Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that ¹  the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. ¹  If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. ¹  Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. ² 

I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. ¹  You will escape with your life ²  because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” ³ 

This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ¹  They made me angry ²  by worshiping and offering sacrifice to ³  other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ⁴  previously knew. ⁵ 

To this day your people ¹  have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded ²  you and your ancestors.’

‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! ¹  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. ²  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. ² 

Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses, the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels. They will not turn back to save their children because they will be paralyzed with fear. ¹ 

The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. ¹  I, the Lord, have spoken! ² 

But I will strip everything away from Esau’s descendants. I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide. Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed. Not one of them will be left!

Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns that were around them. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it,” says the Lord.

The Lord spoke ¹  about Damascus. ²  “The people of Hamath and Arpad ³  will be dismayed because they have heard bad news. Their courage will melt away because of worry. Their hearts will not be able to rest. ⁴ 

The Lord says, ¹  “Army of Babylon, ²  go and attack a nation that lives in peace and security. They have no gates or walls to protect them. ³  They live all alone.

“Hazor will become a permanent wasteland, a place where only jackals live. ¹  No one will live there. No human being will settle in it.” ² 

They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come ¹  and bind themselves to the Lord in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ² 

All who encountered them devoured them. Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment! For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture. ¹  They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors ²  trusted.’ ³ 

After I vent my wrath on it Babylon will be uninhabited. ¹  It will be totally desolate. All who pass by will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it. ² 

I set a trap for you, Babylon; you were caught before you knew it. You fought against me. So you were found and captured. ¹ 

“For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken ¹  by their God, the Lord who rules over all. ²  For the land of Babylonia is ³  full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. ⁴