[30] Behold, I am therefore against the prophets, saith the Lord God, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. [31] Behold, I am against the prophets that put forth prophecies of mere words, and slumber their sleep. [32] Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets that prophesy false dreams, and have not told them truly, and have caused my people to err by their lies, and by their errors; yet I sent them not, and commanded them not; therefore, they shall not profit this people at all.

  [33] And if this people, or the priest, or the prophet, should ask, What is the burden of the Lord? then thou shalt say to them, Ye are the burden, and I will dash you down, saith the Lord. [34] As for the prophet, and the priests, and the people, who shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even take vengeance on that man, and on his house. [35] Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What has the Lord answered? and, what has the Lord said? [36] And do ye name no more the burden of the Lord; for his own word shall be a man’s burden. [37] But wherefore, say ye, has the Lord our God spoken? [38] Therefore thus saith the Lord our God; Because ye have spoken this word, The burden of the Lord, and I sent to you, saying, ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; [39] therefore, behold, I will seize, and dash down you and the city which I gave to you and your fathers. [40] And I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach, and everlasting disgrace, which shall not be forgotten.

  [7] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel out of the land of Egypt; [8] but The Lord lives, who has gathered the whole seed of Israel from the north land, and from all the countries whither he had driven them out, and has restored them into their own land.

  Chapter 24

  [1] The Lord shewed me two baskets of figs, lying in front of the temple of the Lord, after Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried captive Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda, and the princes, and the artificers, and the prisoners, and the rich men out of Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. [2] The one basket was full of very good figs, as the early figs; and the other basket was full of very bad figs, which could not be eaten, for their badness. [3] And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? and I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for their badness.

  [4] And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, [5] Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; As these good figs, so will I acknowledge the Jews that have been carried away captive, whom I have sent forth out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for good. [6] And I will fix mine eyes upon them for good, and I will restore them into this land for good: and I will build them up, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

  [7] And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God: for they shall turn to me with all their heart.

  [8] And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, for their badness; thus saith the Lord, So will I deliver Sedekias king of Juda, and his nobles, and the remnant of Jerusalem, them that are left in this land, and the dwellers in Egypt. [9] And I will cause them to be dispersed into all the kingdoms of the earth, and they shall be for a reproach, and a proverb, and an object of hatred, and a curse, in every place whither I have driven them out. [10] And I will send against them famine, and pestilence, and the sword, until they are consumed from off the land which I gave them.

  Chapter 25

  [1] THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS concerning all the people of Juda in the fourth year of Joakim, son of Josias, king of Juda; [2] which he spoke to all the people of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

  [3] In the thirteenth year of Josias, son of Amos, king of Juda, even until this day for three and twenty years, I have both spoken to you, rising early and speaking, [4] and I sent to you my servants the prophets, sending them early; (but ye hearkened not, and listened not with your ears;) saying, [5] Turn ye every one from his evil way, and from your evil practices, and ye shall dwell in the land which I gave to you and your fathers, of old and for ever. [6] Go ye not after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them, that ye provoke me not by the works of your hands, to do you hurt. [7] But ye hearkened not to me.

  [8] Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since ye believed not my words, [9] behold I will send and take a family from the north, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants of it, and against all the nations round about it, and I will make them utterly waste, and make them a desolation, and a hissing, and an everlasting reproach. [10] And I will destroy from among them the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the scent of ointment, and the light of a candle. [11] And all the land shall be a desolation; and they shall serve among the Gentiles seventy years.

  [12] And when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will take vengeance on that nation, and will make them a perpetual desolation. [13] And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have spoken against it, even all things that are written in this book.

  [34] THE PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAS AGAINST THE NATIONS OF ÆLAM.

  [35] Thus saith the Lord, The bow of Ælam is broken, even the chief of their power. [36] And I will bring upon Ælam the four winds from the four corners of heaven, and I will disperse them toward all these winds; and there shall be no nation to which they shall not come — even the outcasts of Ælam. [37] And I will put them in fear before their enemies that seek their life; and I will bring evils upon them according to my great anger; and I will send forth my sword after them, until I have utterly destroyed them. [38] And I will set my throne in Ælam, and will send forth thence king and rulers. [39] But it shall come to pass at the end of days, that I will turn the captivity of Ælam, saith the Lord.

  Chapter 26

  1 In the beginning of the reign of king Sedekias, there came this word concerning Ælam.

  [2] FOR EGYPT, AGAINST THE POWER OF PHARAO NECHAO KING OF EGYPT, who was by the river Euphrates in Charmis, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Joakim king of Juda.

  [3] Take up arms and spears, and draw nigh to battle; [4] and harness the horses: mount, ye horsemen, and stand ready in your helmets; advance the spears, and put on your breast-plates.

  [5] Why do they fear, and turn back? even because their mighty men shall be slain: they have utterly fled, and being hemmed in they have not rallied, saith the Lord. [6] Let not the swift flee, and let not the mighty man escape to the north: the forces at Euphrates are become feeble, and they have fallen.

  [7] Who is this that shall come up as a river, and as rivers roll their waves? [8] The waters of Egypt shall come up like a river: and he said, I will go up, and will cover the earth, and will destroy the dwellers in it. [9] Mount ye the horses, prepare the chariots; go forth, ye warriors of the Ethiopians, and Libyans armed with shields; and mount, ye Lydians, bend the bow. [10] And that day shall be to the Lord our God a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his enemies: and the sword of the Lord shall devour, and be glutted, and be drunken with their blood: for the Lord has a sacrifice from the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

  [11] Go up to Galaad, and take balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain hast thou multiplied thy medicines; there is no help in thee. [12] The nations have heard thy voice, and the land has been filled with thy cry: for the warriors have fainted fighting one against another, and both are fallen together.

  [13] THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE by Jeremiah, concerning the coming of the king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt.

  [14] Proclaim it at Magdol, and declare it at Memphis: say ye, Stand up, and prepare; for the sword has devoured thy yew-tree.

  [15] Wherefore has Apis fled from thee? thy choice calf has not remained; for the Lord has utterly weakened him. [16] And thy multitude has fainted and fallen; and each one said to his neighbour, Let us arise, and return into our country to our people, from the Grecian sword. [17] Call ye the name of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt, Saon esbeie moed. [18] As I live, saith the Lord God, he shall come as Itabyrion among the mountains, and as Carmel that is on the sea. [19] O daughter of Egypt dwelling at home, prepare thee stuff for removing: for Memphis shall be utterly desolate, and shall be called Woe, because there are no inhabitants in it.

  [20] Egypt is a fair heifer, but destruction from the north is come upon her. [21] Also her hired soldiers in the midst of her are as fatted calves fed in her; for they also have turned, and fled with one accord: they stood not, for the day of destruction was come upon them, and the time of their retribution. [22] Their voice is as that of a hissing serpent, for they go upon the sand; they shall come upon Egypt with axes, as men that cut wood. [23] They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, for their number cannot at all be conjectured, for it exceeds the locust in multitude, and they are innumerable. [24] The daughter of Egypt is confounded; she is delivered into the hands of a people from the north.

  [25] Behold, I will avenge Ammon her son upon Pharao, and upon them that trust in him.

  [26] 27 But fear not thou, my servant Jacob, neither be thou alarmed, Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at ease, and sleep, and there shall be no one to trouble him. [28] Fear not thou, my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; for I am with thee: she that was without fear and in luxury, has been delivered up: for I will make a full end of every nation among whom I have thrust thee forth; but I will not cause thee to fail: yet will I chastise thee in the way of judgment, and will not hold thee entirely guiltless.

  Chapter 27

  [1] THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH HE SPOKE AGAINST BABYLON.

  [2] Proclaim ye among the Gentiles, and cause the tidings to be heard, and suppress them not: say ye, Babylon is taken, Belus is confounded; the fearless, the luxurious Maerodach is delivered up. [3] For a nation has come up against her from the north, he shall utterly ravage her land, and there shall be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast.

  [4] In those days, and at that time, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Juda together; they shall proceed, weeping as they go, seeking the Lord their God. [5] They shall ask the way till they come to Sion, for that way shall they set their face; and they shall come and flee for refuge to the Lord their God; for the everlasting covenant shall not be forgotten.

  [6] My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds thrust them out, they caused them to wander on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place. [7] All that found them consumed them: their enemies said, Let us not leave them alone, because they have sinned against the Lord: he that gathered their fathers had a pasture of righteousness.

  [8] Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans, and go forth, and be as serpents before sleep. [9] For, behold, I stir up against Babylon the gatherings of nations out of the land of the north; and they shall set themselves in array against her: thence shall she be taken, as the dart of an expert warrior shall not return empty. [10] And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied.

  [11] Because ye rejoiced, and boasted, while plundering mine heritage; because ye exulted as calves in the grass, and pushed with the horn as bulls. [12] Your mother is greatly ashamed; your mother that bore you for prosperity is confounded: she is the last of the nations, desolate, [13] by reason of the Lord’s anger: it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be all a desolation; and every one that passes through Babylon shall scowl, and they shall hiss at all her plague.

  [14] Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare not your arrows, [15] and prevail against her: her hands are weakened, her bulwarks are fallen, and her wall is broken down: for it is vengeance from God: take vengeance upon her; as she has done, do to her. [16] Utterly destroy seed out of Babylon, and him that holds a sickle in time of harvest: for fear of the Grecian sword, they shall return every one to his people, and every one shall flee to his own land.

  [17] Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have driven him out: the king of Assyria firsts devoured him, and afterward this king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. [18] Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will take vengeance on the king of Babylon, and upon his land, as I took vengeance on the king of Assyria. [19] And I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and on mount Ephraim and in Galaad, and his soul shall be satisfied. [20] In those days, and at that time, they shall seek for the iniquity of Israel, and there shall be none; and for the sins of Juda, and they shall not be found: for I will be merciful to them that are left [21] on the land, saith the Lord.

  Go up against it roughly, and against them that dwell on it: avenge, O sword, and destroy utterly, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I command thee. [22] A sound of war, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans! [23] How is the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! [24] They shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know it, Babylon, that thou wilt even be taken captive: thou art found and taken, because thou didst resist the Lord.

  [25] The Lord has opened his treasury, and brought forth the weapons of his anger: for the Lord God has a work in the land of the Chaldeans. [26] For her times are come: open ye her storehouses: search her as a cave, and utterly destroy her: let there be no remnant of her. [27] Dry ye up all her fruits, and let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, and the time of their retribution. [28] A voice of men fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, to declare to Sion the vengeance that comes from the Lord our God.

  [29] Summon many against Babylon, even every one that bends the bow: camp against her round about; let no one of her people escape: render to her according to her works; according to all that she has done, do to her: for she has resisted the Lord, the Holy God of Israel. [30] Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her warriors shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

  [31] Behold, I am against thee the haughty one, saith the Lord: for thy day is come, and the time of thy retribution. [32] And thy pride shall fail, and fall, and there shall be no one to set it up again: and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all things round about her.

  [33] Thus saith the Lord; The children of Israel and the children of Juda have been oppressed: all they that have taken them captive have oppressed them together; for they would not let them go. [34] But their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name: he will enter into judgment with his adversaries, that he may destroy the earth; [35] and he will sharpen a sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her nobles and upon her wise men; [36] a sword upon her warriors, and they shall be weakened: a sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots: [37] a sword upon their warriors and upon the mixed people in the midst of her; and they shall be as women: a sword upon the treasures, and they shall be scattered upon her water, [38] and they shall be ashamed: for it is a land of graven images; and in the islands, where they boasted. [39] Therefore shall idols dwell in the islands, and the young of monsters shall dwell in it: it shall not be inhabited any more for ever. [40] As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities bordering upon them, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn there.

  [41] Behold, a people comes from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the end of the earth; holding bow and dagger: [42] the people is fierce, and will have no mercy: their voices shall sound as the sea, they shall ride upon horses, prepared for war, like fire, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. [43] The king of Babylon heard the sound of them, and his hands were enfeebled: anguish overcame him, pangs as of a woman in travail. [44] Behold, he shall come up as a lion from Jordan to Gaethan; for I will speedily drive them from her, and I will set all the youths against her: for who is like me? and who will resist me? and who is this shepherd who will stand before me?

  [45] Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has taken against Babylon; and his devices, which he has devised upon the Chaldeans inhabiting it: surely lambs of their flock shall be destroyed: surely pasture shall be cut off from them. [46] For at the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth shall quake, and a cry shall be heard among the nations.

  Chapter 28

  [1] Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I stir up against Babylon, and against the Chaldeans dwelling therein, a deadly burning wind. [2] And I will send forth against Babylon spoilers, and they shall spoil her, and shall ravage her land. Woe to Babylon round about her in the day of her affliction. [3] Let the archer bend his bow, and him that has armour put it on: and spare ye not her young men, but destroy ye all her host. [4] And slain men shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and men pierced through shall fall without it.

  [5] For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken of their God, of the Lord Almighty; whereas their land was filled with iniquity against the holy things of Israel. [6] Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every one his soul: and be not overthrown in her iniquity; for it is the time of her retribution from the Lord; he is rendering to her a recompence. [7] Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, causing all the earth to be drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore they were shaken. [8] And Babylon is fallen suddenly, and is broken to pieces: lament for her; take balm for her deadly wound, if by any means she may be healed. [9] We tried to heal Babylon, but she was not healed: let us forsake her, and depart every one to his own country: for her judgment has reached to the heaven, it has mounted up to the stars. [10] The Lord has brought forth his judgment: come, and let us declare in Sion the works of the Lord our God.

 

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