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 towards 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 corn
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 round 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 round her;
let no-one escape.
Repay her for her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she 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 neighbouring 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 labour.
44Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
to a rich pasture-land,
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: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremiah 50
50
1This is the Lord's message that he told Jeremiah the prophet to give about Babylon and the country of Babylonia.#50:1. “The country of Babylonia”: literally, “the land of the Chaldeans.”
2Tell everyone the news! Hold up a sign and shout it out, don't hold back! Tell them, Babylon has fallen! Her#50:2. Since here and in Revelation the city of Babylon is identified with the female pronoun, the allusion is maintained here. god Bel is humiliated; the power of her god Marduk is broken; all Babylon's idols are humiliated and their power is broken.
3A northern nation will come and attack her and turn the country into a wasteland. No one will live there—both people and animals will desert it. 4That's the time when the people of Israel and Judah will join together, weeping as they go to worship the Lord their God, declares the Lord. 5They will ask the way to Zion, and start going in that direction. They will arrive and commit themselves to the Lord in an everlasting agreement that won't ever be forgotten.
6My people are sheep that are lost, led astray by their shepherds, making them wander aimlessly in the mountains. They go from place to place in the mountains and hills, forgetting where they used to rest. 7All those who came across them attacked them. Their enemies declared, “We're not to blame! They're the ones who sinned against the Lord, their true resting place; the Lord who was the hope of their forefathers.” 8Run away from the city of Babylon; get away from the country of Babylonia! Lead the way like the male goats that lead the flock.
9Look! I'm assembling a coalition of strong northern nations who will come and attack Babylon. They will line up in battle against her; she will be conquered from the north. Their arrows will be like the best warriors—they don't miss! 10Babylonia will be plundered—everyone who plunders her will have plenty of loot, declares the Lord.
11Though for now you Babylonians celebrate and sing triumphantly as you plunder my special people, though for now you jump around like a frisky young cow treading out the grain, and neigh like stallions, 12you are going to bring shame on your mother, you are going to disgrace the one who gave birth to you. Watch as she becomes the least important of all the nations, a wilderness, a dry desert land. 13Because of Lord's angry punishment, she will be deserted, completely desolate. Everyone who passes by will be horrified at what has happened to Babylon, and sneer at all her wounds.
14All you archers, line up ready for battle around Babylon. Shoot at her! Don't save your arrows, because she has sinned against the Lord. 15Shout war cries against her from every side! She holds up her hands in surrender. Her towers have collapsed; her walls are demolished. This is the Lord paying her back, so you too can pay her back—do the same to her as she did to others. 16Stop the sower from sowing in the country of Babylon, and stop the harvester swinging the sickle to reap the grain. Under the threat of the enemies' swords, everyone runs home to their own people, they go back to where they came from.
17The Israelites are a flock that's been chased and scattered by lions. The first on the attack was the king of Assyria; then lastly Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon crushed their bones.
18So this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to punish the king of Babylon and his country just like I punished the king of Assyria. 19I will lead the Israelites back to their pasturelands, to feed on Carmel and Bashan, to satisfy their appetites on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20This will be when the guilt and the sins of Israel and Judah will be looked for, but none will be found, because I will forgive those people who remain that I'm looking after, declares the Lord.
21Go and attack the land of Merathaim, and the people living in Pekod.#50:21. These are not actual place names. They mean “double rebellion” and “punishment.” However, they are similar in sound to two locations in Babylonia. Kill them with swords, set them apart for destruction,#50:21. “Set apart for destruction”: a special term that described a dedication to the Lord, indicating that what was promised was to be given over to the Lord and not retained. along with everything they leave behind. Make sure you do everything I have ordered you to do, declares the Lord.
22The noise of battle is heard in the country, the noise of terrible destruction. 23See how the hammer of the whole earth is lying broken in pieces in the ground! The nations look with horror on what Babylon has become! 24Babylon, I set a trap for you, and you were caught before you realized it. You were hunted down and captured because you fought against the Lord. 25In his anger the Lord opened his armory to bring out his weapons, for this is what the Lord God Almighty is doing in the country of Babylonia.
26Come and attack her from every side! Open her granaries; collect the loot you take from her like piles of grain. Set her apart for destruction; don't leave any survivors. 27Kill all her young bulls#50:27. “Bulls”: referring to the young men serving as soldiers for Babylon. with the sword; let them be slaughtered. What a disaster for them, because their time has come when they're punished.
28(Listen to the refugees and survivors who have returned from Babylonia, announcing in Zion, “The Lord our God is paying them back for what happened to his Temple.”)
29Call up the archers to attack Babylon, yes, all of them! Completely surround her—don't let anyone escape. Pay her back for what she's done, because in her pride she defied the Lord, Israel's Holy One. 30As a result her young men will be killed in the streets; all her soldiers will die that day, declares the Lord. 31Watch out, because I'm against you, you arrogant people! declares the Lord God Almighty. Your time has come when I will punish you. 32You arrogant people will trip and fall. Nobody will be there to pick you up. I'm going to set fire to your towns and burn up everything around you.
33This is what the Lord Almighty says: The people of Israel and Judah are being mistreated. All who captured them are holding onto them, refusing to let them go. 34But the one who rescues them is powerful; the Lord Almighty is his name. He will defend them and their cause, so he may bring peace on earth, but trouble to the people of Babylon.
35A sword is raised to attack the Babylonians, declares the Lord, ready to attack those who live in Babylon, and her officials and wise men. 36A sword is raised to attack her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is raised to attack her soldiers, and they will be terrified. 37A sword is raised to attack her horses and chariots, along with all the foreign soldiers with her, and they will become like frightened women. A sword is raised to attack her stores of treasure, and they will be plundered. 38A drought has hit her rivers, and they will dry up. For it's a country full of pagan images. These horrible idols drive their worshipers mad. 39Consequently desert animals and hyenas will live there, and it will be a home for owls. It will be uninhabited forever—it won't be lived in from one generation to the next. 40In the same way that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, declares the Lord, no one will live there, no one will stay there.
41Look! An army is advancing from the north. A great nation and many kings are coming against you from the distant lands. 42They're carrying bows and javelins. They are cruel and merciless. When they shout it's like the sea roaring. They ride on horses and attack in formation against you, people of Babylon. 43The king of Babylon has heard the news and he's terrified. He's overcome with fear, in pain like a woman in labor.
44Watch out!#50:44. The following passage parallels that given against Edom in 49:19-21. I'm going to come like a lion from the tangled undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack the animals grazing#50:44. “Attack the animals grazing”: supplied for clarity. the green pasture. In fact I'm going to chase the Babylonians from their land very quickly.
Who will I choose to conquer them? Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Which leader#50:44. “Leader”: literally, “shepherd.” could oppose me? 45So listen to what the Lord has planned to do to Babylon and the country of Babylonia: Their children will be dragged away like lambs from the flock, and because of them their pasture will become a wasteland. 46The sound of Babylon's capture will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard throughout the nations.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com