He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun<n id="1" /> in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;Because of this, the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel who rules over all says, &#8216;I am determined to bring disaster on you,<n id="1" /> even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt.<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah<n id="1" /> about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches.p> <p class="poetry">So you too will be conquered.p> <p class="poetry">Your god Chemosh<n id="1" /> will go into exile<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">along with his priests and his officials.p>

<p class="poetry">On all the housetops in Moabp> <p class="poetry">and in all its public squaresp> <p class="poetry">there will be nothing but mourning.p> <p class="poetry">For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar.p> <p class="poetry">I, the <sc>Lordsc>, affirm it!<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Their camels will be taken as plunder.p> <p class="poetry">Their vast herds will be taken as spoil.p> <p class="poetry">I will scatter to the four windsp> <p class="poetry">those desert peoples who cut their hair short at the temples.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will bring disaster against themp> <p class="poetry">from every direction,&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.p> <p class="poetry">They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.p> <p class="poetry">They will eat until they are full<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.p> <p class="poetry">They are coming to Zion to declare therep> <p class="poetry">how the <sc>Lordsc> our God is getting revenge,p> <p class="poetry">getting revenge for what they have done to his temple.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there.p> <p class="poetry">Ostriches<n id="1" /> will dwell in it too.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">But no people will ever live there again.p> <p class="poetry">No one will dwell there for all time to come.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They will winnow her and strip her land bare.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">This will happen when<n id="3" /> they come against her from every direction,p> <p class="poetry">when it is time to destroy her.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Foreigners living there will say,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed.p> <p class="poetry">Let&#8217;s leave Babylonia<n id="2" /> and each go back to his own country.p> <p class="poetry">For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions.p> <p class="poetry">It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.&#8217;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;But I will repay Babylonp> <p class="poetry">and all who live in Babyloniap> <p class="poetry">for all the wicked things they did in Zionp> <p class="poetry">right before the eyes of you Judeans,&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The earth will tremble and writhe in agony.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For the <sc>Lordsc> will carry out his plan.p> <p class="poetry">He plans to make the land of Babylonia<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">a wasteland where no one lives.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">When their appetites are all stirred up,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I will set out a banquet for them.p> <p class="poetry">I will make them drunkp> <p class="poetry">so that they will pass out,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they will fall asleep forever,p> <p class="poetry">they will never wake up,&#8221;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will punish the god Bel in Babylon.p> <p class="poetry">I will make him spit out what he has swallowed.p> <p class="poetry">The nations will not come streaming to him any longer.p> <p class="poetry">Indeed, the walls of Babylon will fall.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">You who have escaped the sword,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">go, do not delay.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Remember the <sc>Lordsc> in a faraway land.p> <p class="poetry">Think about Jerusalem.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">For the <sc>Lordsc> is ready to destroy Babylon,p> <p class="poetry">and put an end to her loud noise.p> <p class="poetry">Their waves<n id="1" /> will roar like turbulent<n id="2" /> waters.p> <p class="poetry">They will make a deafening noise.<n id="3" />p>

When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.<n id="1" />

But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,<n id="1" /> and his entire army deserted him.