Jeremiah 51

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

This is what Yahweh says: “I will inspire/motivate [an army] to destroy Babylon [like a powerful] wind [MET], and [also] to destroy the people of Babylonia.

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

I will send a foreign army to come to get rid of Babylonia [like a strong wind] that blows away chaff. They will attack from every direction on that day of disaster.

3 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 all her host.

[I will tell them, ] ‘Do not allow the archers [of Babylon] to [have time to] put on their armor or draw their bows. Do not spare the young men of Babylon. Completely destroy their army.’

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

Their soldiers will fall dead in Babylonia; [they will die after being] wounded in the streets.

5 For Israel [hath] not [been] forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

[I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, the Israelis’ God, have not abandoned Israel and Judah. [Even though] their land was full of people who sinned against [me], the Holy God of Israel, I am still their God.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this [is] the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

[You people of Israel and Judah, ] flee from Babylon! Run away from there! Do not stay there and be killed when I punish [the people of Babylon]! It will be the time when I will get revenge; I will do to them what they deserve.

7 Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Babylon has been [like] [MET] a gold cup in my hand, [a cup that is full of wine] that caused people all over the earth [who drank some of it to become] drunk. [It is as though] the [rulers of] the nations drank the wine from Babylon, and it caused them to become crazy.

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

But suddenly Babylon will be conquered. [You foreigners who live in Babylon, ] weep for its people. Give them medicine for their wounds; perhaps they 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 [foreigners] would have [tried to] heal them, but [now] they cannot be healed. [So we will not try to help them; ] we will abandon them, and return to our own lands, because [it is as though] the punishment they are receiving is so great that it reaches up to the clouds in sky, [so great that no one can measure it].

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

Yahweh has (vindicated us/shown that we were right); [so] let’s proclaim in Jerusalem everything that Yahweh our God has done [for us].

11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device [is] against Babylon, to destroy it; because it [is] the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

[You enemy soldiers, ] sharpen your arrows! Lift up your shields, [because] Yahweh has incited your kings of Media [and Persia to march with their armies] to Babylon and to destroy it. That is how Yahweh will get revenge on [those foreigners who entered] his temple [in Jerusalem] and defiled it.

12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

Lift up a battle flag close to the walls of Babylon! (Reinforce the/Appoint more) guards, and tell the watchmen to stand [in their positions]! Prepare an ambush, because Yahweh is about to accomplish all that he has planned to do to the people of Babylon.

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

Babylon is [a city] near the great [Euphrates] River, a city in which there are many rich people, but it is time for Babylon to be finished; the time [for the city] to exist is ended.

14 The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

The Commander of the armies of angels has solemnly promised, using his own name, “Your cities will be filled with your enemies; I will cause them to be like [SIM] a swarm of locusts; and they will shout triumphantly [when they conquer your city].”

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

Yahweh created the earth by his power; he established it by his wisdom, and he stretched out the sky by his understanding.

16 When he uttereth [his] voice, [there is] a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

When he speaks loudly, there is thunder in the sky; he causes clouds to form in every part of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and releases the winds from his storehouses.

17 Every man is brutish by [his] knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.

People are senseless, and they know very little [HYP]; those who make idols are [always] disappointed, because their idols [do nothing for them]. The images/statues that they make are not real [gods]; they are lifeless.

18 They [are] vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

Idols are worthless; they deserve to be ridiculed; there will be a time when they will [all] be destroyed.

19 The portion of Jacob [is] not like them; for he [is] the former of all things: and [Israel is] the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts [is] his name.

But the God whom [we] Israelis [worship] is not like those [idols]; he is the one who created everything [that exists]; [we], the people of Israel, belong to him; his name is ‘the Commander of the armies of angels’.

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

Yahweh says [about the army of Babylonia] (OR, [about a nation that will attack Babylonia)], “You have been [like] [MET] my battle-axe and war-club; with your [power] I have shattered nations and destroyed [many] kingdoms.

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

With your [power] I have shattered armies [of other nations]: I destroyed [their] horses and their riders, [their] chariots and [their] chariot-drivers.

22 With thee also 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 your [power] I shattered men and women, old people and children, young men and young women.

23 I will also break in pieces with thee 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 captains and rulers.

With your [power] I shattered shepherds and their flocks [of sheep], farmers and their oxen, governors and [their] 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.

But, Yahweh [also] says, “[Soon] I will repay/punish [you] people in Babylon and in the rest of Babylonia for all the evil things that you have done in Jerusalem.

25 Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

[Babylonia is] [APO] like [MET] a great mountain [from which bandits descend] to (plunder/steal things from) people all over the earth. But I, Yahweh, am the enemy of you [people of Babylonia]. I will raise my fist to strike you. I will knock you down from the cliffs and cause you to be [only] a huge pile of burned rubble.

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.

Your [city] will be abandoned forever; [even] the stones in your [city] will never [again] be used for buildings. [Your city will be completely destroyed].”

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

[Tell] the nations to lift up a battle flag! [Tell them to] shout the battle-cry! Gather all their armies to fight against Babylon! Prepare the nations to attack Babylon. Summon [the armies of] the kingdoms [north of Babylonia]—from Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander for them, and bring [a great number of] horses; [there must be a huge number of horses]; that [huge number] will resemble [SIM] a swarm of locusts.

28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

Prepare the [armies of other nations], armies that will be led by the kings of Media [and Persia], their governors and [their] officials.

29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

[When they attack Babylon, it will be as though] the earth will shake and writhe [in pain], because [those armies] will accomplish everything that Yahweh has planned to do to Babylon; they will destroy it completely, [with the result that] no one will live there [again].

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in [their] holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

[When their enemies attack], the strongest warriors in Babylon will not fight. They will remain in their barracks, without any strength. They will be as timid/weak as [SIM] women. [The enemy soldiers] will burn the buildings in the city and pull down the bars [of the city gates].

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at [one] end,

Messengers will go quickly, one after another, to tell the king that his city has been captured.

32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

The places at which people can cross the river [to escape from the city] will be blocked. The dry reeds in the marshes/swamps will be set on fire, and the soldiers of Babylon will be terrified.

33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshingfloor, [it is] time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says; “Babylon is like [SIM] wheat on the ground where it is about to be threshed by [animals] tramping on it. Very soon [their enemies] will trample on [the city of] Babylon [MET].”

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.

[The army of] Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, has attacked and crushed us [Israeli people], and we have no strength [left]. [It is as though] they have swallowed us like a [great] monster that filled its belly with all our tasty parts, and then has spit out [what it did not like].

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

[So] the people of [PRS] Jerusalem say [to Yahweh], “Cause the people of Babylon to suffer like they caused us to suffer! Cause the people of Babylonia to be punished for killing [MTY] our people!”

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 springs dry.

And this is what Yahweh replies to the people of Jerusalem: “I will [be like your lawyer to] defend you, and I will avenge you. I will dry up the river in Babylon and [all] the springs of water.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a place where jackals/wolves live. It will become a place that people are horrified about and will ridicule; it will be a place where no one lives.

38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.

The people of Babylon will [all] roar like young lions; they will growl like baby lions.

39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

But while they are extremely hungry, I will prepare a [different kind of] feast for them. [It is as though] I will cause them to drink wine until they are very drunk, [with the result that] they will fall asleep. But they will never wake up from that sleep!

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

I will bring them down to a place where they will be slaughtered, like [SIM] [someone who takes] lambs or rams or goats [to where they will be slaughtered for sacrifices].

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

People all over the earth [now] (honor/praise) Babylon; they say that it is a great city. But I will cause it to become a [place about which people of all] nations are horrified.

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

The [enemies of Babylon] will cover the city [like] huge waves of the sea [DOU].

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

The towns in Babylonia will become ruins, Babylonia will become a dry desert area. It will be a land in which no one lives and which no one walks through.

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 together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

And I will punish Bel, [the god that the people] of Babylon [worship], and I will cause the people to give back what they have stolen [MET]. [People of other] nations will no longer come to [worship] Bel. And the walls of Babylon will collapse.”

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.

[Yahweh also says, ] “My people, come out of Babylon! Run away from there! Run, because [I], Yahweh, am extremely angry [MTY] [with the people of Babylon, and I will get rid of them]!

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

Do not be discouraged/worried [IDM] or afraid when you hear reports [about what is happening in Babylon]. People will report rumors like that every year, rumors about violent things being done in the land, and rumors about leaders fighting against each other.

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

But it will soon be the time for me to get rid of the idols in Babylon. [People all over] the land will be ashamed [because of being defeated]; and the corpses of their [soldiers] will lie in the streets.

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

Then all [the angels in] heaven and all the [people on] [PRS] the earth will rejoice, because from the north will come [armies] that will destroy Babylon.

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

Like [the soldiers of Babylon] killed the people of Israel and [also] killed others all over the world [HYP], [the people of] Babylon must also be killed.

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

You [Israeli people] who have not been killed [MTY], get out of Babylon! Do not wait! [Even though you are in a land] far away [from Israel], think about Yahweh, and think about Jerusalem!”

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house.

[The Israeli people say], “We are ashamed. We are completely disgraced [DOU], because foreigners have entered Yahweh’s temple [and (defiled it/caused it to become unfit for worship)].”

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.

Yahweh replies, “[That is true], but there will soon be a time when I will destroy the idols in Babylon, and throughout Babylonia there will be wounded people who will groan.

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 [the walls around] Babylon could extend up to the sky, and if its walls/fortifications were extremely strong, I will send [armies] that will destroy the city. [That will surely happen because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.”

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

Listen to [the people of] Babylon crying [for help]! And listen to the sounds of things being destroyed all over Babylonia!

55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

Yahweh will be destroying Babylon. He will cause the loud noises in the city to cease.

56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, [even] upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.

Enemy troops will surge against the city like [SIM] a great wave. They will capture the city’s mighty soldiers and break their weapons. [That will happen] because Yahweh is a God who punishes [his enemies] justly; he will punish them as they deserve.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise [men], her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts.

The king, the Commander of the armies of angels says, “I will cause the city officials and wise men, the army captains and soldiers [in Babylon] to become drunk. They will fall asleep, but they will never wake up [again]!”

58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

Yahweh also says, “The thick walls around Babylon will be flattened to the ground. The city gates will be burned. People [from other countries] will work hard [to save the city], but it will be (in vain/useless), because everything [that they have built] will be destroyed by fire.”

59 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. And [this] Seraiah [was] a quiet prince.

Seraiah was the man who made arrangements for the King of Babylon [whenever he traveled]. He was the son of Neraiah and grandson of Mahseiah. When he was about to go to Babylon with King Zedekiah, after Zedekiah had been ruling Judah for almost four years, the prophet Jeremiah gave him a message.

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

Jeremiah had written on a scroll a list of all the disasters that he had written about, disasters that would soon occur in Babylon.

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

He said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, read [aloud] everything that I have written [on this scroll].

62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

Then pray, ‘Yahweh, you said that you will thoroughly destroy Babylon, with the result that people and animals will no [longer] live there. You said that it will be desolate 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 Euphrates:

[Then], when you have finished reading [what I have written on] the scroll, tie it to a [heavy] stone and throw it into the Euphrates [River].

64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far [are] the words of Jeremiah.

Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon [and its people] will disappear and never exist again, because of the disasters that Yahweh will cause to occur there’” That is the end of Jeremiah’s messages.