Jeremiah 51
51
Apocalyptic Vengeance
1Thus says Adonai: “Look! Stirring up against Babylon and those living in Leb-kamai, a spirit of destruction.
2I will send strangers to Babylon to scatter her and empty her land. For in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
3Let the archer bend his bow at her. Let him rise up at her in his armor. Do not spare her young men. Destroy her whole army.
4They will fall down slain in the land of Chaldea, thrust through in her streets.
5For neither Israel nor Judah will be widowed by his God, Adonai-Tzva’ot, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee from within Babylon! Each one, escape with his soul! Be not silenced in her iniquity! For it is a time of vengeance for Adonai. He will repay her recompense.
7Babylon has been a golden cup in Adonai’s hand, intoxicating the whole earth. The nations drunk her wine— so the nations are going crazy.
8Suddenly Babylon is fallen! Shattered! Howl over her! Bring balm for her wound. Perhaps she may be healed?
9We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed. Abandon her! Let’s go, each one to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to the heavens and has risen beyond the skies.
10Adonai has brought forth our vindication! Come, let us declare in Zion the work of Adonai Eloheinu!
11Sharpen the arrows. Fill the quivers! Adonai has roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon, to destroy it. For it is Adonai’s vengeance, vengeance for His Temple.
12Raise a banner at Babylon’s walls! Strengthen the guard. Station watchmen. Prepare ambushes. For Adonai has both planned and accomplished what He spoke about the Babylonians.
13You dwelling by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
14Adonai-Tzva’ot has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men like a locust swarm, and they will shout cheers over you.”
Creator of All, Judge of All
15One made the earth by His power, set up the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His knowledge.
16At His giving voice— tumult of waters in the skies! He causes clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth wind from His storehouses.
17All mankind is stupid, ignorant. Every goldsmith is disgraced by an idol, for his molten image is a lie— there is no breath in them.
18They are futile, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation they will perish.
19Jacob’s Portion is not like these, for He is the former of all things, including the tribe of His heritage —Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name.
20“You are My club, a war weapon— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.
21With you I wreck horse and rider, with you I wreck chariot and rider,
22with you I break man and woman, with you I break elder and youth, with you I break young man and maid,
23with you I scatter shepherd and flock, with you I scatter plowman and ox-team, with you I scatter governors and officials.
24I will repay Babylon and all living in Chaldea for all their evil that they did in Zion, before your eyes.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
25“Beware! I am against you, destroyer of the Mount!” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “Destroyer of all the land— I will stretch out My hand at you, roll you down from the cliffs, and make you a burning hill.
26They will not even take from you a cornerstone or foundation stone, for you will be desolate forever.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
27Raise a banner in the land! Blow a shofar among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her. Summon against her the kingdoms— Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her. Bring horses up like rough locusts.
28Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, its governors and all its deputies, and all the land of his dominion.
29Now the land shakes and writhes, for Adonai’s plans against Babylon arise— to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.
30Babylon’s warriors ceased fighting. They stay in their strongholds. Their might is exhausted. They have become like women. Her dwellings are set ablaze, her gate-bars are broken.
31One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell Babylon’s king that his city has been taken from end to end.
32The fords have also been seized and the marshes burned with fire, so the warriors are in panic.
33For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at treading time. A little longer, and the time of harvest for her will come.”
34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, crushed me, set me aside like an empty dish, swallowed me up like a dragon, filled his belly with my delicacies, rinsed me away.”
35The one dwelling in Zion says: “Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon!” Jerusalem says: “My blood be on the Chaldeans!”
36Therefore thus says Adonai: “Yes, I will uphold your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
37Babylon will become heaps, a dwelling for jackals, a horror and a hissing, uninhabited.
38They roar together like young lions, growl like lions cubs.
39When they become hot, I will set out a banquet for them and will make them so drunk that they become merry— and then sleep a perpetual sleep and never awake.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
40“I will drag them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41How has Sheshach been taken, the praise of the whole earth seized? How has Babylon become a horror among the nations!
42The sea has risen over Babylon— she is covered with its roaring waves.
43Her cities became desolation, a dry land, desert, uninhabited land, through which no son of man passes.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon— What he swallowed I will make him disgorge out of his mouth. Nations will no longer stream to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen!
45Come out of her, My people! Each of you, save your soul from the fierce anger of Adonai.
46Do not be faint-hearted, or be intimidated by the rumor heard in the land— one year one rumor comes, next year, another rumor. Yet violence will be in the land, with ruler against ruler.
47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s idols. Her entire land will be disgraced and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48Then heaven and the earth and all that is in them will sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers from the north will come to her.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
49Yes, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth fell to Babylon.
50Escapees from the sword, go! Do not stand still! Remember Adonai from afar— and make aliyah to Jerusalem in your heart.
51“We were shamed when we heard reproach. Disgrace has covered our faces, for foreigners entered the holy places of Adonai’s House.”
52“Therefore behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will punish her idols, and the wounded will groan throughout all her land.
53Even if Babylon went up to heaven and even if she fortified the height of her stronghold, from Me destroyers will come to her.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
54The sound of an outcry from Babylon! Great ruin from the land of Chaldea!
55For Adonai is devastating Babylon, and will silence her loud voice. Their waves will roar like many waters. The noise of their voices will resound.
56For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, and her warriors will be captured, their bows broken. For Adonai is a God of restitution, He will fully repay.
57“I will intoxicate her officials and sages, her governors, deputies, and warriors, and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake.” It is a declaration of the King, whose Name is Adonai-Tzva’ot.
58Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: “Babylon’s thick wall will be totally razed and her high gates burned with fire. So the peoples are toiling for nothing, and nations weary themselves for fire.”
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was quartermaster.
60And Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the evil that would come upon Babylon, including all these words that were written about Babylon.
61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you arrive in Babylon, then see that you read all these words,
62and say: ‘Adonai, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that nothing will dwell there, neither man nor beast, but that it will be desolate forever.’
63“Now when you have finished reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
64Then you will say: ‘Thus will Babylon sink, and not rise again, because of the calamity that I will bring on her. So they will weary themselves.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Jeremiah 51
51
1Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Chaldea;#51.1 Heb Leb-qamai, a cipher for Chaldea
2and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
when they come against her from every side
on the day of trouble.
3Let not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not stand up in his coat of mail.
Spare not her young men;
utterly destroy all her host.
4They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and wounded in her streets.
5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts;
but the land of the Chaldeans#51.5 Heb their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 #
Jer 50.8; 2 Cor 6.17; Rev 18.4. “Flee from the midst of Babylon,
let every man save his life!
Be not cut off in her punishment,
for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance,
the requital he is rendering her.
7 #
Jer 25.15; Rev 14.8,10; 16.19; 17.4; 18.3. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
making all the earth drunken;
the nations drank of her wine,
therefore the nations went mad.
8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
wail for her!
Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9We would have healed Babylon,
but she was not healed.
Forsake her, and let us go
each to his own country;
for her judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10The Lord has brought forth our vindication;
come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11“Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.
12Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
prepare the ambushes;
for the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 #
Rev 17.1. O you who dwell by many waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the thread of your life is cut.
14The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts,
and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.
15“It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding
stretched out the heavens.
16When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
17Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
18They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
20“You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I break nations in pieces;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
21with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
22with you I break in pieces man and woman;
with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces the young man and the maiden;
23with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.
24“I will requite Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, says the Lord.
25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
says the Lord,
which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
and make you a burnt mountain.
26No stone shall be taken from you for a corner
and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be a perpetual waste,
says the Lord.
27“Set up a standard on the earth,
blow the trumpet among the nations;
prepare the nations for war against her,
summon against her the kingdoms,
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
appoint a marshal against her,
bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28Prepare the nations for war against her,
the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies,
and every land under their dominion.
29The land trembles and writhes in pain,
for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
without inhabitant.
30The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting,
they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed,
they have become women;
her dwellings are on fire,
her bars are broken.
31One runner runs to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
that his city is taken on every side;
32the fords have been seized,
the bulwarks are burned with fire,
and the soldiers are in panic.
33For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and the time of her harvest will come.”
34“Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me,
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel,
he has swallowed me like a monster;
he has filled his belly with my delicacies,
he has rinsed me out.
35The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
let Jerusalem say.
36Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her sea
and make her fountain dry;
37and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,
the haunt of jackals,
a horror and a hissing,
without inhabitant.
38“They shall roar together like lions;
they shall growl like lions' whelps.
39While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast
and make them drunk, till they swoon away#51.39 Gk Vg: Heb rejoice
and sleep a perpetual sleep
and not wake, says the Lord.
40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and he-goats.
41“How Babylon#51.41 Heb Sheshach, a cipher for Babylon is taken,
the praise of the whole earth seized!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
42The sea has come up on Babylon;
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43Her cities have become a horror,
a land of drought and a desert,
a land in which no one dwells,
and through which no son of man passes.
44And I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed.
The nations shall no longer flow to him;
the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45“Go out of the midst of her, my people!
Let every man save his life
from the fierce anger of the Lord!
46Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
at the report heard in the land,
when a report comes in one year
and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
and ruler is against ruler.
47“Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when I will punish the images of Babylon;
her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 #
Is 44.23; Rev 12.12; 18.20. Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon;
for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
says the Lord.
49Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50“You that have escaped from the sword,
go, stand not still!
Remember the Lord from afar,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
dishonor has covered our face,
for aliens have come
into the holy places of the Lord's house.’
52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will execute judgment upon her images,
and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.
53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
and though she should fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me upon her,
says the Lord.
54“Hark! a cry from Babylon!
The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55For the Lord is laying Babylon waste,
and stilling her mighty voice.
Their waves roar like many waters,
the noise of their voice is raised;
56for a destroyer has come upon her,
upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken,
their bows are broken in pieces;
for the Lord is a God of recompense,
he will surely requite.
57I will make drunk her princes and her wise men,
her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58“Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad wall of Babylon
shall be leveled to the ground
and her high gates
shall be burned with fire.
The peoples labor for naught,
and the nations weary themselves only for fire.”
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62and say, ‘O Lord, thou hast said concerning this place that thou wilt cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate for ever.’ 63#Rev 18.21. When you finish reading this book, bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the evil that I am bringing upon her.’ ”#51.64 Gk: Heb upon her. And they shall weary themselves
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America