Jeremiah 51
51
1 The LORD says:
“Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.
2 I will send to Babylon strangers, who will winnow her.
They will empty her land;
for in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
3 Against him who bends, let the archer bend his bow,
also against him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail.
Don’t spare her young men!
Utterly destroy all her army!
4 They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God,
by the LORD of Armies;
though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6“Flee out of the middle of Babylon!
Everyone save his own life!
Don’t be cut off in her iniquity,
for it is the time of the LORD’s vengeance.
He will render to her a recompense.
7Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand,
who made all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
therefore the nations have gone mad.
8Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed!
Wail for her!
Take balm for her pain.
Perhaps she may be healed.
9“We would have healed Babylon,
but she is not healed.
Forsake her,
and let’s each go into his own country;
for her judgement reaches to heaven,
and is lifted up even to the skies.
10‘The LORD has produced our righteousness.
Come, and let’s declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.’
11“Make the arrows sharp!
Hold the shields firmly!
The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it;
for it is the vengeance of the LORD,
the vengeance of his temple.
12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon!
Make the watch strong!
Set the watchmen,
and prepare the ambushes;
for the LORD has both purposed and done
that which he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures,
your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
14 The LORD of Armies has sworn by himself, saying,
‘Surely I will fill you with men,
as with locusts,
and they will lift up a shout against you.’
15“He has made the earth by his power.
He has established the world by his wisdom.
By his understanding he has stretched out the heavens.
16 When he utters his voice,
there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
and he causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
17“Every man has become stupid and without knowledge.
Every goldsmith is disappointed by his image,
for his molten images are falsehood,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are vanity,
a work of delusion.
In the time of their visitation, they will perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he formed all things,
including the tribe of his inheritance.
The LORD of Armies is his name.
20“You are my battle axe and weapons of war.
With you I will break the nations into pieces.
With you I will destroy kingdoms.
21 With you I will break in pieces
the horse and his rider.
22 With you I will break in pieces
the chariot and him who rides therein.
With you I will break in pieces
man and woman.
With you I will break in pieces
the old man and the youth.
With you I will break in pieces
the young man and the virgin.
23 With you I will break in pieces
the shepherd and his flock.
With you I will break in pieces
the farmer and his yoke.
With you I will break in pieces
governors and deputies.
24“I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,” says the LORD.
25“Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain,” says the LORD,
“which destroys all the earth.
I will stretch out my hand on you,
roll you down from the rocks,
and will make you a burnt mountain.
26 They won’t take a cornerstone from you,
nor a stone for foundations;
but you will be desolate forever,” says the LORD.
27“Set up a standard in the land!
Blow the trumpet amongst the nations!
Prepare the nations against her!
Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz!
Appoint a marshal against her!
Cause the horses to come up as the swarming locusts!
28 Prepare against her the nations,
the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion!
29 The land trembles and is in pain;
for the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon have stopped fighting,
they remain in their strongholds.
Their might has failed.
They have become as women.
Her dwelling places are set on fire.
Her bars are broken.
31 One runner will run to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter.
32So the passages are seized.
They have burnt the reeds with fire.
The men of war are frightened.”
33 For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden.
Yet a little while, and the time of harvest comes for her.”
34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me.
He has crushed me.
He has made me an empty vessel.
He has, like a monster, swallowed me up.
He has filled his mouth with my delicacies.
He has cast me out.
35May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon!”
the inhabitant of Zion will say; and,
“May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea!”
will Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore the LORD says:
“Behold, I will plead your cause,
and take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her sea,
and make her fountain dry.
37Babylon will become heaps,
a dwelling place for jackals,
an astonishment, and a hissing,
without inhabitant.
38 They will roar together like young lions.
They will growl as lions’ cubs.
39 When they are inflamed, I will make their feast,
and I will make them drunk,
that they may rejoice,
and sleep a perpetual sleep,
and not wake up,” says the LORD.
40“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams with male goats.
41“How Sheshach is taken!
How the praise of the whole earth is seized!
How Babylon has become a desolation amongst the nations!
42 The sea has come up on Babylon.
She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43 Her cities have become a desolation,
a dry land, and a desert,
a land in which no man dwells.
No son of man passes by it.
44 I will execute judgement on Bel in Babylon,
and I will bring out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up.
The nations will not flow any more to him.
Yes, the wall of Babylon will fall.
45“My people, go away from the middle of her,
and each of you save yourselves from the LORD’s fierce anger.
46Don’t let your heart faint.
Don’t fear for the news that will be heard in the land.
For news will come one year,
and after that in another year news will come,
and violence in the land,
ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore behold, the days come that I will execute judgement on the engraved images of Babylon;
and her whole land will be confounded.
All her slain will fall in the middle of her.
48 Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is therein,
will sing for joy over Babylon;
for the destroyers will come to her from the north,” says the LORD.
49“As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
so the slain of all the land will fall at Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword, go!
Don’t stand still!
Remember the LORD from afar,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind.”
51“We are confounded
because we have heard reproach.
Confusion has covered our faces,
for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house.”
52“Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD,
“that I will execute judgement on her engraved images;
and through all her land the wounded will groan.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to the sky,
and though she should fortify the height of her strength,
yet destroyers will come to her from me,” says the LORD.
54“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,
and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the LORD lays Babylon waste,
and destroys out of her the great voice!
Their waves roar like many waters.
The noise of their voice is uttered.
56 For the destroyer has come on her,
even on Babylon.
Her mighty men are taken.
Their bows are broken in pieces,
for the LORD is a God of retribution.
He will surely repay.
57 I will make her princes, her wise men,
her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk.
They will sleep a perpetual sleep,
and not wake up,”
says the King, whose name is the LORD of Armies.
58 The LORD of Armies says:
“The wide walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown.
Her high gates will be burnt with fire.
The peoples will labour for vanity,
and the nations for the fire;
and they will be weary.”
59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words, 62and say, ‘LORD, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that no one will dwell in it, neither man nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.’ 63It will be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the middle of the Euphrates. 64Then you shall say, ‘Thus will Babylon sink, and will not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they will be weary.’”
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
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Jeremiah 51
51
Apocalyptic Vengeance
1Thus says Adonai: “Look! Stirring up against Babylon and those living in Leb-kamai, a spirit of destruction.
2I will send strangers to Babylon to scatter her and empty her land. For in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
3Let the archer bend his bow at her. Let him rise up at her in his armor. Do not spare her young men. Destroy her whole army.
4They will fall down slain in the land of Chaldea, thrust through in her streets.
5For neither Israel nor Judah will be widowed by his God, Adonai-Tzva’ot, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee from within Babylon! Each one, escape with his soul! Be not silenced in her iniquity! For it is a time of vengeance for Adonai. He will repay her recompense.
7Babylon has been a golden cup in Adonai’s hand, intoxicating the whole earth. The nations drunk her wine— so the nations are going crazy.
8Suddenly Babylon is fallen! Shattered! Howl over her! Bring balm for her wound. Perhaps she may be healed?
9We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed. Abandon her! Let’s go, each one to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to the heavens and has risen beyond the skies.
10Adonai has brought forth our vindication! Come, let us declare in Zion the work of Adonai Eloheinu!
11Sharpen the arrows. Fill the quivers! Adonai has roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon, to destroy it. For it is Adonai’s vengeance, vengeance for His Temple.
12Raise a banner at Babylon’s walls! Strengthen the guard. Station watchmen. Prepare ambushes. For Adonai has both planned and accomplished what He spoke about the Babylonians.
13You dwelling by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
14Adonai-Tzva’ot has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men like a locust swarm, and they will shout cheers over you.”
Creator of All, Judge of All
15One made the earth by His power, set up the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His knowledge.
16At His giving voice— tumult of waters in the skies! He causes clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth wind from His storehouses.
17All mankind is stupid, ignorant. Every goldsmith is disgraced by an idol, for his molten image is a lie— there is no breath in them.
18They are futile, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation they will perish.
19Jacob’s Portion is not like these, for He is the former of all things, including the tribe of His heritage —Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name.
20“You are My club, a war weapon— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.
21With you I wreck horse and rider, with you I wreck chariot and rider,
22with you I break man and woman, with you I break elder and youth, with you I break young man and maid,
23with you I scatter shepherd and flock, with you I scatter plowman and ox-team, with you I scatter governors and officials.
24I will repay Babylon and all living in Chaldea for all their evil that they did in Zion, before your eyes.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
25“Beware! I am against you, destroyer of the Mount!” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “Destroyer of all the land— I will stretch out My hand at you, roll you down from the cliffs, and make you a burning hill.
26They will not even take from you a cornerstone or foundation stone, for you will be desolate forever.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
27Raise a banner in the land! Blow a shofar among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her. Summon against her the kingdoms— Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her. Bring horses up like rough locusts.
28Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, its governors and all its deputies, and all the land of his dominion.
29Now the land shakes and writhes, for Adonai’s plans against Babylon arise— to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.
30Babylon’s warriors ceased fighting. They stay in their strongholds. Their might is exhausted. They have become like women. Her dwellings are set ablaze, her gate-bars are broken.
31One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell Babylon’s king that his city has been taken from end to end.
32The fords have also been seized and the marshes burned with fire, so the warriors are in panic.
33For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at treading time. A little longer, and the time of harvest for her will come.”
34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, crushed me, set me aside like an empty dish, swallowed me up like a dragon, filled his belly with my delicacies, rinsed me away.”
35The one dwelling in Zion says: “Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon!” Jerusalem says: “My blood be on the Chaldeans!”
36Therefore thus says Adonai: “Yes, I will uphold your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
37Babylon will become heaps, a dwelling for jackals, a horror and a hissing, uninhabited.
38They roar together like young lions, growl like lions cubs.
39When they become hot, I will set out a banquet for them and will make them so drunk that they become merry— and then sleep a perpetual sleep and never awake.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
40“I will drag them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41How has Sheshach been taken, the praise of the whole earth seized? How has Babylon become a horror among the nations!
42The sea has risen over Babylon— she is covered with its roaring waves.
43Her cities became desolation, a dry land, desert, uninhabited land, through which no son of man passes.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon— What he swallowed I will make him disgorge out of his mouth. Nations will no longer stream to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen!
45Come out of her, My people! Each of you, save your soul from the fierce anger of Adonai.
46Do not be faint-hearted, or be intimidated by the rumor heard in the land— one year one rumor comes, next year, another rumor. Yet violence will be in the land, with ruler against ruler.
47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s idols. Her entire land will be disgraced and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48Then heaven and the earth and all that is in them will sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers from the north will come to her.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
49Yes, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth fell to Babylon.
50Escapees from the sword, go! Do not stand still! Remember Adonai from afar— and make aliyah to Jerusalem in your heart.
51“We were shamed when we heard reproach. Disgrace has covered our faces, for foreigners entered the holy places of Adonai’s House.”
52“Therefore behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will punish her idols, and the wounded will groan throughout all her land.
53Even if Babylon went up to heaven and even if she fortified the height of her stronghold, from Me destroyers will come to her.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
54The sound of an outcry from Babylon! Great ruin from the land of Chaldea!
55For Adonai is devastating Babylon, and will silence her loud voice. Their waves will roar like many waters. The noise of their voices will resound.
56For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors will be captured, their bows broken. For Adonai is a God of restitution, He will fully repay.
57“I will intoxicate her officials and sages, her governors, deputies, and warriors, and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake.” It is a declaration of the King, whose Name is Adonai-Tzva’ot.
58Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: “Babylon’s thick wall will be totally razed and her high gates burned with fire. So the peoples are toiling for nothing, and nations weary themselves for fire.”
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was quartermaster.
60And Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the evil that would come upon Babylon, including all these words that were written about Babylon.
61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you arrive in Babylon, then see that you read all these words,
62and say: ‘Adonai, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that nothing will dwell there, neither man nor beast, but that it will be desolate forever.’
63“Now when you have finished reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
64Then you will say: ‘Thus will Babylon sink, and not rise again, because of the calamity that I will bring on her. So they will weary themselves.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
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