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;
Thus, saith Yahweh—Behold me! stirring up against Babylon, And against the inhabitants of the centre of them who rise up against me, —A wind that destroyeth;
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 to Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her, And shall empty her land, —For they are against her round about in the day of calamity.
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.
Let not the archer tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, —And do not spare her young men, Devote to destruction all her host.
4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are pierced through, in her streets.
So shall they fall wounded in the land of Chaldea, —Yea thrust through, 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 and Judah have not been widowed Of their God, Of Yahweh of hosts, —But, their land, hath been filled with punishment for guilt from 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.
Flee out of the midst of Babylon And deliver ye every man his own life, Be not cut off in her punishment, —For it is Yahweh’s, time of avenging, A recompense, is he repaying unto her.
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.
A cup of gold, was Babylon in the hand of Yahweh, Making drunk all the earth, —Of her wine, have the nations drunk, For this cause have the nations been acting as men who are mad.
8 Suddenly is Babylon fallen and broken: wail ye for her; fetch balm for her wound, perhaps she may be healed.
Suddenly, hath Babylon fallen and been broken, —Howl ye over her Fetch balsam for her pain, Peradventure she shall be healed!
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 healed Babylon, but she is not healed, Leave her and let us go every one to his own land, —For her judgment, reacheth unto the heavens, And mounteth as far as the skies.
10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us relate in Zion the work of the Lord our God.
Yahweh hath brought forth our righteousnesses, —Come and let us relate in Zion the work of Yahweh 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.
Polish the arrows, Lay hold of the shields, —Yahweh hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, For against Babylon, his purpose is, to destroy her, —For it is, The avenging of Yahweh, The avenging of 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.
Against the walls of Babylon, Lift ye up a standard, Strengthen ye the watch, Station the watchmen, Make ready the ambuscades, —For Yahweh hath both planned and also performed that which he had spoken against the inhabitants 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 thou who dwellest upon many waters, Who aboundest in treasures, —Come hath thine end! The measure of thine unrighteous gain!
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.
Yahweh of hosts hath sworn, by his own soul: Surely I have filled thee with men as with locusts, And they have answered against thee with a shout.
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 that Made the earth in his might, Established the world in his wisdom, —And in his understanding, stretched out the heavens
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:
By the voice that he uttered, there was a tumult of waters in the heavens, And he caused vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, —Lightnings for the rain, made he, And brought forth wind out of his treasures.
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.
Every son of earth had become too brutish to know, —Every goldsmith, hath been put to shame, by a graven image, —For a falsehood, is his molten image Seeing there is no breath in them:
18 They are vanity, the work of deception: in the time of their punishment shall they vanish.
Vanity, they are, A handiwork of mockeries, —In the time of their visitation, shall they perish.
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.
Not like these, is the portion of Jacob, For the fashioner of all things, is he! And the portion of his inheritance, —Yahweh of hosts, 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;
A war-club, art thou for me, Weapons of war; Therefore will I Beat down with thee—nations, and Destroy with thee—kingdoms;
21 And I strike down with thee the horse and his rider; and I strike down with thee the chariot and its rider;
and Beat down with thee—the horse and his rider, —and Beat down with thee—the chariot and its rider;
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:
and Beat down with thee—man and woman, and Beat down with thee—elder and youth, and Beat down with thee—young man and virgin;
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.
and Beat down with thee—the shepherd and his flock, and Beat down with thee—the plowman and his yoke; —and Beat down with thee—governors and deputies:
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.
So will I recompense to Babylon, And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, All their wickedness which they have committed against Zion before your eyes, —Declareth Yahweh.
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.
Behold me! against thee, O destroying mountain Declareth Yahweh, That destroyest all the earth, —Therefore will I stretch out my hand over thee, And roll thee down from the crags, And make of thee a burning 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.
So shall they not fetch from thee A stone for a corner nor A stone for a foundation, —For desolations age-abiding, shalt thou become Declareth Yahweh.
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.
Set ye up an ensign in the earth Blow ye a horn among the nations Hallow against her—nations, Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat Minni, and Ashkenaz, —Set in charge against her a marshal, Bring up cavalry like hairy 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.
Hallow against her—nations, With the kings of Media, With her governors and all her deputies, —And with all the land of his dominion:
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.
Then did the land tremble and was in pain, —For the plans of Yahweh, had been established against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon an astonishment, without inhabitant.
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.
The heroes of Babylon have ceased to fight They have remained in the strongholds, Parched is their might, They have become women, —They have set fire to her habitations, Broken are her bars!
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,
Runner to meet runner, shall they run, And teller to meet teller, -To tell the king of Babylon, That captured is his city at the end!
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 fords, have been seized, and The reeds, have they burned with fire; and The men of war, are dismayed!
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, thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon, is like a threshing, floor at the time of treading her: Yet a little, and the time of harvest shall overtake her.
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—Hath devoured me Hath vexed me, Hath set me down as an empty vessel, He hath swallowed me like a sea-monster, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, —He hath driven me away!
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.
The violence done to me and to my flesh, be upon Babylon! Shall the inhabitress of Zion say, —Yea, my blood, be upon the inhabitant of Chaldea! Shall Jerusalem 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.
Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! pleading thy cause, So then I will execute the avenging of thee; And will dry up her sea, And make dry her spring:
37 And Babylon shall become ruinous heaps, a dwelling-place for monsters, an astonishment, and a derision, without an inhabitant.
Thus shall Babylon become—Heaps A habitation of jackals An astonishment, and A hissing, Without inhabitant.
38 Together like lions shall they roar: they shall yell like the lions' whelps.
Together, like wild lions, shall they roar, —They have growled like lions’ whelps.
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 spread their banquets, And let them drink that they may become uproarious, So shall they sleep an age-abiding sleep and not wake, —Declareth Yahweh.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like wethers with he-goats.
I will bring them down As fat lambs to slaughter, —As rams with he-goats.
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 hath Sheshach, been captured! How hath the praise of all the earth been seized! How hath Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea is come up over Babylon: with the multitude of its waves is she covered.
The sea, hath gone up over Babylon, —With the multitude of its rolling waves, is she covered.
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 cities have become, an astonishment, A land parched up, and a waste plain, —A land wherein shall no man dwell, Nor pass through them a son of the earth-born!
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.
So will I bring punishment upon Bel in Babylon, And will bring forth what he hath swallowed out of his mouth, And the nations shall stream unto him no more, —Even the wall of Babylon hath fallen!
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.
Come ye forth out of her midst O my people, And deliver ye every man his own life, —Because of the glow of the anger of Yahweh.
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.
And let not your heart be timid, nor be ye afraid, Because of the report that is reported in the earth When there shall come in one year, the report And after that in another year, the report, With violence in the earth, and ruler upon 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.
Therefore, lo! days coming when I will bring punishment upon the images of Babylon, And all her land, shall turn pale, —Yea, all her wounded, shall fall in her midst.
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.
Then shall shout over Babylon—heavens and earth and all who are therein, —For out of the North, shall come to her the spoilers Declareth Yahweh.
49 Also Babylon is destined to fall, O ye slain ones of Israel, also at Babylon fall the slain of all the land.
Not only hath Babylon, caused the fall of the slain of Israel, —By Babylon, also have fallen the slain of all the earth.
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.
Ye that have escaped the sword, depart do not stand still, —Remember, from afar Yahweh, Let, Jerusalem, come up on your heart: -
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 have turned pale for we have heard a reproach, Confusion, hath covered our faces, —For aliens have entered upon the hallowed places of the house of Yahweh!
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.
Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will bring punishment upon her images; And throughout all her land, shall the pierced one groan.
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.
Though Babylon should mount the heavens, And though she should fortify her strong high-place, From me, should come spoilers unto her Declareth Yahweh.
54 A sound of a painful cry cometh from Babylon, and of a great breach from the land of the Chaldeans;
A voice of outcry from Babylon! And a great crash from the land of the Chaldeans!
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, Yahweh, is spoiling Babylon, And will destroy out of her the loud voice, —Though their waves have roared like many waters, Been uttered the loud boast of their voice.
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 there hath come upon her—upon Babylon—a spoiler, And captured are their heroes And broken are their bows, —For, a GOD of recompenses, is Yahweh, He will surely repay.
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.
Then will I make drunk—Her princes and her wise men, Her governors, and her deputies and her heroes, And they shall sleep an age-abiding sleep, and not wake, —Declareth the King, Yahweh of hosts, 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.
Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts—The broad walls of Babylon, shall be laid utterly bare, And, her lofty gates, with fire, shall be burned, —And peoples shall labour for emptiness, And populations, for the fire, shall weary themselves.
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 word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign, —now Seraiah, was travelling-marshal.
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.
So Jeremiah wrote all the calamity which was to come unto Babylon in one scroll; even all these words which have been written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Serayah, As thou comest to Babylon, see to it, that thou read all these words;
Then said Jeremiah unto Seraiah, —When thou comest into Babylon, then shalt thou look out and read 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 thou shalt say—O Yahweh! thou, thyself, hast spoken against this place to cut it off, That there be in it no inhabitant Neither man nor beast, —But desolations age-abiding, shall it become!
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 shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this scroll, that thou shalt bind thereunto a stone, and cast it in the midst of 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.
Then shalt thou say, —In like manner, shall Babylon sink and not rise Because of the calamity which I am about to bring thereupon: So shall they perish. Thus far, are, the words of Jeremiah.
