^37:1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon having made him king in the land of Judah. ^37:2And neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. ^37:3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto Jehovah our God for us. ^37:4And Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison. ^37:5And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they went up from Jerusalem. ^37:6And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^37:7Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. ^37:8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. ^37:9Thus saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans are certainly gone away from us; for they are not gone. ^37:10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. ^37:11And it came to pass when the army of the Chaldeans was gone up from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, ^37:12that Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to have his portion there among the people. ^37:13And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thou art deserting to the Chaldeans. ^37:14And Jeremiah said, It is false: I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; and Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. ^37:15And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in the place of confinement in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. ^37:16When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon and into the vaults, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, ^37:17king Zedekiah sent and took him out. And the king asked of him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is; and he said, Thou shalt be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. ^37:18And Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in the prison? ^37:19And where are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? ^37:20And now hear, I pray thee, my lord, O king: let my supplication, I pray thee, come before thee; and cause me not to return into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. ^37:21Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard, and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. And Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard.

^38:1And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, ^38:2Thus saith Jehovah: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. ^38:3Thus saith Jehovah: This city shall certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, and he shall take it. ^38:4And the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; for why should he weaken the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking to them according to these words? for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. ^38:5And king Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do a thing against you. ^38:6Then they took Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the guard, and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. ^38:7And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon now the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin, ^38:8and Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying, ^38:9My lord, O king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he will die by reason of the famine in the place where he is; for there is no more bread in the city. ^38:10And the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. ^38:11And Ebed-melech took the men under his order, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old shreds and worn-out clothes, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. ^38:12And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put, I pray, [these] old shreds and rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. ^38:13And they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and brought him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. ^38:14And king Zedekiah sent and took the prophet Jeremiah unto him, into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing: hide nothing from me. ^38:15And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare [it] unto thee, wilt thou not certainly put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me. ^38:16And king Zedekiah swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, [As] Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. ^38:17And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt freely go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house. ^38:18But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. ^38:19And king Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand, and they mock me. ^38:20And Jeremiah said, They shall not give [thee] over. Hearken, I beseech thee, unto the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee; so shall it be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. ^38:21But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word which Jehovah hath shewn me: ^38:22Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes; and they shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee; thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back. ^38:23And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand; for thou shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. ^38:24And Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. ^38:25And if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and what hath the king said unto thee? ^38:26then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there. ^38:27And all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. And they withdrew quietly from him; for the matter was not reported. ^38:28And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

^39:1And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken, in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. ^39:2In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the city was broken into; ^39:3and all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebu, Sarsechim, chief chamberlain, Nergal-sharezer, chief magian, and all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. ^39:4And it came to pass when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls; and he went out the way of the plain. ^39:5And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, unto Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment upon him. ^39:6And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah; ^39:7and he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, to carry him to Babylon. ^39:8And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ^39:9And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive into Babylon the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to him, with the rest of the people that were left. ^39:10But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard left [certain] of the people, the poor who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. ^39:11And Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had given charge concerning Jeremiah by Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard, saying, ^39:12Take him, and keep an eye upon him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. ^39:13So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard sent, and Nebushazban, chief chamberlain, and Nergal-sharezer, chief magian, and all the king of Babylon's princes, ^39:14even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should conduct him away home. And he dwelt among the people. ^39:15And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, ^39:16Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good, and they shall come to pass before thy face in that day. ^39:17And I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid; ^39:18for I will certainly save thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thou shalt have thy life for a prey; for thou hast put thy confidence in me, saith Jehovah.

^40:1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him, being bound in chains, among all the captivity of Jerusalem and Judah, that were carried away captive to Babylon. ^40:2And the captain of the body-guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, Jehovah thy God pronounced this evil upon this place, ^40:3and Jehovah hath brought [it about] and done according as he said; for ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. ^40:4And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains that are upon thy hand. If it seem good in thy sight to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will keep mine eye upon thee; but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me to Babylon, forbear. See, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and right in thy sight to go, thither go. ^40:5And while he had not yet given answer; [he said,] Yea, go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the cities of Judah, and abide with him in the midst of the people; or go wheresoever it seemeth right in thy sight to go. And the captain of the body-guard gave him provisions and a present, and let him go. ^40:6And Jeremiah came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and abode with him among the people that remained in the land. ^40:7And all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that had not been carried away captive to Babylon. ^40:8And they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah; even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. ^40:9And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ^40:10And as for me, behold, I dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans, who will come unto us; and ye, gather wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put [them] in your vessels, and dwell in your cities which ye have taken. ^40:11Likewise all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon and in Edom, and that were in all the lands, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; ^40:12and all the Jews returned out of all the places whither they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. ^40:13And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah unto Mizpah, ^40:14and said unto him, Dost thou indeed know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to smite thee to death? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. ^40:15And Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will smite Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and no man shall know it: why should he take thy life, and all they of Judah who are gathered unto thee be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish? ^40:16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

^41:1And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, and [one] of the king's chief men, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam unto Mizpah, and there they ate bread together, in Mizpah. ^41:2And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah arose, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. ^41:3And Ishmael smote all the Jews that were with him, with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, the men of war. ^41:4And it came to pass the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, and no man knew it, ^41:5that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves; with oblations and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Jehovah. ^41:6And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass when he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. ^41:7And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, he and the men that were with him, slew them, [and cast them] into the midst of the pit. ^41:8But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Do not kill us, for we have hidden stores in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbore, and did not kill them among their brethren. ^41:9And the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain by the side of Gedaliah was the one which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ^41:10And Ishmael carried away captive all the remnant of the people that were in Mizpah, the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of Ammon. ^41:11And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done; ^41:12and they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are at Gibeon. ^41:13And it came to pass when all the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. ^41:14And all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ^41:15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon. ^41:16Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon; ^41:17and they departed, and dwelt at Geruth-Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt, ^41:18because of the Chaldeans; for they feared them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had smitten Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

^42:1And all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, ^42:2came near and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication come before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us); ^42:3that Jehovah thy God may shew us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do. ^42:4And Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass [that] whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you: I will keep nothing back from you. ^42:5And they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word for which Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us. ^42:6Whether it be good or whether it be evil, we will hearken unto the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us when we hearken unto the voice of Jehovah our God. ^42:7And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah. ^42:8And he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, ^42:9and said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, to whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him: ^42:10If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not overthrow [you], and I will plant you, and not pluck [you] up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. ^42:11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid: be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah; for I will be with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. ^42:12And I will grant mercies to you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. ^42:13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so as not to hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God, ^42:14saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger for bread; and there will we dwell; ^42:15and now, therefore, hear the word of Jehovah, ye remnant of Judah: thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: If ye really set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there, ^42:16then it shall come to pass, that the sword which ye fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. ^42:17And it shall be that all the men that have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. ^42:18For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my fury have been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt; and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall see this place no more. ^42:19Jehovah hath said concerning you, the remnant of Judah, Go ye not into Egypt. Know certainly that I have admonished you this day. ^42:20For ye deceived yourselves in your own souls, when ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God; and according to all that Jehovah our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. ^42:21And I have this day declared [it] to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God, nor anything for which he hath sent me unto you. ^42:22And now know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn.

^43:1And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had ended speaking unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, with which Jehovah their God had sent him to them all these words, ^43:2then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there; ^43:3but Baruch the son of Nerijah is setting thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. ^43:4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah to abide in the land of Judah; ^43:5but Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah; ^43:6men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerijah; ^43:7and they came into the land of Egypt: for they hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah. And they came as far as Tahpanhes. ^43:8And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, ^43:9Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the Jews, ^43:10and say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones which I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. ^43:11And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt: such as are for death to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. ^43:12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive; and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. ^43:13And he shall break the pillars of Beth-shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.

^44:1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, ^44:2Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold they are, this day, a waste, and no man dwelleth therein, ^44:3because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense to serve other gods which they knew not, they, [nor] ye, nor your fathers. ^44:4And I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing which I hate! ^44:5But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. ^44:6And my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are become a waste, a desolation, as at this day. ^44:7And now thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you no remnant; ^44:8provoking me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are come to sojourn, that ye should be cut off, and that ye should be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? ^44:9Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ^44:10They are not humbled unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes which I set before you and before your fathers. ^44:11Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. ^44:12And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to enter into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed: in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword [and] by the famine, from the least even unto the greatest; they shall die by the sword and by the famine, and they shall be an execration, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. ^44:13And I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; ^44:14and none of the remnant of Judah, that have come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, so as to return into the land of Judah, whither they have a desire to return to dwell there; for none shall return but such as shall escape. ^44:15Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assemblage, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, ^44:16[As for] the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee, ^44:17but we will certainly do every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and we had plenty of bread, and were well, and saw no evil. ^44:18But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have wanted everything, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. ^44:19And when we burned incense to the queen of the heavens and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we make for her cakes to portray her, and pour out drink-offerings to her, without our husbands? ^44:20And Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people that had given him that answer, saying, ^44:21Is it not the incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes and the people of the land, that Jehovah remembered, and that came into his mind? ^44:22And Jehovah could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, [and] because of the abominations that ye had committed; and your land is become a waste, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as at this day. ^44:23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil hath come upon you, as at this day. ^44:24And Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt. ^44:25Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will certainly perform our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her. Ye will certainly establish your vows, and entirely perform your vows. ^44:26Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, [As] the Lord Jehovah liveth. ^44:27Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. ^44:28And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, a very small company; and all the remnant of Judah, that have come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine or theirs. ^44:29And this shall be the sign unto you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall certainly stand against you for evil: ^44:30thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give Pharaoh-Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

^45:1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Nerijah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying, ^45:2Thus sayeth Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning thee, Baruch: ^45:3Thou didst say, Woe unto me! for Jehovah hath added grief to my sorrow; I am weary with my sighing, and I find no rest. ^45:4Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, what I have built do I overthrow, and what I have planted I pluck up, even this whole land. ^45:5And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek [them] not; for behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou shalt go.

^46:1The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. ^46:2Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah. ^46:3Make ready buckler and shield, and draw near to battle! ^46:4Harness the horses, and mount ye horsemen, and stand forth with helmets; polish the spears, put on the coats of mail! ^46:5Why do I see them dismayed, turned away back? And their mighty ones are beaten down, and take to flight, and look not back? Terror [is] on every side, saith Jehovah. ^46:6Let not the swift flee away, neither let the mighty man escape! Toward the north, hard by the river Euphrates, they have stumbled and fallen. ^46:7Who is this [that] riseth up as the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers? ^46:8It is Egypt that riseth up as the Nile, and [his] waters toss themselves like the rivers; and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. ^46:9Go up, ye horses, and drive furiously, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Phut that handle the shield, and the Ludim that handle the bow [and] bend it. ^46:10For this is the day of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may be avenged of his adversaries; and the sword shall devour, and it shall be sated and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord Jehovah of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country, by the river Euphrates. ^46:11Go up to Gilead, and fetch balm, O virgin-daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou multiply remedies: there is no healing for thee. ^46:12The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the earth; for the mighty man stumbleth against the mighty, they are both fallen together. ^46:13The word that Jehovah spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt: ^46:14Declare in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph, and in Tahpanhes; say, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword devoureth round about thee. ^46:15Why are thy valiants swept away? They stood not, for Jehovah did thrust them down. ^46:16He made many to stumble, yea, one fell upon another; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. ^46:17There did they cry, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the time appointed go by. ^46:18[As] I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely as Tabor among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. ^46:19Thou, inhabitress, daughter of Egypt, furnish for thyself a captive's baggage, for Noph shall be a desolation and shall be ruined, so that none shall dwell therein. ^46:20Egypt is a very fair heifer; the gad-fly cometh, it cometh from the north. ^46:21Also her hired men in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; for they also have turned back, they have fled away together, they did not stand; for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation. ^46:22Her voice shall go like a serpent's; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. ^46:23They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it be impenetrable; for they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable. ^46:24The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is delivered into the hand of the people of the north. ^46:25Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith, Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, and her gods, and her kings; yea, Pharaoh and them that confide in him. ^46:26And I will give them into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; but afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith Jehovah. ^46:27But thou, my servant Jacob, fear not, neither be dismayed, Israel: for behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make [him] afraid. ^46:28Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, saith Jehovah: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, but I will not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee with judgment, and I will not hold thee altogether guiltless.

^47:1The word of Jehovah that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gazah. ^47:2Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl, ^47:3at the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his steeds, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels: fathers shall not look back for [their] children, from feebleness of hands; ^47:4because of the day that cometh to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remaineth; for Jehovah will lay waste the Philistines, the remnant of the island of Caphtor. ^47:5Baldness is come upon Gazah; Ashkelon is cut off, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? ^47:6Alas! sword of Jehovah, how long wilt thou not be quiet? Withdraw into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. ^47:7How shouldest thou be quiet? For Jehovah hath given it a charge: against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore, there hath he appointed it.

^48:1Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled; Kirjathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and dismayed. ^48:2Moab's praise is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from [being] a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be cut down; the sword shall pursue thee. ^48:3A voice of crying from Horonaim; wasting and great destruction! ^48:4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. ^48:5For by the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim is heard the anguish of the cry of destruction. ^48:6Flee, save your lives, and be like a shrub in the wilderness. ^48:7For because thou hast confided in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken, and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together. ^48:8And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said. ^48:9Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; and the cities thereof shall become a desolation, without inhabitant. ^48:10Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood! ^48:11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed. ^48:12Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him pourers that shall pour him off, and shall empty his vessels, and break in pieces his flagons. ^48:13And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. ^48:14How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war? ^48:15Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up [in smoke], and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts. ^48:16The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. ^48:17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod! ^48:18Come down from [thy] glory and sit in the drought, O inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; the spoiler of Moab is come up against thee, thy strongholds hath he destroyed. ^48:19Stand by the way, and watch, inhabitress of Aroer; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What is done? ^48:20Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste. ^48:21And judgment is come upon the country of the plateau; upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath; ^48:22and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim; ^48:23and upon Kirjathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon; ^48:24and upon Kerijoth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. ^48:25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah. ^48:26Make him drunken, for he magnified himself against Jehovah; and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. ^48:27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves, that as oft as thou didst speak of him, thou didst shake the head? ^48:28Leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks, ye inhabitants of Moab, and be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the cave's mouth. ^48:29We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, [he is] very proud; his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. ^48:30I know his wrath, saith Jehovah; his pratings are vain: they do not as [they say]. ^48:31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning. ^48:32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with more than the weeping of Jaazer: thy shoots passed over the sea, they reached to the sea of Jaazer. The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. ^48:33And joy and gladness is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: they shall no more tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting. ^48:34Because of the cry from Heshbon, unto Elaleh, unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar unto Horonaim, [unto] Eglath-shelishijah: for even the waters of Nimrim shall become desolations. ^48:35And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods. ^48:36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished. ^48:37For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. ^48:38It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah. ^48:39They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him. ^48:40For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread forth his wings over Moab. ^48:41Kerijoth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. ^48:42And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah. ^48:43Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah. ^48:44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon her, upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah. ^48:45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. ^48:46Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives. ^48:47But I will turn the captivity of Moab at the end of the days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgement of Moab.

^49:1Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? Why is Malcam heir of Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof? ^49:2Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause the clamour of war to be heard in Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall be a desolate heap; and her towns shall be burned with fire; and Israel shall possess them that possessed him, saith Jehovah. ^49:3Howl, Heshbon! for Ai is laid waste; cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro within the enclosures: for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together. ^49:4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys? Thy valley shall flow down, O backsliding daughter, that trusteth in her treasures, [saying,] Who shall come against me? ^49:5Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, from all that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall assemble the fugitives. ^49:6And afterwards I will turn the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah. ^49:7Concerning Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is there no more wisdom in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom spent? ^49:8Flee, turn back, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I visit him. ^49:9If grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a gleaning? If thieves by night, they would destroy only till they had enough. ^49:10But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, that he is unable to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. ^49:11Leave thine orphans, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. ^49:12For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and thou indeed, shouldest thou be altogether unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink. ^49:13For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. ^49:14I have heard a rumour from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: Gather yourselves together, and come against her and rise up for the battle. ^49:15For behold, I have made thee small among the nations, despised among men. ^49:16Thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart, hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill. Though thou shouldest make thy nest high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah. ^49:17And Edom shall be an astonishment: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all the plagues thereof. ^49:18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein. ^49:19Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make them suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen [man] whom I shall appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? ^49:20Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Edom, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them. ^49:21The earth quaketh at the sound of their fall; there is a cry, the sound whereof is heard in the Red sea. ^49:22Behold, he shall come up, and fly as an eagle, and spread forth his wings against Bozrah; and at that day the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. ^49:23Concerning Damascus. Hamath is put to shame, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is distress on the sea; it cannot be quiet. ^49:24Damascus is grown feeble: she turneth herself to flee, and terror hath seized on her; trouble and sorrows have taken hold of her as of a woman in travail. ^49:25How is not the town of praise forsaken, the city of my joy! ^49:26Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all the men of war be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts. ^49:27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad. ^49:28Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. ^49:29Their tents and their flocks shall they take; their curtains and all their vessels, and their camels, shall they carry away for themselves; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side! ^49:30Flee, wander very far, dwell deep down, ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you. ^49:31Arise, get you up against the nation at ease, that dwelleth securely, saith Jehovah, which hath neither gates nor bars: they dwell alone. ^49:32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter to every wind them that have the corners [of their beard] cut off, and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith Jehovah. ^49:33And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever. No one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein. ^49:34The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, ^49:35Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. ^49:36And upon Elam will I bring the four winds, from the four ends of the heavens, and I will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. ^49:37And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them. ^49:38And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah. ^49:39But it shall come to pass at the end of the days, I will turn the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.

^50:1The word that Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet. ^50:2Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a banner; publish, conceal not! Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed: her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed. ^50:3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: both man and beast are fled; they are gone. ^50:4In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping as they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God. ^50:5They shall inquire concerning Zion, with their faces thitherward, [saying,] Come, and let us join ourselves to Jehovah, in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten. ^50:6My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they turned them away on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place. ^50:7All that found them devoured them, and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers. ^50:8Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flock. ^50:9For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon, an assemblage of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her: from thence shall she be taken. Their arrows shall be as those of a mighty expert man: none shall return empty. ^50:10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all the spoilers thereof shall be satiated, saith Jehovah. ^50:11For ye rejoiced, for ye triumphed, ye plunderers of my heritage; for ye have been wanton as the heifer at grass, and neighed as steeds. ^50:12Your mother hath been sorely put to shame; she that bore you hath been covered with reproach: behold, [she is become] hindmost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. ^50:13Because of the wrath of Jehovah, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all her plagues. ^50:14Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah. ^50:15Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand; her ramparts are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for this is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. ^50:16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the oppressing sword let them turn every one to his people, and let them flee every one to his own land. ^50:17Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. ^50:18Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, like as I have visited the king of Assyria. ^50:19And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and in Gilead. ^50:20In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon those whom I leave remaining. ^50:21Go up against the land of double rebellion, against it, and against the inhabitants of visitation; waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. ^50:22A sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction. ^50:23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! ^50:24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou, Babylon, art also taken, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, for thou hast contended with Jehovah. ^50:25Jehovah hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for this is a work for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the land of the Chaldeans. ^50:26Come ye against her from every quarter, open her storehouses; pile her up like sheaves, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. ^50:27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. ^50:28The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of his temple. ^50:29Call together the archers against Babylon, all those that bend the bow: encamp against her round about; let there be no escaping: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath acted proudly against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel. ^50:30Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets; and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah. ^50:31Behold, I am against thee, proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I visit thee: ^50:32and the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; yea, I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him. ^50:33Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah were together oppressed; and all that took them captives held them fast: they refused to let them go. ^50:34Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. ^50:35The sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men; ^50:36the sword is upon the liars, and they shall become fools; the sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed; ^50:37the sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; the sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed: ^50:38a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad after frightful idols. ^50:39Therefore wild beasts of the desert with jackals shall dwell there, and ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. ^50:40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein. ^50:41Behold, a people cometh from the north, and a great nation. And many kings shall arise from the uttermost parts of the earth. ^50:42They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel, and will not shew mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses set in array like a man for the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. ^50:43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands wax feeble; trouble hath taken hold of him, pangs as of a woman in travail. ^50:44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make him suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen [man] whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? ^50:45Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them. ^50:46At the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth hath quaked, and the cry is heard among the nations.

^51:1Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind; ^51:2and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. ^51:3Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host. ^51:4And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. ^51:5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. ^51:6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence. ^51:7Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad. ^51:8Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. ^51:9We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies. ^51:10Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God. ^51:11Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. ^51:12Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. ^51:13Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity. ^51:14Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee. ^51:15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding. ^51:16When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. ^51:17Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. ^51:18They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. ^51:19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and [Israel] is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name. ^51:20Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms; ^51:21and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver; ^51:22and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; ^51:23and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers. ^51:24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah. ^51:25Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain. ^51:26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah. ^51:27Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars. ^51:28Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion. ^51:29And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. ^51:30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken. ^51:31Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end; ^51:32and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. ^51:33For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her. ^51:34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. ^51:35The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. ^51:36Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry. ^51:37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. ^51:38They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps. ^51:39When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah. ^51:40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. ^51:41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! ^51:42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves. ^51:43Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby. ^51:44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen. ^51:45Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah! ^51:46lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come [one] year, and after that a rumour in [another] year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler. ^51:47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. ^51:48And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah. ^51:49As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. ^51:50Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. ^51:51We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house. ^51:52Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan. ^51:53Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah. ^51:54The sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans; ^51:55for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth. ^51:56For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the God of recompences, will certainly requite. ^51:57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts. ^51:58Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary. ^51:59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain. ^51:60And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. ^51:61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words; ^51:62and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. ^51:63And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; ^51:64and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.

^52:1Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ^52:2And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ^52:3For, because the anger of Jehovah was against Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. ^52:4And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, [that] Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem; and they encamped against it, and built turrets against it round about. ^52:5And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. ^52:6In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. ^52:7And the city was broken into: and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were near the city round about); and they went the way toward the plain. ^52:8And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. ^52:9And they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon, unto Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment upon him. ^52:10And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; and he slaughtered also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ^52:11And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass; and the king of Babylon carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. ^52:12And in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, which was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzar-adan, captain of the body-guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, came unto Jerusalem; ^52:13and he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great [man's] house he burned with fire. ^52:14And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the body-guard, broke down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. ^52:15And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive of the poorest sort of the people, and the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. ^52:16But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard left of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. ^52:17And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke up, and carried all the brass thereof to Babylon. ^52:18The pots also, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, they took away. ^52:19And the basons and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the cups, and the goblets, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away. ^52:20The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen that formed the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah: for the brass of all these vessels there was no weight. ^52:21And as to the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. ^52:22And the capital upon it was brass, and the height of the one capital [was] five cubits; and the network and the pomegranates, upon the capital round about, all of brass; and similarly for the second pillar, and the pomegranates. ^52:23And there were ninety-six pomegranates on the [four] sides; all the pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about. ^52:24And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. ^52:25And out of the city he took a eunuch that was set over the men of war, and seven men of them that were in the king's presence, who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the host, who enrolled the people of the land. And sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the midst of the city. ^52:26And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah; ^52:27and the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his land. ^52:28This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand and twenty-three Jews; ^52:29in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar [he carried away captive] from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; ^52:30in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons: all the persons were four thousand six hundred. ^52:31And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, [that] Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison; ^52:32and he spoke kindly unto him, and set his seat above the seat of the kings that were with him in Babylon. ^52:33And he changed his prison garments; and he ate bread before him continually all the days of his life; ^52:34and his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

Lamentations

^1:1How doth the city sit solitary [that] was full of people! She that was great among the nations is become as a widow; the princess among the provinces is become tributary! ^1:2She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; among all her lovers she hath no comforter; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. ^1:3Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude; she dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest: all her pursuers have overtaken her within the straits. ^1:4The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly: all her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her virgins are in grief; and as for her, she is in bitterness. ^1:5Her adversaries have become the head, her enemies prosper; for Jehovah hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the adversary. ^1:6And from the daughter of Zion all her splendour is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture; and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. ^1:7In the days of her affliction and of her wanderings, since her people fell into the hand of an adversary, and none did help her, Jerusalem remembereth all her precious things which she had in the days of old: the adversaries have seen her, they mock at her ruin. ^1:8Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore is she removed as an impurity: all that honoured her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; and she sigheth, and turneth backward. ^1:9Her impurity was in her skirts, she remembered not her latter end; and she came down wonderfully: she hath no comforter. Jehovah, behold my affliction; for the enemy hath magnified himself. ^1:10The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her precious things; for she hath seen the nations enter into her sanctuary, concerning whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. ^1:11All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their precious things for food to revive [their] soul. See, Jehovah, and consider, for I am become vile. ^1:12Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, whom Jehovah hath afflicted in the day of his fierce anger. ^1:13From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; he hath spread a net for my feet; he hath turned me back; he hath made me desolate [and] faint all the day. ^1:14The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, they are come up upon my neck; he hath made my strength to fail; the Lord hath delivered me into hands out of which I am not able to rise up. ^1:15The Lord hath cast down all my mighty men in the midst of me; he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord hath trodden as a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. ^1:16For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water: for the comforter that should revive my soul is far from me; my children are desolate, for the enemy hath prevailed. ^1:17Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; Jehovah hath commanded concerning Jacob, [that] his adversaries [should be] round about him; Jerusalem is as an impurity among them. ^1:18Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment. Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow. My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. ^1:19I called for my lovers, they have deceived me; my priests and mine elders have expired in the city, while they sought them food to revive their soul. ^1:20See, Jehovah, for I am in distress, my bowels are troubled; my heart is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled: without, the sword hath bereaved [me], within, it is as death. ^1:21They have heard that I sigh: I have no comforter: all mine enemies have heard of my calamity; they are glad that thou hast done it. Thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me. ^1:22Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

^2:1How hath the Lord in his anger covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud! He hath cast down from the heavens unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger. ^2:2The Lord hath swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob, and hath not spared; he hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah: he hath brought [them] down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof. ^2:3He hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath withdrawn his right hand from before the enemy; and he burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, devouring round about. ^2:4He hath bent his bow like an enemy; he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and hath slain all that was pleasant to the eye: in the tent of the daughter of Zion, he hath poured out his fury like fire. ^2:5The Lord is become as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel; he hath swallowed up all her palaces; he hath destroyed his strongholds, and hath multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. ^2:6And he hath violently cast down his enclosure as a garden; he hath destroyed his place of assembly: Jehovah hath caused set feast and sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger king and priest. ^2:7The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath rejected his sanctuary; he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces: they have made a noise in the house of Jehovah, as on the day of a set feast. ^2:8Jehovah hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out the line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying; and he hath made the rampart and the wall to lament: they languish together. ^2:9Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations: the law is no [more]; her prophets also find no vision from Jehovah. ^2:10The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; they have cast dust upon their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their head to the ground. ^2:11Mine eyes are consumed with tears, my bowels are troubled; my liver is poured upon the earth, because of the ruin of the daughter of my people; because infant and suckling swoon in the streets of the city. ^2:12They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swoon as the wounded in the streets of the city; when they pour out their soul into their mothers' bosom. ^2:13What shall I take to witness for thee? what shall I liken unto thee, daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, virgin daughter of Zion? For thy ruin is great as the sea: who will heal thee? ^2:14Thy prophets have seen vanity and folly for thee; and they have not revealed thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee burdens of falsehood and causes of expulsion. ^2:15All that pass by clap [their] hands at thee; they hiss and shake their head at the daughter of Jerusalem: Is this the city which they called, The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? ^2:16All thine enemies open their mouth against thee, they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed [her] up; this is forsooth the day that we looked for: we have found, we have seen [it]. ^2:17Jehovah hath done what he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word which he had commanded from the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not spared, and he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. ^2:18Their heart cried unto the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye rest. ^2:19Arise, cry out in the night, in the beginning of the watches; pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, who faint from hunger at the top of all the streets. ^2:20See, Jehovah, and consider to whom thou hast done this! Shall the women eat their fruit, the infants that they nursed? Shall priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? ^2:21The child and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: thou hast slain [them] in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, thou hast not spared. ^2:22Thou hast called up, as on the day of a set feast, my terrors on every side; and in the day of Jehovah's anger there was none that escaped or remained: those that I have nursed and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

^3:1I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. ^3:2Me hath he led, and brought into darkness, and not into light. ^3:3Surely against me hath he turned again and again his hand all the day. ^3:4My flesh and my skin hath he wasted away, he hath broken my bones. ^3:5He hath built against me, and encompassed [me] with gall and toil. ^3:6He hath made me to dwell in dark places as those that have been long dead. ^3:7He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. ^3:8Even when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. ^3:9He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. ^3:10He is unto me [as] a bear lying in wait, a lion in secret places. ^3:11He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate. ^3:12He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. ^3:13He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. ^3:14I am become a derision to all my people; their song all the day. ^3:15He hath sated me with bitterness, he hath made me drunk with wormwood. ^3:16He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. ^3:17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I have forgotten prosperity. ^3:18And I said, My strength is perished, and my hope in Jehovah. ^3:19Remember thou mine affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall. ^3:20My soul hath [them] constantly in remembrance, and is humbled in me. ^3:21This I recall to heart, therefore have I hope. ^3:22It is of Jehovah's loving-kindness we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not; ^3:23they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. ^3:24Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. ^3:25Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him. ^3:26It is good that one should both wait, and that in silence, for the salvation of Jehovah. ^3:27It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth: ^3:28He sitteth solitary and keepeth silence, because he hath laid it upon him; ^3:29he putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope; ^3:30he giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him; he is filled full with reproach. ^3:31For the Lord will not cast off for ever; ^3:32but if he have caused grief, he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving-kindnesses: ^3:33for he doth not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. ^3:34To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth, ^3:35to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High, ^3:36to wrong a man in his cause, will not the Lord see it? ^3:37Who is he that saith, and there cometh to pass, what the Lord hath not commanded? ^3:38Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good? ^3:39Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? ^3:40Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah. ^3:41Let us lift up our heart with [our] hands unto God in the heavens. ^3:42We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. ^3:43Thou hast covered thyself with anger, and pursued us; thou hast slain, thou hast not spared. ^3:44Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that prayer should not pass through. ^3:45Thou hast made us the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples. ^3:46All our enemies have opened their mouth against us. ^3:47Fear and the pit are come upon us, devastation and ruin. ^3:48Mine eye runneth down with streams of water for the ruin of the daughter of my people. ^3:49Mine eye poureth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, ^3:50till Jehovah look down and behold from the heavens. ^3:51Mine eye affecteth my soul, because of all the daughters of my city. ^3:52They that are mine enemies without cause have chased me sore like a bird. ^3:53They have cut off my life in a pit, and cast a stone upon me. ^3:54Waters streamed over my head; I said, I am cut off. ^3:55I called upon thy name, Jehovah, out of the lowest pit. ^3:56Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my sighing, at my cry. ^3:57Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not. ^3:58Lord, thou hast pleaded the cause of my soul, thou hast redeemed my life. ^3:59Jehovah, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. ^3:60Thou hast seen all their vengeance, all their imaginations against me. ^3:61Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, all their imaginations against me; ^3:62the lips of those that rise up against me and their meditation against me all the day. ^3:63Behold thou their sitting down and their rising up: I am their song. ^3:64Render unto them a recompence, O Jehovah, according to the work of their hands; ^3:65give them obduracy of heart, thy curse unto them; ^3:66pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Jehovah.