To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; {those...: Heb. the children of death}

Israel {is} a scattered sheep; the lions have driven {him} away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear {you} in pieces, and {there be} none to deliver.

Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

And they shall be gathered together, {as} prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. {as prisoners...: Heb. with the gathering of prisoners} {pit: or, dungeon} {visited: or, found wanting}

For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, {and} them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, {saying}, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! {scattered...: or, outspread and polished} {meted...: or, that meteth out and treadeth down: Heb. of line, line, and treading under foot} {have...: or, despise}

And it shall come to pass, {that} he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

{That} made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; {that} opened not the house of his prisoners? {opened...: or, did not let his prisoners loose homeward?}

Your country {is} desolate, your cities {are} burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and {it is} desolate, as overthrown by strangers. {overthrown...: Heb. the overthrow of}

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save {thee}.

And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth {day} of the month, {that} Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the {first} year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,

Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, {that} Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth {day} of the month, {that} Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. {direct: or, make straight}

All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, {yea}, all ye beasts in the forest.

As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein {is} no water. {by...: or, whose covenant is by blood}

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? {lawful...: Heb. captivity of the just}

Their roaring {shall be} like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry {it} away safe, and none shall deliver {it}.

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, {and} them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.

And they shall be gathered together, {as} prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. {as prisoners...: Heb. with the gathering of prisoners} {pit: or, dungeon} {visited: or, found wanting}

Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth {it} not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. {here...: Heb. sprinkled}

If ye {be} true {men}, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because {they have} no knowledge: and their honourable men {are} famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. {honourable...: Heb. glory are men of famine}