Through the Bible – Day 314

Wisdom and common sense

have vanished from Teman.

I will send disaster to punish

you descendants of Esau,

so anyone from Dedan

had better turn round

and run back home.

₉People who harvest grapes

leave some for the poor.

Thieves who break in at night

take only what they want.

₁₀But I will take everything

that belongs to you,

people of Edom,

and I will uncover every place

where you try to hide.

Then you will die,

and so will your children,

relatives, and neighbours.

₁₁But I can be trusted

to care for your orphans

and widows.

₁₄I have sent a messenger

to command the nations

to prepare for war

against you people of Edom.

₁₅Your nation will be small,

yet hated by other nations.

₁₆Pride tricks you into thinking

that other nations

look at you with fear.

You live along the cliffs

and high in the mountains

like the eagles,

but I am the LORD,

and I will bring you down.

₁₇People passing by your country

will be shocked and horrified

to see a disaster

₁₈as bad as the destruction

of Sodom and Gomorrah

and towns nearby.

The towns of Edom will be empty.

₁₉I will attack you

like a lion from the forest,

attacking sheep in a meadow

along the Jordan.

In a moment the flock runs,

and the land is empty.

Who will I choose to attack you?

I will do it myself!

No one can force me to fight

or chase me away.

₂₀Listen to my plans for you,

people of Edom.

Your children will be dragged off

and your country destroyed.

₂₁The sounds of your destruction

will reach the Red Sea

and cause the earth to shake.

₂₂An enemy will swoop down

to attack you,

like an eagle spreading its wings

and circling over Bozrah.

Your warriors will be gripped

by fear.

The towns of Hamath and Arpad

have heard your bad news.

They have lost hope,

and worries roll over them

like ocean waves.

₂₄You people of Damascus

have lost your courage,

and in panic you turn to run,

gripped by fear and pain.

₂₅I once was pleased

with your famous city.

But now I warn you, “Escape

while you still can!”

₂₆Soon, even your best soldiers

will lie dead in your streets.

I, the LORD All-Powerful,

have spoken.

₂₇I will set fire to your city walls

and burn down the fortresses

King Benhadad built.

Listen, you people of Kedar

and the other tribes

of the eastern desert.

I have told Nebuchadnezzar

to attack and destroy you.

₂₉His fearsome army

will surround you,

taking your tents and possessions,

your sheep and camels.

₃₀Run and hide,

you people of the desert

who live in villages!

Nebuchadnezzar has big plans

for you.

₃₁You have no city walls

and no neighbours to help,

yet you think you're safe—

so I told him to attack.

₃₂Then your camels

and large herds

will be yours no longer.

People of the Arabian Desert,

disaster will strike you

from every side,

and you will be scattered

everywhere on earth.

₃₃Only jackals will live

where your villages once stood.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

People of Elam,

I, the LORD All-Powerful,

will kill the archers

who make your army strong.

₃₆Enemies will attack

from all directions,

and you will be led captive

to every nation on earth.

₃₇Their armies will crush

and kill you,

and you will face the disaster

that my anger brings.

₃₈Your king and his officials

will die, and I will rule

in their place.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

₃₉But I promise that some day

I will bring your people

back to their land.

_1-2The LORD told me to say:

Announce what will happen

and don't leave anything out.

Raise the signal flags;

shout so all nations can hear—

Babylon will be captured!

Marduk, Babylon's god,

will be ashamed and terrified,

and his idols broken.

₃The attack on the Babylonians

will come from the north;

they and their animals will run,

leaving the land empty.

People of Israel and Judah,

when these things happen

you will weep, and together

you will return to your land

and worship me,

the LORD your God.

₅You will ask the way to Zion

and then come and join with me

in making an agreement

you won't break or forget.

₆My people, you are lost sheep

abandoned by their shepherds

in the mountains.

You don't even remember

your resting place.

₇I am your true pasture land,

the one who gave hope

to your ancestors.

But you abandoned me,

so when your enemies found you,

they felt no guilt

as they gobbled you up.

₈Escape from Babylonia,

my people.

Get out of that country!

Don't wait for anyone else.

₉In the north I am bringing

great nations together.

They will attack Babylon

and capture it.

The arrows they shoot

are like the best soldiers,

always finding their target.

₁₀Babylonia will be conquered,

and its enemies will carry off

everything they want.

₁₁People of Babylonia,

you were glad

to rob my people.

You had a good time,

making more noise

than horses

and jumping around

like calves threshing grain.

₁₂The city of Babylon

was like a mother to you.

But it will be disgraced

and become nothing

but a barren desert.

₁₃My anger will destroy Babylon,

and no one will live there.

Everyone who passes by

will be shocked to see

what has happened.

₁₄Babylon has rebelled against me.

Archers, take your places.

Shoot all your arrows at Babylon.

₁₅Attack from every side!

Babylon surrenders!

The enemy tears down

its walls and towers.

I am taking my revenge

by doing to Babylon what it did

to other cities.

₁₆There is no one in Babylonia

to plant or harvest crops.

Even foreigners who lived there

have left for their homelands,

afraid of the enemy armies.

₁₇Israel is a flock of sheep

scattered by hungry lions.

The king of Assyria

first gobbled Israel up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylonia,

crunched on Israel's bones.

₁₈I, the LORD All-Powerful,

the God of Israel,

punished the king of Assyria,

and I will also punish

the king of Babylonia.

₁₉But I will bring Israel

back to its own land.

The people will be like sheep

eating their fill

on Mount Carmel

and in Bashan,

in the hill country of Ephraim

and in Gilead.

₂₀I will rescue a few people

from Israel and Judah.

I will forgive them so completely

that their sin and guilt

will disappear,

never to be found.