Jeremiah 51
1 “Yahweh says this: See, I am about to stir up a wind of destruction against Babylon and against those who live in Leb Kamai.
The Lord has said: See, I will make a wind of destruction come up against Babylon and against those who are living in Chaldaea;
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon. They will scatter her and devastate her land, for they will come against her from all around on the day of disaster.
And I will send men to Babylon to make her clean and get her land cleared: for in the day of trouble they will put up their tents against her on every side.
3 Do not let the archers bend their bows; do not let them put on armor. Do not spare her young men; set her whole army apart for destruction.
Against her the bow of the archer is bent, and he puts on his coat of metal: have no mercy on her young men, give all her army up to the curse.
4 For the wounded people will fall in the land of the Chaldeans; those who are killed will fall in her streets.
And the dead will be stretched out in the land of the Chaldaeans, and the wounded in her streets.
5 For Israel and Judah are not forsaken by their God, by Yahweh of hosts, although their land is filled with offenses committed against the Holy One of Israel.
For Israel has not been given up, or Judah, by his God, by the Lord of armies; for their land is full of sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon; let each man save himself. Do not perish in her iniquity. For it is the time of Yahweh's vengeance. He will repay all of it to her.
Go in flight out of Babylon, so that every man may keep his life; do not be cut off in her evil-doing: for it is the time of the Lord's punishment; he will give her her reward.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh that made all the world drunk; nations drank her wine and became insane.
Babylon has been a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, which has made all the earth overcome with wine: the nations have taken of her wine, and for this cause the nations have gone off their heads.
8 Babylon will fall suddenly and be destroyed. Wail for her! Give her medicine for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
Sudden is the downfall of Babylon and her destruction: make cries of grief for her; take sweet oil for her pain, if it is possible for her to be made well.
9 'We wished to heal Babylon, but she is not healed. Let us all leave her and go away, to our own land. For her guilt reaches up to the heavens; it is piled up to the clouds.
We would have made Babylon well, but she is not made well: give her up, and let us go everyone to his country: for her punishment is stretching up to heaven, and lifted up even to the skies.
10 Yahweh has declared our innocence. Come, let us tell in Zion the deeds of Yahweh our God.'
The Lord has made clear our righteousness: come, and let us give an account in Zion of the work of the Lord our God.
11 Sharpen the arrows and take up the shields. Yahweh is stirring up the spirit of the king of the Medes in a plan to destroy Babylon. This is for Yahweh's vengeance, vengeance for the destruction of his temple.
Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple.
12 Lift up a banner over Babylon's walls; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD will do what he has said concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
Let the flag be lifted up against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, put the watchmen in their places, make ready a surprise attack: for it is the Lord's purpose, and he has done what he said about the people of Babylon.
13 You people who live by many streams of water, you people who are rich with treasures, your end has come. The thread of your life is now cut short.
O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.
14 Yahweh of hosts has sworn by his own life, 'I will fill you with men, like a swarm of locusts, and they will raise a battle cry against you.'
The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you.
15 He has made the earth by his power; he set in place the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out:
16 When he thunders, there is the roar of waters in the heavens, for he brings up the mist from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for rain and sends out wind from his storehouses.
At the sound of his voice there is a massing of the waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain and sends out the wind from his store-houses.
17 Every man has become ignorant, without knowledge. Every metalworker is put to shame by his idols. For his cast images are frauds, and there is no life in them.
Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.
18 They are useless, the work of mockers; they will perish at the time of their punishment.
They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.
19 But God, the portion of Jacob, is not like these, for he is the molder of all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; Yahweh of hosts is his name.
The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.
20 You are my war hammer, my weapon for battle. With you I will smash nations and destroy kingdoms.
You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;
21 With you I will smash horses and their riders; with you I will smash chariots and their drivers.
With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken;
22 With you I will smash each man and woman; with you I will smash the old and the young. With you I will smash the young men and the virgin girls.
With you man and woman will be broken; with you the old man and the boy will be broken; with you the young man and the virgin will be broken;
23 With you I will smash the shepherds and their flocks; with you I will smash the plowmen and their teams. With you I will smash the governors and officials.
With you the keeper of sheep with his flock will be broken, and with you the farmer and his oxen will be broken, and with you captains and rulers will be broken.
24 For in your sight I will pay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all of the evil that they did in Zion—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldaea, their reward for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says the Lord.
25 See, I am against you, mountain of destruction—this is Yahweh's declaration—which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.
See, I am against you, says the Lord, O mountain of destruction, causing the destruction of all the earth: and my hand will be stretched out on you, rolling you down from the rocks, and making you a burned mountain.
26 So they will not take from you any stone to construct a building's corner or foundation; for you will become an everlasting devastation—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And they will not take from you a stone for the angle of a wall or the base of a building; but you will be a waste place for ever, says the Lord.
27 Lift up a banner over the earth. Blow the trumpet over the nations. Call the nations to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to attack her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts.
28 Prepare the nations to attack her: The kings of the Medes and his governors, all of his officials and all the lands under his rule.
Make the nations ready for war against her, the king of the Medes and his rulers and all his captains, and all the land under his rule.
29 For the land will shake and be in anguish, since Yahweh's plans continue against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a wasteland where there is no inhabitant.
And the land is shaking and in pain: for the purposes of the Lord are fixed, to make the land of Babylon an unpeopled waste.
30 The soldiers in Babylon have stopped fighting; they stay in their strongholds. Their strength has failed; they have become women—her homes are on fire, the bars of her gates are broken.
Babylon's men of war have kept back from the fight, waiting in their strong places; their strength has given way, they have become like women: her houses have been put on fire, her locks are broken.
31 A messenger runs to proclaim to another messenger, and a runner tells another runner to report to the king of Babylon that his city has been taken from end to end.
One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter:
32 So the fords over the river are seized; the enemy is burning the reed marshes, and Babylon's fighting men are confused.
And the ways across the river have been taken, and the water-holes ... burned with fire, and the men of war are in the grip of fear.
33 For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor. It is time to trample her down. In a little while the time of harvest will come to her.
For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come.
34 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, he has driven me into confusion and has made me an empty pot. Like a monster he has swallowed me, he has filled his stomach with my delicious foods, and then he has spit me out.'
Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth.
35 The one who lives in Zion will say, 'May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon.' Jerusalem will say, 'May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea.'
May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say.
36 Therefore Yahweh says this: See, I am about to plead your case and bring about vengeance for you. For I will dry up Babylon's waters and make her springs run dry.
For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water.
37 Babylon will become heaps of rubble, a den of jackals, a horror, an object of hissing, where there are no inhabitants.
And Babylon will become a mass of broken walls, a hole for jackals, a cause of wonder and surprise, without a living man in it.
38 The Babylonians will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lion cubs.
They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.
39 When they become hot with greed, I will make a feast for them; I will make them drunk so they become happy, and then sleep an unending sleep and not wake up—this is Yahweh's declaration—
When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord.
40 I will send them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together.
41 How Babylon has been captured! So the praise of all the earth is seized. How Babylon has become a ruined place among the nations.
How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations!
42 The sea has come up over Babylon! She is covered with its roaring waves.
The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves.
43 Her cities have become a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness, a land that no one inhabits, and no human being passes through.
Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by.
44 So I will punish Bel in Babylon; I will bring out from his mouth what he swallowed, and the nations will no longer flow to him with their offerings. The walls of Babylon will fall.
And I will send punishment on Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what went into it; no longer will the nations be flowing together to him: truly, the wall of Babylon will come down.
45 Go out from her midst, my people. Let each of you save his own life from the fury of my wrath.
My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord.
46 Do not let your hearts be timid or fear the news that is heard in the land, for the news will come one year. After it in the next year there will be news, and violence will be in the land. Ruler will be against ruler.
So that your hearts may not become feeble and full of fear because of the news which will go about in the land; for a story will go about one year, and after that in another year another story, and violent acts in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, see, days are coming when I will punish the carved idols of Babylon. All of her land will be ashamed, and all of her slaughtered ones will fall in her midst.
For this cause, truly, the days are coming when I will send punishment on the images of Babylon, and all her land will be shamed, and her dead will be falling down in her.
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them will rejoice over Babylon. For destroyers will come for her from the north—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And the heaven and the earth and everything in them, will make a song of joy over Babylon: for those who make her waste will come from the north, says the Lord.
49 As Babylon has made the killed of Israel fall, so the killed of all her land will fall in Babylon.
As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out.
50 Survivors of the sword, go away! Do not stay still. Call Yahweh to mind from far away; let Jerusalem come to mind.
You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind.
51 We are ashamed, for we have heard insults; reproach has covered our faces, for foreigners have entered the holy places of Yahweh's house.
We are shamed because bitter words have come to our ears; our faces are covered with shame: for men from strange lands have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.
52 Therefore, see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will punish her carved idols, and the wounded people will groan in all of her land.
For this reason, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on her images; and through all her land the wounded will be crying out in pain.
53 For even if Babylon went up to the heavens or fortified her highest fortresses, destroyers would come from me to her—this is Yahweh's declaration.
Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord.
54 A shout of distress came from Babylon, a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.
There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans:
55 For Yahweh is destroying Babylon. He is causing her loud voice to perish. Their enemies roar like the waves of many waters; their noise becomes very strong.
For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud:
56 For the destroyers have come against her—against Babylon!—and her warriors have been captured. Their bows are broken, for Yahweh is the God of vengeance; he will surely carry out this repayment.
For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment.
57 For I will make her princes, her sages, her officials, and her soldiers drunk, and they will sleep in an unending sleep and never wake up —this is the King's declaration: Yahweh of hosts is his name.
And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
58 Yahweh of hosts says this: The thick walls of Babylon will be completely demolished, and her high gates will be burned. Then the peoples coming to her aid will labor uselessly; everything that the nations try to do for her will be burned up.”
The Lord of armies has said: The wide walls of Babylon will be completely uncovered and her high doorways will be burned with fire; so peoples keep on working for nothing, and the weariness of nations comes to an end in the smoke.
59 This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a chief officer.
The order which Jeremiah the prophet gave to 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 rule. Now Seraiah was the chief controller of the house.
60 For Jeremiah had written in a scroll about all the disaster that was going to come on Babylon—all these words that were written about Babylon.
And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon.
61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you go to Babylon, then you will see and you will read these words aloud.
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words;
62 Then you will say, 'Yahweh, you yourself have declared that you would destroy this place, and that no man or animal will live in it, and it will be desolate forever.'
And after reading them, say, O Lord, you have said about this place that it is to be cut off, so that no one will be living in it, not a man or a beast, but it will be unpeopled for ever.
63 Then when you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
And it will be that, when you have come to an end of reading this book, you are to have a stone fixed to it, and have it dropped into the Euphrates:
64 Say, 'Babylon will sink like this. It will not arise because of the disaster that I am sending against it, and they will fall.'” Jeremiah's words end here.
And you are to say, So Babylon will go down, never to be lifted up again, because of the evil which I will send on her: and weariness will overcome them. So far, these are the words of Jeremiah.
