The Lord's Judgment on Ammon

¹This is what the Lord said about Ammon: “Where are the men of Israel? Is there no one to defend their land? Why have they let the people who worship Molech take the territory of the tribe of Gad and settle there?

²But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burned to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them.

³People of Heshbon, cry out! Ai is destroyed! Women of Rabbah, go into mourning! Put on sackcloth and mourn. Run about in confusion. Your god Molech will be taken into exile, together with his priests and princes.

⁴Why do you unfaithful people boast? Your strength is failing. Why do you trust in your power and say that no one would dare attack you?

⁵I will bring terror on you from every side. You will all run away. Each one will run for his life, and there will be no one to bring your troops together again.

⁶“But later on I will make Ammon prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Lord's Judgment on Edom

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty said about Edom: “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgment? Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do? Has all their wisdom disappeared?

⁸People of Dedan, turn and run! Hide! I am going to destroy Esau's descendants because the time has come for me to punish them.

⁹When people pick grapes, they leave a few on the vines, and when robbers come at night, they take only what they want.

¹⁰But I have stripped Esau's descendants completely and uncovered their hiding places, so that they can no longer hide. All the people of Edom are destroyed. Not one of them is left.

¹¹Leave your orphans with me, and I will take care of them. Your widows can depend on me.

¹²“If even those who did not deserve to be punished had to drink from the cup of punishment, do you think that you will go unpunished? No, you must drink from the cup!

¹³I myself have sworn that the city of Bozrah will become a horrifying sight and a desert; people will make fun of it and use its name as a curse. All the nearby villages will be in ruins forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹⁴I said, “Edom, I have received a message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to tell the nations to assemble their armies and to get ready to attack you.

¹⁵The Lord is going to make you weak, and no one will respect you.

¹⁶Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the Lord will bring you down. The Lord has spoken.”

¹⁷The Lord said, “The destruction that will come on Edom will be so terrible that everyone who passes by will be shocked and terrified.

¹⁸The same thing will happen to Edom that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁹Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan River up to the green pasture land, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?

²⁰So listen to the plan that I have made against the people of Edom, and to what I intend to do to the people of the city of Teman. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.

²¹When Edom falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard as far away as the Gulf of Aqaba.

²²The enemy will attack Bozrah like an eagle swooping down with outspread wings. On that day Edom's soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.”

The Lord's Judgment on Damascus

²³This is what the Lord said about Damascus: “The people in the cities of Hamath and Arpad are worried and troubled because they have heard bad news. Anxiety rolls over them like a sea, and they cannot rest.

²⁴The people of Damascus are weak and have fled in terror. They are in pain and misery like a woman in labor.

²⁵The famous city that used to be happy is completely deserted.

²⁶On that day her young men will be killed in the city streets, and all her soldiers destroyed.

²⁷I will set the walls of Damascus on fire and will burn down King Benhadad's palaces. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”

Judgment on the Tribe of Kedar and the City of Hazor

²⁸This is what the Lord said about the tribe of Kedar and the districts controlled by Hazor, which were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: “Attack the people of Kedar and destroy that tribe of eastern people!

²⁹Seize their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and everything in their tents. Take their camels and tell the people, ‘Terror is all around you!’

³⁰“People of Hazor, I, the Lord, warn you to run far away and hide. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has plotted against you, and this is what he says,

³¹‘Come on! We'll attack those people that feel safe and secure! Their city has no gates or locks and is completely unprotected.’

³²“Take their camels and all their livestock! I will scatter in every direction those people who cut their hair short, and I will bring disaster on them from every side.

³³Hazor will be made a desert forever, a place where only jackals live. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Lord's Judgment on Elam

³⁴Soon after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord Almighty spoke to me about the country of Elam.

³⁵He said, “I will kill all the archers who have made Elam so powerful.

³⁶I will make winds blow against Elam from all directions, and I will scatter her people everywhere, until there is no country where her refugees have not gone.

³⁷I will make the people of Elam afraid of their enemies, who want to kill them. In my great anger I will destroy the people of Elam and send armies against them until I have wiped them out.

³⁸I will destroy their kings and leaders, and set up my throne there.

³⁹But later on I will make the people of Elam prosperous again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Babylon's Capture

¹This is the message that the Lord gave me about the city of Babylon and its people:

²“Tell the news to the nations! Proclaim it! Give the signal and announce the news! Do not keep it a secret! Babylon has fallen! Her god Marduk has been shattered! Babylon's idols are put to shame; her disgusting images are crushed!

³“A nation from the north has come to attack Babylonia and will make it a desert. People and animals will run away, and no one will live there.”

Israel's Return

⁴The Lord says, “When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God.

⁵They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.

⁶“My people are like sheep whose shepherds have let them get lost in the mountains. They have wandered like sheep from one mountain to another, and they have forgotten where their home is.

⁷They are attacked by all who find them. Their enemies say, ‘They sinned against the Lord, and so what we have done is not wrong. Their ancestors trusted in the Lord, and they themselves should have remained faithful to him.’

⁸“People of Israel, run away from Babylonia! Leave the country! Be the first to leave!

⁹I am going to stir up a group of strong nations in the north and make them attack Babylonia. They will line up in battle against the country and conquer it. They are skillful hunters, shooting arrows that never miss the mark.

¹⁰Babylonia will be looted, and those who loot it will take everything they want. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Babylon's Fall

¹¹The Lord says, “People of Babylonia, you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad, going about like a cow threshing grain or like a neighing horse,

¹²but your own great city will be humiliated and disgraced. Babylonia will be the least important nation of all; it will become a dry and waterless desert.

¹³Because of my anger no one will live in Babylon; it will be left in ruins, and all who pass by will be shocked and amazed.

¹⁴“Archers, line up for battle against Babylon and surround it. Shoot all your arrows at Babylon, because it has sinned against me, the Lord.

¹⁵Raise the war cry all around the city! Now Babylon has surrendered. Its walls have been broken through and torn down. I am taking my revenge on the Babylonians. So take your revenge on them, and treat them as they have treated others.

¹⁶Do not let seeds be planted in that country nor let a harvest be gathered. Every foreigner living there will be afraid of the attacking army and will go back home.”

Israel's Return

¹⁷The Lord says, “The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed on their bones.

¹⁸Because of this, I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will punish King Nebuchadnezzar and his country, just as I punished the emperor of Assyria.

¹⁹I will restore the people of Israel to their land. They will eat the food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the region of Bashan, and they will eat all they want of the crops that grow in the territories of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰When that time comes, no sin will be found in Israel and no wickedness in Judah, because I will forgive those people whose lives I have spared. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

God's Judgment on Babylonia

²¹The Lord says, “Attack the people of Merathaim and of Pekod. Kill and destroy them. Do everything I command you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²²The noise of battle is heard in the land, and there is great destruction.

²³Babylonia hammered the whole world to pieces, and now that hammer is shattered! All the nations are shocked at what has happened to that country.

²⁴Babylonia, you fought against me, and you have been caught in the trap I set for you, even though you did not know it.

²⁵I have opened the place where my weapons are stored, and in my anger I have taken them out, because I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have work to do in Babylonia.

²⁶Attack it from every side and break open the places where its grain is stored! Pile up the loot like piles of grain! Destroy the country! Leave nothing at all!

²⁷Kill all their soldiers! Slaughter them! The people of Babylonia are doomed! The time has come for them to be punished!”

²⁸(Refugees escape from Babylonia and come to Jerusalem, and they tell how the Lord our God took revenge for what the Babylonians had done to his Temple.)

²⁹“Tell the archers to attack Babylon. Send out everyone who knows how to use the bow and arrow. Surround the city and don't let anyone escape. Pay it back for all it has done, and treat it as it has treated others, because it acted with pride against me, the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰So its young men will be killed in the city streets, and all its soldiers will be destroyed on that day. I, the Lord, have spoken.

³¹“Babylonia, you are filled with pride, so I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, am against you! The time has come for me to punish you.

³²Your proud nation will stumble and fall, and no one will help you up. I will set your cities on fire, and everything around will be destroyed.”

³³The Lord Almighty says, “The people of Israel and of Judah are oppressed. All who captured them are guarding them closely and will not let them go.

³⁴But the one who will rescue them is strong—his name is the Lord Almighty. He himself will take up their cause and will bring peace to the earth, but trouble to the people of Babylonia.”

³⁵The Lord says, “Death to Babylonia! Death to its people, to its rulers, to its people of wisdom.

³⁶Death to its lying prophets— what fools they are! Death to its soldiers— how terrified they are!

³⁷Destroy its horses and chariots! Death to its hired soldiers— how weak they are! Destroy its treasures; plunder and loot.

³⁸Bring a drought on its land and dry up its rivers. Babylonia is a land of terrifying idols that have made fools of the people.

³⁹“And so Babylon will be haunted by demons and evil spirits, and by unclean birds. Never again will people live there, not for all time to come.

⁴⁰The same thing will happen to Babylon that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when I destroyed them and the nearby towns. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.

⁴¹“People are coming from a country in the north, a mighty nation far away; many kings are preparing for war.

⁴²They have taken their bows and swords; they are cruel and merciless. They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride their horses. They are ready for battle against Babylonia.

⁴³The king of Babylonia hears the news, and his hands hang limp. He is seized by anguish, by pain like a woman in labor.

⁴⁴“Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I, the Lord, will come and make the Babylonians run away suddenly from their city. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?

⁴⁵So listen to the plan that I have made against the city of Babylon and to what I intend to do to its people. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.

⁴⁶When Babylon falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard by the other nations.”

Punishment, Repentance, and Hope

¹I am one who knows what it is to be punished by God.

²He drove me deeper and deeper into darkness

³And beat me again and again with merciless blows.

⁴He has left my flesh open and raw, and has broken my bones.

⁵He has shut me in a prison of misery and anguish.

⁶He has forced me to live in the stagnant darkness of death.

⁷He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape.

⁸I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen;

⁹I stagger as I walk; stone walls block me wherever I turn.

¹⁰He waited for me like a bear; he pounced on me like a lion.

¹¹He chased me off the road, tore me to pieces, and left me.

¹²He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

¹³He shot his arrows deep into my body.

¹⁴People laugh at me all day long; I am a joke to them all.

¹⁵Bitter suffering is all he has given me for food and drink.

¹⁶He rubbed my face in the ground and broke my teeth on rocks.

¹⁷I have forgotten what health and peace and happiness are.

¹⁸I do not have much longer to live; my hope in the Lord is gone.

¹⁹The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison.

²⁰I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed.

²¹Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:

²²The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue,

²³Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.

²⁴The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.

²⁵The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him,

²⁶So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us—

²⁷And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.

²⁸When we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience;

²⁹We should bow in submission, for there may still be hope.

³⁰Though beaten and insulted, we should accept it all.

³¹The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever.

³²He may bring us sorrow, but his love for us is sure and strong.

³³He takes no pleasure in causing us grief or pain.

³⁴The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison;

³⁵He knows when we are denied the rights he gave us;

³⁶When justice is perverted in court, he knows.

³⁷The will of the Lord alone is always carried out.

³⁸Good and evil alike take place at his command.

³⁹Why should we ever complain when we are punished for our sin?

⁴⁰Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.

⁴¹Let us open our hearts to God in heaven and pray,

⁴²“We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O Lord, have not forgiven us.

⁴³“You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger,

⁴⁴By a cloud of fury too thick for our prayers to get through.

⁴⁵You have made us the garbage dump of the world.

⁴⁶“We are insulted and mocked by all our enemies.

⁴⁷We have been through disaster and ruin; we live in danger and fear.

⁴⁸My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people.

⁴⁹“My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream

⁵⁰Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees us.

⁵¹My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city.

⁵²“I was trapped like a bird by enemies who had no cause to hate me.

⁵³They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone.

⁵⁴Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near.

⁵⁵“From the bottom of the pit, O Lord, I cried out to you,

⁵⁶And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard.

⁵⁷You answered me and told me not to be afraid.

⁵⁸“You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life.

⁵⁹Judge in my favor; you know the wrongs done against me.

⁶⁰You know how my enemies hate me and how they plot against me.

⁶¹“You have heard them insult me, O Lord; you know all their plots.

⁶²All day long they talk about me and make their plans.

⁶³From morning till night they make fun of me.

⁶⁴“Punish them for what they have done, O Lord;

⁶⁵Curse them and fill them with despair!

⁶⁶Hunt them down and wipe them off the earth!”

⁵It is not right to favor the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice.

⁶When some fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating.

⁷When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words.

⁸Gossip is so tasty—how we love to swallow it!