Jeremiah chapter 51
English Standard Version
1Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, 2and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble. 3 Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army. 4They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets. 5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. 6 "Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord 's vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her. 7Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord 's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad. 8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. 9We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. 10 The Lord has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11 "Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.
12 "Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. 14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. 15 "It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 16When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 17Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. 18They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. 20"You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; 21with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; 22with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; 23with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. 24"I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.
25"Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. 26No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord. 27 "Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts. 28 Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion. 29 The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the Lord 's purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. 30The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken. 31One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side; 32the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic. 33For thus says 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 her harvest will come." 34"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out. 35The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon," let the inhabitant of Zion say. "My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," let Jerusalem say. 36Therefore thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, 37and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant. 38 "They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions ' cubs. 39 While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the Lord. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats. 41"How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! 42 The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. 43Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes. 44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen. 45"Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! 46Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler. 47"Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the Lord. 49Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. 50 "You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind: 51 ‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the Lord 's house.’ 52"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. 53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the Lord. 54 "A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the Lord is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, 56for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the Lord is a God of recompense; he will surely repay. 57 I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 58"Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire." 59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ 63When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
New International Version
1This is what the Lord says: "See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. 2I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. 3Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. 4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets.
5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. 6"Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. 7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.
10" ‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’ 11"Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 12Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The Lord will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon. 13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.
14The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you. 15"He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 17"Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them. 18They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the people of his inheritance— the Lord Almighty is his name. 20"You are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms, 21with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, 22with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and young woman, 23with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials.
26No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever," declares the Lord. 27"Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her; summon against her these kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; send up horses like a swarm of locusts. 28Prepare the nations for battle against her— the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the countries they rule. 29The land trembles and writhes, for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand— to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one will live there. 30Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become weaklings. Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. 31One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured, 32the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified."
33This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come." 34"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has thrown us into confusion, he has made us an empty jar. Like a serpent he has swallowed us and filled his stomach with our delicacies, and then has spewed us out. 35May the violence done to our flesh be on Babylon," say the inhabitants of Zion. "May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia," says Jerusalem.
36Therefore this is what the Lord says: "See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. 37Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives. 38Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs. 39But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake," declares the Lord.
40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats. 41"How Sheshak will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! How desolate Babylon will be among the nations! 42The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. 43Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no one travels.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall. 45"Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of the Lord. 46Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. 47For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her," declares the Lord. 49"Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
51"We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the Lord’s house." 52"But days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.
53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her," declares the Lord. 54"The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. 55The Lord will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound. 56A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. 57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
59This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.’ 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
New American Standard Bible
1This is what the Lord says: 'Behold, I am going to stir up The spirit of a destroyer against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai. 2I will send foreigners to Babylon so that they may winnow her And devastate her land; For they will be opposed to her on every side On the day of her disaster. 3Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his coat of armor. Do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction. 4They will fall down dead in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets.' 5For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the Lord of armies, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel. 6Flee from the midst of Babylon, And each of you save his life! Do not perish in her punishment, For this is the Lord’S time of vengeance; He is going to repay to her what she deserves. 7Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going insane. 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. 9We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Abandon her and let’s each go to his own country, For her judgment has reached to heaven And it rises to the clouds. 10The Lord has brought about our vindication; Come and let’s recount in Zion The work of the Lord our God! 11Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple. 12Lift up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon; Post a strong guard, Station sentries, Set up an ambush! For the Lord has both planned and performed What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 13You who live by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end. 14The Lord of armies has sworn by Himself: 'I will certainly fill you with a population like locusts, And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.' 15 It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. 16When He utters His voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, And He makes the clouds ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain And brings out wind from His storehouses. 17Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his cast metal images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. 18They are worthless, a work of mockery; At the time of their punishment they will perish. 19The portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the Maker of everything, And of the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of armies is His name. 20 He says, 'You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, And with you I destroy kingdoms. 21With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider, 22And with you I shatter man and woman, And with you I shatter the old man and youth, And with you I shatter the young man and virgin, 23And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, And with you I shatter governors and officials.
25'Behold, I am against you, mountain of destruction That destroys the whole earth,' declares the Lord, 'And I will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the rocky cliffs, And I will make you a burnt out mountain. 26They will not take from you even a stone for a corner Nor a stone for foundations, But you will be desolate forever,' declares the Lord. 27Lift up a signal flag in the land, Blow a trumpet among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her, Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; Appoint an officer against her, Bring up the horses like bristly locusts. 28Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their officials, And every land under their control. 29So the land quakes and writhes, For the plans of the Lord against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without inhabitants. 30The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting, They stay in the strongholds; Their strength is exhausted, They are becoming like women; Their homes are set on fire, The bars of her gates are broken. 31One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end; 32The river crossing places have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified.
34'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, He has set me down like an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a monster, He has filled his stomach with my delicacies; He has washed me away. 35May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,' The inhabitant of Zion will say; And, 'May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,' Jerusalem will say. 36Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'Behold, I am going to plead your case And take vengeance for you; And I will dry up her sea And make her fountain dry. 37Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. 38They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions’ cubs. 39When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet And make them drunk, so that they may rejoice in triumph, And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up,' declares the Lord. 40'I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats. 41'How Sheshak has been captured, And the praise of the whole earth has been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! 42The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed by its roaring waves. 43Her cities have become an object of horror, A dry land and a desert, A land in which no one lives And through which no one of mankind passes. 44I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream toward him. Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down! 45'Come out from her midst, My people, And each of you save yourselves From the fierce anger of the Lord. 46Now, so that your heart does not grow faint, And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land— For the report will come in one year, And after that another report in another year, And violence will be in the land With ruler against ruler— 47Therefore behold, days are coming When I will punish the idols of Babylon; And her whole land will be put to shame. And all her slain will fall in her midst. 48Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, Because the destroyers will come to her from the north,' Declares the Lord. 49Indeed, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As the slain of all the earth have also fallen for Babylon. 50You who have escaped the sword, Go! Do not stay! Remember the Lord from far away, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. 51We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke; Disgrace has covered our faces, Because strangers have entered The holy places of the Lord’S house. 52'Therefore behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'When I will punish her idols, And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land. 53Though Babylon ascends to the heavens, And though she fortifies her lofty stronghold, Destroyers will come from Me to her,' declares the Lord. 54The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon, And He will make her loud noise vanish from her. And their waves will roar like many waters; The clamor of their voices sounds forth. 56For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her warriors will be captured, Their bows shattered; For the Lord is a God of retribution, He will fully repay. 57'I will make her leaders and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her officials, and her warriors, So that they will sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,' Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.
59The command that Jeremiah the prophet gave Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, 'As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62and say, ‘You, Lord, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing living in it, whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’ 63And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’?' To this point are the words of Jeremiah.
Christian Standard Bible
1This is what the Lord says: I am about to rouse the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and against the population of Leb-qamai. 2I will send strangers to Babylon who will scatter her and strip her land bare, for they will come against her from every side in the day of disaster. 3Don’t let the archer string his bow; don’t let him put on his armor. Don’t spare her young men; completely destroy her entire army! 4Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans, those who were pierced through, in her streets.
5For Israel and Judah are not left widowed by their God, the Lord of Armies, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. 6Leave Babylon; save your lives, each of you! Don’t perish because of her guilt. For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance— he will pay her what she deserves. 7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore, the nations go mad.
10The Lord has brought about our vindication; come, let’s tell in Zion what the Lord our God has accomplished. 11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The Lord has roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes because his plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the Lord’s vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 12Raise up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon; fortify the watch post; set the watchmen in place; prepare the ambush. For the Lord has both planned and accomplished what he has threatened against those who live in Babylon. 13You who reside by abundant water, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut.
14The Lord of Armies has sworn by himself: I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will sing the victory song over you. 15He made the earth by his power, established the world by his wisdom, and spread out the heavens by his understanding.
16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens are tumultuous, and he causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from his storehouses. 17Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them. 18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.
19Jacob’s Portion is not like these because he is the one who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of Armies is his name. 20You are my war club, my weapons of war. With you I will smash nations; with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin. 21With you I will smash the horse and its rider; with you I will smash the chariot and its rider. 22With you I will smash man and woman; with you I will smash the old man and the youth; with you I will smash the young man and the young woman. 23With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock; with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team. With you I will smash governors and officials.
26No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will become desolate forever. This is the Lord’s declaration. 27Raise a signal flag in the land; blow a ram’s horn among the nations; set apart the nations against her. Summon kingdoms against her— Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. 28Set apart the nations for battle against her— the kings of Media, her governors and all her officials, and all the lands they rule. 29The earth quakes and trembles because the Lord’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. 30Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their might is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, her gate bars are shattered. 31Messenger races to meet messenger, and herald to meet herald, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end. 32The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the fighting men are terrified.
33For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come. 34"King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty dish; he has swallowed me like a sea monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out. 35Let the violence done to me and my family be done to Babylon," says the inhabitant of Zion. "Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem.
36Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to champion your cause and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her fountain run dry. 37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals’ den, a desolation and an object of scorn, without inhabitant. 38They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.
40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. 41How Sheshach has been captured, the praise of the whole earth seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! 42The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. 43Her cities have become a desolation, an arid desert, a land where no one lives, where no human being even passes through.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him vomit what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even Babylon’s wall will fall. 45Come out from among her, my people! Save your lives, each of you, from the Lord’s burning anger. 46May you not become cowardly and fearful when the report is proclaimed in the land, for the report will come one year, and then another the next year. There will be violence in the land with ruler against ruler. 47Therefore, look, the days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s carved images. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her slain will lie fallen within her.
48Heaven and earth and everything in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her. This is the Lord’s declaration. 49Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel, even as the slain of the whole earth fell because of Babylon.
53Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from me. This is the Lord’s declaration. 54The sound of a cry from Babylon! The sound of terrible destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon; he will silence her mighty voice. Their waves roar like a huge torrent; the tumult of their voice resounds, 56for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, their bows shattered, for the Lord is a God of retribution; he will certainly repay.
59This is what the prophet Jeremiah commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.
61Jeremiah told Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62Say, ‘Lord, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it—people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.’ 63When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.
New Living Translation
1This is what the Lord says: 'I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Babylonia. 2Foreigners will come and winnow her, blowing her away as chaff. They will come from every side to rise against her in her day of trouble. 3Don’t let the archers put on their armor or draw their bows. Don’t spare even her best soldiers! Let her army be completely destroyed. 4They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets. 5For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has not abandoned Israel and Judah. He is still their God, even though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.'
6Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped in her punishment! It is the Lord’s time for vengeance; he will repay her in full. 7Babylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hands, a cup that made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank Babylon’s wine, and it drove them all mad. 8But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her. Give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed. 9We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land. For her punishment reaches to the heavens; it is so great it cannot be measured. 10The Lord has vindicated us. Come, let us announce in Jerusalem everything the Lord our God has done.
11Sharpen the arrows! Lift up the shields! For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes to march against Babylon and destroy her. This is his vengeance against those who desecrated his Temple. 12Raise the battle flag against Babylon! Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen. Prepare an ambush, for the Lord will fulfill all his plans against Babylon. 13You are a city by a great river, a great center of commerce, but your end has come. The thread of your life is cut. 14The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow and has sworn to it by his own name: 'Your cities will be filled with enemies, like fields swarming with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.'
15The Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens. 16When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.
17The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power. 18Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. 19But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including his people, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
20'You are my battle-ax and sword,' says the Lord. 'With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms. 21With you I will shatter armies — destroying the horse and rider, the chariot and charioteer. 22With you I will shatter men and women, old people and children, young men and young women. 23With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks, farmers and oxen, captains and officers.
25'Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy,' says the Lord. 'I will raise my fist against you, to knock you down from the heights. When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of burnt rubble. 26You will be desolate forever. Even your stones will never again be used for building. You will be completely wiped out,' says the Lord.
27Raise a signal flag to the nations. Sound the battle cry! Mobilize them all against Babylon. Prepare them to fight against her! Bring out the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander, and bring a multitude of horses like swarming locusts! 28Bring against her the armies of the nations — led by the kings of the Medes and all their captains and officers.
29The earth trembles and writhes in pain, for everything the Lord has planned against Babylon stands unchanged. Babylon will be left desolate without a single inhabitant. 30Her mightiest warriors no longer fight. They stay in their barracks, their courage gone. They have become like women. The invaders have burned the houses and broken down the city gates. 31The news is passed from one runner to the next as the messengers hurry to tell the king that his city has been captured. 32All the escape routes are blocked. The marshes have been set aflame, and the army is in a panic.
34'King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has eaten and crushed us and drained us of strength. He has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches. He has thrown us out of our own country. 35Make Babylon suffer as she made us suffer,' say the people of Zion. 'Make the people of Babylonia pay for spilling our blood,' says Jerusalem.
36This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem: 'I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, as well as her springs, 37and Babylon will become a heap of ruins, haunted by jackals. She will be an object of horror and contempt, a place where no one lives. 38Her people will roar together like strong lions. They will growl like lion cubs. 39And while they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will prepare a different kind of feast for them. I will make them drink until they fall asleep, and they will never wake up again,' says the Lord. 40'I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats to be sacrificed.
41'How Babylon is fallen — great Babylon, praised throughout the earth! Now she has become an object of horror among the nations. 42The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered by its crashing waves. 43Her cities now lie in ruins; she is a dry wasteland where no one lives or even passes by. 44And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon, and make him vomit up all he has eaten. The nations will no longer come and worship him. The wall of Babylon has fallen!
45'Come out, my people, flee from Babylon. Save yourselves! Run from the Lord’s fierce anger. 46But do not panic; don’t be afraid when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces. For rumors will keep coming year by year. Violence will erupt in the land as the leaders fight against each other. 47For the time is surely coming when I will punish this great city and all her idols. Her whole land will be disgraced, and her dead will lie in the streets. 48Then the heavens and earth will rejoice, for out of the north will come destroying armies against Babylon,' says the Lord. 49'Just as Babylon killed the people of Israel and others throughout the world, so must her people be killed. 50Get out, all you who have escaped the sword! Do not stand and watch — flee while you can! Remember the Lord, though you are in a far-off land, and think about your home in Jerusalem.'
52'Yes,' says the Lord, 'but the time is coming when I will destroy Babylon’s idols. The groans of her wounded people will be heard throughout the land. 53Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens and makes her fortifications incredibly strong, I will still send enemies to plunder her. I, the Lord, have spoken!
54'Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. 55For the Lord is destroying Babylon. He will silence her loud voice. Waves of enemies pound against her; the noise of battle rings through the city. 56Destroying armies come against Babylon. Her mighty men are captured, and their weapons break in their hands. For the Lord is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full. 57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her captains, officers, and warriors. They will fall asleep and never wake up again!' says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
59The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon — all the words written here. 61He said to Seraiah, 'When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. 62Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ 63When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River.
King James Version
58Thus saith the Lord of hosts; 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. 59The 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. 60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; 62Then shalt thou say, O Lord, 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. 63And 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: 64And 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.
New King James Version
1Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai, A destroying wind. 2And I will send winnowers to Babylon, Who shall winnow her and empty her land. For in the day of doom They shall be against her all around. 3Against her let the archer bend his bow, And lift himself up against her in his armor. Do not spare her young men; Utterly destroy all her army. 4Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, And those thrust through in her streets. 5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, By his God, the Lord of hosts, Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.” 6 Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her. 7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. 8Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. 9We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. 10The Lord has revealed our righteousness. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11 Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple. 12 Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon; Make the guard strong, Set up the watchmen, Prepare the ambushes. For the Lord has both devised and done What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness. 14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts, And they shall lift up a shout against you.” 15 He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heaven by His understanding. 16When He utters His voice— There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” 17 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image; For his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. 18They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of hosts is His name. 20“You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms; 21With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; 22With you also I will break in pieces man and woman; With you I will break in pieces old and young; With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; 23With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers. 24“And I will repay Babylon And all the inhabitants of Chaldea For all the evil they have done In Zion in your sight,” says the Lord. 25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys all the earth,” says the Lord. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the rocks, And make you a burnt mountain. 26They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever,” says the Lord. 27 Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts. 28Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land of his dominion. 29And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. 30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken. 31 One runner will run to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides; 32 The passages are blocked, The reeds they have burned with fire, And the men of war are terrified.
33For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor When it is time to thresh her; Yet a little while And the time of her harvest will come.” 34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon Has devoured me, he has crushed me; He has made me an empty vessel, He has swallowed me up like a monster; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies, He has spit me out. 35Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon,” The inhabitant of Zion will say; “And my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea!” Jerusalem will say.
36Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. 37 Babylon shall become a heap, A dwelling place for jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant. 38They shall roar together like lions, They shall growl like lions’ whelps. 39In their excitement I will prepare their feasts; I will make them drunk, That they may rejoice, And sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the Lord. 40“I will bring them down Like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with male goats. 41“Oh, how Sheshach is taken! Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! 42 The sea has come up over Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of its waves. 43 Her cities are a desolation, A dry land and a wilderness, A land where no one dwells, Through which no son of man passes. 44I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45“My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord. 46And lest your heart faint, And you fear for the rumor that will be heard in the land (A rumor will come one year, And after that, in another year A rumor will come, And violence in the land, Ruler against ruler), 47Therefore behold, the days are coming That I will bring judgment on the carved images of Babylon; Her whole land shall be ashamed, And all her slain shall fall in her midst. 48Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the Lord. 49As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall. 50 You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. 51 We are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house. 52“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will bring judgment on her carved images, And throughout all her land the wounded shall groan. 53 Though Babylon were to mount up to heaven, And though she were to fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the Lord. 54 The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, 55Because the Lord is plundering Babylon And silencing her loud voice, Though her waves roar like great waters, And the noise of their voice is uttered, 56Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; For the Lord is the God of recompense, He will surely repay. 57“And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
59The 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. And Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, 62then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ 63Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright© 1960 - 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright© 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by Permission.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright© 1960 - 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright© 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by Permission.
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THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright© 1960 - 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright© 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by Permission.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright© 1960 - 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright© 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by Permission.