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;

Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, And against them that dwell in the midst of mine adversaries, A destroying wind;

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 against Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her, and empty her land; For they shall come 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 him that bendeth, let the archer bend his bow, And against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine! And spare ye not her young men; Destroy ye utterly her whole host!

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

Thus shall they fall down slain in the land of the Chaldaeans, And thrust through 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 is not forsaken, nor Judah abandoned of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; For their land is full of guilt 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.

Flee ye out of Babylon, And save ye every man his life, That ye be not cut off in her punishment! For this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; He will render to her a recompense.

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 golden cup in the hand of Jehovah, That made all the earth drunken; The nations have drunken of her wine, Therefore the nations are mad.

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

Babylon is suddenly fallen, and broken; Howl ye over her; Bring ye balm for her wounds, If so be she may be healed.

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 healed Babylon, But she cannot be healed. Forsake her, and let us go every one to his own country! For her punishment reacheth to the heavens, And ascendeth even to the skies.”

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

Jehovah hath brought forth our deliverance; Come ye, and let us declare in Zion The work of Jehovah 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 sharp the arrows; put on the shields! Jehovah hath roused 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 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.

Against the walls of Babylon set up a standard, Make strong the guard, appoint the watchmen, prepare the ambush! For Jehovah deviseth and doeth that which he spake Against the inhabitants of Babylon.

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

O thou that dwellest by great waters, That aboundest in treasures, Thine end is come; The measure of thy rapaciousness is full!

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.

Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, [[saying, ]] Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars, Who shall raise the war-shout against thee.

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 made the earth by his power, He established the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding he spread out the heavens.

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.

When he uttereth his voice there is an abundance of water in the heavens; He causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; He bringeth the wind from his storehouses.

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.

Brutish is every man who hath not this knowledge; By his images is every founder put to shame; For his molten work is deceit; There is no breath in it.

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

They are vanity, deceptive work; In the time of their punishment shall they perish.

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.

Not like them is he who is the portion of Jacob; He is the former of all things, And Israel is his allotted inheritance. Jehovah of hosts 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;

Thou hast been to me my battle-hammer, My weapon of war. And with thee I broke in pieces the nations, And with thee I destroyed the kingdoms.

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;

And with thee I broke in pieces the horse and his rider, And with thee I broke in pieces the chariot and its driver.

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 thee I broke in pieces man and woman, And with thee I broke in pieces the old and the young, And with thee I broke in pieces the young man and the maiden.

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 thee I broke in pieces the shepherd and his flock, And with thee I broke in pieces the husbandman and his team; And with thee I broke in pieces prefects and governors.

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.

But now before your eyes will I repay to Babylon, And to all the inhabitants of Chaldaea, All the evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.

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.

O thou destroying mountain, that destroyest the whole earth, Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah! And I will stretch out my hand against thee, And roll thee down from the rocks, And make thee a burnt 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.

So that none shall take from thee a corner-stone, or a foundation-stone; But thou shalt be a perpetual desolation, saith Jehovah.

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.

Set ye up a standard in the land, Sound a trumpet among the nations; Enlist the nations against Babylon, Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; Appoint captains against her, Cause the horses to come up like the bristled locusts!

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

Enlist ye against her the nations, The kings of the Medes, and their prefects, And all their governors, And all the lands under their dominion,

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.

So that the earth shall tremble and quake! For the purpose of Jehovah against Babylon is to be fulfilled, To make the land of Babylon a desolation, without an inhabitant.

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.

The mighty men of Babylon refuse to fight; They remain in their stronghold; Their strength hath failed; They have become women; Her habitations are burned; Her bars 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;

Courier runs to meet courier, And messenger to meet messenger, To make known to the king of Babylon, That his city is taken from end to end;

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

That the passages are taken, That the reeds are burned with fire, And that the men of war are struck with terror.

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 thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon shall be like a thrashing-floor when it is thrashed; Yet a little while, and the time of harvest for her shall 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.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath devoured us; He hath made an end of us; He hath made us empty vessels; He hath swallowed us up like a dragon; He hath filled his maw with our delicacies; He hath cast us out.

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.

“The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon!” Shall the inhabitant of Zion say; And, “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldaeans!” shall Jerusalem 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.

Therefore, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will maintain thy cause, And take vengeance for thee; And I will dry up her sea, And make her springs dry.

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

And Babylon shall become heaps, The dwelling-place of jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant.

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

Together shall they roar like lions; They shall yell like lions' whelps.

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.

In their heat I will prepare them a drink, And will make them drunk, so that they shall rejoice, And then sleep an everlasting sleep, And awake no more, saith Jehovah.

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

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

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 Sheshach taken! How is the praise of the whole earth fallen! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

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

The sea is come up over Babylon; With the roaring of its waves is she covered.

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 cities have become a desolation, A dry land and a desert, A land in which no man dwelleth, And which no son of man passeth through.

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.

I will punish Bel at Babylon, And bring forth from his mouth that which he hath swallowed, And the nations shall flow to him no more; Even the wall of Babylon shall fall.

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

Go ye out of her, my people, And save ye every man his life From the fierce anger of Jehovah!

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.

And let not your heart faint, And fear ye not on account of the rumors which are heard in the land, When in one year a rumor cometh, And after it in another year another rumor, And violence is 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.

Therefore, behold the days come When I will punish the graven images of Babylon, And her whole land shall be confounded; And all her slain shall fall in the midst of 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.

Then the heavens shall shout over Babylon, And the earth and all that is therein; For out of the North come spoilers against her, saith Jehovah.

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

As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

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

Ye that have escaped her sword, go! Tarry not! Remember Jehovah afar off, And let Jerusalem come into your 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 have been confounded, because we have heard reproach; Shame hath covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah.

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

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, When I will punish her graven images, And through all her land shall the wounded groan.

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.

Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, And make inaccessible the height of her strength, Yet from me shall spoilers come upon her, saith Jehovah.

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

Hark! a cry from Babylon, Of 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 Jehovah destroyeth Babylon, And bringeth to silence her loud tumult; Their waves roar like great waters; Their tumultuous noise resounds.

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 spoiler is come upon her, upon Babylon; And their mighty men are taken, And all their bows are broken; For Jehovah is a God of retribution; He will surely requite.

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 drunk her princes, and her wise men, Her prefects, and her governors, and her mighty men; And they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, And shall no more awake, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

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.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be razed to the foundations, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; So that nations shall have labored for naught, And kingdoms have wearied themselves for fire.

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 word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. This Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

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 wrote all the evil that was to come upon Babylon in one book, all these words that are written concerning 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 thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read 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 say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken against this place to destroy it, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall remain desolate forever!

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 when thou hast made an end of reading this book, bind a stone upon it, and cast it into the midst of 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 say: So shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again from the evil which I bring upon her. And they shall utterly fail. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.