The Jews, contrary to the orders of God by the prophet, go into Egypt, carrying Jeremias with them. He foretells the devastation of that land by the king of Babylon.
43:1. And it came to pass, that when Jeremias had made an end of speaking to the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words:
43:2. Azarias the son of Osaias, and Johanan the son of Caree, and all the proud men, made answer, saying to Jeremias: Thou tellest a lie: the Lord our God hath not sent thee, saying: Go not into Egypt, to dwell there.
43:3. But Baruch the son of Nerias setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to cause us to be carried away captives to Babylon.
43:4. So Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the soldiers, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Juda.
43:5. But Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the soldiers took all the remnant of Juda, that were returned out of all nations, to which they had before been scattered, to dwell in the land of Juda:
43:6. Men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every soul, which Nabuzardan the general had left with Godolias the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerias.
43:7. And they went into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: and they came as far as Taphnis.
43:8. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in Taphnis, saying:
43:9. Take great stones in thy hand, and thou shalt hide them in the vault that is under the brick wall at the gate of Pharao's house in Taphnis: in the sight of the men of Juda.
43:10. And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will send, and take Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant: and I will set his throne over these stones which I have hid, and he shall set his throne over them.
43:11. And he shall come and strike 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.
43:12. And he shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and he shall carry them away captives: 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.
43:13. And he shall break the statues of the house of the sun, that are in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.
Jeremias Chapter 44
The prophet's admonition to the Jews in Egypt against idolatry is not regarded: he denounces to them their destruction.
44:1. The word that came to Jeremias, concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, dwelling in Magdal, and in Taphnis, and in Memphis, and in the land of Phatures, saying:
44:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: You have seen all this evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Juda: and behold they are desolate this day, and there is not an inhabitant in them:
44:3. Because of the wickedness which they have committed, to provoke me to wrath, and to go and offer sacrifice, and worship other gods, which neither they, nor you, nor your fathers knew.
44:4. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early, and sending, and saying: Do not commit this abominable thing, which I hate.
44:5. But they heard not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their evil ways, and not to sacrifice to strange gods.
44:6. Wherefore my indignation and my fury was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and they are turned to desolation and waste, as at this day.
44:7. And now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against your own souls, that there should die of you man and woman, child and suckling out of the midst of Juda, and no remnant should be left you:
44:8. In that you provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, by sacrificing to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which you are come to dwell there: and that you should perish, and be a curse, and a reproach to all the nations of the earth?
44:9. Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, and the evils of the kings of Juda, and the evils of their wives, and your evils, and the evils of your wives, that they have done in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
44:10. They are not cleansed even to this day: neither have they feared, nor walked in the law of the Lord, nor in my commandments, which I set before you and your fathers.
44:11. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will set my face upon you for evil: and I will destroy all Juda.
44:12. And I will take the remnant of Juda that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt, and to dwell there; and they shall be all consumed in the land of Egypt: they shall fall by the sword, and by the famine: and they shall be consumed from the least even to the greatest, by the sword, and by the famine shall they die: and they shall be for an execration, and for a wonder, and for a curse, and for a reproach.
44:13. And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem by the sword, and by famine and by pestilence.
44:14. And there shall be none that shall escape, and remain of the remnant of the Jews that are gone to sojourn in the land of Egypt: and that shall return into the land of Juda, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: there shall none return but they that shall flee.
44:15. Then all the men that knew that their wives sacrificed to other gods: and all the women of whom there stood by a great multitude, and all the people of them that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Phatures, answered Jeremias, saying:
44:16. As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee:
44:17. But we will certainly do every word that shall proceed out of our own mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, our kings, and our princes in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and we were filled with bread, and it was well with us, and we saw no evil.
The queen of heaven... The moon, which they worshipped under this name.
44:18. But since we left off to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out frank offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, and by famine.
44:19. And if we offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings to her: did we make cakes to worship her, to pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?
44:20. And Jeremias spoke to all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying:
44:21. Was it not the sacrifice that you offered in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, which the Lord hath remembered, and hath it not entered into his heart?
44:22. So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed: therefore your land is become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
44:23. Because you have sacrificed to idols, and have sinned against the Lord: and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his law, and in his commandments, and in his testimonies: therefore are these evils come upon you, as at this day.
44:24. And Jeremias said to all the people and to all the women: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt:
44:25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, saying: You and your wives have spoken with your mouth, and fulfilled with your hands, saying: Let us perform our vows which we have made, to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her: you have fulfilled your vows, and have performed them indeed.
44:26. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord: that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Juda, in the land of Egypt, saying: The Lord God liveth.
44:27. Behold I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Juda that are in the land of Egypt, shall be consumed, by the sword, and by famine, till there be an end of them.
44:28. And a few men that shall flee from the sword, shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Juda: and all the remnant of Juda that are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.
44:29. And this shall be a sign to you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place: that you may know that my words shall be accomplished indeed against you for evil.
44:30. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will deliver Pharao Nechao king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life: as I delivered Sedecias king of Juda into the land of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon his enemy, and that sought his life.
Jeremias Chapter 45
The prophet comforts Baruch in his affliction.
45:1. The word that Jeremias the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Nerias, when he had written these words in a book, out of the mouth of Jeremias, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, saying:
45:2. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to thee, Baruch:
45:3. Thou hast said: Woe is me, wretch that I am, for the Lord hath added sorrow to my sorrow: I am wearied with my groans, and I find no rest.
45:4. Thus saith the Lord: Thus shalt thou say to him: Behold, them whom I have built, I do destroy: and them whom I have planted, I do pluck up, and all this land.
45:5. And dost thou seek great things for thyself? Seek not: for behold I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord! but I will give thee thy life, and save thee in all places whithersoever thou shalt go.
Jeremias Chapter 46
A prophecy against Egypt. The Jews shall return from captivity.
46:1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against the Gentiles,
46:2. Against Egypt, against the army of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Charcamis, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon defeated, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda.
46:3. Prepare ye the shield and buckler, and go forth to battle.
46:4. Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen: stand forth with helmets, furbish the spears, put on coats of mail.
46:5. What then? I have seen them dismayed, and turning their backs, their valiant ones slain: they fled apace, and they looked not back: terror was round about, saith the Lord.
46:6. Let not the swift flee away, nor the strong think to escape: they are overthrown, and fallen down, towards the north by the river Euphrates.
46:7. Who is this that cometh up as a flood: and his streams swell like those of rivers?
46:8. Egypt riseth up like a flood, and the waves thereof shall be moved as rivers, and he shall say: I will go up and will cover the earth: I will destroy the city, and its inhabitants.
46:9. Get ye up on horses, and glory in chariots, and let the valiant men come forth, the Ethiopians, and the Libyans that hold the shield, and the Lydians that take, and shoot arrows.
46:10. For this is the day of the Lord the God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may revenge himself of his enemies: the sword shall devour, and shall be filled, and shall be drunk with their blood: for there is a sacrifice of the Lord God of hosts in the north country, by the river Euphrates.
46:11. Go up into Galaad, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain dost thou multiply medicines, there shall be no cure for thee.
46:12. The nations have heard of thy disgrace, and thy howling hath filled the land: for the strong hath stumbled against the strong, and both are fallen together.
46:13. The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremias the prophet, how Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt:
46:14. Declare ye to Egypt, and publish it in Magdal, and let it be known in Memphis, and in Taphnis: say ye: Stand up, and prepare thyself: for the sword shall devour all round about thee.
46:15. Why are thy valiant men come to nothing? they stood not: because the Lord hath overthrown them.
46:16. He hath multiplied them that fall, and one hath fallen upon another, and they shall say: Arise, and let us return to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the sword of the dove.
The dove... See the annotation on chap. 25., ver. 38.
46:17. Call ye the name of Pharao king of Egypt, a tumult time hath brought.
46:18. As I live, saith the King, (whose name is the Lord of hosts,) as Thabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
46:19. Furnish thyself to go into captivity, thou daughter inhabitant of Egypt: for Memphis shall be made desolate, and shall be forsaken and uninhabited.
46:20. Egypt is like a fair and beautiful heifer: there shall come from the north one that shall goad her.
46:21. Her hirelings also that lived in the midst of her, like fatted calves are turned back, and are fled away together, and they could not stand, for the day of their slaughter is come upon them, the time of their visitation.
46:22. Her voice shall sound like brass, for they shall hasten with an army, and with axes they shall come against her, as hewers of wood.
46:23. They have cut down her forest, saith the Lord, which cannot be counted: they are multiplied above locusts, and are without number.
46:24. The daughter of Egypt is confounded, and delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
46:25. The Lord of hosts the God of Israel hath said: Behold I will visit upon the tumult of Alexandria, and upon Pharao, and upon Egypt, and upon her gods, and upon her kings, and upon Pharao, and upon them that trust in him.
Visit upon... That is, punish.-Ibid. Alexandria... In the Hebrew, No, which was the ancient name of the city, to which Alexander gave afterwards the name of Alexandria.
46:26. And I will deliver them into the hand of them that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.
46:27. And thou my servant Jacob, fear not and be not thou dismayed, O Israel: for behold I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed out of the land of thy captivity: and Jacob shall return and be at rest, and prosper: and there shall be none to terrify him.
46:28. And thou, my servant Jacob, fear not, saith the Lord: because I am with thee, for I will consume all the nations to which I have cast thee out: but thee I will not consume, but I will correct thee in judgment, neither will I spare thee as if thou wert innocent.
Jeremias Chapter 47
A prophecy of the desolation of the Philistines, of Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, and Ascalon.
47:1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against the people of Palestine, before Pharao took Gaza.
47:2. Thus saith the Lord: Behold there come up waters out of the north, and they shall be as an overflowing torrent, and they shall cover the land, and all that is therein, the city and the inhabitants thereof: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl,
47:3. At the noise of the marching of arms, and of his soldiers, at the rushing of his chariots, and the multitude of his wheels. The fathers have not looked back to the children, for feebleness of hands,
47:4. Because of the coming of the day, in which all the Philistines shall be laid waste, and Tyre and Sidon shall be destroyed, with all the rest of their helpers. For the Lord hath wasted the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Cappadocia.
47:5. Baldness is come upon Gaza: Ascalon hath held her peace with the remnant of their valley: how long shalt thou cut thyself?
47:6. O thou sword of the Lord, how long wilt thou not be quiet? Go into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
47:7. How shall it be quiet, when the Lord hath given it a charge against Ascalon, and against the countries thereof by the sea side, and there hath made an appointment for it?
Jeremias Chapter 48
A prophecy of the desolation of Moab for their pride: but their captivity shall at last be released.
48:1. Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste, and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath trembled.
48:2. There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.
48:3. A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.
48:4. Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry for her little ones.
48:5. For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.
48:6. Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.
48:7. For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.
Chamos... The idol of the Moabites.
48:8. And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: and the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed, for the Lord hath spoken:
48:9. Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be desolate, and uninhabited.
48:10. Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
Deceitfully... In the Greek, negligently. The work of God here spoken of, is the punishment of the Moabites.
48:11. Moab hath been fruitful from his youth, and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity: therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
Moab hath been fruitful... That is, rich and flourishing. And hath rested upon his lees... That is, remained in its bad morals; as wine not decanted has its lees mixed and remains muddy.
48:12. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles, and they shall cast him down, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.
48:13. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.
Of Bethel... That is, of their golden calf which they worshipped in Bethel.
48:14. How do you say: We are valiant and stout men in battle?
48:15. Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities: and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
48:16. The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.
48:17. Comfort him, all you that are round about him, and all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
48:18. Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
48:19. Stand in the way, and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth: and say to him that hath escaped: What is done?
48:20. Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown: howl ye, and cry, tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is wasted.
48:21. And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon, and upon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.
48:22. And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,
48:23. And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,
48:24. And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra: and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
48:25. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.
The horn of Moab is cut off... That is, the strength of Moab is cut off. A metaphor drawn from animals whose strength is in their horns.
48:26. Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
48:27. For Israel hath been a derision unto them: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.
48:28. Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.
48:29. We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the loftiness of his heart.
48:30. I know, saith the Lord, his boasting, and that the strength thereof is not according to it, neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.
48:31. Therefore will I lament for Moab, and I will cry out to all Moab, for the men of the brick wall that mourn.
48:32. O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee, with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy vintage.
48:33. Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.
48:34. From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale, and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old: the waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.
48:35. And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and that sacrificeth to his gods.
48:36. Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall: because he hath done more than he could, therefore they have perished.
48:37. For every head shall be bald, and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together, and upon every back there shall be haircloth.
48:38. Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.
48:39. How is it overthrown, and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck, and is confounded! And Moab shall be a derision, and an example to all round about him.
48:40. Thus saith the Lord: Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall stretch forth his wings to Moab.
48:41. Carioth is taken, and the strongholds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
48:42. And Moab shall cease to be a people: because he hath gloried against the Lord.
48:43. Fear, and the pit, and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.
Fear... That is, the sword of the enemy. The pit... That is, unforeseen calamities. The snare... That is, the ambushes laid by the enemy.
48:44. He that shall flee from the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
48:45. They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Hesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seon, and it shall devour part of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of tumult.
48:46. Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast persisted, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.
48:47. And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.
Jeremias Chapter 49
The like desolation of Ammon, of Idumea, of the Syrians, of the Agarenes, and of the Elamites.
49:1. Against the children of Ammon. Thus saith the Lord: Hath Israel no sons? or hath he no heir? Why then hath Melchom inherited Gad: and his people dwelt in his cities?
Melchom... The idol of the Ammonites.
49:2. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will cause the noise of war to be heard in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and it shall be destroyed into a heap, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire, and Israel shall possess them that have possessed him, saith the Lord.
49:3. Howl, O Hesebon, for Hai is wasted. Cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with haircloth: mourn and go about by the hedges: for Melchom shall be carried into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.
49:4. Why gloriest thou in the valleys? thy valley hath flowed away, O delicate daughter, that hast trusted in thy treasures, and hast said: Who shall come to me?
49:5. Behold I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all that are round about thee: and you shall be scattered every one out of one another's sight, neither shall there be any to gather together them that flee.
49:6. And afterwards I will cause the captives of the children of Ammon to return, saith the Lord.
49:7. Against Edom. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Theman? counsel is perished from her children: their wisdom is become unprofitable.
49:8. Flee and turn your backs, go down into the deep hole, ye inhabitants of Dedan: for I have brought the destruction of Esau upon him, the time of his visitation.
49:9. If grapegatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a bunch? if thieves in the night, they would have taken what was enough for them.
49:10. But I have made Esau bare, I have revealed his secrets, and he cannot be hid: his seed is laid waste, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he shall not be.
49:11. Leave thy fatherless children: I will make them live: and thy widows shall hope in me.
49:12. For thus saith the Lord: Behold they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup, shall certainly drink: and shalt thou come off as innocent? thou shalt not come off as innocent, but drinking thou shalt drink.
49:13. For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bosra shall become a desolation, and a reproach, and a desert, and a curse: and all her cities shall be everlasting wastes.
49:14. I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent to the nations: Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and let us rise up to battle.
49:15. For behold I have made thee a little one among the nations, despicable among men.
49:16. Thy arrogancy hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart: O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, and endeavourest to lay hold on the height of the hill: but though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as an eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.
49:17. And Edom shall be desolate: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.
49:18. As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha, and the neighbours thereof, saith the Lord: there shall not a man dwell there, and there shall no son of man inhabit it.
49:19. Behold one shall come up as a lion from the swelling of the Jordan, against the strong and beautiful: for I will make him run suddenly upon her: and who shall be the chosen one whom I may appoint over her? for who is like to me? and who shall abide me? and who is that shepherd that can withstand my countenance?
49:20. Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he hath taken concerning Edom: and his thoughts which he hath thought concerning the inhabitants of Theman: surely the little ones of the flock shall cast them down, of a truth they shall destroy them with their habitation.
49:21. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall: the cry of their voice is heard in the Red Sea.
49:22. Behold he shall come up as an eagle, and fly: and he shall spread his wings over Bosra: and in that day the heart of the valiant ones of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.
49:23. Against Damascus. Emath is confounded and Arphad: for they have heard very bad tidings, they are troubled as in the sea: through care they could not rest.
49:24. Damascus is undone, she is put to flight, trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in labour.
49:25. How have they forsaken the city of renown, the city of joy!
49:26. Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets: and all the men of war shall be silent in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.
49:27. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the strong holds of Benadad.
49:28. Against Cedar and against the kingdoms of Asor, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon destroyed. Thus saith the Lord: Arise, and go ye up to Cedar, and waste the children of the east.
Cedar and Asor... Were parts of Arabia; which with Moab, Ammon, Edom, etc., were all brought under the yoke of Nabuchodonosor.
49:29. They shall take their tents, and their flocks: and shall carry off for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels: and they shall call fear upon them round about.
49:30. Flee ye, get away speedily, sit in deep holes, you that inhabit Asor, saith the Lord: for Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived designs against you.
49:31. Arise, and go up to a nation that is at ease, and that dwelleth securely, saith the Lord: they have neither gates, nor bars: they dwell alone.
49:32. And their camels shall be for a spoil and the multitude of their cattle for a booty, and I will scatter into every wind them that have their hair cut round, and I will bring destruction upon them from all their confines, saith the Lord.
49:33. And Asor shall be a habitation for dragons, desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, nor son of man inhabit it.
49:34. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Sedecias king of Juda, saying:
Elam... A part of Persia.
49:35. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will break the bow of Elam, and their chief strength.
49:36. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven: and I will scatter them into all these winds: and there shall be no nation, to which the fugitives of Elam shall not come.
49:37. And I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and in the sight of them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce wrath, saith the Lord: and I will send the sword after them, till I consume them.
49:38. And I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy kings and princes from thence, saith the Lord.
49:39. But in the latter days I will cause the captives of Elam, to return, saith the Lord.
Jeremias Chapter 50
Babylon, which hath afflicted the Israelites, after their restoration, shall be utterly destroyed.
50:1. The word that the Lord hath spoken against Babylon, and against the land of the Chaldeans in the hand of Jeremias the prophet.
50:2. Declare ye among the nations, and publish it, lift up a standard: proclaim, and conceal it not: say: Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is overthrown, their graven things are confounded, their idols are overthrown.
Bel, etc... Bel and Merodach were worshipped for gods by the men of Babylon.
50:3. For a nation is come up against her out of the north, which shall make her land desolate: and there shall be none to dwell therein, from man even to beast: yea they are removed, and gone away.
A nation, etc... Viz., the Medes.
50:4. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Juda together: going and weeping they shall make haste, and shall seek the Lord their God.
50:5. They shall ask the way to Sion, their faces are hitherward. They shall come, and shall be joined to the Lord by an everlasting covenant, which shall never be forgotten.
50:6. My people have been a lost flock, their shepherds have caused them to go astray, and have made them wander in the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.
50:7. All that found them, have devoured them: and their enemies said: We have not sinned in so doing: because they have sinned against the Lord the beauty of justice, and against the Lord the hope of their fathers.
50:8. Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans: and be ye as kids at the head of the flock.
50:9. For behold I raise up, and will bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north: and they shall be prepared against her, and from thence she shall be taken: their arrows, like those of a mighty man, a destroyer, shall not return in vain.
50:10. And Chaldea shall be made a prey: all that waste her shall be filled, saith the Lord.
50:11. Because you rejoice, and speak great things, pillaging my inheritance: because you are spread abroad as calves upon the grass, and have bellowed as bulls.
50:12. Your mother is confounded exceedingly, and she that bore you is made even with the dust: behold she shall be the last among the nations, a wilderness unpassable, and dry.
50:13. Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but shall be wholly desolate: every one that shall pass by Babylon, shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all her plagues.
50:14. Prepare yourselves against Babylon round about, all you that bend the bow: fight against her, spare not arrows: because she hath sinned against the Lord.
50:15. Shout against her, she hath every where given her hand, her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down, for it is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance upon her: as she hath done, so do to her.
50:16. Destroy the sower out of Babylon, and him that holdeth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the sword of the dove every man shall return to his people, and every one shall flee to his own land.
The dove... Or the destroyer; for the Hebrew word signifies either the one or the other.
50:17. Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him: and last this Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
50:18. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, as I have visited the king of Assyria.
50:19. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation: and he shall feed on Carmel, and Bason, and his soul shall be satisfied in mount Ephraim, and Galaad.
50:20. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none: and the sin of Juda, and there shall none be found: for I will be merciful to them, whom I shall leave.
50:21. Go up against the land of the rulers, and punish the inhabitants thereof, waste, and destroy all behind them, saith the Lord: and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
50:22. A noise of war in the land, and a great destruction.
50:23. How is the hammer of the whole earth broken, and destroyed! how is Babylon turned into a desert among the nations!
50:24. I have caused thee to fall into a snare, and thou art taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware of it: thou art found and caught, because thou hast provoked the Lord.
50:25. The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his wrath: for the Lord the God of hosts hath a work to be done in the land of the Chaldeans.
50:26. Come ye against her from the uttermost borders: open that they may go forth that shall tread her down: take the stones out of the way, and make heaps, and destroy her: and let nothing of her be left.
50:27. Destroy all her valiant men, let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them, for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
50:28. The voice of them that flee, and of them that have escaped out of the land of Babylon: to declare in Sion the revenge of the Lord our God, the revenge of his temple.
50:29. Declare to many against Babylon, to all that bend the bow: stand together against her round about, and let none escape; pay her according to her work: according to all that she hath done, do ye to her: for she hath lifted up herself against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
50:30. Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets: and all her men of war shall hold their peace in that day, saith the Lord.
50:31. Behold I come against thee, O proud one, saith the Lord the God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time of thy visitation.
50:32. And the proud one shall fall, he shall fall down, and there shall be none to lift him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
50:33. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The children of Israel, and the children of Juda are oppressed together: all that have taken them captives, hold them fast, they will not let them go.
50:34. Their redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his name: he will defend their cause in judgment, to terrify the land, and to disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
50:35. A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
50:36. A sword upon her diviners, and they shall be foolish: a sword upon her valiant ones, and they shall be dismayed.
50:37. A sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the people that are in the midst of her: and they shall become as women: a sword upon her treasures, and they shall be made a spoil.
50:38. A drought upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: because it is a land of idols, and they glory in monstrous things.
50:39. Therefore shall dragons dwell there with the fig fauns: and ostriches shall dwell therein, and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, neither shall it be built up from generation to generation.
Fig fauns... Monsters of the desert, or demons in monstrous shapes: such as the ancients called fauns and satyrs; and as they imagined them to live upon wild figs, they called them fauni ficarii or fig fauns.
50:40. As the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, and their neighbour cities, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the son of man inhabit it.
50:41. Behold a people cometh from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall rise from the ends of the earth.
50:42. They shall take the bow and the shield: they are cruel and unmerciful: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses: like a man prepared for battle against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
50:43. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands are grown feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, pangs as a woman in labour.
50:44. Behold he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan to the strong and beautiful: for I will make him run suddenly upon her: and who shall be the chosen one whom I may appoint over her? for who is like to me? and who shall bear up against me? and who is that shepherd that can withstand my countenance?
50:45. Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he hath taken against Babylon: and his thoughts which he hath thought against the land of the Chaldeans: surely the little ones of the flocks shall pull them down, of a truth their habitation shall be destroyed with them.
50:46. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard amongst the nations.
Jeremias Chapter 51
The miseries that shall fall upon Babylon from the Medes: the destruction of her idols.
51:1. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof, who have lifted up their heart against me.
51:2. And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the day of her affliction.
51:3. Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not him go up that is armed with a coat of mail: spare not her young men, destroy all her army.
51:4. And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the regions thereof.
51:5. For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord of hosts: but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
51:6. Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved.
51:7. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore they have staggered.
51:8. Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
51:9. We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed: let us forsake her, and let us go every man to his own land: because her judgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the clouds.
51:10. The Lord hath brought forth our justices: Come, and let us declare in Sion the work of the Lord our God.
51:11. Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: and his mind is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
51:12. Upon the walls of Babylon set up the standard, strengthen the watch: set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
51:13. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy end is come for thy entire destruction.
51:14. The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying: I will fill thee with men as with locusts, and they shall lift up a joyful shout against thee.
51:15. He that made the earth by his power, that hath prepared the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
51:16. When he uttereth his voice the waters are multiplied in heaven: he lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth, he hath turned lightning into rain: and hath brought forth the wind out of his treasures.
51:17. Every man is become foolish by his knowledge: every founder is confounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
51:18. They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
51:19. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he that made all things he it is, and Israel is the sceptre of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
51:20. Thou dashest together for me the weapons of war, and with thee I will dash nations together, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms:
51:21. And with thee I will break in pieces the horse, and his rider, and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot, and him that getteth up into it:
51:22. And with thee I will break in pieces man and woman, and with thee I will break in pieces the old man and the child, and with thee I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin:
51:23. And with thee I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, and with thee I will break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, and with thee I will break in pieces captains and rulers.
51:24. And I will render to Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil, that they have done in Sion, before your eyes, saith the Lord.
51:25. Behold I come against thee, thou destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which corruptest the whole earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
51:26. And they shall not take of thee a stone for the corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for ever, saith the Lord.
51:27. Set ye up a standard in the land: sound with the trumpet among the nations: prepare the nations against her: call together against her the kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez: number Taphsar against her, bring the horse as the stinging locust.
51:28. Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.
51:29. And the land shall be in a commotion, and shall be troubled: for the design of the Lord against Babylon shall awake, to make the land of Babylon desert and uninhabitable.
51:30. The valiant men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have dwelt in holds: their strength hath failed, and they are become as women: her dwelling places are burnt, her bars are broken.
51:31. One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet messenger: to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one end to the other:
51:32. And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
51:33. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a thrashingfloor, this is the time of her thrashing: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
51:34. Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath eaten me up, he hath devoured me: he hath made me as an empty vessel: he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicate meats, and he hath cast me out.
51:35. The wrong done to me, and my flesh be upon Babylon, saith the habitation of Sion: and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, saith Jerusalem.
51:36. Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will judge thy cause, and will take vengeance for thee, and I will make her sea desolate, I and will dry up her spring.
51:37. And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
51:38. They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
51:39. In their heat I will set them drink: and I will make them drunk, that they may slumber, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and awake no more, saith the Lord.
51:40. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with kids.
51:41. How is Sesach taken, and the renowned one of all the earth surprised? How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?
51:42. The sea is come up over Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
51:43. Her cities are become an astonishment, a land uninhabited and desolate, a land wherein none can dwell, nor son of man pass through it.
51:44. And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he had swallowed down: and the nations shall no more flow together to him, for the wall also of Babylon shall fall.
51:45. Go out of the midst of her, my people: that every man may save his life from the fierce wrath of the Lord.
51:46. And lest your hearts faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land: and a rumour shall come in one year, and after this year another rumour: and iniquity in the land, and ruler upon ruler.
51:47. Therefore behold the days come, and I will visit the idols of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
51:48. And the heavens and the earth, and all things that are in them shall give praise for Babylon: for spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the Lord.
51:49. And as Babylon caused that there should fall slain in Israel: so of Babylon there shall fall slain in all the earth.
51:50. You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51:51. We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: because strangers are come upon the sanctuaries of the house of the Lord.
51:52. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit her graven things, and in all her land the wounded shall groan:
51:53. If Babylon should mount up to heaven, and establish her strength on high: from me there should come spoilers upon her, saith the Lord.
51:54. The noise of a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
51:55. Because the Lord hath laid Babylon waste, and destroyed out of her the great voice: and their wave shall roar like many waters: their voice hath made a noise:
51:56. Because the spoiler is come upon her, that is, upon Babylon, and her valiant men are taken, and their bow is weakened, because the Lord, who is a strong revenger, will surely repay.
51:57. And I will make her princes drunk, and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: and they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the king whose name is Lord of hosts.
51:58. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: That broad wall of Babylon shall be utterly broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire, and the labours of the people shall come to nothing, and of the nations shall go to the fire, and shall perish.
51:59. The word that Jeremias the prophet commanded Saraias the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, when he went with king Sedecias to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign: now Saraias was chief over the prophecy.
51:60. And Jeremias wrote in one book all the evil that was to come upon Babylon: all these words that are written against Babylon.
51:61. And Jeremias said to Saraias: When thou shalt come into Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words,
51:62. Thou shalt say: O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to destroy it: so that there should be neither man nor beast to dwell therein, and that it should be desolate for ever.
51:63. And when thou shalt have made an end of reading this book, thou shalt tie a stone to it, and shalt throw it into the midst of the Euphrates:
51:64. And thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and she shall not rise up from the affliction that I will bring upon her, and she shall be utterly destroyed. Thus far are the words of Jeremias.
Jeremias Chapter 52
A recapitulation of the reign of Sedecias, and the destruction of Jerusalem. The number of the captives.
52:1. Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Amital, the daughter of Jeremias of Lobna.
52:2. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Joakim had done.
52:3. For the wrath of the Lord was against Jerusalem, and against Juda, till he cast them out from his presence: and Sedecias revolted from the king of Babylon.
52:4. And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, that Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and they besieged it, and built forts against it round about.
52:5. And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Sedecias.
52:6. And in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a famine overpowered the city: and there was no food for the people of the land.
52:7. And the city was broken up, and the men of war fled, and went out of the city in the night by the way of the gate that is between the two walls, and leadeth to the king's garden, (the Chaldeans besieging the city round about,) and they went by the way that leadeth to the wilderness.
52:8. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king: and they overtook Sedecias in the desert which is near Jericho: and all his companions were scattered from him.
52:9. And when they had taken the king, they carried him to the king of Babylon to Reblatha, which is in the land of Emath: and he gave judgment upon him.
52:10. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Sedecias before his eyes: and he slew all the princes of Juda in Reblatha.
52:11. And he put out the eyes of Sedecias, and bound him with fetters, and the king of Babylon brought him into Babylon, and he put him in prison till the day of his death.
52:12. And in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, the same is the nineteenth year of Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came Nabuzardan the general of the army, who stood before the king of Babylon in Jerusalem.