The Lord says,“ The whole land will be destroyed. But I will not destroy it completely.

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华说：“遍地将要荒凉，然而不会被我彻底毁灭。

因为耶和华这样说：“全国都必荒凉，我却不尽行毁灭。

耶和華如此說：全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華如此說：「全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華如此說：「全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華說：「遍地將要荒涼，然而不會被我徹底毀滅。

因為耶和華這樣說：“全國都必荒涼，我卻不盡行毀滅。

因為永恆主這麼說：『全國都必荒涼；但我卻不盡行毁滅。

蓋耶和華云、全地將成荒蕪、然我不盡滅之、

耶和華曰、雖遍地荒蕪、我怒猶不息。

蓋主如是云、全地必荒蕪、然我不盡滅之、

This is what the Lord says:“ The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.

For thus says the Lord,“ The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

This is what the Lord says:“ The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.

For this is what the LORD says:“ The whole land will be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.

For this is what the Lord says:“ The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

For thus says the Lord:“ The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end.

For thus saith Jehovah, The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end.

For this is what the Lord says: The whole land will be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.

For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

All this will happen because the LORD said,“ The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

For Yahweh says,“ The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

People of Jacob, do not be afraid. You are my servant. I am with you,” announces the Lord.“ I will completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will correct you. But I will be fair. I will not let you go without any punishment.”

“ Armies of Babylon, go through their vineyards and destroy them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches. These people do not belong to me.

“ In spite of that, even in those days I will not destroy you completely,” announces the Lord.

I am with you. I will save you,’ ” announces the Lord.“‘ I will completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will correct you. But I will be fair. I will not let you go without any punishment.’ ”

So here is what I ask. Did God turn his back on his people? Not at all! I myself belong to Israel. I am one of Abraham’s children. I am from the tribe of Benjamin.God didn’t turn his back on his people. After all, he chose them. Don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah? He complained to God about Israel.He said,“ Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have torn down your altars. I’m the only one left. And they are trying to kill me.”( 1 Kings 19:10, 14)How did God answer him? God said,“ I have kept 7,000 people for myself. They have not bowed down to Baal.”( 1 Kings 19:18)Some are also faithful today. They have been chosen by God’s grace.And if they are chosen by grace, then they can’t work for it. If that were true, grace wouldn’t be grace anymore.What should we say then? The people of Israel did not receive what they wanted so badly. Those Israelites who were chosen did receive it. But the rest of the people were made stubborn.

But even after all that, I will not say no to you or turn away from you. I will not destroy you completely in the land of your enemies. I will not break my covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.

Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died as I was prophesying. Then I fell with my face toward the ground. I cried out in a loud voice. I said,“ Lord and King, will you destroy all the Israelites who are still left alive?”

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel. He says,“ The number of people from Israel may be like the sand by the sea. But only a few of them will be saved.The Lord will carry out his sentence. He will be quick to carry it out on earth, once and for all.”( Isaiah 10:22, 23)Earlier Isaiah had said,“ The Lord who rules over all left us children and grandchildren. If he hadn’t, we would have become like Sodom. We would have been like Gomorrah.”( Isaiah 1:9)

So their land will become a horrible thing. People will make fun of it again and again. All those who pass by it will be shocked. They will shake their heads.

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.

The earth will be completely destroyed. Everything of value will be taken out of it. That’s what the Lord has said.The earth will dry up completely. The world will dry up and waste away. The heavens will fade away along with the earth.The earth is polluted by its people. They haven’t obeyed the laws of the Lord. They haven’t done what he told them to do. They’ve broken the covenant that will last forever.So the Lord will send a curse on the earth. Its people will pay for what they’ve done. They will be burned up. Very few of them will be left.The vines and fresh wine will dry up completely. Those who used to have a good time will groan.The happy sounds of tambourines will be gone. The noise of those who enjoy wild parties will stop. The joyful music of harps will become silent.People will no longer sing as they drink wine. Beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.Destroyed cities will lie empty. People will lock themselves inside their houses.In the streets people will cry out for wine. All joy will turn into sadness. All joyful sounds will be driven out of the earth.All the buildings will be knocked down. Every city gate will be smashed to pieces.That’s how it will be on the earth. And that’s how it will be among the nations. It will be as when workers knock all but a few olives off the trees. It will be like a vine that has only a few grapes left after the harvest.

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.It will last until the Lord has sent everyone far away. The land will be totally deserted.

The Lord is going to completely destroy everything on earth. He will twist its surface. He’ll scatter those who live on it.

I will reach out my powerful hand against them. The land will become dry and empty. Those people will live from the desert all the way to Diblah. They will know that I am the Lord.”

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.

I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore. There will be no sounds of joy in the towns of Judah. And there will be no joy in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a desert.

“ I am the Lord and King. My eyes are watching the sinful kingdom of Israel. I will wipe it off the face of the earth. But I will not totally destroy the people of Jacob,” announces the Lord.“ I will give an order. I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations. They will be like grain that is shaken through a screen. Not a pebble will fall to the ground.

My vineyard will become a desert. It will be dry and empty in my sight. The whole land will be completely destroyed. And no one even cares.Many will come to destroy it. They will gather on the bare hilltops in the desert. I will use them as my sword to destroy my people. They will kill them from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.

The land of Israel enjoyed its sabbath years. It rested. That deserted land wasn’t farmed for a full 70 years. What the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah came true.