“Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah: ‘My eyes fill with tears night and day without stopping. I cry for my virgin daughter, and for my dear people, because someone hit them and crushed them. They have been hurt very badly.
“David’s tent has fallen, but at that time I will set it up again. I will fix its holes and repair its ruined parts. I will set it up as it was before.
They made promises by the sin of Samaria, They said, ‘Dan, as surely as your god lives, we promise ….’ And they said, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives, we promise ….’ But they will fall and never get up again.”
My dear Jerusalem, what can I say about you? What can I compare you to? What can I say you are like? How can I comfort you, city of Zion? You have been hurt much too badly for anyone to heal.
Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink. Babylon will rise no more. It will sink because of the terrible things that I will make happen here.’” The words of Jeremiah end here.
Proud Babylon will stumble and fall, and no one will help her get up. I will start a fire in her towns. That fire will completely burn up everyone around her.”
Israel, my bride, I will rebuild you. You will be a country again. You will pick up your tambourines again. You will dance with all the other people who are having fun.
Listen to what the Lord says: “Ask the other nations this question: ‘Have you ever heard of anything so bad?’ Israel, who is as dear to me as a young daughter, has done this terrible thing!
They say to pieces of wood, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a rock, ‘You gave birth to me.’ All these people will be ashamed. They don’t look to me for help. They have turned their backs to me. But when the people of Judah get into trouble, they say to me, ‘Come and save us!’
“Those who fight against me with their chariots, horses, and armies will be defeated. They will never rise again. They will be destroyed. They will be put out like the flame in a lamp.
“So this is the Lord’s message against Sennacherib: ‘The virgin daughter Zion does not think you are important. She makes fun of you. Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you and laughs behind your back.
The sins of the world are very heavy, so the earth will fall under the weight. It will shake like an old house. It will fall like a drunk. It will not be able to stand.
Prepare to kill his children, because their father is guilty. His children will never take control of the land. They will never fill the world with their cities.
This will happen because Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen. They turned against the Lord. They said and did things against him, right in front of his glorious eyes.
The people stopped following the commands of the Lord their God. They made two gold statues of calves. They made Asherah poles. They worshiped all the stars of heaven and served Baal.
King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria came to fight against Israel while Pekah was king of Israel. Tiglath Pileser captured Ijon, Abel Bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the area of Naphtali. He took the people from these places as prisoners to Assyria.
“Jeremiah, say this to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘You know if a man falls down, he gets up again. And if a man goes the wrong way, he turns around and comes back.
Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” This message is from the Lord. “You know I should punish a nation such as this. I should give it the punishment it deserves.”
“Death has climbed in through our windows and has come into our palaces. Death has come to our children who play in the streets and to the young men who meet in the public places.”