Jeremiah 50:1-Jeremiah 51:58 - A Message Concerning Babylon
1 The word which Yahweh spake Against Babylon Against the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
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; 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. 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; 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.
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. 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.
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; 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. 10 So shall the Chaldeans become a spoil, - All her spoilers, shall be satisfied, Declareth Yahweh; 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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.
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, I Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his 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.
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, he satisfied. 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.
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. 22 The sound of battle is in the earth, - And a great destruction. 23 How s cut and broken the hammer of all the earth! How hath Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 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. 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, 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. 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.
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. 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. 30 Therefore, shall her young men fall in her broadways, - And, all her men of war, be silenced in that day, Declareth Yahweh. 31 Behold me! against thee most insolent one, Declareth My Lord Yahweh of hosts; For thy day, hath come, Thy time for punishment; 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.
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: - 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. 35 A sword, is over the Chaldeans, Declareth Yahweh, - And against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes, And against her 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: 37 A sword, is against his hopes 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: 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:
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. 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.
41 Lo! a people coming in from the North, - Yea, a great nation and many kings, shall be round up out of the remote parts of the earth: 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! 43 The king of Babylon hath beard the report of them, And unnerved are his hands, - Anguish, hath seized him, Writhing pain, as a woman in child-birth.
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?
45 Therefore hear ye, The counsel of Yahweh, which he hath counselled against Babylon, And his devices which he hath devised against the land a 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. 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembled, - And, the outcry, among the nations, was heard.
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; 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. 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. 4 So shall they fall wounded in the land of Chaldea, - Yea thrust through, in her streets, 5 For Israel and Judah have not been widowed a Of their God, Of Yahweh of hosts, - But, their land, hath been filled with punishment for guilt from the Holy One of Israel
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 be repaying unto her. 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. 8 Suddenly, hath Babylon fallen and been broken, - Howl ye over her Fetch balsam for her pain, Peradventure she shall 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.
10 Yahweh hath brought forth our righteousnesses, - Come and let us relate in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.
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. 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. 13 O thou who dwellest upon many waters, Who aboundest in treasures, - Come hath thine end! The measure of thine unrighteous gain!
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.
15 He that Made the earth in his might, Established the world in his wisdom, - And in his understanding, stretched out the heavens 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.
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: 18 Vanity, they are, A handiwork of mockeries, - In the time of their visitation, shall they perish. 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.
20 A war-club, art thou for me, Weapons of war; Therefore will I Beat down with thee - nations, and Destroy with thee - kingdoms; 21 and Beat down with thee - the horse and his rider, - and Beat down with thee - the chariot and its rider; 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; 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:
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.
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: 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.
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: 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: 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. 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! 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! 32 and The fords, have been seized, and The reeds, have they burned with fire; and The men of war, are dismayed!
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.
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! 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.
36 Therefore, Thus, sith 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: 37 Thus shall Babylon become - Heaps A habitation of jackals An astonishment, and A hissing, Without inhabitant. 38 Together, like wild lions, shall they roar, - They have growled like lions' whelps. 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. 40 I will bring them down As fat lambs to slaughter, - As rams with he-goats.
41 How hath Sheshach, been captured! How hath the praise of all the earth linen seized! How hath Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42 The sea, hath gone up over Babylon, - With the multitude of its rolling waves, is she covered. 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! 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!
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. 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. 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. 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.
49 Not only hath Babylon, caused the fall of the slain of Israel, - By Babylon, also have fallen the slain of all the earth. 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, depart do not stand still, - Remember, from afar Yahweh, Let, Jerusalem, come up on your heart:-
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!
52 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will bring punishment upon her images; And throughout all her land, stroll the pierced one groan. 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.
54 A voice of outcry from Babylon! And a great crash from the land of the Chaldeans! 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.