Jeremiah 51
1 Thus says the LORD: "Look, I will raise up against Babylon, and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, 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 I will send to Babylon foreigners who shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her around.
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 him who bends the bow bend it; nor not let him rise up in his armor. And do not spare her young men; utterly destroy all her army.
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 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.
They will fall down wounded in her streets, killed in the country of Babylonia.
5 "For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land is 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 out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; do not be cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render to her a recompense.
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 has been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, who made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
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 is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be 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 would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.'
“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 'The LORD has brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.'
The Lord has encouraged and supported us. Come on, let's tell people here in Jerusalem what the Lord has done for us!”
11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: the LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of the LORD, 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 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has both purposed 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 You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
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 The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself, saying, "Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you."
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 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he 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 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the farthest parts of the earth; he makes lightning for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasuries.
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 become brutish without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his 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 delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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 the maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD 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 battle axe and weapons of war: and with you will I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms;
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 with you will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and its rider.
I use you to destroy horses and their riders; I use you to destroy chariots and their drivers.
22 And with you will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;
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 with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke; and with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies.
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 I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight," says the LORD.
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 "Look, I am against you, destroying mountain," says the LORD, "which destroys all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand on you, and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you 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 They shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever," says the LORD.
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 Set up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker worm.
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 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their 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 The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of the LORD against Babylon do stand, 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 men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might has failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are 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 One runner will run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:
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 are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are frightened.
the river crossings have been captured, the marshlands set on fire and his soldiers are panicking.
33 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
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 'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster, swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he has cast me out.
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 The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,' shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, 'My blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,' shall Jerusalem say.
“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 says the LORD: "Look, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain 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 Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, 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 shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' cubs.
The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs.
39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunk, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake," says the LORD.
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 will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
I will take them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and goats.
41 How is Sheshach taken, and the praise of the whole earth seized. How is Babylon become a desolation among the 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 on Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
It's as if the sea has flooded over Babylon, covering her in crashing waves.
43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby.
The towns of Babylonia are in ruins, turned into a dry desert wasteland where no one lives—no one even passes by.
44 I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall."
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 "My people, go away from the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of the LORD.
My people, come out of her! Each one of you, save yourselves from the Lord's furious anger.
46 Do not let your heart faint, neither fear for the news that shall be heard in the land; for news shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come news, and violence 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 look, the days come, that I will execute judgment on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
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 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come to her from the north," says the LORD.
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 slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.
Babylon has to fall because of the Israelites and people of other nations she killed.
50 You who have escaped the sword, go, do not stand still; remember the LORD from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
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 are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion has covered our faces: for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house."
“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 look, the days come," says the LORD, "that I will execute judgment on her engraved images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
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 Though Babylon should mount up to the sky, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come to her," says the LORD.
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 "The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans."
A cry comes from Babylon; the noise of terrible destruction comes from the country of Babylonia.
55 For the LORD lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:
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 the destroyer has come on her, even on Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for the LORD is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.
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 "I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up," says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
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 says the LORD of hosts: "The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be 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 which Jeremiah the prophet commanded 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 reign. Now Seraiah was chief quartermaster.
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 Jeremiah wrote in a scroll all the evil that should come on Babylon, even 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 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words,
Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read out loud everything written here,
62 and say, 'LORD, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor animal, but that it shall be desolate forever.'
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 It shall be, when you have made an end of reading this scroll, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Perath:
After you finish reading this scroll out loud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
64 and you shall say, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they shall be weary.'" Thus far 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.
