Prophecy against Babylon
The word which the Lord spoke concerning aBabylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “aDeclare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and blift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘cBabylon has been captured,
dBel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;
Her eimages have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’
3 For a nation has come up against her out of the anorth; it will make her land ban object of horror, and there will be cno inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!
4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah aas well; they will go along bweeping as they go, and it will be cthe Lord their God they will seek. 5 They will aask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an beverlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
6 “My people have become alost sheep;
bTheir shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the cmountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their dresting place.
7 “All who came upon them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘aWe are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the bhabitation of righteousness,
Even the Lord, the chope of their fathers.’
8 “Wander away from the amidst of Babylon
And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be also like male goats at the head of the flock.
9 “For behold, I am going to aarouse and bring up against Babylon
A horde of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who does not return empty‑handed.
10 “aChaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.
11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
O you who apillage My heritage,
Because you skip about like a threshing bheifer
And neigh like stallions,
12 Your amother will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A bwilderness, a parched land and a desert.
13 “Because of the indignation of the Lord she will anot be inhabited,
But she will be bcompletely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon cwill be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 “Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,
For she has asinned against the Lord.
15 “Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has agiven herself up, her pillars have fallen,
Her bwalls have been torn down.
For this is the cvengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
dAs she has done to others, so do to her.
16 “Cut off the asower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From before the bsword of the oppressor
cThey will each turn back to his own people
And they will each flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is a ascattered flock, the blions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the cking of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is dNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I apunished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will abring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the bhill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but athere will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those bwhom I leave as a remnant.’
21 “Against the land of Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of aPekod.
Slay and utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 “The anoise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23 “How the ahammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24 “I aset a snare for you and you were also bcaught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in cconflict with the Lord.”
25 The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the aweapons of His indignation,
For it is a bwork of the Lord God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from the farthest border;
aOpen up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And butterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27 aPut all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them bgo down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their cday has come,
The time of their punishment.
28 There is a asound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the bvengeance of the Lord our God,
Vengeance for His ctemple.
29 “Summon many against Babylon,
All those who bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape.
Repay her according to her work;
aAccording to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become barrogant against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 “Therefore her ayoung men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will be bsilenced in that day,” declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, aI am against you, O arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord God of hosts,
“For your day has come,
The time when I will punish you.
32 “The aarrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will bset fire to his cities
And it will devour all his environs.”
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And aall who took them captive have held them fast,
They have refused to let them go.
34 “Their aRedeemer is strong, bthe Lord of hosts is His name;
He will vigorously cplead their case
So that He may dbring rest to the earth,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A asword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her bofficials and her cwise men!
36 “A sword against the aoracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her bmighty men, and they will be cshattered!
37 “A sword against their ahorses and against their chariots
And against all the bforeigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become cwomen!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38 “A adrought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of bidols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols.
39 “Therefore the adesert creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will bnever again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 “As when God overthrew aSodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No man will live there,
Nor will any son of man reside in it.
41 “Behold, a people is coming afrom the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42 “They aseize their bow and javelin;
They are bcruel and have no mercy.
Their cvoice roars like the sea;
And they ride on dhorses,
eMarshalled like a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 “The aking of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
bDistress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44 “aBehold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is bchosen I will appoint over it. For who is clike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can dstand before Me?” 45 Therefore hear the aplan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: bsurely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the aearth is shaken, and an boutcry is heard among the nations.
Babylon Judged for Sins against Israel
Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of Leb‑kamai
The aspirit of a destroyer.
2 “I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may awinnow her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her
In the day of her calamity.
3 “Let not him who abends his bow bend it,
Nor let him rise up in his bscale‑armor;
So do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
4 “They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
And apierced through in their streets.”
5 For aneither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken
By his God, the Lord of hosts,
Although their land is bfull of guilt
Before the Holy One of Israel.
6 aFlee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not be bdestroyed in her punishment,
For this is the cLord’s time of vengeance;
He is going to drender recompense to her.
7 Babylon has been a golden acup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The bnations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are cgoing mad.
8 Suddenly aBabylon has fallen and been broken;
bWail over her!
cBring balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
9 We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Forsake her and alet us each go to his own country,
For her judgment has breached to heaven
And towers up to the very skies.
10 The Lord has abrought about our vindication;
Come and let us brecount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!
11 aSharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the bvengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 aLift up a signal against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station sentries,
Place men in ambush!
For the Lord has both bpurposed and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you who adwell by many waters,
Abundant in btreasures,
Your end has come,
The measure of your cend.
14 The aLord of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with a population like blocusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”
15 It is aHe who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He bstretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His avoice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the bclouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the cwind from His storehouses.
17 aAll mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his molten images are bdeceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are aworthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The aportion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And of the tribe of His inheritance;
The bLord of hosts is His name.
20 He says, “You are My awar‑club, My weapon of war;
And with you I bshatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 “With you I ashatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the bchariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter aman and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and byouth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
23 And 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 prefects.
24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of aChaldea for ball their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, aI am against you, bO destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a cburnt out mountain.
26 “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be adesolate forever,” declares the Lord.
27 aLift up a signal in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the bkingdoms of cArarat, Minni and dAshkenaz;
Appoint a marshal against her,
Bring up the ehorses like bristly locusts.
28 Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their prefects,
And every land of their dominion.
29 So the aland quakes and writhes,
For the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
A bdesolation without inhabitants.
30 The amighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
bTheir strength is exhausted,
They are becoming blike women;
Their dwelling places are set on fire,
The cbars of her gates are broken.
31 One acourier runs to meet another,
And one bmessenger to meet another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
32 The fords also have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a athreshing floor
At the time it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of bharvest will come for her.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has adevoured me and crushed me,
He has set me down like an bempty vessel;
He has cswallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35 “May the aviolence 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.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am going to aplead your case
And bexact full vengeance for you;
And cI will dry up her sea
And make her fountain dry.
37 “aBabylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An bobject of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38 “They will roar together like ayoung lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And amake them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may bsleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down like lambs ato the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.
41 “How aSheshak has been captured,
And bthe praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42 “The asea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.
43 “Her cities have become an aobject of horror,
A parched land and a desert,
A land in which bno man lives
And through which no son of man passes.
44 “aI will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed bcome out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer cstream to him.
Even the dwall of Babylon has fallen down!
45 “aCome forth from her midst, My people,
And each of you bsave yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 “Now aso that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the breport that will be heard in the land—
For the report will come one year,
And after that another report in another year,
And violence will be in the land
With cruler against ruler—
47 Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the aidols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be bput to shame
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 “Then aheaven and earth and all that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
For bthe destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.
49 aIndeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As also for Babylon bthe slain of all the earth have fallen.
50 You awho have escaped the sword,
Depart! Do not stay!
bRemember the Lord from afar,
And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 aWe are ashamed because we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For baliens 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 aidols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 “Though Babylon should aascend to the heavens,
And though she should fortify her lofty stronghold,
From bMe destroyers will come to her,” declares the Lord.
54 The asound of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud noise vanish from her.
And their awaves will roar like many waters;
The tumult of their voices sounds forth.
56 For the adestroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her mighty men will be captured,
Their bbows are shattered;
For the Lord is a God of crecompense,
He will fully repay.
57 “I will amake her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a bperpetual sleep and not wake up,”
cDeclares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“The broad awall of Babylon will be completely razed
And her high bgates will be set on fire;
So the peoples will ctoil for nothing,
And the nations become dexhausted only for fire.”
59 The message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of aNeriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with bZedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 So Jeremiah awrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘You, O Lord, have promised concerning this place to acut it off, so that there will be bnothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.’ 63 And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and athrow it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and anot rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become bexhausted.’” cThus far are the words of Jeremiah.