Jeremiah 51
1 Thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of Leb, My withstanders, 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 have sent fanners to Babylon, And they have fanned her, and they empty her land, For they have been against her, All around—in the day of evil.
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 Do not let the treader tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, Nor have pity on her young men, Devote all her host to destruction.
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 the wounded have fallen in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.
They will fall down wounded in her streets, killed in the country of Babylonia.
5 For Israel and Judah are not forsaken By his God—by YHWH of Hosts, For their land has been 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 from the midst of Babylon, And let each deliver his soul, Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For it [is] a time of vengeance for YHWH—His, He is rendering repayment to her.
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 [is] a golden cup in the hand of YHWH, Making all the earth drunk, Nations have drunk of her wine, Therefore nations boast themselves.
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 has suddenly fallen, Indeed, she is broken, howl for her, Take balm for her pain, perhaps 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 healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For her judgment has come to the heavens, And it has been lifted up to the clouds.
“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 YHWH has brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of our God YHWH.
The Lord has encouraged and supported us. Come on, let's tell people here in Jerusalem what the Lord has done for us!”
11 Cleanse the arrows, fill the shields, YHWH has stirred up the spirit of the kings of Media, For His purpose [is] against Babylon to destroy her, For it [is] the vengeance of YHWH, 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 Lift up an ensign to the walls of Babylon, Strengthen the watch, Establish the watchers, prepare the ambush, For YHWH has 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 dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Your end has come—the measure of your dishonest gain.
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 YHWH of Hosts has sworn by Himself, That, Surely I have filled you [with] men as the cankerworm, And they have cried against you—shouting.
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 Making [the] earth by His power, Establishing [the] world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding stretched out the heavens,
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 voice He gives forth, A multitude of waters [are] in the heavens, And He causes vapors to come up from the end of the earth, He has made lightnings for rain, And He brings out wind from His treasures.
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 has been brutish by knowledge, Everyone has been put to shame—from refining a carved image, For 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 errors, They perish in the time of their inspection.
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 forming the whole, And [Israel is] the tribe of His inheritance, YHWH 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 You [are] My shatterer—weapons of war, And I have broken in pieces nations by you, And I have destroyed kingdoms by you,
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 I have broken in pieces horse and its rider by you, And I have broken in pieces chariot and its charioteer by you,
I use you to destroy horses and their riders; I use you to destroy chariots and their drivers.
22 And I have broken in pieces man and woman by you, And I have broken in pieces old and young by you, And I have broken in pieces young man and virgin by you,
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 I have broken in pieces shepherd and his drove by you, And I have broken in pieces farmer and his team by you, And I have broken in pieces governors and prefects by you.
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 have repaid to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyes,” a declaration of YHWH.
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 you, O destroying mountain,” A declaration of YHWH, “That is destroying all the earth, And I have stretched out My hand against you, And I have rolled you from the rocks, And given you for 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 do not take out of you a stone for a corner, And a stone for foundations, For you are continuous desolations,” A declaration of YHWH.
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 “Lift up an ensign in the land, Blow a horn among nations, Sanctify nations against it, Summon against it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, Appoint an infant head against it, Cause the horse to ascend as the rough cankerworm.
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 Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its 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 shakes, and it is pained, For the purposes of YHWH have stood 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 of Babylon have ceased to fight, They have remained in strongholds, Their might has failed, they have become [as] women, They have burned her dwelling places, Her bars have been 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 Runner runs to meet runner, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For his city has been captured—at the extremity.
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 passages have been captured, And they have burned the reeds with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.
the river crossings have been captured, the marshlands set on fire and his soldiers are panicking.
33 For thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon [is] as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshing—yet a little [while], And the time of her harvest has come.
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 Devoured us, crushed us, has Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, He has set us [as] an empty vessel, He has swallowed us as a dragon, He has filled his belly with my delicacies, He has driven us away.
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 My wrong, and [that of] my flesh, [is] on Babylon—The inhabitant of Zion says; And my blood [is] on the inhabitants of Chaldea—Jerusalem says.
“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 said YHWH: Behold, I am pleading your cause, And I have avenged your vengeance, And dried up her sea, and made her fountains 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 has been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, 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 roar together as young lions, They have shaken themselves as lions’ whelps.
The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs.
39 In their heat I make their banquets, And I have caused them to drink, so that they exult, And have slept a continuous sleep, And do not awaken,” a declaration of YHWH.
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 cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with male goats.
I will take them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and goats.
41 How Sheshach has been captured, Indeed, the praise of the whole earth is caught, How Babylon has been for an astonishment among 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 has come up over Babylon, She has been covered with a multitude of its billows.
It's as if the sea has flooded over Babylon, covering her in crashing waves.
43 Her cities have been for a desolation, A dry land, and a wilderness, A land—none dwell in them, Nor does a son of man pass over into them.
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 have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed—from his mouth, And nations no longer flow to him, Also the wall of Babylon has fallen.
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 Go forth from her midst, O My people, And let each deliver his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH,
My people, come out of her! Each one of you, save yourselves from the Lord's furious anger.
46 And lest your heart be tender, And you are afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And the report has come in [one] year, And after it [another] report in [another] year, And violence [is] 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, days are coming, And I have seen after the carved images of Babylon. And all its land is ashamed, And all its pierced ones fall in its midst.
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 And heavens and earth and all that [is] in them Have cried aloud against Babylon, For the spoilers come to her from the north,” A declaration of YHWH.
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 [has caused the] pierced of Israel to fall, So they of Babylon have fallen, You pierced of all the earth.
Babylon has to fall because of the Israelites and people of other nations she killed.
50 You escaped of the sword, go on, do not stand, Remember YHWH from afar, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.
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 have been ashamed, for we heard reproach, Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come in against the sanctuaries of the house of YHWH.
“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 Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have seen after her carved images, And the wounded groan in all her land.
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 Because Babylon goes up to the heavens, And because she fortifies the high place of her strength, Spoilers come into her from Me,” A declaration of YHWH.
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 “A voice of a cry [is] from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.
A cry comes from Babylon; the noise of terrible destruction comes from the country of Babylonia.
55 For YHWH is spoiling Babylon, And has destroyed her great voice, And her billows have sounded as many waters, Their voice has given forth a noise.
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 a spoiler has come in against her—against Babylon, And her mighty ones have been captured, Their bows have been broken, For the God of recompenses—YHWH—certainly repays.
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 have caused her princes to drink, And her wise men, her governors, And her prefects, and her mighty ones, And they have slept a continuous sleep, And they do not awaken—an affirmation of the King, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.
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 said YHWH of Hosts: The wall of Babylon—The broad one—is made utterly bare, And her high gates are burned with fire, And peoples labor in vain, And nations in fire, and have been 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 that Jeremiah the prophet has commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, in his going with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign—and Seraiah [is] a quiet prince;
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 writes all the calamity that comes to Babylon on one scroll—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 says to Seraiah, “When you enter Babylon, then you have seen, and have read all these words,
Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read out loud everything written here,
62 and have said: YHWH, You have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that there is none dwelling in it, from man even to livestock, for it is a continuous desolation.
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 has come to pass, when you finish reading this scroll, you bind a stone to it, and have 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 said, Thus Babylon sinks, and she does not arise, because of the calamity that I am bringing in against it, and they have been weary.” Until now [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.
