Jeremiah 51
51
1This is what the Lord says:
‘See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai.#51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
2I will send foreigners to Babylon
to winnow her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
in the day of her disaster.
3Let not the archer string his bow,
nor let him put on his armour.
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy#51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. her army.
4They will fall down slain in Babylon,#51:4 Or Chaldea
fatally wounded in her streets.
5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land#51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Israel.
6‘Flee from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the Lord’s vengeance;
he will repay her what she deserves.
7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore they have now gone mad.
8Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
9‘ “We would have healed Babylon,
but she cannot be healed;
let us leave her and each go to our own land,
for her judgment reaches to the skies,
it rises as high as the heavens.”
10‘ “The Lord has vindicated us;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has done.”
11‘Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
12Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,
prepare an ambush!
The Lord will carry out his purpose,
his decree against the people of Babylon.
13You who live by many waters
and are rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the time for you to be destroyed.
14The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:
I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,
and they will shout in triumph over you.
15‘He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
17‘Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
18They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance –
the Lord Almighty is his name.
20‘You are my war club,
my weapon for battle –
with you I shatter nations,
with you I destroy kingdoms,
21with you I shatter horse and rider,
with you I shatter chariot and driver,
22with you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old man and youth,
with you I shatter young man and young woman,
23with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
with you I shatter governors and officials.
24‘Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia#51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35 for all the wrong they have done in Zion,’ declares the Lord.
25‘I am against you, you destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burnt-out mountain.
26No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate for ever,’ declares the Lord.
27‘Lift up a banner in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:
Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.
28Prepare the nations for battle against her –
the kings of the Medes,
their governors and all their officials,
and all the countries they rule.
29The land trembles and writhes,
for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand –
to lay waste the land of Babylon
so that no-one will live there.
30Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
they have become weaklings.
Her dwellings are set on fire;
the bars of her gates are broken.
31One courier follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,
32the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the soldiers terrified.’
33This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
‘Daughter Babylon is like a threshing-floor
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest her will soon come.’
34‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us,
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed us out.
35May the violence done to our flesh#51:35 Or done to us and to our children be on Babylon,’
say the inhabitants of Zion.
‘May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,’
says Jerusalem.
36Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘See, I will defend your cause
and avenge you;
I will dry up her sea
and make her springs dry.
37Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,
a place where no-one lives.
38Her people all roar like young lions,
they growl like lion cubs.
39But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,
so that they shout with laughter –
then sleep for ever and not awake,’
declares the Lord.
40‘I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.
41‘How Sheshak#51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon. will be captured,
the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate Babylon will be
among the nations!
42The sea will rise over Babylon;
its roaring waves will cover her.
43Her towns will be desolate,
a dry and desert land,
a land where no-one lives,
through which no-one travels.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon
and make him spew out what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
And the wall of Babylon will fall.
45‘Come out of her, my people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger of the Lord.
46Do not lose heart or be afraid
when rumours are heard in the land;
one rumour comes this year, another the next,
rumours of violence in the land
and of ruler against ruler.
47For the time will surely come
when I will punish the idols of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced
and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north
destroyers will attack her,’
declares the Lord.
49‘Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
just as the slain in all the earth
have fallen because of Babylon.
50You who have escaped the sword,
leave and do not linger!
Remember the Lord in a distant land,
and call to mind Jerusalem.’
51‘We are disgraced,
for we have been insulted
and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s house.’
52‘But days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will punish her idols,
and throughout her land
the wounded will groan.
53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens
and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
I will send destroyers against her,’
declares the Lord.
54‘The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction
from the land of the Babylonians.#51:54 Or Chaldeans
55The Lord will destroy Babylon;
he will silence her noisy din.
Waves of enemies will rage like great waters;
the roar of their voices will resound.
56A destroyer will come against Babylon;
her warriors will be captured,
and their bows will be broken.
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
he will repay in full.
57I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep for ever and not awake,’
declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
58This is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘Babylon’s thick wall will be levelled
and her high gates set on fire;
the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labour is only fuel for the flames.’
59This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon – all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61He said to Seraiah, ‘When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62Then say, “Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate for ever.” 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64Then say, “So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.” ’
The words of Jeremiah end here.
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Jeremiah 51: 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 51
51
1This is what the Lord says: Look! I'm going to stir up a destructive wind against Babylon and against the people of Babylonia.#51:1. Literally, “Leb-kamai,” a code word for Babylonia. 2I will send foreign soldiers to attack Babylon to winnow#51:2. “Winnowing” is the process by which grain is thrown into the air to that the wind can blow away the chaff. her and turn her country into a wasteland—they will attack her from all directions when her time of trouble comes. 3The archer doesn't need to use his bow; the infantryman doesn't need to put on his armor.#51:3. The Hebrew of this line has been interpreted in different ways. It seems most likely that it is saying that the attacking army was able to conquer Babylon without much trouble. Don't spare her young soldiers; set apart her whole army for destruction!#51:3. See footnote 50:21 for the meaning of “set apart for destruction.” 4They will fall down wounded in her streets, killed in the country of Babylonia.
5Israel and Judah have not been deserted by their God, the Lord Almighty, even though they sinned against the Holy One of Israel everywhere in their country.
6Escape from Babylon! Run for your lives! Don't get caught up in her punishment and die, for this is the time when the Lord pays her back for her sins. 7Once Babylon was a golden cup the Lord held in his hand. She made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine which is why they went mad. 8Now, all of a sudden, Babylon has fallen. She has been smashed to pieces. Weep for her; get her some treatment for her pain. Maybe she can be healed.
9“We tried to heal her, but she couldn't be helped. So give up on her! All of us should go home to where we came from. The news of her punishment has reached everywhere, all the way to heaven. 10The Lord has encouraged and supported us.#51:10. “Encouraged and supported us.” This is often translated as “vindication,” however this frequently has the meaning of being “proved right,” which is not the case here for the Israelites who went into exile because they were not right with God. Come on, let's tell people here in Jerusalem what the Lord has done for us!”
11Sharpen the arrows! Pick up the shields!#51:11. Or “Fill the quivers!” The Lord has encouraged the kings of the Medes, because his plan is directed at the destruction of Babylon. The Lord is paying them back for what happened to his Temple. 12Raise the signal flag to attack the walls of Babylon; strengthen the guard; have the watchmen take their places; get the ambush ready. The Lord planned and carried out his threats against the people of Babylon.
13You people who live beside by many waters, and have so much wealth, this is the time of your end—your life will be cut short. 14The Lord Almighty vowed by his own life, saying, I'm going to make sure to fill you with so many enemy soldiers they'll be like locusts. They will shout as they celebrate their victory over you. 15It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place. 16The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.
17Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive! 18They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
19The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the creator of everything, including his own people that are special to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.
20You#51:20. “You”: referring to Babylon. are my war club, the weapon I use in battle. I use you to destroy nations; I use you to destroy kingdoms. 21I use you to destroy horses and their riders; I use you to destroy chariots and their drivers. 22I use you to destroy men and women; I use you to destroy old men and youths; I use you to destroy young men and girls. 23I use you to destroy shepherds and their flocks; I use you to destroy farmers and their cattle; I use you to destroy rulers and state officials.
24Right in front of you I'm going to pay back Babylon and everyone who live in Babylonia for all the evil they did to Jerusalem, declares the Lord.
25Watch out, because I am against you, you destructive monster who devastates the whole world, declares the Lord. I will reach out to attack you; I will roll you down the cliffs; I will turn you into a mountain of ash. 26Nobody will be even able to find themselves a cornerstone or a foundation stone among your ruins, because you will be so utterly destroyed, declares the Lord.
27Raise a signal flag in the country! Blow the trumpet call to war among the nations! Get the nations ready to attack her; Summon the kingdoms to march against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander to lead the armies to attack her; send into battle cavalry like a swarm of locusts. 28Have the armies of the nations prepare for battle against her. This applies to the kings of the Medes, their leaders and all their officers, and every country they rule.
29The earth quakes and trembles because the Lord is determined to carry out what he threatened against Babylon—to turn Babylonia into a wasteland where no one lives. 30Babylon's defenders have given up fighting—they're just sitting in their fortresses. They're worn out; they've become like frightened women. Babylon's houses are burning; the bars securing her gates have been smashed. 31A runner hands his message over to another to carry; one messenger follows another messenger, all of them alerting the king of Babylon to the news that his city has been completely conquered, 32the river crossings have been captured, the marshlands set on fire and his soldiers are panicking.
33This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: The people of Babylon are like a threshing floor when the grain is trampled out. Her time of harvest will come very soon.
34Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon chewed me#51:34. “Me”: referring to Jerusalem. up and sucked me dry, making me as empty as a jar with nothing in it. He swallowed me down as if he were some monster, filling himself with the tastiest parts of me and throwing the rest away.
35“Babylon must bear the responsibility for the violent attacks on us,” say the inhabitants of Zion. “The people of Babylonia must bear the responsibility for the blood shed in my city,” says Jerusalem.
36This is what the Lord says: Watch as I present your case for you and make your enemies pay for what they did to you. I'm going to dry up her river and her springs. 37Babylon will be turned into a pile of rubble, a home for jackals, a place that horrifies people, a place they jeer at, a place where no one lives.
38The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs. 39But while their passions are aroused, I will serve them a banquet and get them drunk. They'll celebrate so much that they'll pass out and won't ever wake up, declares the Lord. 40I will take them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and goats.
41How could it be? Babylon#51:41. Literally “Sheshach”: a code name for Babylon. has fallen! The most famous city in the world has been conquered! What a horrible sight Babylon has become to everyone watching! 42It's as if the sea has flooded over Babylon, covering her in crashing waves. 43The towns of Babylonia are in ruins, turned into a dry desert wasteland where no one lives—no one even passes by.
44I will punish Bel#51:44. “Bel”: the major Babylonian god. in Babylon. I will force him to spit out what he swallowed. People of other nations won't run to worship him anymore. Even Babylon's wall has fallen.
45My people, come out of her! Each one of you, save yourselves from the Lord's furious anger. 46Don't lose courage, and don't be afraid when you hear different rumors going around the country. There'll be one rumor one year, and another one the next, talking about violent revolution, of one ruler fighting against another.
47Look, the time is coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be humiliated; it will be full of the dead bodies of those who have been killed. 48Then everyone in heaven and on earth will celebrate with shouts of joy at what's happened to Babylon, because the destroyers from the north will come and attack her, declares the Lord. 49Babylon has to fall because of the Israelites and people of other nations she killed. 50Those of you who have managed to escape being killed, leave now! Don't delay! Remember the Lord in this far away place; think about Jerusalem.
51“We are embarrassed because we've been mocked, and we held our heads in shame because foreigners went into the holy places of the Lord's Temple,”#51:51. These words are spoken by the Israelites.
52So keep watching, declares the Lord, because the time is coming when I will punish her for worshiping idols, and the sound of wounded people moaning will be heard throughout the country. 53Even if Babylon could climb up into the sky to strengthen her high fortresses, those I send to attack her will destroy her, declares the Lord.
54A cry comes from Babylon; the noise of terrible destruction comes from the country of Babylonia. 55For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon; he will put an end to her boastful talk. The waves of attacking army will roar like the crashing sea; the noise of their shouts will echo all around.
56A destroyer is coming to attack Babylon. Her soldiers will be taken prisoner, and their bows will be smashed, for the Lord is a God who punishes fairly; he will definitely pay them back. 57I will make her leaders and wise men drunk, along with her commanders, officers, and soldiers. Then they will pass out, and won't ever wake up, declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
58This is what the Lord Almighty says: Babylon's massive walls will be knocked down to the ground and her high gates burned. All that the people worked for will be for nothing; other nations who came to help will wear themselves out, only to see what they've done go up in flames.
59This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he accompanied King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign. Seraiah was the king's personal assistant. 60Jeremiah had written on a scroll a description of all the disasters that would come to Babylon—all these words written here about Babylon.
61Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read out loud everything written here, 62and announce, ‘Lord, you have promised to destroy this place so that none will be left—no people or animals. In fact it will be deserted forever.’
63After you finish reading this scroll out loud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
64Then say, ‘This is how Babylon will sink and won't ever rise again, because of the disaster I'm bringing down on her. Her people will grow tired.’”#51:64. This final sentence appears to be out of place. This is the end of Jeremiah's messages.
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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