Judgment on Babylon

1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^cBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^dby Jeremiah the prophet:

3 “For ^gout of the north a nation has come up against her, ^hwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ⁱboth man and beast shall flee away.

4 ^j“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^jthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^kweeping as they come, and they ^lshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ^mThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ⁿsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^oeverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

6 ^p“My people have been lost sheep. ^qTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, ^rand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^sthey have sinned against the Lord, ^ttheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^uthe hope of their fathers.’

8 ^v“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^vand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^wa gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 ^xChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

17 ^l“Israel is a hunted sheep ^mdriven away by lions. ⁿFirst the king of Assyria ^odevoured him, and now at last ^pNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^qhas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^rI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^sas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^tI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^the shall feed on ^uCarmel and in ^uBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^uGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^viniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^wI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

28 “A voice! They ⁱflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^jto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^khis temple.

29 ^l“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^lEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^mRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ⁿproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^oTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^rThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^sthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^tTheir Redeemer is strong; ^uthe Lord of hosts is his name. ^vHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

39 ^e“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,⁴ and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 ^fAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^gso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

44 ⁱ“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^jcan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^kthe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^kand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^lSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^mAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”

1 Therefore ⁱlet us leave ^jthe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance ^kfrom dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of ^linstruction about washings,^{1 m}the laying on of hands, ⁿthe resurrection of the dead, and ^oeternal judgment. 3 And this we will do ^pif God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those ^qwho have once been enlightened, who have tasted ^rthe heavenly gift, and ^shave shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and ^thave tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and ^uthen have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since ^vthey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For ^wland that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But ^xif it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, ^yand its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For ^zGod is not unjust so as to overlook ^ayour work and the love that you have shown for his name in ^bserving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance ^cof hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but ^dimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ^ehe swore by himself, 14 saying, ^f“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,^{2 g}having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes ^han oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to ⁱthe heirs of the promise ^jthe unchangeable character of his purpose, ^khe guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which ^lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope ^mset before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into ⁿthe inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone ^oas a forerunner on our behalf, ^phaving become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.