Jeremiah 51
1 “Yahweh says this: See, I am about to stir up a wind of destruction against Babylon and against those who live in Leb Kamai.
Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon. They will scatter her and devastate her land, for they will come against her from all around on the day of disaster.
And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall fan her, and they shall empty her land; for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Do not let the archers bend their bows; do not let them put on armor. Do not spare her young men; set her whole army apart for destruction.
Let the archer bend his bow against her, and let him lift himself up against her in his coat of mail; and spare ye not her young men, destroy ye utterly all her host.
4 For the wounded people will fall in the land of the Chaldeans; those who are killed will fall in her streets.
And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel and Judah are not forsaken by their God, by Yahweh of hosts, although their land is filled with offenses committed against the Holy One of Israel.
For Israel is not widowed, nor Judah, of his God, of the LORD of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon; let each man save himself. Do not perish in her iniquity. For it is the time of Yahweh's vengeance. He will repay all of it to her.
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life, be not cut off in her iniquity; for it is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; He will render unto her a recompense.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh that made all the world drunk; nations drank her wine and became insane.
Babylon hath been a golden cup in LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon will fall suddenly and be destroyed. Wail for her! Give her medicine for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed, wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 'We wished to heal Babylon, but she is not healed. Let us all leave her and go away, to our own land. For her guilt reaches up to the heavens; it is piled up to the clouds.
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 Yahweh has declared our innocence. Come, let us tell in Zion the deeds of Yahweh our God.'
The LORD hath brought forth our victory; come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
11 Sharpen the arrows and take up the shields. Yahweh is stirring up the spirit of the king of the Medes in a plan to destroy Babylon. This is for Yahweh's vengeance, vengeance for the destruction of his temple.
Make bright the arrows, fill the quivers, the LORD hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because His device is against Babylon, to destroy it; for it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of His temple.
12 Lift up a banner over Babylon's walls; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD will do what he has said concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for the LORD hath both devised and done that which He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You people who live by many streams of water, you people who are rich with treasures, your end has come. The thread of your life is now cut short.
O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.
14 Yahweh of hosts has sworn by his own life, 'I will fill you with men, like a swarm of locusts, and they will raise a battle cry against you.'
The LORD of hosts hath sworn by Himself: Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm, and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
15 He has made the earth by his power; he set in place the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
He that hath made the earth by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discernment;
16 When he thunders, there is the roar of waters in the heavens, for he brings up the mist from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for rain and sends out wind from his storehouses.
At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings at the time of the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries;
17 Every man has become ignorant, without knowledge. Every metalworker is put to shame by his idols. For his cast images are frauds, and there is no life in them.
Every man is proved to be brutish, for the knowledge — every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image — that his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18 They are useless, the work of mockers; they will perish at the time of their punishment.
They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they shall perish,
19 But God, the portion of Jacob, is not like these, for he is the molder of all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; Yahweh of hosts is his name.
The portion of Jacob is not like these; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name.
20 You are my war hammer, my weapon for battle. With you I will smash nations and destroy kingdoms.
Thou art My maul and weapons of war, and with thee will I shatter the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 With you I will smash horses and their riders; with you I will smash chariots and their drivers.
And with thee will I shatter the horse and his rider, and with thee will I shatter the chariot and him that rideth therein;
22 With you I will smash each man and woman; with you I will smash the old and the young. With you I will smash the young men and the virgin girls.
And with thee will I shatter man and woman, and with thee will I shatter the old man and the youth, and with thee will I shatter the young man and the maid;
23 With you I will smash the shepherds and their flocks; with you I will smash the plowmen and their teams. With you I will smash the governors and officials.
And with thee will I shatter the shepherd and his flock, and with thee will I shatter the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, and with thee will I shatter governors and deputies.
24 For in your sight I will pay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all of the evil that they did in Zion—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion, in your sight; saith the LORD.
25 See, I am against you, mountain of destruction—this is Yahweh's declaration—which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.
Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out My hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 So they will not take from you any stone to construct a building's corner or foundation; for you will become an everlasting devastation—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
27 Lift up a banner over the earth. Blow the trumpet over the nations. Call the nations to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to attack her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the horn among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.
28 Prepare the nations to attack her: The kings of the Medes and his governors, all of his officials and all the lands under his rule.
Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
29 For the land will shake and be in anguish, since Yahweh's plans continue against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a wasteland where there is no inhabitant.
And the land quaketh and is in pain; for the purposes of the LORD are performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 The soldiers in Babylon have stopped fighting; they stay in their strongholds. Their strength has failed; they have become women—her homes are on fire, the bars of her gates are broken.
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed, they are become as women; her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.
31 A messenger runs to proclaim to another messenger, and a runner tells another runner to report to the king of Babylon that his city has been taken from end to end.
One post runneth to meet another, and one messenger to meet an other, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter;
32 So the fords over the river are seized; the enemy is burning the reed marshes, and Babylon's fighting men are confused.
And the fords are seized, and the castles they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor. It is time to trample her down. In a little while the time of harvest will come to her.
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
34 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, he has driven me into confusion and has made me an empty pot. Like a monster he has swallowed me, he has filled his stomach with my delicious foods, and then he has spit me out.'
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath set me down as an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath washed me clean.
35 The one who lives in Zion will say, 'May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon.' Jerusalem will say, 'May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea.'
'The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon', shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and: 'My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea', shall Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore Yahweh says this: See, I am about to plead your case and bring about vengeance for you. For I will dry up Babylon's waters and make her springs run dry.
Therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
37 Babylon will become heaps of rubble, a den of jackals, a horror, an object of hissing, where there are no inhabitants.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38 The Babylonians will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lion cubs.
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.
39 When they become hot with greed, I will make a feast for them; I will make them drunk so they become happy, and then sleep an unending sleep and not wake up—this is Yahweh's declaration—
With their poison I will prepare their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may be convulsed, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
40 I will send them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41 How Babylon has been captured! So the praise of all the earth is seized. How Babylon has become a ruined place among the nations.
How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea has come up over Babylon! She is covered with its roaring waves.
The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities have become a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness, a land that no one inhabits, and no human being passes through.
Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
44 So I will punish Bel in Babylon; I will bring out from his mouth what he swallowed, and the nations will no longer flow to him with their offerings. The walls of Babylon will fall.
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up, and the nations shall not flow any more unto him; yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45 Go out from her midst, my people. Let each of you save his own life from the fury of my wrath.
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of the LORD.
46 Do not let your hearts be timid or fear the news that is heard in the land, for the news will come one year. After it in the next year there will be news, and violence will be in the land. Ruler will be against ruler.
And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye, for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that in another year a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, see, days are coming when I will punish the carved idols of Babylon. All of her land will be ashamed, and all of her slaughtered ones will fall in her midst.
Therefore behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be ashamed; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them will rejoice over Babylon. For destroyers will come for her from the north—this is Yahweh's declaration.
Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
49 As Babylon has made the killed of Israel fall, so the killed of all her land will fall in Babylon.
As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.
50 Survivors of the sword, go away! Do not stay still. Call Yahweh to mind from far away; let Jerusalem come to mind.
Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember the LORD from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We are ashamed, for we have heard insults; reproach has covered our faces, for foreigners have entered the holy places of Yahweh's house.
'We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach, confusion hath covered our faces; for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.'
52 Therefore, see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will punish her carved idols, and the wounded people will groan in all of her land.
Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53 For even if Babylon went up to the heavens or fortified her highest fortresses, destroyers would come from me to her—this is Yahweh's declaration.
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
54 A shout of distress came from Babylon, a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.
Hark! a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For Yahweh is destroying Babylon. He is causing her loud voice to perish. Their enemies roar like the waves of many waters; their noise becomes very strong.
For the LORD spoileth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered;
56 For the destroyers have come against her—against Babylon!—and her warriors have been captured. Their bows are broken, for Yahweh is the God of vengeance; he will surely carry out this repayment.
For the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are shattered; for the LORD is a God of recompenses, He will surely requite.
57 For I will make her princes, her sages, her officials, and her soldiers drunk, and they will sleep in an unending sleep and never wake up —this is the King's declaration: Yahweh of hosts is his name.
And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
58 Yahweh of hosts says this: The thick walls of Babylon will be completely demolished, and her high gates will be burned. Then the peoples coming to her aid will labor uselessly; everything that the nations try to do for her will be burned up.”
Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.
59 This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a chief officer.
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was quartermaster.
60 For Jeremiah had written in a scroll about all the disaster that was going to come on Babylon—all these words that were written about Babylon.
And Jeremiah wrote in one book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.
61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you go to Babylon, then you will see and you will read these words aloud.
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: 'When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,
62 Then you will say, 'Yahweh, you yourself have declared that you would destroy this place, and that no man or animal will live in it, and it will be desolate forever.'
and say: O LORD, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63 Then when you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;
64 Say, 'Babylon will sink like this. It will not arise because of the disaster that I am sending against it, and they will fall.'” Jeremiah's words end here.
and thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary.' Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
