Jeremias 30
1 CONCERNING THE SONS OF AMMON thus saith the Lord, Are there no sons in Israel? or have they no one to succeed [them]? wherefore has Melchol inherited Galaad, and why shall their people dwell in their cities?
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith 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 burned with fire; then shall Israel succeed to his dominion.
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.
3 Howl, O Esebon, for Gai has perished; cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with sack-clothes, and lament; for Melchol shall go into banishment, his priests and his princes together.
For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
4 Why do ye exult in the plains of the Enakim, thou haughty daughter, that trustest in [thy] treasures, that sayest, Who shall come in to me?
These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
5 Behold, I [will] bring terror upon thee, saith the Lord, from all the country round about thee; and ye shall be scattered every one right before him, and there is none to gather you.
Yes, this is what the LORD says: “A cry of panic is heard— a cry of terror, not of peace.
Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sores, no recovery for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins.
Why do you cry out over your wound? Your pain has no cure! Because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins I have done these things to you.
Nevertheless, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—every one of them— will go off into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered, and all who raided you will be raided.
But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.
Thanksgiving will proceed from them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not be decreased; I will honor them, and they will not be belittled.
Their children will be as in days of old, and their congregation will be established before Me; and I will punish all their oppressors.
Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?”
“And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
23 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.
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
24 Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her.
The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this.
25 How has she not left my city, they have loved the village?
26 Therefore shall the young men fall in thy streets, and all thy warriors shall fall, saith the Lord.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the streets of the son of Ader.
28 CONCERNING KEDAR THE QUEEN OF THE PALACE, WHOM NABUCHODONOSOR KING OF BABYLON SMOTE, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, and go up to Kedar, and fill the sons of Kedem.
29 They shall take their tents and their sheep, they shall take for themselves their garments, and all their baggage and their camels; and summon ye destruction against them from every side.
30 Flee ye, dig very deep for a dwelling-place, ye that dwell in the palace; for the king of Babylon has framed a counsel, and devised a device against you.
31 Rise up, and go up against a nation settled [and] dwelling at ease, who have no doors, nor bolts, nor bars, [who] dwell alone.
32 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, saith the Lord.
33 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.
