I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people ¹  and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, ² 

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.

I loathe ¹  it; ²  I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, ³  for my days are a vapor! ⁴ 

I also have understanding ¹  as well as you; I am not inferior to you. ²  Who does not know such things as these? ³ 

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: ¹  “I am young, ²  but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, ³  and afraid to explain ⁴  to you what I know.

Indeed, a large vineyard ¹  will produce just a few gallons, ²  and enough seed to yield several bushels ³  will produce less than a bushel.” ⁴ 

From the abundance of milk they produce, ¹  he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.

Like a frightened gazelle ¹  or a sheep with no shepherd, each will turn toward home, ²  each will run to his homeland.

The poor will graze in my pastures; ¹  the needy will rest securely. But I will kill your root by famine; it will put to death all your survivors. ² 

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ¹  The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,” says the Lord who commands armies.

It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest, and his hand gleans the ear of grain. It will be like one gathering the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.

In a year’s time ¹  you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape ²  harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ¹  men of ²  Israel. I am helping you,” says the Lord, your protector, ³  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. ¹  They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted. ² 

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces ¹  will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away. ² 

So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah ¹  and lived there with him. He stayed there to live among the people who had been left in the land of Judah. ² 

Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, ¹  and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors ²  to the winds. ³ 

Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys; all of them will moan – each one for his iniquity.

Then he will enter the beautiful land. ¹  Many ²  will fall, but these will escape: ³  Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership.

I will remove ¹  the ruler ²  from Ashdod, ³  the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. ⁴  I will strike Ekron ⁵  with my hand; ⁶  the rest of the Philistines will also die.” ⁷  The sovereign Lord has spoken!