Jeremiah 50
50
A Message About Babylon
1This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians#50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45:
2“Announce and proclaim among the nations,
lift up a banner and proclaim it;
keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;
Bel will be put to shame,
Marduk filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
and her idols filled with terror.’
3A nation from the north will attack her
and lay waste her land.
No one will live in it;
both people and animals will flee away.
4“In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together
will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.
5They will ask the way to Zion
and turn their faces toward it.
They will come and bind themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant
that will not be forgotten.
6“My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
and forgot their own resting place.
7Whoever found them devoured them;
their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8“Flee out of Babylon;
leave the land of the Babylonians,
and be like the goats that lead the flock.
9For I will stir up and bring against Babylon
an alliance of great nations from the land of the north.
They will take up their positions against her,
and from the north she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like skilled warriors
who do not return empty-handed.
10So Babylonia#50:10 Or Chaldea will be plundered;
all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.
11“Because you rejoice and are glad,
you who pillage my inheritance,
because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain
and neigh like stallions,
12your mother will be greatly ashamed;
she who gave you birth will be disgraced.
She will be the least of the nations—
a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.
13Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
but will be completely desolate.
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;
they will scoff because of all her wounds.
14“Take up your positions around Babylon,
all you who draw the bow.
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15Shout against her on every side!
She surrenders, her towers fall,
her walls are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance of the Lord,
take vengeance on her;
do to her as she has done to others.
16Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword of the oppressor
let everyone return to their own people,
let everyone flee to their own land.
17“Israel is a scattered flock
that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
18Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive the remnant I spare.
21“Attack the land of Merathaim
and those who live in Pekod.
Pursue, kill and completely destroy#50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26. them,”
declares the Lord.
“Do everything I have commanded you.
22The noise of battle is in the land,
the noise of great destruction!
23How broken and shattered
is the hammer of the whole earth!
How desolate is Babylon
among the nations!
24I set a trap for you, Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured
because you opposed the Lord.
25The Lord has opened his arsenal
and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
in the land of the Babylonians.
26Come against her from afar.
Break open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain.
Completely destroy her
and leave her no remnant.
27Kill all her young bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe to them! For their day has come,
the time for them to be punished.
28Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon
declaring in Zion
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
29“Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who draw the bow.
Encamp all around her;
let no one escape.
Repay her for her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31“See, I am against you, you arrogant one,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day has come,
the time for you to be punished.
32The arrogant one will stumble and fall
and no one will help her up;
I will kindle a fire in her towns
that will consume all who are around her.”
33This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.
34Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the Lord Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35“A sword against the Babylonians!”
declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
and against her officials and wise men!
36A sword against her false prophets!
They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!
They will be filled with terror.
37A sword against her horses and chariots
and all the foreigners in her ranks!
They will become weaklings.
A sword against her treasures!
They will be plundered.
38A drought on#50:38 Or A sword against her waters!
They will dry up.
For it is a land of idols,
idols that will go mad with terror.
39“So desert creatures and hyenas will live there,
and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation.
40As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.
41“Look! An army is coming from the north;
a great nation and many kings
are being stirred up from the ends of the earth.
42They are armed with bows and spears;
they are cruel and without mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
44Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
45Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians:
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;
its cry will resound among the nations.
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Jeremiah 50: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Jeremiah 50
50
Judgment on Babylon
Jer 10:12–16
1#Isa 13:1–3; 14:4The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet:
2#Isa 46:1; 21:9; Jer 51:44 Declare among the nations and publish,
and set up a standard;
do not conceal it, but say,
Babylon has been captured.
Bel has been humiliated.
Marduk has been broken in pieces;
her idols have been humiliated;
her images have been broken in pieces.
3#Zep 1:3; Jer 50:9 For out of the north there comes up a nation against her,
which will make her land desolate,
and no one will dwell in it.
They will wander away;
they will depart,
both man and beast.
4#Hos 3:5; 1:11 In those days and at that time,
says the Lord,
the sons of Israel will come,
they and the children of Judah together.
They will go along weeping as they go,
and seek the Lord their God.
5#Jer 32:40; Isa 55:3; Heb 8:6–10 They will ask for the way to Zion
with their faces in its direction.
They will come that they may join themselves to the Lord
in a perpetual covenant
that will not be forgotten.
6#Isa 53:6; Mt 9:36 My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have caused them to go astray;
they have turned them away on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill
and have forgotten their resting place.
7#Jer 14:8; 2:3 All who found them have devoured them,
and their adversaries said, “We are not guilty,
because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice,
even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.”
8#Isa 48:20; Jer 51:6 Wander away out of the midst of Babylon,
and go out of the land of the Chaldeans,
and be as the male goats before the flocks.
9For I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon
an assembly of great nations from the north country.
And they shall set themselves in array against her;
from there she shall be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like those of a skilled warrior;
no one shall return empty-handed.
10#Jer 25:12 Chaldea will become plunder;
all who destroy her will be satisfied,
says the Lord.
11#Isa 47:6 Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,
O you destroyers of My heritage,
because you have grown fat as the heifer at the grass,
and bellow as bulls,
12#Jer 51:43 your mother will be sorely humiliated;
she who bore you will be ashamed.
She will be the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13#Jer 18:16; 49:17 Because of the wrath of the Lord she will not be inhabited,
but shall be wholly desolate.
Everyone who goes by Babylon will be astonished
and hiss at all her wounds.
14#Jer 50:29; 50:7; 50:9 Put yourselves in battle array against Babylon all around,
all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15#Jer 51:58; 46:10 Shout against her all around;
she has given herself up, her foundations have fallen,
her walls have been thrown down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her;
as she has done, do to her.
16#Isa 13:14; Jer 46:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest.
For fear of the oppressing sword
everyone will turn to his people,
and everyone will flee to his own land.
17#Jer 2:15; 2Ki 18:9–13 Israel is a scattered flock.
The lions have driven him away.
First the king of Assyria
devoured him;
and this last one who has broken his bones
is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
18#Isa 10:12Therefore thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel:
I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19#Jer 31:6; Eze 34:13–14 I will bring Israel again to his habitation,
and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan,
and his soul will be satisfied
upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20#Mic 7:19; Jer 31:34; Isa 1:9 In those days and at that time,
says the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel will be sought for,
and there shall be none.
And the sins of Judah,
but they shall not be found;
for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21#Eze 23:23 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it,
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.
Slay and utterly destroy them,
says the Lord,
and do according to all that I have commanded you.
22#Jer 4:19–21; 51:54–56 A noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction.
23#Jer 51:20–24 How the hammer of the whole earth
has been cut asunder and broken!
How Babylon has become a desolation
among the nations!
24#Job 9:4; Da 5:30–31 I have laid a snare for you,
and you were also caught, O Babylon,
and you were not aware.
You have been found, and also caught,
because you have striven against the Lord.
25#Jer 51:25; 51:55 The Lord has opened His armory
and has brought out the weapons of His indignation,
for this is the work of the Lord God of Hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26#Isa 14:23; 45:3 Come against her from the utmost border,
open her storehouses;
cast her up as heaps and destroy her utterly;
let nothing of her be left.
27#Isa 34:7; Jer 46:21 Slay all her bulls,
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them! For their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
28#Isa 48:20; Jer 50:15 There is the sound of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion
the vengeance of the Lord our God,
the vengeance of His temple.
29#Isa 47:10; Jer 51:56 Call together the archers against Babylon.
All you who bend the bow,
encamp against it all around;
let no one escape.
Recompense her according to her work;
according to all that she has done, do to her,
for she has been proud against the Lord,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30#Jer 49:26; 9:21 Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets,
and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,
says the Lord.
31#Jer 21:13; 50:29 I am against you, O most proud,
says the Lord God of Hosts,
for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32#Jer 21:14; 49:27 The most proud will stumble and fall,
and no one will raise him up;
and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all all around him.
33#Isa 14:17; 58:6Thus says the Lord of Hosts:
The sons of Israel and the sons of Judah
were oppressed together;
and all who took them captives held them fast;
they refused to let them go.
34#Jer 51:36; Isa 43:14 Their Redeemer is strong;
the Lord of Hosts is His name.
He will thoroughly plead their case,
that He may give rest to the land,
but disquiet to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35#Jer 47:6; 51:57 A sword is against the Chaldeans,
says the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials, and against her wise men.
36#Jer 49:22; Isa 44:25 A sword is against the oracle priests,
and they will become fools.
A sword is against her mighty men,
and they shall be dismayed.
37#Jer 51:30; 25:20 A sword is against their horses, and against their chariots,
and against all the foreigners who are in her midst;
and they will become as women.
A sword is against her treasures,
and they will be robbed.
38#Isa 44:27; Jer 50:2 A drought is against her waters,
and they will be dried up.
For it is the land of graven images,
and they are mad over their idols.
39#Isa 13:20–22; Rev 18:2 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert
with the wild beasts of the islands will dwell there,
and the ostriches will dwell in it.
It will be inhabited no more forever,
nor will it be lived in from generation to generation.
40#Ge 19:24–25; Jer 49:18 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and the neighboring cities,
says the Lord,
so no man will abide there,
nor will any son of man dwell in it.
41#Jer 51:27–28; Isa 13:2–5 Look! A people shall come from the north
and a great nation, and many kings
will be raised up from the remote parts of the earth.
42#Isa 5:30; 13:17–18 They will hold the bow and the lance;
they are cruel and will not show mercy.
Their voice shall roar like the sea;
and they shall ride on horses,
everyone put in array, like a man to the battle,
against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43#Jer 49:24; 51:31 The king of Babylon has heard the report of them,
and his hands waxed feeble.
Anguish took hold of him,
and pangs as of a woman in labor.
44#Jer 49:19–21 He will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan
to the perpetually watered meadow.
But I will make them suddenly 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 is the shepherd that can stand before Me?
45#Jer 49:20; 51:10–11 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has planned against Babylon,
and His purposes that He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans:
Surely the least of the flock will drag them out.
Surely He will make their habitation desolate because of them.
46#Jer 49:21; Eze 26:18 At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth is shaken,
and the outcry is heard among the nations.
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