WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:08.939 in a year. Today's reading is from the book of 00:00:08.939 --> 00:00:13.560 Jeremiah, chapters 50 and 51. Chapter 50 The 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.800 word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and 00:00:15.800 --> 00:00:17.960 against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:20.839 the prophet. Declare among the nations, proclaim 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:23.859 and set up a standard. Proclaim, do not conceal 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:28.359 it. Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed. Merodach 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:31.579 is broken in pieces. Her idols are humiliated, 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.380 her images are broken in pieces. For out of the 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.240 north a nation comes up against her, which shall 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.880 make her land desolate, and no one shall dwell 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.460 therein. They shall move, they shall depart, 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:45.799 both man and beast. In those days and in that 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.039 time, says the Lord, the children of Israel shall 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.500 come, they and the children of Judah together. 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:53.479 With continual weeping they shall come and seek 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:56.280 the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:59.049 Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, Come 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:02.009 and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual 00:01:02.009 --> 00:01:05.090 covenant that will not be forgotten. My people 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:07.829 have been lost cheap. Their shepherds have led 00:01:07.829 --> 00:01:10.590 them astray. They have turned them away on the 00:01:10.590 --> 00:01:13.349 mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill. 00:01:13.469 --> 00:01:16.170 They have forgotten their resting place. All 00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:18.730 who found them have devoured them. And their 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:21.829 adversaries said, We have not offended, because 00:01:21.829 --> 00:01:24.349 they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation 00:01:24.349 --> 00:01:27.090 of justice, the Lord, the hope of their fathers. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.540 Move from the midst of Babylon, go out of the 00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:33.420 land of the Chaldeans, and be like the rams before 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:35.980 the flocks. For behold, I will raise and cause 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:39.319 to come up against Babylon, an assembly of great 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:41.719 nations from the north country, and they shall 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:44.439 array themselves against her. From there she 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:46.980 shall be captured, their arrows shall be like 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:49.859 those of an expert warrior, none shall return 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:53.280 in vain, and Chaldea shall become plunder. All 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.739 who plunder her shall be satisfied, says the 00:01:55.739 --> 00:01:58.939 Lord. Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.019 you destroyers of my heritage, because you have 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:05.239 grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, and 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.539 you bellow like bulls, your mother shall be deeply 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:12.909 ashamed. She who bore you shall be ashamed. Behold, 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:15.370 the least of the nations shall be a wilderness, 00:02:15.689 --> 00:02:18.310 a dry land and a desert. Because of the wrath 00:02:18.310 --> 00:02:21.050 of the Lord, she shall not be inhabited, but 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:24.530 she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes 00:02:24.530 --> 00:02:27.110 by Babylon shall be horrified and hiss at all 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:30.030 her plagues. Put yourselves in array against 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:33.009 Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow. 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:36.729 Shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned 00:02:36.729 --> 00:02:39.849 against the Lord. Shout against her all around, 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:42.879 she has given her hand. Her foundations have 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:46.520 fallen, her walls are thrown down. For it is 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.259 the vengeance of the Lord, take vengeance on 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:53.460 her. As she has done, so do to her. Cut off the 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:56.319 sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:59.180 at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword, 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.199 everyone shall turn to his own people, and everyone 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:05.580 shall flee to his own land. Israel is like scattered 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.659 sheep, the lions have driven him away. First 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:11.210 the king of Assyria devoured him, Now at last 00:03:11.210 --> 00:03:13.710 this Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has broken 00:03:13.710 --> 00:03:16.590 his bones. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, 00:03:16.789 --> 00:03:19.229 the God of Israel, Behold, I will punish the 00:03:19.229 --> 00:03:22.009 king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished 00:03:22.009 --> 00:03:24.750 the king of Assyria. But I will bring back Israel 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:27.729 to his home, and he shall feed on Carmel and 00:03:27.729 --> 00:03:30.490 Bashan. His soul shall be satisfied on Mount 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:33.469 Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and in that 00:03:33.469 --> 00:03:36.650 time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall 00:03:36.650 --> 00:03:39.930 be sought, but there shall be none. and the sins 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:43.129 of Judah, but they shall not be found. For I 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:46.969 will pardon those whom I preserve. Go up against 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:50.090 the land of Merathim, against it and against 00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:53.030 the inhabitants of Pechod. Waste and utterly 00:03:53.030 --> 00:03:55.430 destroy them, says the Lord, and do according 00:03:55.430 --> 00:03:58.030 to all that I have commanded you. A sound of 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:01.030 battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 00:04:01.409 --> 00:04:03.870 How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:07.689 apart and broken. How Babylon has become a desolation 00:04:07.689 --> 00:04:10.409 among the nations. I have laid a snare for you. 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:13.370 You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon, and 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:15.949 you were not aware. You have been found and also 00:04:15.949 --> 00:04:18.550 caught, because you have contended against the 00:04:18.550 --> 00:04:21.170 Lord. The Lord has opened his armory and has 00:04:21.170 --> 00:04:23.889 brought out the weapons of his indignation. For 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:26.410 this is the work of the Lord God of hosts. In 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:29.149 the land of the Chaldeans, come against her from 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:32.389 the farthest border. Open her storehouses, cast 00:04:32.389 --> 00:04:35.990 her up as heaps of ruins, and destroy her utterly. 00:04:36.250 --> 00:04:39.540 Let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bulls. 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:42.100 Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:45.040 For their day has come, the time of their punishment. 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:47.800 The voice of those who flee and escape from the 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:51.019 land of Babylon declares in Zion the vengeance 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:54.279 of the Lord our God, the vengeance of His temple. 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.639 Call together the archers against Babylon. All 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.600 who bend the bow encamp against it all around. 00:05:00.899 --> 00:05:03.899 Let none of them escape. Repay her according 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:07.339 to her work, according to all she has done due 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:09.879 to her. For she has been proud against the Lord, 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.480 against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore her 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.160 young men shall fall in the streets, and all 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.639 her men of war shall be cut off in that day, 00:05:17.779 --> 00:05:20.860 says the Lord. Behold, I am against you, O most 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:23.980 haughty one, says the Lord God of hosts. For 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:26.439 your day has come, the time that I will punish 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.579 you. The most proud shall stumble and fall, and 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.579 no one will raise him up. I will kindle a fire 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:35.240 in his cities, and it will devour all around 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.959 him. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the children 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:40.819 of Israel were oppressed, along with the children 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:43.779 of Judah. All who took them captive have held 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:46.360 them fast. They have refused to let them go. 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:49.660 Their Redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:52.560 his name. He will thoroughly plead their case, 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:56.240 that he may give rest to the land and disquiet 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:59.220 the inhabitants of Babylon. A sword is against 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:01.759 the Chaldeans, says the Lord, against the inhabitants 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.360 of Babylon, and against her princes and her wise 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:07.360 men. A sword is against the soothsayers and they 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.819 will be fools. A sword is against her mighty 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:13.139 men and they will be dismayed. A sword is against 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:15.860 their horses, against their chariots, and against 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.819 all the mixed peoples who are in her midst and 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:21.540 they will become like women. A sword is against 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:24.579 her treasures and they will be robbed. A drought 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:27.120 is against her waters and they will be dried 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.839 up. For it is the land of carved images and they 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:34.769 are insane with their idols. Therefore the wild 00:06:34.769 --> 00:06:37.430 desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, 00:06:37.449 --> 00:06:40.230 and the ostriches shall dwell in it. It shall 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:43.230 be inhabited no more for ever, nor shall it be 00:06:43.230 --> 00:06:46.430 dwelt in from generation to generation. As God 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:48.790 overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:51.529 says the Lord, so no one shall reside there, 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:55.230 nor son of man dwell in it. Behold, the people 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:57.569 shall come from the north, and a great nation 00:06:57.569 --> 00:07:00.410 and many kings shall be raised up from the ends 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:03.069 of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:05.829 lance. They are cruel and shall not show mercy. 00:07:06.050 --> 00:07:08.730 Their voice shall roar like the sea. They shall 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:11.769 ride on horses, set in array like a man for the 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:14.850 battle against you, O daughter of Babylon. The 00:07:14.850 --> 00:07:17.149 king of Babylon has heard the report about them, 00:07:17.189 --> 00:07:19.910 and his hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken 00:07:19.910 --> 00:07:22.949 hold of him, pangs as of a woman in childbirth. 00:07:23.490 --> 00:07:26.089 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:28.389 flood plain of the Jordan against the dwelling 00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:31.019 place of the strong. But I will make them suddenly 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:34.319 run away from her. And who is a chosen man that 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:38.120 I may appoint over her? For who is like me? Who 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:40.759 will arraign me? And who is that shepherd who 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:43.500 will withstand me? Therefore hear the counsel 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:46.279 of the Lord that he has taken against Babylon 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:49.399 and his purposes that he has proposed against 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:52.240 the land of the Chaldeans. Surely the least of 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.199 the flock shall draw them out. Surely he will 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:57.399 make their dwelling place desolate with them. 00:07:57.689 --> 00:08:00.410 At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth 00:08:00.410 --> 00:08:03.649 trembles, and a cry is heard among the nations. 00:08:05.170 --> 00:08:09.209 Chapter 51 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will 00:08:09.209 --> 00:08:11.709 raise up against Babylon, against those who dwell 00:08:11.709 --> 00:08:15.490 in Lab Kamai, a destroying wind, and I will send 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:18.290 winnowers to Babylon, who shall winnow her and 00:08:18.290 --> 00:08:21.310 empty her land. For in the day of doom they shall 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:24.430 be against her all around. Against her let the 00:08:24.430 --> 00:08:27.569 archer bend his bow, and lift himself up against 00:08:27.569 --> 00:08:30.269 her in his armor. Do not spare her young men, 00:08:30.449 --> 00:08:33.990 utterly destroy all her army. Thus the slain 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:36.370 shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:39.549 those thrust through in her streets. For Israel 00:08:39.549 --> 00:08:42.990 is not forsaken, nor Judah. By his God, the Lord 00:08:42.990 --> 00:08:45.789 of hosts, though their land was filled with sin 00:08:45.789 --> 00:08:48.950 against the Holy One of Israel. Flee from the 00:08:48.950 --> 00:08:51.309 midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life. 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.759 Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.539 the time of the Lord's vengeance. He shall recompense 00:08:57.539 --> 00:09:00.299 her. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:04.039 that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.799 her wine. Therefore the nations are deranged. 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:09.779 Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:13.279 Wail for her. Take balm for her pain. Perhaps 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.620 she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.740 but she is not healed. forsake her and let us 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:22.580 go everyone to his own country for her judgment 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:25.059 reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies 00:09:25.059 --> 00:09:28.120 the lord has revealed our righteousness come 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.960 and let us declare in zion the work of the lord 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:34.559 our god make the arrows bright gather the shields 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.279 the lord has raised up the spirit of the kings 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.179 of the medes for his plan is against babylon 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:43.000 to destroy it because it is the vengeance of 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.980 the lord the vengeance for his temple Set up 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.299 the standard on the walls of Babylon. Make the 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:51.279 guard strong. Set up the watchmen. Prepare the 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.200 ambushes. For the Lord has both devised and done 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.720 what he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. 00:09:57.019 --> 00:09:59.919 O you who dwell by many waters, abundant in treasures, 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.419 your end has come, the measure of your covetousness. 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:07.019 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself, Surely 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:10.679 I will fill you with men as with locusts, and 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:13.980 they shall lift up a shout against you. He has 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:16.580 made the earth by his power. He has established 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:19.399 the world by his wisdom and stretched out the 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:22.080 heaven by his understanding. When he utters his 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.519 voice, there is a multitude of waters in the 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:27.379 heavens. He causes the vapors to ascend from 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:30.000 the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.059 the rain. He brings the wind out of his treasuries. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.399 Everyone is dull -hearted without knowledge. 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:39.679 Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.840 image. For his molded image is falsehood, and 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:45.139 there is no breath in them. They are futile, 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:47.860 a work of errors. In the time of their punishment 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:50.820 they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:53.480 like them, for he is the maker of all things. 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:57.500 And Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The 00:10:57.500 --> 00:11:00.539 Lord of hosts is his name. You are my battle 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.929 axe and weapons of war. For with you I will break 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.529 the nation in pieces. With you I will destroy 00:11:06.529 --> 00:11:09.070 kingdoms. With you I will break in pieces the 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:12.009 horse and its rider. With you I will break in 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:15.110 pieces the chariot and its rider. With you also 00:11:15.110 --> 00:11:18.549 I will break in pieces man and woman. With you 00:11:18.549 --> 00:11:21.370 I will break in pieces old and young. With you 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:23.590 I will break in pieces the young man and the 00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:26.490 maiden. With you also I will break in pieces 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:30.190 the shepherd and his flock. With you I will break 00:11:30.190 --> 00:11:33.190 in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen, and 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:36.230 with you I will break in pieces governors and 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:39.250 rulers. And I will repay Babylon and all the 00:11:39.250 --> 00:11:42.090 inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil they 00:11:42.090 --> 00:11:45.129 have done, in Zion in your sight, says the Lord. 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:48.230 Behold, I am against you a destroying mountain, 00:11:48.450 --> 00:11:51.590 who destroys all the earth, says the Lord. And 00:11:51.590 --> 00:11:54.490 I will stretch out my hand against you, roll 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:57.370 you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt 00:11:57.370 --> 00:12:00.340 mountain. They shall not take from you a stone 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:03.600 for a corner, nor a stone for a foundation, but 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.299 you shall be desolate forever, says the Lord. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.419 Set up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:11.600 among the nations, prepare the nations against 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.320 her, call the kingdoms together against her, 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:18.059 Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, appoint a general 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:20.799 against her. Cause the horses to come up like 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.539 the bristling locusts. Prepare against her the 00:12:23.539 --> 00:12:26.600 nations, with the kings of the Medes, its governors, 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:29.840 and all its rulers, all the land of his dominion. 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:32.659 And the land will tremble in sorrow. For every 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:34.980 purpose of the Lord shall be performed against 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:38.000 Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.100 without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:44.039 have ceased fighting. They have remained in their 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:47.340 strongholds. Their might has failed. They became 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:49.720 like women. They have burned her dwelling places, 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:53.039 the bars of her gate are broken. One runner will 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.580 run to meet another, and one messenger to meet 00:12:55.580 --> 00:12:57.879 another, to show the king of Babylon that his 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:01.320 city is taken on all sides. The passages are 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:04.120 blocked, the reeds they have burned with fire, 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:07.139 and the men of war are terrified. For thus says 00:13:07.139 --> 00:13:09.840 the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the daughter 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.360 of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.159 is time to thresh her. Yet a little while, and 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.000 the time of her harvest will come. Nebuchadnezzar, 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:20.379 the king of Babylon, has devoured me, he has 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:23.139 crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:25.899 has swallowed me up like a monster, he has filled 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:28.840 his stomach with his delicacies, he has spit 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.059 me out. Let the violence done to me and my flesh 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:34.799 be upon Babylon, the inhabitant of Zion will 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.940 say, and my blood be upon the inhabitants of 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:41.340 Chaldea, Jerusalem will say. Therefore, thus 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:43.970 says the Lord, behold i will plead your case 00:13:43.970 --> 00:13:46.570 and take vengeance for you i will dry up her 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:49.809 sea and make her springs dry babylon shall become 00:13:49.809 --> 00:13:53.190 a heap a dwelling place for jackals an astonishment 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:56.149 and a hissing without an inhabitant they shall 00:13:56.149 --> 00:13:58.809 roar together like lions they shall growl like 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:01.529 lions whelps in their excitement i will prepare 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.169 their feasts i will make them drunk that they 00:14:04.169 --> 00:14:07.250 may rejoice and sleep a perpetual sleep and not 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:10.620 awake says the lord I will bring them down like 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:13.720 lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. 00:14:14.059 --> 00:14:17.620 O how Shishak is taken, and how the praise of 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:20.659 the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:23.120 desolate among the nations! The sea has come 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.679 up over Babylon. She is covered with the multitude 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.940 of its waves. Her cities are a desolation, a 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:32.100 dry land and a wilderness, a land where no one 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:36.100 dwells, through which no son of man passes. I 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:38.970 will punish Bel in Babylon. and I will bring 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:41.970 out of his mouth what he has swallowed. And the 00:14:41.970 --> 00:14:44.870 nations shall not stream to him any more. Yes, 00:14:45.110 --> 00:14:48.450 the wall of Babylon shall fall. My people, go 00:14:48.450 --> 00:14:51.710 out of the midst of her, and let everyone deliver 00:14:51.710 --> 00:14:54.769 himself from the fierce anger of the Lord. And 00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:57.330 lest your heart faint, and you fear for the rumor 00:14:57.330 --> 00:14:59.610 that will be heard in the land, a rumor will 00:14:59.610 --> 00:15:02.110 come one year, and after that, in another year, 00:15:02.190 --> 00:15:04.529 a rumor will come, and violence in the land, 00:15:04.649 --> 00:15:08.379 ruler against ruler. Therefore behold, the days 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:10.639 are coming, that I will bring judgment on the 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.960 carved images of Babylon. Her whole land shall 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:17.580 be ashamed, and all her slain shall fall in her 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:20.399 midst. Then the heavens and the earth, and all 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.440 that is in them, shall sing joyously over Babylon. 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:26.360 For the plunderers shall come to her from the 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:29.600 north, says the Lord. As Babylon has caused the 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.919 slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon the slain 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:36.159 of all the earth shall fall. You who have escaped 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:39.600 the sword, get away, do not stand still. Remember 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:42.860 the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come to 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:45.899 your mind. We are ashamed because we have heard 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:49.940 reproach. Shame has covered our faces, for strangers 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:52.220 have come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:55.179 house. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:57.960 says the Lord, that I will bring judgment on 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:00.700 her carved images, and throughout all her land 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.679 the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon were 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.659 to mount up to heaven, and though she were to 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:09.659 fortify the height of her strength, yet from 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:12.919 my plunderers would come to her, says the Lord. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.120 The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and great 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:18.620 destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, because 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:21.320 the Lord is plundering Babylon and silencing 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:24.600 her loud voice. Though her waves roar like great 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:27.120 waters, and the noise of their voice is uttered, 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:29.960 because the plunderer comes against her, against 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.090 Babylon, and her mighty men are taken. Every 00:16:33.090 --> 00:16:35.830 one of their bows is broken, for the Lord is 00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:38.970 the God of recompense. He will surely repay. 00:16:39.330 --> 00:16:42.450 And I will make drunk her princes and wise men, 00:16:42.590 --> 00:16:45.090 her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men, 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:47.809 and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not 00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:50.929 awake, says the king, whose name is the Lord 00:16:50.929 --> 00:16:54.450 of hosts. Thus says the Lord of hosts, The broad 00:16:54.450 --> 00:16:57.570 walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and 00:16:57.570 --> 00:17:00.629 her high gates shall be burned with fire. the 00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:03.210 people will labor in vain, and the nations because 00:17:03.210 --> 00:17:07.369 of the fire, and they shall be weary. The word 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:10.369 which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Sariah the 00:17:10.369 --> 00:17:13.950 son of Nariah the son of Massiah, when he went 00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:16.609 with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in 00:17:16.609 --> 00:17:19.190 the fourth year of his reign, and Sariah was 00:17:19.190 --> 00:17:22.009 the quartermaster. So Jeremiah wrote in a book, 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.890 all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all 00:17:24.890 --> 00:17:27.329 these words that are written against Babylon. 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:29.900 And Jeremiah said to Sariah, When you arrive 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:32.680 in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.819 then you shall say, O Lord, you have spoken against 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:38.180 this place to cut it off, so that none shall 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:41.279 remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:44.500 be desolate forever. Now it shall be, when you 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:46.779 have finished reading this book, that you shall 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:50.099 tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:54.000 Then you shall say, Thus Babylon shall sink and 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.019 not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring 00:17:57.019 --> 00:18:01.059 upon her, and they shall be weary. Thus far are 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:09.099 the words of Jeremiah. I hope you enjoyed today's 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:11.299 reading as much as I did, and I look forward 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:13.339 to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:15.440 journey. God bless you and have a great day.