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.
Jeremiah 51
51
1Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind; 2and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. 3Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host. 4And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. 5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. 6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence. 7Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad. 8Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies. 10Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God#GodHebrew: Elohim 11Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. 12Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity. 14Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee. 15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 16When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 17Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name. 20Thou art my maul, my weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms; 21and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver; 22and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; 23and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers. 24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah. 25Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain. 26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah. 27Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars. 28Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion. 29And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. 30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken. 31Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end; 32and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. 33For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her. 34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. 35The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 36Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry. 37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. 38They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps. 39When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. 41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves. 43Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby. 44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen. 45Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah! 46lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that a rumour in another year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler. 47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah. 49As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. 50Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. 51— We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house. 52— Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan. 53Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah. 54The sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans; 55for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth. 56For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the ·God#GodHebrew: El of recompences, will certainly requite. 57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts. 58Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, 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 chamberlain. 60And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words; 62and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; 64and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.