Jeremiah 50

1 Yahweh gave to [me, ] Jeremiah the prophet, a message about Babylon [city] and the country of Babylonia.

The word which the Lord said about Babylon, about the land of the Chaldaeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 [This is what Yahweh says]: “Proclaim [DOU] [a message] among the nations; do not withhold any of it; raise up a signal flag to announce that Babylon will be captured. [Its chief god] Marduk, [whose other name is] Bel, will be completely disgraced, and all the [other] statues and idols will be shattered.

Give it out among the nations, make it public, and let the flag be lifted up; give the word and keep nothing back; say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is broken, her images are put to shame, her gods are broken.

3 [The army of] a nation will come from the north to attack Babylon and destroy the city very thoroughly, [with the result that] no one will live there [again]. Both people and animals will run away.”

For out of the north a nation is coming up against her, which will make her land waste and unpeopled: they are in flight, man and beast are gone.

4 “But [I, ] Yahweh, say that in the future, when that is about to happen, the people of Israel and the people of Judah will join together. They will be weeping and wanting [to worship] me, their God.

In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping and making prayer to the Lord their God.

5 They will inquire about the road to Jerusalem, [and then] they will start traveling [IDM] toward it. They will say [to each other], ‘We must return to Yahweh [again]!’ They will make an everlasting agreement with me that they will never forget.

They will be questioning about the way to Zion, with their faces turned in its direction, saying, Come, and be united to the Lord in an eternal agreement which will be kept in mind for ever.

6 My people have been [like] [MET] lost sheep. Their [leaders/rulers] have caused them [to abandon me] like [MET] shepherds who have allowed their sheep to wander in the hills and mountains. [My people are like] [MET] sheep that do not know the path to return to the sheepfold.

My people have been wandering sheep: their keepers have made them go out of the right way, turning them loose on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, having no memory of their resting-place.

7 All their enemies who found them attacked them. They said, ‘We did not sin [by attacking them], because they sinned against Yahweh; he is the one who provides what they need; he is the one to whom they should have remained faithful; he is the one whom their ancestors confidently expected [to help them].’

They have been attacked by all those who came across them: and their attackers said, We are doing no wrong, because they have done evil against the Lord in whom is righteousness, against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.

8 [But now, I say to the leaders of my people], ‘Flee from Babylon! Leave the land of Babylonia! Be like [SIM] male goats [that go] in front of [the rest of] the flock; [lead my people back to their own land].

Go in flight out of Babylon, go out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and be like he-goats before the flocks.

9 [Do that] because I am going to gather an army of great nations to the north [of Babylon]. They will join together to attack Babylon and will capture it. Their arrows will be like [SIM] skilled warriors that always hit what they aim at.

For see, I am moving and sending up against Babylon a band of great nations from the north country: and they will put their armies in position against her; and from there she will be taken: their arrows will be like those of an expert man of war; not one will come back without getting its mark.

10 Babylonia will be conquered, and those who conquer it will take away everything they want. [That will surely happen because I, ] Yahweh, have said it.’”

And the wealth of Chaldaea will come into the hands of her attackers: all those who take her wealth will have enough, says the Lord.

11 “You people [of Babylon] who (plundered/stole everything valuable from) my chosen people, now you are very happy [DOU]. You run around joyfully like [SIM] a calf in a meadow, and are happy like [SIM] male horses are happy when they are neighing.

Because you are glad, because you are lifted up with pride, you wasters of my heritage, because you are playing like a young cow put out to grass, and you make a noise like strong horses;

12 But [soon] your people will be very disgraced [DOU] [as a result of being conquered]. Your country will be the most insignificant nation; it will be a desert, a dry and deserted land.

Your mother will be put to shame; she who gave you birth will be looked down on: see, she will be the last of the nations, a waste place, a dry and unwatered land.

13 Because [I, ] Yahweh, am angry [with you people of Babylon], I will cause your city to become completely deserted. All who pass by will be horrified and will (gasp/be shocked) because of the destruction there.

Because of the wrath of the Lord no one will be living in it, and it will be quite unpeopled: everyone who goes by Babylon will be overcome with wonder, and make sounds of fear at all her punishments.

14 [All you nations that surround Babylon, ] prepare to attack it! Tell your archers to shoot at their enemies; shoot all of your arrows at them [LIT], because [the people/leaders of Babylon have sinned against me, ] Yahweh.

Put your armies in position against Babylon on every side, all you bowmen; let loose your arrows at her, not keeping any back: for she has done evil against the Lord.

15 Shout [war-cries] against Babylon from all sides [of the city]. [The soldiers of] Babylon will surrender; the towers and walls will be torn down. It is [I, ] Yahweh, who will be getting revenge [on the people of Babylon], [so help me to] get revenge. Do to [the people of] Babylon what they have done to others!

Give a loud cry against her on every side; she has given herself up, her supports are overturned, her walls are broken down: for it is the payment taken by the Lord; give her payment; as she has done, so do to her.

16 Take away from Babylon those who plant [crops] and those who reap the harvests! Because of the swords carried by those who will attack [Babylon], [those people in Babylon who have come from other countries] should all run away, back to their own countries [DOU]!”

Let the planter of seed be cut off from Babylon, and everyone using the curved blade at the time of the grain-cutting: for fear of the cruel sword, everyone will be turned to his people, everyone will go in flight to his land.

17 “The Israeli [people] are [like] [MET] sheep that have been scattered by lions. First [the army of] the King of Assyria defeated them. Then [the army of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon smashed them.

Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have been driving him away: first he was attacked by the king of Assyria, and now his bones have been broken by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.

18 So this is what I, the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli people [worship], say: ‘Now I will punish the King of Babylon and the people of his land, like I punished the King of Assyria.

So this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, I will send punishment on the king of Babylon and on his land, as I have given punishment to the king of Assyria.

19 And I will bring the people of Israel back to their own land where they will eat [the food that grows] in the fields of the Carmel and Bashan [regions], and [the people in] the hilly areas of Ephraim and Gilead will have all they want to eat.

And I will make Israel come back to his resting-place, and he will get his food on Carmel and Bashan, and have his desire in full measure on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

20 At that time, there will not be people in Israel and in Judah who [are still guilty for having] sinned [DOU], because I will forgive the small group of people whom I enable to still be alive.’”

In those days and in that time, says the Lord, when the evil-doing of Israel is looked for, there will be nothing; and in Judah no sins will be seen: for I will have forgiveness for those whom I will keep safe.

21 “[So, I, Yahweh, say to the enemies of Babylonia, ]‘Attack [the people who live in] the Merathaim [region] and the people in the Pekod [region of Babylonia]. Pursue them, kill them, and completely get rid of them, as I have commanded you to do.

Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the people of Pekod; put them to death and send destruction after them, says the Lord, and do everything I have given you orders to do.

22 Shout your battle cries throughout the land; shout [when you are causing] great destruction.

There is a sound of war in the land and of great destruction.

23 [The army of Babylon is like] [MET] the most powerful hammer on the earth, but it will be completely shattered. Babylon will be deserted among the [other] nations.’

How is the hammer of all the earth cut in two and broken! how has Babylon become a waste among the nations!

24 You [people of] Babylon, [listen, ] [because] I have set a trap for you; you will be caught [in that trap], because you fought against me.

I have put a net for you, and you have been taken, O Babylon, without your knowledge: you have been uncovered and taken because you were fighting against the Lord.

25 [It is as though] I have opened the place where I store my weapons, and I have brought out [all] the weapons [to use against the people with whom] I am angry. [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, have [a lot of] work to do [to punish] the people of Babylonia.

From his store-house the Lord has taken the instruments of his wrath: for the Lord, the Lord of armies, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldaeans.

26 [So, you enemies of Babylonia, ] come from distant lands and attack it. Break open the places where they store the grain. Crush the walls of the city and the houses and pile up [the rubble like] [SIM] heaps of grain. Destroy everything; do not leave anything that is not destroyed.

Come up against her one and all, let her store-houses be broken open: make her into a mass of stones, give her to the curse, till there is nothing of her to be seen.

27 Destroy all the [young men who are as strong as] [MET] bulls; take them to where you will slaughter them. It will be terrible for them, because it will be time for them to be punished.

Put all her oxen to the sword; let them go down to death: sorrow is theirs, for their day has come, the time of their punishment.

28 Listen to the people who have fled and escaped from Babylon while they tell in Jerusalem how [I, ] Yahweh, have gotten revenge against those who destroyed my temple [in Jerusalem].

The voice of those who are in flight, who have got away safe from the land of Babylon, to give news in Zion of punishment from the Lord our God, even payment for his Temple.

29 Summon archers [DOU] to come to attack Babylon; surround the city in order that no one will escape. Do to [the people of] Babylon what they have done to others [DOU], because they have defied [me, ] the Holy One of the Israeli [people].

Send for the archers to come together against Babylon, all the bowmen; put up your tents against her on every side; let no one get away: give her the reward of her work; as she has done, so do to her: for she has been uplifted in pride against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 The young men of Babylon will fall in the streets; all their soldiers will be killed in one day.

For this cause her young men will be falling in her streets, and all her men of war will be cut off in that day, says the Lord.

31 [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: ‘You arrogant/proud people, it is now the time; it is the time [DOU] when I will punish you.

See, I am against you, O pride, says the Lord, the Lord of armies, for your day has come, the time when I will send punishment on you.

32 [Your land is full of] proud people, but you will stumble and fall, and no one will lift you up [again]. I will light a fire in the cities in Babylonia that will burn up everything that is nearby.’

And pride will go with uncertain steps and have a fall, and there will be no one to come to his help: and I will put a fire in his towns, burning up everything round about him.

33 [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, also say this: ‘The people of Israel and Judah were (oppressed/treated cruelly); those who captured them guarded them carefully and would not allow them to leave [Babylon].

This is what the Lord of armies has said: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are crushed down together: all those who took them prisoner keep them in a tight grip; they will not let them go.

34 But I am strong, and I will free them. I am the Commander of the armies of angels; I will defend my people and enable them [to return to] their land where they will have peace, but the people of Babylonia will not have peace.

Their saviour is strong; the Lord of armies is his name: he will certainly take up their cause, so that he may give rest to the earth and trouble to the people of Babylon.

35 [I will send enemy soldiers carrying] swords [PRS] to strike the people of Babylonia; they will strike the officials and wise men and all the [other] people who live in Babylon.

A sword is on the Chaldaeans, says the Lord, and on the people of Babylon, and on her rulers and on her wise men.

36 They will strike their false prophets with swords and they will become foolish. They will strike the [strongest] warriors of Babylonia, and they will all be terrified.

A sword is on the men of pride, and they will become foolish: a sword is on her men of war, and they will be broken.

37 They will strike their horses and chariots and the foreigners who are in the army of Babylonia, and they will [all] become [as weak] as [MET] women. They will seize [MTY] all the valuable things there in Babylon and take them away.

A sword is on all the mixed people in her, and they will become like women: a sword is on her store-houses, and they will be taken by her attackers.

38 [I] cause the streams to become dry. [I will do all those things] because the [entire] land [of Babylonia] is filled with idols, and those [horrible] idols have caused the people [who worship them] to become crazy.

A sword is on her waters, drying them up; for it is a land of images, and their minds are fixed on false gods.

39 [Soon only] hyenas and [other] wild creatures will live there; and it will be a place where owls live. People will never live there again; it will be uninhabited forever [DOU].

For this reason the beasts of the waste land with the wolves will make their holes there and the ostriches will be living in it: never again will men be living there, it will be unpeopled from generation to generation.

40 [I will destroy Babylon] like I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns; no one will [ever] live there [again] [DOU].

As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbouring towns were overturned by God, says the Lord, so no man will be living in it, and no son of man will have a resting-place there.

41 Look! A [great] army will come from the north. A great nation far away with many kings is preparing [to attack you people of Babylon].

See, a people is coming from the north; a great nation and a number of kings will be put in motion from the inmost parts of the earth.

42 Their [army] has bows [and arrows] and spears; they are [very] cruel, and do not act mercifully [to anyone]. [As] they ride along on [their] horses, the sound of the horses’ hooves is like [SIM] the roaring of the ocean [waves]; they are riding in battle formation to attack you, you people of Babylon.

Bows and spears are in their hands; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice is like the thunder of the sea, and they go on horses; everyone in his place like men going to the fight, against you, O daughter of Babylon.

43 The King of Babylon says, “[I] have heard reports about the enemy [approaching]; [so I am very frightened, with the result that] I am weak. I am [very fearful, and] anguished/worried, like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth to a baby.”

The king of Babylon has had news of them, and his hands have become feeble: trouble has come on him and pain like the pain of a woman in childbirth.

44 I, [Yahweh], will come to Babylon [suddenly] like a lion comes out of the jungle and [leaps on the sheep that are eating] the good pastureland. I will quickly chase the people of Babylonia from their land. And [then] I will appoint for them [a leader] whom I will choose; [I will do that] because there is no one [RHQ] like me who can say that what I have done is not right. No ruler can [RHQ] oppose me.

See, he will come up like a lion from the thick growth of Jordan against the resting-place of Teman: but I will suddenly make them go in flight from her; and I will put over her the man of my selection: for who is like me? and who will put forward his cause against me? and what keeper of sheep will keep his place before me?

45 Listen to what I have planned to do to the people of Babylon [city] and the rest of Babylonia: [even] the little children will be dragged away, and I will completely destroy the people [MET] who live there.

So give ear to the decision of the Lord which he has made against Babylon, and to his purposes designed against the land of the Chaldaeans; Truly, they will be pulled away by the smallest of the flock; truly, he will make waste their fields with them.

46 When Babylon is destroyed, the noise will be extremely loud, with the result that the earth will shake, and the wailing of the people will be heard by the [people of other] nations.’”

At the cry, Babylon is taken! the earth is shaking, and the cry comes to the ears of the nations.