Saul’s Overthrow and Death

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

³When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

⁴Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!”But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.

⁶So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.

The Philistines Possess the Towns

⁷When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.

¹⁰They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan.When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

Judgment on the Jews in Egypt

¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:

²“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, they lie today in ruins and desolation

³because of the evil they have done.They provoked Me to anger by continuing to burn incense and to serve other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.

⁴Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again,saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’

⁵But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

⁶Therefore My wrath and anger poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so that they have become the desolate ruin they are today.

⁷So now, this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves by cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and infant, leaving yourselves without a remnant?

⁸Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside?As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers and of the kings of Judah and their wives, as well as the wickedness that you and your wives committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed My instruction or the statutes that I set before you and your fathers.

¹¹Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will set My face to bring disaster and to cut off all Judah.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

¹³I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”

The Stubbornness of the People

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros,said to Jeremiah,

¹⁶“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!

¹⁷Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.

¹⁸But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

¹⁹“Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Calamity for the Jews

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,

²¹“As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?

²²So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has befallen you, as you see today.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all those of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.

²⁵This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows!

²⁶Nevertheless, hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah living in Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that never again will any man of Judah living in the land of Egypt invoke My name or say, ‘As surely as the Lord GOD lives.’

²⁷I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.

²⁸Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs!

²⁹This will be a sign to you that I will punish you in this place, declares the LORD, so that you may know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.

³⁰This is what the LORD says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.”

Israel’s Great Misery

¹Woe is me!For I am like one gathering summer fruitat the gleaning of the vineyard;there is no cluster to eat,no early fig that I crave.

²The godly man has perished from the earth;there is no one upright among men.They all lie in wait for blood;they hunt one another with a net.

³Both hands are skilled at evil;the prince and the judge demand a bribe.When the powerful utters his evil desire,they all conspire together.

⁴The best of them is like a brier;the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns.The day for your watchmen has come,the day of your visitation.Now is the time of their confusion.

⁵Do not rely on a friend;do not trust in a companion.Seal the doors of your mouthfrom her who lies in your arms.

⁶For a son dishonors his father,a daughter rises against her mother,and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.A man’s enemies are the membersof his own household.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

⁷But as for me, I will look to the LORD;I will wait for the God of my salvation.My God will hear me.

⁸Do not gloat over me, my enemy!Though I have fallen, I will arise;though I sit in darkness,the LORD will be my light.

⁹Because I have sinned against Him,I must endure the rage of the LORD,until He argues my caseand executes justice for me.He will bring me into the light;I will see His righteousness.

¹⁰Then my enemy will seeand will be covered with shame—she who said to me,“Where is the LORD your God?”My eyes will see her;at that time she will be trampledlike mud in the streets.

¹¹The day for rebuilding your walls will come—the day for extending your boundary.

¹²On that day they will come to youfrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,even from Egypt to the Euphrates,from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

¹³Then the earth will become desolatebecause of its inhabitants,as the fruit of their deeds.

God’s Compassion on Israel

¹⁴Shepherd with Your staff Your people,the flock of Your inheritance.They live alone in a woodland,surrounded by pastures.Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,as in the days of old.

¹⁵As in the days when you came out of Egypt,I will show My wonders.

¹⁶Nations will see and be ashamed,deprived of all their might.They will put their hands over their mouths,and their ears will become deaf.

¹⁷They will lick the dust like a snake,like reptiles slithering on the ground.They will come trembling from their strongholdsin the presence of the LORD our God;they will tremble in fear of You.

¹⁸Who is a God like You,who pardons iniquityand passes over the transgressionof the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever,because He delights in loving devotion?

¹⁹He will again have compassion on us;He will vanquish our iniquities.You will cast out all our sinsinto the depths of the sea.

²⁰You will show faithfulness to Jacoband loving devotion to Abraham,as You swore to our fathersfrom the days of old.

Tried but Trusting

¹Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me,for I am poor and needy.

²Preserve my soul, for I am godly.You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.

³Be merciful to me, O Lord,for I call to You all day long.

⁴Bring joy to Your servant,for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁵For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving,rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

⁶Hear my prayer, O LORD,and attend to my plea for mercy.

⁷In the day of my distress I call on You,because You answer me.

⁸O Lord, there is none like You among the gods,nor any works like Yours.

⁹All the nations You have madewill come and bow before You, O Lord,and they will glorify Your name.

¹⁰For You are great and perform wonders;You alone are God.

¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD,that I may walk in Your truth.Give me an undivided heart,that I may fear Your name.

¹²I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;I will glorify Your name forever.

¹³For great is Your loving devotion to me;You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴The arrogant rise against me, O God;a band of ruthless men seeks my life;they have no regard for You.

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

¹⁶Turn to me and have mercy;grant Your strength to Your servant;save the son of Your maidservant.

¹⁷Show me a sign of Your goodness,that my enemies may see and be ashamed;for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.