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Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her,” declares the LORD.

This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,

…and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’

By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

As for the two pillars, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands that King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure.

All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; they lack the strength to flee in the face of the hunter.

In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.

Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has decreed against Jacob that his neighbors become his foes. Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have caused it. May You bring the day You have announced, so that they may become like me.

People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have caused it. May You bring the day You have announced, so that they may become like me.

In fierce anger He has cut off every horn of Israel and withdrawn His right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.

What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?

All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”

You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.

The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.

The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

They wandered blind in the streets, defiled by this blood, so that no one dared to touch their garments.

All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.

They stalked our every step, so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end drew near, our time ran out, for our end had come!

The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle.

Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.

The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.

“Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me.

And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.

And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

“Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”

And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken.

When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.

Wherever you live, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and desecrated, your idols smashed and obliterated, your incense altars cut down, and your works blotted out.

The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.

Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.

And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.

And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.

Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—the places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.

I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.

They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.

He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.

“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”

“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!

Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out.

When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.

Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.

Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.

And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Then you will know that I am the LORD. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.”

Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’

Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’

…so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.

And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are there.’

And they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

But I will spare a few of them from sword and famine and plague, so that in the nations to which they go, they can recount all their abominations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

But I will spare a few of them from sword and famine and plague, so that in the nations to which they go, they can recount all their abominations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Then tell the people of the land that this is what the Lord GOD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: ‘They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who dwell in it.

The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?

Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and in Israel they will no longer recite it.’ But say to them: ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.

“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’

“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’

Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Lord GOD.’”

You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it would stand in the battle on the Day of the LORD.

My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,

…tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

…and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own?

I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

…therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to his great idolatry,

…so that I may take hold of the hearts of the people of Israel. For because of their idols, they are all estranged from Me.’

Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.

I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer will be the same as that of the prophet—

…in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be My people and I will be their God, declares the Lord GOD.’”

Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,

Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,

Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast,

Yet, behold, some survivors will be left in it—sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their conduct and actions, you will be comforted regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem—all that I have brought upon it.

They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all these things within it,’ declares the Lord GOD.”