Jeremiah 51

1 Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will awaken against Babylon, and against those that dwell in the midst of my opponents, 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 out unto Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall empty out her land; for they shall be against her round about on the day of trouble.

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 Let the archer come against any one that bendeth his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his armor: and spare ye not her young men: destroy ye 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 pierced 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 not widowed are Israel and Judah of their God, of the Lord of hosts; for the land of those was filled with guiltiness 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 ye out of the midst of Babylon, and save ye every man his life: perish not for her iniquity; for this is a time of vengeance unto the Lord; a recompense is he paying out unto her.

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 A golden cup hath Babylon been in the hand of the Lord, that made drunken all the earth: of her wine have nations drunk; therefore are the nations rendered 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 Suddenly is Babylon fallen and broken: wail ye for her; fetch balm for her wound, perhaps 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 would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one unto his own country; for her punishment reacheth unto the heavens, and it is lifted up even 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 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us relate in Zion the work of the Lord 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 Make bright the arrows; fill the quivers: the Lord hath awakened the spirit of the kings of Media; for against Babylon is his intention, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for 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 Against the walls of Babylon lift up the standard, strengthen the watch, set up the watchmen, make ready the ambushes; for the Lord hath both intended and done what he had spoken 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 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, great in treasures, thy end is come, the full measure of thy selfish robbery.

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

14 Sworn hath the Lord of hosts by himself, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with locusts: and they shall lift up the battle-cry 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 made the earth by his power, he established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

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 At the sound when he giveth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; when he maketh lightnings with 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 Then standeth every man as brutish without knowledge; ashamed is every goldsmith because of the graven image; for falsehood is his molten work, and there is no breath therein.

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, the work of deception: in the time of their punishment shall they vanish.

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

19 Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: The Lord 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 a hammer unto me, weapons of war; and I strike down with thee nations, and I destroy with thee 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 I strike down with thee the horse and his rider; and I strike down with thee the chariot and its rider;

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 I strike down with thee man and woman; and I strike down with thee the aged and the lad; and I strike down with thee the young man and the virgin:

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 I strike down with thee the shepherd and his flock; and I strike down with thee the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and I strike down with thee 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 But [now] will I repay unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes, saith the Lord.

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, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand over thee, and I will roll thee down from the rocks, and will render thee a burnt 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 from thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but everlasting ruins shalt thou be, saith the Lord.

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 ye up a standard in the land, blow ye the cornet among the nations, make ready against her nations, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint against her a commander; cause the horses to come up like the hairy locusts.

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 Make ready against her the nations with the kings of Media, its governors, and all its rulers, and 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 earth quaketh and trembleth; for every one of the purposes of the Lord is fulfilled against Babylon, to change the land of Babylon into a desolate country without an 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 sit still in [their] strongholds; their might is vanished; they are become as women: they have burnt her dwelling-places; 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 One runner shall run to meet another runner, and one messenger to meet another messenger, to tell unto the king of Babylon that his city is captured at all ends,

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 that the passages have been seized, and that they have burnt the reeds with fire, and that 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 hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time they thresh therein; but yet a little while more, when 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 devoured me, he crushed me, he set me down as an empty vessel, he swallowed me up like a huge serpent, he filled his belly with my delicacies: he drove 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,” will the inhabitress of Zion say; and “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” will 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 hath said the Lord, Behold, I will contend in thy cause, and execute vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and cause her springs to fail.

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 ruinous heaps, a dwelling-place for monsters, an astonishment, and a derision, without an 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 Together like lions shall they roar: they shall yell like the 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 will I prepare their drinking-feasts, and I will make them drunken, in order that they may be joyful, and [then] sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake again, saith the Lord.

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 wethers with he-goats.

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

41 How is Sheshach captured! and how is conquered the praise of the whole earth! 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 over Babylon: with the multitude of its waves is she covered.

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

43 Her cities are become desolate places, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein not any man shall dwell, and through which no son of man shall pass along.

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 inflict punishment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth what he hath swallowed up out of his mouth; and nations shall not assemble together like a stream unto him any more; yea, the wall of Babylon also 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 save ye every man his life from the fierceness of the anger of the Lord.

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

46 And so that your heart may not faint, and ye fear at the report that is heard in the land: when the report cometh in one year, and after that in another year cometh another report, and when violence [be done] in the land, [by] 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 inflict punishment on the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fail 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 then shall the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, sing because of Babylon; for from the north shall come unto her the destroyers, saith the Lord.

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 Also Babylon is destined to fall, O ye slain ones of Israel, also at Babylon fall the slain of all the land.

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 [But] ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember afar off the Lord, and let Jerusalem rise up in your heart.

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 had been made ashamed, because we had heard reproach: confusion had covered our faces; because strangers were come into the sanctuaries of the Lord'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 are coming, saith the Lord, when I will inflict punishment on her graven images: and through all her land shall groan the deadly wounded.

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 heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength; yet from me should destroyers come unto her, saith the Lord.

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 A sound of a painful cry cometh from Babylon, and of a great breach 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 Because the Lord wasteth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the loud noise; but their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice is sent forth;

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 Because the destroyer is come over her, over Babylon, and her mighty men are caught, every one of their bows is broken; for the God of recompenses, the Lord, will surely 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 drunken her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake again, saith the King, The Lord of hosts is his name.

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 hath said the Lord of hosts, Every one of the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire; so that nations shall have labored in vain, and the people for the fire, and so shall they have wearied themselves.

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 which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Serayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah unto Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Serayah 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 down all the evil that should come upon Babylon in one book, namely, all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

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

61 And Jeremiah said to Serayah, As thou comest to Babylon, see to it, 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 thou shalt say, O Lord, thou thyself hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, so that there shall not be in it an inhabitant, either man or beast; but that it shall become a desolate place 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 finished reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and throw 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 thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again from the evil that I will bring upon her: and her people shall be wearied. Thus far are 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.