Jeremiah 51
1 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;
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 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.
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 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.
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 So shall they fall wounded in the land of Chaldea, —Yea thrust through, in her streets,
They will fall down wounded in her streets, killed in the country of Babylonia.
5 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
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 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.
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 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.
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 Suddenly, hath Babylon fallen and been broken, —Howl ye over her Fetch balsam for her pain, Peradventure she shall 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, 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.
“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 Yahweh hath brought forth our righteousnesses, —Come and let us relate in Zion the work of Yahweh 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 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.
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 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.
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 thou who dwellest upon many waters, Who aboundest in treasures, —Come hath thine end! The measure of thine unrighteous 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 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.
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 that Made the earth in his might, Established the world in his wisdom, —And in 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 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.
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 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:
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 Vanity, they are, A handiwork of mockeries, —In the time of their visitation, shall they perish.
They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
19 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.
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 A war-club, art thou for me, Weapons of war; Therefore will I Beat down with thee—nations, and Destroy with thee—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 Beat down with thee—the horse and his rider, —and Beat down with thee—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 Beat down with thee—man and woman, and Beat down with thee—elder and youth, and Beat down with thee—young man and 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 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:
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 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.
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 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:
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 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.
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 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:
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 Hallow against her—nations, With the kings of Media, With her governors and all her deputies, —And with all the land of his 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 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.
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 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!
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 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!
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 fords, have been seized, and The reeds, have they burned with fire; and The men of war, are dismayed!
the river crossings have been captured, the marshlands set on fire and his soldiers are panicking.
33 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.
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 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!
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 upon Babylon! Shall the inhabitress of Zion say, —Yea, my blood, be upon the inhabitant 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, 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:
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 Thus shall Babylon become—Heaps A habitation of 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 Together, like wild lions, shall they roar, —They have growled like lions’ whelps.
The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs.
39 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.
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 As fat lambs to slaughter, —As rams with he-goats.
I will take them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and goats.
41 How hath Sheshach, been captured! How hath the praise of all the earth been seized! How hath Babylon become an astonishment 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, hath gone up over Babylon, —With the multitude of its rolling waves, is she covered.
It's as if the sea has flooded over Babylon, covering her in crashing waves.
43 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!
The towns of Babylonia are in ruins, turned into a dry desert wasteland where no one lives—no one even passes by.
44 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!
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 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.
My people, come out of her! Each one of you, save yourselves from the Lord's furious anger.
46 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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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 Not only hath Babylon, caused the fall of the slain of Israel, —By Babylon, also have fallen the slain of all the earth.
Babylon has to fall because of the Israelites and people of other nations she killed.
50 Ye that have escaped the sword, depart do not stand still, —Remember, from afar Yahweh, 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 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!
“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, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will bring punishment upon her images; And throughout all her land, shall the pierced one 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 the heavens, And though she should fortify her strong high-place, From me, should come spoilers unto her Declareth Yahweh.
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 outcry from Babylon! And a great crash from the land of the Chaldeans!
A cry comes from Babylon; the noise of terrible destruction comes from the country of Babylonia.
55 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Then said Jeremiah unto Seraiah, —When thou comest into Babylon, then shalt thou look out and read all these words;
Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read out loud everything written here,
62 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!
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 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,
After you finish reading this scroll out loud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
64 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.
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.
