15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
15 For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they will come and set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah [as God's judicial act, a consequence of Judah's wickedness].
15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
15 I’m calling for all the tribes of great nations from the north, says the LORD, and they will set up their rulers by the entrances of Jerusalem, on its walls, and in every city of Judah.
15 For behold, I will call together all the close associates of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord. And they will arrive, and each one of them will place his throne at the entrance to the gates of Jerusalem, and over all its surrounding walls, and over all the cities of Judah.
Then say to those men of Judah that are watching you: ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will send for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to come here. He is my servant. And I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here. Nebuchadnezzar will spread his canopy {\cf2\super [350]} above these stones.
So I will soon send for all the family groups of the north. {\cf2\super [202]} ” This message is from the Lord. “I will soon send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my servant. I will bring those people against the land of Judah and against the people of Judah. I will bring them against all the nations around you too. I will destroy all of those countries. I will make those lands like an empty desert forever. People will see those countries, and whistle at how badly they were destroyed.
“I (the Lord) will make the city of Jerusalem\par a pile of garbage.\par It will be a home for jackals. {\cf2\super [75]} \par I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah,\par so no one will live there.”\par
“Report it to this nation. {\cf2\super [28]} \par Spread the news to the people in Jerusalem.\par Enemies are coming from a faraway country.\par Those enemies are shouting words of war\par against the cities of Judah.\par
Then all the royal officials of the king of Babylon came into the city of Jerusalem. They came in and sat down at the Middle Gate. These are the names of those officials: Nergal-Sharezer, the governor of the district of Samgar, a very high official; Nebo Sarsekim, another very high official; and various other important officials were there also.
If you are angry, then punish the other nations.\par They don’t know or respect you.\par Those people don’t worship you.\par Those nations destroyed Jacob’s family.\par They destroyed Israel completely.\par They destroyed Israel’s homeland.\par
The armies will meet in your special valley. The valley will be filled with chariots. {\cf2\super [215]} Horse soldiers will be put in front of the city gates.
So, I showed my anger against those people. I punished the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. My anger made Jerusalem and the towns of Judah the empty piles of stone they are today.”
But I will give the order,’ this message is from the Lord, ‘to bring the Babylonian army back to Jerusalem. That army will fight against Jerusalem. They will capture it and set it on fire and burn it down. And I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah. Those cities will become empty deserts. No people will live there.’”
“You people are saying, ‘Our country is an empty desert. There are no people or animals living there.’ It is now quiet in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. But it will be noisy there soon.
“Those people will refuse to take the cup from your hand. They will refuse to drink it. But you will say to them, ‘The Lord All-Powerful says these things: You will indeed drink from this cup!
Listen! A loud noise!\par The loud noise is coming from the north. {\cf2\super [85]} \par It will destroy the cities of Judah.\par Judah will become an empty desert.\par It will be a home for jackals. {\cf2\super [86]} \par
This is what the Lord says:\par “An army is coming from the north. {\cf2\super [45]} \par A great nation is coming from\par faraway places on earth.\par
Family of Israel, this message\par is from the Lord,\par “I will soon bring a nation from far away\par to attack you.\par It is an old nation.\par It is an ancient nation.\par The people of that nation speak a language\par that you don’t know.\par You can’t understand what they say.\par
Raise the signal flag toward Zion. {\cf2\super [21]} \par Run for your lives!\par Don’t wait!\par Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north. {\cf2\super [22]} \par I am bringing terrible destruction.”\par
Jerusalem, look!\par The enemy is coming from the north! {\cf2\super [114]} \par Where is your flock? {\cf2\super [115]} \par God gave that beautiful flock to you.\par \{You were supposed to care for that flock.\}\par
The message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The message came at the time when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, was fighting against Jerusalem and all the towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with him all his army and the armies of all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled.
“The rulers from the north are there, all of them! And there are all the soldiers from Sidon. Their strength scared people. But they are embarrassed. Those foreigners lie there with the other men that were killed in battle. They carried their shame with them down into that deep hole.
No, I will force those people from the north {\cf2\super [17]} to leave your land.\par I will make them go into a dry,\par empty land.\par Some of them will go to the eastern sea.\par Some of them will go to the western sea.\par Those people did such terrible things.\par But they will be like a dead\par and rotting thing.\par There will be such a terrible smell!”\par