Study Desk

"I set a trap for you and you were also caught, Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with the LORD."

Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.

"Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, Because the destroyers will come to her from the north," Declares the LORD.

We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke; Disgrace has covered our faces, Because strangers have entered The holy places of the LORD'S house.

and say, 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.'" To this point are the words of Jeremiah.

For because of the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.

The roads of Zion are in mourning Because no one comes to an appointed feast. All her gates are deserted; Her priests groan, Her virgins are worried, And as for Zion herself, it is bitter for her.

Her adversaries have become her masters, Her enemies are secure; For the LORD has caused her grief Because of the multitude of her wrongdoings; Her little ones have gone away As captives led by the enemy.

Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away.

"For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One to restore my soul. My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed."

My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants languish In the streets of the city.

"Arise, whimper in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Raise your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who languish because of hunger At the head of every street.

I am the man who has seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath.

My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.

The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.

Because of the sins of her prophets And the wrongdoings of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous,

We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the ravages of hunger.