Study Desk

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(C1)fourth year of ^(C2)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(C3)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(C1)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

"From the ^(C1)thirteenth year of ^(C2)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^(F1)these ^(C3)twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^(C4)again and again, but you have not listened.

"And the LORD has sent to you all His ^(C1)servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear,

saying, '^(C1)Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the LORD has given to you and your forefathers ^(C2)forever and ever;

and ^(C1)do not follow other gods to ^(F1)serve them and to ^(F2)worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.'

"Yet you have not listened to Me," declares the LORD, "in order to ^(C1)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

"Therefore this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Because you have not obeyed My words,

behold, I will ^(C1)send and take all the families of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(C2)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will ^(F1)completely destroy them and ^(C3)make them an object of horror and ^(F2)hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins.

'Moreover, I will ^(C1)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the ^(C2)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.

'^(C1)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for ^(C2)seventy years.

'Then it will be ^(C1)when seventy years are completed I will ^(C2)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, 'for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(C3)I will make it an everlasting desolation.

'I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in ^(C1)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(C2)all the nations.

'(^(F1)For ^(C1)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(C2)repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)'"

For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me: "Take this ^(C1)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it.

"Then they will ^(C1)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them."

So I took the cup from the LORD'S hand and ^(C1)gave it to all the nations to whom the LORD sent me, to drink from it:

To ^(C1)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, ^(F1)hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;

To ^(C1)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people;

and to all the ^(C1)foreign ^(F1)people, all the kings of the ^(C2)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(C3)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(C4)Ashdod);

To ^(C1)Edom, ^(C2)Moab, and the sons of ^(C3)Ammon;

and to all the kings of ^(C1)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of ^(C2)the coastlands which are beyond the sea;

and to ^(C1)Dedan, Tema, ^(C2)Buz, and all who ^(C3)trim the corners of their hair;

and to all the kings of ^(C1)Arabia and all the kings of the ^(C2)foreign ^(F1)people who live in the desert;

and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(C1)Elam, and all the kings of ^(C2)Media;

and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(C1)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of ^(F1)(C2)Sheshach shall drink it after them.

"And you shall say to them, 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "^(C1)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the ^(C2)sword which I am sending among you."'

"And if they ^(C1)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, 'This is what the LORD of armies says: "^(C2)You shall certainly drink!

"For behold, I am ^(C1)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is ^(C2)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for ^(C3)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth," declares the LORD of armies.'

"Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, 'The ^(C1)LORD will ^(C2)roar from on high And raise His voice from His holy dwelling; He will roar forcefully against His ^(F1)fold. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

-'A clamor has come to the end of the earth, Because the LORD has ^(C1)a controversy with the nations. He is entering into ^(C2)judgment with ^(F1)humanity; As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,' declares the LORD."

This is what the LORD of armies says: "Behold, evil is going out From ^(C1)nation to nation, And a great ^(C2)storm is being stirred up From the remotest parts of the earth.

"Those ^(C1)put to death by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ^(F1)other. They will ^(C2)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like ^(C3)dung on the face of the ground.

-"Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; ^(C1)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock; For the days of your ^(C2)slaughter and your dispersions ^(F1)have come, And you will fall like a precious vessel.

-"^(F1)There will be ^(C1)no sanctuary for the shepherds, Nor escape for the masters of the flock.

-"Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds, And the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the LORD is destroying their pasture,

And the peaceful ^(C1)grazing places are devastated Because of the ^(C2)fierce anger of the LORD.

-"He has left His hiding place ^(C1)like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the ^(F1)oppressing sword And because of His fierce anger."

This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to ^(C1)Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had ^(C2)written these words in a book ^(F1)at Jeremiah's dictation, in the ^(C3)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying:

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch:

'You said, "Oh, woe to me! For the LORD has added grief to my pain; I am ^(C1)weary with my groaning and have found no rest."'

"This is what you are to say to him: 'This is what the LORD says: "Behold, ^(C1)what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land."

'But as for you, are you ^(C1)seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to ^(C2)bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, 'but I will ^(C3)give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go.'"

That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet ^(C1)concerning the nations.

To ^(C1)Egypt, concerning the army of ^(C2)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at ^(C3)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^(C4)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

"^(C1)Set up the ^(F1)buckler and shield, And advance to the battle!

-"Harness the horses, And ^(F1)mount the steeds, Take your stand with helmets on! ^(C1)Polish the spears, Put on the ^(C2)coats of armor!

-"Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are ^(C1)retreating, And their ^(C2)warriors are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing back. ^(F1)(C3)Terror is on every side!" Declares the LORD.

Let not the ^(C1)swift man flee, Nor the warrior escape. In the north beside the river Euphrates They have ^(C2)stumbled and fallen.

Who is this that ^(C1)rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge?

Egypt rises like the Nile, And like the rivers whose waters surge; And He has said, "I will ^(C1)rise and cover that land; I will ^(C2)destroy the city and its inhabitants."

Go up, you horses, and ^(F1)(C1)drive wildly, you chariots, So that the warriors may ^(F2)march forward: ^(F3)Cush and ^(F4)(C2)Put, who handle the shield, And the ^(F5)(C3)Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.

For ^(C1)that day belongs to the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, A day of ^(C2)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the ^(C3)sword will devour and be satisfied, And ^(F2)drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a ^(C4)slaughter for the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

Go ^(C1)up to Gilead and obtain balm, ^(C2)Virgin daughter of Egypt! You have used many ^(F1)remedies in vain; There is ^(C3)no healing for you.

The nations have heard of your ^(C1)shame, And the earth is full of your ^(C2)cry of distress; For one ^(C3)warrior has stumbled over ^(F1)another, And both of them have fallen down together.

This is the ^(F1)message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^(C1)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^(C2)strike the land of Egypt:

"Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^(C1)Migdol, Proclaim also in Memphis and ^(C2)Tahpanhes; Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the ^(C3)sword has devoured those around you.'

-"Why have your ^(C1)powerful ones been cut down? They do not stand because the LORD has ^(C2)thrust them away.

-"They have repeatedly ^(C1)stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen, one against another. Then they said, 'Get up, and ^(C2)let's go back To our own people and our native land, Away from the ^(F1)(C3)sword of the oppressor!'

-"^(F1)They shouted there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but ^(C1)a big noise; He has let the appointed time pass by!'

-"As I live," declares the ^(C1)King, Whose name is the LORD of armies, "One certainly shall come who is like ^(C2)Tabor among the mountains, Or like ^(C3)Carmel by the sea.

-"Make your baggage ready for ^(C1)exile, ^(C2)Daughter living in Egypt, For ^(C3)Memphis will become a desolation; It will be destroyed and ^(F1)deprived of inhabitants.

-"Egypt is a pretty ^(C1)heifer, But a ^(F1)horsefly is coming ^(C2)from the north—it is coming!

-"Also her ^(C1)mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened ^(C2)calves, For they too have turned away and have fled together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their disaster has come upon them, The time of their ^(C3)punishment.

-"Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on ^(F1)like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

-"They have cut down her ^(C1)forest," declares the LORD; "Certainly it will no longer be found, Even though ^(F1)they are more numerous than ^(C2)locusts And are without number.

-"The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Turned over to the ^(F1)power of the ^(C1)people of the north."

The LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^(C1)Thebes, and ^(C2)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^(C3)gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who ^(C4)trust in him.

"I shall hand them over to those who are ^(C1)seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his ^(F1)officers. ^(C2)Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.

"But as for you, Jacob My servant, ^(C1)do not fear, Nor be dismayed, Israel! For, see, I am going to ^(C2)save you from far away, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)undisturbed And secure, with no one making him afraid.

-"Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For ^(C1)I am with you. For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will ^(C2)not make a complete destruction of you; But I will ^(C3)correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished."