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 that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of 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.’
'Declare ye among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say ye: Captured hath been Babylon, Put to shame hath been Bel, Broken hath been Merodach, Put to shame have been her grievous things, Broken have been her idols.
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 come up against her hath a nation from the north, It maketh her land become a desolation, And there is not an inhabitant in it. From man even unto beast, They have moved, they 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, An affirmation of Jehovah, Come in do sons of Israel, They and sons of Judah together, Going on and weeping they go, And Jehovah their God 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 they ask the way, Thitherward [are] their faces: Come in, and we are joined unto Jehovah, A covenant age-during — not 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.
A perishing flock hath My people been, Their shepherds have caused them to err, [To] the mountains causing them to go back, From mountain unto hill they have gone, They have forgotten their crouching-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 finding them have devoured them, And their adversaries have said: We are not guilty, Because that they sinned against Jehovah, The habitation of righteousness, And the hope of their fathers — Jehovah.
8 Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
Move ye from the midst of Babylon, And from the land of the Chaldeans go out. And be as he-goats before a 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 stirring up, And am causing to come up against Babylon, An assembly of great nations from a land of the north, And they have set in array against her, From thence she is captured, Its arrow — as a skilful hero — returneth not empty,
10 Chaldea will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,”
And Chaldea hath been for a spoil, All her spoilers are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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 thou rejoicest, because thou exultest, O spoilers of Mine inheritance, Because thou increasest as a heifer [at] the tender grass, And dost cry aloud as 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.
Ashamed hath been your mother greatly, Confounded hath she been that bare you, Lo, the hindermost of nations [is] a wilderness, A dry land, and a desert.
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 wrath of Jehovah it is not inhabited, And it hath been a desolation — all of it. Every passer by at Babylon is astonished, And doth hiss because of 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 treading a bow, Shoot at her, have no pity on the arrow, For against Jehovah she hath 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.
Shout against her round about, She hath given forth her hand, Fallen have her foundations, Thrown down have been her walls, For it [is] the vengeance of Jehovah, Be avenged of her, as she did — do ye to 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 off the sower from Babylon, And him handling the sickle in the time of harvest, Because of the oppressing sword, Each unto his people — they turn, And each to his land — 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 scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am seeing after the king of Babylon, And after his land, As I have seen after the king of Asshur;
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.
And I have brought back Israel unto his habitation, And he hath fed on Carmel, and on Bashan. And in mount Ephraim, and on Gilead is his soul 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 at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Sought is the iniquity of Israel, and it is not, And the sin of Judah, and it is not found, For I am propitious to those whom I leave!
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 up against it, and unto the inhabitants of Pekod, Waste and devote their posterity, An affirmation of Jehovah, And do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 “The noise of battle is in the land— the noise of great destruction.
A noise of battle [is] in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth lies broken and shattered! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
How hath it been cut and broken, The hammer of the whole earth! How hath Babylon been for a desolation among 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 have laid a snare for thee, And also — thou art captured, O Babylon, And thou — thou hast known, Thou hast been found, and also art caught, For against Jehovah thou hast stirred thyself up.
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.
Jehovah hath opened His treasury, And He bringeth out the weapons of His indignation, For a work [is] to the Lord Jehovah 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 in to her from the extremity, Open ye her storehouses, Raise her up as heaps, and devote her, Let her have no 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.
Slay all her kine, they go down to slaughter, Woe [is] on them, for come hath their day, The time of their inspection.
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.
A voice of fugitives and escaped ones [Is] from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, The vengeance 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.
Summon unto Babylon archers, all treading the bow, Encamp against her round about, Let [her] have no escape; Recompense to her according to her work, According to all that she did — do to her, For unto Jehovah she hath been proud, Unto 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 fall do her young men in her broad places, And all her men of war are cut off in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah.
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.
Lo, I [am] against thee, O pride, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, For thy day hath come, the time of thy inspection.
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.”
And stumbled hath pride, And he hath fallen, and hath no raiser up, And I have kindled a fire in his cities, And it hath devoured all 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 said Jehovah of Hosts: Oppressed are the sons of Israel, And the sons of Judah together, And all their captors have kept hold on them, They have refused to send them away.
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 [is] strong, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name, He doth thoroughly plead their cause, So as to cause the land to rest, And He hath given trouble to 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] for the Chaldeans, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it [is] on the inhabitants of Babylon, And on her heads, and on 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] on the princes, And they have become foolish; A sword [is] on her mighty ones, And they have been broken down;
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] on his horses and on his chariot, And on all the rabble who [are] in her midst, And they have become women; A sword [is] on her treasuries, And they have been spoiled;
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 sword [is] on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it [is] a land of graven images, And in idols they do boast themselves.
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 dwell do Ziim with Iim, Yea, dwelt in her have daughters of the ostrich, And it is not inhabited any more for ever, Nor dwelt in unto all generations.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.
As overthrown by God with Sodom, And with Gomorrah, and with its neighbours, An affirmation of Jehovah, none doth dwell there, Nor sojourn in her doth a son of man.
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 hath come from the north, Even a great nation, And many kings are stirred up from the sides 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 halbert they seize, Cruel [are] they, and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea soundeth, and on horses they ride, Set in array as a 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.
Heard hath the king of Babylon their report, And feeble have been his hands, Distress hath seized him; pain as a travailing woman.
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 he cometh up, Because of the rising of the Jordan, Unto the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause them to run from off her. And who is chosen? on her I lay a charge, For who [is] like Me? And who doth convene Me? And who [is] this shepherd who standeth 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 Jehovah, That He counselled concerning Babylon, And His devices that He hath devised Concerning the land of the Chaldeans; Drag them out do not little ones of the flock, Doth He not make desolate over them the habitation?
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
From the voice: Captured was Babylon, Hath the earth been shaken, And a cry among nations hath been heard!
