Jeremiah 51

1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;

The Lord has said: See, I will make a wind of destruction come up against Babylon and against those who are living in Chaldaea;

2 and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

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.

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 not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.

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.

4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

And the dead will be stretched out in the land of the Chaldaeans, and the wounded in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

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.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.

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.

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 have the nations become mad.

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.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

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.

9 We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.

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.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

The Lord has made clear our righteousness: come, and let us give an account in Zion of the work of the Lord our God.

11 Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

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.

12 Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

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.

13 Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.

O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.

14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.

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.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

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:

16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

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.

17 Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

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.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and [Israel] is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.

20 Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;

You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;

21 and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;

With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken;

22 and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

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;

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 rulers.

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.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.

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.

25 Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, 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 burning mountain.

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.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

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.

27 Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.

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.

28 Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.

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.

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.

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.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.

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.

31 Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;

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:

32 and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

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.

33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

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.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

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.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

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.

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 spring dry.

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.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

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.

38 They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.

They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.

39 When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.

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.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.

The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.

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.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.

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.

45 Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!

My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord.

46 lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come [one] year, and after that a rumour in [another] year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.

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.

47 Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

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.

48 And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.

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.

49 As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

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.

51 — We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.

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.

52 — Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.

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.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

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.

54 The sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;

There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans:

55 for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.

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:

56 For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the God of recompences, will certainly requite.

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.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

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.

58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.

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.

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, 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.

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.

60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.

And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words;

62 and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

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.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;

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:

64 and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.

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.