Jeremiah 49

1 Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith theLord: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?

2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith theLord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith theLord.

3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures,saying, Who shall come unto me?

5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, theLordof hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather up him that wandereth.

6 But afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith theLord.

7 Of Edom. Thus saith theLordof hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him.

9 If grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had enough?

10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

12 For thus saith theLord: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.

13 For I have sworn by myself, saith theLord, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14 I have heard tidings from theLord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations,saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, behold, I have made thee small among the nations, and despised among men.

16 As for thy terribleness, the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith theLord;

17 And Edom shall become an astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall he astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith theLord, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make him run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?

20 Therefore hear ye the counsel of theLord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away,eventhe little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

21 The earth trembleth at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.

22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

23 Of Damascus. Hamath is ashamed, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

24 Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?

26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith theLordof hosts.

27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.

28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote: Thus saith theLord: Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the children of the east.

29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels: and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side.

30 Flee ye, wander far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith theLord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

31 Arise, get you up unto a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith theLord; which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the cornersof their hairpolled; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith theLord.

33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation for ever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

34 The word of theLordthat came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

35 Thus saith theLordof hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam; the chief of their might.

36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

37 And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith theLord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:

38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith theLord.

39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith theLord.

Jeremiah 50

1 The word that theLordspake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.

3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.

4 In those days, and in that time, saith theLord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek theLordtheir God.

5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward,saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to theLordin an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.

6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.

7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against theLord, the habitation of justice, even theLord, the hope of their fathers.

8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.

9 For, lo, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.

10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith theLord.

11 Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder mine heritage, because ye are wanton as an heifer that treadeth outthe corn, and neigh as strong horses;

12 your mother shall be sore ashamed; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of theLordit shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against theLord.

15 Shout against her round about; she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of theLord; take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

18 Therefore thus saith theLordof hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria;

19 And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, saith theLord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them, saith theLord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against theLord.

25 TheLordhath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for the Lord, theLordof hosts, hath a workto doin the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.

27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of theLordour God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; camp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against theLord, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith theLord.

31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one, saith the Lord, theLordof hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.

32 And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.

33 Thus saith theLordof hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

34 Their redeemer is strong; theLordof hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith theLord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.

36 A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

37 A sword is upon their horse, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

38 A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon idols.

39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith theLord; so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

41 Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

42 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set in array, as man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon hath heard the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him,andpangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?

45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of theLord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away,eventhe little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.

Jeremiah 51

1 Thus saith theLord: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.

2 And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall fan her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not lift himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

4 And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of theLordof hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of theLord’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in theLord’S hand; that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 TheLordhath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of theLordour God.

11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: theLordhath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his device is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of theLord, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for theLordhath both devised and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

14 TheLordof hosts hath sworn by himself,saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the cankerworm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens:

16 when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

17 Every man is become brutishand iswithout knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; andIsraelis the tribe of his inheritance: theLordof hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein;

22 and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yokeof oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith theLord.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith theLord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith theLord.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough cankerworm.

28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

29 And the land trembleth and is in pain: for the purposes of theLordagainst Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strong holds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

32 and the passages are surprised, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith theLordof hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his maw with my delicates; he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith theLord: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and an hissing, without inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps.

39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith theLord.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will do judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of theLord.

46 And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that in another yearshall comea rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be ashamed; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith theLord.

49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember theLordfrom afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of theLord’S house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith theLord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith theLord.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For theLordspoileth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered:

56 for the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces: for theLordis a God of recompences, he shall surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is theLordof hosts.

58 Thus saith theLordof hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,

62 and say, OLord, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

64 and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 52

1 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of theLord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

3 For through the anger of theLorddid it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence: and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.

5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

6 In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about:) and they went by the way of the Arabah.

8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.

9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him.

10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.

11 And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, which stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem:

13 and he burned the house of theLord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he with fire.

14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest sort of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude.

16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

17 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of theLord, and the bases and the brasen sea that were in the house of theLord, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.

18 The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.

19 And the cups, and the firepans, and the basons, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls; that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.

20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of theLord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.

21 And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.

22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates.

23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were an hundred upon the network round about.

24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

25 and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king’s face, which were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.

26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.

28 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:

29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:

30 in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in thefirstyear of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;

32 and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,

33 and he changed his prison garments, and did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life,

34 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

Isaiah 1

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for theLordhath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib:butIsrael doth not know, my people doth not consider.

4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly: they have forsaken theLord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estrangedand gonebackward.

5 Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it;butwounds, and bruises, and festering sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.

7 Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

9 Except theLordof hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of theLord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith theLord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies,–I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.

14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil:

17 learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith theLord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of theLordhath spoken it.

21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! she that was full of judgment! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24 Therefore saith the Lord, theLordof hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

25 and I will turn my hand upon thee, and throughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin:

26 and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

28 But the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake theLordshall be consumed.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

31 And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Isaiah 2

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of theLord’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many peoples shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of theLord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of theLordfrom Jerusalem.

4 And he shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of theLord.

6 For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be filledwith customsfrom the east, andaresoothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of strangers.

7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.

8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.

9 And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low; therefore forgive them not.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of theLord, and from the glory of his majesty.

11 The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and theLordalone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For there shall be a day of theLordof hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:

13 and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan;

14 and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up;

15 and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fenced wall;

16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish; and upon all pleasant imagery.

17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low: and theLordalone shall be exalted in that day.

18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.

19 And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of theLord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.

20 In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made for him to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21 to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of theLord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.

22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Isaiah 3

1 For, behold, the Lord, theLordof hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;

2 the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the ancient;

3 the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the skilful enchanter.

4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father,saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 in that day shall he lift uphis voice, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: ye shall not make me ruler of the people.

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against theLord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

10 Say ye of the righteous, thatit shall bewellwith him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

11 Woe unto the wicked!it shall beillwith him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

13 TheLordstandeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the peoples.

14 TheLordwill enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses:

15 what mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, theLordof hosts.

16 Moreover theLordsaid, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and theLordwill lay bare their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents;

19 the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;

20 the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets;

21 the rings, and the nose jewels;

22 the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels;

23 the hand mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth: branding instead of beauty.

25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.

26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground.

Isaiah 4

1 And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saving, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.

2 In that day shall the branch of theLordbe beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

5 And theLordwill create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for over all the gloryshall be spreada canopy.

6 And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Isaiah 5

1 Let me sing for my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

2 and he made a trench about it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the fence thereof, and it shall be trodden down:

6 and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of theLordof hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!

9 In mine earssaiththeLordof hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yieldbutan ephah.

11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!

12 And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, areintheir feasts: but they regard not the work of theLord, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.

13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, for lack of knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

14 Therefore hell hath enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, descendinto it.

15 And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled:

16 but theLordof hosts is exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.

17 Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat.

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

19 that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe unto them that are wise their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

23 which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have rejected the law of theLordof hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore is the anger of theLordkindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss for them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

29 their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.

30 And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darknessanddistress, and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.

Isaiah 6

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is theLordof hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, theLordof hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste,

12 and theLordhave removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land.

13 And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof.