But I am going to give an order,” announces the Lord.“ I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it. They will capture it and burn it down. And I will completely destroy the towns of Judah. No one will be able to live there.”

耶和华说：‘我必吩咐他们回到这城，攻打这城，将城攻取，用火焚烧。我也要使犹大的城邑变为荒场，无人居住。’”

看哪，我要吩咐他们回到这城，攻打这城，将城攻取，用火焚烧；我也要使犹大的城镇变为废墟，无人居住。这是耶和华说的。”

看哪，我要吩咐他们回到这城，攻打这城，将城攻取，用火焚烧；我也要使犹大的城镇变为废墟，无人居住。这是耶和华说的。”

看啊，我要吩咐他们回来攻占这城，将它付之一炬，我要使犹大的城邑荒无人烟。这是耶和华说的。’”

看哪！我必下令，使他们回到这城来；他们必攻打、夺取这城，用火焚烧；我必使犹大的城镇都荒凉，没有人居住。’”这是耶和华的宣告。

耶和華說：我必吩咐他們回到這城，攻打這城，將城攻取，用火焚燒。我也要使猶大的城邑變為荒場，無人居住。」

看哪，我要吩咐他們回到這城，攻打這城，將城攻取，用火焚燒；我也要使猶大的城鎮變為廢墟，無人居住。這是耶和華說的。」

看哪，我要吩咐他們回到這城，攻打這城，將城攻取，用火焚燒；我也要使猶大的城鎮變為廢墟，無人居住。這是耶和華說的。」

看啊，我要吩咐他們回來攻佔這城，將它付之一炬，我要使猶大的城邑荒無人煙。這是耶和華說的。』」

看哪！我必下令，使他們回到這城來；他們必攻打、奪取這城，用火焚燒；我必使猶大的城鎮都荒涼，沒有人居住。’”這是耶和華的宣告。

看吧，永恆主發神諭說，我必發命令，叫他們回到這城來、攻擊它，將城攻取，放火焚燒；我必使猶大的城市荒涼，沒有人居住。』

耶和華曰、我必命之復返是邑、攻而取之、焚之以火、我亦必使猶大諸邑荒蕪、無人居處、

I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”

I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”

I am about to give the command— this is the LORD’s declaration— and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it. I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”

Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord,‘ and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”

Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord,‘ and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

I am about to give the command”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”

Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

For I, the LORD, affirm that I will soon give the order and bring them back to this city. They will fight against it and capture it and burn it down. I will also make the towns of Judah desolate so that there will be no one living in them.”’”

Behold, I will command,” says Yahweh,“ and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

The Lord says,“ I will knock down all of Jerusalem’s buildings. I will make it a home for wild dogs. The towns of Judah will be completely destroyed. No one will be able to live in them.”

The Babylonians set the royal palace on fire. They also set fire to the houses of the people. And they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched out against Jerusalem. He came with all his armies and attacked it. It was in the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. It was in the tenth month.The city wall was broken through. It happened on the ninth day of the fourth month. It was in the 11th year of Zedekiah’s rule.

The Lord couldn’t put up any longer with the evil things you were doing. He hated the things you did. So your land became a curse. It became a dry and empty desert. No one lived there. And that’s the way it still is today.

Nebuzaradan set the Lord’ s temple on fire. He also set fire to the royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem. He burned down every important building.

The Lord says,“ You say about this place,‘ It’s a dry and empty desert. It doesn’t have any people or animals in it.’ The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are now deserted. So they do not have any people or animals living in them. But happy sounds will be heard there once more.

Then the Babylonians broke through the city wall. Judah’s whole army ran away. They left the city at night. They went out through the gate between the two walls that were near the king’s garden. They escaped even though the Babylonians surrounded the city. Judah’s army ran toward the Arabah Valley.

When someone blows a trumpet in a city, don’t the people tremble with fear? When trouble comes to a city, hasn’t the Lord caused it?

“‘ “But I, the Lord, say,‘ Haven’t you heard what I have done? Long ago I arranged for you to do this. In days of old I planned it. Now I have made it happen. You have turned cities with high walls into piles of stone.

“ Cyrus is my anointed king. I take hold of his right hand. I give him the power to bring nations under his control. I help him strip kings of their power to go to war against him. I break city gates open so he can go through them. I say to him,‘ I will march out ahead of you. I will make the mountains level. I will break down bronze gates. I will cut through their heavy iron bars.I will give you treasures that are hidden away. I will give you riches that are stored up in secret places. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I am the God of Israel. I am sending for you by name.

The Lord brought the king of the Babylonians against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn’t spare young men or young women. They didn’t spare the old people or weak people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

The king became very angry. He sent his army to destroy them. They killed those murderers and burned their city.

Your sacred cities have become a desert. Even Zion is a desert. Jerusalem is a dry and empty place.

The Lord has commanded the soldiers he prepared for battle. He has sent for them to carry out his anger against Babylon. They will be happy when he wins the battle for them.

Then the angel of the Lord spoke up. He said,“ Lord, you rule over all. How long will you keep from showing your tender love to Jerusalem? How long will you keep it from the towns of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years.”

The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He said,“ You saw all the trouble I brought on Jerusalem. I also brought it on all the towns in Judah. Today they lie there deserted and destroyed.That’s because of the evil things their people did. They made me very angry. They burned incense to other gods. And they worshiped them. They and you and your people of long ago never knew those gods.Again and again I sent my servants the prophets. They said,‘ Don’t worship other gods! The Lord hates it!’But the people didn’t listen. They didn’t pay any attention. They didn’t turn from their sinful ways. They didn’t stop burning incense to other gods.So my burning anger was poured out. It blazed out against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. It made them the dry and empty places they are today.”

‘ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,“ The king of Babylon and his armies are all around this city. They are getting ready to attack you. You have weapons of war in your hands to fight against them. But I am about to turn your weapons against you. And I will bring your enemies inside this city.I myself will fight against you. I will reach out my powerful hand and mighty arm. I will come against you with all my great anger.I will strike down those who live in this city. I will kill people and animals alike. They will die of a terrible plague.After that, I will hand you over to your enemies. They want to kill you,” announces the Lord.“ I will hand over Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his officials. I will also hand over the people in this city who live through the plague, war and hunger. All of them will be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will kill them with swords. He will show them no mercy. He will not feel sorry for them. In fact, he will not have any concern for them at all.” ’“ Tell the people,‘ The Lord says,“ I am offering you a choice. You can choose the way that leads to life. Or you can choose the way that leads to death.Those who stay in this city will die of war, hunger or plague. But suppose some go out and give themselves up to the Babylonians attacking you. They will live. They will escape with their lives.I have decided to do this city harm and not good,” announces the Lord.“ It will be handed over to the king of Babylon. And he will destroy it with fire.” ’

The city of Jerusalem is so empty! She used to be full of people. But now she’s like a woman whose husband has died. She used to be great among the nations. She was like a queen among the kingdoms. But now she is a slave.

The armies of Babylon are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn down the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god named Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.

Then the armies of Babylon will come back here. They will attack this city. They will capture it. Then they will burn it down.’“ The Lord says,‘ Do not fool yourselves. You think,“ The Babylonians will leave us alone.” But they will not!Suppose you destroy all the armies of Babylon that are attacking you. Suppose only wounded men are left in their tents. Even then they will come out and burn down this city.’ ”

“ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself won’t escape from them. You will be captured by the king of Babylon. And this city will be burned down.”

But the rest of the earth will be deserted. The people who live in it have done many evil things.

The Lord says,“ How terrible it will be for the people of Assyria! They are the war club that carries out my anger.I will send them against the ungodly nation of Judah. I will order them to fight against my own people. My people make me angry. I will order Assyria to take their goods and carry them away. I will order Assyria to walk on my people as if they were walking on mud.But that is not what the king of Assyria plans. It is not what he has in mind. His purpose is to destroy many nations. His purpose is to put an end to them.

Then I said,“ Lord, how long will it be like that?” He answered,“ It will last until the cities of Israel are destroyed. It will last until no one is living in them. It will last until the houses are deserted. The fields will be completely destroyed.

I used a windstorm to scatter them among all the nations. They were strangers there. The land they left behind became dry and empty. No one could even travel through it. This is how they turned the pleasant land into a dry and empty desert.”

Lions have come out of their dens. Those who destroy nations have begun to march out. They have left their place to destroy your land completely. Your towns will be broken to pieces. No one will live in them.

“ Tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.“ The people who are left in those broken- down buildings will be killed by swords. Wild animals will eat up those who are out in the country. Those who are in caves and other safe places will die of a plague. And that is just as sure as I am alive.I will turn the land into a dry and empty desert. The strength Jerusalem is so proud of will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be deserted. No one will travel across them.

All the buildings will be knocked down. Every city gate will be smashed to pieces.

The Lord sent robbers against Jehoiakim from Babylon, Aram, Moab and Ammon. He sent them to destroy Judah. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through his servants the prophets.These things happened to Judah in keeping with what the Lord had commanded. He brought enemies against his people in order to remove them from his land. He removed them because of all the sins Manasseh had committed.

Then David spoke to Abishai and all his officials. He said,“ My very own son Absalom is trying to kill me. How much more should this man from Benjamin want to kill me! Leave him alone. Let him curse. The Lord has told him to do it.