The Living Bible (253 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
The Philistines
This is God’s message to Jeremiah concerning the Philistines of Gaza, before the city was captured
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by the Egyptian army:
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The Lord says: A flood is coming from the north to overflow the land of the Philistines; it will destroy their cities and everything in them. Strong men will scream in terror, and all the land will weep.
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Hear the clattering hoofs and rumbling wheels as the chariots go rushing by; fathers flee without a backward glance at their helpless children,
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for the time has come when all the Philistines and their allies from Tyre and Sidon will be destroyed. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, those colonists from Caphtor.
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The cities of Gaza and Ashkelon will be razed to the ground and lie in ruins. O descendants of the Anakim, how you will lament and mourn!
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O sword of the Lord, when will you be at rest again? Go back into your scabbard; rest and be still!
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But how can it be still when the Lord has sent it on an errand? For the city of Ashkelon and those living along the sea must be destroyed.
The Moabites
This is the message of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, against Moab:
Woe to the city of Nebo, for it shall lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim and its forts are overwhelmed and captured.
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No one will ever brag about Moab anymore, for there is a plot against her life. In Heshbon plans have been completed to destroy her. “Come,” they say, “we will cut her off from being a nation.” In Madmen all is silent. And then the roar of battle will surge against Horonaim, for all Moab is being destroyed. Her crying will be heard as far away as Zoar.
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Her refugees will climb the hills of Luhith, weeping bitterly, while cries of terror rise from the city below.
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Flee for your lives; hide in the wilderness!
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For you trusted in your wealth and skill; therefore, you shall perish. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and princes, shall be taken away to distant lands!
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All the villages and cities, whether they be on the plateaus or in the valleys, shall be destroyed, for the Lord has said it.
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Oh, for wings for Moab that she could fly away, for her cities shall be left without a living soul.
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Cursed be those withholding their swords from your blood, refusing to do the work that God has given them!
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From her earliest history Moab has lived there undisturbed from all invasions. She is like wine that has not been poured from flask to flask and is fragrant and smooth. But now she shall have the pouring out of exile!
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The time is coming soon, the Lord has said, when he will send troublemakers to spill her out from jar to jar and then shatter the jars!
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Then at last Moab shall be ashamed of her idol Chemosh, as Israel was of her calf idol at Bethel.
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Do you remember that boast of yours: “We are heroes, mighty men of war”?
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But now Moab is to be destroyed; her destroyer is on the way; her choicest youth are doomed to slaughter, says the King, the Lord Almighty.
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Calamity is coming fast to Moab.
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O friends of Moab, weep for her and cry! See how the strong, the beautiful is shattered!
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Come down from your glory and sit in the dust, O people of Dibon, for those destroying Moab shall shatter Dibon too, and tear down all her towers.
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Those in Aroer stand anxiously beside the road to watch, and shout to those who flee from Moab, “What has happened there?”
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And they reply, “Moab lies in ruins; weep and wail. Tell it by the banks of the Arnon, that Moab is destroyed.”
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All the cities of the tableland lie in ruins too, for God’s judgment has been poured out upon them all—on Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
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and Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
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and Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
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and Kerioth and Bozrah—and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
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The strength of Moab is ended—her horns are cut off; her arms are broken.
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Let her stagger and fall like a drunkard, for she has rebelled against the Lord. Moab shall wallow in her vomit, scorned by all.
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For you scorned Israel and robbed her and were happy at her fall.
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O people of Moab, flee from your cities and live in the caves like doves that nest in the clefts of the rocks.
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We have all heard of the pride of Moab, for it is very great. We know your loftiness, your arrogance, and your haughty heart.
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I know her insolence, the Lord has said, but her boasts are false—her helplessness is great.
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Yes, I wail for Moab, my heart is broken for the men of Kir-heres.
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O men of Sibmah, rich in vineyards, I weep for you even more than for Jazer. For the destroyer has cut off your spreading tendrils and harvested your grapes and summer fruits. He has plucked you bare!
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Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab. The presses yield no wine; no one treads the grapes with shouts of joy. There is shouting, yes, but not the shouting of joy.
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Instead the awful cries of terror and pain rise from all over the land—from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and to Jahaz; from Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah. The pastures of Nimrim are deserted now.
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For the Lord says: I have put a stop to Moab’s worshiping false gods and burning incense to idols.
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Sadly sings my heart for Moab and Kir-heres, for all their wealth has disappeared.
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They shave their heads and beards in anguish; they slash their hands and put on clothes of sackcloth.
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Crying and sorrow will be in every Moabite home and on the streets; for I have smashed and shattered Moab like an old, unwanted bottle.
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How it is broken! Hear the wails! See the shame of Moab! For she is a sign of horror and of scoffing to her neighbors now.
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A vulture circles ominously above the land of Moab, says the Lord.
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Her cities are fallen; her strongholds are seized. The hearts of her mightiest warriors fail with fear like women in the pains of giving birth.
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Moab shall no longer be a nation, for she has boasted against the Lord.
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Fear and traps and treachery shall be your lot, O Moab, says the Lord.
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He who flees shall fall in a trap, and he who escapes from the trap shall run into a snare. I will see to it that you do not get away, for the time of your judgment has come.
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They flee to Heshbon, unable to go farther. But a fire comes from Heshbon—Sihon’s ancestral home—and devours the land from end to end with all its rebellious people.
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Woe to you, O Moab; the people of the god Chemosh are destroyed, and your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves.
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But in the latter days, says the Lord, I will reestablish Moab.
(Here the prophecy concerning Moab ends.)
The Ammonites
What is this you are doing? Why are you living in the cities of the Jews? Aren’t there Jews enough to fill them up? Didn’t they inherit them from me? Why then have you, who worship Milcom, taken over Gad and all its cities?
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I will punish you for this, the Lord declares, by destroying your city of Rabbah. It shall become a desolate heap, and the neighboring towns shall be burned. Then Israel shall come and take back her land from you again. She shall dispossess those who dispossessed her, says the Lord.
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Cry out, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Weep, daughter of Rabbah! Put on garments of mourning; weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Milcom shall be exiled along with his princes and priests.
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You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. O wicked daughter, you trusted in your wealth and thought no one could ever harm you.
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But see, I will bring terror upon you, says the Lord, the Lord Almighty. For all your neighbors shall drive you from your land and none shall help your exiles as they flee.
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But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the Lord.
The Edomites
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The Lord says: Where are all your wise men of days gone by? Is there not one left in all of Teman?
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Flee to the remotest parts of the desert, O people of Dedan;
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for when I punish Edom, I will punish you!
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Those who gather grapes leave a few for the poor, and even thieves don’t take everything, but I will strip bare the land of Esau, and there will be no place to hide. Her children, her brothers, her neighbors—all will be destroyed—and she herself will perish too.
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(But I will preserve your fatherless children who remain, and let your widows depend upon me.)
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The Lord says to Edom: If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You shall not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!
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For I have sworn by my own name, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become heaps of ruins, cursed and mocked; and her cities shall be eternal wastes.
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I have heard this message from the Lord: I have sent a messenger to call the nations to form a coalition against Edom and destroy her.
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I will make her weak among the nations and despised by all, says the Lord.
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You have been fooled by your fame and your pride, living there in the mountains of Petra, in the clefts of the rocks. But though you live among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you down, says the Lord.
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The fate of Edom will be horrible; all who go by will be appalled and gasp at the sight.
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Your cities will become as silent as Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, says the Lord. No one will live there anymore.
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I will send against them one who will come like a lion from the wilds of Jordan stalking the sheep in the fold. Suddenly Edom shall be destroyed, and I will appoint over the Edomites the person of my choice. For who is like me, and who can call me to account? What shepherd can defy me?
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Take note: The Lord will certainly do this to Edom and also the people of Teman—even little children will be dragged away as slaves! It will be a shocking thing to see.
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The earth shakes with the noise of Edom’s fall; the cry of the people is heard as far away as the Red Sea.
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The one who will come will fly as swift as a vulture and will spread his wings against Bozrah. Then the courage of the mightiest warriors will disappear like that of women in labor.
Damascus
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The cities of Hamath and Arpad are stricken with fear, for they have heard the news of their doom. Their hearts are troubled like a wild sea in a raging storm.
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Damascus has become feeble, and all her people turn to flee. Fear, anguish, and sorrow have gripped her as they do women in labor.
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O famous city, city of joy, how you are forsaken now!
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Your young men lie dead in the streets; your entire army shall be destroyed in one day, says the Lord Almighty.
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And I will start a fire at the edge of Damascus that shall burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.
Kedar and Hazor
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This prophecy is about Kedar
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and the kingdoms of Hazor
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that are going to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, for the Lord will send him to destroy them:
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Their flocks and their tents will be captured, says the Lord, with all their household goods. Their camels will be taken away, and all around will be the shouts of panic, “We are surrounded and doomed!”
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Flee for your lives, says the Lord. Go deep into the deserts, O people of Hazor, for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has plotted against you and is preparing to destroy you.
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“Go,” said the Lord to King Nebuchadnezzar. “Attack those wealthy Bedouin tribes living alone in the desert without a care in the world, boasting that they are self-sufficient—that they need neither walls nor gates.
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Their camels and cattle shall all be yours, and I will scatter these heathen
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to the winds. From all directions I will bring calamity upon them.
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“Hazor shall be a home for wild animals of the desert. No one shall ever live there again. It shall be desolate forever.”
Elam
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God’s message against Elam came to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah:
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The Lord says: I will destroy the army of Elam,
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and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds; they shall be exiled to countries throughout the world.
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My fierce anger will bring great evil upon Elam, says the Lord, and I will cause her enemies to wipe her out.
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And I will set my throne in Elam, says the Lord. I will destroy her king and princes.
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But in the latter days I will bring the people back, says the Lord.