Jeremiah 28
1 And that same yeere in the beginning of the reigne of Zedekiah King of Iudah in the fourth yeere, and in the fifth moneth Hananiah the sonne of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake to mee in the House of the Lord in the presence of the Priestes, and of all the people, and said,
Thus says the Lord; Behold, I stir up against Babylon, and against the Chaldeans dwelling therein, a deadly burning wind.
2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, saying, I haue broken the yoke of the King of Babel.
And I will send forth against Babylon spoilers, and they shall spoil her, and shall ravage her land. Woe to Babylon round about [her] in the day of her affliction.
3 Within two yeeres space I will bring into this place all the vessels of the Lords House, that Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel tooke away from this place, and caried them into Babel.
Let the archer bend his bow, and him that has armor put it on: and spare you not her young men, but destroy you all her host.
4 And I will bring againe to this place Ieconiah the sonne of Iehoiakim King of Iudah, with all them that were caried away captiue of Iudah, and went into Babel, saith the Lord: for I will breake the yoke of the King of Babel.
And slain men shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and [men] pierced through shall fall without it.
5 Then the Prophet Ieremiah saide vnto the Prophet Hananiah in the presence of ye Priests, and in the presence of all the people that stoode in the House of the Lord.
For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken of their God, of the Lord Almighty; whereas their land was filled with iniquity against the holy things of Israel.
6 Euen the Prophet Ieremiah sayde, So bee it: the Lord so doe, the Lord confirme thy words which thou hast prophecied to restore the vessels of the Lordes House, and al that is caried captiue, from Babel, into this place.
Flee you out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every one his soul: and be not overthrown in her iniquity; for it is the time of her retribution from the Lord; he is rendering to her a recompence.
7 But heare thou now this worde that I will speake in thine eares and in the eares of all the people.
Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, causing all the earth to be drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore they were shaken.
8 The Prophets that haue beene before mee and before thee in time past, prophecied against many countreyes, and against great kingdomes, of warre, and of plagues, and of pestilence.
And Babylon is fallen suddenly, and is broken to pieces: lament for her; take balm for her deadly wound, if by any means she may be healed.
9 And the Prophet which prophecieth of peace, when the word of the Prophet shall come to passe, then shall the Prophet be knowen that the Lord hath truely sent him.
We tried to heal Babylon, but she was not healed: let us forsake her, and depart every one to his own country: for her judgment has reached to the heaven, it has mounted up to the stars.
10 Then Hananiah the Prophet tooke the yoke from the Prophet Ieremiahs necke, and brake it.
The Lord has brought forth his judgment: come, and let us declare in Sion the works of the Lord our God.
11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Euen so will I breake the yoke of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, from the necke of al nations within the space of two yeres: and the Prophet Ieremiah went his way.
Prepare the arrows; fill the quivers: the Lord has stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes: for his wrath is against Babylon, to destroy it utterly; for it is the Lord's vengeance, it is the vengeance of his people.
12 Then the word of the Lord came vnto Ieremiah the Prophet, (after that Hananiah the Prophet had broken the yoke from the necke of the Prophet Ieremiah) saying,
Lift up a standard on the walls of Babylon, prepare the quivers, rouse the guards, prepare the weapons: for the Lord has taken [the work] in hand, and will execute what he has spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon,
13 Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus sayth the Lord, Thou hast broken the yokes of wood, but thou shalt make for them yokes of yron.
dwelling on many waters, and amidst the abundance of her treasures; your end is come verily into your bowels.
14 For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, I haue put a yoke of yron vpon the necke of all these nations, that they may serue Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel: for they shall serue him, and I haue giuen him the beasts of the fielde also.
For the Lord has sworn by his arm, [saying, ]I will fill you with men as with locusts; and they that come down shall cry against you.
15 Then sayd the Prophet Ieremiah vnto the Prophet Hananiah, Heare nowe Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lye.
The Lord made the earth by his power, preparing the world by his wisdom, by his understanding he stretched out the heaven.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I will cast thee from of the earth: this yeere thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebelliously against the Lord.
At [his] voice he makes a sound of water in the heaven, and brings up clouds from the extremity of the earth; he makes lightnings for rain, and brings light out of his treasures.
17 So Hananiah the Prophet died the same yeere in the seuenth moneth.
Every man has completely lost understanding; every goldsmith is confounded because of his graven [images]: for they have cast false [gods], there is no breath in them.
They are vain works, objects of scorn; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Not such is Jacob's portion; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name.
You scatter for me the weapons of war: and I will scatter nations by you, and will destroy kings by means of you.
And by you I will scatter the horse and his rider; and by you I will scatter chariots and them that ride in them.
And by you I will scatter youth and maid; and by you I will scatter man and woman.
And by you I will scatter the shepherd and his flock; and by you I will scatter the husbandman and his husbandry; and by you I will scatter leaders and the captains.
And I will recompense to Babylon and to all the Chaldeans that dwell [there] all their mischiefs that they have done to Sion before your eyes, says the Lord.
Behold, I am against you, the ruined mountain, that destroys the whole earth; and I will stretch out mine hand upon you, and will roll you down upon the rocks, and will make you as a burnt mountain.
And they shall not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for a foundation: for you shall be a desolation for ever, says the Lord.
Lift up a standard in the land, sound the trumpet among the nations, consecrate the nations against her, raise up kings against her by me, and [that] for the people of Achanaz; set against her engines of war; bring up against her horses as a multitude of locusts.
Bring up nations against her, [even] the king of the Medes and of the whole earth, his rulers, and all his captains.
The earth has quaked and been troubled, because the purpose of the Lord has risen up against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, and uninhabitable.
The warrior of Babylon has failed to fight; they shall sit there in the siege; their power is broken; they are become like women; her tabernacles have been set on fire; her bars are broken.
One shall rush, running to meet [another] runner, and one [shall go] with tidings to meet [another] with tidings, to bring tidings to the king of Babylon, that his city is taken.
At the end of his passages they were taken, and his cisterns they have burnt with fire, and his warriors are going forth.
For thus says the Lord, The houses of the king of Babylon shall be threshed as a floor in the season; yet a little while, and her harvest shall come.
He has devoured me, he has torn me asunder, airy darkness has come upon me; Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon has swallowed me up, as a dragon has he filled his belly with my delicacies.
My troubles and my distresses have driven me out into Babylon, shall she that dwells in Sion say; and my blood [shall be] upon the Chaldeans dwelling [there], shall Jerusalem say.
Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I will judge your adversary, and I will execute vengeance for you; and I will waste her sea, and dry up her fountain.
And Babylon shall be a desolation, and shall not be inhabited.
For they rose up together as lions, and as lions' whelps.
In their heat I will give them a draught, and make them drunk, that they may be stupified, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and not awake, says the Lord.
And bring you them down as lambs to the slaughter, and rams with kids.
How has the boast of all the earth been taken and caught in a snare! how has Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
The sea has come up upon Babylon with the sound of its waves, and she is covered.
Her cities are become like a dry and trackless land; not so much as one [man] shall dwell in it, neither shall a son of man lodge in it.
And I will take vengeance on Babylon, and bring forth out of her mouth what she has swallowed down, and the nations shall no more be gathered to her:
and in Babylon the slain men of all the earth shall fall.
Go forth of the land, you that escape, and stay not; you that are afar off, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
We are ashamed, because we have heard our reproach; disgrace has covered our face; aliens are come into our sanctuary, [even] into the house of the Lord.
Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will take vengeance upon her graven [images]: and slain men shall fall in all her land.
For though Babylon should go up as the heaven, and though she should strengthen her walls with her power, from me shall come they that shall destroy her, says the Lord.
A sound of a cry in Babylon, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans:
for the Lord has utterly destroyed Babylon, and cut off from her the great voice sounding as many waters: he has consigned her voice to destruction.
For distress has come upon Babylon, her warriors are taken, their bows are useless: for God recompenses them.
The Lord recompenses, and will make her leaders and her wise men and her captains completely drunk, says the King, the Lord Almighty is his name.
Thus says the Lord, The wall of Babylon was made broad, but it shall be completely broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire; and the peoples shall not labor in vain, nor the nations fail in [their] rule.
THE WORD WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED THE PROPHET JEREMIAS to say to Saraeas son of Nerias, son of Maasaeas, when he went from Sedekias king of Juda to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. And Saraeas was over the bounties.
And Jeremias wrote in a book all the evils which should come upon Babylon, [even] all these words that are written against Babylon.
And Jeremias said to Saraeas, When you are come to Babylon, and shall see and read all these words;
then you shall say, O Lord God, you have spoken against this place, to destroy it, and that there should be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast; for it shall be a desolation for ever.
And it shall come to pass, when you shall cease from reading this book, that you shall bind a stone upon it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates;
and shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and not rise, because of the evils which I bring upon it.
