So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.’p>

<p class="poetry">Egypt rises like the Nile,p> <p class="poetry">like its streams turbulent at flood stage.p> <p class="poetry">Egypt says, &#8216;I will arise and cover the earth.p> <p class="poetry">I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.&#8217;p>

<p class="poetry">Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded.p> <p class="poetry">Its finest young men will be slaughtered.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I, the King, the <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all,<n id="2" /> affirm it!<n id="3" />p>

For I solemnly swear,&#8221;<n id="1" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;that Bozrah<n id="2" /> will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses.<n id="3" /> All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon.p> <p class="poetry">One messenger after another will come bringing news.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They will bring news to the king of Babylonp> <p class="poetry">that his whole city has been captured.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins.p> <p class="poetry">She has become a dry and barren desert.p> <p class="poetry">No one lives in those towns any more.p> <p class="poetry">No one even passes through them.<n id="1" />p>

For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>. &#8220;They will come and their kings will set up their thrones<n id="1" /> near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem.<n id="2" /> They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah.<n id="3" />

I, the <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="1" /> hereby promise to make you<n id="2" /> as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in<n id="3" /> the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

<p class="poetry">So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.p> <p class="poetry">Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.p> <p class="poetry">Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their citiesp> <p class="poetry">and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For they have rebelled so muchp> <p class="poetry">and done so many unfaithful things.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">They will eat up your crops and your food.p> <p class="poetry">They will kill off<n id="1" /> your sons and your daughters.p> <p class="poetry">They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.p> <p class="poetry">They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Their weapons will batter down<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">the fortified cities you trust in.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The people say,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Why are we just sitting here?p> <p class="poetry">Let us gather together inside the fortified cities.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Let us at least die there fighting,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">since the <sc>Lordsc> our God has condemned us to die.p> <p class="poetry">He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">because we have sinned against him.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said to me, &#8220;Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: &#8216;Listen to the terms of my covenant with you<n id="1" /> and carry them out!

<p class="poetry">If I go out into the countryside,p> <p class="poetry">I see those who have been killed in battle.p> <p class="poetry">If I go into the city,p> <p class="poetry">I see those who are sick because of starvation.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For both prophet and priest go about their own businessp> <p class="poetry">in the land without having any real understanding.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> says,<n id="1" /> &#8216;You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day.

Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the western foothills, from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the <sc>Lordsc>: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings.<n id="1" />

Tell them the <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all says,<n id="1" /> &#8216;I will do just as Jeremiah has done.<n id="2" /> I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter&#8217;s vessel which is broken beyond repair.<n id="3" /> The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.&#8217;<n id="4" />

I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder<n id="1" /> and carry it off to Babylon.

<p class="poetry">&#8220;&#8216;For the <sc>Lordsc> says concerning the palace of the king of Judah,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me.p> <p class="poetry">It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes.p> <p class="poetry">But I swear that I will make it like a wildernessp> <p class="poetry">whose towns have all been deserted.<n id="1" />p>

For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own.<n id="1" /> So how can you possibly avoid being punished?<n id="2" /> You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all,<n id="3" /> affirm it!&#8217;<n id="4" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;Go stand in the courtyard of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.<n id="1" /> Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word!