Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim, ‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction!’

The noise of battle can be heard in the land of Babylonia. ¹  There is the sound of great destruction.

I said, ¹  “There is no one like you, Lord. ²  You are great. And you are renowned for your power. ³ 

Cries of anguish will come from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

In anger, in fury, and in wrath I myself will fight against you with my mighty power and great strength! ¹ 

I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, ¹  people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases.

“Look! An army is about to come from the north. A mighty nation and many kings ¹  are stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. ¹  Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction. ² 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Beware! An army ¹  is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

Listen! News is coming even now. ¹  The rumble of a great army is heard approaching ²  from a land in the north. ³  It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble, places where only jackals live.

The Lord who rules over all ¹  says, ‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. ²  A mighty storm of military destruction ³  is rising up from the distant parts of the earth.’

Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! ¹  There has never been any like it. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but some of them will be rescued out of it. ² 

Then I will reply, ¹  ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here.

You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt. ¹ 

‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled ¹  them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah ¹  and all the people of every class, ²  went to the prophet Jeremiah.

So Jeremiah summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people of every class. ¹ 

For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon, and put an end to her loud noise. Their waves ¹  will roar like turbulent ²  waters. They will make a deafening noise. ³ 

“Run for safety, people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! ¹  Sound the trumpet ²  in Tekoa! Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem! For disaster lurks ³  out of the north; it will bring great destruction. ⁴ 

¹ So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.