Holman Christian Standard Bible (238 page)

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20
 Egypt is a beautiful young cow, 
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.
21
 Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment. 
22
 Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake, 
for the enemy will come with an army;
with axes they will come against her
like those who cut trees. 
23
 They will cut down her forest —
this is the 
Lord
's declaration —
though it is dense,
for they are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted. 
24
 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
handed over to a northern people. 
25
 The
Lord
of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings — Pharaoh and those trusting in him.
26
 I will hand them over to those who want to take their lives  — to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, it will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.
Reassurance for Israel
27
 But you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, 
and do not be discouraged, Israel,
for without fail I will save you from far away
and your descendants, from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have calm and quiet
with no one to frighten him.
28
 And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid —
this is the 
Lord
's declaration —
for I will be with you. 
I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have banished you,
but I will not bring destruction on you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished. 
Jeremiah
Prophecies against the Philistines
47
This is the word of the
Lord
that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh defeated Gaza. 
2
 This is what the
Lord
says:
Look, waters are rising from the north
and becoming an overflowing 
•wadi
.
They will overflow the land and everything in it, 
the cities and their inhabitants.
The people will cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3
 At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions, 
the rumbling of his chariots,
and the clatter of their wheels, 
fathers will not turn back for their sons,
because they will be utterly helpless 
4
 on account of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every remaining ally. 
Indeed, the
Lord
is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the islands of Caphtor.
5
 Baldness is coming to Gaza. 
Ashkelon will become silent, 
a remnant of their valley.
How long will you gash yourself?
6
 Oh, sword of the 
Lord

How long will you be restless?
Go back to your sheath;
be still; be silent!
7
 How can it rest
when the
Lord
has given it a command? 
He has assigned it 
against Ashkelon and the shore of the sea.
Jeremiah
Prophecies against Moab
48
About Moab, this is what the
Lord
of
•Hosts
, the God of Israel, says:
Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed;
Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive.
The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!
2
 There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon: 
Come, let's cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3
 A voice cries out from Horonaim, 
“devastation and great disaster!”
4
 Moab will be shattered;
her little ones will cry out.
5
 For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually, 
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction: 
6
 Flee! Save your lives!
Be like a juniper bush in the wilderness.
7
 Because you trust in your works and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh will go into exile
with his priests and officials.
8
 The destroyer will move against every town;
not one town will escape.
The valley will perish,
and the plain will be annihilated, 
as the
Lord
has said.
9
 Make Moab a salt marsh,
for she will run away; 
her towns will become a desolation,
without inhabitant.
10
 The one who does
the 
Lord
's business deceitfully is cursed, 
and the one who withholds
his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
11
 Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs. 
He hasn't been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn't changed.
12
 Therefore look, the days are coming —
this is the 
Lord
's declaration —
when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.
They will empty his containers
and smash his jars.
13
 Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel that they trusted in.
14
 How can you say, “We are warriors —
mighty men ready for battle”?
15
 The destroyer of Moab and its towns
has come up, 
and the best of its young men
have gone down to slaughter.
This is the King's declaration;
•Yahweh
of Hosts is His name. 
16
 Moab's calamity is near at hand;
his disaster is rushing swiftly.
17
 Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,
everyone who knows his name.
Say: How the mighty scepter is shattered,
the glorious staff!
18
 Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon, 
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
19
 Stand by the highway and look,
resident of Aroer! 
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping: 
What happened?
20
 Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
21
 “Judgment has come to the land of the plateau  — to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath,
22
 Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim,
23
 Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon, 
24
 Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near.
25
 Moab's
•horn
is chopped off; his arm is shattered.”
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.
26
 “Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the
Lord
. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
27
 Wasn't Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”
28
 Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave. 
29
 We have heard of Moab's pride,
great pride, indeed —
his insolence, arrogance, pride,
and haughty heart.
30
 I know his outburst.
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.
It is empty.
His boast is empty.
31
 Therefore, I will wail over Moab.
I will cry out for Moab, all of it;
he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.
32
 I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,
with more than the weeping for Jazer.
Your tendrils have extended to the sea;
they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. 
The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
33
 Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field
and from the land of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;
no one will tread with shouts of joy.
The shouting is not a shout of joy. 
34
 “There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz  — from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah — because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.
35
 In Moab, I will stop” — this is the
Lord
's declaration — “the one who offers sacrifices on the
•high
place and burns incense to his gods. 
36
 Therefore, My heart moans like flutes for Moab, and My heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.
37
 Indeed, every head is bald and every beard clipped; on every hand is a gash and
•sackcloth
around the waist.
38
 On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.” This is the
Lord
's declaration.
39
 “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.” 
40
 For this is what the
Lord
says:
He will swoop down like an eagle
and spread his wings against Moab. 
41
 The towns have  been captured,
and the strongholds seized.
In that day the heart of Moab's warriors
will be like the heart of a woman with contractions. 
42
 Moab will be destroyed as a people
because he has exalted himself against the 
Lord

43
 Panic, pit, and trap
await you, resident of Moab.
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.
44
 He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the 
Lord
's declaration. 
45
 Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon's shadow
because fire has come out from Heshbon
and a flame from within Sihon.
It will devour Moab's forehead
and the skull of the noisemakers.
46
 Woe to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh have perished
because your sons have been taken captive
and your daughters have gone into captivity. 
47
 Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days. 
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.
The judgment on Moab ends here.
Jeremiah
Prophecies against Ammon
49
About the Ammonites, this is what the
Lord
says:
Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has
•Milcom
dispossessed Gad 
and his people settled in their cities?
2
 Therefore look, the days are coming —
this is the 
Lord
's declaration —
when I will make the shout of battle  heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned down.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the
Lord
.
3
 Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with 
•sackcloth
, and lament;
run back and forth within your walls, 
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials. 
4
 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your flowing valley, 
you faithless daughter?
You who trust in your treasures
and boast, “Who can attack me? ”
5
 Look, I am about to bring terror on you  —
this is the declaration of
the Lord
God
 of 
•Hosts
 —
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each man headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
6
 But after that, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites. 
This is the 
Lord
's declaration.

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