Jeremiah 51
51
Babylon Will Be Destroyed
1I, the Lord, am sending
a wind#51.1 wind: Or “spirit.” to destroy
the people of Babylonia#51.1 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has “Leb-Qamai,” a secret way of writing “Babylonia.”
and Babylon, its capital.
2Foreign soldiers will come
from every direction,
and when the disaster is over,
Babylonia will be empty
and worthless.
3I will tell these soldiers,
“Attack quickly,
before the Babylonians
can string their bows
or put on their armor.#51.3 I will tell … armor: Or “Attack quickly! String your bows and put on your armor.”
Kill their best soldiers
and destroy their army!”
4Their troops will fall wounded
in the streets of Babylon.
5Everyone in Israel and Judah
is guilty.
But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
their holy God,
have not abandoned them.
6Get out of Babylon!
Run for your lives!
If you stay, you will be killed
when I take revenge on the city
and punish it for its sins.
7 #
Rev 17.2-4; 18.3. Babylon was my golden cup,
filled with the wine
of my anger.
The nations of the world
got drunk on this wine
and went insane.
8But suddenly, Babylon will fall
and be destroyed.
I, the Lord, told the foreigners#51.8 the foreigners: Or “my people.”
who lived there,
“Weep for the city!
Get medicine for its wounds;
maybe they will heal.”
9The foreigners answered,
“We have already tried
to treat Babylon's wounds,
but they would not heal.
Come on, let's all go home
to our own countries.
Nothing is left in Babylonia;
everything is destroyed.”
10The people of Israel said,
“Tell everyone in Zion!
The Lord has taken revenge
for what Babylon did to us.”
The Lord Wants Babylon Destroyed
11I, the Lord,
want Babylon destroyed,
because its army
destroyed my temple.
So, you kings of Media,#51.11 kings of Media: Probably kings of smaller kingdoms that were part of the Median Empire (see also verse 27 and the note there).
sharpen your arrows
and pick up your shields.
12Raise the signal flag
and attack the city walls.
Post more guards.
Have soldiers watch the city
and set up ambushes.
I have made plans
to destroy Babylon,
and nothing will stop me.
13 #
Rev 17.1. People of Babylon, you live
along the Euphrates River
and are surrounded by canals.
You are rich,
but now the time has come
for you to die.#51.13 for you to die: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
14I, the Lord All-Powerful,
swear by my own life
that enemy soldiers
will fill your streets
like a swarm of locusts.#51.14 locusts: See the note at 46.22.
They will shout
and celebrate their victory.
A Hymn of Praise
(Jeremiah 10.12-16)
15God used his wisdom and power
to create the earth
and spread out the heavens.
16The waters in the heavens roar
at his command.
He makes clouds appear;
he sends the wind
from his storehouse
and makes lightning flash
in the rain.
17People who make idols
are stupid!
They will be disappointed,
because their false gods
cannot breathe.
18Idols are merely a joke,
and when the time is right,
they will be destroyed.
19But the Lord, Israel's God,
is all-powerful.
He created everything,
and he chose Israel
to be his very own.
God's Hammer
The Lord said:
20Babylonia, you were my hammer;
I used you to pound nations
and break kingdoms,
21to shatter cavalry and chariots,
22as well as men and women,
young and old,
23shepherds and their flocks,
farmers and their oxen,
and governors and leaders.
24But now, my people will watch,
while I repay you
for what you did to Zion.
25You destroyed the nations
and seem strong as a mountain,
but I am your enemy.
I might even grab you
and roll you off a cliff.
When I am finished,
you'll only be a pile
of scorched bricks.
26Your stone blocks won't be reused
for cornerstones
or foundations,
and I promise that forever
you will be a desert.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Nations Will Attack Babylon
The Lord said:
27Signal the nations
to get ready to attack.
Raise a flag and blow a trumpet.
Send for the armies of Ararat,
Minni, and Ashkenaz.#51.27 Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: Kingdoms to the north of Babylonia that were part of the Median Empire (see also verse 28).
Choose a commander;
let the cavalry attack
like a swarm of locusts.
28Tell the kings and governors,
the leaders and the people
of the kingdoms of the Medes
to prepare for war!
29The earth twists and turns
in torment,
because I have decided
to make Babylonia a desert
where no one can live,
and I won't change my mind.
30The Babylonian soldiers
have lost their strength
and courage.#51.30 have lost their strength and courage: Hebrew “have lost their strength and have become like women.”
They stay in their fortresses,
unable to fight,
while the enemy breaks through
the city gates,
then sets their homes on fire.
31One messenger after another
announces to the king,
“Babylon has been captured!
32The enemy now controls
the river crossings!
The marshes#51.32 marshes: The tall grass in the marshes could have provided hiding places for people trying to escape from Babylon. are on fire!
Your army has panicked!”
33I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel,
and I make this promise—
“Soon Babylon will be leveled
and packed down
like a threshing place
at harvest time.”#51.33 leveled … harvest time: A threshing place with a dirt surface had to be leveled and packed down before it could be used.
Babylonia Will Pay!
34The people of Jerusalem say,
“King Nebuchadnezzar#51.34 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
made us panic.
That monster stuffed himself
with us and our treasures,
leaving us empty—
he gobbled up
what he wanted
and spit out the rest.
35The people of Babylonia
harmed some of us#51.35 harmed some of us: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and killed others.
Now, Lord, make them pay!”
The Lord Will Take Revenge on Babylon
36My people, I am on your side,
and I will take revenge
on Babylon.
I will cut off its water supply,
and its stream#51.36 stream: Probably the Euphrates River. will dry up.
37Babylon will be a pile of rubble
where only jackals#51.37 jackals: See the note at 9.11. live,
and everyone will be afraid
to walk among the ruins.
38The Babylonians roar and growl
like young lions.
39And since they are hungry,
I will give them a banquet.
They will celebrate, get drunk,
then fall asleep,
never to wake up!
40I will lead them away to die,
like sheep, lambs, and goats
being led to the butcher.
41All nations now praise Babylon,#51.41 Babylon: The Hebrew text has “Sheshach,” a secret way of writing the name “Babylon.”
but when it is captured,
those same nations
will be horrified.
42Babylon's enemies will rise
like ocean waves
and flood the city.
43Horrible destruction will strike
the nearby towns.
The land will become
a barren desert,
where no one can live
or even travel.
44I will punish Marduk,#51.44 Marduk: Hebrew “Bel” (see the note at 50.2).
the god of Babylon,
and make him vomit out
everything he gobbled up.
Then nations will no longer
bring him gifts,
and Babylon's walls will crumble.
The Lord Offers Hope to His People
45Get out of Babylon, my people,
and run for your lives,
before I strike the city
in my anger!
46Don't be afraid or lose hope,
though year after year
there are rumors
of leaders fighting for control
in the city of Babylon.
47The time will come
when I will punish
Babylon's false gods.
Everyone there will die,
and the whole nation
will be disgraced,
48 #
Rev 18.20. when an army attacks
from the north
and brings destruction.
Then the earth and the heavens
and everything in them
will celebrate.
49 #
Rev 18.24. Babylon must be overthrown,
because it slaughtered
the people of Israel
and of many other nations.
50My people, you escaped death
when Jerusalem fell.
Now you live far from home,
but you should trust me
and think about Jerusalem.
Leave Babylon! Don't stay!
51You feel ashamed and disgraced,
because foreigners have entered
my sacred temple.
52Soon I will send a war
to punish Babylon's idols
and leave its wounded people
moaning everywhere.
53Although Babylon's walls
reach to the sky,
the army I send
will destroy that city.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Babylon Will Be Destroyed
The Lord said:
54Listen to the cries for help
coming from Babylon.
Everywhere in the country
the sounds of destruction
can be heard.
55The shouts of the enemy,
like crashing ocean waves,
will drown out Babylon's cries
as I level the city.
56An enemy will attack
and destroy Babylon.
Its soldiers will be captured
and their weapons broken,
because I am a God
who takes revenge against nations
for what they do.
57I, the Lord All-Powerful,
the true King, promise
that the officials and advisors,
the governors and leaders,
and the soldiers of Babylon
will get drunk, fall asleep,
and never wake up.
58The thick walls of that city
will be torn down,
and its huge gates burned.
Everything that nation
worked so hard to gain
will go up in smoke.
Jeremiah Gives Seraiah a Scroll
59During Zedekiah's#51.59 Zedekiah's: See the note at 1.3. fourth year as king of Judah, he went to Babylon. And Baruch's brother Seraiah#51.59 Baruch's brother Seraiah: Hebrew “Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah”; Baruch helped Jeremiah write down his messages (see 32.12; 36.4-10). went along as the officer in charge of arranging for places to stay overnight.#51.59 arranging for places to stay overnight: Hebrew and one ancient translation; two ancient translations, “the tax money.”
60Before they left, I wrote on a scroll#51.60 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2. all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon. 61I gave the scroll to Seraiah and said:
When you get to Babylon, read this scroll aloud, 62then pray, “Our Lord, you promised to destroy this place and make it into a desert where no people or animals will ever live.”
63 #
Rev 18.21. When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the Euphrates River. Then say, 64“This is how Babylon will sink when the Lord destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won't have the strength to rise again.”
The End of Jeremiah's Writing
Jeremiah's writing ends here.
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Jeremiah 51: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
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