Jer 46-49 | ESV | STEP | The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations .

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^aconcerning the nations.

2 About Egypt. ^bConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ^cthe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 ^d“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 ^eHarness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
^fpolish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their ^gwarriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
^hthey look not back—
ⁱterror on every side!

declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
^jin the north by the river Euphrates
^kthey have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, ^lrising like the Nile,
like rivers ^mwhose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers ⁿwhose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 ^oAdvance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and ^pPut who handle the shield,
^qmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 ^rThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
^sa day of vengeance,
^tto avenge himself on his foes.
^uThe sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ^va sacrifice
^win the north country ^xby the river Euphrates.
11 ^yGo up to Gilead, and take ^zbalm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
^aathere is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
^abfor warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^acNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^adMigdol;
proclaim in ^aeMemphis and ^afTahpanhes;
say, ^ag‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for ^ahthe sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand ^{▼▼Hebrew He does not stand}
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, ^ajand they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
^akbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of ^alPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 ^am“As I live, declares the King,
^anwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^aoTabor among the mountains
and like ^apCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 ^aqPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ^arinhabitants of Egypt!
For ^asMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, ^atwithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful ^auheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly ^avfrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like ^awfattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
^axthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes ^aya sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
^azlike those who fell trees.
23 ^baThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because ^bbthey are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of ^bca people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^bdAmon of ^beThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^bfand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 ^bgI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^bhAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^bias in the days of old, declares the Lord.

27 ^bj“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 ^bkFear not, O Jacob my servant,

declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
^blI will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Jeremiah 47

Judgment on the Philistines

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^bmconcerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down ^bnGaza.

2 “Thus says the Lord:
^boBehold, waters are rising ^bpout of the north,
^bqand shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow ^brthe land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
^bsat the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers ^btlook not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,
4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
all ^buthe Philistines,
to cut off from ^bvTyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
^bwthe remnant of the coastland of ^bxCaphtor.
5 ^byBaldness has come upon Gaza;
^bzAshkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
^cahow long will you gash yourselves?
6 ^cbAh, sword of the Lord!
How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
rest and be still!
7 How can it ^{▼▼Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew you} be quiet
^cdwhen the Lord has given it a charge?
Against ^ceAshkelon and against the seashore
^cfhe has appointed it.”

Jeremiah 48

Judgment on Moab

1 ^cgConcerning Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to ^chNebo, for it is laid waste!
^ciKiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame ^cjand broken down;
2 the renown of Moab is no more.
In ^ckHeshbon they planned disaster against her:
‘Come, let us cut her off ^clfrom being a nation!’
You also, O ^cmMadmen, shall be brought to silence;
the sword shall pursue you.
3 “A voice! A cry from ^cnHoronaim,
‘Desolation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is destroyed;
her little ones have made a cry.
5 ^coFor at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping; ^{▼▼Hebrew weeping goes up with weeping}
for ^cqat the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressed cry ^{▼▼Septuagint (compare Isaiah 15:5) heard the cry} of destruction.
6 Flee! Save yourselves!
You will be like ^csa juniper in the desert!
7 For, ^ctbecause you trusted in your works and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
and ^cuChemosh ^cvshall go into exile
with ^cwhis priests and his officials.
8 ^cxThe destroyer shall come upon every city,
and no city shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and ^cythe plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
9 “Give wings to Moab,
for she would fly away;
her cities shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
10 ^cz“Cursed is he who does ^dathe work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth
and has ^dbsettled on his dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
so his taste remains in him,
and his scent is not changed.
12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his ^{▼▼Septuagint, Aquila; Hebrew their} jars in pieces. 13 Then ^ddMoab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as ^dethe house of Israel was ashamed of ^dfBethel, their confidence.

14 “How do you say, ‘We are heroes
and mighty men of war’?
15 The destroyer of ^dgMoab and his cities has come up,
and the choicest of his young men have ^dhgone down to slaughter,
declares ^dithe King, ^djwhose name is the Lord of hosts.
16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand,
and his affliction hastens swiftly.
17 ^dkGrieve for him, all you who are around him,
and all who know his name;
say, ^dl‘How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious staff.’
18 ^dm“Come down from your glory,
and sit on the parched ground,
O inhabitant of ^dnDibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
19 ^doStand by the way ^dpand watch,
O inhabitant of ^dqAroer!
Ask him who flees and her who escapes;
say, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;
^drwail and cry!
Tell it beside ^dsthe Arnon,
that ^dtMoab is laid waste.
21 “Judgment has come upon ^duthe tableland, upon Holon, and ^dvJahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and ^dwDibon, and ^dxNebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and ^dyKiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and ^dzBeth-meon, 24 and ^eaKerioth, and ^ebBozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 ^ecThe horn of Moab is cut off, and ^edhis arm is broken, declares the Lord.

26 ^ee“Make him drunk, ^efbecause he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall ^egwallow in his vomit, ^ehand he too shall be held in derision. 27 ^eiWas not Israel a derision to you? ^ejWas he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him ^ekyou wagged your head?

28 ^el“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,
O inhabitants of Moab!
Be ^emlike the dove that nests
in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
29 ^enWe have heard of the pride of Moab—
he is very proud—
of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
30 I know his insolence, declares the Lord;
^eohis boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
31 ^epTherefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the men of ^eqKir-hareseth I mourn.
32 More than for ^erJazer I weep for you,
^esO vine of ^etSibmah!
^euYour branches passed over the sea,
reached to the Sea of ^evJazer;
on your summer fruits and your grapes
the destroyer has fallen.
33 ^ewGladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
34 ^ex“From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to ^eyHoronaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in ^ezthe high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of ^faKir-hareseth. ^fbTherefore the riches they gained have perished.

37 ^fc“For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. ^fdOn all the hands are gashes, and ^fearound the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like ^ffa vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! ^fgHow Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab ^fhhas become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”

40 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, ^fione shall fly swiftly like an eagle
^fjand spread his wings against Moab;
41 ^fkthe cities shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
^flThe heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day
like the heart of ^fma woman in her birth pains;
42 Moab shall be ^fndestroyed and be no longer a people,
because ^fohe magnified himself against the Lord.
43 ^fpTerror, pit, and snare
are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!

declares the Lord.
44 He who flees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
^fqFor I will bring these things upon Moab,
the year of their punishment,

declares the Lord.
45 “In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop without strength,
for fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed ^frthe forehead of Moab,
the crown of ^fsthe sons of tumult.
46 ^ftWoe to you, O Moab!
The people of ^fuChemosh are undone,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
47 ^fvYet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, declares the Lord.”
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Jeremiah 49

Judgment on Ammon

1 ^fwConcerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has ^fxMilcom ^fydispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause ^fzthe battle cry to be heard
against ^gaRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate ^gbmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O ^gcHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of ^gdRabbah!
^gePut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For ^gfMilcom shall go into exile,
^ggwith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys, ^{▼▼Hebrew boast of your valleys, your valley flows}
^giO faithless daughter,
^gjwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, ^gkI 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 ^glafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”

Judgment on Edom

7 Concerning ^gmEdom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^gn“Is wisdom no more in ^goTeman?
^gpHas counsel perished from the prudent?
^gqHas their wisdom vanished?
8 ^grFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of ^gsDedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
^gtthe time when I punish him.
9 ^guIf grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave ^gvgleanings?
^gwIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 ^gxBut I have stripped Esau bare;
^gyI have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and ^gzhe is no more.
11 ^haLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
^hband let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: ^hc“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ^hdwill you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 ^heFor I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that ^hfBozrah shall become ^hga horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

14 ^hhI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
^hi“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 ^hkmake your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,

declares the Lord.
17 ^hl“Edom shall become a horror. ^hmEveryone who passes by it will be horrified ^hnand will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 ^hoAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^hpneighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^hqno man shall dwell there, ^hrno man shall sojourn in her. 19 ^hsBehold, ^htlike a lion coming up from ^huthe 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. ^hwFor who is like me? ^hxWho will summon me? ^hyWhat shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^hzEdom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^iaTeman: ^ibEven 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 ^icthe earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, ^idone shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^ieBozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^ifof a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning ^igDamascus:

^ih“Hamath and ⁱⁱArpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
^ijthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 ^ikDamascus has become feeble, ^ilshe turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as ^imof a woman in labor.
25 How is ⁱⁿthe famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 ^ioTherefore 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 ^ipI will kindle a fire in the wall of ^iqDamascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of ^irBen-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

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

Thus says the Lord:
^it“Rise up, advance against ^iuKedar!
Destroy ^ivthe people of the east!
29 ^iwTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their ^ixcurtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: ^iy‘Terror on every side!’
30 ^izFlee, 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 ^ja“Rise up, advance against a nation ^jbat ease,
^jcthat dwells securely,

declares the Lord,
^jdthat has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 ^jeTheir camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
^jfI will scatter to every wind
^jgthose 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 ^jha haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
^jino man shall dwell there;
^jjno man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

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

35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break ^jmthe bow of ^jnElam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon ^joElam 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 ^jpElam shall not come. 37 I will ^jqterrify ^jrElam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, ^jsmy fierce anger, declares the Lord. ^jtI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in ^juElam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

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