Judgment on Babylon
The word that the Lord spoke concerning aBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, bby Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
a‘Babylon is taken,
bBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
aHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For aout of the north a nation has come up against her, bwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; cboth man and beast shall flee away.
4 a“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, athe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, bweeping as they come, and they cshall seek the Lord their God. 5 aThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, bsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ceverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 a“My people have been lost sheep. bTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, aand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for bthey have sinned against the Lord, ctheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, dthe hope of their fathers.’
8 a“Flee from the midst of Babylon, aand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon aa gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 aChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 a“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
aa wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 aBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
beveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
band hiss because of all her wounds.
14 aSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
ball you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
cfor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 aRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
bher walls are thrown down.
For cthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
ddo to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
abecause of the sword of the oppressor,
bevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 a“Israel is a hunted sheep bdriven away by lions. cFirst the king of Assyria ddevoured him, and now at last eNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon fhas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, aI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, bas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 aI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ahe shall feed on bCarmel and in bBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in bGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ainiquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for bI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim,
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.
Kill, aand devote them to destruction,
declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 aThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 aHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
bHow Babylon chas become
a horror among the nations!
24 aI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and byou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out athe weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
apile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all aher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
bthe time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They aflee and escape from the land of Babylon, bto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for chis temple.
29 a“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. aEncamp around her; let no one escape. bRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has cproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 aTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O aproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
bfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 aThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
band I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: aThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; bthey refuse to let them go. 34 aTheir Redeemer is strong; bthe Lord of hosts is his name. cHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against aher officials and her bwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her awarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all athe foreign troops in her midst,
that bthey may become women!
cA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 aA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
bFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 a“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 aAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, bso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 a“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 a“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd bcan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear athe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, aand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: bSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 aAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”