Jeremiah 50

1 The word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:

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

2 'Declare ye among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say ye: Captured hath been Babylon, Put to shame hath been Bel, Broken hath been Merodach, Put to shame have been her grievous things, Broken have been her idols.

[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.

3 For come up against her hath a nation from the north, It maketh her land become a desolation, And there is not an inhabitant in it. From man even unto beast, They have moved, they have gone.

[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.”

4 In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Come in do sons of Israel, They and sons of Judah together, Going on and weeping they go, And Jehovah their God they seek.

“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.

5 [To] Zion they ask the way, Thitherward [are] their faces: Come in, and we are joined unto Jehovah, A covenant age-during — not forgotten.

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.

6 A perishing flock hath My people been, Their shepherds have caused them to err, [To] the mountains causing them to go back, From mountain unto hill they have gone, They have forgotten their crouching-place.

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.

7 All finding them have devoured them, And their adversaries have said: We are not guilty, Because that they sinned against Jehovah, The habitation of righteousness, And the hope of their fathers — Jehovah.

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].’

8 Move ye from the midst of Babylon, And from the land of the Chaldeans go out. And be as he-goats before a flock.

[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].

9 For, lo, I am stirring up, And am causing to come up against Babylon, An assembly of great nations from a land of the north, And they have set in array against her, From thence she is captured, Its arrow — as a skilful hero — returneth not empty,

[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.

10 And Chaldea hath been for a spoil, All her spoilers are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah.

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.’”

11 Because thou rejoicest, because thou exultest, O spoilers of Mine inheritance, Because thou increasest as a heifer [at] the tender grass, And dost cry aloud as bulls,

“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.

12 Ashamed hath been your mother greatly, Confounded hath she been that bare you, Lo, the hindermost of nations [is] a wilderness, A dry land, and a desert.

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.

13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah it is not inhabited, And it hath been a desolation — all of it. Every passer by at Babylon is astonished, And doth hiss because of all her plagues.

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.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, All ye treading a bow, Shoot at her, have no pity on the arrow, For against Jehovah she hath sinned.

[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.

15 Shout against her round about, She hath given forth her hand, Fallen have her foundations, Thrown down have been her walls, For it [is] the vengeance of Jehovah, Be avenged of her, as she did — do ye to her.

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!

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him handling the sickle in the time of harvest, Because of the oppressing sword, Each unto his people — they turn, And each to his land — they flee.

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]!”

17 A scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

“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.

18 Therefore thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am seeing after the king of Babylon, And after his land, As I have seen after the king of Asshur;

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.

19 And I have brought back Israel unto his habitation, And he hath fed on Carmel, and on Bashan. And in mount Ephraim, and on Gilead is his soul satisfied.

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.

20 In those days, and at that time, An affirmation of Jehovah, Sought is the iniquity of Israel, and it is not, And the sin of Judah, and it is not found, For I am propitious to those whom I leave!

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.’”

21 Against the land of Merathaim: Go up against it, and unto the inhabitants of Pekod, Waste and devote their posterity, An affirmation of Jehovah, And do according to all that I have commanded thee.

“[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.

22 A noise of battle [is] in the land, and of great destruction.

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

23 How hath it been cut and broken, The hammer of the whole earth! How hath Babylon been for a desolation among nations!

[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.’

24 I have laid a snare for thee, And also — thou art captured, O Babylon, And thou — thou hast known, Thou hast been found, and also art caught, For against Jehovah thou hast stirred thyself up.

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.

25 Jehovah hath opened His treasury, And He bringeth out the weapons of His indignation, For a work [is] to the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, In the land of the Chaldeans.

[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.

26 Come ye in to her from the extremity, Open ye her storehouses, Raise her up as heaps, and devote her, Let her have no remnant.

[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.

27 Slay all her kine, they go down to slaughter, Woe [is] on them, for come hath their day, The time of their inspection.

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.

28 A voice of fugitives and escaped ones [Is] from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, The vengeance of His temple.

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].

29 Summon unto Babylon archers, all treading the bow, Encamp against her round about, Let [her] have no escape; Recompense to her according to her work, According to all that she did — do to her, For unto Jehovah she hath been proud, Unto the Holy One of Israel.

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].

30 Therefore fall do her young men in her broad places, And all her men of war are cut off in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah.

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

31 Lo, I [am] against thee, O pride, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, For thy day hath come, the time of thy inspection.

[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.

32 And stumbled hath pride, And he hath fallen, and hath no raiser up, And I have kindled a fire in his cities, And it hath devoured all round about him.

[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.’

33 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Oppressed are the sons of Israel, And the sons of Judah together, And all their captors have kept hold on them, They have refused to send them away.

[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].

34 Their Redeemer [is] strong, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name, He doth thoroughly plead their cause, So as to cause the land to rest, And He hath given trouble to the inhabitants of Babylon.

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.

35 A sword [is] for the Chaldeans, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it [is] on the inhabitants of Babylon, And on her heads, and on her wise men;

[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.

36 A sword [is] on the princes, And they have become foolish; A sword [is] on her mighty ones, And they have been broken down;

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.

37 A sword [is] on his horses and on his chariot, And on all the rabble who [are] in her midst, And they have become women; A sword [is] on her treasuries, And they have been spoiled;

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.

38 A sword [is] on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it [is] a land of graven images, And in idols they do boast themselves.

[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.

39 Therefore dwell do Ziim with Iim, Yea, dwelt in her have daughters of the ostrich, And it is not inhabited any more for ever, Nor dwelt in unto all generations.

[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].

40 As overthrown by God with Sodom, And with Gomorrah, and with its neighbours, An affirmation of Jehovah, none doth dwell there, Nor sojourn in her doth a son of man.

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

41 Lo, a people hath come from the north, Even a great nation, And many kings are stirred up from the sides of the earth.

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].

42 Bow and halbert they seize, Cruel [are] they, and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea soundeth, and on horses they ride, Set in array as a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

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.

43 Heard hath the king of Babylon their report, And feeble have been his hands, Distress hath seized him; pain as a travailing woman.

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.”

44 Lo, as a lion he cometh up, Because of the rising of the Jordan, Unto the enduring habitation, But I cause to rest, I cause them to run from off her. And who is chosen? on her I lay a charge, For who [is] like Me? And who doth convene Me? And who [is] this shepherd who standeth before Me?

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.

45 Therefore, hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, That He counselled concerning Babylon, And His devices that He hath devised Concerning the land of the Chaldeans; Drag them out do not little ones of the flock, Doth He not make desolate over them the habitation?

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.

46 From the voice: Captured was Babylon, Hath the earth been shaken, And a cry among nations hath been heard!

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.’”