Yirmeyah 51
51
1Thus saith Hashem: Hineni, I will stir up against Bavel, and against them that dwell in Lev Kamai#51:1 i.e., Babylon a ruach mashchit (spirit of destruction);
2And will send unto Bavel winnowers, that shall blow her chaff away, and shall empty her land; for in the Yom Ra'ah (Day of Disaster) they shall be against her on every side.
3Against her let the archer bend his keshet, and against her let him rise up in his armor; and spare ye not her bochurim; destroy ye utterly all her army.
4Thus the slain shall fall in the Eretz Kasdim, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5For Yisroel hath not been forsaken nor Yehudah by Elohav, by Hashem Tzva'os; though their land be filled with asham (guilt) against Kadosh Yisroel.
6Flee out of the midst of Bavel, and deliver every ish his nefesh; be not slain because of her avon; for this is the time of Hashemʼs vengeance; He will render unto her a full recompence.
7Bavel hath been a Kos Zahav in the yad Hashem, that made kol ha'aretz drunken; the Goyim drank of her yayin; therefore the Goyim go mad.
8Bavel is suddenly fallen and broken; wail for her; take balm for her pain, perhaps she may be healed.
9We would have healed Bavel, but she cannot be healed; forsake her, and let us go every ish into his own country; for her mishpat reacheth unto Shomayim, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 Hashem hath brought forth tzidkoteinu (our righteousness, vindication); come, and let us declare in Tziyon the ma'aseh Hashem Eloheinu.
11Sharpen the khitzim (arrows); take up the shields; Hashem hath stirred up the ruach of the melachim of the Medes: for His mezimah (plan) is against Bavel, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of Hashem, the vengeance for His Heikhal.
12Lift up the nes (banner) upon the chomat Bavel, reinforce the mishmeret (guard), station the shomrim (watchmen), prepare the ambushes; for Hashem hath both devised and done that which He spoke against the inhabitants of Bavel.
13O thou that dwellest upon mayim rabbim, abundant in otzarot, thine end is come, and the cubit of thy being cut off.
14 Hashem Tzva'os hath sworn by His Nefesh, saying, Surely I will fill thee with adam, as with locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
15He hath made Eretz by His ko'ach, He hath established the tevel by His chochmah, and hath stretched out Shomayim by His tevunah.
16When He thundereth His voice, there is a tumult of mayim in Shomayim; and He bringeth up clouds from the ends of ha'aretz; He maketh lightnings with matar, and bringeth forth the ruach out of his otzarot.
17Kol adam is dull-hearted and without da'as; every goldsmith is shamed by the pesel; for his nesekh (molten image) is sheker, and there is no ruach in them.
18They are hevel (futile, vain), the work of delusion; in the time of their pekudah they shall perish.
19The Chelek Ya'akov (Portion of Jacob) is not like them; for the Yotzer (Maker) of all things is He; and Yisroel is the Shevet of His nachalah: Hashem Tzva'os Shmo.
20Thou art my battle ax and klei milchamah (weapons of war); for with thee will I break in pieces the Goyim, and with thee will I destroy mamlechot (kingdoms);
21And with thee will I break in pieces the sus and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the merkavah and his rider;
22With thee also will I break in pieces ish and isha; and with thee will I break in pieces zaken and na'ar; and with thee will I break in pieces the bochur and the betulah;
23I will also break in pieces with thee the ro'eh and his eder; and with thee will I break in pieces the ikkar (farmer) and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces pachot (rulers) and seganim (officials).
24And I will render unto Bavel and to all the inhabitants of Kasdim all their ra'ah that they have done in Tziyon in your sight, saith Hashem.
25Hineni, I am against thee, O Har HaMashchit (Destroying Mountain), saith Hashem, which destroyest kol ha'aretz; and I will stretch out Mine Yad upon thee, and roll thee down from the cliffs, and will make thee a har serefah (burned out mountain).
26And they shall not take of thee an even (stone) for a pinnah (cornerstone), nor an even (stone) for mosadot (foundations); but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith Hashem.
27Lift ye up a nes (banner) in ha'aretz, blow the shofar among the Goyim, prepare the Goyim against her, call together against her the mamlechot of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a commander against her; cause the sus to come up like the swarming locusts.
28Prepare against her the Goyim with the melachim (kings) of the Medes, the pachot (rulers) thereof, and all the seganim (officials) thereof, and all the countries ruled thereof.
29And ha'aretz shall shake and tremble; for every purpose of Hashem shall be performed against Bavel, to make eretz Bavel a desolation without an inhabitant.
30The Gibborim of Bavel have ceased to fight, they have remained in their metzadot (strongholds); their gevurah (might) hath failed; they became as nashim; they have burned her mishkenot (dwelling places); her bars are broken.
31One runner shall run to meet another, and one maggid (messenger) to meet another maggid, to show Melech Bavel that his city is captured on all sides,
32And that the ma'abarot (fords, river-crossings) have been seized, and the marshes burned with eish, and the anshei hamilchamah are terrified.
33For thus saith Hashem Tzva'os Elohei Yisroel: Bat Bavel is like a goren (threshing floor), when it is time to trample her; yet a little while, and the time of her katzir shall come.
34Nevukhadretzar Melech Bavel hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like Tannin (Monster), he hath filled his belly with delicacies of me, he hath vomited me out.
35The chamas done to me and to my flesh be upon Bavel, shall the inhabitant of Tziyon say; my dahm upon the inhabitants of Kasdim, shall Yerushalayim say.
36Therefore thus saith Hashem; Hineni, I will defend thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her yam, and make her makor (spring) dry.
37And Bavel shall become heaps of ruin, a ma'on for jackals, a horror to behold, astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant.
38They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl as cubs of arayot (lions).
39In their excitement I will prepare their mishtim (feasts), and I will make them shikkor, that they may rejoice, and sleep shenat olam (a perpetual sleep), and never awake, saith Hashem.
40I will bring them down like lambs litvo'ach (to the slaughter),#51:40 See Isa 53:7 like rams with male goats.
41How is Sheshach#51:41 Babylon taken! And how is the tehillat kol ha'aretz seized! How is Bavel become a horror to behold among the Goyim!
42The yam (sea) will arise over Bavel; she is covered with the tumult of the waves thereof.
43Her towns are a horror to behold, a dry land, and an aravah, a land wherein no ish dwelleth, neither doth any ben adam pass thereby.
44And I will punish Bel#51:44 Marduk in Bavel, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath gulped down; and the Goyim shall not stream together any more unto him; indeed, the chomat Bavel shall fall.
45My people, come ye out of the midst of her, and save ye every ish his nefesh from the charon af Hashem.
46And lest your lev faint, and ye fear at the rumor that shall be heard in ha'aretz; a rumor shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumor, rumors of chamas in ha'aretz, moshel (ruler) against moshel.
47Therefore, hinei, the days are coming when I will visit [in punishment] the pesalim of Bavel; and her whole land shall be shamed, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48Then the Shomayim and ha'aretz, and all that is therein, shall sing joyously over Bavel; for the plunderers shall come unto her from the tzafon (north), saith Hashem.
49Bavel must fall because of the slain of Yisroel as the slain of kol ha'aretz have fallen because of Bavel.
50Ye that have escaped the cherev, leave, stand not still; remember Hashem afar off, and let Yerushalayim come into your heart.
51We are ashamed, because we have heard cherpah; shame hath covered our faces; for zarim are come into the Mikdeshei Beis Hashem.
52Wherefore, hinei, the days are coming, saith Hashem, that I will visit [in punishment] her pesalim (graven images); and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53Though Bavel should ascend to Shomayim, and though she should fortify the height of her stronghold, yet from Me shall plunderers come unto her, saith Hashem.
54A sound of a cry cometh from Bavel, and shever gadol (great destruction) from Eretz Kasdim;
55Because Hashem hath plundered Bavel, and silenced her kol gadol (great voice); when her waves do roar like mayim rabbim, the sound of her roaring resounds;
56Because the plunderer is come upon her, even upon Bavel, and her gibborim are taken, every one of their keshatot (bows) is broken; for El Gemulot Hashem (Hashemthe G-d of Recompense) shall surely repay.
57And I will make shikkor (drunk) her sarim, and her chachamim, her pachot (rulers), and her seganim (officials), and her gibborim; and they shall sleep a shenat olam (perpetual sleep), and never awake, saith HaMelech Hashem Tzva'os Shmo.
58Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os: The thick chomot Bavel shall be utterly broken, and her high she'arim shall be burned with eish; and the people shall labor in vain, and the peoples wear themselves out only for eish.
59The Davar which Yirmeyah HaNavi commanded Serayah Ben Neriyah Ben Machseiyah, when he went with Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah into Bavel in the fourth year of his reign. And this Serayah was sar menuchah (quartermaster).
60So Yirmeyah wrote in a sefer all the ra'ah that should come upon Bavel, even all these devarim that are written against Bavel.
61And Yirmeyah said to Serayah, When thou comest to Bavel, and shalt see, and shalt read all these Devarim;
62Then shalt thou say, Hashem, Thou hast spoken against this makom, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither adam nor behemah, but that it shall be desolate forever.
63And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this sefer, that thou shalt bind an even (stone) to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates;
64And thou shalt say, Thus shall Bavel sink, and shall rise no more because of the ra'ah that I will bring upon her. Thus far are the Devarim of Yirmeyah.
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Yirmeyah 51: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Jeremiah 51
51
1 Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will raise up, over Babylon and over its inhabitants, who have lifted up their heart against me, something like a pestilent wind.
2 And I will send winnowers into Babylon, and they will winnow her, and they will demolish her land. For they will overwhelm her from every side in the day of her affliction.
3 Let him who draws the bow, not draw his bow. And let him who wears armor, not rise up. Do not spare her young men. Destroy her entire military.
4 And the slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in its regions.
5 Yet Israel and Judah have not been widowed by their God, the Lord of hosts, though their land has been filled with transgression against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon! And let each one save his own life. Do not be silent about her iniquity. For it is the time of revenge from the Lord. He himself will repay her, in her turn.
7 Babylon is a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, inebriating the entire earth. The nations have drunk from her wine, and therefore they have staggered.
8 Suddenly, Babylon has fallen and been crushed. Wail over her! Take a balm to her pain, if perhaps she may be healed."
9 "We would have cured Babylon, but there is no cure. Let us abandon her, and let each one of us go to his own land. For her judgment has reached even to the heavens, and has been lifted up even to the clouds.
10 The Lord has brought forth our justices. Come and let us describe in Zion the work of the Lord our God."
11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers. The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. And his mind is against Babylon, so that he may destroy her. For this is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Upon the walls of Babylon, lift up a sign. Increase the watch! Rouse the watchmen! Prepare ambushes! For the Lord has planned and has accomplished all that he has spoken, against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who live above many waters, rich in treasures: your end has arrived, your measure has been cut short.
14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself, saying: "For I will fill you with men as with locusts, and they will sing a rhythmic chant against you."
15 The One who made the earth by his strength, who prepared the world by his wisdom, and who stretched out the heavens by his prudence:
16 when he utters his voice, the waters will be multiplied in the heavens. The One who lifts up the clouds from the ends of the earth: he has turned lightning into rain, and he has brought forth wind from his storehouses.
17 Each man has become foolish before his own knowledge. Each sculptor has been confounded by his own sculpture. For what he has formed of them is a lie, and there is no spirit in them.
18 They are empty works, deserving of ridicule. In the time of their visitation, they will perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like their portion. For the One who made all things is his portion, and Israel is the scepter of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name:
20 "For me, you strike together the instruments of war; and with you, I will strike together nations; and with you, I will scatter the kingdoms.
21 And with you, I will strike together the horse and his rider; and with you, I will strike together the chariot and its rider.
22 And with you, I will strike together man and woman; and with you, I will strike together the old man and the boy; and with you, I will strike together the young man and the virgin.
23 And with you, I will strike together the pastor and his flock; and with you, I will strike together the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you, I will strike together military leaders and civil leaders.
24 And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion, before your eyes, says the Lord.
25 Behold, I am against you, you pestilent mountain, says the Lord, for you are corrupting the entire earth. And I will extend my hand over you, and I will roll you down from the rocks, and I will make you into a burning mountain.
26 And they will not take from you a stone for the corner, nor a stone for the foundations. Instead, you will be destroyed unto eternity," says the Lord.
27 Lift up a sign in the land! Sound the trumpet among the nations! Sanctify the nations against her. Announce against her the kings of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Number against her Taphsar. Lead in the horse, like the stinging locust.
28 Sanctify the nations against her: the kings of Media, their military leaders, and all their civil leaders, and the entire land under their authority.
29 And the earth will be shaken and will be disturbed. For the plan of the Lord against Babylon will awaken, so that he may make the land of Babylon desolate and uninhabitable.
30 The strong ones of Babylon have ceased to do battle. They have lived in fortresses. Their health has been devoured, and they have become like women. Her tabernacles have been set ablaze; her bars have been broken.
31 Runner will go forth to meet runner, and messenger will meet messenger, so as to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured, from one end to the other,
32 and that the fords were seized in advance, and that the marshes have been burned with fire, and that the men of war have been set in disarray.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor. This is the time of her threshing. A little while longer, and the time of her harvest will arrive."
34 "Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has consumed me, has devoured me. He has made me like an empty vessel. He has swallowed me like a dragon. He has filled his belly with my tender ones, and he has cast me out.
35 This iniquity is against me, and so my flesh is upon Babylon," says the habitation of Zion. "And my blood is upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem.
36 Because of this, thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will judge your case, and I will avenge your vengeance, and I will make her sea into a desert, and I will dry up her spring.
37 And Babylon will become a tumult, the habitation of dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
38 They will roar together, like lions, they will shake their manes, like young lions.
39 In their heat, I will give them a drink, and I will inebriate them, so that they become drowsy, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and do not rise up, says the Lord.
40 I will lead them away, like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with young goats.
41 How was Sesac captured, and how was the renowned one of all the earth seized? How has Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?
42 The sea has ascended over Babylon; she has been covered by the multitude of its waves.
43 Her cities have become an astonishment, an uninhabited and desolate land, a land in which no one may live, nor may a son of man pass through it.
44 And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will cast from his mouth what he has swallowed. And the nations will no longer flow together before him. For even the wall of Babylon will also fall.
45 Go forth from her midst, my people, so that each one may save his life from the wrath of the fury of the Lord.
46 For otherwise, your heart may faint, and you may be afraid at the news that is heard in the land. And the news will arrive within a year, and after that year more news will arrive. And iniquity will be in the land, and one ruler will be over another ruler.
47 Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, when I will visit against the graven images of Babylon. And her entire land will be confounded, and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 And the heavens and the earth, and all the things that are in them, will give praise over Babylon. For despoilers will approach her from the north, says the Lord.
49 And in the manner that Babylon has caused the slain to fall in Israel, so the slain of Babylon will fall over the entire earth.
50 You who have fled from the sword, approach, do not stand still. Remember from afar the Lord, and let Jerusalem rise up in your heart.
51 We have been confounded, for we heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, for strangers have overwhelmed the holiness of the house of the Lord.
52 Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will visit against her graven images, and within all her land the wounded will groan.
53 If Babylon were to ascend to heaven, and establish her strength on high, her despoilers would go forth from me, says the Lord."
54 A voice of outcry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord has despoiled Babylon, and he has perished the great voice from her. And their wave will make a sound like many waters. Their voice has uttered a noise.
56 For the despoiler has overwhelmed her, that is, Babylon, and her strong ones have been apprehended, and their bow has been weakened. For the Lord, the powerful revenger, will certainly repay.
57 "And I will inebriate her leaders, and her wise ones, and her military rulers, and her civil rulers, and her strong ones. And they will sleep an everlasting sleep, and they will not awaken," says the King: the Lord of hosts is his name.
58 Thus says the Lord of hosts: "That very wide wall of Babylon will be utterly overturned, and her exalted gates will be burned with fire, and the labors of the people will be as nothing, and the labors of the nations will be sent into the fire and will perish."
59 The word that Jeremiah, the prophet, instructed to Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he traveled with king Zedekiah into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was the leader of the prophets.
60 And Jeremiah wrote in one book all the evil that was to overwhelm Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: "When you will enter into Babylon, and you will see and read all these words,
62 you will say: 'O Lord, you have spoken against this place so that you may destroy it, so that there would not be anyone, from man even to beast, who may live in it, and so that it may be desolate forever.'
63 And when you will have completed reading this book, you will tie a stone to it, and you will cast it into the midst of the Euphrates.
64 And you will say: 'So shall Babylon be submerged! And she will not rise up before the face of the affliction that I will lead over her. And she will be broken.' " The words of Jeremiah thus far.
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