Jeremiah 51
1 The Lord has said: See, I will make a wind of destruction come up against Babylon and against those who are living in Chaldaea;
Thus saith Yhwh; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2 And I will send men to Babylon to make her clean and get her land cleared: for in the day of trouble they will put up their tents against her on every side.
And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Against her the bow of the archer is bent, and he puts on his coat of metal: have no mercy on her young men, give all her army up to the curse.
Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her army.
4 And the dead will be stretched out in the land of the Chaldaeans, and the wounded in her streets.
Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel has not been given up, or Judah, by his God, by the Lord of armies; for their land is full of sin against the Holy One of Israel.
For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Yhwh of Armies; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Go in flight out of Babylon, so that every man may keep his life; do not be cut off in her evil-doing: for it is the time of the Lord's punishment; he will give her her reward.
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of Yhwh's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon has been a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, which has made all the earth overcome with wine: the nations have taken of her wine, and for this cause the nations have gone off their heads.
Babylon hath been a golden cup in Yhwh's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Sudden is the downfall of Babylon and her destruction: make cries of grief for her; take sweet oil for her pain, if it is possible for her to be made well.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We would have made Babylon well, but she is not made well: give her up, and let us go everyone to his country: for her punishment is stretching up to heaven, and lifted up even to the skies.
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 The Lord has made clear our righteousness: come, and let us give an account in Zion of the work of the Lord our God.
Yhwh hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Yhwh our God.
11 Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple.
Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: Yhwh hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of Yhwh, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Let the flag be lifted up against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, put the watchmen in their places, make ready a surprise attack: for it is the Lord's purpose, and he has done what he said about the people of Babylon.
Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for Yhwh hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.
O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
14 The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you.
Yhwh of Armies hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
15 He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out:
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
16 At the sound of his voice there is a massing of the waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain and sends out the wind from his store-houses.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18 They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.
They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.
The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Yhwh of Armies is his name.
20 You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;
Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken;
And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
22 With you man and woman will be broken; with you the old man and the boy will be broken; with you the young man and the virgin will be broken;
With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 With you the keeper of sheep with his flock will be broken, and with you the farmer and his oxen will be broken, and with you captains and rulers will be broken.
I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
24 And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldaea, their reward for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says the Lord.
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 Yhwh.
25 See, I am against you, says the Lord, O mountain of destruction, causing the destruction of all the earth: and my hand will be stretched out on you, rolling you down from the rocks, and making you a burned mountain.
Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Yhwh, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 And they will not take from you a stone for the angle of a wall or the base of a building; but you will be a waste place for ever, says the Lord.
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 Yhwh.
27 Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts.
Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
28 Make the nations ready for war against her, the king of the Medes and his rulers and all his captains, and all the land under his rule.
Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
29 And the land is shaking and in pain: for the purposes of the Lord are fixed, to make the land of Babylon an unpeopled waste.
And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of Yhwh shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 Babylon's men of war have kept back from the fight, waiting in their strong places; their strength has given way, they have become like women: her houses have been put on fire, her locks are broken.
The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31 One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter:
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
32 And the ways across the river have been taken, and the water-holes ... burned with fire, and the men of war are in the grip of fear.
And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come.
For thus saith Yhwh of Armies, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
34 Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth.
Nebuchadnezzar 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.
35 May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36 For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water.
Therefore thus saith Yhwh; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
37 And Babylon will become a mass of broken walls, a hole for jackals, a cause of wonder and surprise, without a living man in it.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
38 They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
39 When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord.
In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Yhwh.
40 I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together.
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
41 How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations!
How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves.
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by.
Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
44 And I will send punishment on Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what went into it; no longer will the nations be flowing together to him: truly, the wall of Babylon will come down.
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 together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45 My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord.
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of Yhwh.
46 So that your hearts may not become feeble and full of fear because of the news which will go about in the land; for a story will go about one year, and after that in another year another story, and violent acts in the land, ruler against ruler.
And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 For this cause, truly, the days are coming when I will send punishment on the images of Babylon, and all her land will be shamed, and her dead will be falling down in her.
Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 And the heaven and the earth and everything in them, will make a song of joy over Babylon: for those who make her waste will come from the north, says the Lord.
Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith Yhwh.
49 As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out.
As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50 You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind.
Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember Yhwh afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We are shamed because bitter words have come to our ears; our faces are covered with shame: for men from strange lands have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.
We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Yhwh's house.
52 For this reason, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on her images; and through all her land the wounded will be crying out in pain.
Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Yhwh, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53 Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord.
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 Yhwh.
54 There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans:
A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
55 For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud:
Because Yhwh hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
56 For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment.
Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for Yhwh God of recompences shall surely requite.
57 And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Yhwh of Armies.
58 The Lord of armies has said: The wide walls of Babylon will be completely uncovered and her high doorways will be burned with fire; so peoples keep on working for nothing, and the weariness of nations comes to an end in the smoke.
Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 The order which Jeremiah the prophet gave to 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 rule. Now Seraiah was the chief controller of the house.
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
60 And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon.
So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words;
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
62 And after reading them, say, O Lord, you have said about this place that it is to be cut off, so that no one will be living in it, not a man or a beast, but it will be unpeopled for ever.
Then shalt thou say, O Yhwh, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63 And it will be that, when you have come to an end of reading this book, you are to have a stone fixed to it, and have it dropped into 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 Euphrates:
64 And you are to say, So Babylon will go down, never to be lifted up again, because of the evil which I will send on her: and weariness will overcome them. So far, these are the words of Jeremiah.
And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
