Jeremiah 51

1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.2 And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.4 And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens:16 when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.17 Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.20 Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;21 and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;22 and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah.25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion.29 And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:32 and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.33 For thus saith Jehovah 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 harvest shall come for her.34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps.39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.41 How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!42 The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.44 And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah.46 And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah’s house.52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!55 For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:56 for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.59 The 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. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,62 and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:64 and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

JEREMIAH 51

Babylon Will Be Destroyed

1 I, the [Lord], am sending
a windt to destroy
the people of Babyloniat
and Babylon, its capital.

2 Foreign soldiers will come
from every direction,
and when the disaster is over,
Babylonia will be empty
and worthless.

3 I will tell these soldiers,
“Attack quickly,
before the Babylonians
can string their bows
or put on their armor.t
Kill their best soldiers
and destroy their army!”

4 Their troops will fall wounded
in the streets of Babylon.

5 Everyone in Israel and Judah
is guilty.
But I, the [Lord] All-Powerful,
their holy God,
have not abandoned them.

6 Get out of Babylon!
Run for your lives!
If you stay, you will be killed
when I take revenge on the city
and punish it for its sins.

7  t Babylon was my golden cup,
filled with the wine
of my anger.
The nations of the world
got drunk on this wine
and went insane.

8 But suddenly, Babylon will fall
and be destroyed.
I, the [Lord], told the foreignerst
who lived there,
“Weep for the city!
Get medicine for its wounds;
maybe they will heal.”

9 The foreigners answered,
“We have already tried
to treat Babylon's wounds,
but they would not heal.
Come on, let's all go home
to our own countries.
Nothing is left in Babylonia;
everything is destroyed.”

10 The people of Israel said,
“Tell everyone in Zion!
The [Lord] has taken revenge
for what Babylon did to us.”

The [Lord] Wants //Babylon Destroyed

11 I, the [Lord],
want Babylon destroyed,
because its army
destroyed my temple.
So, you kings of Media, t
sharpen your arrows
and pick up your shields.

12 Raise the signal flag
and attack the city walls.
Post more guards.
Have soldiers watch the city
and set up ambushes.
I have made plans
to destroy Babylon,
and nothing will stop me.

13  t People of Babylon, you live
along the Euphrates River
and are surrounded by canals.
You are rich,
but now the time has come
for you to die.t

14 I, the [Lord] All-Powerful,
swear by my own life
that enemy soldiers
will fill your streets
like a swarm of locusts.t
They will shout
and celebrate their victory.

A Hymn of Praise

(Jeremiah 10.12-16)

15 God used his wisdom and power
to create the earth
and spread out the heavens.

16 The waters in the heavens roar
at his command.
He makes clouds appear;
he sends the wind
from his storehouse
and makes lightning flash
in the rain.

17 People who make idols
are stupid!
They will be disappointed,
because their false gods
cannot breathe.

18 Idols are merely a joke,
and when the time is right,
they will be destroyed.

19 But the [Lord], Israel's God,
is all-powerful.
He created everything,
and he chose Israel
to be his very own.

God's Hammer

The [Lord] said:

20 Babylonia, you were my hammer;
I used you to pound nations
and break kingdoms,

21 to shatter cavalry and chariots,

22 as well as men and women,
young and old,

23 shepherds and their flocks,
farmers and their oxen,
and governors and leaders.

24 But now, my people will watch,
while I repay you
for what you did to Zion.

25 You destroyed the nations
and seem strong as a mountain,
but I am your enemy.
I might even grab you
and roll you off a cliff.
When I am finished,
you'll only be a pile
of scorched bricks.

26 Your stone blocks won't be reused
for cornerstones
or foundations,
and I promise that forever
you will be a desert.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The Nations Will Attack //Babylon

The [Lord] said:

27 Signal the nations
to get ready to attack.
Raise a flag and blow a trumpet.
Send for the armies of Ararat,
Minni, and Ashkenaz.t
Choose a commander;
let the cavalry attack
like a swarm of locusts.

28 Tell the kings and governors,
the leaders and the people
of the kingdoms of the Medes
to prepare for war!

29 The earth twists and turns
in torment,
because I have decided
to make Babylonia a desert
where no one can live,
and I won't change my mind.

30 The Babylonian soldiers
have lost their strength
and courage.t
They stay in their fortresses,
unable to fight,
while the enemy breaks through
the city gates,
then sets their homes on fire.

31 One messenger after another
announces to the king,
“Babylon has been captured!

32 The enemy now controls
the river crossings!
The marshest are on fire!
Your army has panicked!”

33 I am the [Lord] All-Powerful,
the God of Israel,
and I make this promise—
“Soon Babylon will be leveled
and packed down
like a threshing place
at harvest time.”t

Babylonia Will Pay!

34 The people of Jerusalem say,
“King Nebuchadnezzart
made us panic.
That monster stuffed himself
with us and our treasures,
leaving us empty—
he gobbled up
what he wanted
and spit out the rest.

35 The people of Babylonia
harmed some of ust
and killed others.
Now, [Lord], make them pay!”

The [Lord] Will Take Revenge //on Babylon

36 My people, I am on your side,
and I will take revenge
on Babylon.
I will cut off its water supply,
and its streamt will dry up.

37 Babylon will be a pile of rubble
where only jackalst live,
and everyone will be afraid
to walk among the ruins.

38 The Babylonians roar and growl
like young lions.

39 And since they are hungry,
I will give them a banquet.
They will celebrate, get drunk,
then fall asleep,
never to wake up!

40 I will lead them away to die,
like sheep, lambs, and goats
being led to the butcher.

41 All nations now praise Babylon, t
but when it is captured,
those same nations
will be horrified.

42 Babylon's enemies will rise
like ocean waves
and flood the city.

43 Horrible destruction will strike
the nearby towns.
The land will become
a barren desert,
where no one can live
or even travel.

44 I will punish Marduk, t
the god of Babylon,
and make him vomit out
everything he gobbled up.
Then nations will no longer
bring him gifts,
and Babylon's walls will crumble.

The [Lord] Offers Hope //to His People

45 Get out of Babylon, my people,
and run for your lives,
before I strike the city
in my anger!

46 Don't be afraid or lose hope,
though year after year
there are rumors
of leaders fighting for control
in the city of Babylon.

47 The time will come
when I will punish
Babylon's false gods.
Everyone there will die,
and the whole nation
will be disgraced,

48  t when an army attacks
from the north
and brings destruction.
Then the earth and the heavens
and everything in them
will celebrate.

49  t Babylon must be overthrown,
because it slaughtered
the people of Israel
and of many other nations.

50 My people, you escaped death
when Jerusalem fell.
Now you live far from home,
but you should trust me
and think about Jerusalem.
Leave Babylon! Don't stay!

51 You feel ashamed and disgraced,
because foreigners have entered
my sacred temple.

52 Soon I will send a war
to punish Babylon's idols
and leave its wounded people
moaning everywhere.

53 Although Babylon's walls
reach to the sky,
the army I send
will destroy that city.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

Babylon Will Be Destroyed

The [Lord] said:

54 Listen to the cries for help
coming from Babylon.
Everywhere in the country
the sounds of destruction
can be heard.

55 The shouts of the enemy,
like crashing ocean waves,
will drown out Babylon's cries
as I level the city.

56 An enemy will attack
and destroy Babylon.
Its soldiers will be captured
and their weapons broken,
because I am a God
who takes revenge against nations
for what they do.

57 I, the [Lord] All-Powerful,
the true King, promise
that the officials and advisors,
the governors and leaders,
and the soldiers of Babylon
will get drunk, fall asleep,
and never wake up.

58 The thick walls of that city
will be torn down,
and its huge gates burned.
Everything that nation
worked so hard to gain
will go up in smoke.

Jeremiah Gives Seraiah //a Scroll

59 During Zedekiah'st fourth year as king of Judah, he went to Babylon. And Baruch's brother Seraiaht went along as the officer in charge of arranging for places to stay overnight.t
60 Before they left, I wrote on a scrollt all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon.

61 I gave the scroll to Seraiah and said:
When you get to Babylon, read this scroll aloud,

62 then pray, “Our [Lord], you promised to destroy this place and make it into a desert where no people or animals will ever live.”
63  t When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the Euphrates River. Then say,

64 “This is how Babylon will sink when the [Lord] destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won't have the strength to rise again.”

The End of Jeremiah's Writing