Jeremiah 50

1 The word which Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, and concerning the land of the Chaldaeans, by 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 Tell ye among the nations, and proclaim, and lift up a standard! Proclaim ye; conceal it not; Say ye, “Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is in consternation, Her idols are confounded, Her images are in consternation.”

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 out of the North cometh up against her a nation Which shall make her land desolate, So that none shall dwell therein; Both man and beast are fled, They are 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, saith Jehovah, The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; They shall go weeping on their way, And shall seek Jehovah their God.

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 shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward; They shall come, and shall join themselves to Jehovah In a perpetual covenant, that shall not be 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 lost sheep; Their shepherds have caused them to go astray; They have caused them to wander upon the mountains; They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their fold.

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 that found them devoured them; For their adversaries said, “We shall not be held guilty,” Because they had sinned against Jehovah, The fold of safety, and the hope of their fathers, Jehovah.

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 Flee ye out of Babylon, And go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, And be ye like he-goats before the 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 will raise up and bring against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the land of the North, And they shall set themselves in array against her, And then shall she be taken; Their arrows shall be as those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain.

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 Chaldaea shall be a spoil; All that spoil her shall have their fill, saith Jehovah.

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

11 Because ye rejoiced and exulted, O ye plunderers of my inheritance, Because ye wantoned like a thrashing heifer, And neighed like a stallion,

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 is utterly confounded; She that bore you is put to shame. Behold, the end of the nations, A wilderness, a dry land, 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 Jehovah, she shall not be inhabited, She shall be wholly desolate; Every one that passeth by Babylon shall be amazed, And hiss on account 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 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her; Spare not the arrows! For she hath sinned against Jehovah.

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 Raise the war-shout! She reacheth forth her hand; Her pillars are fallen; Her walls are thrown down; For it is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take ye vengeance upon her! As she hath done, do ye 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 ye off the sower from Babylon, And him that handleth the sickle in harvest-time! Because of the overpowering sword They shall turn every one to his own people, And they shall flee every one to his own land.

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 hath been like scattered sheep, Which the lions have driven away; First the king of Assyria devoured him, And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath broken his bones.

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 saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria.

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 will bring back Israel to his own pasture, And he shall feed upon Carmel and Bashan, And satiate himself upon mount Ephraim and 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, saith Jehovah, The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I cause to be left.

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 Rebellion go ye up, And against the inhabitants of Vengeance! Lay waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, And do all which I have commanded thee!

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 The din of battle is in the land, And great destruction.

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

23 How is the battle-hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment to all the 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 thee, And thou hast been caught, O Babylon, When thou wast not aware! Thou hast been found and taken, Because thou hast contended against Jehovah.

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 Jehovah hath opened his armory, And hath brought out the weapons of his indignation; For the Lord Jehovah of hosts performeth a work against the land of the Chaldaeans.

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 against her from the utmost border! Open ye her barns, Cast her up into heaps, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left!

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 bullocks, Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe unto them, For their day is come, The time of their punishment!

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 The voice of them that flee and escape is heard from the land of Babylon, To make known to Zion the vengeance of Jehovah, our God, The vengeance for 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 Call together the archers against Babylon, All ye that bend the bow, encamp ye round about her; Let no one escape; Recompense her according to her work; According to all that she hath done, do ye to her! For she hath exalted herself against Jehovah, 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 shall her young men fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah.

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 thee, thou proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; For thy day is come, The time of thy punishment.

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 the proud one shall stumble and fall, And none shall raise him up; And I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it shall devour all round about 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 saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together, And all that took them captives hold them fast; They refuse to let them go.

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 But their redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name. He will maintain their cause, So as to give rest to the land, And confusion 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 The sword shall be upon the Chaldaeans, saith Jehovah, And upon the inhabitants of Babylon; And upon her princes, And upon 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 The sword upon her lying prophets, and they shall be fools; The sword upon her heroes, and they shall be dismayed;

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 The sword upon her horses, and upon her chariots, And against all the allied multitude that is within her, And they shall become women. The sword is upon their treasures, and they shall be plundered;

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 drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; For it is a land of graven images, And they put a mad trust 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 the wild beasts of the desert, with the jackals, shall dwell there, And therein shall the ostrich dwell. And it shall be no more inhabited forever, Neither shall it be 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 it was when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, There shall not a man abide there, Nor any son of man dwell therein.

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 nation cometh from the North, And a great people and many kings shall rise up from the extremities 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 bear the bow and the javelin; They are cruel, and show no mercy; Their voice roareth like the sea, And they ride upon horses, arrayed like a warrior, Against thee, 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 heareth the rumor concerning them, And his hands become feeble; Anguish taketh hold of him, Trembling, as of a woman in travail.

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, like a lion from the pride of Jordan, he cometh up against the habitation of the rock; Suddenly will I drive them from her; And him who is chosen by me will I appoint over her; For who is like me? And who will summon me to trial? And who is the shepherd that will stand up against 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 ye the purpose of Jehovah, which he hath formed against Babylon, And the designs which he meditateth against the land of the Chaldaeans; Surely he [[the enemy]] shall drag them forth like feeble sheep, Surely he will come upon them, and make their pastures desolate.

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 At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembleth, And the cry is heard among the nations.

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