Jeremiah 50
50
Prophecy against Babylon
1The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2“Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and lift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘Babylon has been captured,
Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;
Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’
3For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!
4“In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the Lord their God they will seek. 5They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
6“My people have become lost sheep;
Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the mountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their resting place.
7All who came upon them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the habitation of righteousness,
Even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’
8“Wander away from the midst of Babylon
And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be also like male goats at the head of the flock.
9For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against Babylon
A horde of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.
11“Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
O you who pillage My heritage,
Because you skip about like a threshing heifer
And neigh like stallions,
12Your mother will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.
13Because of the indignation of the Lord she will not be inhabited,
But she will be completely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,
For she has sinned against the Lord.
15Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has given herself up, her pillars have fallen,
Her walls have been torn down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
As she has done to others, so do to her.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From before the sword of the oppressor
They will each turn back to his own people
And they will each flee to his own land.
17“Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria. 19And I will bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’
21“Against the land of #Or Double RebellionMerathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of #Or PunishmentPekod.
Slay and utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22The noise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23How the hammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord.”
25The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the weapons of His indignation,
For it is a work of the Lord God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come to her from the farthest border;
Open up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And utterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27Put all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their day has come,
The time of their punishment.
28There is a sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
Vengeance for His temple.
29“Summon #Another reading is archersmany against Babylon,
All those who bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape.
Repay her according to her work;
According to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become arrogant against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore her young men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord.
31“Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord God of hosts,
“For your day has come,
The time when I will punish you.
32The arrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will set fire to his cities
And it will devour all his environs.”
33Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And all who took them captive have held them fast,
They have refused to let them go.
34Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name;
He will vigorously plead their case
So that He may bring rest to the earth,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her officials and her wise men!
36A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her mighty men, and they will be shattered!
37A sword against their horses and against their chariots
And against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become women!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of idols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols.
39“Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will never again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
40As when God overthrew Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No man will live there,
Nor will any son of man reside in it.
41“Behold, a people is coming from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42They seize their bow and javelin;
They are cruel and have no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
Marshalled like a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
Distress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen I will appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand before Me?” 45Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 46At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.
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Jeremiah 50: NASB1995
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Jeremiah 50
50
1 The word that the Lord has spoken about Babylon and about the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.
2 "Announce it among the Gentiles, and make it known. Lift up a sign. Proclaim it and do not conceal it. Say this: 'Babylon has been captured. Bel has been confounded. Merodach has been conquered. Their graven things have been confounded. Their idols have not survived.'
3 For a nation has ascended against her from the north, which will set her land in desolation. And there will be no one who may live within it, from man even to beast. For they have been removed and have gone away.
4 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the sons of Israel will advance, they and the sons of Judah together. Weeping as they walk, they will hurry on, and they will seek the Lord their God.
5 They will ask the way to Zion; their faces will be set toward this place. They will arrive and will be joined to the Lord by an everlasting covenant, which nothing will wipe away into oblivion.
6 My people have become a lost flock. Their shepherds have led them astray and have caused them to wander in the mountains. They have crossed from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All whom they have found, they have devoured. And their enemies have said: 'We have not sinned. For it is they who have sinned against the Lord, the beauty of justice, and against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.'
8 Withdraw from the midst of Babylon, and go forth from the land of the Chaldeans. And be like young goats before the flock.
9 For behold, I am raising up, and I will lead against Babylon, a congregation of great nations from the land of the north. And they will be prepared against her, and from there she will be taken. Their arrows, like those of a strong man, a killer, will not return empty.
10 And Chaldea will become a prey. All who lay waste to her will be filled, says the Lord.
11 For you exult and you speak great things, plundering my inheritance. For you have spread out like calves upon the grass, and you have bellowed like bulls.
12 Your mother has been exceedingly shamed, and she who bore you has become equal to the dust. Behold, she will be the last among the nations, a desert, impassable and dry.
13 By the wrath of the Lord, it will not be inhabited. Instead, it will be entirely desolate. Every one who passes by Babylon will be stupefied and will hiss over all her wounds.
14 Prepare yourselves against Babylon, on every side, all you who bend the bow. Make war against her! You should not spare the arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Cry out against her! For where she has put forth a hand, her foundations have fallen, her walls have been destroyed. For it is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance against her! Just as she has done, do so to her.
16 Destroy the founder from Babylon, and the one who holds the sickle in the time of harvest. Before the face of the sword of the dove, each one will turn back to his people, and every one will flee to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered flock. The lions have driven him away. First, the king of Assyria devoured him. And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has taken away his bones.
18 Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, just as I have visited the king of Assyria.
19 And I will lead back Israel to his habitation. And he will pasture on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul will be satiated at mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel will be sought, and there will be none. And the sin of Judah will be sought, and none will be found. For I will be forgiving to them, whom I will leave behind.
21 Ascend against the land of the rulers, and visit against its inhabitants! Scatter and destroy whatever has been left behind them, says the Lord, and act according to all that I have instructed you.
22 A voice of war in the land, and great destruction!
23 How has the mallet of the entire earth been broken and crushed? How has Babylon been turned into a desert among the nations?
24 I have ensnared you, and you have been captured, O Babylon, and you did not realize it. You have been discovered and seized, because you provoked the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his storehouse, and he has brought forth the instruments of his wrath. For there is work for the Lord, the God of hosts, within the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Advance against her from the furthest regions! Open, so that those who will trample her may go out! Take stones from the road, and gather them into piles, and destroy her. And let there be nothing left of her.
27 Scatter all her strong ones. Let them descend to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has arrived, the time of their visitation.
28 It is the voice of those who are fleeing and of those who have escaped from the land of Babylon: to announce in Zion the revenge of the Lord our God, the revenge of his Temple.
29 Announce it to the many in Babylon, to all who bend the bow. Stand together against her all around, and let no one escape. Repay her according to her work. In accord with all that she has done, do to her. For she has raised herself up against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 For this reason, her young men will fall in her streets. And all her men of war will be silenced, in that day, says the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against you, O proud one, says the Lord, the God of hosts. For your day has arrived, the time of your visitation.
32 And the proud one will fall and be ruined. And there will be no one who may lift him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him."
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: "The sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have endured calumny together. All who have seized them are holding them and refusing to release them.
34 Their redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He will defend their case in judgment, so that he may terrify the land and disturb the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is for the Chaldeans, says the Lord, and for the inhabitants of Babylon, and for her leaders, and for her wise ones.
36 A sword is for her diviners, who will be fooled. A sword is for her strong ones, who will be afraid.
37 A sword is for their horses, and for their chariots, and for all the common people who are in her midst. And they will be like women. A sword is for her storehouses, and they will be plundered.
38 A drought is over her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and they glory in portents.
39 Because of this, dragons will live there with the fig fauns, and ostriches will live in it. And it will no longer be inhabited, even in perpetuity, nor will it be raised up, even from generation to generation.
40 Just as the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns, says the Lord, no man will live there, and a son of man will not tend it.
41 Behold, a people arrives from the north, and a great nation. And many kings will rise up from the ends of the earth.
42 They will take up the bow and the shield. They are cruel and merciless. Their voice will sound out, like the sea, and they will ride upon horses, like a man prepared for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, and his hands have been weakened. Anguish has overtaken him, like the pains of a woman giving birth.
44 Behold, he will ascend like a lion from the arrogance of the Jordan to the robust beauty. For I will cause him to rush upon her suddenly. And who will be the elect one, whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who can endure me? And who is that pastor who can withstand my countenance?"
45 Because of this, listen to the counsel of the Lord, which he has conceived in his mind against Babylon, and to his thoughts, which he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: "Certainly the little ones of the flocks will pull them down, unless their habitation will have been destroyed with them.
46 At the voice of the captivity of Babylon, the earth has been moved, and an outcry has been heard among the nations."
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