Jeremiah 51
1 Thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of Leb, My withstanders, 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 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.
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 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.
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 wounded have fallen in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.
So shall they fall wounded in the land of Chaldea, —Yea thrust through, in her streets,
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Babylon has suddenly fallen, Indeed, she is broken, howl for her, Take balm for her pain, 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 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 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 YHWH has brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of our God YHWH.
Yahweh hath brought forth our righteousnesses, —Come and let us relate in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.
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.
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 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.
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 dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Your end has come—the measure of your dishonest gain.
O thou who dwellest upon many waters, Who aboundest in treasures, —Come hath thine end! The measure of thine unrighteous gain!
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.
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 Making [the] earth by His power, Establishing [the] world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding 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 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.
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 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.
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—a work of errors, They perish in the time of their inspection.
Vanity, they are, A handiwork of mockeries, —In the time of their visitation, shall they perish.
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.
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 You [are] My shatterer—weapons of war, And I have broken in pieces nations by you, And I have destroyed kingdoms by you,
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 have broken in pieces horse and its rider by you, And I have broken in pieces chariot and its charioteer by you,
and Beat down with thee—the horse and his rider, —and Beat down with thee—the chariot and its rider;
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,
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 the passages have been captured, And they have burned the reeds with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.
and The fords, have been seized, and The reeds, have they burned with fire; and The men of war, are dismayed!
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 said YHWH: Behold, I am pleading your cause, And I have avenged your vengeance, And dried up her sea, and made her fountains dry.
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 has been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
Thus shall Babylon become—Heaps A habitation of jackals An astonishment, and A hissing, Without inhabitant.
38 They roar together as young lions, They have shaken themselves as lions’ whelps.
Together, like wild lions, shall they roar, —They have growled like lions’ whelps.
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.
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 cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with male goats.
I will bring them down As fat lambs to slaughter, —As rams with he-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 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 has come up over Babylon, She has been covered with a multitude of its billows.
The sea, hath gone up over Babylon, —With the multitude of its rolling waves, is she covered.
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.
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 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.
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 forth from her midst, O My people, And let each deliver his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH,
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 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;
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, 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.
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 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 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 “As Babylon [has caused the] pierced of Israel to fall, So they of Babylon have fallen, You pierced of all the earth.
Not only hath Babylon, caused the fall of the slain of Israel, —By Babylon, also have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50 You escaped of the sword, go on, do not stand, Remember YHWH from afar, And let Jerusalem come up on 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 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 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,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have seen after her carved images, And the wounded groan in all her land.
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 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.
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 voice of a cry [is] from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.
A voice of outcry from Babylon! And a great crash from the land of the Chaldeans!
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, 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 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.
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 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.
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 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!”
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 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;
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 writes all the calamity that comes to Babylon on one scroll—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 says to Seraiah, “When you enter Babylon, then you have seen, and have 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 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 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 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,
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 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 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.
