Jeremiah 51
1 The Lord has said: See, I will make a wind of destruction come up against Babylon and against those who are living in Chaldaea;
Thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of Leb, My withstanders, A destroying wind,
2 And I will send men to Babylon to make her clean and get her land cleared: for in the day of trouble they will put up their tents against her on every side.
And I have sent fanners to Babylon, And they have fanned her, and they empty her land, For they have been against her, All around—in the day of evil.
3 Against her the bow of the archer is bent, and he puts on his coat of metal: have no mercy on her young men, give all her army up to the curse.
Do not let the treader tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, Nor have pity on her young men, Devote all her host to destruction.
4 And the dead will be stretched out in the land of the Chaldaeans, and the wounded in her streets.
And the wounded have fallen in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.
5 For Israel has not been given up, or Judah, by his God, by the Lord of armies; for their land is full of sin against the Holy One of Israel.
For Israel and Judah are not forsaken By his God—by YHWH of Hosts, For their land has been full of guilt, Against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Go in flight out of Babylon, so that every man may keep his life; do not be cut off in her evil-doing: for it is the time of the Lord's punishment; he will give her her reward.
Flee from the midst of Babylon, And let each deliver his soul, Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For it [is] a time of vengeance for YHWH—His, He is rendering repayment to her.
7 Babylon has been a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, which has made all the earth overcome with wine: the nations have taken of her wine, and for this cause the nations have gone off their heads.
Babylon [is] a golden cup in the hand of YHWH, Making all the earth drunk, Nations have drunk of her wine, Therefore nations boast themselves.
8 Sudden is the downfall of Babylon and her destruction: make cries of grief for her; take sweet oil for her pain, if it is possible for her to be made well.
Babylon has suddenly fallen, Indeed, she is broken, howl for her, Take balm for her pain, perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have made Babylon well, but she is not made well: give her up, and let us go everyone to his country: for her punishment is stretching up to heaven, and lifted up even to the skies.
We healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For her judgment has come to the heavens, And it has been lifted up to the clouds.
10 The Lord has made clear our righteousness: come, and let us give an account in Zion of the work of the Lord our God.
YHWH has brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of our God YHWH.
11 Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple.
Cleanse the arrows, fill the shields, YHWH has stirred up the spirit of the kings of Media, For His purpose [is] against Babylon to destroy her, For it [is] the vengeance of YHWH, The vengeance of His temple.
12 Let the flag be lifted up against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, put the watchmen in their places, make ready a surprise attack: for it is the Lord's purpose, and he has done what he said about the people of Babylon.
Lift up an ensign to the walls of Babylon, Strengthen the watch, Establish the watchers, prepare the ambush, For YHWH has both devised and done that which He spoke, Concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.
O dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Your end has come—the measure of your dishonest gain.
14 The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you.
YHWH of Hosts has sworn by Himself, That, Surely I have filled you [with] men as the cankerworm, And they have cried against you—shouting.
15 He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out:
Making [the] earth by His power, Establishing [the] world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding stretched out the heavens,
16 At the sound of his voice there is a massing of the waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain and sends out the wind from his store-houses.
At the voice He gives forth, A multitude of waters [are] in the heavens, And He causes vapors to come up from the end of the earth, He has made lightnings for rain, And He brings out wind from His treasures.
17 Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.
Every man has been brutish by knowledge, Everyone has been put to shame—from refining a carved image, For his molten image [is] falsehood, And there is no breath in them.
18 They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.
They [are] vanity—a work of errors, They perish in the time of their inspection.
19 The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.
The Portion of Jacob [is] not like these, For He is forming the whole, And [Israel is] the tribe of His inheritance, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.
20 You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;
You [are] My shatterer—weapons of war, And I have broken in pieces nations by you, And I have destroyed kingdoms by you,
21 With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken;
And I have broken in pieces horse and its rider by you, And I have broken in pieces chariot and its charioteer by you,
22 With you man and woman will be broken; with you the old man and the boy will be broken; with you the young man and the virgin will be broken;
And I have broken in pieces man and woman by you, And I have broken in pieces old and young by you, And I have broken in pieces young man and virgin by you,
23 With you the keeper of sheep with his flock will be broken, and with you the farmer and his oxen will be broken, and with you captains and rulers will be broken.
And I have broken in pieces shepherd and his drove by you, And I have broken in pieces farmer and his team by you, And I have broken in pieces governors and prefects by you.
24 And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldaea, their reward for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says the Lord.
And I have repaid to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyes,” a declaration of YHWH.
25 See, I am against you, says the Lord, O mountain of destruction, causing the destruction of all the earth: and my hand will be stretched out on you, rolling you down from the rocks, and making you a burned mountain.
“Behold, I [am] against you, O destroying mountain,” A declaration of YHWH, “That is destroying all the earth, And I have stretched out My hand against you, And I have rolled you from the rocks, And given you for a burnt mountain.
26 And they will not take from you a stone for the angle of a wall or the base of a building; but you will be a waste place for ever, says the Lord.
And they do not take out of you a stone for a corner, And a stone for foundations, For you are continuous desolations,” A declaration of YHWH.
27 Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts.
“Lift up an ensign in the land, Blow a horn among nations, Sanctify nations against it, Summon against it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, Appoint an infant head against it, Cause the horse to ascend as the rough cankerworm.
28 Make the nations ready for war against her, the king of the Medes and his rulers and all his captains, and all the land under his rule.
Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its dominion.
29 And the land is shaking and in pain: for the purposes of the Lord are fixed, to make the land of Babylon an unpeopled waste.
And the land shakes, and it is pained, For the purposes of YHWH have stood against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.
30 Babylon's men of war have kept back from the fight, waiting in their strong places; their strength has given way, they have become like women: her houses have been put on fire, her locks are broken.
The mighty of Babylon have ceased to fight, They have remained in strongholds, Their might has failed, they have become [as] women, They have burned her dwelling places, Her bars have been broken.
31 One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter:
Runner runs to meet runner, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For his city has been captured—at the extremity.
32 And the ways across the river have been taken, and the water-holes ... burned with fire, and the men of war are in the grip of fear.
And the passages have been captured, And they have burned the reeds with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.
33 For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come.
For thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon [is] as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshing—yet a little [while], And the time of her harvest has come.
34 Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth.
Devoured us, crushed us, has Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, He has set us [as] an empty vessel, He has swallowed us as a dragon, He has filled his belly with my delicacies, He has driven us away.
35 May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say.
My wrong, and [that of] my flesh, [is] on Babylon—The inhabitant of Zion says; And my blood [is] on the inhabitants of Chaldea—Jerusalem says.
36 For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water.
Therefore, thus said YHWH: Behold, I am pleading your cause, And I have avenged your vengeance, And dried up her sea, and made her fountains dry.
37 And Babylon will become a mass of broken walls, a hole for jackals, a cause of wonder and surprise, without a living man in it.
And Babylon has been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38 They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.
They roar together as young lions, They have shaken themselves as lions’ whelps.
39 When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord.
In their heat I make their banquets, And I have caused them to drink, so that they exult, And have slept a continuous sleep, And do not awaken,” a declaration of YHWH.
40 I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together.
“I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with male goats.
41 How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations!
How Sheshach has been captured, Indeed, the praise of the whole earth is caught, How Babylon has been for an astonishment among nations.
42 The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves.
The sea has come up over Babylon, She has been covered with a multitude of its billows.
43 Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by.
Her cities have been for a desolation, A dry land, and a wilderness, A land—none dwell in them, Nor does a son of man pass over into them.
44 And I will send punishment on Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what went into it; no longer will the nations be flowing together to him: truly, the wall of Babylon will come down.
And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed—from his mouth, And nations no longer flow to him, Also the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord.
Go forth from her midst, O My people, And let each deliver his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH,
46 So that your hearts may not become feeble and full of fear because of the news which will go about in the land; for a story will go about one year, and after that in another year another story, and violent acts in the land, ruler against ruler.
And lest your heart be tender, And you are afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And the report has come in [one] year, And after it [another] report in [another] year, And violence [is] in the land, ruler against ruler;
47 For this cause, truly, the days are coming when I will send punishment on the images of Babylon, and all her land will be shamed, and her dead will be falling down in her.
Therefore, behold, days are coming, And I have seen after the carved images of Babylon. And all its land is ashamed, And all its pierced ones fall in its midst.
48 And the heaven and the earth and everything in them, will make a song of joy over Babylon: for those who make her waste will come from the north, says the Lord.
And heavens and earth and all that [is] in them Have cried aloud against Babylon, For the spoilers come to her from the north,” A declaration of YHWH.
49 As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out.
“As Babylon [has caused the] pierced of Israel to fall, So they of Babylon have fallen, You pierced of all the earth.
50 You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind.
You escaped of the sword, go on, do not stand, Remember YHWH from afar, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.
51 We are shamed because bitter words have come to our ears; our faces are covered with shame: for men from strange lands have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.
We have been ashamed, for we heard reproach, Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come in against the sanctuaries of the house of YHWH.
52 For this reason, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on her images; and through all her land the wounded will be crying out in pain.
Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have seen after her carved images, And the wounded groan in all her land.
53 Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord.
Because Babylon goes up to the heavens, And because she fortifies the high place of her strength, Spoilers come into her from Me,” A declaration of YHWH.
54 There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans:
“A voice of a cry [is] from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.
55 For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud:
For YHWH is spoiling Babylon, And has destroyed her great voice, And her billows have sounded as many waters, Their voice has given forth a noise.
56 For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment.
For a spoiler has come in against her—against Babylon, And her mighty ones have been captured, Their bows have been broken, For the God of recompenses—YHWH—certainly repays.
57 And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
And I have caused her princes to drink, And her wise men, her governors, And her prefects, and her mighty ones, And they have slept a continuous sleep, And they do not awaken—an affirmation of the King, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.
58 The Lord of armies has said: The wide walls of Babylon will be completely uncovered and her high doorways will be burned with fire; so peoples keep on working for nothing, and the weariness of nations comes to an end in the smoke.
Thus said YHWH of Hosts: The wall of Babylon—The broad one—is made utterly bare, And her high gates are burned with fire, And peoples labor in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!”
59 The order which Jeremiah the prophet gave to 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 rule. Now Seraiah was the chief controller of the house.
The word that Jeremiah the prophet has commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, in his going with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign—and Seraiah [is] a quiet prince;
60 And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon.
and Jeremiah writes all the calamity that comes to Babylon on one scroll—all these words that are written concerning Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words;
And Jeremiah says to Seraiah, “When you enter Babylon, then you have seen, and have read all these words,
62 And after reading them, say, O Lord, you have said about this place that it is to be cut off, so that no one will be living in it, not a man or a beast, but it will be unpeopled for ever.
and have said: YHWH, You have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that there is none dwelling in it, from man even to livestock, for it is a continuous desolation.
63 And it will be that, when you have come to an end of reading this book, you are to have a stone fixed to it, and have it dropped into the Euphrates:
And it has come to pass, when you finish reading this scroll, you bind a stone to it, and have cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,
64 And you are to say, So Babylon will go down, never to be lifted up again, because of the evil which I will send on her: and weariness will overcome them. So far, these are the words of Jeremiah.
and said, Thus Babylon sinks, and she does not arise, because of the calamity that I am bringing in against it, and they have been weary.” Until now [are the] words of Jeremiah.
