Jeremiah 50
50
Babylon Will Be Captured
1 #
Is 13.1—14.23; 47.1-15. The Lord told me to say:
Announce what will happen
and don't leave anything out.
2Raise the signal flags;
shout so all nations can hear—
Babylon will be captured!
Marduk,#50.2 Marduk: The Hebrew text has “Bel” and “Marduk,” two names for the same god. Babylon's god,
will be ashamed and terrified,
and his idols broken.
3The attack on the Babylonians
will come from the north;
they and their animals will run,
leaving the land empty.
Israel and Judah Will Return to Their Land
4The Lord said:
People of Israel and Judah,
when these things happen
you will weep, and together
you will return to your land
and worship me,
the Lord your God.
5You will ask the way to Zion
and then come and join with me
in making an agreement
you won't break or forget.
6My people, you are lost sheep
abandoned in the mountains
by their shepherds.
You don't even remember
your resting place.
7I am your true pastureland,
the one who gave hope
to your ancestors.
But you abandoned me,
so when your enemies found you,
they felt no guilt
as they gobbled you up.
8 #
Rev 18.4. Escape from Babylonia,
my people.
Get out of that country!
Don't wait for anyone else.
9In the north I am bringing
great nations together.
They will attack Babylon
and capture it.
The arrows they shoot
are like the best soldiers,#50.9 the best soldiers: Some Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “soldiers that kill children.”
always finding their target.
10Babylonia will be conquered,
and its enemies will carry off
everything they want.
Babylon Will Be Disgraced
The Lord said:
11People of Babylonia,
you were glad
to rob my people.
You had a good time,
making more noise
than horses
and jumping around
like calves threshing grain.#50.11 threshing grain: Hebrew; two ancient translations “in a pasture.”
12The city of Babylon
was like a mother to you.
But it will be disgraced
and become nothing
but a barren desert.
13My anger will destroy Babylon,
and no one will live there.
Everyone who passes by
will be shocked to see
what has happened.
14Babylon has rebelled against me.
Archers, take your places.
Shoot all your arrows at Babylon.
15Attack from every side!
Babylon surrenders!
The enemy tears down
its walls and towers.
I am taking my revenge
by doing to Babylon what it did
to other cities.
16There is no one in Babylonia
to plant or harvest crops.
Even foreigners who lived there
have left for their homelands,
afraid of the enemy armies.
17Israel is a flock of sheep
scattered by hungry lions.
The king of Assyria#50.17 king of Assyria: Either Shalmaneser V, who ruled 726–722 b.c., conquered most of the northern kingdom, and surrounded its capital city Samaria; or Sargon II, who ruled 721–705 b.c. and took thousands of prisoners back to Assyria.
first gobbled Israel up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar,#50.17 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
king of Babylonia,
crunched on Israel's bones.
18I, the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel,
punished the king of Assyria,
and I will also punish
the king of Babylonia.
19But I will bring Israel
back to its own land.
The people will be like sheep
eating their fill
on Mount Carmel
and in Bashan,
in the hill country of Ephraim
and in Gilead.
20I will rescue a few people
from Israel and Judah.
I will forgive them so completely
that their sin and guilt
will disappear,
never to be found.
The Lord's Commands to the Enemies of Babylonia
21The Lord said:
I have told
the enemies of Babylonia,
“Attack the people of Merathaim
and Pekod.#50.21 Merathaim … Pekod: Hebrew forms of two Babylonian names that refer to the land of Babylonia. Merathaim probably referred to lagoons near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers or to the Persian Gulf, but in Hebrew it means “Twice as Rebellious.” Pekod referred to a tribe of southeastern Babylonia, but in Hebrew it means “Punishment.”
Kill them all!
Destroy their possessions!”
22Sounds of war
and the noise of destruction
can be heard.
23Babylonia was a hammer
pounding every country,
but now it lies broken.
What a shock to the nations
of the world!
24Babylonia challenged me,
the Lord God All-Powerful,
but that nation doesn't know
it is caught in a trap
that I set.
25I've brought out my weapons,
and with them I will put a curse
on Babylonia.
26Come from far away,
you enemies of Babylon!
Pile up the grain
from its storehouses,
and destroy it completely,
along with everything else.
27Kill the soldiers of Babylonia,
because the time has come
for them to be punished.
28The Babylonian army
destroyed my temple,
but soon I will take revenge.
Then refugees from Babylon
will tell about it in Zion.
29 #
Rev 18.6. Attack Babylon, enemy archers;
set up camp around the city,
and don't let anyone escape.
It challenged me, the holy God,
so do to it
what it did to other cities.
Proud Babylon Will Fall
30People of Babylon,
I, the Lord, promise
that even your best soldiers
will lie dead in the streets.
31Babylon, you should be named,
“The Proud One.”
But the time has come when I,
the Lord All-Powerful,
will punish you.
32You are proud,
but you will stumble and fall,
and no one will help you up.
I will set your villages on fire,
and everything around you
will go up in flames.
33You Babylonians were cruel
to Israel and Judah.
You took them captive, and now
you refuse to let them go.
34But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
will rescue and protect them.
I will bring peace to their land
and trouble to yours.
35I have declared war on you,
your officials, and advisors.
36This war will prove
that your prophets
are liars and fools.
And it will frighten
your warriors.
37Then your chariot horses
and the foreigners in your army
will refuse to go into battle,
and the enemy will carry away
everything you treasure.
38Your rivers and canals
will dry up.
All of this will happen,
because your land
is full of idols,
and they have made fools
of you.
39 #
Rev 18.2. Never again will people live
in your land—
only desert animals, jackals,#50.39 jackals: See the note at 9.11.
and unclean birds.
40 #
Gn 19.24,25. I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
and the nearby towns,
and I will destroy Babylon
just as completely.
No one will live there again.
Babylonia Is Invaded
The Lord said:
41Far to the north,
a nation and its allies
have been awakened.
They are powerful
and ready for war.
42Bows and arrows and swords
are in their hands.
The soldiers are cruel
and show no pity.
The hoofbeats of their horses echo
like ocean waves
crashing against the shore.
The army has lined up for battle
and is coming to attack you,
people of Babylonia!
43Ever since your king heard
about this army,
he has been weak with fear;
he twists and turns in pain
like a woman giving birth.
44Babylonia, I will attack you
like a lion from the forest,
attacking sheep in a meadow
along the Jordan.
In a moment the flock runs,
and the land is empty.
Who will I choose to attack you?
I will do it myself!
No one can force me to fight
or chase me away.
45Listen to my plans for you,
people of Babylonia.
Your children will be dragged off,
and your country destroyed.
46The sounds of your destruction
will be heard among the nations,
and the earth will shake.
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Jeremiah 50: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 50
50
1The word that the LORD spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. 2Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed. 3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast. 4In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek the LORD their God. 5They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten. 6My people hath 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, they have forgotten their resting place. 7All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. 8Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.
9For, lo, I will stir up 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 thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain. 10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD. 11Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder mine heritage, because ye are wanton as an heifer that treadeth out the corn, and neigh as strong horses; 12your mother shall be sore ashamed; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 13Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. 14Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. 15Shout against her round about; she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD; take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. 16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. 17Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 18Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria; 19And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. 20In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
21Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. 22A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! 24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. 25The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for the Lord, the LORD of hosts, hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. 26Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. 27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. 28The voice of them that 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. 29Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; camp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. 30Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith the LORD. 31Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. 32And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.
33Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34Their redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. 36A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed. 37A sword is upon their horse, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed. 38A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon idols. 39Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein. 41Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 42They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set in array, as man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43The king of Babylon hath heard the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me? 45Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. 46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.
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