Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 This word came to Yirmeyahu concerning all the people from Y’hudah living in the land of Egypt — in Migdol, Tachpanches, Nof and the land of Patros:

2 “Here is whatAdonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘You have seen all the disaster I inflicted on Yerushalayim and all the cities of Y’hudah; there they are today, ruined, with no one living in them.

3 It came about because of the wicked things they did to make me angry — sacrificing to and serving other gods, whom they did not know, neither they, nor you nor your ancestors.

4 I had sent you all my servants the prophets, sent them frequently, with the message, “Don’t do this horrible thing which I hate!”

5 But they neither listened nor obeyed, so as to turn from their wickedness and stop offering to other gods.

6 Hence my fury and anger were poured out and ignited in the cities of Y’hudah and the streets of Yerushalayim; so that they became waste and desolate, as they are today.’

7 “Therefore now,Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says this: ‘Why are you committing this great sin against yourselves? The result can only be to cut you off from Y’hudah — men, women, children and babies — so that none of you remain.

8 For you continue provoking me with the products of your own hands, offering to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live as aliens. It will lead only to your destruction and becoming an object of curses and reproaches among all the nations of the earth.

9 Have you forgotten the wicked deeds of your ancestors, the wicked deeds of the kings of Y’hudah, the wicked deeds of their wives, your own wicked deeds, and the wicked deeds of your wives, which they committed in the land of Y’hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim?

10 To this day they remain unhumbled; they have not been afraid, and they have not lived according to myTorahor my regulations that I presented to you and your ancestors.’

11 “Therefore here is whatAdonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I will decree disaster for you and destroy all of Y’hudah.

12 I will take the remnant of Y’hudah, who determined to go to Egypt and live there as aliens, and they will all perish — in the land of Egypt they will fall and perish by sword and famine. They will die, from the least to the greatest, by sword and famine; and they will become an object of condemnation, astonishment, cursing and reproach.

13 Yes, I will punish those living in the land of Egypt, as I punished Yerushalayim, by sword, famine and plague;

14 so that none of the remnant of Y’hudah who went into the land of Egypt to live as aliens will escape or remain, to be able to return to the land of Y’hudah. They long to return and live there, but none will return except a few refugees.’”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were offering incense to other gods, along with all the women standing by, a huge crowd, all the people living in Patros in the land of Egypt, answered Yirmeyahu:

16 “As for the word you have just spoken to us in the name ofAdonai, we will not listen to you.

17 Instead, we will certainly continue to fulfill every word our mouths have spoken: we will offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our ancestors, our kings and our leaders, in the cities of Y’hudah and the streets of Yerushalayim. For then we had plenty of food; everything was fine, we didn’t experience anything unpleasant.

18 But since we stopped offering to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and we have been destroyed by sword and famine.”

19 [Then the wives added,] “Are we the ones who offer incense to the queen of heaven? Do we pour out drink offerings to her? And did we make cakes marked with her image for her and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ consent?”

20 Then Yirmeyahu said to all the people — to the men, the women, and all the people who had answered him back:

21 “The incense you offered in the cities of Y’hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim — you, your ancestors, your kings, your leaders and the people of the land —Adonaikept remembering and taking note of this [insult],

22 untilAdonaicould no longer bear it, so evil and so detestable were your deeds. This is why your land has become a wasteland, an object for astonishment and cursing, uninhabited, as it is today.

23 It is because you offered incense, sinned againstAdonai, didn’t listen to whatAdonaisaid, and didn’t live by hisTorah, regulations and instructions that this disaster has befallen you, as it is today.”

24 In addition, Yirmeyahu said to all the people, but especially the women: “Hear the word ofAdonai, all Y’hudah who are in the land of Egypt;

25 this is whatAdonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘You and your wives stated your intentions with your mouths and performed them with your hands — you said, “We will certainly fulfill our vows that we made to offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.”’ Without doubt, you will indeed fulfill every point of your vows.

26 Therefore hear the word ofAdonai, all Y’hudah living in the land of Egypt: ‘I swear by my own great name,’ saysAdonai, ‘that no man of Y’hudah will speak my name again in the land of Egypt, swearing, “AsAdonai, God, lives.”

27 I am watching over them for harm, not for good. All the men of Y’hudah in the land of Egypt will be destroyed by sword and famine, until none of them is left.

28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Y’hudah few in number; and all the remnant of Y’hudah who went into the land of Egypt to live will know whose word will stand — mine or theirs!

29 Moreover, here is a sign for you,’ saysAdonai, ‘that I will punish you in this place, so that you can know that my threats of disaster against you will come true.’

30 Adonaisays, ‘I will hand over Pharaoh Hofra king of Egypt to his enemies, to those seeking his life — just as I handed Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah over to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel, his enemy, who sought his life.’”

1 Here is what Yirmeyahu said to Barukh the son of Neriyah when he wrote these words in a book at Yirmeyahu’s dictation, in the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah:

2 “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says concerning you, Barukh. You said,

3 ‘Woe to me now!

Adonaihas compounded my pain with sorrow,

I am weary from groaning,

and I can find no relief!’

4 “Tell him thatAdonaisays:

‘I will tear down what I built up,

I will uproot what I planted,

and this throughout the land.

5 Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t! For I am bringing disaster on everything living,’ saysAdonai. ‘But wherever you go, you will escape with your life.’”

1 This is the word ofAdonaithat came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning the nations.

2 Concerning Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh N’kho, king of Egypt, stationed by the Euphrates River in Kark’mish, which N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel attacked in the fourth year of Y’hoyakim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah:

3 “Prepare breastplate and shield! Advance to battle!

4 Harness the horses! Riders, mount!

[Troops,] fall in! Helmets in place!

Polish the spears! Coats of mail on!

5 “Why do I see them retreating in panic,

their heroes routed, fleeing headlong,

not looking back, terror all around?”

asksAdonai.

6 “The swift cannot flee, nor the heroes escape.

In the north, by the Euphrates River,

they have stumbled and fallen.”

7 Who is this, rising up like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge out in flood?

8 It is Egypt, rising up like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge out in flood,

saying, “I will surge out and cover the earth,

destroying the city along with its people.”

9 Charge, horses! Full speed ahead, chariots!

Let the warriors attack! —

Kush and Put, bearing their shields,

and the Ludim, strung bows in hand.

10 For on that dayAdonaiElohei-Tzva’ot

will have a day of vengeance

for avenging himself on his enemies.

The sword will destroy, have its fill,

be made drunk on their blood.

Yes,AdonaiElohei-Tzva’ot

decrees slaughter in the land to the north

by the Euphrates River.

11 Go up to Gil‘ad for its healing resin,

virgin daughter of Egypt.

You try many medicines, all in vain;

for you there is no cure.

12 The nations have heard about your disgrace;

your shrieks fill the earth

as warrior trips over warrior,

both falling down together.

13 This wordAdonaispoke to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning how N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel would come and attack the land of Egypt:

14 “Proclaim in Egypt, announce in Migdol,

announce in Nof and Tachpanches;

say: ‘Take your stand! Get ready!

For all around you the sword is destroying.

15 Why has your strong one been overthrown?

He failed to stand becauseAdonaipushed him down.

16 He caused many to trip;

yes, they fell all over each other.’”

Then they said, “Let’s get up,

let’s return to our own people,

back to the land where we were born,

away from the sword that destroys.”

17 They cried there, “Pharaoh king of Egypt makes noise,

but he lets the right time [for action] slip by.”

18 “As I live,” says the king,

whose name isAdonai-Tzva’ot,

“when he comes, he will be [as mighty]

as Tavor among the mountains,

as Karmel next to the sea.

19 “Daughter living in Egypt,

prepare what you need for exile;

for Nof will become a ruin,

laid waste, without inhabitant.

20 Egypt is a beautiful female calf;

but a horsefly from the north has come to attack her.

21 Her mercenaries too, that she had with her,

were like well-fed calves in a stable;

but they too have withdrawn in retreat,

they all ran away without standing their ground.

For their day of disaster has come over them,

the time for them to be punished.

22 Egypt hisses like a snake,

as the enemy’s army marches ahead,

attacking her with their axes

like lumbermen chopping trees.

23 They cut down her forest,” saysAdonai,

“for they cannot be numbered;

yes, there are more of them than locusts,

far too many to count.

24 The daughter of Egypt is put to shame,

handed over to the people from the north.”

25 Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will punish Amon from No, Pharaoh, and Egypt with her gods and kings — that is, Pharaoh and those who trust in him;

26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to his servants. But afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited, as in the past,” saysAdonai.

27 “Yet don’t be afraid, Ya‘akov my servant;

don’t be distressed, Isra’el.

For I will save you from faraway places,

and your offspring from the lands where they are held captive.

Ya‘akov will return and be at peace,

quiet, with no one to make him afraid.

28 Don’t be afraid, Ya‘akov my servant,”

saysAdonai, “for I am with you.

I will finish off all the nations

where I have scattered you.

However, you I will not finish off,

I will discipline you as you deserve,

but not completely destroy you.”

1 This word ofAdonaicame to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning the P’lishtim before Pharaoh attacked ‘Azah:

2 “Here is whatAdonaisays:

‘Water is rising out of the north;

it will become a flooding stream,

flooding the land and all that is in it,

the city and its inhabitants.

The people are crying out in alarm,

everyone in the land is weeping

3 at the thunderous pound of his stallions’ hoofs,

at his rattling chariots’ rumbling wheels.

Fathers fail to turn back for their children;

instead, their hands hang limp,

4 because the day has come

for destroying all the P’lishtim,

for cutting off from Tzor and Tzidon

the last of their allies;

forAdonaiis destroying the P’lishtim,

the remnant from the island of Kaftor.

5 ‘Azah is shaved bald,

Ashkelon reduced to silence.

Those of you who remain in their valley,

how long will you go on gashing yourselves?’”

6 Oh, sword ofAdonai,

how long till you can be quiet?

Put yourself back in your scabbard!

Stop! Be still!

7 But how can you be still?

ForAdonaihas given it orders

against Ashkelon, against the seacoast;

he has assigned it its task there.

1 Concerning Mo’av, this is whatAdonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says:

“Woe to N’vo, for it is ravaged;

Kiryatayim disgraced and captured.

Misgav is put to shame, distressed.

2 “In Mo’av, nothing is left to praise.

At Heshbon they plotted her downfall:

‘Come, we’ll cut her off as a nation.’

You too, Madmein, will be silenced;

the sword pursues behind you.

3 An agonized cry from Horonayim,

ruin, terrible devastation!

4 Mo’av has been shattered;

the cries of her young ones are heard,

5 as they ascend the slopes of Luchit,

weeping bitterly as they climb.

On the road down to Horonayim

shrieks of destruction ring out.”

6 Flee! Save your lives!

Be strong, like a tamarisk in the desert.

7 Because you trust in your deeds and your wealth,

you too will be captured.

Together with his priests and princes,

K’mosh will go into exile.

8 A destroyer will descend on every city,

no city will escape.

The valley too will perish,

the plain will be laid waste,

asAdonaias said.

9 Give Mo’av wings,

so it can fly and get away.

Its cities will become ruins,

with no one to live in them.

10 A curse on him who does the work

ofAdonaicarelessly!

A curse on him who withholds his sword

from blood!

11 Mo’av has lived at ease from his youth;

he is [wine] settled on its dregs,

not decanted from jar to jar —

he has not gone into exile.

Therefore it retains its own [bad] taste,

its aroma remains unchanged.

12 “So the days are coming,” saysAdonai, “when I will send people to tilt him; they will tilt his jars, emptying them and shattering the wine-flasks to pieces.

13 Mo’av will be disappointed by K’mosh then, just as the house of Isra’el was disappointed by Beit-El, a god in whom they had put their trust.

14 “How can you say, ‘We are heroes,

warriors valiant in battle’?

15 They are ravaging Mo’av, attacking its cities;

its best young men go down to be slaughtered,”

says the king, whose name isAdonai-Tzva’ot.

16 Mo’av’s ruin is coming soon,

its disaster speeds on swiftly.

17 Pity him, all of you who are near him,

all of you who know his name;

say, “How the mighty scepter is shattered,

that splendid staff!”

18 Descend from your glory, and sit in thirst,

daughter living in Divon;

for Mo’av’s destroyer advances on you;

he has destroyed your strongholds.

19 Stand by the road and watch,

inhabitant of ‘Aro‘er;

ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,

“What is going on?”

20 Mo’av is disgraced, indeed, destroyed.

Wail aloud! Shriek!

Proclaim it by the Arnon

that Mo’av has been laid waste.

21 Judgment has come on the Plain — on Holon, Yachtzah, Mefa‘at,

22 Divon, N’vo, Beit-Diblatayim,

23 Kiryatayim, Beit-Gamul, Beit-M‘on,

24 K’riot, Botzrah and all the cities in the land of Mo’av, far and near.

25 “Mo’av’s strength is cut down,

his arm is broken,” saysAdonai.

26 Because Mo’av boasted againstAdonai, make him so drunk that he wallows in his own vomit and becomes a laughingstock.

27 After all, Isra’el was a laughingstock for you. He didn’t associate with thieves; nevertheless, whenever you spoke of him, you shook your head.

28 You who live in Mo’av,

leave the cities, and live on the rocks;

be like the dove who makes her nest

in a hole in the rock at the mouth of a cave.

29 We have heard of the pride of Mo’av:

so very proud he is! —

presumptuous, proud, conceited;

so haughty his heart!

30 “I know what meager ground he has

for his arrogance,” saysAdonai.

“His boasting has nothing behind it,

and it hasn’t accomplished a thing.”

31 Therefore I wail for Mo’av;

for all Mo’av I cry;

for the people of Kir-Heres I lament.

32 I will weep for you, vineyard of Sivmah,

more than I wept for Ya‘zer.

Your branches spread to the sea,

reaching as far as the sea of Ya‘zer.

On your summer fruits and on your vintage

the destroyer has fallen.

33 Gladness and joy have been removed

from productive fields and the land of Mo’av.

“I have stopped the flow of wine from the vats

and the shouts of those who tread the grapes —

those shouts of joy are stilled.”

34 The cries from Heshbon to El‘aleh

are heard as far away as Yachatz;

those from Tzo‘ar to Horonayim

are heard in ‘Eglat-Shlishiyah;

for even the waters of Nimrim

have become a desolate waste.

35 “Moreover,” saysAdonai,

“in Mo’av I will put an end

to anyone sacrificing on a high place

or offering incense to his gods.”

36 This is why my heart is moaning

for Mo’av like funeral flutes,

why my heart moans for the men

of Kir-Heres like funeral flutes;

for the wealth they produced has vanished.

37 Every head has been shaved bald,

every beard has been clipped short,

gashes are on every hand,

sackcloth around every waist.

38 On all the housetops of Mo’av

and in its open places —

lamentation everywhere!

“For I have broken Mo’av like a pot

that nobody wants,” saysAdonai.

39 Wail, “How shattered is Mo’av!

How shamefully in retreat!”

Thus will Mo’av become an object

of ridicule and distress to all its neighbors.

40 For here is whatAdonaisays:

“Look! Down he swoops like a vulture,

spreading his wings against Mo’av —

41 the cities are captured, the strongholds are seized.

On that day the hearts of Mo’av’s warriors

will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

42 Mo’av will be destroyed as a people,

because he boasted againstAdonai.

43 Terror, pit and trap are upon you,

people of Mo’av,” saysAdonai.

44 “Whoever flees from the terror

will fall into the pit;

and he who climbs up out of the pit

will be caught in the trap.

For I will bring on her, on Mo’av,

the year for her punishment,” saysAdonai.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon

the fugitives stop, exhausted.

For fire breaks out from Heshbon,

a flame from inside Sichon,

consuming the sides and tops of the heads

of Mo’av’s noisy boasters.

46 Woe to you, Mo’av!

K’mosh’s people are doomed!

For your sons have been taken captive,

and your daughters led into captivity.

47 Yet I will end Mo’av’s exile

in theacharit-hayamim,” saysAdonai.

This is the judgment on Mo’av.

1 Concerning the people of ‘Amon, here is whatAdonaisays:

“Has Isra’el no sons?

Has he no heir?

Then why has Malkam inherited Gad,

with his people settled in its cities?

2 Therefore,” saysAdonai, “the days are coming

when I will sound the battle alarm

against Rabbah and the people of ‘Amon;

it will become atelof ruins,

her villages burned to the ground.

Then Isra’el will inherit from them

who disinherited him,” saysAdonai.

3 “Wail, Heshbon, for ‘Ai is doomed!

Cry out, daughters of Rabbah!

Wear sackcloth and mourn,

running here and there among the sheep pens.

For Malkam will go into exile,

together with his priests and officers.

4 Why do you take such pride in the valleys,

your well-watered valleys, rebellious daughter?

You trusted in your riches

and thought, ‘Who can attack me?’

5 I am bringing terror on you,”

saysAdonaiElohei-Tzva’ot, “from every side.

Each of you will be driven out headlong,

with no one to gather the fugitives.

6 But afterwards, I will bring back

the exiles of ‘Amon,” saysAdonai.

7 Concerning Edom, this is whatAdonai-Tzva’otsays:

“Is there no wisdom left in Teman?

Have her wise men forgotten how to counsel?

Has their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee! Turn back! Hide yourselves well,

you who live in D’dan;

for I am bringing calamity on ‘Esav,

when the time for me to punish him comes.

9 If grape-pickers came to you,

they would leave no grapes for gleaning.

If thieves came at night,

they would destroy until they were satisfied.

10 So I, for my part, have stripped ‘Esav bare,

I have exposed his hiding-places;

he will not be able to hide himself.

He is doomed — sons, brothers and neighbors —

so that he is no more.

11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive;

let your widows trust in me.”

12 For this is whatAdonaisays: “Those who do not deserve to drink from this cup will have to drink it anyway, so should you go unpunished? No, you will not go unpunished; you will certainly drink it.

13 For I have sworn by myself,” saysAdonai, “that Botzrah will become a ruin and an object of astonishment, reproach and cursing; all its cities will be ruins forever.”

14 I have heard a message fromAdonai:

“A messenger is sent among the nations, saying:

‘Gather together, and march against her!

Prepare for battle!’

15 Here! I will make you least among nations,

the most despised of people.

16 Your capacity to terrorize

has deceived you and made you arrogant.

You make your home in the rocky crags

and seize the top of the mountain;

but even if you build your nest high as an eagle’s,

from there I will drag you down,” saysAdonai.

17 Edom will become an object of horror;

everyone passing by will whistle

in astonishment at all its disasters.

18 It will be like the overthrow of S’dom,

‘Amora and their neighboring towns,” saysAdonai.

“No one will settle there any more,

no human being will live there again.

19 It will be like a lion coming up from the thickets

of the Yarden against a strong settlement:

in an instant I will chase him away

and appoint over it whomever I choose.

For who is like me? Who can call me to account?

What shepherd can stand up to me?”

20 So hear the plan ofAdonai

that he has devised against Edom,

and his purpose that he will accomplish

against those who live in Teman:

the least of the flock will drag them away;

their own pasture will be in shock at them.

21 The earth quakes at the sound of their fall;

their cry can be heard at the Sea of Suf.

22 Like a vulture he will soar, swoop down

and spread out his wings against Botzrah.

On that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors

will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

23 Concerning Dammesek:

“Hamat and Arpad are confused;

having heard bad news, they dissolve in fear,

like the churning sea, which cannot calm itself.

24 Dammesek, weakened, turns to flee;

trembling has seized her;

anguish and pain take hold of her

like the pains of a woman in labor.

25 How can a city so praised be deserted,

a city that gave me such joy?

26 Therefore her young men will fall in her squares,

and all her warriors be silenced on that day,”

saysAdonai-Tzva’ot.

27 “I will light a fire inside Dammesek’s walls

which will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hatzor, which N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel struck,Adonaisays:

“Set out! March against Kedar!

Plunder the people of the east!

29 They will seize their tents and their flocks,

their tent curtains and all their equipment;

their camels too they will take for themselves

and shout at them, ‘Terror in every direction!’

30 Flee! Leave your homes! Hide yourselves well,

you who live in Hatzor,” saysAdonai;

“for N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel

has devised a plan against you;

he has formed a scheme against you.

31 Get up! March on a nation at ease,

that lives secure,” saysAdonai.

“They have neither gates nor bars;

they live in isolation.

32 Their camels will be booty,

their many cattle a spoil.

I will scatter to the winds

those who shave the sides of their heads;

From every direction I will bring

their disaster on them,” saysAdonai.

33 “Hatzor will be a place for jackals to live,

desolate forever;

no one will settle there any more,

no human being will live there again.”

34 This is the word ofAdonaithat came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning ‘Eilam at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah:

35 “Adonai-Tzva’otsays:

‘I will break ‘Eilam’s bow,

the mainstay of their might.

36 I will bring against ‘Eilam the four winds

from the four quarters of the sky

and scatter them to all those winds.

There will not be one nation to which

the dispersed of ‘Eilam will not come.

37 I will break ‘Eilam before their foes,

before those who seek their lives;

I will bring disaster on them,

my burning anger,’ saysAdonai.

‘I will send the sword to pursue them

until I have finished them off.

38 I will put my throne in ‘Eilam

and destroy their king and leaders,’ saysAdonai.

39 ‘But in theacharit-hayamim,

I will bring back the exiles of ‘Eilam,’ saysAdonai.”

1 This is the word whichAdonaispoke concerning Bavel, concerning the land of the Kasdim, through Yirmeyahu the prophet:

2 “Declare it among the nations, proclaim it!

Hoist a banner, proclaim it, don’t hide it!

Say: ‘Bavel is captured.

Bel is shamed, M’rodakh disgraced,

her images shamed, her idols disgraced.’

3 For from the north a nation is marching against her

that will desolate her land.

No one will live there —

both humans and animals have fled and gone.

4 In those days, at that time,” saysAdonai,

“the people of Isra’el will come,

together with the people of Y’hudah.

They will weep as they go their way,

seekingAdonaitheir God.

5 They will ask the way to Tziyon;

and, turning their faces toward it, will say,

‘Come, join yourselves toAdonai

by an everlasting covenant never to be forgotten.’

6 My people have been lost sheep.

My shepherds made them go astray,

turning them loose in the mountains.

As they wandered from mountain to hill,

they lost track of where their home is.

7 Everyone finding them ate them up.

Their enemies said, ‘We aren’t guilty;

for they sinned againstAdonai,

the resting place of justice;

yes, againstAdonai, their ancestors’ hope.’

8 Flee from Bavel! Leave the land of the Kasdim!

Be like male goats leading the flock;

9 for I will stir up and bring against Bavel

an alliance of great nations from the country to the north.

They will array themselves against her;

from there she will be captured.

Their arrows are like those of a death-dealing warrior;

none will return in vain.

10 The land of the Kasdim will be plundered;

all who plunder it will get enough,” saysAdonai.

11 “Because you are glad, because you exult,

you plunderers of my heritage;

because you frisk like a calf in the grass

and neigh like stallions;

12 your mother will be utterly shamed,

she who bore you will be disgraced.

Here she is! — last among the nations,

a desert, parched and barren.

13 Because of the anger ofAdonai,

no one will live there any more;

all of it will be desolate.

Everyone passing Bavel will whistle

in shock at all her plagues.

14 “Take your positions surrounding Bavel,

all you whose bows are strung;

shoot at her, spare no arrows;

because she sinned againstAdonai.

15 From all sides raise the war cry against her!

Now she surrenders!

Her buttresses fall, her walls are thrown down,

for this is the vengeance ofAdonai.

Avenge yourself on her!

As she has done, do to her!

16 Cut off the sower from Bavel

and the reaper with sickle at harvest-time.

For fear of the destroying sword

everyone returns to his own people,

each one flees to his own land.

17 “Isra’el is a stray lamb,

driven away by lions.

First to devour him was Ashur’s king;

and the last to break his bones

is this N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel.”

18 ThereforeAdonai-Tzva’ot,

the God of Isra’el, says:

“I will punish the king of Bavel and his land

as I punished the king of Ashur.

19 I will bring Isra’el back to his pasture,

to graze on the Karmel and the Bashan,

on the hills of Efrayim and in Gil‘ad

until he has his fill.

20 In those days, at that time,” saysAdonai,

“Isra’el’s guilt will be sought,

but there will be none,

and Y’hudah’s sins,

but they won’t be found;

for I will pardon the remnant I leave.

21 “Attack the land of Meratayim;

attack it and those living in P’kod.

Waste them, utterly destroy them;

do all I have ordered you,” saysAdonai.

22 “The sound of battle is heard in the land,

with great destruction!

23 How the hammer of the whole earth

lies hacked apart and shattered!

What an object of horror among the nations

Bavel has become!

24 I set a trap and caught you,

Bavel, before you knew it.

You were discovered and seized,

because you challengedAdonai.

25 Adonaihas opened his store of arms

and brought out the weapons of his wrath;

forAdonaiElohei-Tzva’othas work

to do in the land of the Kasdim.

26 Attack her from every direction!

Open her stores of grain!

Pile her up like heaps of grain;

destroy her completely; leave nothing!

27 Kill all her bulls!

let them go down to be slaughtered!

Woe to them! for their day has come,

the time for them to be punished.”

28 Hear the sound of the fugitives,

of those escaping from Bavel,

coming to proclaim in Tziyon

the vengeance ofAdonaiour God,

vengeance over his temple.

29 “Call up archers against Bavel,

all whose bows are strung.

Besiege her from every side,

let no one escape.

Repay her for her deeds;

as she has done, do to her.

For she insultedAdonai,

the Holy One of Isra’el.

30 This is why her young men will fall

in her open places,

why all her warriors will be silenced

on that day,” saysAdonai.

31 “I am against you, arrogant [nation],”

saysAdonaiElohei-Tzva’ot.

“For your day has come,

the time for you to be punished.

32 The arrogant [nation] will stumble and fall,

and no one will lift him up again.

I will set his cities on fire,

and it will devour everything around him.”

33 Thus saysAdonai-Tzva’ot:

“The people of Isra’el are oppressed,

and so are the people of Y’hudah.

Those who took them captive hold them fast;

they refuse to let them go.

34 But their redeemer is strong;

Adonai-Tzva’otis his name.

He will thoroughly plead their cause,

so that he can give rest to the land

but unrest to those who live in Bavel.

35 Adonaisays,

“A sword hangs over the Kasdim,

and over those who live in Bavel,

over her leaders and over her sages.

36 A sword hangs over the lying diviners;

they will become fools.

A sword hangs over her warriors;

they will be disgraced.

37 A sword hangs over their horses,

also over their chariots,

also over the foreigners within her;

they will become like women.

A sword hangs over her treasures;

they will be robbed.

38 A drought hangs over her waters;

they will be dried up.

For this is a land of idols;

they go mad over these horrors of theirs.

39 “Therefore wildcats and jackals will live there,

and ostriches will settle there.

It will never again be peopled,

it will be uninhabited age after age;

40 as when God overthrew S’dom,

‘Amora and their neighboring towns,” saysAdonai.

“No one will settle there any more,

no human being will live there again.

41 “Look! A people is coming from the north;

a great nation and many kings

are being stirred up from the ends of the earth.

42 They are armed with bow and spear;

they are cruel, without compassion;

their sound is like the roaring sea,

as they ride forth on horses.

Their men take their battle positions

against you, daughter of Bavel.

43 The king of Bavel has heard news of them;

his hands droop, helpless.

Anguish seizes hold of him

and pain, like a woman in labor.

44 “It will be like a lion coming up from the thickets

of the Yarden against a strong settlement;

in an instant I will chase him away

and appoint over it whomever I choose.

For who is like me? Who can call me to account?

What shepherd can stand up to me?”

45 So hear the plan ofAdonai

that he has devised against Bavel,

and his goals that he will accomplish

against the land of the Kasdim:

the least of the flock will drag them away;

their own pasture will be in shock at them.

46 At the sound of Bavel’s capture the earth quakes;

their cry is heard throughout the nations.

1 Adonaisays this:

“Against Bavel and those living in Lev-Kamai

I will stir up a destructive wind.

2 Against Bavel I will send foreigners

to winnow her and leave her land empty.

They will besiege her from every side

on the day of disaster.

3 Let the archer draw his bow,

let him flaunt his coat of mail;

do not spare her young men,

completely destroy her whole army.

4 In the land of the Kasdim the slain will fall,

those thrust through [by the sword] in her streets.

5 Isra’el and Y’hudah are not left widowed

of their God,Adonai-Tzva’ot;

but the land of [the Kasdim] is full of guilt

before the Holy One of Isra’el.”

6 Flee from Bavel, let each one save his life!

Don’t perish because of her guilt.

For the time has come for the vengeance ofAdonai;

he will repay her what she deserves.

7 Bavel was a gold cup in the hands ofAdonai;

it made the whole earth drunk —

the nations drank her wine;

this is why the nations have lost their senses.

8 Bavel has suddenly fallen.

She is broken; wail for her.

Bring healing ointment for her wounds;

perhaps she can be healed.

9 “We tried to heal Bavel,

but she cannot be healed.

So leave her alone, and each of us

will return to his own country.”

For the judgment against her rises to the skies

and reaches even the clouds.

10 Adonaihas brought forth our victory.

Come, let us proclaim in Tziyon

the work ofAdonaiour God!

11 Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers!

Adonairoused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,

because he plans to destroy Bavel.

This is the vengeance ofAdonai

vengeance over his temple.

12 Raise a standard against the walls of Bavel!

Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries!

Prepare ambushes! ForAdonai

has both planned and accomplished

what he promised to do to those living in Bavel.

13 You who live near plenty of water,

so rich in treasure — your end has come,

your time for being cut off!

14 Adonai-Tzva’othas sworn by himself,

“I will fill you with men as numerous as grasshoppers;

they will raise over you a shout of triumph.”

15 He made the earth by his power,

established the world by his wisdom

spread out the sky by his understanding.

16 When he thunders, the waters in heaven roar,

he raises clouds from the ends of the earth,

he makes the lightning flash in the rain

and brings the wind out from his storehouses.

17 At this, everyone is proved stupid, ignorant,

every goldsmith put to shame by his idol!

The figures he casts are a fraud,

there is no breath in them,

18 they are nothings, ridiculous objects;

when the day for their punishment comes, they will perish.

19 Ya‘akov’s portion is not like these,

for he is the one who formed all things,

including the tribe he claims as his heritage.

Adonai-Tzva’otis his name.

20 “[Bavel] you are my war club and weapons of war —

with you I shatter nations;

with you I destroy kingdoms;

21 with you I shatter horses and their riders;

with you I shatter chariots and their drivers;

22 with you I shatter husbands and wives;

with you I shatter old and young;

with you I shatter young men and virgins;

23 with you I shatter shepherds and their flocks;

with you I shatter farmers and their teams;

with you I shatter governors and deputies.

24 “But I will repay Bavel and all living

in the land of the Kasdim for all the evil

they did in Tziyon,” saysAdonai,

“before your eyes [, Y’hudah].”

25 “I am against you, destructive mountain,

destroying all the earth,” saysAdonai.

“I will stretch out my hand against you,

to send you tumbling down from the crags

and make you a burned-out mountain.

26 No one will make cornerstones

or foundation-stones from you again;

but you will be desolate

forever,” saysAdonai.

27 Raise up a banner in the land,

blow theshofaramong the nations.

Prepare the nations for war against her.

Summon kingdoms against her —

Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.

Appoint an officer against her;

bring up horses like bristling grasshoppers.

28 Prepare the nations against her,

the kings of the Medes, his governors and deputies,

and all the land he controls.

29 The earth quakes and writhes,

asAdonai’s designs against Bavel are fulfilled,

to make the land of Bavel a ruin,

with no one living there.

30 Bavel’s warriors have given up fighting;

they remain in their fortresses;

their courage has failed; they are now like women.

Her homes are on fire, her gate-bars broken.

31 One runner runs to meet another,

messenger to meet messenger,

to report to the king of Bavel

that every part of his city is taken,

32 the fords have been occupied,

and the swamp thickets set on fire,

while the warriors are seized with panic.

33 For here is whatAdonai-Tzva’ot,

the God of Isra’el, says:

“The daughter of Bavel is like

a threshing-floor at treading-time.

Just a little while longer,

and the time for harvesting her will come.”

34 N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel

has devoured me, crushed me.

He left me like an empty pot.

Like a monster, he swallowed me whole.

With my delicacies he stuffed his belly;

then he rinsed me out.

35 But one who lives in Tziyon will say,

“May my torn flesh be avenged on Bavel”;

and Yerushalayim will say,

“May my blood be avenged on the Kasdim.”

36 Therefore here is whatAdonaisays:

“I will plead your cause.

I will take vengeance for you.

I will dry up her river

and make her water sources dry.

37 Bavel will become a heap of ruins,

a place for jackals to live,

an object of horror and hissing,

with no one living there.

38 Together they roar like young lions,

growl like lion cubs.

39 When they are hot with desire,

I will prepare them a drink.

I will make them so drunk

they will have convulsions,

sleep forever and never wake up,”

saysAdonai.

40 “I will drag them down like lambs to be slaughtered,

like rams and male goats.”

41 Sheshakh has been captured,

the pride of the whole earth seized!

Bavel has become an object of horror

throughout the nations!

42 The sea has flooded Bavel,

overwhelmed her with its raging waves.

43 Her cities have become desolate —

parched, arid land,

a land where no one lives;

nobody even passes through.

44 “I will punish Bel in Bavel

and make him disgorge what he swallowed.

The nations will no longer flow to him.

Bavel’s wall will fall.

45 Get out of her, my people!

Each one, save yourself

fromAdonai’s furious anger!

46 Don’t be fainthearted, don’t be afraid

of the rumors spreading abroad in the land.

One year one rumor comes,

the next year another one,

rumors of violence in the land

and rulers fighting rulers.

47 Therefore, listen! The days are coming

when I will pass judgment on Bavel’s idols.

Her whole land will be put to shame,

as all her slain fall on home soil.

48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them

will sing for joy over Bavel;

for the plunderers from the north

are coming to her,” saysAdonai.

49 Just as Bavel caused

the slain of Isra’el to fall,

so at Bavel will fall

the slain of all the land.

50 You who escaped the sword,

go! Don’t stand still!

RememberAdonaifrom afar,

let Yerushalayim come into your minds.

51 “The reproaches we have heard have put us to shame,

disgrace covers our faces;

because foreigners have entered

the sanctuaries ofAdonai’s house.”

52 “Therefore,” saysAdonai, “the days are coming

when I will pass judgment on her idols,

and the wounded will groan throughout her land.

53 Even if Bavel scales the heavens

or reinforces her lofty stronghold,

plunderers will come to her

from me,” saysAdonai.

54 An agonized cry is heard from Bavel!

Great destruction in the land of the Kasdim!

55 ForAdonaiis plundering Bavel

and silencing her noisy din —

their waves roar like the raging ocean,

their clamor sounds and resounds.

56 Yes, the plunderer has fallen upon her,

fallen on Bavel.

Her warriors are captured, their bows are broken.

ForAdonaiis a God of retribution;

he will surely repay.

57 “I will intoxicate her leaders and sages,

her governors, deputies and warriors.

They will sleep forever and never wake up,”

says the king, whose name isAdonai-Tzva’ot.

58 Thus saysAdonai-Tzva’ot:

“The wide walls of Bavel will be razed to the ground,

her lofty gates will be set on fire.

The peoples are toiling for nothing,

the nation’s labor goes up in flames,

and everyone is exhausted.”

59 This is the order which Yirmeyahu the prophet gave to S’rayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went to Bavel with Tzidkiyahu the king of Y’hudah in the fourth year of his reign. S’rayah was quartermaster.

60 Yirmeyahu had written on a separate scroll all the above words describing the disaster that was to befall Bavel.

61 Yirmeyahu said to S’rayah, “See to it that when you arrive in Bavel you read all these words aloud. Then say,

62 ‘Adonai, you have promised to destroy this place, that no one will live here, neither human nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.’

63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock to it, throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,

64 and say, ‘Like this, Bavel will sink, never to rise again, because of the disaster I am bringing on her; and they will grow weary.’”

(Up to here, these have been the words of Yirmeyahu.)

1 Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu, from Livnah.

2 He did what was evil fromAdonai’s perspective, following the example of everything Y’hoyakim had done.

3 And it was because ofAdonai’s anger that all these things happened to Yerushalayim and Y’hudah, until he had thrown them out of his presence.

Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Bavel;

4 so in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel marched against Yerushalayim with his entire army. He set up camp against it and built siege towers against it on every side.

5 The city remained under siege into the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu.

6 On the ninth day of the fourth month, when the famine in the city was so severe that there was no food for the people of the land,

7 they broke through into the city. All the soldiers fled and left the city by night through the gate between the two walls, near the king’s garden. Because the Kasdim were surrounding the city, they took the route through the ‘Aravah.

8 But the army of the Kasdim went in pursuit of the king and overtook Tzidkiyahu on the plains near Yericho; all his troops deserted him.

9 Then they took the king and brought him up to the king of Bavel in Rivlah, in the land of Hamat, where he passed judgment on him.

10 The king of Bavel slaughtered his sons before his eyes; he also slaughtered all the leading men of Y’hudah in Rivlah.

11 Then the king of Bavel put out Tzidkiyahu’s eyes, bound him in chains, carried him off to Bavel and kept him in prison until the day of his death.

12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was also the nineteenth year of King N’vukhadretzar, king of Bavel, N’vuzar’adan, the commander of the guard and a close associate of the king of Bavel, entered Yerushalayim.

13 He burned down the house ofAdonai, the royal palace and all the houses in Yerushalayim — every notable person’s house he burned to the ground.

14 The whole army of the Kasdim, who were with the commander of the guard, broke down all the walls of Yerushalayim on every side.

15 N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard then deported some of the poor people, the remaining population of the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Bavel and the rest of the common people.

16 But N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard left behind some of the poor people of the land to be vineyard-workers and farmers.

17 The Kasdim smashed the bronze columns of the house ofAdonai, also the trolleys and bronze Sea that were in the house ofAdonai, and carried their bronze to Bavel.

18 They also took away the pots, shovels, snuffers, basins, pans, and all the bronze articles they had used in worship.

19 The commander of the guard took the cups, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots,menorahs, pans and bowls — everything made of gold and everything made of silver.

20 The bronze in the two columns, the one Sea, and the twelve bronze bulls under the bases, all of which Shlomo had made for the house ofAdonai, was more than could be weighed.

21 As for the columns, the height of one column was thirty-one-and-a-half feet; it took a twenty-one-foot measuring line to go around it; and its thickness was four fingers — it was hollow.

22 On it was a capital of brass eight-and-three quarters feet high, with netting and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze; the second column was similar, also with pomegranates.

23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the outside; while the total number of pomegranates in the netting was one hundred.

24 The commander of the guard took [prisoner] S’rayah the chiefcohen, Tz’fanyah the second-rankingcohen, and three doorkeepers.

25 From the city he took an official in charge of the soldiers, seven close associates of the king who had been found in the city, the army commander’s secretary in charge of military conscription, and sixty of the common people found inside the city.

26 N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Bavel in Rivlah.

27 There in Rivlah, in the land of Hamat, the king of Bavel had them put to death. Thus Y’hudah was carried away captive out of his land.

28 The numbers of people deported by N’vukhadretzar were as follows: in the seventh year, 3,023 persons from Y’hudah;

29 in the eighteenth year of N’vukhadretzar, 832 persons from Yerushalayim;

30 and in the twenty-third year of N’vukhadretzar, N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard deported 745 persons from Y’hudah; the total comes to 4,600 persons.

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Y’hoyakhin king of Y’hudah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Eveel-M’rodakh began his reign as king of Bavel; and in his first year, he commuted the sentence of Y’hoyakhin king of Y’hudah and released him from prison.

32 He treated him with kindness and gave him a throne higher than those of the other kings there with him in Bavel.

33 So Y’hoyakhin no longer had to wear prison clothes; moreover, he was provided with food as long as he lived,

34 and he was granted a daily allowance by the king of Bavel to spend on his other needs for as long as he lived, until the day of his death.