- The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, unto you, O Baruch: You did say, Woe is me now, for the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing and I find no rest. Thus shall you say unto him: The Lord says thus: Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, says the Lord. But your life will I give unto you for a prey in all places where you go.
- The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the gentiles, against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: Order the buckler and shield and draw near to battle. Harness the horses and get up, you horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets. Polish the spears and put on the brigandines. Why have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? And their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled quickly, and look not back, for fear was round about, says the Lord. Let not the swift flee away nor the mighty man escape. They shall stumble and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that comes up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt rises up like a flood and his waters are moved like the rivers. And he says, I will go up and will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Come up, you horses, and rage, you chariots. And let the mighty men come forth — the Ethiopians and the Libyans that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow. For this is the day of the Lord God of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries. And the sword shall devour and it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood, for the Lord God of Hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. Go up into Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt. In vain shall you use many medicines, for you shall not be cured. The nations have heard of your shame and your cry has filled the land, for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty and they are fallen both together.
- The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt: Declare in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes. Say, Stand fast and prepare yourself, for the sword shall devour round about you. Why are your valiant men swept away? They stood not, because the Lord did drive them. He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another. And they said, Arise and let us go again to our own people and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise, he has passed the time appointed. As I live, says the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts, surely as Tabor is among the mountains and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. O you daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity, for Noph shall be waste and desolate, without an inhabitant. Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction comes; it comes out of the north. Also, her hired men are in her midst like fattened bullocks, for they also are turned back and are fled away together. They did not stand because the day of their calamity had come upon them, and the time of their visitation. The voice thereof shall go like a serpent, for they shall march with an army and come against her with axes as hewers of wood. They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord, though it cannot be searched, because they are more than the grasshoppers and are innumerable. The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
- The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says, Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings — even Pharaoh and all them that trust in him. And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the Lord. But fear not, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar off, and your seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the Lord, for I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you. But I will not make a full end of you, but correct you in measure; yet will I not leave you wholly unpunished.
- The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gaza. Thus says the Lord: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein — the city and them that dwell therein. Then the men shall cry and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. At the noise of the stamping of the hooves of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands, because of the day that comes to spoil all the Philistines and to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains. For the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? O you sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put up yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord has given it a charge against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There has he appointed it.
- Against Moab, thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled. Kiriathaim is confounded and taken. Misgab is confounded and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab; in Heshbon they have devised evil against it: Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also, you shall be cut down, O Madmen, the sword shall pursue you. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction! Moab is destroyed, her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the ascent of Luhith, continual weeping shall go up. For in the descent of Horonaim, the enemies have heard a cry of destruction: Flee, save your lives, and be like the juniper in the wilderness! For, because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you shall also be taken. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, with his priests and his princes together. And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. The valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord has spoken. Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away; for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. Cursed be he that does the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keeps back his sword from blood.
- Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel; neither has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him and his scent is not changed. Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence. How can you say, We are mighty and strong men for the war? Moab is spoiled and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts.
- The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hastens fast. All you that are about him bemoan him. And all you that know his name say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! You, daughter, that do inhabit Dibon, come down from your glory and sit in thirst. For the spoiler of Moab shall come upon you, and he shall destroy your strongholds. O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way and watch. Ask him that flees and her that escapes, and say, What is done? Moab is confounded, for it is broken down. Howl and cry, tell it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled. And judgment has come upon the plain country — upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath, and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim, and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon, and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken, says the Lord. Make him drunk, for he magnified himself against the Lord. Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto you? Was he found among thieves? For since you spoke of him, you skipped for joy.
- O you that dwell in Moab, leave the cities and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth. We have heard the pride of Moab (he is exceedingly proud), his loftiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. I know his wrath, says the Lord, but it shall not be so. His lies shall not so effect it. Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab. My heart shall mourn for the men of Kirhareseth. O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for you with the weeping of Jazer. Your plants have gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer. The spoiler is fallen upon your summer fruits and upon your vintage, and joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field and from the land of Moab. And I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses, none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as a heifer of three years old. For the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Moreover, I will cause to cease in Moab, says the Lord, him that offers in the high places and him that burns incense to his gods. Therefore, my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirhareseth, because the riches that he has gotten are perished; for every head shall be bald and every beard clipped. Upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins — sackcloth. There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof, for I have broken Moab like a vessel, wherein is no pleasure, says the Lord.
- They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! How has Moab turned the back with shame! So shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him. For thus says the Lord: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle and shall spread his wings over Moab. Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people because he has magnified himself against the Lord. Fear, and the pit, and the snare shall be upon you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the Lord. He that flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, and he that gets up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, says the Lord. They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force, but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. Woe be unto you, O Moab. The people of Chemosh perishes, for your sons are taken captives and your daughters captives. Yet will I bring again the captives of Moab in the latter days, says the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
- Concerning the Ammonites, thus says the Lord: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites. And it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire. Then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, says the Lord. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled. Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro by the hedges. For their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together. Why do you glory in the valleys, your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? Behold, I will bring a fear upon you, says the Lord God of Hosts, from all those that are about you. And you shall be driven out, every man right forth, and none shall gather up him that wanders. And afterward I will bring again the captives of the children of Ammon, says the Lord.
- Concerning Edom, thus says the Lord of Hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished? Flee, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan, for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him the time that I will visit him. If grape gatherers come to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, they will destroy until they have enough. 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 neighbors; and he is not. Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let your widows trust in me.
- For thus says the Lord: Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you he that shall altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. For I have sworn by myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse, and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. I have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up to the battle, for behold, I will make you small among the heathen and despised among men. Your terror has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, O you that dwell in the clefts of the rock, that hold the height of the hill. Though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord.
- Also, Edom shall be a desolation. Everyone that goes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, says the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong, but I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who will appoint me the time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before me? Therefore, hear the counsel of the Lord that he has taken against Edom, and his purposes that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out, surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall. At the cry, the noise thereof was heard in the Red Sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle and spread his wings over Bozrah. And at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
- Concerning Damascus: Hamath is confounded, and Arpad, for they have heard evil tidings. They are faint-hearted. There is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. Damascus is waxed feeble and turns herself to flee, and fear has seized on her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy? Therefore, her young men shall fall in her streets and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, says the Lord of Hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
- Concerning Kedar and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus says the Lord: Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away. They shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels. And they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side! Flee, go far off! Dwell deep, O you inhabitants of Hazor, says the Lord, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you. Arise, go up unto the wealthy nation that dwells without care, says the Lord, who have neither gates nor bars, who dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty and the multitude of their cattle a spoil. And I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners. And I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, says the Lord. And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons and a desolation for ever. There shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
Chapter 17