Jeremiah 50
1 The word which Yahweh spake Against Babylon Against the land of the Chaldeans, through 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 let it be heard And lift ye up a standard, Let it be heard do not conceal: Say ye—Captured is Babylon, Confounded is Bel, Broken in pieces is Merodach, Confounded are her images, Broken down her manufactured gods;
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 there hath come up against her—a nation out of the North The same, shall make her land an astonishment, And there shall be none to dwell therein, —Both man and beast, have removed—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, Declareth Yahweh, Shall the sons of Israel come in, They and the sons of Judah together: Weeping as they travel, so shall they journey on, And Yahweh their God, shall they seek;
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 To Zion, shall they ask the way, Hitherward, their faces, Come and let us join ourselves unto Yahweh, In a covenant age-abiding, which 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 Wandering sheep, have my people, been, Their own shepherds led them astray, On the mountains, they seduced them, From mountain to hill, have they gone, They have forgotten their couching-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 who found them, devoured them, And, their adversaries, said—We shall not be, guilty, —Because they have sinned, Against, Yahweh the pasturage of righteousness, Yea the hope of their fathers—Yahweh.
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 Remove ye out of the midst of Babylon, And out of the land of the Chaldeans, come ye forth, —And become 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 lo! I am rousing and bringing up against Babylon a gathered host of great nations, out of the land of the North, And they shall array themselves against her, From thence, shall she be captured, —His arrows, are as of a hero making childless, None shall 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 So shall the Chaldeans become a spoil, —All her spoilers, shall be satisfied, Declareth Yahweh;
Babylonia will be plundered—everyone who plunders her will have plenty of loot, declares the Lord.
11 Because they used to be glad Because they used to be uproarious When plundering mine inheritance, —Because they used to caper about as a heifer at grass, And bellow like 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, hath turned very pale, She that bare you, hath turned red, —Lo! the last of nations, is—A desert, A parched land, and A waste plain,
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 vexation of Yahweh, she shall not be inhabited, But Shall become a complete desolation, —Every one passing by Babylon, shall be astonished and hiss, over 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 round about All ye who tread the bow, Shoot at her, do not spare so much as an arrow, —For against Yahweh, hath she sinned.
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 a shout against her round about She hath stretched forth her hand, Fallen are her buttresses, Torn down are her walls, —Because, the avenging of Yahweh it is, Take ye vengeance upon her, As she hath done, do ye, unto 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 graspeth the sickle in the time of harvest, From the face of the sword of the oppressor, Each, to his own people will they turn, and Each, to his own land will 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 A sheep all alone, is Israel Lions, have driven him away, —At the first, the king of Assyria devoured him, And here, at the last, Nebuchadrezzar 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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Behold me! bringing punishment against the king of Babylon, and against his land, —Just as I brought punishment against 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 So will I bring back Israel unto his own pasture, And he shall feed upon Carmel and Bashan; And in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead, shall, his soul, be satisfied.
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 in that time, Declareth Yahweh, The iniquity of Israel, shall be sought, and there shall be none, And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; For I will grant pardon to them whom I suffer to remain.
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 thou up against her, And against the inhabitants of Pekod, —Lay waste and devote to destruction after them Declareth Yahweh, And do according to 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 sound of battle is in the earth, —And a great destruction.
The noise of battle is heard in the country, the noise of terrible destruction.
23 How is cut and broken the hammer of all the earth! How hath Babylon become an astonishment among 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 laid a snare for thee yea and thou wast captured O Babylon, when, thou wast not aware, —Thou wast found out yea and taken, For with Yahweh, hadst thou contended.
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 Yahweh opened his armoury, and brought out his weapons of indignation, —For, a work, it is pertaining to My Lord, Yahweh 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 ye against her from farthest parts, Throw open her granaries, Cast her up as heaps, and devote her to destruction, —Do not let her have a 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 Cut up all her bullocks, Let them go down to the slaughter, —Alas for them! For their day, hath come, Their time for 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 who are in flight and Of such as are escaping, out of the land of Babylon, —To tell in Zion The avenging of Yahweh our God, The avenging 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 Publish against Babylon ye chiefs of all who tread the bow—Encamp against her round about Let there be none to escape, Recompense to her according to her work, According to all which she did, do ye to her, —For Against Yahweh, hath she acted presumptuously, 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 her broadways, —And, all her men of war, be silenced in that day, Declareth Yahweh.
As a result her young men will be killed in the streets; all her soldiers will die that day, declares the Lord.
31 Behold me! against thee most insolent one, Declareth My Lord Yahweh of hosts; For thy day, hath come, Thy time for 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 So shall the most insolent one stumble and fall, And he shall have none to lift him up, —And I will kindle a fire in his cities which shall devour all who are 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 Yahweh of hosts—Oppressed were the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, together, —And, all who took them captive, Held them fast Refused 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 Their Redeemer, can hold fast, Yahweh of hosts, is his name, He will, thoroughly plead, their plea, —That he may quiet the earth, And disquiet 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 over the Chaldeans, Declareth Yahweh, —And against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes, And against 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 against the praters, And they shall be shewn to be foolish, A sword, is against 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 A sword, is against his horses and against his chariots and, against all the rabble that are in her midst And they shall become women, —A sword, is against her treasures And they shall be made a prey:
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 against her waters, And they shall be dried up, —For a land of images, it is, And with their shocking things, they act as men who are mad:
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 shall the criers dwell with, the howlers, Yea ostriches, shall dwell therein, —So shall it be dwelt in no more for ever, Neither shall it be inhabited unto generation after 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 Like the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbours, Declareth Yahweh, —There shall not dwell there—a man, Nor sojourn therein—a son of the earth-born.
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 Lo! a people coming in from the North, —Yea, a great nation and many kings, shall be roused up out of the remote parts 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 Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, are they and will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And, on horses, will they ride, —Set in array, as one man for battle, 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 hath heard the report of them, And unnerved are his hands, —Anguish, hath seized him, Writhing pain, as a woman in child-birth.
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 Lo! as a lion, shall he come up from the majesty of the Jordan, Unto the pasture perennial, But I will wink—I will make them run away therefrom, Who then shall be the Chosen One whom against it, I may set in charge? For who shall be like unto, me? And who shall appoint me, a time? And who is the Shepherd that shall stand 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 ye, The counsel of Yahweh, which he hath counselled against Babylon, And his devices which he hath devised against the land of the Chaldeans, —Surely the little ones of the flock, shall drag them away, Surely he will cause the pasture to be astounded 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 At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembled, —And, the outcry, among the nations, was heard.
The sound of Babylon's capture will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard throughout the nations.
