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.
Yirmeyah 50
50
1The Davar that Hashem spoke against Bavel and against Eretz Kasdim (Chaldeans) by Yirmeyah HaNavi.
2Declare ye among the Goyim, and publish, and lift up a nes (banner); publish, and conceal not; say, Bavel is captured, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her atzabim (images) are shamed, her gilulim (idols) are dismayed.
3For out of the tzafon (north) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land a horror, and none shall dwell therein; they shall wander, they shall depart, both adam and behemah.
4In those yamim, and in that time, saith Hashem, the Bnei Yisroel shall go, they and the Bnei Yehudah together, in tears weeping; they shall go, and seek Hashem Eloheihem.
5They shall ask the derech to Tziyon with their faces turned toward it, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to Hashem in a Brit Olam that shall not be forgotten.
6My people hath been tzon ovedot (lost sheep); their ro'im (shepherds) have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the harim; they have wandered from har to givah (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 Hashem, the naveh tzedek, even Hashem, the mikveh Avoteihem.
8Flee out of the midst of Bavel, and go forth out of the Eretz Kasdim (Chaldeans), and leave as the male goats before the tzon.
9For, hinei, I will stir up and cause to come up against Bavel a Kahal Goyim Gedolim from eretz tzafon (land of the north); and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be captured; their khitzim (arrows) shall be as of a gibbor maskil, one that does not return empty-handed.
10And Kasdim (Chaldea) shall be a plunder: all that plunder her shall have their fill, saith Hashem.
11Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye pillagers of Mine nachalah, because ye frisk about as the eglah (heifer) threshing grain, and neigh like stallions;
12Your em shall be deeply ashamed; she that bore you shall be disgraced; hinei, the least of the Goyim shall be a midbar, a dry land, and an aravah.
13Because of the wrath of Hashem it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that passeth by Bavel shall be horrified, and hiss at all her makkot.
14Put yourselves in array against Bavel all around; all ye that bend the keshet, shoot at her, spare no khetz (arrow); for she hath sinned against Hashem.
15Shout against her all around; she hath surrendered her yad; her bulwarks are fallen, her chomot (walls) are torn down; for it is the vengeance of Hashem; take vengeance upon her; just as she hath done, do unto her.
16Cut off the sower from Bavel, and him that reapeth with the magal (sickle) in the time of katzir; for fear of the oppressing cherev they shall turn every ish to his people, and they shall flee every ish to his own land.
17Yisroel is a seh pezurah (scattered sheep); the aryot (lions) have driven him away; first Melech Ashur (King of Assyria) hath devoured him; and last this Nevukhadretzar Melech Bavel hath broken his atzmot.
18Therefore thus saith Hashem Tzva'os Elohei Yisroel: Hineni, I will punish Melech Bavel and his land, as I have punished Melech Ashur.
19And I will bring Yisroel back to his naveh (habitation), and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his nefesh shall be satisfied upon Har Ephrayim and Gil'ad.
20In those yamim, and at that time, saith Hashem, the avon Yisroel shall be searched for, and there shall be none; and the chattot Yehudah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I preserve as remnant.
21Go up against Eretz Meratayim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod; lay waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Hashem, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22A sound of milchamah is in ha'aretz, and of shever gadol (great destruction).
23How is the patish (hammer) of kol ha'aretz (the whole earth) shattered and broken! How is Bavel become a desolation among the Goyim!
24I have laid a trap for thee, and thou art indeed caught, O Bavel, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against Hashem.
25 Hashem hath opened His armory, and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation; for this is the work of Adonoi Hashem Tzva'os in Eretz Kasdim.
26Come against her from afar, open her storehouses; pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be she'erit (remnant).
27Slay all her bulls; let them go down latevach (to the slaughter);#50:27 See Isa 53:7 woe unto them! For their day is come, the time of their visitation [for punishment].
28The voice of them that flee and escape as fugitives out of Eretz Bavel, to declare in Tziyon the vengeance of Hashem Eloheinu, the vengeance of His Heikhal.
29Call together the archers against Bavel; all ye that bend the keshet, encamp against it all around; let none thereof escape; repay her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her; for she hath arrogantly defied Hashem Kadosh Yisroel.
30Therefore shall her bochurim fall in the streets, and all her anshei milchamah shall be destroyed in that day, saith Hashem.
31Hineni, I am against thee, O thou zadon (proud one), saith Adonoi Hashem Tzva'os; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee [for punishment].
32And the zadon shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle an eish in his towns, and it shall devour all around him.
33Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os; The Bnei Yisroel and the Bnei Yehudah were oppressed together; and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34Their Go'el is chazak (strong), Hashem Tzva'os Shmo: He shall thoroughly defend their cause, so that He may bring rest to ha'aretz, and disquiet the inhabitants of Bavel.
35A cherev is upon the Kasdim (Chaldeans), saith Hashem, and upon the inhabitants of Bavel, and upon her sarim, and upon her chachamim.
36A cherev is upon the diviners;#50:36 false prophets who practice divination and they shall become fools; a cherev is upon her gibborim; and they shall be dismayed.
37A cherev is upon their susim, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mixed rabble that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as nashim; a cherev is upon her otzarot; and they shall be plundered.
38A chorev (drought) is upon her mayim; and they shall be dried up; for it is the eretz pesalim (land of idols), and they go mad over idols.
39Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the hyenas shall dwell in her,#50:39 Babylon and the ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited lanetzach (forever); neither shall it be dwelt in from dor vador.
40As Elohim overthrew Sodom and Amora (Gomorrah) and the neighboring towns thereof, saith Hashem; so shall no ish abide there, neither shall any ben adam dwell therein.
41Hinei, an am (people, army) shall come from the tzafon (north), and a Goy Gadol, and melachim rabbim shall be stirred up from the ends of the earth.
42They shall wield keshet and spear; they are cruel, and shall show no rachamim; their voice shall roar like the yam, and they shall ride upon susim, every one put in array, like an ish for the milchamah, against thee, O Bat Bavel.
43Melech Bavel hath heard the report of them, and his hands fell feeble; anguish took hold of him, and labor pangs as of a woman in travail.
44Hinei, like an aryeh (lion) coming up from the thicket of the Yarden unto perennial pastures, I will make them suddenly run away from her; and who is the Bachur (Chosen One) that over her I will appoint? For who is like Me? And who can arraign Me? And who is that Ro'eh that will stand before Me?
45Therefore hear ye the etzah of Hashem, that He hath planned against Bavel; and His purposes, that He hath purposed against the Eretz Kasdim; Surely the little ones of the tzon shall be dragged away; surely He shall make their naveh (pasture) desolate because of them.
46At the noise of the capture of Bavel ha'aretz (the earth) is shaken, and the outcry is heard among the Goyim.
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