Tiglath-Pileser was king of Assyria. He attacked while Pekah was king of Israel, capturing the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also captured Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali and carried the people away to Assyria.
The people rejected all the commands of the Lord their God. They molded statues of two calves, and they made an Asherah idol. They worshiped all the stars of the sky and served Baal.
Prepare to kill his children, because their father is guilty. They will never again take control of the earth; they will never again fill the world with their cities.
The earth will stumble around like someone who is drunk; it will shake like a hut in a storm. Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back; it will fall and never rise again.
So this is what the Lord has said against Sennacherib: The people of Jerusalem hate you and make fun of you; the people of Jerusalem laugh at you as you run away.
He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses and the mighty armies. They fell together and will never rise again. They were destroyed as a flame is put out.
“Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah: ‘Let my eyes be filled with tears night and day, without stopping. My people have received a terrible blow; they have been hurt badly.
So this is what the Lord says: “Ask the people in other nations this question: ‘Have you ever heard anything like this?’ The people of Israel have done a horrible thing.
They say to things of wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to idols of stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Those people won’t look at me; they have turned their backs to me. But when they get into trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and will not rise again because of the terrible things I will make happen here. Her people will fall.’ ” The words of Jeremiah end here.
“Say to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: When people fall down, don’t they get up again? And when someone goes the wrong way, doesn’t he turn back?
Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our strong cities. Death has taken away our children who play in the streets and the young men who meet in the city squares.
What can I say about you, Jerusalem? What can I compare you to? What can I say you are like? How can I comfort you, Jerusalem? Your ruin is as deep as the sea. No one can heal you.
They make promises by the idol in Samaria and say, ‘As surely as the god of Dan lives … ’ and, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives, we promise . . . ’ So they will fall and never get up again.”
“The kingdom of David is like a fallen tent, but in that day I will set it up again and mend its broken places. I will rebuild its ruins as it was before.