
^asHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For ^atout of the north a nation has come up against her, ^auwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^avboth man and beast shall flee away.

4 ^aw“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^axthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^ayweeping as they come, and they ^azshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ^baThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^bbsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^bceverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

6 ^bd“My people have been lost sheep. ^beTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, ^bfand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^bgthey have sinned against the Lord, ^bhtheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^bithe hope of their fathers.’

8 ^bj“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^bkand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^bla gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 ^bmChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

11 ^bn“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
^boa wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 ^bpBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
^bqeveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
^brand hiss because of all her wounds.
14 ^bsSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
^btall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
^bufor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 ^bvRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
^bwher walls are thrown down.
For ^bxthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
^bydo to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^bzbecause of the sword of the oppressor,
^caevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 ^cb“Israel is a hunted sheep ^ccdriven away by lions. ^cdFirst the king of Assyria ^cedevoured him, and now at last ^cfNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^cghas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^chI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^cias I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^cjI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^ckhe shall feed on ^clCarmel and in ^cmBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^cnGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^coiniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^cpI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, ^{▼▼ Merathaim means double rebellion}
and against the inhabitants of Pekod. ^{▼▼ Pekod means punishment}
Kill, ^csand devote them to destruction, ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)}

declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 ^cuThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 ^cvHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
^cwHow Babylon ^cxhas become
a horror among the nations!
24 ^cyI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and ^czyou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out ^dathe weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
^dbpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all ^dcher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
^ddthe time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They ^deflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^dfto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^dghis temple.

29 ^dh“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^diEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^djRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^dkproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^dlTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O ^dmproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
^dnfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 ^doThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
^dpand I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^dqThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^drthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^dsTheir Redeemer is strong; ^dtthe Lord of hosts is his name. ^duHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against ^dvher officials and her ^dwwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^dxwarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all ^dythe foreign troops in her midst,
that ^dzthey may become women!
^eaA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 ^ebA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
^ecFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 ^ed“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 ^eeAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^efso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 ^eg“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 ^eh“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^eican stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^ejthe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^ekand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^elSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^emAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”