Jeremiah 50

1 The word that YHWH has spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:

This is the Lord's message that he told Jeremiah the prophet to give about Babylon and the country of Babylonia.

2 “Declare among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say, Babylon has been captured, Bel has been put to shame, Merodach has been broken, Her grievous things have been put to shame, Her idols have been broken.

Tell everyone the news! Hold up a sign and shout it out, don't hold back! Tell them, Babylon has fallen! Her god Bel is humiliated; the power of her god Marduk is broken; all Babylon's idols are humiliated and their power is broken.

3 For a nation from the north has come up against her, It makes her land become a desolation, And there is not an inhabitant in it. From man even to beast, They have moved, they have gone.

A northern nation will come and attack her and turn the country into a wasteland. No one will live there—both people and animals will desert it.

4 In those days, and at that time,” A declaration of YHWH, “Sons of Israel come in, They and sons of Judah together, Going on and weeping they go, And they seek their God YHWH.

That's the time when the people of Israel and Judah will join together, weeping as they go to worship the Lord their God, declares the Lord.

5 They ask the way [to] Zion, Their faces [are] toward that place: Come in, and we are joined to YHWH, A perpetual covenant—never forgotten.

They will ask the way to Zion, and start going in that direction. They will arrive and commit themselves to the Lord in an everlasting agreement that won't ever be forgotten.

6 My people have been a perishing flock, Their shepherds have caused them to err, Causing them to go back [on] the mountains, They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their crouching-place.

My people are sheep that are lost, led astray by their shepherds, making them wander aimlessly in the mountains. They go from place to place in the mountains and hills, forgetting where they used to rest.

7 All finding them have devoured them, And their adversaries have said: We are not guilty, Because that they sinned against YHWH, The habitation of righteousness, And the hope of their fathers—YHWH.

All those who came across them attacked them. Their enemies declared, “We're not to blame! They're the ones who sinned against the Lord, their true resting place; the Lord who was the hope of their forefathers.”

8 Move from the midst of Babylon, And go out from the land of the Chaldeans; And be as male goats before a flock.

Run away from the city of Babylon; get away from the country of Babylonia! Lead the way like the male goats that lead the flock.

9 For behold, I am stirring up, And am causing to come up against Babylon, An assembly of great nations from [the] land of the north, And they have set in array against her, From there she is captured, Its arrow—as a skillful hero—does not return empty,

Look! I'm assembling a coalition of strong northern nations who will come and attack Babylon. They will line up in battle against her; she will be conquered from the north. Their arrows will be like the best warriors—they don't miss!

10 And Chaldea has been for a spoil, All her spoilers are satisfied,” A declaration of YHWH.

Babylonia will be plundered—everyone who plunders her will have plenty of loot, declares the Lord.

11 “Because you rejoice, because you exult, O spoilers of My inheritance, Because you increase as a heifer [at] the tender grass, And cry aloud as bulls,

Though for now you Babylonians celebrate and sing triumphantly as you plunder my special people, though for now you jump around like a frisky young cow treading out the grain, and neigh like stallions,

12 Your mother has been greatly ashamed, She who bore you has been confounded, Behold, the last of nations [is] a wilderness, A dry land, and a desert.

you are going to bring shame on your mother, you are going to disgrace the one who gave birth to you. Watch as she becomes the least important of all the nations, a wilderness, a dry desert land.

13 Because of the wrath of YHWH it is not inhabited, And it has been a desolation—all of it. Everyone passing by at Babylon is astonished, And hisses because of all her plagues.

Because of Lord's angry punishment, she will be deserted, completely desolate. Everyone who passes by will be horrified at what has happened to Babylon, and sneer at all her wounds.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, All you treading a bow, Shoot at her, have no pity on the arrow, For she has sinned against YHWH.

All you archers, line up ready for battle around Babylon. Shoot at her! Don't save your arrows, because she has sinned against the Lord.

15 Shout against her all around, She has given forth her hand, Her foundations have fallen, Her walls have been thrown down, For it [is] the vengeance of YHWH, Be avenged of her, as she did—do to her.

Shout war-cries against her from every side! She holds up her hands in surrender. Her towers have collapsed; her walls are demolished. This is the Lord paying her back, so you too can pay her back—do the same to her as she did to others.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him handling the sickle in the time of harvest, Because of the oppressing sword, Each to his people—they turn, And each to his land—they flee.

Stop the sower from sowing in the country of Babylon, and stop the harvester swinging the sickle to reap the grain. Under the threat of the enemies' swords, everyone runs home to their own people, they go back to where they came from.

17 Israel [is as] a scattered sheep, Lions have driven [him] away, At first, the king of Asshur devoured him, And now, at last, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bone.

The Israelites are a flock that's been chased and scattered by lions. The first on the attack was the king of Assyria; then lastly Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon crushed their bones.

18 Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Behold, I am seeing after the king of Babylon, And after his land, As I have seen after the king of Asshur;

So this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to punish the king of Babylon and his country just like I punished the king of Assyria.

19 And I have brought Israel back to his habitation, And he has fed on Carmel and on Bashan; And his soul is satisfied on Mount Ephraim and on Gilead.

I will lead the Israelites back to their pasturelands, to feed on Carmel and Bashan, to satisfy their appetites on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days, and at that time,” A declaration of YHWH, “The iniquity of Israel is sought, and it is not, And the sin of Judah, and it is not found, For I am propitious to those whom I leave!

This will be when the guilt and the sins of Israel and Judah will be looked for, but none will be found, because I will forgive those people who remain that I'm looking after, declares the Lord.

21 Against the land of Merathaim, go up against it, And to the inhabitants of Pekod, Dry up and devote their posterity,” A declaration of YHWH, “And do according to all that I have commanded you.

Go and attack the land of Merathaim, and the people living in Pekod. Kill them with swords, set them apart for destruction, along with everything they leave behind. Make sure you do everything I have ordered you to do, declares the Lord.

22 A noise of battle [is] in the land, And of great destruction.

The noise of battle is heard in the country, the noise of terrible destruction.

23 How it has been cut and broken, The hammer of the whole earth! How Babylon has been for a desolation among nations!

See how the hammer of the whole earth is lying broken in pieces in the ground! The nations look with horror on what Babylon has become!

24 I have laid a snare for you, And you are also captured, O Babylon, And you have known, You have been found, and are also caught, For you have stirred yourself up against YHWH.

Babylon, I set a trap for you, and you were caught before you realized it. You were hunted down and captured because you fought against the Lord.

25 YHWH has opened His treasury, And He brings out the weapons of His indignation, For a work [is] to Lord YHWH of Hosts, In the land of the Chaldeans.

In his anger the Lord opened his armory to bring out his weapons, for this is what the Lord God Almighty is doing in the country of Babylonia.

26 Come in to her from the extremity, Open her storehouses, Raise her up as heaps, and devote her, Let her have no remnant.

Come and attack her from every side! Open her granaries; collect the loot you take from her like piles of grain. Set her apart for destruction; don't leave any survivors.

27 Slay all her cows, they go down to slaughter, Woe [is] on them, for their day has come, The time of their inspection.

Kill all her young bulls with the sword; let them be slaughtered. What a disaster for them, because their time has come when they're punished.

28 A voice of fugitives and escaped ones [Is] from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of our God YHWH, The vengeance of His temple.

(Listen to the refugees and survivors who have returned from Babylonia, announcing in Zion, “The Lord our God is paying them back for what happened to his Temple.”)

29 Summon archers to Babylon, all treading the bow, Encamp against her all around, Let [her] have no escape; Repay to her according to her work, According to all that she did—do to her, For she has been proud against YHWH, Against the Holy One of Israel.

Call up the archers to attack Babylon, yes, all of them! Completely surround her—don't let anyone escape. Pay her back for what she's done, because in her pride she defied the Lord, Israel's Holy One.

30 Therefore her young men fall in her broad places, And all her men of war are cut off in that day,” A declaration of YHWH.

As a result her young men will be killed in the streets; all her soldiers will die that day, declares the Lord.

31 “Behold, I [am] against you, O pride,” A declaration of Lord YHWH of Hosts, “For your day has come, the time of your inspection.

Watch out, because I'm against you, you arrogant people! declares the Lord God Almighty. Your time has come when I will punish you.

32 And pride has stumbled, And he has fallen, and has none raising up, And I have kindled a fire in his cities, And it has devoured all around him.

You arrogant people will trip and fall. Nobody will be there to pick you up. I'm going to set fire to your towns and burn up everything around you.

33 Thus said YHWH of Hosts: The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah together, And all their captors have kept hold on them, They have refused to send them away.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: The people of Israel and Judah are being mistreated. All who captured them are holding onto them, refusing to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer [is] strong, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name, He thoroughly pleads their cause, So as to cause the land to rest, And He has given trouble to the inhabitants of Babylon.

But the one who rescues them is powerful; the Lord Almighty is his name. He will defend them and their cause, so he may bring peace on earth, but trouble to the people of Babylon.

35 A sword [is] for the Chaldeans,” A declaration of YHWH, “And it [is] on the inhabitants of Babylon, And on her heads, and on her wise men;

A sword is raised to attack the Babylonians, declares the Lord, ready to attack those who live in Babylon, and her officials and wise men.

36 A sword [is] on the princes, And they have become foolish; A sword [is] on her mighty ones, And they have been broken down;

A sword is raised to attack her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is raised to attack her soldiers, and they will be terrified.

37 A sword [is] on his horses and on his chariot, And on all the rabble who [are] in her midst, And they have become women; A sword [is] on her treasuries, And they have been spoiled;

A sword is raised to attack her horses and chariots, along with all the foreign soldiers with her, and they will become like frightened women. A sword is raised to attack her stores of treasure, and they will be plundered.

38 A sword [is] on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it [is] a land of carved images, And they boast themselves in idols.

A drought has hit her rivers, and they will dry up. For it's a country full of pagan images. These horrible idols drive their worshipers mad.

39 Therefore desert-dwellers dwell with howlers, Indeed, daughters of the ostrich have dwelt in her, And it is not inhabited anymore forever, Nor dwelt in from generation to generation.

Consequently desert animals and hyenas will live there, and it will be a home for owls. It will be uninhabited forever—it won't be lived in from one generation to the next.

40 As the overthrow by God of Sodom, And of Gomorrah, and of its neighbors,” A declaration of YHWH, “None dwell there, Nor does a son of man sojourn in her.

In the same way that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, declares the Lord, no one will live there, no one will stay there.

41 Behold, a people has come from the north, Even a great nation, And many kings are stirred up from the sides of the earth.

Look! An army is advancing from the north. A great nation and many kings are coming against you from the distant lands.

42 They seize bow and javelin, They [are] cruel, and they have no mercy, Their voice sounds as a sea, and they ride on horses, Set in array as a man for battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

They're carrying bows and javelins. They are cruel and merciless. When they shout it's like the sea roaring. They ride on horses and attack in formation against you, people of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard their report, And his hands have been feeble, Distress has seized him; pain as a travailing woman.

The king of Babylon has heard the news and he's terrified. He's overcome with fear, in pain like a woman in labor.

44 Behold, he comes up as a lion, Because of the rising of the Jordan, To the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause them to run from off her. And who is chosen? I lay a charge on her, For who [is] like Me? And who convenes Me? And who [is] this shepherd who stands before Me?

Watch out! I'm going to come like a lion from the tangled undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack the animals grazing the green pasture. In fact I'm going to chase the Babylonians from their land very quickly. Who will I choose to conquer them? Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Which leader could oppose me?

45 Therefore, hear the counsel of YHWH, That He counseled concerning Babylon, And His plans that He has devised Concerning the land of the Chaldeans; Do little ones of the flock not drag them out, Does He not make the habitation desolate over them?

So listen to what the Lord has planned to do to Babylon and the country of Babylonia: Their children will be dragged away like lambs from the flock, and because of them their pasture will become a wasteland.

46 From the sound of Babylon having been captured, The earth has been shaken, And a cry has been heard among nations!”

The sound of Babylon's capture will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard throughout the nations.