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, saying:
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.
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: You shall 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 approaching, says the Lord, when I will convert the turning away of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord. And I will return them to the land which 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?
And these are the words which the Lord has spoken to Israel and to 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.
For thus says the Lord: ‘We have heard a voice of terror. There is dread, and there is no peace.’
Inquire and see, does a male give birth? Then why have I seen every man with his hand on his lower back, like a woman bearing a child? And why have all of their faces turned pale?
Woe! For that day is great, and there is nothing like it. For it is the time of tribulation for Jacob, but he will be saved from it.
And this shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts: I will crush his yoke from your neck, and I will break open his bands. And strangers will no longer rule over him.
Instead, they will serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Therefore, O my servant Jacob, you should not be afraid, says the Lord, and you should not be frightened, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from a far away land, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return and have rest, and he shall flow with every good thing. And there will be no one for him to dread.
For I am with you, says the Lord, so that I may save you. For I will bring about the consummation of all the nations, among which I have scattered you. But I will not bring about your consummation. Instead, I will chastise you in judgment, so that you will not seem innocent to yourself.”
For thus says the Lord: “Your fracture is incurable; your wound is very serious.
There is no one who may judge your judgment, so as to bandage it; there is no useful treatment for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you, and they will not seek you. For I have wounded you with the strike of an enemy, with a cruel chastisement. Your sins have become hardened because of the multitude of your iniquities.
Why do you cry out over your affliction? Your pain is incurable. I have done these things to you because of the multitude of your iniquity and because of your hardened sins.
Because of this, all those who devour you, will be devoured. And all your enemies will be led into captivity. And those who devastate you, will be devastated. And all those who prey upon you, I will offer as a prey.
For I will close up your scar, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord. For they have called you an outcast, O Zion: ‘This is she who has no one asking for her.’”
Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will turn back the turning away of the tabernacles of Jacob, and I will take pity on his roofs. And the city will be built up in her heights, and the temple will be founded according to its order.
And praise will go forth from them, with the voice of those who play. And I will multiply them, and they will not be lessened. And I will glorify them, and they will not be weakened.
And their sons will be as in the beginning. And their assembly will remain in my sight. And I will visit against all those who trouble them.
And their ruler will be one of their own. And their prince will be led forward from their midst. And I will draw him near, and he will cling to me. For who is the one who applies his heart, so that he may draw near to me, says the Lord?
And you shall 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 whirlwind of the Lord, his fury going forth, a destroying storm! It will rest upon the head of the impious.
24 Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her.
The Lord will not turn back the wrath of his indignation, until he has accomplished and completed the plan of his heart. In the last days, you shall understand these things.
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.
