The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
1 qHow the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
rat the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in sfine gold,
how they are regarded as tearthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infant usticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
vthe children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
wthose who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6 xFor the chastisement1 of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment2 of Sodom,
ywhich was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.3
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
8 zNow their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10 aThe hands of bcompassionate women
chave boiled their own children;
dthey became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 eThe Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and fhe kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12 gThe kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for hthe sins of her prophets
and hthe iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 iThey wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
jthat no one was able to touch
their garments.
15 “Away! kUnclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16 lThe Lord himself6 has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
mno honor was shown to the priests,
nno favor to the elders.
17 oOur eyes failed, ever watching
ovainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for pa nation which could not save.
18 qThey dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
rour end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were sswifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 tThe breath of our nostrils, uthe Lord’s anointed,
was captured vin their pits,
of whom we said, w“Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21 xRejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in ythe land of Uz;
but to you also zthe cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 aThe punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;7
but byour iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.
Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord
1 cRemember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
look, and see dour disgrace!
2 eOur inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
5 fOur pursuers are at our necks;
we are weary; we are given no rest.
6 We have given the hand to gEgypt, and to gAssyria,
to get bread enough.
7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
hand we bear their iniquities.
8 iSlaves rule over us;
there is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 jWe get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 kOur skin is hot as an oven
with lthe burning heat of famine.
11 Women are raped in Zion,
young women in the towns of Judah.
12 mPrinces are hung up by their hands;
nno respect is shown to the elders.
13 Young men are compelled to ogrind at the mill,
and boys stagger punder loads of wood.
14 nThe old men have left the city gate,
the young men qtheir music.
15 qThe joy of our hearts has ceased;
rour dancing has been turned to mourning.
16 sThe crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 For this tour heart has become sick,
for these things uour eyes have grown dim,
18 for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
vjackals prowl over it.
19 wBut you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
20 xWhy do you forget us forever,
why do you forsake us for so many days?
21 yRestore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
Renew our days as of old—
22 zunless you have utterly rejected us,
and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Edom Will Be Humbled
Thus says the Lord God aconcerning Edom:
bWe have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.1
3 cThe pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,2
in your lofty dwelling,
dwho say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
5 If ethieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If egrape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 fHow Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
8 iWill I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of jMount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, kO Teman,
so that every man from jMount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
Edom’s Violence Against Jacob
10 lBecause of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
mand you shall be cut off forever.
11 nOn the day that you stood aloof,
oon the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
pand cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 qBut do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
rdo not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
in the day of distress.
13 tDo not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
tdo not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
udo not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
14 vDo not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.
The Day of the Lord Is Near
15 For wthe day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
xAs you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 yFor as you have drunk on zmy holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 aBut in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
band the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 cThe house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau dstubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
eand there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
The Kingdom of the Lord
19 Those of fthe Negeb bshall possess gMount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess hthe land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of iSamaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as jZarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 kSaviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule gMount Esau,
and lthe kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed yGedaliah the son of zAhikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 aNow when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at bMizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 cBut in the seventh month, dIshmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 eThen all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
7 dWhen all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that ethe king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of fthe poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, 8 they went to Gedaliah at aMizpah—gIshmael the son of Nethaniah, hJohanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, iJezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 9 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, jand it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, I will dwell at aMizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, lgather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” 11 Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in mMoab and among nthe Ammonites and in oEdom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12 pthen all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they qgathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.
13 Now rJohanan the son of Kareah and sall the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of tthe Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, uand the remnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”
Gedaliah Murdered
1 vIn the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at wMizpah. As they xate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 yIshmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, zwhom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at wMizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.
4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from aShechem and bShiloh and cSamaria, with dtheir beards shaved and etheir clothes torn, and dtheir bodies gashed, fbringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from gMizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have hstores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.
9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with1 Gedaliah was the large cistern that iKing Asa had made for defense against iBaasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, jthe king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom kNebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to lthe Ammonites.
11 But when mJohanan the son of Kareah and nall the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at othe great pool that is in pGibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and qall the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 rSo all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to sthe Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and qall the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, twomen, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from uGibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth vChimham near wBethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, xwhom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.