Study Desk

Now you fear the king of Babylon, but don't be afraid of him. Don't be afraid of him,' says the Lord , ‘because I am with you. I will save you and rescue you from his power.

In Tahpanhes the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah:

Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon send for my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones I have buried, and he will spread his covering for shade above them.

Nebuchadnezzar will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt and burn them. And he will take the idols away as captives. As a shepherd wraps himself in his clothes, so Nebuchadnezzar will wrap Egypt around him. Then he will safely leave Egypt.

All this happened because you burned incense to other gods. You sinned against the Lord . You did not obey him or follow his teachings or the laws he gave you. You did not keep your part of the agreement with him. So this disaster has happened to you. It is there for you to see."

This is what the Lord says: ‘Hophra king of Egypt has enemies who want to kill him. Soon I will hand him over to his enemies just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who wanted to kill him.'"

In their homelands those soldiers called out, ‘The king of Egypt is only a lot of noise. He missed his chance for glory!'"

I will hand those people over to their enemies, who want to kill them. I will give them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But in the future, Egypt will live in peace as it once did," says the Lord .

Before the king of Egypt attacked the city of Gaza, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is to the Philistine people.

But how can his sword rest when the Lord has given it a command? He has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the seacoast."

You trust in the things you do and in your wealth, so you also will be captured. The god Chemosh will go into captivity and his priests and officers with him.

A curse will be on anyone who doesn't do what the Lord says, and a curse will be on anyone who holds back his sword from killing.

Every head has been shaved and every beard cut off. Everyone's hands are cut, and everyone wears rough cloth around his waist.

"People in the town of Heshbon, cry sadly because the town of Ai is destroyed! Those who live in Rabbah, cry out! Put on your rough cloth to show your sadness, and cry loudly. Run here and there for safety inside the walls, because Molech will be taken captive and his priests and officers with him.

You brag about your valleys and about the fruit in your valleys. You are like an unfaithful child who believes his treasures will save him. You think, ‘Who would attack me?'

Don't let the people from Babylon plant their crops or gather the harvest. The soldiers treated their captives cruelly. Now, let everyone go back home. Let everyone run to his own country.

So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: "I will punish the king of Babylon and his country as I punished the king of Assyria.

The Lord has opened up his storeroom and brought out the weapons of his anger, because the Lord God All-Powerful has work to do in the land of the Babylonians.

Listen to the people running to escape the country of Babylon! They are telling Jerusalem how the Lord our God is punishing Babylon as it deserves for destroying his Temple.

But God is strong and will buy them back. His name is the Lord All-Powerful. He will surely defend them with power so he can give rest to their land. But he will not give rest to those living in Babylon."