Jeremiah 51

1 Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.

This is what the Lord says: Look! I'm going to stir up a destructive wind against Babylon and against the people of Babylonia.

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

I will send foreign soldiers to attack Babylon to winnow her and turn her country into a wasteland—they will attack her from all directions when her time of trouble comes.

3 Let the archer bend his bow against her, and let him lift himself up against her in his coat of mail; and spare ye not her young men, destroy ye utterly all her host.

The archer doesn't need to use his bow; the infantryman doesn't need to put on his armor. Don't spare her young soldiers; set apart her whole army for destruction!

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

They will fall down wounded in her streets, killed in the country of Babylonia.

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

Israel and Judah have not been deserted by their God, the Lord Almighty, even though they sinned against the Holy One of Israel everywhere in their country.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life, be not cut off in her iniquity; for it is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; He will render unto her a recompense.

Escape from Babylon! Run for your lives! Don't get caught up in her punishment and die, for this is the time when the Lord pays her back for her sins.

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken; the nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are mad.

Once Babylon was a golden cup the Lord held in his hand. She made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine which is why they went mad.

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

Now, all of a sudden, Babylon has fallen. She has been smashed to pieces. Weep for her; get her some treatment for her pain. Maybe she can be healed.

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

“We tried to heal her, but she couldn't be helped. So give up on her! All of us should go home to where we came from. The news of her punishment has reached everywhere, all the way to heaven.

10 The LORD hath brought forth our victory; come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

The Lord has encouraged and supported us. Come on, let's tell people here in Jerusalem what the Lord has done for us!”

11 Make bright the arrows, fill the quivers, the LORD hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because His device is against Babylon, to destroy it; for it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of His temple.

Sharpen the arrows! Pick up the shields! The Lord has encouraged the kings of the Medes, because his plan is directed at the destruction of Babylon. The Lord is paying them back for what happened to his Temple.

12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for the LORD hath both devised and done that which He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

Raise the signal flag to attack the walls of Babylon; strengthen the guard; have the watchmen take their places; get the ambush ready. The Lord planned and carried out his threats against the people of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

You people who live beside by many waters, and have so much wealth, this is the time of your end—your life will be cut short.

14 The LORD of hosts hath sworn by Himself: Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm, and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

The Lord Almighty vowed by his own life, saying, I'm going to make sure to fill you with so many enemy soldiers they'll be like locusts. They will shout as they celebrate their victory over you.

15 He that hath made the earth by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discernment;

It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place.

16 At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings at the time of the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries;

The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.

17 Every man is proved to be brutish, for the knowledge — every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image — that his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive!

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

They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name.

The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the creator of everything, including his own people that are special to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.

20 Thou art My maul and weapons of war, and with thee will I shatter the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

You are my war club, the weapon I use in battle. I use you to destroy nations; I use you to destroy kingdoms.

21 And with thee will I shatter the horse and his rider, and with thee will I shatter the chariot and him that rideth therein;

I use you to destroy horses and their riders; I use you to destroy chariots and their drivers.

22 And with thee will I shatter man and woman, and with thee will I shatter the old man and the youth, and with thee will I shatter the young man and the maid;

I use you to destroy men and women; I use you to destroy old men and youths; I use you to destroy young men and girls.

23 And with thee will I shatter the shepherd and his flock, and with thee will I shatter the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, and with thee will I shatter governors and deputies.

I use you to destroy shepherds and their flocks; I use you to destroy farmers and their cattle; I use you to destroy rulers and state officials.

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

Right in front of you I'm going to pay back Babylon and everyone who live in Babylonia for all the evil they did to Jerusalem, declares the Lord.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, 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 burnt mountain.

Watch out, because I am against you, you destructive monster who devastates the whole world, declares the Lord. I will reach out to attack you; I will roll you down the cliffs; I will turn you into a mountain of ash.

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

Nobody will be even able to find themselves a cornerstone or a foundation stone among your ruins, because you will be so utterly destroyed, declares the Lord.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the horn among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

Raise a signal flag in the country! Blow the trumpet call to war among the nations! Get the nations ready to attack her; Summon the kingdoms to march against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander to lead the armies to attack her; send into battle cavalry like a swarm of locusts.

28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

Have the armies of the nations prepare for battle against her. This applies to the kings of the Medes, their leaders and all their officers, and every country they rule.

29 And the land quaketh and is in pain; for the purposes of the LORD are performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

The earth quakes and trembles because the Lord is determined to carry out what he threatened against Babylon—to turn Babylonia into a wasteland where no one lives.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed, they are become as women; her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

Babylon's defenders have given up fighting—they're just sitting in their fortresses. They're worn out; they've become like frightened women. Babylon's houses are burning; the bars securing her gates have been smashed.

31 One post runneth to meet another, and one messenger to meet an other, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter;

A runner hands his message over to another to carry; one messenger follows another messenger, all of them alerting the king of Babylon to the news that his city has been completely conquered,

32 And the fords are seized, and the castles they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

the river crossings have been captured, the marshlands set on fire and his soldiers are panicking.

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

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: The people of Babylon are like a threshing floor when the grain is trampled out. Her time of harvest will come very soon.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath set me down as an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath washed me clean.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon chewed me up and sucked me dry, making me as empty as a jar with nothing in it. He swallowed me down as if he were some monster, filling himself with the tastiest parts of me and throwing the rest away.

35 '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 Chaldea', shall Jerusalem say.

“Babylon must bear the responsibility for the violent attacks on us,” say the inhabitants of Zion. “The people of Babylonia must bear the responsibility for the blood shed in my city,” says Jerusalem.

36 Therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

This is what the Lord says: Watch as I present your case for you and make your enemies pay for what they did to you. I'm going to dry up her river and her springs.

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

Babylon will be turned into a pile of rubble, a home for jackals, a place that horrifies people, a place they jeer at, a place where no one lives.

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

The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs.

39 With their poison I will prepare their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may be convulsed, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

But while their passions are aroused, I will serve them a banquet and get them drunk. They'll celebrate so much that they'll pass out and won't ever wake up, declares the Lord.

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

I will take them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and goats.

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

How could it be? Babylon has fallen! The most famous city in the world has been conquered! What a horrible sight Babylon has become to everyone watching!

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

It's as if the sea has flooded over Babylon, covering her in crashing waves.

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

The towns of Babylonia are in ruins, turned into a dry desert wasteland where no one lives—no one even passes by.

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

I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will force him to spit out what he swallowed. People of other nations won't run to worship him anymore. Even Babylon's wall has fallen.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of the LORD.

My people, come out of her! Each one of you, save yourselves from the Lord's furious anger.

46 And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye, for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that in another year a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

Don't lose courage, and don't be afraid when you hear different rumors going around the country. There'll be one rumor one year, and another one the next, talking about violent revolution, of one ruler fighting against another.

47 Therefore behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be ashamed; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Look, the time is coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be humiliated; it will be full of the dead bodies of those who have been killed.

48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.

Then everyone in heaven and on earth will celebrate with shouts of joy at what's happened to Babylon, because the destroyers from the north will come and attack her, declares the Lord.

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

Babylon has to fall because of the Israelites and people of other nations she killed.

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

Those of you who have managed to escape being killed, leave now! Don't delay! Remember the Lord in this far away place; think about Jerusalem.

51 'We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach, confusion hath covered our faces; for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.'

“We are embarrassed because we've been mocked, and we held our heads in shame because foreigners went into the holy places of the Lord's Temple,”

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

So keep watching, declares the Lord, because the time is coming when I will punish her for worshiping idols, and the sound of wounded people moaning will be heard throughout the country.

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

Even if Babylon could climb up into the sky to strengthen her high fortresses, those I send to attack her will destroy her, declares the Lord.

54 Hark! a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

A cry comes from Babylon; the noise of terrible destruction comes from the country of Babylonia.

55 For the LORD spoileth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered;

For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon; he will put an end to her boastful talk. The waves of attacking army will roar like the crashing sea; the noise of their shouts will echo all around.

56 For the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are shattered; for the LORD is a God of recompenses, He will surely requite.

A destroyer is coming to attack Babylon. Her soldiers will be taken prisoner, and their bows will be smashed, for the Lord is a God who punishes fairly; he will definitely pay them back.

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

I will make her leaders and wise men drunk, along with her commanders, officers, and soldiers. Then they will pass out, and won't ever wake up, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: Babylon's massive walls will be knocked down to the ground and her high gates burned. All that the people worked for will be for nothing; other nations who came to help will wear themselves out, only to see what they've done go up in flames.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded 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 reign. Now Seraiah was quartermaster.

This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he accompanied King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign. Seraiah was the king's personal assistant.

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

Jeremiah had written on a scroll a description of all the disasters that would come to Babylon—all these words written here about Babylon.

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

Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read out loud everything written here,

62 and say: O LORD, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

and announce, ‘Lord, you have promised to destroy this place so that none will be left—no people or animals. In fact it will be deserted forever.’

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

After you finish reading this scroll out loud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.

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

Then say, ‘This is how Babylon will sink and won't ever rise again, because of the disaster I'm bringing down on her. Her people will grow tired.’” This is the end of Jeremiah's messages.