Jeremiah 30
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
CONCERNING THE SONS OF AMMON thus says the Lord, Are there no sons in Israel? or have they no one to succeed [them]? therefore has Melchol inherited Galaad, and why shall their people dwell in their cities?
2 The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, Put down in a book all the words which I have said to you.
Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will cause to be heard in Rabbath a tumult of wars; and they shall become a waste and ruined place, and her altars shall be burnt with fire; then shall Israel succeed to his dominion.
3 For see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will let the fate of my people Israel and Judah be changed, says the Lord: and I will make them come back to the land which I gave to their fathers, so that they may take it for their heritage.
Howl, O Esebon, for Gai has perished; cry, you daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament; for Melchol shall go into banishment, his priests and his princes together.
4 And these are the words which the Lord said about Israel and about Judah.
Why do you exult in the plains of the Enakim, you haughty daughter, that trust in [your] treasures, that say, Who shall come in to me?
5 This is what the Lord has said: A voice of shaking fear has come to our ears, of fear and not of peace.
Behold, I [will] bring terror upon you, says the Lord, from all the country round about you; and you shall be scattered every one right before him, and there is none to gather you.
6 Put the question and see if it is possible for a man to have birth-pains: why do I see every man with his hands gripping his sides, as a woman does when the pains of birth are on her, and all faces are turned green?
7 Ha! for that day is so great that there is no day like it: it is the time of Jacob's trouble: but he will get salvation from it.
8 For it will come about on that day, says the Lord of armies, that his yoke will be broken off his neck, and his bands will be burst; and men of strange lands will no longer make use of him as their servant:
9 But they will be servants to the Lord their God and to David their king, whom I will give back to them.
10 So have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, says the Lord; and do not be troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back, and will be quiet and at peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.
11 For I am with you, says the Lord, to be your saviour: for I will put an end to all the nations where I have sent you wandering, but I will not put an end to you completely: though with wise purpose I will put right your errors, and will not let you go quite without punishment.
12 For the Lord has said, Your disease may not be made well and your wound is bitter.
13 There is no help for your wound, there is nothing to make you well.
14 Your lovers have no more thought for you, they go after you no longer; for I have given you the wound of a hater, even cruel punishment;
15 Why are you crying for help because of your wound? for your pain may never be taken away: because your evil-doing was so great and because your sins were increased, I have done these things to you.
16 For this cause, all those who take you for their food will themselves become your food; and all your attackers, every one of them, will be taken prisoners; and those who send destruction on you will come to destruction; and all those who take away your goods by force will undergo the same themselves.
17 For I will make you healthy again and I will make you well from your wounds, says the Lord; because they have given you the name of an outlaw, saying, It is Zion cared for by no man.
18 The Lord has said, See, I am changing the fate of the tents of Jacob, and I will have pity on his houses; the town will be put up on its hill, and the great houses will be living-places again.
19 And from them will go out praise and the sound of laughing: and I will make them great in number, and they will not become less; and I will give them glory, and they will not be small.
20 And their children will be as they were in the old days, and the meeting of the people will have its place before me, and I will send punishment on all who are cruel to them.
21 And their chief will be of their number; their ruler will come from among themselves; and I will let him be present before me, so that he may come near to me: for who may have strength of heart to come near me? says the Lord.
22 And you will be my people, and I will be your God.
23 See, the storm-wind of the Lord, even the heat of his wrath, has gone out, a rolling storm, bursting on the heads of the evil-doers.
CONCERNING DAMASCUS. Emath is brought to shame, and Arphath: for they have heard an evil report: they are amazed, they are angry, they shall be utterly unable to rest.
24 The wrath of the Lord will not be turned back till he has done, till he has put into effect, the purposes of his heart: in days to come you will have full knowledge of this.
Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her.
How has she not left my city, they have loved the village?
Therefore shall the young men fall in your streets, and all your warriors shall fall, says the Lord.
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the streets of the son of Ader.
CONCERNING KEDAR THE QUEEN OF THE PALACE, WHOM NABUCHODONOSOR KING OF BABYLON SMOTE, thus says the Lord; Arise you, and go up to Kedar, and fill the sons of Kedem.
They shall take their tents and their sheep, they shall take for themselves their garments, and all their baggage and their camels; and summon you destruction against them from every side.
Flee you, dig very deep for a dwelling-place, you that dwell in the palace; for the king of Babylon has framed a counsel, and devised a device against you.
Rise up, and go up against a nation settled [and] dwelling at ease, who have no doors, nor bolts, nor bars, [who] dwell alone.
And their camels shall be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle shall be destroyed: and I will scatter them as chaff with every wind, having their hair cut about their foreheads, I will bring on their overthrow from all sides, says the Lord.
And the palace shall be a resting-place for ostriches, and desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, and no son of man shall dwell there.
