I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to ¹  evil men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!

The grains of seed ¹  have shriveled beneath their shovels. ²  Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.

Hurry and look ¹  at the permanent ruins, and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ² 

“I, the Lord who rules over all, say: ¹  ‘This place will indeed lie in ruins. There will be no people or animals in it. But there will again be in it and in its towns sheepfolds where shepherds can rest their sheep.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, ¹  and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die ²  by the sword.

“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, ¹  and let there be no one to live in it,’ ²  and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’ ³ 

Turn toward me and have mercy on me, for I am alone ¹  and oppressed!

Evil people self-destruct; ¹  those who hate the godly are punished. ² 

May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be humiliated ¹  and disgraced! ² 

This is what the Lord says: “At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you; in the day of deliverance I will help you; I will protect you ¹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ²  to rebuild ³  the land ⁴  and to reassign the desolate property.

“Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one are more numerous than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about –

Listen attentively, ¹  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ²  and the city called by your name. ³  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁴  but because your compassion is abundant.

All of them will come and make their home ¹  in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. ² 

What will you do on judgment day, ¹  when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you? ¹ 

“‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation ¹  for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon ²  an everlasting ruin. ³  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴ 

Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. ¹  For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins ²  and be uninhabited.

The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more. No one even passes through them. ¹ 

I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices ¹  – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire ²  – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ ³