A Message Concerning Babylon
50 The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:
- 2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim, and lift up a banner.
- Proclaim, you must not conceal it.
- Say, ‘Babylon is captured,
- Bel is ashamed,
- Merodach is filled with terror,
- her idols are ashamed,
- her idols are filled with terror.
- 3 For a nation will come up against her from the north. It will make her land as a horror,
- and an inhabitant will not be in her.
- From humans[fn] to animals[fn] they all will wander off.
- They will go away.
- 4 In those days and in that time,’ ” declares[fn] Yahweh, “the people[fn] of Israel will come,
- they and the people[fn] of Judah together.
- Weeping as they go ,[fn] they will go,
- and Yahweh their God they will seek.
- 5 They will ask the way to Zion, turning their faces there.
- They will come and join themselves to Yahweh
- by an everlasting covenant[fn] that will not be forgotten.
- 6 My people have become lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go astray.
- They led them away to the mountains.
- From mountain to hill they have gone,
- they have forgotten their resting place.
- 7 All those who found them have devoured them. And their foes have said, ‘We are not guilty,
- because[fn] they have sinned against Yahweh, the true pasture ,[fn]
- even Yahweh, the hope of their ancestors.’[fn]
- 8 Flee from the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans.
- Go out and be like he-goats
- before[fn] the flock.
- 9 For look, I am going to stir up, and I am going to bring against Babylon
- a contingent of great nations
- from the land of the north.
- And they will draw up a battle formation against her,
- from there she will be captured.
- Their arrows are like a warrior who has achieved success,
- he does not return without success.
- 10 And Chaldea will be as booty, all those who plunder her will be satisfied,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 11 “Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my inheritance,
- though you frisk about like a heifer on the grass,
- and you neigh like the powerful stallions,
- 12 your mother will be very ashamed. She who gave birth to you will be humiliated.[fn]
- Look, she will be the least of the nations,
- a desert,[fn] dry land, and wilderness.[fn]
- 13 Because of the anger of Yahweh she will not be inhabited, but she will be a wasteland, all of her.
- Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled
- and will hiss because of all her wounds.
- 14 Draw up a battle formation at Babylon all around, all those who bend the bow, shoot at her.
- You must not spare arrows,[fn]
- for she has sinned against Yahweh.
- 15 Raise a war cry against her on all sides. She has surrendered .[fn]
- Her towers have fallen,
- For this is the vengeance of Yahweh.
- As she has done to others,
- so do to her.
- 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who uses the sickle in the time of harvest.
- Because of[fn] the sword of the oppressor
- each one will turn to their people,
- and each one will flee to their land.
- 17 Israel is a sheep scattered, lions drove them away.
- The first who devoured it was the king of Assyria,
- and now at the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones.”
18 ⌊Therefore⌋[fn] thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
- “Look, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land
- just as I punished the king of Assyria.
- 19 And I will restore Israel to its pasture, and it will feed on Carmel, and in Bashan,
- and on the hills[fn] of Ephraim, and in Gilead
- its hunger will be satisfied.
- 20 In those days and at that time,” declares[fn] Yahweh, “the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there is none,
- and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found,
- for I will forgive those I left behind.
- 21 To the land of Merathaim, go up against her,
- and against the inhabitants of Pekod,
- massacre and destroy them,” declares[fn] Yahweh,
- “and do according to all that I have commanded you.
- 22 The sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction.
- 23 How the blacksmith’s hammer of all the earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become as a horror among the nations!
- 24 I laid a bird snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon. But you yourself did not know.
- You were discovered and seized,
- because with Yahweh you measured yourself.
- 25 Yahweh has opened his armory, and he has brought out the weapons of his wrath,
- for it is a word for my Lord Yahweh of hosts
- in the land of the Chaldeans.
- 26 Come against her from the end, open her granaries.
- Pile her up like heaps and destroy her.
- Let there be no remnant for her.
- 27 Massacre all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughtering.
- Woe to them, for their day has come,
- the time of their punishment.
- 28 There is the sound of fugitives and survivors from the land of Babylon,
- to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,
- the vengeance for his temple.
- 29 Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow.
- Encamp all around her,
- there must not be for her an escape.
- Take revenge on her according to her deeds.
- According to all that she has done, so do to her.
- For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently,
- against the Holy One of Israel.
- 30 Therefore[fn] her young men will fall in her public squares, and all her soldiers[fn] will perish on that day,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 31 “Look, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares[fn] Lord Yahweh of hosts,
- “for your day has come,
- the time when I will punish you.
- 32 And the arrogant one will stumble and fall, and there is no one who raises him up.
- And I will kindle a fire in his cities,
- and it will devour everything around him.”
33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
- “The people[fn] of Israel are oppressed,
- and the people[fn] of Judah likewise,
- for[fn] all their captors have seized them,
- they refuse to let them go free.
- 34 Their redeemer is strong, his name is Yahweh of hosts.
- Surely he will plead their case,
- in order to make peace for the earth,
- but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
- 35 A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares[fn] Yahweh, “and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
- and against her officials,
- and against her wise men.
- 36 A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become foolish.
- A sword against her warriors,
- and they will be filled with terror.
- 37 A sword against his horses, and against his chariots,[fn]
- and against all the foreign troops who are in the midst of her,
- so that they may become as women.
- A sword against her treasures,
- so that they may be plundered.
- 38 A drought will come against her waters, and they will dry up,
- for it is a land of images,
- and because of the frightful objects, they act like madmen.
- 39 Therefore[fn] desert creatures will live there[fn] with jackals, and daughters of ostriches[fn] will inhabit her.
- And she will not be inhabited again forever ,[fn]
- and she will not be dwelt in for all generations .[fn]
- 40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,” declares[fn] Yahweh,
- “no one will live there,
- and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.
- 41 Look, a people is about to come from the north,
- and a great nation and many kings are woken up
- from the remotest part of the earth.
- 42 They keep hold of bow and short sword. They are cruel and they have no mercy.
- Their sound is like the sea, it roars,
- and upon horses they ride.
- Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle,
- against you, O daughter of Babylon.
- 43 The king of Babylon heard their report and his hands grew slack.
- Anxiety has seized him,
- fear and pain like the woman who gives birth.
- 44 Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets[fn] of the Jordan against a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream ,[fn]
- so I will chase them away quickly[fn] from her,
- and I will appoint whoever is chosen over her.
- For who is like me, and who can summon me,
- and who is this shepherd who can stand before me ?[fn]
- 45 Therefore[fn] hear the plan of Yahweh that he has planned against Babylon,
- and his plans
- that he has planned against the land of the Chaldeans.
- Surely[fn] they will drag them away,
- the little ones of the flock.
- Surely[fn] he will cause their grazing place
- to be desolate over them.
- 46 At the sound, ‘Babylon has been captured,’ the earth will quake,
- and a cry for help among the nations
51 Thus says Yahweh:
- “Look, I am going to stir up against Babylon
- and against the inhabitants of Leb-qamai a destructive wind.
- 2 And I will send winnowers to Babylon, and they will winnow her,
- and they will lay waste her land,
- for they will be against her from all sides on the day of disaster.
- 3 Let not him who bends the bow shoot his bow, and let him not rise high in his body armor.
- And you must not spare her young men;
- destroy her whole army.
- 4 And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and pierced through in her streets.
- 5 For neither Israel nor Judah is a widower from their God, from Yahweh of hosts,
- though their land is full of guilt
- against the Holy One of Israel.”
- 6 Flee from the midst of Babylon and save each one his life. You must not perish because of her guilt.
- For this is the time of vengeance for Yahweh,
- he will repay her what is deserved.
- 7 Babylon was a cup of gold in the hand of Yahweh, making drunk all the earth.
- The nations drank of her wine.
- Therefore[fn] the nations acted like madmen.
- 8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and she is shattered. Wail over her!
- Take balm for her wounds,
- perhaps she may be healed.
- 9 We tried to heal Babylon, and she was not healed. Forsake her and let us go each one to his country,
- for her judgment has reached to the heavens,
- and it has been lifted up to the skies.
- 10 Yahweh has brought forth our vindication. Come and let us make known in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.
- 11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.
- Because his plan concerning Babylon is to destroy it,
- for that is the vengeance of Yahweh,
- the vengeance for his temple.
- 12 Against the walls of Babylon raise a banner; post a strong watch ,[fn] post watchmen, prepare the ambushes,
- for Yahweh has both planned as well as performed
- what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
- 13 O you who live by mighty waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your life .[fn]
- 14 Yahweh of hosts has sworn by himself, “Surely I will fill you with troops like the creeping locusts,[fn]
- and they will sing over you a war cry.”
- 15 He is the one who made the earth by his power, the one who created the world by his wisdom,
- and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
- 16 At the giving of his voice there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
- and he causes the patches of mist
- to go up from the end of the earth.
- He makes lightning for the rain,
- and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
- 17 All humankind turns out to be stupid, without knowledge.
- Every goldsmith is put to shame
- For his cast image is a lie,
- and there is no breath in them.
- 18 They are worthless, a work of mockery.
- At the time of their punishment,
- they will perish.
- 19 The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the creator of everything ,[fn]
- and the tribe of his inheritance.
- Yahweh of hosts is his name.
- 20 He says, “You are a war club for me, a weapon of battle,
- and I smash nations with you,
- and I destroy kingdoms with you.
- 21 And I smash the horse with you, and its rider,
- and I smash the chariot with you,
- and its rider.
- 22 And I smash man and woman with you, and I smash the old man and the boy with you,
- and I smash the young man and the young woman with you.
- 23 And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you, and I smash the farmer and his team with you,
- and I smash the governors and the officials with you.
- 24 And I will repay Babylon, and all the inhabitants of Chaldea,
- all their wickedness that they have done in Zion
- before your eyes,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 25 “Look, I am against you, O mountain of the destruction,” declares[fn] Yahweh,
- “the one that destroys the whole earth.
- And I will stretch out my hand against you,
- and I will roll you down from the cliffs,
- and I will make you as a mountain burned away.
- 26 They will not take from you a stone for a corner,
- and a stone for a foundation,
- for you will be an everlasting desolation ,”[fn] declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 27 Raise a banner in the land; blow a horn among the nations;
- prepare for holy war against her;
- summon the nations against her,
- the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
- summon against her an official;
- bring up horses[fn] like bristling creeping locusts.[fn]
- 28 Prepare the nations for holy war against her, the kings of the Medes,
- with their governors and all their officials,
- and every land of their dominion.
- 29 And the land quakes and writhes, for the plans of Yahweh against Babylon stand,
- to make the land of Babylon as a horror,
- without[fn] inhabitant.
- 30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight, they remain in the strongholds,
- their power has dried up,
- they have become as women.
- Her dwelling places are set on fire,
- her bars are broken.
- 31 one runner runs to meet another runner, and one messenger to meet another messenger,
- to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured,
- from end to end .[fn]
- 32 And the fords have been seized, and the reed marshes have been burned with fire,
- and the soldiers[fn] are horrified.
33 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
- “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
- at the time it is trodden down,
- just a little while[fn]
- and the time of the harvest will come for her.”
- 34 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me and sucked me dry;
- he has made me an empty vessel;
- he has swallowed me like the sea monster;
- he has filled his belly with my delicacies;
- he has rinsed me.
- 35 “ May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,” the inhabitants[fn] of Zion will say;
- and “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
36 ⌊Therefore⌋[fn] thus says Yahweh,
- “Look, I am going to contend your case,
- and I will avenge your vengeance,
- and I will cause her sea to dry up,
- and I will cause her fountain to dry up.
- 37 And Babylon will become as a heap of stones, a lair of jackals,
- an object of horror, and an object of hissing,
- without[fn] inhabitants.
- 38 They will roar together like the young lions, they will growl like the cubs of lions.
- 39 At their becoming hot I will set their banquets, and I will make them drunk,
- so that they will fall into a swoon,
- and they will sleep an everlasting sleep ,[fn]
- and they will not wake up,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 40 “I will bring them down like young rams to slaughter, like rams and goats.
- 41 How Sheshach is captured, and the glory of all the earth is seized!
- How Babylon has become as an object of horror
- among the nations!
- 42 The sea has risen over Babylon, she has been covered by the roar of its waves.
- 43 Her cities have become as an object of horror, a dry land and a wilderness,[fn]
- a land in which no person lives,
- nor does a son of humankind pass through it.
- 44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth what he has swallowed .[fn]
- And the nations will not stream towards him any longer
- what’s worse ,[fn] the wall of Babylon has fallen.
- 45 Come out from her midst, my people, and save each one his life
- from the burning anger of[fn] Yahweh.
- 46 Now so that you are not fainthearted ,[fn] and you are afraid at the rumors[fn] that are heard in the land—
- and in the year the rumor comes,
- and in the year after it the rumor,
- and violence is in the land,
- with ruler against ruler—
- 47 therefore[fn] look, days are coming, and I will punish the images of Babylon,
- and all her land will be put to shame,
- and all her slain ones will fall in the midst of her.
- 48 Then the heaven and the earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon,
- for from the north
- the destroyers will come to it,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 49 Babylon must fall not only because of the slain ones of Israel, but also because of Babylon the slain ones of all the earth have fallen.
- 50 Survivors of the sword, go! You must not linger!
- Remember Yahweh from far away,
- and let Jerusalem come to your mind .[fn]
- 51 We are ashamed, for we have heard taunts,[fn]
- disgrace covers our faces,
- for strangers have come to the holy places of the house of Yahweh.
- 52 “ Therefore[fn] look, days are coming,” declares[fn] Yahweh, “and I will punish her images,
- and the fatally wounded will sigh through all her land.
- 53 Though Babylon goes up to the heavens, and though she fortifies the high place of her strength,
- from me destroyers will come to her,” declares[fn] Yahweh.
- 54 The sound of a cry for help from Babylon, and a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.
- 55 For Yahweh is devastating Babylon, and he obliterates her loud noise[fn] from her.
- Their waves roar like mighty waters,
- the roar of their voices[fn] resounds.
- 56 For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors are captured.
- Their bows are broken;
- for Yahweh is a God of recompense,
- certainly he will repay.
- 57 “And I will make drunk her officials, and her wise men, her governors, and her officials, and her warriors,
- and they will sleep an everlasting sleep ,[fn]
- and they will not wake up,”
- declares[fn] the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name.
58 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
- “The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished,
- and her high gates will burn with fire,
- and the peoples will labor for nothing ,[fn]
- and the nations for fire ,[fn]
- and they will grow weary.”