Jeremiah 49-50 - Weeping as They Come

From today's Bible reading:

Jeremiah 49:

Concerning the Ammonites.

Afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the LORD.

Concerning Edom.

For I have sworn by myself, declares the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.

Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.

Concerning Damascus.

Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that dwells securely,
declares the LORD,
that has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come.

In the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 50:

The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:

For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away.

In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
and hiss because of all her wounds.

Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the LORD.

Raise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
her walls are thrown down.

For this is the vengeance of the LORD:
take vengeance on her;
do to her as she has done.

Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions.

First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.

Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria.

I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

The LORD has opened his armory
and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them.

All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go.

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name.

He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials and her wise men!

A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her warriors,
that they may be destroyed!

A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all the foreign troops in her midst,
that they may become women!

A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!

For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.

Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.

At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.