Jeremiah 50

1 The word which the Lord said about Babylon, about the land of the Chaldaeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

The word which Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, and concerning the land of the Chaldaeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Give it out among the nations, make it public, and let the flag be lifted up; give the word and keep nothing back; say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is broken, her images are put to shame, her gods are broken.

Tell ye among the nations, and proclaim, and lift up a standard! Proclaim ye; conceal it not; Say ye, “Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is in consternation, Her idols are confounded, Her images are in consternation.”

3 For out of the north a nation is coming up against her, which will make her land waste and unpeopled: they are in flight, man and beast are gone.

For out of the North cometh up against her a nation Which shall make her land desolate, So that none shall dwell therein; Both man and beast are fled, They are gone.

4 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping and making prayer to the Lord their God.

In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; They shall go weeping on their way, And shall seek Jehovah their God.

5 They will be questioning about the way to Zion, with their faces turned in its direction, saying, Come, and be united to the Lord in an eternal agreement which will be kept in mind for ever.

They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward; They shall come, and shall join themselves to Jehovah In a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten.

6 My people have been wandering sheep: their keepers have made them go out of the right way, turning them loose on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, having no memory of their resting-place.

My people have been lost sheep; Their shepherds have caused them to go astray; They have caused them to wander upon the mountains; They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their fold.

7 They have been attacked by all those who came across them: and their attackers said, We are doing no wrong, because they have done evil against the Lord in whom is righteousness, against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.

All that found them devoured them; For their adversaries said, “We shall not be held guilty,” Because they had sinned against Jehovah, The fold of safety, and the hope of their fathers, Jehovah.

8 Go in flight out of Babylon, go out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and be like he-goats before the flocks.

Flee ye out of Babylon, And go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, And be ye like he-goats before the flock!

9 For see, I am moving and sending up against Babylon a band of great nations from the north country: and they will put their armies in position against her; and from there she will be taken: their arrows will be like those of an expert man of war; not one will come back without getting its mark.

For, behold, I will raise up and bring against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the land of the North, And they shall set themselves in array against her, And then shall she be taken; Their arrows shall be as those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain.

10 And the wealth of Chaldaea will come into the hands of her attackers: all those who take her wealth will have enough, says the Lord.

And Chaldaea shall be a spoil; All that spoil her shall have their fill, saith Jehovah.

11 Because you are glad, because you are lifted up with pride, you wasters of my heritage, because you are playing like a young cow put out to grass, and you make a noise like strong horses;

Because ye rejoiced and exulted, O ye plunderers of my inheritance, Because ye wantoned like a thrashing heifer, And neighed like a stallion,

12 Your mother will be put to shame; she who gave you birth will be looked down on: see, she will be the last of the nations, a waste place, a dry and unwatered land.

Your mother is utterly confounded; She that bore you is put to shame. Behold, the end of the nations, A wilderness, a dry land, a desert!

13 Because of the wrath of the Lord no one will be living in it, and it will be quite unpeopled: everyone who goes by Babylon will be overcome with wonder, and make sounds of fear at all her punishments.

Because of the wrath of Jehovah, she shall not be inhabited, She shall be wholly desolate; Every one that passeth by Babylon shall be amazed, And hiss on account of all her plagues.

14 Put your armies in position against Babylon on every side, all you bowmen; let loose your arrows at her, not keeping any back: for she has done evil against the Lord.

Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her; Spare not the arrows! For she hath sinned against Jehovah.

15 Give a loud cry against her on every side; she has given herself up, her supports are overturned, her walls are broken down: for it is the payment taken by the Lord; give her payment; as she has done, so do to her.

Raise the war-shout! She reacheth forth her hand; Her pillars are fallen; Her walls are thrown down; For it is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take ye vengeance upon her! As she hath done, do ye to her!

16 Let the planter of seed be cut off from Babylon, and everyone using the curved blade at the time of the grain-cutting: for fear of the cruel sword, everyone will be turned to his people, everyone will go in flight to his land.

Cut ye off the sower from Babylon, And him that handleth the sickle in harvest-time! Because of the overpowering sword They shall turn every one to his own people, And they shall flee every one to his own land.

17 Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have been driving him away: first he was attacked by the king of Assyria, and now his bones have been broken by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.

Israel hath been like scattered sheep, Which the lions have driven away; First the king of Assyria devoured him, And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath broken his bones.

18 So this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, I will send punishment on the king of Babylon and on his land, as I have given punishment to the king of Assyria.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria.

19 And I will make Israel come back to his resting-place, and he will get his food on Carmel and Bashan, and have his desire in full measure on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

And I will bring back Israel to his own pasture, And he shall feed upon Carmel and Bashan, And satiate himself upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, when the evil-doing of Israel is looked for, there will be nothing; and in Judah no sins will be seen: for I will have forgiveness for those whom I will keep safe.

In those days and at that time, saith Jehovah, The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I cause to be left.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the people of Pekod; put them to death and send destruction after them, says the Lord, and do everything I have given you orders to do.

Against the land of Rebellion go ye up, And against the inhabitants of Vengeance! Lay waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, And do all which I have commanded thee!

22 There is a sound of war in the land and of great destruction.

The din of battle is in the land, And great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of all the earth cut in two and broken! how has Babylon become a waste among the nations!

How is the battle-hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment to all the nations!

24 I have put a net for you, and you have been taken, O Babylon, without your knowledge: you have been uncovered and taken because you were fighting against the Lord.

I have laid a snare for thee, And thou hast been caught, O Babylon, When thou wast not aware! Thou hast been found and taken, Because thou hast contended against Jehovah.

25 From his store-house the Lord has taken the instruments of his wrath: for the Lord, the Lord of armies, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldaeans.

Jehovah hath opened his armory, And hath brought out the weapons of his indignation; For the Lord Jehovah of hosts performeth a work against the land of the Chaldaeans.

26 Come up against her one and all, let her store-houses be broken open: make her into a mass of stones, give her to the curse, till there is nothing of her to be seen.

Come against her from the utmost border! Open ye her barns, Cast her up into heaps, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left!

27 Put all her oxen to the sword; let them go down to death: sorrow is theirs, for their day has come, the time of their punishment.

Slay all her bullocks, Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe unto them, For their day is come, The time of their punishment!

28 The voice of those who are in flight, who have got away safe from the land of Babylon, to give news in Zion of punishment from the Lord our God, even payment for his Temple.

The voice of them that flee and escape is heard from the land of Babylon, To make known to Zion the vengeance of Jehovah, our God, The vengeance for his temple.

29 Send for the archers to come together against Babylon, all the bowmen; put up your tents against her on every side; let no one get away: give her the reward of her work; as she has done, so do to her: for she has been uplifted in pride against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

Call together the archers against Babylon, All ye that bend the bow, encamp ye round about her; Let no one escape; Recompense her according to her work; According to all that she hath done, do ye to her! For she hath exalted herself against Jehovah, Against the Holy One of Israel.

30 For this cause her young men will be falling in her streets, and all her men of war will be cut off in that day, says the Lord.

Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah.

31 See, I am against you, O pride, says the Lord, the Lord of armies, for your day has come, the time when I will send punishment on you.

Behold I am against thee, thou proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; For thy day is come, The time of thy punishment.

32 And pride will go with uncertain steps and have a fall, and there will be no one to come to his help: and I will put a fire in his towns, burning up everything round about him.

And the proud one shall stumble and fall, And none shall raise him up; And I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it shall devour all round about him.

33 This is what the Lord of armies has said: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are crushed down together: all those who took them prisoner keep them in a tight grip; they will not let them go.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together, And all that took them captives hold them fast; They refuse to let them go.

34 Their saviour is strong; the Lord of armies is his name: he will certainly take up their cause, so that he may give rest to the earth and trouble to the people of Babylon.

But their redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name. He will maintain their cause, So as to give rest to the land, And confusion to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is on the Chaldaeans, says the Lord, and on the people of Babylon, and on her rulers and on her wise men.

The sword shall be upon the Chaldaeans, saith Jehovah, And upon the inhabitants of Babylon; And upon her princes, And upon her wise men;

36 A sword is on the men of pride, and they will become foolish: a sword is on her men of war, and they will be broken.

The sword upon her lying prophets, and they shall be fools; The sword upon her heroes, and they shall be dismayed;

37 A sword is on all the mixed people in her, and they will become like women: a sword is on her store-houses, and they will be taken by her attackers.

The sword upon her horses, and upon her chariots, And against all the allied multitude that is within her, And they shall become women. The sword is upon their treasures, and they shall be plundered;

38 A sword is on her waters, drying them up; for it is a land of images, and their minds are fixed on false gods.

A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; For it is a land of graven images, And they put a mad trust in idols.

39 For this reason the beasts of the waste land with the wolves will make their holes there and the ostriches will be living in it: never again will men be living there, it will be unpeopled from generation to generation.

Therefore the wild beasts of the desert, with the jackals, shall dwell there, And therein shall the ostrich dwell. And it shall be no more inhabited forever, Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

40 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbouring towns were overturned by God, says the Lord, so no man will be living in it, and no son of man will have a resting-place there.

As it was when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, There shall not a man abide there, Nor any son of man dwell therein.

41 See, a people is coming from the north; a great nation and a number of kings will be put in motion from the inmost parts of the earth.

Behold, a nation cometh from the North, And a great people and many kings shall rise up from the extremities of the earth.

42 Bows and spears are in their hands; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice is like the thunder of the sea, and they go on horses; everyone in his place like men going to the fight, against you, O daughter of Babylon.

They bear the bow and the javelin; They are cruel, and show no mercy; Their voice roareth like the sea, And they ride upon horses, arrayed like a warrior, Against thee, O daughter of Babylon!

43 The king of Babylon has had news of them, and his hands have become feeble: trouble has come on him and pain like the pain of a woman in childbirth.

The king of Babylon heareth the rumor concerning them, And his hands become feeble; Anguish taketh hold of him, Trembling, as of a woman in travail.

44 See, he will come up like a lion from the thick growth of Jordan against the resting-place of Teman: but I will suddenly make them go in flight from her; and I will put over her the man of my selection: for who is like me? and who will put forward his cause against me? and what keeper of sheep will keep his place before me?

Behold, like a lion from the pride of Jordan, he cometh up against the habitation of the rock; Suddenly will I drive them from her; And him who is chosen by me will I appoint over her; For who is like me? And who will summon me to trial? And who is the shepherd that will stand up against me?

45 So give ear to the decision of the Lord which he has made against Babylon, and to his purposes designed against the land of the Chaldaeans; Truly, they will be pulled away by the smallest of the flock; truly, he will make waste their fields with them.

Therefore hear ye the purpose of Jehovah, which he hath formed against Babylon, And the designs which he meditateth against the land of the Chaldaeans; Surely he [[the enemy]] shall drag them forth like feeble sheep, Surely he will come upon them, and make their pastures desolate.

46 At the cry, Babylon is taken! the earth is shaking, and the cry comes to the ears of the nations.

At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembleth, And the cry is heard among the nations.