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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.’

When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.

Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.

The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on Zedekiah.

Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day.

Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the craftsmen.

But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.

Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land.

And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.

The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.

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.

Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!

The adversary has seized all her treasures. For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary—those You had forbidden to enter Your assembly.

All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.

Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?

The Lord has rejected all the mighty men in my midst; He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. Like grapes in a winepress, the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.

For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to revive my soul. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.

For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to revive my soul. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.

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.

I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.

I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.

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.

How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of His anger! He has cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. He has abandoned His footstool in the day of His anger.

Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In His wrath He has demolished the fortified cities of the Daughter of Judah. He brought to the ground and defiled her kingdom and its princes.

He has bent His bow like an enemy; His right hand is positioned. Like a foe He has killed all who were pleasing to the eye; He has poured out His wrath like fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion.

The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together they waste away.

The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

They cry out to their mothers: “Where is the grain and wine?” as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their lives fade away in the arms of their mothers.

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?

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?

The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.

All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”

The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest.

Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.

He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.

I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.

Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.

Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.

To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,

…to deny a man justice before the Most High,

…to subvert a man in his lawsuit—of these the Lord does not approve.

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.

Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.

The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.

You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.

Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.

The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.

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.

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

So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.

Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us. Look and see our disgrace!

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.

We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

Slaves rule over us; there is no one to deliver us from their hands.

Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!

You, O LORD, reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to generation.

Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return; renew our days as of old,

…the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.

From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.

From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.

“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’

They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’

They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’

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

But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.

But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.

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.”

Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,

“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—