Jeremiah 50:1-Jeremiah 51:58 - A Message Concerning Babylon
1 The words that the LORD spake unto the prophet Jeremiah, concerning Babylon, and the land of the Chaldeans:
2 "Preach among the Gentiles, let your voice be heard, make a token: cry out, keep no silence, but say, 'Babylon shall be won, Bel shall be confounded, and Merodach shall be overcome. Yea their gods shall be brought to shame and their images shall stand in fear.' 3 For out of the north there shall come a people against her, which shall make her land so waste that nobody shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast; for they shall flee and depart from thence. 4 In those days, and at that time, sayeth the LORD, the children of Israel shall come; they and the children of Judah, weeping and making haste, and shall seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion; thither shall they turn their faces, and come and hang upon thee, in a covenant that never shall be broken.
6 My people hath been a lost flock. My shepherds have deceived them, and have made them go astray upon the hills. They have gone from the mountains to the little hill, and forgotten their fold. 7 All they that came upon them, have devoured them: and their enemies said, 'We have made no fault against them, for they have displeased the LORD, yea even the LORD which is the beauty of their righteousness, and that defended their fathers.'
8 Yet shall ye flee from Babylon, and depart out of the land of the Chaldeans, and ye shall be as the rams that go before the flock. 9 "For lo, I will make up a host of people from the northern land, and bring them upon Babylon: these shall lay siege to it, and win it. Their arrows shall not miss, like as a cunning archer shooteth not wrong. 10 And the Chaldeans shall be spoiled; and all they that spoil them, shall be satisfied, sayeth the LORD. 11 Because ye were so cheerful and glad, to tread down mine heritage, and fulfill your pleasures, as the calves in the grass: And triumphed over them like the bulls, when ye had gotten the victory. 12 Your mothers shall be sore confounded; and they that bare you, shall come to shame. She shall be the least set by among the nations, void, waste, and dried up. 13 No man shall be able to dwell there, for the fear of the LORD, but she shall be whole desolate. All they that go by Babylon, shall stand still, and be abashed, and shall wonder at all her plagues. 14 Go forth in your array against Babylon round about, all ye that can handle bows: shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she hath sinned against the LORD. 15 Cry out: upon her, upon her, against her round about: she shall yield herself, her foundations shall fall, and her walls shall come down, for it shall be the vengeance of the LORD. Yea vengeance shall be taken of her, and as she hath done, so shall she be dealt withal. 16 They shall root out the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in Harvest. For fear of the sword of the enemy, every man shall get him to his own people, and every man shall flee to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered flock, the Lions have dispersed them. First the king of the Assyrians devoured them, last of all this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath bruised all their bones.
18 Therefore thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his kingdom, as I have visited the king of the Assyrians.
19 And will bring Israel again to his pleasant pasture, that he may feed upon Carmel and Bashan, and be satisfied upon the mount of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at the same time, sayeth the LORD, if the offense of Israel be sought for, there shall none be found. If men inquire for the sin of Judah, there shall be none: for I will be merciful unto them, whom I suffer to remain over.
21 "Go down, O thou avenger, into the enemies' land, and visit them that dwell therein: down with them, and smite them upon the backs, sayeth the LORD. Do according to all, that I have commanded thee. 22 There is gone about the land a cry of a slaughter and great murder, namely on this manner: 23 How happeneth it that the hammer of the whole world is thus broken and bruised in sunder? How chanceth it that Babylon is become a wilderness among the Heathen on this manner? 24 I myself have laid wait for thee, and thou art taken. Unawares art thou trapped and snared. For why, thou hast provoked the LORD unto anger: 25 The LORD hath opened his house of ordinance, and brought forth the weapons of his wrath. For the thing that is done in the land of the Chaldeans, it is the LORD of Hosts' work. 26 These things shall come upon her at the last: they shall break into her privy chambers, they shall leave her as bare as stones that be laid together upon heaps. They shall so destroy her that nothing shall be left. 27 They shall slay all her mighty soldiers, and put them to death. Woe be unto them, for the day and the time of their visitation is at hand.
28 Methink I hear already a cry of them that be fled and escaped out of the land of Babylon, which show in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God; the vengeance of his temple. Yea, a voice of them that cry against Babylon: 29 'Call up all the archers against Babylon! Pitch your tents round about her, that none escape!' Recompense her, as she hath deserved: and according as she hath done, so deal with her again. For she hath set up herself against the LORD, against the holy one of Israel. 30 Therefore shall her young men fall down in the streets, and all her men of war shall be rooted out in that day, sayeth the LORD. 31 Behold, I speak unto thee, O thou proud, sayeth the LORD God of Hosts: for thy day shall come, even the time of thy visitation. 32 And the proud shall stumble and fall, and no man shall help him up. I will burn up his cities with fire, and it shall consume all that is round about him.
33 "Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts: The children of Israel and Judah suffer violence together. All they that have them in captivity, keep them fast and will not let them go. 34 But their avenger and redeemer is mighty, whose name is the LORD of Hosts: he shall maintain their cause, he shall make the land shake, and judge them that dwell therein, one with another. 35 The sword shall come upon the Chaldeans, sayeth the LORD; upon them that dwell in Babylon; upon their princes; and upon their wise men. 36 The sword upon their soothsayers: as for those, they shall become fools. The sword upon their worthies: so that they shall stand in fear. 37 The sword upon their horsemen and chariots, and upon all the common people that dwell under them: so that they all shall become like women. The sword upon their treasure: so that it shall be stolen away. 38 The sword upon their waters: so that they shall be dried up. For the land worshippeth images, and delighteth in strange wonderful things.
39 Therefore shall wild beasts, Apes, and Ostriches dwell therein: for there shall never man dwell there, neither shall any man have his habitation there for evermore. 40 Like as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, with the cities that lay there about, sayeth the LORD: So shall no man dwell there also, neither shall any man have there his habitation.
41 Behold, there shall come a people from the North, with a great bound of men, and many kings shall stand up from the ends of the earth. 42 They bear bows and bucklers, cruel are they and unmerciful. Their voice roareth like the raging sea, they ride upon horses, and come weaponed to fight against thee, O Babylon. 43 As soon as the king of Babylon heareth tell of them, his hands shall wax feeble: Sorrow and heaviness shall come upon him, as a woman travailing with child.
44 Behold, like as the Lion cometh up from the pleasant meadows of Jordan unto the green pastures of Ethan, so will I drive them forth, and make them run against her. But whom shall I choose out, and ordain to such a thing? For who is like me, or who will strive with me? Or what shepherd may stand against me?
45 Therefore hear the counsel that the LORD hath given upon Babylon, and the device that he hath taken upon the land of the Chaldeans. The least among the people shall tear them in pieces, and look: what pleasant thing they have, they shall lay it waste. 46 The noise at the winning of Babylon shall move the earth, and the cry shall be heard among the Gentiles."
1 Thus hath the LORD said, "Behold, I will raise up a perilous wind against Babylon and her citizens, that bear evil will against me. 2 I will send also into Babylon fanners, to fan her out, and to destroy her land: for in the day of her trouble they shall be about her on every side. 3 Moreover, the LORD hath said unto the bowmen, and to them that climb over the walls in breastplates: He shall not spare her young men; kill down all her host. 4 Thus the slain shall fall down in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the streets. 5 As for Israel and Judah, they shall not be forsaken of their God, of the LORD of Hosts, of the holy one of Israel: no, though they have filled all their land full of sin.
6 Fly away from Babylon; every man save his life. Let no man hold his tongue to her wickedness, for the time of the LORD's vengeance is come; yea, he shall reward her again. 7 "Babylon hath been in the LORD's hand a golden cup, that maketh all lands drunken. Of her wine have all people drunken, therefore are they out of their wits. 8 But suddenly is Babylon fallen and destroyed. Mourn for her; bring plasters for her wounds, if she may peradventure be healed again.
9 'We would have made Babylon whole,' say they, 'but she is not recovered. Therefore will we let her alone, and go every man into his own country. For her judgment is come in to heaven, and is gone up to the clouds.'
10 And therefore come on, we will show Zion the work of the LORD our God.
11 Make sharp the arrows, and fill the quivers: for the LORD shall raise up the spirit of the king of the Medes, which hath already a desire to destroy Babylon. This shall be the vengeance of the LORD's, and the vengeance of his temple. 12 Set up tokens upon the walls of Babylon, make your watch strong, set your watchmen in array, yea hold privy watches: and yet for all that shall the LORD go forth with the device, which he hath taken upon them that dwell in Babylon. 13 O thou that dwellest by the great waters, O thou that hast so great treasure and riches, thine end is come: and the reckoning of thy winnings.
14 The LORD of Hosts hath sworn by himself that he will overwhelm thee with men, like grasshoppers in number, which with courage shall cry 'Alarum, Alarum' against thee.
15 Yea even the LORD of Hosts, that with his power made the earth, with his wisdom prepared the round world, and with his discretion spied out the heavens. 16 As soon as he letteth his voice be heard, the waters in the air wax fierce: He draweth up the clouds from the ends of the earth. He turneth the lightnings to rain, he bringeth the winds out of their secret places.
17 By the reason of wisdom, all men are become fools. Confounded be all the casters of images: for the thing that they make is but deceit, and hath no breath. 18 Vain is it; and worthy to be laughed at. And in the time of visitation it shall perish. 19 "Nevertheless, the portion of Jacob is none such: but he that made all things, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, he is the rod of his inheritance.
20 Thou breakest my weapons of war, and yet through thee I have scattered the nations and kingdoms; 21 through thee have I scattered horse and horseman; yea, the chariots, and such as sat upon them; 22 through thee I have scattered man and woman, old and young, bachelor and maiden. 23 Through thee I have scattered the shepherd and his flock, the husbandman and his cattle, the princes and the rulers.
24 Therefore will I reward the city of Babylon and all her citizens the Chaldeans, with all the evil which they have done unto Zion. Yea, that ye yourselves shall see it, sayeth the LORD.
25 "Behold, I come upon thee, thou noisesome hill, sayeth the LORD; thou that destroyest all lands. I will stretch out my hand over thee, and cast thee down from the stony rocks; and will make thee a burnt hill, 26 so that neither cornerstones, nor pinnacles, nor foundation stones shall be taken any more out of thee, but waste and desolate shalt thou lie for evermore, sayeth the LORD.
27 Set up a token in the land, blow the trumpets among the Heathen, provoke the nations against her, call the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz against her: set the prince against her, bring as great a sort of horses against her, as if they were grasshoppers. 28 Prepare against them the people of the Medes with their kings, princes and all their chief rulers; yea, and the whole land that is under them. 29 The land also shall shake and be afraid, when the device of the LORD shall come forth against Babylon: to make the land of Babylon so waste that no man shall dwell any more therein. 30 The Worthies of Babylon shall leave the battle, and keep themselves in strongholds, their strength hath failed them, they shall be like women. Their dwelling places shall be burnt up, their bars shall be broken. 31 One pursuant shall meet another; yea, one post shall come by another; to bring the king of Babylon tidings that his city is taken in on every side: 32 the fords occupied; the fens burnt up; and the soldiers sore afraid.
33 "For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon hath been in her time like as a threshing floor, but shortly shall her harvest come.
34 'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out. 35 He hath taken my substance away and the thing that was left me hath he carried unto Babylon,' sayeth the daughter that dwelleth in Zion. 'Yea, and my blood also, unto the Chaldeans,' sayeth Jerusalem.
36 Therefore thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I will defend thy cause, and avenge thee: I will drink up her sea, and dry up her water springs. 37 Babylon shall become a heap of stones, a dwelling place for dragons, a fearfulness and wondering, because no man dwelleth there. 38 They shall roar together like lions, and as the young lions when they be angry, so shall they bend themselves. 39 In their heat I shall set drink before them, and they shall be drunken for joy: Then shall they sleep an everlasting sleep, and never wake, sayeth the LORD. 40 I shall carry them down to be slain like sheep, like whethers and goats.
41 O how was Sheshach won? O, how was the glory of the whole land taken? How happeneth it that Babylon is so wondered at among the Heathen? 42 The sea is risen over Babylon, and hath covered her with his great waves. 43 Her cities are laid waste, the land lieth unbuilded and void: it is a land where no man dwelleth, and where no man traveleth through. 44 Moreover, I will visit Bel at Babylon: and the thing that he hath swallowed up, that same shall I pluck out of his mouth. The Gentiles also shall run no more unto him; yea, and the walls of Babylon shall fall.
45 O my people, come out of Babylon: that every man may save his life from the fearful wrath of the LORD. 46 Be not faint hearted, and fear not at every rumor that shall be heard in the land: for every year bringeth new tidings; yea, strange wickedness and lordship. 47 And lo, the time cometh that I will visit the images of Babylon, and the whole land shall be confounded; yea, and her slain shall lie in the midst of her. 48 Heaven and earth, with all that is therein, shall rejoice over Babylon when the destroyers shall come upon her from the North, sayeth the LORD.
49 Like as Babylon hath beaten down and slain many out of Israel, so shall there fall many, and be slain, in all her kingdom. 50 Ye that have escaped the sword: haste you, stand not still. Remember the LORD afar off, and think upon Jerusalem:
51 for we were ashamed to hear the blasphemies; our faces were covered with shame, because the strange aliens came into the Sanctuary of the LORD.
52 "Wherefore, behold, sayeth the LORD, the time cometh that I will visit the images of Babylon, and through the whole land they shall mourn and fall. 53 Though Babylon climbed up into heaven, and kept her power on high: yet shall I send her destroyers, sayeth the LORD.
54 A piteous cry shall be heard from Babylon, and a great misery from the land of the Chaldeans: 55 when the LORD destroyeth them, and when he driveth out the high stomach and proud boasting, wherewith they have been as furious as the waves of great water floods, and made great crakes with their words.