Isaiah 14 Cross References - LEB

¹ But Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob, and he will again choose Israel and set them on their land, and the immigrant will join himself to them, and they will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. ² And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will take possession of them* in the land of Yahweh as slaves and female slaves.
And this will happen:
they will take their captors captive and rule over their oppressors. ³ And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which _⌊you had to perform_⌋,* ⁴ that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon, and you will say: "How the oppressor has ceased! his insolence* has ceased. ⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, ⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing, that ruled the nations in anger _⌊with unrestrained persecution_⌋.* ⁷ All of the earth rests and is quiet; they break forth into singing. ⁸ Even the cypresses rejoice over you, the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since you were laid down, no wood cutter comes up against us.' ⁹ Sheol below is getting excited over you, to meet _⌊you when you come_⌋;* it arouses the dead spirits for you, all of the leaders of the earth. It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones. ¹⁰ All of them will respond and say to you, 'You yourself also were made weak like us! You have become the same as us!' ¹¹ Your pride is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps; maggots* are spread out beneath you like a bed, and your covering is worms.* ¹² How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn! You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations! ¹³ And you yourself said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise up my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on the mountain of assembly on the summit of Zaphon;* ¹⁴ I will ascend to the high places of the clouds,* I will make myself like the Most High.' ¹⁵ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit. ¹⁶ Those who see you will stare at you, they will look closely at you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who caused kingdoms to shake, ¹⁷ who made the world like the desert and destroyed its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?' ¹⁸ All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, each one in his house. ¹⁹ But as for you, you are thrown away from your grave, like an abhorrent shoot, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, those who go down to the stones of the pit, like a corpse that is trodden down. ²⁰ You will not be united with them in burial because you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people.
The descendants* of evildoers will not be mentioned for eternity! ²¹ Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons because of the sin of their ancestors.* Let them not rise and take possession of the earth or fill up the face of the world with cities." ²² "And I will rise up against them,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts,
"and I will cut off name and a remnant from Babylon, and offspring and posterity,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²³ "And I will make her a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts. ²⁴ Yahweh of hosts has sworn, saying,
"_⌊Surely_⌋* just as I have intended, so it shall be. And just as I have planned, it shall stand: ²⁵ to break Assyria in my land, and I will trample him down on my mountains; and he shall remove his yoke from them, and he shall remove his burden from his* shoulders."* ²⁶ This is the plan that is planned concerning all of the earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all of the nations. ²⁷ For Yahweh of hosts has planned, and who will frustrate it? And his hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? ²⁸ In the year of the death of king Ahaz there was this oracle: ²⁹ You must not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken, for a viper will come forth from the root of the snake, and its fruit will be a flying serpent. ³⁰ And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy will lie down in security; but I will cause your root to die in famine, and it will kill your remnant. ³¹ Wail, gate! Cry, city! Melt,* Philistia, all of you! For smoke is coming from the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. ³² And what will one answer the messengers of the nation?
That Yahweh has founded Zion, and the needy of his people will take refuge in it.

⁴⁰ " 'But* when they confess their guilt and the guilt of their ancestors* in their infidelity that they displayed against me, and moreover that they went against me in hostility— ⁴¹ I myself* also* went against them in hostility, and I brought them into the land of their enemies—or if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and then they pay for their guilt, ⁴² I will remember* my covenant with Jacob; and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ And the land shall be deserted by them, and it shall enjoy its Sabbaths in its being desolate from them, and they themselves* must pay for their guilt, _⌊simply because_⌋* they rejected my regulations, and their inner self* abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ And _⌊in spite of_⌋* this, _⌊when they are_⌋* in the land of their enemies I will not reject them, and I will not abhor them to destroy them, to break my covenant with them, because I am Yahweh their God. ⁴⁵ And I will remember the first covenant for them*—whom I brought out from the land of Egypt _⌊in the sight of_⌋* the nations _⌊to be their God_⌋.* I am Yahweh.'"

²⁹ But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.* ³⁰ _⌊In your distress_⌋* when* all these things have found you in the _⌊latter days_⌋,* then* you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice. ³¹ For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he _⌊will not abandon you_⌋,* and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors* that he swore to them.

³ and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and _⌊he will again gather you together_⌋* from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there. ⁴ "Even if _⌊you are outcasts_⌋* at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there _⌊he shall bring you back_⌋.* ⁵ And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors* had taken possession of,* and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.*

¹⁴ And they lifted up their voices and cried again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵ And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law too." ¹⁶ But Ruth said, "_⌊Do not urge_⌋* me to leave you or to return from _⌊following you_⌋!* For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, _⌊and even more, unless_⌋* death _⌊separates you and me_⌋!"* ¹⁸ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, _⌊she said no more_⌋.*

⁸ Please, remember the word that you have commanded to your servant Moses, saying, 'If you act unfaithfully I will scatter you all among the nations. ⁹ But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even though all of your outcasts are at the furthest parts of heaven, I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell.'

¹⁷ In every province and city, wherever the king's edict and his law came, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a banquet and a _⌊holiday_⌋,* and many of the people from the country were posing as Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

³ He has remembered his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation* of our God.

¹³ You rise up and take pity on Zion, because it is time to favor it, for the appointed time has come.

¹⁰ To him who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹¹ And he brought Israel out from among them, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹² With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹³ To him who divided the _⌊Red Sea_⌋* in two, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁴ And he let Israel cross over through the midst of it, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁵ But he tossed Pharaoh and his army into the _⌊Red Sea_⌋,* for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁶ To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁷ To him who struck great kings, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁸ And he killed mighty kings, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁹ Sihon the king of the Amorites, for his loyal love endures forever. ²⁰ And Og the king of Bashan, for his loyal love endures forever. ²¹ And he gave their land as an inheritance, for his loyal love endures forever. ²² An inheritance to Israel his servant, for his loyal love endures forever. ²³ Who remembered us in our low estate, for his loyal love endures forever. ²⁴ And he rescued us from our enemies, for his loyal love endures forever.

¹² And in your loyal love destroy my enemies, and exterminate all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

²⁴ On that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom Yahweh of hosts blessed, saying, "May Egypt my people be blessed, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and my inheritance, Israel."

⁶ _⌊Days are coming_⌋,* let Jacob take root; Israel will blossom and send out shoots, and they will fill the face of the world with fruit.

¹ "Comfort; comfort my people," says your God. ² "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for, that she has _⌊received_⌋* from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins."

⁸ But* you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you, the _⌊offspring_⌋* of Abraham my _⌊friend_⌋,*

¹ "But now hear, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.

²¹ "Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant: I formed you; you are my servant; Israel, you will not be forgotten by me! ²² I have wiped your transgressions out like a cloud and your sins like mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you!"

⁷ Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one,
to the one who despises* life, to the one who abhors the nation, to the slave of rulers: "Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall bow down, for the sake of Yahweh, who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you."

¹³ Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth! Mountains must break forth in rejoicing! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

¹⁶ Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. ¹⁷ Your children hasten; your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart* from you. ¹⁸ Lift your eyes up all around and see; all of them gather; they come to you. _⌊As surely as I live_⌋,* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, surely you shall put on all of them like an ornament, and you shall bind them on like a bride. ¹⁹ Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins,*
surely now you will be _⌊too cramped for your_⌋* inhabitants,* and those who engulfed you will be far away. ²⁰ Yet the children _⌊born when you were bereaved_⌋* will say in your _⌊hearing_⌋,*
"The place is too cramped for me; _⌊make room_⌋* for me so that I can dwell." ²¹ Then* you will say in your heart,
"Who has borne me these?" And, "I was bereaved and barren, exiled and thrust away; so* who raised these? Look at me! I was left alone; _⌊where have these come from_⌋?"* ²² Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
"Look! I will lift my hand up to the nations, and I will raise my signal to the peoples, and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.* ²³ And kings shall be your _⌊guardians_⌋,* and their queens your nurses. They shall bow down, _⌊faces_⌋* to the ground, to you, and they will lick up the dust of your feet. Then* you will know that I am Yahweh; those who await me shall not be ashamed.

⁷ I abandoned you _⌊for a short_⌋* moment, but* I will gather you with great compassion. ⁸ I hid my face from you for a moment, in the flowing of anger, but* I will have compassion on you with everlasting faithfulness" says your redeemer, Yahweh.

⁶ And the _⌊foreigners_⌋* who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath, _⌊so as not to profane_⌋* it, and those who keep hold of my covenant, ⁷ I will bring them to _⌊my holy mountain_⌋;* I will make them merry in my house of prayer. their burnt offerings and their sacrifices _⌊will be accepted_⌋* on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples," ⁸ _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, who gathers* the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather to* him, to his gathered ones).

³ And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the bright light of your sunrise. ⁴ Lift up your eyes all around and see! All of them gather; they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be looked after on the hip. ⁵ Then you shall see and you shall be radiant; and your heart shall tremble and open itself wide, because the abundance of the sea shall fall upon you; the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

²⁰ and bring all your countrymen* from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh on horses and chariots* and in litters and on mules and camels, to* _⌊my holy mountain_⌋,* Jerusalem," says Yahweh, "just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh.

¹⁵ _⌊And then_⌋* after my driving them out, I will once again have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance, and each one to his land. ¹⁶ _⌊And then_⌋,* if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '_⌊as Yahweh lives_⌋,'* even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people.

⁶ For I will set my eyes* on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. And I will build them and not annihilate them, and I will plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ And I will give to them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh, and _⌊they will be my people_⌋,* and _⌊I will be their God_⌋,* for they will return to me with the whole of their heart.

¹⁴ And I will let myself be found by you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will restore your fortunes,* and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.'

¹⁸ Thus says Yahweh:
'Look, I will restore the fortunes* of the tents of Jacob, and I will have compassion on his dwellings, and the city will be rebuilt upon its mound, and the citadel fortress will stand on its rightful site. ¹⁹ And thanksgiving and the sound of merrymakers will come out from them, and I will make them numerous, and they will not be few. And I will make them honored, and they will not be lowly. ²⁰ And their children will be as of old, and their community will be established _⌊before me_⌋.* And I will punish all their oppressors. ²¹ And their noble will be from them, and their ruler will come out from their midst. And I will bring him near and he will approach me. For who is he that would pledge his heart to approach me?' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²² 'And you will be to me a people, and I will be to you God.'"

⁸ Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, those who are pregnant, and those who give birth, together, a great assembly, they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come, and with pleas for mercy I will bring them; I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path. They will not stumble in it, for I have become to Israel a father, and Ephraim, he is my firstborn." ¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, "The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock. ¹¹ For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person _⌊stronger_⌋* than he. ¹² And they will come, and they will sing for joy on the height of Zion, and they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh, over the grain, and over the wine, and over the olive oil, and over the young ones of the flock, and over the cattle. And their life will become like a well-watered garden, and they will never languish again."

³⁷ Look, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell _⌊in safety_⌋.* ³⁸ And they will be for me a people, and I will be for them God. ³⁹ And I will give to them one heart and one way, to revere me _⌊forever_⌋,* for good to them, and to their children after them. ⁴⁰ And I will _⌊make_⌋* with them _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋* that I will not turn away from them, my doing good to them, and my reverence I will put in their hearts* so that they will not turn aside from me. ⁴¹ And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."*

⁴ In those days and in that time,'" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the people* of Israel will come, they and the people* of Judah together. _⌊Weeping as they go_⌋,* they will go, and Yahweh their God they will seek. ⁵ They will ask the way to Zion, turning their faces there. They will come and join themselves to Yahweh by _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋* that will not be forgotten. ⁶ My people have become lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray. They led them away to the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their resting place.

¹⁷ Israel is a sheep scattered, lions drove them away. The first who devoured it was the king of Assyria, and now at the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones." ¹⁸ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
"Look, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ And I will restore Israel to its pasture, and it will feed on Carmel, and in Bashan, and on the hills* of Ephraim, and in Gilead its hunger will be satisfied. ²⁰ In those days and at that time," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there is none, and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found, for I will forgive those I left behind.

³³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
"The people* of Israel are oppressed, and the people* of Judah likewise, _⌊for_⌋* all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free.

⁴ And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and pierced through in her streets. ⁵ For neither Israel nor Judah is a widower from their God, from Yahweh of hosts, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel." ⁶ Flee from the midst of Babylon and save each one his life. You must not perish because of her guilt. For this is the time of vengeance for Yahweh, he will repay her what is deserved.

³⁴ Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me and sucked me dry; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like the sea monster; he has filled his belly with my delicacies; he has rinsed me. ³⁵ "May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon," the inhabitants* of Zion will say; and "My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say. ³⁶ _⌊Therefore_⌋* thus says Yahweh,
"Look, I am going to contend your case, and I will avenge your vengeance, and I will cause her sea to dry up, and I will cause her fountain to dry up. ³⁷ And Babylon will become as a heap of stones, a lair of jackals, an object of horror, and an object of hissing, _⌊without_⌋* inhabitants.

²⁴ " 'And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give* into your inner parts, and I will remove the* heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give* my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go* in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors,* and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as* God.

²⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all of the house of Israel, and I will be jealous* for _⌊my holy name_⌋.* ²⁶ And they will forget their disgrace and all of their infidelity that they displayed against me when they dwelt on their soil _⌊in safety_⌋* _⌊with nobody making them afraid_⌋.* ²⁷ When I restore them from the nations and I gather them from the countries of their enemies, then I will show myself holy through them before the eyes of many nations. ²⁸ And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, because of when I deported them into the nations, and I reassembled them to their soil, and _⌊I will not let any of them remain there any longer_⌋.* ²⁹ And I will not hide my face again from them when I pour out my Spirit over* the house of Israel," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁷ Proclaim again, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "My cities shall again overflow from prosperity, and Yahweh will comfort Zion again, and he will choose Jerusalem again." '"

¹¹ "Many nations will join themselves to Yahweh on that day, and they will be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. ¹² And Yahweh will inherit Judah as his portion _⌊in the holy land_⌋,* and he will again choose Jerusalem.

²² And many peoples and powerful* nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat _⌊the favor of_⌋* Yahweh.' ²³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'In those days ten men from _⌊all the nations of every language_⌋* will take hold of the hem of a Judean man,* saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!" '"

¹¹ From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations," says Yahweh of hosts.

⁵⁴ He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,

⁷² to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us ⁷⁴ that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, could serve him without fear

³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory to your people Israel."

¹⁴ Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: ¹⁶ 'After these things I will return and build up again the tent of David that has fallen, and the parts of it that had been torn down I will build up again and will restore it, ¹⁷ so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles* _⌊who are called by my name_⌋,* says the Lord,* who makes these things

¹² that you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, not having hope, and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones who once were far away, have become near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition, the enmity, in his flesh, ¹⁵ invalidating the law of commandments in ordinances, in order that he might create the two in himself into one new man, thus* making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, killing the enmity in himself.* ¹⁷ And coming, he proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to the ones who were near, ¹⁸ because through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ Consequently, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God,

⁶⁵ apart from their male and female servants, of whom were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred male and female singers.

¹⁸ You have ascended on high; you have led away captives. You have received gifts from among humankind, and even from the rebellious, so that Yah* God may dwell there.

⁷ At that time, a gift* will be brought to Yahweh of hosts
from a _⌊tall_⌋* and _⌊smooth_⌋* people, and from a people feared near and far, a mighty, mighty and trampling nation, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, the mountain of Zion.

²³ And kings shall be your _⌊guardians_⌋,* and their queens your nurses. They shall bow down, _⌊faces_⌋* to the ground, to you, and they will lick up the dust of your feet. Then* you will know that I am Yahweh; those who await me shall not be ashamed.

⁹ Because the coastlands wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish are first to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the holy one of Israel, because he has glorified you. ¹⁰ And _⌊foreigners_⌋* shall build your walls, and their kings shall serve you, for in my anger I struck you, but* in my favor I have taken pity on you. ¹¹ And your gates shall continually be open, day and night they shall not be shut, to bring you the wealth of nations, and their kings shall be led. ¹² For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you shall perish, and the nations shall be utterly devastated.

¹⁴ And the children of those who oppressed you shall come to you bending low, and all those who treated you disrespectfully shall bow down at the soles of your feet. And they shall call you the city of Yahweh, Zion of the holy one of Israel.

⁵ And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,* and _⌊foreigners_⌋* shall be your farmers and vinedressers.

¹⁶ _⌊Therefore_⌋* all those who devour you will be devoured, and all your foes, all of them will go into captivity, and those who plunder you will be as plunder, and all those who plunder you I will make as plunder.

¹⁸ But the holy ones* of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will take possession of the kingdom forever, _⌊forever and ever_⌋.'*

²⁵ And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones* of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time. ²⁶ Then the court will sit, and his dominion will be removed,* to be eradicated and to be destroyed _⌊totally_⌋.* ²⁷ And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the nation of the holy ones* of the Most High; his kingdom _⌊is an everlasting kingdom_⌋,* and all the dominions will serve and obey him.'

² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. ³ Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, like _⌊when he fights_⌋* on a day of battle.

²⁷ For they were pleased to do so, and they are obligated to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they ought also to serve them in material things.

⁴ requesting of us with much exhortation the favor and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints, ⁵ and not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, by the will of God.

⁵ and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

⁸ Therefore it says,
"Ascending on high he led captivity captive; he gave gifts to men."*

⁹ Behold, I am causing those of the synagogue of Satan, the ones who call themselves Jews and are not, but are lying—behold, I will make them _⌊come_⌋* and kneel down before your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

¹¹ And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here," and they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And at that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth of the city collapsed, and seven thousand _⌊people_⌋* were killed by the earthquake, and the rest became terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly! ¹⁵ And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying,
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign _⌊forever and ever_⌋*." ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,
"We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful, the one who is and the one who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give their* reward to your slaves the prophets and to the saints and to the ones who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

²⁰ Rejoice over her, heaven and the saints and the apostles and the prophets, because God has pronounced your judgment on her!" ²¹ And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
"In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again! ²² And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will never be heard in you again! And every craftsman of every trade will never be found in you again! And the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again! ²³ And the light of a lamp will never shine in you again! And the sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again! For your merchants were the most important people of the earth, because with your sorcery they deceived all the nations. ²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and all those who had been slaughtered on the earth.

⁴⁸ then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place* a yoke of iron on your neck _⌊until he has destroyed you_⌋.*

⁶⁵ And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes* and a languishing of your inner self.* ⁶⁶ And _⌊your life shall hang in doubt before you_⌋,* and you shall be startled* night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, '_⌊If only it was evening_⌋!'* and in the evening you shall say '_⌊If only it was morning_⌋!'* because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see. ⁶⁸ And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I _⌊promised_⌋* to you that '_⌊You shall not see it again_⌋!'* And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer."

⁸ But now for a brief moment mercy has been shown by Yahweh our God, who left behind for us a remnant, and given us security in his holy place—for our God to brighten our eyes and to give us brief relief in our bondage. ⁹ For we are slaves and in our bondage our God did not forsake us, and he has extended to us loyal love in the presence of the kings of Persia, to give to us deliverance* and to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ And this shall happen on that day:
the nations shall inquire of the root of Jesse, which shall be standing as a signal to the peoples, and his resting place shall be glorious.

¹ And you will say on that day, "I will give you thanks, Yahweh, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me.

¹⁸ And my people will dwell in a settlement of peace and in a dwelling place of security and in undisturbed resting places.

¹⁰ But you must not fear, my servant Jacob,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and you must not be dismayed, Israel, for look, I am going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be at rest, and he will be at ease, and there will be no one who makes him* afraid.

²⁷ "But as for you, my servant Jacob, you must not be afraid, and Israel, you must not be dismayed, for look, I am going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be quiet, and he will be at ease, and without one who makes him afraid. ²⁸ You must not be afraid, my servant Jacob," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "for I am with you. For I will make a complete destruction in all the nations where I scattered you, but you I will not make a complete destruction, though I will chastise you to the measure, and I will certainly not leave you unpunished."

³⁴ Their redeemer is strong, his name is Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace for the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

²⁴ And _⌊there will not be any longer_⌋* a painful thorn and a sharp thornbush for* the house of Israel from _⌊anywhere around them_⌋* from those _⌊who are despising them_⌋,* and they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh." '"

² "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: '_⌊I am exceedingly jealous for Zion_⌋;* I am jealous for it with great wrath.'

⁸ and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulness* and in righteousness.'

²⁰ Rejoice over her, heaven and the saints and the apostles and the prophets, because God has pronounced your judgment on her!"

¹ After these things I heard something like the loud sound of a great crowd in heaven saying,
"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ² because his judgments are true and righteous, because he has passed judgment on the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his slaves _⌊shed by_⌋* her hand!" ³ And a second time they said,
"Hallelujah!"
And her smoke goes up _⌊forever and ever_⌋*.

¹⁸ And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, the storehouses of the house of Yahweh, and the storehouses of the king and his princes, these all he brought to Babylon.

⁴ For you have shattered the yoke of its burden and the stick of its shoulder, the rod of its oppressor, on* the day of Midian.

¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans' pride, will be like _⌊when God overthrew_⌋* Sodom and Gomorrah.

⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing, that ruled the nations in anger _⌊with unrestrained persecution_⌋.*

¹⁷ who made the world like the desert and destroyed its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?'

² "I myself will go before you, and I will level the _⌊mountains_⌋.* I will break the doors of bronze and cut throughthe bars of iron. ³ And I will give you the treasures of darkness and treasures of secret places so that you may know that I am Yahweh, the one who calls you by your name, the God of Israel,

⁵ Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea, for _⌊they shall no longer call_⌋* you mistress of kingdoms.

²⁶ And I will feed your oppressors their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their blood as with wine. Then* all flesh shall know that I am Yahweh, your savior and redeemer, the strong one of Jacob."

²³ And I will put it in the hand of your tormenters, who have said to _⌊you_⌋,* 'Bow down that* we may _⌊pass_⌋* over you!' And you have _⌊made_⌋* your back like the ground, and like the street for those who _⌊pass_⌋* over you."

⁹ And I will make them as a terror, an evil to all the kingdoms of the earth, as a disgrace and a proverb, as a taunt and a curse, in all the places where I will drive them.

⁹ look, I am going to send and take all the clans* of the north,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will send* to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and _⌊everlasting ruins_⌋.* ¹⁰ And I will exterminate from them the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ And all this land will become a site of ruins, a desolation, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.* ¹² _⌊And then_⌋* when the seventy years* are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it _⌊an everlasting waste_⌋.* ¹³ And I will bring upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, everything that is written in this scroll which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For many nations and great kings will let them work, even them, and I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.'"

⁶ And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and also the animals* of the field I have given to him to serve him. ⁷ And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and _⌊his grandson_⌋,* until the coming of the time of _⌊his own_⌋* land. Then many nations and great kings will let him work.

²² The sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction. ²³ How the blacksmith's hammer of all the earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become as a horror among the nations!

²⁰ He says, "You are a war club for me, a weapon of battle, and I smash nations with you, and I destroy kingdoms with you. ²¹ And I smash the horse with you, and its rider, and I smash the chariot with you, and its rider. ²² And I smash man and woman with you, and I smash the old man and the boy with you, and I smash the young man and the young woman with you. ²³ And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you, and I smash the farmer and his team with you, and I smash the governors and the officials with you. ²⁴ And I will repay Babylon, and all the inhabitants of Chaldea, all their wickedness that they have done in Zion before your eyes," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

³⁴ Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me and sucked me dry; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like the sea monster; he has filled his belly with my delicacies; he has rinsed me. ³⁵ "May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon," the inhabitants* of Zion will say; and "My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say.

¹ How the gold has grown dim, the pure gold has changed. The stones of holiness are scattered at the head of every street.

¹⁵ And it will be* an object of taunting* and an object of mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations that are around you whenever I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in furious punishments! I, Yahweh, have spoken!

³⁸ and also _⌊human beings wherever they dwell_⌋,* the animals of the field and the birds* of heaven*—he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold.

¹⁹ "Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from _⌊all the others_⌋*—exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed and stamped the remainder with its feet— ²⁰ and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and _⌊before which three horns fell_⌋,* and this horn _⌊had eyes_⌋* and a mouth speaking _⌊boastfully_⌋,* and its appearance was larger than its companions. ²¹ _⌊I continued watching_⌋,* and this horn made war with the holy ones* and it prevailed over them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones* of the Most High; and the time arrived and the holy ones* took possession of the kingdom. ²³ "And he said, 'The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it. ²⁴ And as for the ten horns coming from it, from this kingdom* ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones* of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time.

² O Yahweh, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen? How long will I cry out to you, "Violence!" and you will not save? ³ Why do you cause me to see evil while you look at trouble? Destruction and violence happen before me; contention and strife arise. ⁴ Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice does not go forth perpetually.* For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted. ⁵ "Look among the nations and see; be astonished and astounded. For a work is about to be done in your days that you will not believe if it is told. ⁶ For look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, the bitter and impetuous nation, the one who walks through the spacious places of earth to take possession of dwellings not belonging to it.* ⁷ They* are dreadful and awesome; their* justice and their* dignity proceed from themselves.* ⁸ Their* horses are more swift than leopards; they are more menacing than wolves at dusk. Their* horsemen gallop; their* horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle that is swift to devour. ⁹ All of them* come for violence, their faces pressing forward. They gather captives like the sand. ¹⁰ And they themselves scoff at kings and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortification, and they heap up earth and take it.

⁶ Shall not all of these take up a taunt against him, with ridicule and riddles against him, saying, 'Woe to him who heaps up what is not his'? For how long? And, 'Woe to him who makes himself heavy with pledges'? ⁷ Will not your creditors suddenly rise up and awaken those who make you tremble? Then you shall be as plunder for them. ⁸ Because you plundered many nations, all the remaining nations will plunder you on account of the blood of humanity and violence against the land, and against cities and all who live in them. ⁹ Woe to him who obtains profit from evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be saved from the hand of misfortune! ¹⁰ You have plotted shame for your house, cutting off many peoples and sinning against your life. ¹¹ For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the plaster from the wood will answer it. ¹² Woe to him who builds a city by bloodguilt, and who founds a city by wickedness!

¹⁷ For the violence of Lebanon will cover you, and the destruction of wild animals will shatter them on account of the blood of humanity, and the violence against the land, against a city and all the inhabitants in it.

¹⁵ And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all people, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, that they give them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ and that no one was able to buy or to sell except the one who had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of his name.

⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying,
"You are righteous, the one who is and the one who was, the Holy One, because you have judged these things, ⁶ because they have poured out the blood of the saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; they are deserving!"

⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.
And _⌊I was greatly astonished when I saw her_⌋*.

⁵ because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. ⁶ Pay back to her as she herself also paid out, and _⌊pay back double_⌋* according to her deeds; in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her. ⁷ As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, 'I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!' ⁸ Because of this her plagues will come in one day— death and mourning and famine— and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her is powerful!"

¹⁶ saying,
"Woe, woe, the great city, dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,

³ For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the _⌊land_⌋* of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wickedness.*

⁵ Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger, and a staff is in their hand: my wrath!

²⁹ You must not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken, for a viper will come forth from the root of the snake, and its fruit will be a flying serpent.

¹⁵ Moab is destroyed, and his towns have gone up, and the choice of his young men have gone down to the slaughtering," _⌊declares_⌋* the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name. ¹⁶ "The disaster of Moab is near to come, and his disaster _⌊approaches very quickly_⌋.* ¹⁷ Mourn for him, all his surroundings, and all those who knew his name. Say, 'How the staff of might is broken, the staff of glory.'

¹⁷ Therefore he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He showed no mercy on a young man, a virgin, the elderly, or decrepit. He delivered all into his hand.

¹³ God will not turn back his anger; beneath him the helpers of Rahab bow.

³⁰ There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel to oppose Yahweh.

¹⁴ And my hand has found, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples, and like the gathering of forsaken eggs, I myself have gathered all the earth. And there was no fluttering wing or open mouth or chirp."

¹⁴ And this shall happen:
like a hunted gazelle or sheep _⌊with none to gather them_⌋,* they will each turn to his own people, and they will each flee to his own land. ¹⁵ Everyone who is found will be pierced through, and everyone who is carried away will fall by the sword. ¹⁶ And their children will be dashed into pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be raped.* ¹⁷ Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them, who do not value silver and do not delight in gold. ¹⁸ And their bows will shatter young men. And they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not look compassionately on children.

¹ The oracle of the wilderness of the sea:
As storm winds passing over in the Negev,
_⌊it comes_⌋* from the desert, from a frightful land. ² A hard revelation is told to me;
the treacherous deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; lay siege, Media!
I put an end to all of her sighing. ³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth. I am _⌊too bent to hear_⌋,* I am _⌊too dismayed to see_⌋.* ⁴ My _⌊mind_⌋* staggers; fear terrifies me; the twilight _⌊I desired_⌋* _⌊brought_⌋* me fear. ⁵ Set out the table in order! Spread out the rugs!* Eat! drink! Rise up, commanders; smear* the shield! ⁶ For the Lord said this to me:
"Go, set a watchman in position. He must announce what he sees. ⁷ When* he sees riders,* a pair of horsemen, riders* of donkeys,* riders* of camels,* _⌊then_⌋* he must listen attentively, paying attention, paying _⌊special_⌋* attention." ⁸ Then* the _⌊watchman_⌋* called,
"Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day, and I am standing at my post _⌊throughout_⌋* the night. ⁹ And look at this! A man's a chariot is coming, a pair of horsemen!"
Then* he responded and said,
"It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods are* smashed on the ground!" ¹⁰ My downtrodden people and the son of my threshing floor,
I will announce to you what I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel.

¹ Ah, destroyer, and yourself not destroyed! And treacherous one, and no one has dealt treacherously with him!* When you _⌊cease_⌋* destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop dealing treacherously, one will deal treacherously with you.

¹⁰ who from the beginning declares the end, and from before, things that have not been done, who says, 'My plan shall stand,' and, 'I will accomplish* all my wishes,'* ¹¹ who calls a bird of prey from the east, the man of his* plan from a country from afar. Indeed I have spoken; indeed I will bring it to being. I have formed it; indeed I will do it.

¹ Come down and sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Chaldea! For _⌊they shall no longer call_⌋* you tender and delicate. ² Take the pair of mill stones and grind flour! Uncover your veil, strip off your skirt, uncover your thigh, pass through the rivers! ³ Your nakedness shall be exposed; indeed, your shame shall become visible. I will take vengeance and I will not _⌊spare_⌋* a person. ⁴ Our redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the holy one of Israel. ⁵ Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea, for _⌊they shall no longer call_⌋* you mistress of kingdoms. ⁶ I was angry with my people; I profaned my inheritance, and I gave them into your hand. You did not _⌊give_⌋* them mercy; on the aged you made your yoke very heavy. ⁷ And you said, "I shall be an eternal mistress forever!" You did not set these things upon your heart; you did not remember its end. ⁸ Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits* in security, who says* in her heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one. I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children." ⁹ And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you _⌊completely_⌋,* in spite of your many sorceries, in spite of the power of your great enchantments. ¹⁰ And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "_⌊No one_⌋* sees* me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one." ¹¹ And evil shall come upon you, you will not know; it will be on the lookout for her. And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to _⌊avert_⌋* it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know. ¹² Stand, now, in your enchantments, and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you may be able to benefit; perhaps you may _⌊scare away_⌋.* ¹³ You struggle with your many consultations;* let them stand, now, and save you— those who see the stars, divide the _⌊celestial sphere_⌋,* who inform by new moons— from those things that are coming upon you. ¹⁴ Look! They are like stubble; the fire burns them completely. They cannot deliver _⌊themselves_⌋* from the _⌊power_⌋* of the flame; there is no coal _⌊for warming oneself_⌋,* no fire before which to sit. ¹⁵ So are to you those with whom you have labored, your traders from your youth. They wander, each to his side; there is no one who can save you.

⁹ look, I am going to send and take all the clans* of the north,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will send* to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and _⌊everlasting ruins_⌋.*

²⁶ and all the kings of the north, near and far, each one to his brother, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach, he will drink after them.

³¹ "Look, I am against you, O arrogant one," _⌊declares_⌋* Lord Yahweh of hosts, "for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.

³⁵ And all the dwellers of the earth are regarded as nothing, and he does _⌊according to_⌋* his desire in the host of heaven and among the dwellers of earth, and there is not one who can hold back his hand, or _⌊ask him_⌋,* 'What are you doing?'

¹⁹ "Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from _⌊all the others_⌋*—exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed and stamped the remainder with its feet— ²⁰ and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and _⌊before which three horns fell_⌋,* and this horn _⌊had eyes_⌋* and a mouth speaking _⌊boastfully_⌋,* and its appearance was larger than its companions. ²¹ _⌊I continued watching_⌋,* and this horn made war with the holy ones* and it prevailed over them,

¹³ For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For God put into their hearts to carry out his purpose and to make _⌊a unanimous decision_⌋* and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

⁸ Because of this her plagues will come in one day— death and mourning and famine— and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her is powerful!" ⁹ And the kings of the earth will weep and mourn over her, those who committed sexual immorality and lived sensually with her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ standing _⌊far off_⌋* because of the fear of her torment, saying,
"Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the powerful city, because in one hour your judgment has come!"

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. Let the sea with* its fullness roar. ¹² Let the field with* all that is in it exult. Then all the trees of the forests will sing for joy ¹³ before Yahweh, for he is coming; for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his faithfulness.

¹ A psalm.*
Sing to* Yahweh a new song, for he has done wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have secured his victory.

⁷ Let the sea with* its fullness roar, the world and those who live in it. ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing joyfully together ⁹ before Yahweh, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

¹ A song of ascents.*
When Yahweh restored the fortunes* of Zion,* we were like dreamers. ² Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. Then they said among the nations, "Yahweh has done great things for these people." ³ Yahweh has done great things for us; we are glad.

¹⁰ When good is with the righteous, the city rejoices, and with the perishing of the wicked, jubilation.

⁴⁸ Then the heaven and the earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for from the north the destroyers will come to it," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

¹ After these things I heard something like the loud sound of a great crowd in heaven saying,
"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ² because his judgments are true and righteous, because he has passed judgment on the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his slaves _⌊shed by_⌋* her hand!" ³ And a second time they said,
"Hallelujah!"
And her smoke goes up _⌊forever and ever_⌋*. ⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
"Amen! Hallelujah!" ⁵ And a voice came out from the throne, saying,
"Praise our God all his slaves, and those who fear him, the small and the great!" ⁶ And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying,
"Hallelujah! For the Lord God,* the All-Powerful, reigns!

¹² For you shall go out in joy, and you shall be led in peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you, rejoicing and all the trees of the field shall clap hands.* ¹³ Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper shall go up; instead of the brier, the myrtle shall go up, and it shall serve as a memorial to Yahweh, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

¹⁶ From the sound of its downfall I caused nations to shake when I made it go down to Sheol, with the people going down to the grave,* and so in the world below all of the trees of Eden, the choice and the best of Lebanon, _⌊all the well-watered trees_⌋* were comforted!

² Wail, O juniper,* for the cedar has fallen, for the magnificent trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

²⁴ The path of life leads upward for him who has insight, in order to turn away from Sheol below.

⁸ Flee from the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans. Go out and be like he-goats _⌊before_⌋* the flock.

²¹ The chiefs of the warriors will speak to him from the middle of Sheol; with his helpers they have gone down; the uncircumcised lie still, _⌊those slain by the sword_⌋.* ²² Assyria is there and all of its assembly; all around it are its graves, all of them killed, those fallen by the sword, ²³ who* will be given its graves in the remote areas of the pit, and its assembly will be all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living. ²⁴ Elam is there and all of its hordes, all around its grave, all of them dead who fell by the sword, those who went down uncircumcised to the depths of the underworld,* those who spread their terror to the land of the living, and now they bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave.* ²⁵ In the midst of the slain they made a bed for her with all of her hordes all around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror was spread in the land of the living, and they now bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave;* in the midst of the slain it was placed. ²⁶ Meshech and Tubal are there and all of its hordes, all around him its graves, all of them uncircumcised and killed by the sword, for they gave their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ And they do not lie with warriors fallen from long ago, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war,* and they placed their sword under their heads, and their shields* were on their bones, for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living. ²⁸ And you* too in the midst of uncircumcised people will be broken, and you will lie with those slain by the sword. ²⁹ There is Edom, its kings and all of its leaders who are laid along with their might with those killed by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with the people going down to the grave.* ³⁰ There are also the princes of the north, all of them, all of the Sidonians who have gone down, being ashamed to lie with the slain because* of their terror that they caused from their might, and they lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and they bear their disgrace along with the people going down to the grave.* ³¹ Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted over all of his hordes killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all of his army," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ³² "For* he spread* my terror in the land of the living, and so he will be laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword: Pharaoh and all of his hordes,"_⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

⁶ those who trust their wealth and boast about the abundance of their riches? ⁷ Surely a man cannot redeem a brother. He cannot give to God his ransom ⁸ (since* the redemption price for their life is costly and it always fails), ⁹ so that he may stay alive forever and not see the pit. ¹⁰ For he sees that the wise die, together with the fool and brute they perish, and leave their wealth to the next generation. ¹¹ Within them they think their houses are forever, their dwelling places from generation to generation. They _⌊name_⌋* their lands by their own names. ¹² But man cannot continue in his pomp. He is like the beasts that perish. ¹³ This is the journey* of those who have foolish confidence, and those after them who accept their sayings. Selah ¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined to Sheol; death will shepherd them. But the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their forms will be for Sheol to consume, far from his lofty abode.

²⁰ Humankind in its pomp, but does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.

⁶ I have said,* "You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. ⁷ However, you will die like men,* and you will fall like one of the princes."

¹⁶ Certainly no one will remember the wise man or the fool in _⌊future generations_⌋.* When future days come, both will have been forgotten already. How is it that the wise man dies the same as the fool?

²¹ The chiefs of the warriors will speak to him from the middle of Sheol; with his helpers they have gone down; the uncircumcised lie still, _⌊those slain by the sword_⌋.*

²⁰ And a certain poor man _⌊named_⌋* Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, ²¹ and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and* licked his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to _⌊Abraham's side_⌋.* And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he* was in torment and* saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus _⌊at his side_⌋.*

¹³ If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I spread my couch in the darkness, ¹⁴ if I call to the pit, 'You are my father,' to the maggot, 'You are my mother or* my sister,'

¹¹ They send out their little ones like the flock, and their children dance around. ¹² They _⌊sing_⌋* to the tambourine and lyre, and they rejoice to the sound of the long flute. ¹³ They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. ¹⁴ And they say to God, 'Turn away from us, for* we do not desire to know your ways. ¹⁵ Who is Shaddai that we should serve him, or* what would we benefit when we plead with him?'

¹⁹ Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters, like Sheol snatches away those* who have sinned. ²⁰ The womb forgets him. The maggot feasts on him until he is no longer remembered, and wickedness is broken like a* tree.

⁴ My _⌊mind_⌋* staggers; fear terrifies me; the twilight _⌊I desired_⌋* _⌊brought_⌋* me fear. ⁵ Set out the table in order! Spread out the rugs!* Eat! drink! Rise up, commanders; smear* the shield!

² _⌊noisy_⌋,* tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain by the sword, nor are they dead from battle.

²⁴ "And they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people* _⌊who have rebelled_⌋* against me,
for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

¹³ And, I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will not be heard any longer.

¹⁹ _⌊You are more lovely than whom_⌋?* Go down and be laid in rest with the uncircumcised. ²⁰ In the midst of the people slain by the sword it* is given they will fall to a sword; they carried her* off and all of her* hordes.

¹ Belshazzar the king made a great festival for a thousand of his lords,* and _⌊in the presence of_⌋* the thousand lords he was drinking wine.* ² _⌊When he tasted the wine_⌋,* Belshazzar commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his _⌊predecessor_⌋* had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords,* his wives and his concubines may drink from them. ³ Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords,* his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.*

²⁵ "Now this was the writing that was inscribed: 'Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.' ²⁶ "This is the explanation of the matter:* 'Mene'—God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end to it. ²⁷ " 'Tekel'—you have been weighed on scales and you have been found wanting.* ²⁸ " 'Peres'—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.'" ²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple and placed a necklace of gold around his neck, and they made a proclamation concerning him that he would be the third ruler in authority in the kingdom. ³⁰ _⌊That same night_⌋* Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.

³ You that put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of violence! ⁴ Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and those eating young rams from the sheep and goats, and bull-calves from the middle of the animal stall. ⁵ Alas for those who sing to the tune of the harp; like David they improvise on instruments of music. ⁶ Alas for those who drink from sprinkling bowls of wine and anoint themselves with the best of olive oils and are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. ⁷ Therefore, they shall now go into exile at the head of the exiles and the feast of lounging shall pass away.

⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire!*

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!*

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.'*

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple cloth and silk and scarlet cloth and all kinds of scented wood and all kinds of ivory goods and all kinds of goods of precious wood and bronze and iron and marble ¹³ and cinnamon and amomum* and incense and ointment and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine wheat flour and wheat and domesticated animals and sheep and horses and carriages and _⌊slaves_⌋* and human lives. ¹⁴ "And _⌊the fruit your soul desires_⌋* has departed from you, and all the luxury and the splendor has perished from you, and they will never find them any more." ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who became rich from them, will stand _⌊far off_⌋*, weeping and mourning because of the fear of her torment, ¹⁶ saying,
"Woe, woe, the great city, dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, ¹⁷ because in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!"
And every shipmaster and _⌊every seafarer_⌋* and sailors and all those who labor on the sea stood _⌊far off_⌋* ¹⁸ and began to cry out when they* saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "Who is like the great city?" ¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying,
"Woe, woe, the great city, in which all those who had ships on the sea became rich from her prosperity, because in one hour she has been laid waste!"

¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will keep back when it comes out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

⁴ that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon, and you will say: "How the oppressor has ceased! his insolence* has ceased. ⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, ⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing, that ruled the nations in anger _⌊with unrestrained persecution_⌋.*

⁴ and all the host of heaven shall rot. And the skies shall roll up like a scroll, and all their host shall wither like the withering of a leaf from a vine, or* like the withering from a fig tree.

²³ How the blacksmith's hammer of all the earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become as a horror among the nations!

¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone was your adornment: carnelian, topaz and moonstone,* turquoise, onyx and jasper, sapphire,* malachite and emerald. And gold was the craftsmanship of your settings and your mountings in you; on the day when you were created they were prepared. ¹⁴ You were an anointed guardian cherub, and I placed you on _⌊God's holy mountain_⌋;* you walked in the midst of stones of fire. ¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways from the day _⌊when you were created_⌋,* until wickedness was found in you. ¹⁶ In the abundance of your trading, they filled the midst of you with violence, and you sinned; and I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I expelled you, the guardian* cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁷ Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor. I threw you on the ground _⌊before_⌋* kings; I have exposed you _⌊for viewing_⌋.*

¹⁸ So he said to them, "I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven.

¹⁹ and we possess as more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well if you* pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held them captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness and handed them over to be kept for judgment,

²⁸ as I also have received from my Father, and I will give him the morning star.

¹⁰ And the third angel blew the trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

¹ And the fifth angel blew the trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the shaft of the abyss was given to him.

⁷ And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels _⌊fought against_⌋* the dragon, and the dragon and his angels _⌊fought back_⌋*. ⁸ And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
"Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

¹⁶ "I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

² Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is _⌊Mount Zion_⌋,* _⌊in the far north_⌋,* the city of the great king.

² And it shall happen in the future of the days the mountain of the house* of Yahweh shall be established; it will be among the highest* of the mountains, and it shall be raised from the hills. All of the nations shall travel to him;

⁷ And you said, "I shall be an eternal mistress forever!" You did not set these things upon your heart; you did not remember its end. ⁸ Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits* in security, who says* in her heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one. I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children." ⁹ And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you _⌊completely_⌋,* in spite of your many sorceries, in spite of the power of your great enchantments. ¹⁰ And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "_⌊No one_⌋* sees* me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one."

³ And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at the entrance of the sea as the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
Tyre, _⌊you yourself said_⌋* "I am perfect _⌊in beauty_⌋!"*

² "Son of man,* say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
"Because your heart was haughty, and you said, 'I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, I sit in the heart of the seas!' But* you are a human, not a god, and you gave your heart to be like the heart of a god.

⁹ _⌊Will you indeed still say_⌋* "I am a god!" before the face of your killers?* And in fact you are a human* and not a god in the hand of _⌊those who pierce you_⌋.*

¹² "Son of man,* raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and you must say to him, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh:
"You were a perfect model of* an example, full of wisdom and perfect of beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone was your adornment: carnelian, topaz and moonstone,* turquoise, onyx and jasper, sapphire,* malachite and emerald. And gold was the craftsmanship of your settings and your mountings in you; on the day when you were created they were prepared. ¹⁴ You were an anointed guardian cherub, and I placed you on _⌊God's holy mountain_⌋;* you walked in the midst of stones of fire. ¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways from the day _⌊when you were created_⌋,* until wickedness was found in you. ¹⁶ In the abundance of your trading, they filled the midst of you with violence, and you sinned; and I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I expelled you, the guardian* cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

³ Speak, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh:
"Look! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great sea monster, the one lying down in the midst of his Nile streams, who says to me, "It is my Nile, and I made it for myself."*

³⁰ And the king answered and said, "Is this not the great Babylon which I have built as a royal palace by the strength of my own power, and for the glory of my own majesty?" ³¹ While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, saying, 'To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you,

²² "But you his _⌊successor_⌋,* Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart _⌊even though_⌋* you knew all this. ²³ And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords,* your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from* them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone* that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God _⌊who holds your life in his hand_⌋* and all of your ways _⌊come from him_⌋,* you have not honored.

¹⁰ And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them. ¹¹ Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. ¹² And on account of transgression, the host was given over to the horn in addition to the regular burnt offering. And it cast down truth to the ground, and it _⌊acted_⌋,* and it had success.

¹⁵ This is the city of rejoicing that lived securely; the one saying in her heart, "_⌊I am, and there is none besides me_⌋."* How she has become a desolation, a lair for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.

⁴ who opposes and who exalts himself over every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.

⁵ For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods,* knowing good and evil."

²³ Whom have you taunted and blasphemed, and against whom have you raised up your voice and lifted your eyes upward?
To the holy one of Israel! ²⁴ By the hand of your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said, "With my many chariots,* I myself have gone up the height of the mountains, to the remote areas of Lebanon. And I cut off _⌊its tall cedars_⌋,* the choicest of its junipers. And I came to the height of its limit, the forest of its orchard.*

⁸ Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits* in security, who says* in her heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one. I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children."

³ And it shall happen on the day Yahweh gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and hard labor which _⌊you had to perform_⌋,* ⁴ that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon, and you will say: "How the oppressor has ceased! his insolence* has ceased. ⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, ⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath, a blow without ceasing, that ruled the nations in anger _⌊with unrestrained persecution_⌋.* ⁷ All of the earth rests and is quiet; they break forth into singing. ⁸ Even the cypresses rejoice over you, the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since you were laid down, no wood cutter comes up against us.' ⁹ Sheol below is getting excited over you, to meet _⌊you when you come_⌋;* it arouses the dead spirits for you, all of the leaders of the earth. It raises all of the kings of the nations from their thrones. ¹⁰ All of them will respond and say to you, 'You yourself also were made weak like us! You have become the same as us!' ¹¹ Your pride is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps; maggots* are spread out beneath you like a bed, and your covering is worms.*

⁸ They will thrust you down to the pit, and you will die _⌊a violent death_⌋* in the heart of the seas. ⁹ _⌊Will you indeed still say_⌋* "I am a god!" before the face of your killers?* And in fact you are a human* and not a god in the hand of _⌊those who pierce you_⌋.*

²³ who* will be given its graves in the remote areas of the pit, and its assembly will be all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.

¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No! You will be brought down to Hades!

²² But the people began to call out loudly,* "The voice of a god and not of a man!" ²³ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down _⌊because_⌋* he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and* died.

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

⁷ "Look, the man who would not make God his refuge, but he trusted in the greatness of his wealth; he took refuge in his destructiveness."

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ And people* will say, "Surely there is a _⌊reward_⌋* for the righteous. Surely there is a God who judges in the land."*

⁹ And then* all men* will fear, and will declare the working of God, and will understand his doing.

⁴ that you will take this taunt against the king of Babylon, and you will say: "How the oppressor has ceased! his insolence* has ceased. ⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,

²⁰ He says, "You are a war club for me, a weapon of battle, and I smash nations with you, and I destroy kingdoms with you. ²¹ And I smash the horse with you, and its rider, and I smash the chariot with you, and its rider. ²² And I smash man and woman with you, and I smash the old man and the boy with you, and I smash the young man and the young woman with you. ²³ And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you, and I smash the farmer and his team with you, and I smash the governors and the officials with you.

⁸ And the Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their brothers, women, sons, and daughters. And they also plundered much booty from them and brought the booty to Samaria. ⁹ Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded was his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, "Look, it is on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* against Judah that he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens. ¹⁰ So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. _⌊Is there not also guilt on your part_⌋* against Yahweh your God? ¹¹ So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh is against you." ¹² Then men from the heads of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berekiah the son of Meshillemoth, Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—stood against those returning from the fight. ¹³ And they said to them, "You shall not bring the captives here, for it is as guilt against Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and there is great anger against Israel." ¹⁴ So the soldiers left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men designated by name arose and took the captives and from the plunder clothed all their nakedness. So they clothed them, gave them sandals, gave them food to eat, gave them water to drink, anointed them, and guided them with the donkeys provided for all those who stumbled, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, next to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

² "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he himself has appointed me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever among you who is from all of his people, may his God be with him and may he go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may he build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And let every survivor, from wherever he _⌊resides_⌋* be assisted by the men of that place with silver and gold, with possessions and domestic animals, and with the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem."

¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans' pride, will be like _⌊when God overthrew_⌋* Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁰ It will not be inhabited forever, and it will not be dwelled in _⌊forever_⌋;* and no Arab will pitch a tent there, and shepherds will not allow their flocks to lie down there. ²¹ But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures, and the daughters of ostriches* will live there, and goats will dance there. ²² And hyenas will answer in its palaces, and jackals in the pleasure palaces; and its time _⌊is coming soon_⌋,* and its days will not be prolonged.

¹³ I myself have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his paths smooth. He himself shall build my city, and he shall set my exiles free,
not for price or a gift," says Yahweh of hosts.

⁶ Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and _⌊tear_⌋* every yoke to pieces?

¹⁰ _⌊Your holy cities_⌋* have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

¹⁴ And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland from the desert to Riblah in all of their dwellings, and they will know that I am Yahweh." '"

³ _⌊Before them_⌋* a fire devours, and behind them a flame burns. Like the garden of Eden is the land _⌊before them_⌋,* and after them it is like a desolate desert, and nothing can escape them.

¹³ And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and he will destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry wasteland like the desert. ¹⁴ Herds shall lie down in her midst, every wild animal of a nation; even the desert owl and the screech owl shall lodge on her capitals. A voice shall hoot in the window; rubble* on the threshold; for the cedar is laid bare.

¹⁶ And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, for he did good in Israel and with respect to God and his house.

²⁵ And when they were going away from him (for they had left him with many wounds), his servants conspired against him on account of the blood of the sons* of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed him on his bed and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him at the burial sites of the kings.

²³ Indeed, I know that you will bring me to death and to the house of assembly for all the living.

³ Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart* is not satisfied with _⌊his prosperity_⌋* and _⌊he does not receive a proper burial_⌋,* I deem the stillborn better than him.

⁵ They are afraid of heights, and terrors are on the road. The almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets.

¹⁶ 'What _⌊business do you have_⌋* here, and who _⌊do you have_⌋* here, that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself, carving his grave on the height, a dwelling place for him in the rock?

¹⁸ "Son of man,* mourn over the hordes of Egypt, and make her go down, and with her the daughters of mighty nations, _⌊down to the deep underworld_⌋* with the people going down to the grave.* ¹⁹ _⌊You are more lovely than whom_⌋?* Go down and be laid in rest with the uncircumcised. ²⁰ In the midst of the people slain by the sword it* is given they will fall to a sword; they carried her* off and all of her* hordes.

¹⁹ You shall say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Have you committed murder and also taken possession?" ' You shall also say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will also lick your blood." '"

²⁴ The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat."

²⁵ He said to Bidkar his third servant, "Lift him out and throw him on the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for remember, you and I were with the pair of chariots behind Ahab his father when Yahweh pronounced this oracle against him:

³⁴ Then he came and ate and drank, and said, "Please take care of this cursed one and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king." ³⁵ When they went to bury her, they could not find her, except the skull, the feet, and the palms of the hands. ³⁶ They returned and told him, and he said, "This is the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'On the plot of ground of Jezreel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.'"

¹⁶ 'What _⌊business do you have_⌋* here, and who _⌊do you have_⌋* here, that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself, carving his grave on the height, a dwelling place for him in the rock? ¹⁷ Look! Yahweh is about to _⌊really hurl_⌋* you, man! And he is about to grasp you firmly; ¹⁸ he will wind a winding tightly around you like a ball, to a _⌊wide land_⌋.* There you shall die, and there the chariots of your splendor will be, disgrace to your master's house!

¹ "At that time," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its officials, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Judah from their graves. ² And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.

⁶ Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them.

¹⁹ He will be buried with the burial of a donkey. He will be* dragged away and thrown _⌊outside_⌋* the gates of Jerusalem.

⁷ _⌊And then_⌋,* the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, _⌊along with_⌋* the men who were with him, slaughtered* them and threw them to the middle of the pit.*

⁹ Now the pit* into which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed _⌊along with_⌋* Gedaliah was the same one that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, who was against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain ones.

¹⁶ His roots dry up _⌊below_⌋,* and its branches* wither away above.*

¹⁹ There is no offspring for him nor* a descendant among his people, and there is not a survivor in his abode.

¹⁰ You will destroy their _⌊offspring_⌋* from the earth, and their _⌊descendants_⌋* from among the children of humankind.

²⁸ For Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful ones. They are protected forever. But the children of the wicked will be cut off.

¹³ Let his descendants* be cut off. Let their name be blotted out in the next generation.

⁸ O daughter of Babylon, about to be devastated, happy shall be he who pays back to you _⌊what you paid out to us_⌋.* ⁹ Happy shall be he who seizes and smashes your children against the rock.

⁴ Ah, sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken Yahweh; they have despised the holy one of Israel. They are estranged and gone backward.

¹⁵ Everyone who is found will be pierced through, and everyone who is carried away will fall by the sword. ¹⁶ And their children will be dashed into pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be raped.* ¹⁷ Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them, who do not value silver and do not delight in gold. ¹⁸ And their bows will shatter young men. And they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not look compassionately on children. ¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans' pride, will be like _⌊when God overthrew_⌋* Sodom and Gomorrah.

⁵ You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations* of those hating me,

³⁹ And because of their guilt, the ones among you who remain shall decay in the land of their enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their ancestors,* they shall decay with them.

³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

¹⁰ Therefore, look, I am about to bring disaster upon the house of Jeroboam, and I will cut off _⌊males_⌋* from Jeroboam, bond or free, in Israel. I will burn after the house of Jeroboam as one burns after the manure, until it is finished.

¹⁶ His roots dry up _⌊below_⌋,* and its branches* wither away above.* ¹⁷ His remembrance perishes from the earth, and there is not a name for him on the street. ¹⁸ "They thrust him from light into darkness, and they drive him out from the world. ¹⁹ There is no offspring for him nor* a descendant among his people, and there is not a survivor in his abode.

⁷ The memory of righteousness is like a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁵ They are coming from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, Yahweh and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy _⌊the whole earth_⌋.*

⁹ And look at this! A man's a chariot is coming, a pair of horsemen!"
Then* he responded and said,
"It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods are* smashed on the ground!"

¹⁴ Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the holy one of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon, and I will cause all of them to fall down as fugitives, and _⌊the Chaldeans_⌋,* their rejoicing on the ships.

⁹ And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you _⌊completely_⌋,* in spite of your many sorceries, in spite of the power of your great enchantments. ¹⁰ And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "_⌊No one_⌋* sees* me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and besides me there is no one." ¹¹ And evil shall come upon you, you will not know; it will be on the lookout for her. And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to _⌊avert_⌋* it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know. ¹² Stand, now, in your enchantments, and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you may be able to benefit; perhaps you may _⌊scare away_⌋.* ¹³ You struggle with your many consultations;* let them stand, now, and save you— those who see the stars, divide the _⌊celestial sphere_⌋,* who inform by new moons— from those things that are coming upon you. ¹⁴ Look! They are like stubble; the fire burns them completely. They cannot deliver _⌊themselves_⌋* from the _⌊power_⌋* of the flame; there is no coal _⌊for warming oneself_⌋,* no fire before which to sit.

²⁶ Come against her from the end, open her granaries. Pile her up like heaps and destroy her. Let there be no remnant for her. ²⁷ Massacre all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughtering. Woe to them, for their day has come, the time of their punishment.

²⁹ Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp all around her, there must not be for her an escape. Take revenge on her according to her deeds. According to all that she has done, so do to her. For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently, against the Holy One of Israel. ³⁰ _⌊Therefore_⌋* her young men will fall in her public squares, and all _⌊her soldiers_⌋* will perish on that day," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ³¹ "Look, I am against you, O arrogant one," _⌊declares_⌋* Lord Yahweh of hosts, "for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. ³² And the arrogant one will stumble and fall, and there is no one who raises him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him." ³³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
"The people* of Israel are oppressed, and the people* of Judah likewise, _⌊for_⌋* all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free. ³⁴ Their redeemer is strong, his name is Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace for the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. ³⁵ A sword against the Chaldeans," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials, and against her wise men.

³ Let not him who bends the bow shoot his bow, and let him not rise high in his body armor. And you must not spare her young men; destroy her whole army. ⁴ And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and pierced through in her streets.

⁵⁶ For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors are captured. Their bows are broken; for Yahweh is a God of recompense, certainly he will repay. ⁵⁷ "And I will make drunk her officials, and her wise men, her governors, and her officials, and her warriors, and they will sleep _⌊an everlasting sleep_⌋,* and they will not wake up," _⌊declares_⌋* the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name.

⁶² And you must say, 'Yahweh, you yourself spoke against this place, to destroy it, so that there will not be in it anything living, from humankind to animals,* for it will be _⌊an everlasting desolation_⌋.'* ⁶³ _⌊And then_⌋* when you finish reading aloud this scroll, you must tie a stone on it, and you must throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. ⁶⁴ And you must say, 'Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, _⌊because of_⌋* the face of the disasters* that I am bringing on her, and they will grow weary.'" _⌊Thus far_⌋* the words of Jeremiah.

¹³ I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes the dish; he wipes it and turns it on its face.

¹¹ But* the large bird and the hedgehog shall take possession of it, and the owl and the raven shall live in it. And he shall stretch the measuring line of confusion out over it, and the plumb line of emptiness. ¹² Its nobles—but no kingdom is there—shall call, and all its princes shall be nothing. ¹³ And thorns shall go up her citadel fortress, weeds* and thistle plants* in her fortresses; and it shall be the settlement of jackals, green grass for the daughters of an ostrich. ¹⁴ And desert creatures shall meet with hyenas, and a goat-demon shall call to his neighbor; surely there Lilith* shall repose, and she shall find a resting place for herself. ¹⁵ There the owl shall nest and lay and hatch and care for her chicks in her shadow; surely there the birds of prey shall be gathered, each one with her mate.

³⁹ _⌊Therefore_⌋* desert creatures will live there* with jackals, and daughters of ostriches* will inhabit her. And she will not be inhabited again _⌊forever_⌋,* and she will not be dwelt in _⌊for all generations_⌋.* ⁴⁰ As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "no one will live there, and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.

²⁵ "Look, I am against you, O mountain of the destruction," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "the one that destroys the whole earth. And I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will roll you down from the cliffs, and I will make you as a mountain burned away. ²⁶ They will not take from you a stone for a corner, and a stone for a foundation, for you will be _⌊an everlasting desolation_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁴² The sea has risen over Babylon, she has been covered by the roar of its waves. ⁴³ Her cities have become as an object of horror, a dry land and a wilderness,* a land in which no person lives, nor does a son of humankind pass through it.

¹⁴ Herds shall lie down in her midst, every wild animal of a nation; even the desert owl and the screech owl shall lodge on her capitals. A voice shall hoot in the window; rubble* on the threshold; for the cedar is laid bare.

⁸ And another second angel followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

² And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying,
"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and it has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean bird and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal.

²¹ And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
"In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again! ²² And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will never be heard in you again! And every craftsman of every trade will never be found in you again! And the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again! ²³ And the light of a lamp will never shine in you again! And the sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again! For your merchants were the most important people of the earth, because with your sorcery they deceived all the nations.

¹⁶ And he said, "Because a hand was against the throne of Yah,* a war will be for Yahweh with Amalek from generation to generation."

¹³ "But* he is _⌊alone_⌋,* and who can dissuade him? And _⌊whatever he desires_⌋,* _⌊indeed_⌋,* he does it.

¹⁰ Yahweh brings to nothing* the plan of nations; he frustrates* the intents of peoples.

⁵ How great are your deeds, O Yahweh; how very deep are your thoughts.

⁴ Yahweh has sworn and he will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek."

²¹ Many plans are in the heart* of a man, but the purpose of Yahweh will be established.

²⁰ The _⌊anger_⌋* of Yahweh will not turn back until his doing and until his keeping the plans of his _⌊mind_⌋.* _⌊In latter days_⌋* you will look closely at it with understanding.

¹¹ For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope.

²⁶ _⌊Therefore_⌋* hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah, those who live in the land of Egypt: 'Look, I hereby swear by my great name,' says Yahweh, 'surely my name will no longer be called in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, "_⌊as the Lord Yahweh lives_⌋,"* in all the land of Egypt.

³⁷ _⌊Who can speak_⌋* and it will happen if the Lord has not commanded it?

⁷ Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds!

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and* said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.*

²⁸ to do all that your hand and plan* had predestined to take place.

⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him,

³ For we who have believed enter into rest,* just as he has said,
"As I swore in my anger, '_⌊They will never enter_⌋* into my rest.'"*
And yet these works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world.

¹⁶ For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. ¹⁷ In the same way God, because he* wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us,

¹² And this shall happen: when the Lord has finished all his work against _⌊Mount Zion_⌋* and Jerusalem, "I will punish the _⌊arrogance_⌋* of the king of Assyria and _⌊his haughtiness_⌋."*

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send leanness among his sturdy warriors, and a burning like the burning of fire will burn under his glory. ¹⁷ And the light of Israel will become like a fire, and his holy one like a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns* and briers* in one day. ¹⁸ And he will destroy the glory of his forest and orchard _⌊completely_⌋,* and it will be like the wasting away of one who is sick. ¹⁹ And the rest of the trees* of his forest will be a small number, and a boy can write them down.

²⁴ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh of hosts:
"My people who live in Zion, you must not be afraid of Assyria. It beats you with the rod, and it lifts up its staff against you _⌊as the Egyptians did_⌋.* ²⁵ My indignation will come to an end _⌊in just a very little while_⌋,* and my anger will be directed to their destruction." ²⁶ And Yahweh of hosts is going to swing a whip against him, as when Midian was defeated at the rock of Oreb; and his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift him up _⌊as he did in Egypt_⌋.* ²⁷ And this shall happen: on that day,
he will remove his burden from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck, _⌊and a yoke will be destroyed because of fat_⌋.*

³² _⌊This day_⌋* _⌊taking a stand_⌋* at Nob, he will shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter* of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. ³³ Look! The Lord Yahweh of hosts is about to lop off the branches* with great power, and _⌊the towering trees_⌋* will be felled, and the _⌊tall trees_⌋* will be brought low. ³⁴ And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with the axe, and Lebanon will fall by the mighty one.

⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,

¹² Ah! The noise of many peoples, they make a noise like the noise of the seas! And the roar of nations, they roar like the roar of mighty waters! ¹³ The nations roar like the roar of many waters, but he will rebuke him, and he will flee far away. And they are chased like chaff of the mountains before the wind and like tumbleweed before the storm. ¹⁴ At the time of evening, and look, terror! Before morning he is no more. This is the fate of those who plunder us and the lot of those who plunder us.

³⁰ And Yahweh will cause the majesty of his voice to be heard, and he will cause the descent of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and a rainstorm and stones* of hail. ³¹ Indeed, Assyria will be shattered by the voice of Yahweh; he strikes with the rod. ³² And every stroke of the staff of foundation* that Yahweh lays will be on it with timbrels and lyres, and he will fight against it* with battles of brandishing. ³³ For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood _⌊abundant_⌋.* The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.

⁸ And Assyria shall fall by a sword not of a man, and a sword not of a human shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor. ⁹ And his rock will pass over because of terror, and his officers will be terrified because of the flag," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, who has a fire in Zion and has a furnace in Jerusalem.

³⁶ And the angel of Yahweh set out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When* they rose in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. ³⁷ Then* Sennacherib king of Assyria left, went, and returned and lived at Nineveh. ³⁸ And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.

⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all of your troops, and the peoples who are with you, to birds* of prey, birds of every wing,* and animals of the field I will give you as food.

¹³ And now, I will break his yoke from upon you; I will snap your bonds."

¹² You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

²⁵ Therefore _⌊Yahweh's wrath was kindled_⌋* against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them* and struck them,* and the mountains quaked, and their corpses* were like refuse in the middle of the streets.

⁹ Yahweh of hosts has planned it: to defile the pride of all glory, to humble all the honored ones of the earth.

⁶ "I have cut off nations; their strongholds are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, so that none pass through. Their cities have been destroyed and are without a man, without an inhabitant. ⁷ I have said, 'Surely she will fear me; she will accept discipline. Then her dwelling place will not be cut down, nor all that I have brought upon her.' Surely they rise early; they make all their deeds corrupt. ⁸ "Therefore, wait for me"—a declaration of Yahweh— "for the day of my rising as a witness. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble* kingdoms, to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger. For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.

⁶ And he said, "O Yahweh, God of our ancestors,* are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand are power and might, and there is none who can resist against you.

¹² _⌊If_⌋* he would snatch away, who could turn him? Who could say to him, 'What are you doing?'

⁸ "Indeed, would you annul my justice? Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?

¹¹ The plan of Yahweh stands firm forever, the intents of his heart _⌊from one generation to the next_⌋.*

¹² Aram from the east and Philistines* from the west— and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth. He has not turned away his anger in all of this, and his hand is still stretched out.

¹³ Indeed, from this day I am the one, and no one can deliver from my hand. I perform,* and who can _⌊cancel it_⌋?"*

¹¹ who calls a bird of prey from the east, the man of his* plan from a country from afar. Indeed I have spoken; indeed I will bring it to being. I have formed it; indeed I will do it.

²⁸ Because of this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above will become dark. Because I have spoken, I have planned, and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it."

⁵⁹ The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, at his going with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was the _⌊quartermaster_⌋.*

³¹ While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, saying, 'To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you, ³² and you will be driven away from _⌊human society_⌋* and your dwelling will be with the animals* of the field and they will cause you to graze the grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.' ³³ _⌊Immediately_⌋* the word was fulfilled _⌊concerning_⌋* Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from _⌊human society_⌋* and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird's claws. ³⁴ "But at the end of _⌊that period_⌋,* I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and then my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and _⌊the one who lives forever_⌋* I praised and I honored.
"For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. ³⁵ And all the dwellers of the earth are regarded as nothing, and he does _⌊according to_⌋* his desire in the host of heaven and among the dwellers of earth, and there is not one who can hold back his hand, or _⌊ask him_⌋,* 'What are you doing?'

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose,

³¹ What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

²⁰ So Ahaz slept with his ancestors* and was buried with his ancestors* in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his ancestors,* and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the burial site of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

¹ In the year of the death of Uzziah the king, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and raised throne, and the hem of his robe was filling the temple.

¹ The oracle of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

³ from the Shihor, which is _⌊east of Egypt_⌋,* up to the border of Ekron to the north, which is reckoned as Canaanite; there are five Philistine rulers: the Gazites,* Ashdodites,* Ashkelonites,* Gittites,* Ekronites,* and the Avvim.

¹⁷ Now these are the gold tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. ¹⁸ And the gold mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, for their five rulers, from the fortified city to the unwalled village of the open country as far as the great stone, _⌊where they set_⌋* the ark of Yahweh until this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

⁸ He attacked the Philistines up to Gaza and its territory from the watchtower up to the fortified city.

⁶ And he went out and made war against the Philistines, and he broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines.

¹⁸ And the Philistines sent raids into the cities of the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah. And they captured Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there.

¹⁷ While your enemies are falling, do not rejoice; when he trips himself, may your heart* not be glad

⁸ And _⌊an infant_⌋* shall play over a serpent's hole, and _⌊a toddler_⌋* shall put his hand on a viper's hole.

⁶ An oracle of the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, _⌊among_⌋* them are snake and flying serpent; they carry their wealth on the _⌊backs_⌋* of male donkeys and their treasures on the humps* of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.

² "Son of man,* because* Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung open to me; I shall be filled, for it lies in ruins!'

¹⁵ _⌊Like your rejoicing over the inheritance of the house of Israel_⌋* _⌊because_⌋* it was desolate, I will do to you; you will be a desolation, mountain of Seir and all of Edom, indeed all of it; and they will know that I am Yahweh.'" '

¹ Do not rejoice, O Israel, do not exult like the nations! For you played the whore, departing from your God; you loved a harlot's wage on all the threshing floors of grain.

¹² But you should not have gloated* over your brother's day, on the day of his misfortune, and you should not have rejoiced over the _⌊people_⌋* of Judah on the day of their perishing, and you should not have opened your mouth wide on the day of distress.

⁸ You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy! When I fall I will stand up; when I sit in darkness Yahweh will be a light for me.

¹¹ On that day you shall not be humiliated on account of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I shall remove from your midst those exulting in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in _⌊my holy mountain_⌋.*

¹³ It consumes parts of his skin; the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.

¹⁵ _⌊Why_⌋* do you crush my people and grind the face of the poor?"
_⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁷ And then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and _⌊fatlings, kids* will eat among the sites of ruins._⌋*

²¹ And this shall happen: on that day, a young man will keep a young cow of the herd and two sheep alive. ²² And this shall happen: because of the abundance of milk production, he will eat curds, for every one that is left in the midst of the land will eat curds and honey.

²¹ And it* will pass through it* distressed and hungry, and this shall happen: when it is hungry, it will be enraged, and it will curse its king and its gods,* and it will face upwar

²⁰ They devoured on the right but still were hungry and devoured on the left but they were not satisfied. Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,

²³ And he will give rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and _⌊fertile_⌋.* On that day, your cattle will graze in broad pastures;* ²⁴ and the oxen and the donkeys that till* the ground will eat fodder, sorrel that has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.

¹⁶ That one will live on the heights; the fortresses of rocks will be his refuge. His food will be given; his waters* will endure.

³⁰ And this shall be the sign for you: the eating of volunteer plants* this* year, and in the second year self-seeded plants,* and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

¹⁹ Two things here have happened to you—who will _⌊show sympathy_⌋* for you?— devastation and destruction, famine and sword—who will comfort you?

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:
"Look! My servants shall eat but* you, you shall be hungry. Look! My servants shall drink but* you, you shall be thirsty. Look! My servants shall rejoice but* you, you shall be ashamed. ¹⁴ Look! My servants shall shout _⌊for joy_⌋,* but* you, you shall cry out _⌊for pain_⌋* and howl _⌊for sadness_⌋.*

¹ The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines _⌊before_⌋* Pharaoh attacked Gaza. ² Thus says Yahweh:
"Look, waters are rising from the north, and they will become as a raging torrent, and they will overflow the land, and that which fills it, the city and those who live in it. And the people will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail, ³ from the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, from the clattering of his chariots,* the noise of their wheels. Fathers do not turn to their children because of the slackness of their hands. ⁴ Because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and from Sidon every survivor who could help, for Yahweh is destroying the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. ⁵ Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is destroyed. O remnant of their valley, _⌊how long_⌋* will you cut yourself with a blade? ⁶ Ah, sword of Yahweh, _⌊how long_⌋* will you not be quiet? Gather to your sheath, keep quiet and stand still. ⁷ How can you be quiet when Yahweh has given an order to it? Against Ashkelon and against the shore of the sea, there he has appointed it."

¹⁵ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the _⌊acting_⌋* of the Philistines in vengeance, so that they avenged themselves relentlessly with malice in themselves for destruction _⌊with everlasting hostility_⌋,* ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites, and I will destroy the remainder of _⌊the seacoast_⌋.* ¹⁷ And I will execute on them great vengeance with punishments of rage, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I exact my vengeance on them!"

⁴ What are you to me, O Tyre and O Sidon, and all of the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying to me what is deserved? If you are recompensing me, I will return swiftly and quickly what you deserve on your head! ⁵ For you have taken my silver and my gold, and my beautiful treasures you have carried into your temples. ⁶ And the sons of Judah and Jerusalem you sold to the sons of the Greeks, in order to remove them from their border. ⁷ Look! I am rousing them from the place where you have sold them, and I will return what you deserve on your head! ⁸ I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans and to a nation far away, for Yahweh has spoken.

⁶ Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke the punishment,* because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom! ⁷ So I will send a fire against the wall of Gaza and it will devour its citadel fortresses. ⁸ And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says the Lord Yahweh.

⁴ For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon as a desolation. As for Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away, and Ekron shall be uprooted. ⁵ Woe to you, inhabitants of the region of the sea, people of the Kerethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you _⌊until there is no inhabitant_⌋.* ⁶ And you, O region of the sea, shall become pastures and meadows for shepherds and sheep pens for the flocks. ⁷ And it shall become a region for the remnant of the house of Judah; upon them they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening. For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them, and he will restore their fortunes.

⁵ Ashkelon will see and will be afraid, and Gaza will writhe exceedingly, and Ekron also, because its hope is ruined.* And the king from Gaza will perish, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. ⁶ A mongrel people* will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut down the pride of the Philistines. ⁷ I will remove its* blood from its* mouth, and its* abominations from between its* teeth. And it* too will be a remnant for our God; and it* will be like a tribal chief* in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.

²⁶ And her* gates shall lament and mourn, and she shall be banished; she shall sit upon the ground.

⁶ Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near; it will come like destruction from Shaddai!*

⁷ Therefore Moab wails; all of it wails for Moab, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth you moan, _⌊utterly devastated_⌋.*

¹ In the year _⌊the commander-in-chief came_⌋* to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and he took it,

¹² Desolation is left in the city; the gate is crushed into a state of ruin.

¹⁴ Then Yahweh said to me, "From the north disaster will be unleashed* on all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁶ And they will drink, and they will stagger, and they will act like madmen because of the _⌊presence_⌋* of the sword that I am sending among them." ¹⁷ So I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and I gave it* to all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me to drink: ¹⁸ Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and its kings, and its officials, to make them a site of ruins, a horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹ Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his officials, and all his people; ²⁰ and all the other* people; and all the kings of the land of Uz; and all the kings of the land of the Philistines—*Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

¹⁰ Toi sent Joram his son to King David _⌊to greet him_⌋* and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; _⌊for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi_⌋.* _⌊He brought with him_⌋* objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze.

¹² At that time, Berodak-Baladan the son of Baladan king of _⌊Babylon_⌋* sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. ¹³ Hezekiah heard about them and showed them all of the house of his treasure, both the silver and the gold, the spices, the good olive oil, the room of his weapons, and all that could be found in his treasuries. There was nothing that he did not show them in his palace and in all of his kingdom. ¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "From a far land; they have come from Babylon." ¹⁵ Then he asked, "What did they see in your palace?" And Hezekiah said, "All that is in my palace they have seen; there is nothing that I did not show them in my treasuries." ¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of Yahweh! ¹⁷ 'Look, days are coming when all that is in your palace will be carried off; even all that your ancestors* have stored up until this day, to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says Yahweh. ¹⁸ 'Your sons who went out from you, whom you brought forth, will be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon.'" ¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good," and he thought, "Is it not that peace and security shall be in my days?"

¹ Of the sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.*
His foundation is on the holy mountains.

⁵ But with respect to Zion it shall be said, "_⌊Each one_⌋* was born in her," for the Most High himself will establish her.

¹⁶ For Yahweh will rebuild Zion; he will appear in his glory.

²⁸ The children of your servants will continue, and their _⌊descendants_⌋* will be established before you.

¹³ For Yahweh has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation. ¹⁴ "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

¹⁰ A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh; into him* the righteous will run and be safe.

⁶ and it will be a shelter for shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and a hiding place from rainstorm and from rain.

⁴ But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips.

⁶ Inhabitant of Zion, shout out and sing for joy, for the holy one of Israel is great in your midst."

⁴ For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless was like a rainstorm against a wall,*

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:
"Look! I am laying a stone in Zion, a _⌊tested_⌋* stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation:
'The one who trusts will not _⌊panic_⌋.'*

⁹ Now* he* heard concerning Tirhakah the king of Cush, saying, "He has set out to fight against* you."
When* he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

³² For a remnant shall go out from Jerusalem and survivors* from mountain Zion.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.'

¹ At that time, Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for* he heard that he had been sick and recovered.

²⁸ who says of Cyrus, 'My shepherd,' and he shall carry out all my wishes*; and saying of Jerusalem, 'It shall be rebuilt,' and the temple, 'It shall be founded.'"

¹¹ "O afflicted one, driven away, who is not consoled. Look! I am about to set your stones in hard mortar, and I will lay your foundation with sapphires.

¹² And I will leave in your midst a people afflicted and poor, and they shall take refuge in the name of Yahweh.

⁷ And I shepherded the flock* doomed to slaughter, even* the afflicted* of the flock.* I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.*

¹¹ And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted* of the flock,* the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh.

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!

¹⁵ "So when you see the abomination of desolation* spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place" (let the one who reads understand), ¹⁶ "then those in Judea must flee to the mountains!

²² But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?