Jeremiah 50

1 This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:

The word which Yahweh spake Against Babylon Against the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’

Tell ye among the nations And let it be heard And lift ye up a standard, Let it be heard do not conceal: Say ye—Captured is Babylon, Confounded is Bel, Broken in pieces is Merodach, Confounded are her images, Broken down her manufactured gods;

3 For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”

For there hath come up against her—a nation out of the North The same, shall make her land an astonishment, And there shall be none to dwell therein, —Both man and beast, have removed—have gone.

4 “In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.

In those days, and at that time, Declareth Yahweh, Shall the sons of Israel come in, They and the sons of Judah together: Weeping as they travel, so shall they journey on, And Yahweh their God, shall they seek;

5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

To Zion, shall they ask the way, Hitherward, their faces, Come and let us join ourselves unto Yahweh, In a covenant age-abiding, which shall not be forgotten.

6 My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

Wandering sheep, have my people, been, Their own shepherds led them astray, On the mountains, they seduced them, From mountain to hill, have they gone, They have forgotten their couching-place.

7 All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

All who found them, devoured them, And, their adversaries, said—We shall not be, guilty, —Because they have sinned, Against, Yahweh the pasturage of righteousness, Yea the hope of their fathers—Yahweh.

8 Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.

Remove ye out of the midst of Babylon, And out of the land of the Chaldeans, come ye forth, —And become ye like he-goats before the flock;

9 For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.

For lo! I am rousing and bringing up against Babylon a gathered host of great nations, out of the land of the North, And they shall array themselves against her, From thence, shall she be captured, —His arrows, are as of a hero making childless, None shall return empty.

10 Chaldea will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,”

So shall the Chaldeans become a spoil, —All her spoilers, shall be satisfied, Declareth Yahweh;

11 “Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph— you who plunder My inheritance— because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,

Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, —Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like bulls.

12 your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who bore you will be disgraced. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

Your mother, hath turned very pale, She that bare you, hath turned red, —Lo! the last of nations, is—A desert, A parched land, and A waste plain,

13 Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.

Because of the vexation of Yahweh, she shall not be inhabited, But Shall become a complete desolation, —Every one passing by Babylon, shall be astonished and hiss, over all her plagues.

14 Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.

Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about All ye who tread the bow, Shoot at her, do not spare so much as an arrow, —For against Yahweh, hath she sinned.

15 Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.

Raise a shout against her round about She hath stretched forth her hand, Fallen are her buttresses, Torn down are her walls, —Because, the avenging of Yahweh it is, Take ye vengeance upon her, As she hath done, do ye, unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.

Cut ye off the sower from Babylon, And him that graspeth the sickle in the time of harvest, From the face of the sword of the oppressor, Each, to his own people will they turn, and Each, to his own land will they flee.

17 Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

A sheep all alone, is Israel Lions, have driven him away, —At the first, the king of Assyria devoured him, And here, at the last, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones!

18 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Behold me! bringing punishment against the king of Babylon, and against his land, —Just as I brought punishment against the king of Assyria.

19 I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

So will I bring back Israel unto his own pasture, And he shall feed upon Carmel and Bashan; And in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead, shall, his soul, be satisfied.

20 In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

In those days and in that time, Declareth Yahweh, The iniquity of Israel, shall be sought, and there shall be none, And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; For I will grant pardon to them whom I suffer to remain.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,”

Against the land of Merathaim, go thou up against her, And against the inhabitants of Pekod, —Lay waste and devote to destruction after them Declareth Yahweh, And do according to all which I have commanded thee.

22 “The noise of battle is in the land— the noise of great destruction.

The sound of battle is in the earth, —And a great destruction.

23 How the hammer of the whole earth lies broken and shattered! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!

How is cut and broken the hammer of all the earth! How hath Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

24 I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.

I laid a snare for thee yea and thou wast captured O Babylon, when, thou wast not aware, —Thou wast found out yea and taken, For with Yahweh, hadst thou contended.

25 The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

Yahweh opened his armoury, and brought out his weapons of indignation, —For, a work, it is pertaining to My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, in the land of the Chaldeans,

26 Come against her from the farthest border. Break open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain. Devote her to destruction; leave her no survivors.

Come ye against her from farthest parts, Throw open her granaries, Cast her up as heaps, and devote her to destruction, —Do not let her have a remnant.

27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come— the time of their punishment.

Cut up all her bullocks, Let them go down to the slaughter, —Alas for them! For their day, hath come, Their time for punishment.

28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.

The voice Of them who are in flight and Of such as are escaping, out of the land of Babylon, —To tell in Zion The avenging of Yahweh our God, The avenging of his temple.

29 Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

Publish against Babylon ye chiefs of all who tread the bow—Encamp against her round about Let there be none to escape, Recompense to her according to her work, According to all which she did, do ye to her, —For Against Yahweh, hath she acted presumptuously, Against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,”

Therefore, shall her young men fall in her broadways, —And, all her men of war, be silenced in that day, Declareth Yahweh.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.

Behold me! against thee most insolent one, Declareth My Lord Yahweh of hosts; For thy day, hath come, Thy time for punishment;

32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.”

So shall the most insolent one stumble and fall, And he shall have none to lift him up, —And I will kindle a fire in his cities which shall devour all who are round about him.

33 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.

Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts—Oppressed were the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, together, —And, all who took them captive, Held them fast Refused to let them go: —

34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

Their Redeemer, can hold fast, Yahweh of hosts, is his name, He will, thoroughly plead, their plea, —That he may quiet the earth, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.

A sword, is over the Chaldeans, Declareth Yahweh, —And against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes, And against her wise men:

36 A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.

A sword, is against the praters, And they shall be shewn to be foolish, A sword, is against her heroes And they shall be dismayed:

37 A sword is against her horses and chariots and against all the foreigners in her midst, and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered.

A sword, is against his horses and against his chariots and, against all the rabble that are in her midst And they shall become women, —A sword, is against her treasures And they shall be made a prey:

38 A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.

A drought, is against her waters, And they shall be dried up, —For a land of images, it is, And with their shocking things, they act as men who are mad:

39 So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.

Therefore shall the criers dwell with, the howlers, Yea ostriches, shall dwell therein, —So shall it be dwelt in no more for ever, Neither shall it be inhabited unto generation after generation.

40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.

Like the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbours, Declareth Yahweh, —There shall not dwell there—a man, Nor sojourn therein—a son of the earth-born.

41 Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.

Lo! a people coming in from the North, —Yea, a great nation and many kings, shall be roused up out of the remote parts of the earth:

42 They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.

Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, are they and will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And, on horses, will they ride, —Set in array, as one man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Babylon!

43 The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, And unnerved are his hands, —Anguish, hath seized him, Writhing pain, as a woman in child-birth.

44 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

Lo! as a lion, shall he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, Unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink—I will make them run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom against it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand before me?

45 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

Therefore hear ye, The counsel of Yahweh, which he hath counselled against Babylon, And his devices which he hath devised against the land of the Chaldeans, —Surely the little ones of the flock, shall drag them away, Surely he will cause the pasture to be astounded over them.

46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.

At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembled, —And, the outcry, among the nations, was heard.