< Jeremias 30 >
1 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?
The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
2 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.
Thus speaketh Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Write thee in a book all the words that I have spoken unto thee.
3 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.
For behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will turn the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
4 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?
And these are the words that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Israel and concerning Judah;
5 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.
for thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, there is fear, and no peace.
Ask ye now, and see, whether a male doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces are turned into paleness?
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more reduce him to servitude.
But they shall serve Jehovah their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
And thou, my servant Jacob, fear not, saith Jehovah; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and at ease, and none shall make [him] afraid.
For I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to save thee: for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee; yet of thee will I not make a full end, but I will correct thee with judgment, and will not hold thee altogether guiltless.
For thus saith Jehovah: Thy bruise is incurable, thy wound is grievous.
There is none to plead thy cause, to bind up [thy wound]; thou hast no healing medicines.
All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not. For I have smitten thee with the stroke of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the greatness of thine iniquity: thy sins are manifold.
Why criest thou because of thy bruise? thy sorrow is incurable; for the greatness of thine iniquity, [because] thy sins are manifold, I have done these things unto thee.
Therefore all that devour thee shall be devoured, and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be for a spoil; and all they that prey upon thee will I give to be a prey.
For I will apply a bandage unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; for they have called thee an outcast: This is Zion that no man seeketh after.
Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his habitations; and the city shall be built upon her own heap; and the palace shall be inhabited after the manner thereof.
And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished; and I will honour them, and they shall not be small.
And their sons shall be as aforetime; and their assembly shall be established before me; and I will punish all that oppress them.
And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to approach, and he shall draw near unto me. For who is this that engageth his heart to draw near unto me? saith Jehovah.
And ye 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, a tempest of Jehovah, fury is gone forth, a sweeping storm: it shall whirl down upon the head of the wicked.
24 Damascus is utterly weakened, she is put to flight; trembling has seized upon her.
The fierce anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and until he have performed the purposes of his heart. At the end of the days ye shall consider it.
25 How has she not left my city, they have loved the village?
26 Therefore shall the young men fall in your streets, and all your warriors shall fall, says 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 says the Lord; Arise you, 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 you destruction against them from every side.
30 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.
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, says 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.