Jeremiah 50
50
Prophecy against Babylon
1This is what the LORD said concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians through the prophet Jeremiah:
2Tell the nations;
proclaim it far and wide!
Set up a flag;
proclaim it far and wide!
Hold nothing back;
just shout it:
“Babylon is captured;
Bel is shamed;
Marduk is panic-stricken.
Her images are shamed;
her idols are panic-stricken.”
3A nation from the north
has risen up against her.
It will decimate her land,
and no one will live in it.
Every living thing will flee.
4In those days and at that time,
declares the LORD,
the people of Israel and Judah
will come out of Babylon#50.4 Heb lacks of Babylon. together;
with weeping they will leave
as they seek the LORD their God.
5They will search for Zion,
turning their faces toward it.
They will come#50.5 Heb uncertain and
unite with the LORD,
in an everlasting covenant
that will never be forgotten.
6My people were lost sheep;
their shepherds led them astray;
they deserted them on the mountains,
where they wandered off among the hills,
forgetting their resting place.
7All who found them devoured them;
and their attackers said,
“It’s not our fault,
because they have sinned against the LORD,
the true pasture,#50.7 Or righteous dwelling place
the hope of their ancestors—the LORD.”
8Now wander far from Babylon.
Get out of that country.
Like rams of the flock,
lead the way home.
9I’m stirring up against Babylon
a coalition of mighty nations.
It will mobilize in the north,
and from there she will be captured.
Their arrows are like those of an expert archer
who does not return empty-handed.
10Babylon will be defeated;
its attackers will carry off all that they want,
declares the LORD.
11Sure, you gloat and rejoice,
you plunderers of my possession.
Sure, you dance around like a calf
and neigh like a stallion.
12But Mother Babylon#50.12 Or your mother will be humiliated;
the one who bore you will be disgraced.
She will become the least of the nations:
a wilderness, a desert, and parched land.
13Because of the LORD’s anger,
no one will live there;
she will be reduced to total ruin.
All who pass by Babylon will be shocked;
they will gasp at all her injuries.
14Take up your positions around Babylon,
all you archers;
now shoot at her;
save none of your arrows,
because she’s sinned against the LORD.
15Raise a victory shout against her on every side!
She’s surrendered;
her towers have collapsed;
her walls are destroyed.
This is the LORD’s retribution;
now pay her back:
do to her what she’s done to others!
16Cut Babylon off from those who plant
and those who harvest the crops,
because of its ruthless sword.#50.16 Heb uncertain
Now return, all of you, to your people;
flee to your homeland!
17Israelites are scattered sheep,
driven away by lions.
First the king of Assyria devoured them,
and now Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar has ravaged them.#50.17 Or gnawed their bones
18Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims:
I’m going to punish the king of Babylon and his land,
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19But I will restore Israel to their pasture;
they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
they will eat their fill
in the highlands of Ephraim and Gilead.
20In those days and at that time,
declares the LORD,
if one searches for the sin of Israel,
they will find nothing;
if one seeks out the wrongdoing of Judah,
they will look in vain.
I will forgive those I have spared.
21Attack the land of Merathaim;#50.21 Or Double rebellion
crush those living in Pekod.
Ruin and destroy them,
declares the LORD;
do all I have commanded you.
22There’s the sound of war in the land
and enormous devastation.
23How the hammer of the whole earth
has been broken and shattered into pieces!
How Babylon has become a wasteland
among the nations!
24You set a trap for others, Babylon,#50.24 Or I set a trap for you, Babylon, and you were
but you yourself were caught in it unaware;
you have been found and captured
because you have defied the LORD.
25The LORD has opened his arsenal
and brought out his brutal weapons.
The LORD God of heavenly forces
has a job to do in the land of the Babylonians.
26Come against her from every side;
throw open her granaries;
pile her up like stalks of grain;
totally destroy her;
leave nothing intact.
27Destroy all her bulls;
prepare them for slaughter.
How terrible for them!
Their time has come,
the day of reckoning.
28A voice of fugitives and refugees,
from the land of Babylon,
declaring in Zion
the retribution of the LORD our God
because of what has been done to his temple.
29Send the archers against Babylon,
all who draw the bow!
Surround her
and let no one escape.
Pay her back for her deeds;
do to her what she’s done to others.
She has acted arrogantly toward the LORD,
the holy one of Israel!
30Therefore, her soldiers will fall in the streets;
all her warriors will be silenced on that day,
declares the LORD.
31I’m against you, you arrogant one!
declares the LORD God of heavenly forces.
Your day has come,
your time of reckoning.
32The arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and no one will help her up.
I’ll set your cities on fire,
and it will consume all that’s around her.
33The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims:
The people of Israel were oppressed,
together with the people of Judah.
Their captors held them
and refused to let them go.
34Yet their redeemer is strong;
the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.
He will surely defend their cause
and give them rest in the land.
But he will unsettle the people of Babylon.
35A sword against Babylon and its people,
declares the LORD,
along with its officials and sages.
36A sword against its diviners
so that they become fools.
A sword against its warriors
so that they are terrified.
37A sword against its horses and chariots,
and the mercenaries#50.37 Or foreigners in its midst
so that they lose courage.#50.37 Or become like women
A sword against its treasures
so that they are looted.
38A sword#50.38 Or A drought against the water supplies
so that they dry up.
It is truly the land of idols,
idols about which they have gone utterly mad!
39Therefore, Babylon will become a ghost town,
a place for desert animals,
hyenas, and ravenous birds.#50.39 Heb uncertain
No one will live there again;
no one will make it their home.
40Just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,
declares the LORD,
so no one will live in Babylon
or settle there again.
41Look! An army is on the move
from the northern regions.
A powerful nation and many kings are coming
from the ends of the earth.
42Equipped with bow and spear,
they are cruel and show no mercy.
Their horsemen sound like the roaring sea,
arrayed in battle formation against you,
Daughter Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard reports of them
and is panic-stricken;
distress overwhelms him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
44Like a lion coming up from
the jungle of the Jordan
to a well-watered meadow,#50.44 Heb uncertain
so I will suddenly chase down Babylon
and single out its choicest of rams.
Who is like me?
Who can direct me?
What shepherd can withstand me?
45Therefore, listen to the counsel
that the LORD has for Babylon
and the plans he’s devised
against the land of Babylon:
The little ones of the flock
will be dragged off,
as their pasture watches
in utter disbelief.#50.45 Heb uncertain
46The earth quakes
at the sound of Babylon’s capture;
its screams echo throughout the world.
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Jeremiah 50: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 50
50
A Message to Babylon
1This is the message the Lord spoke to Babylon and the Babylonian people through Jeremiah the prophet.
2“Announce this to the nations.
Lift up a banner and tell them.
Speak the whole message and say:
‘Babylon will be captured.
The god Bel will be put to shame,
and the god Marduk will be afraid.
Babylon’s gods will be put to shame,
and her idols will be afraid!’
3A nation from the north will attack Babylon
and make it like an empty desert.
No one will live there;
both people and animals will run away.”
4The Lord says, “At that time
the people of Israel and Judah will come together.
They will cry and look for the Lord their God.
5Those people will ask how to go to Jerusalem
and will start in that direction.
They will come and join themselves to the Lord.
They will make an agreement with him that will last forever,
an agreement that will never be forgotten.
6“My people have been like lost sheep.
Their leaders have led them in the wrong way
and made them wander around in the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their resting place was.
7Whoever saw my people hurt them.
And those enemies said, ‘We did nothing wrong.
Those people sinned against the Lord, their true resting place,
the God their fathers trusted.’
8“Run away from Babylon,
and leave the land of the Babylonians.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9I will soon bring against Babylon
many great nations from the north.
They will take their places for war against it,
and it will be captured by people from the north.
Their arrows are like trained soldiers
who do not return from war with empty hands.
10The enemy will take all the wealth from the Babylonians.
Those enemy soldiers will get all they want,” says the Lord.
11“Babylon, you are excited and happy,
because you took my land.
You dance around like a young cow in the grain.
Your laughter is like the neighing of male horses.
12Your mother will be very ashamed;
the woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced.
Soon Babylonia will be the least important of all the nations.
She will be an empty, dry desert.
13Because of the Lord’s anger,
no one will live there.
She will be completely empty.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be shocked.
They will shake their heads when they see all her injuries.
14“Take your positions for war against Babylon,
all you soldiers with bows.
Shoot your arrows at Babylon! Do not save any of them,
because Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
15Soldiers around Babylon, shout the war cry!
Babylon has surrendered, her towers have fallen,
and her walls have been torn down.
The Lord is giving her people the punishment they deserve.
You nations should give her what she deserves;
do to her what she has done to others.
16Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops
or gather the harvest.
The soldiers treated their captives cruelly.
Now, let everyone go back home.
Let everyone run to his own country.
17“The people of Israel are like a flock of sheep that are scattered
from being chased by lions.
The first lion to eat them up
was the king of Assyria.
The last lion to crush their bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
18So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his country
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19But I will bring the people of Israel back to their own pasture.
They will eat on Mount Carmel and in Bashan.
They will eat and be full
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.”
20The Lord says,
“At that time people will try to find Israel’s guilt,
but there will be no guilt.
People will try to find Judah’s sins,
but no sins will be found,
because I will leave a few people alive from Israel and Judah,
and I will forgive their sins.
21“Attack the land of Merathaim.
Attack the people who live in Pekod.
Chase them, kill them, and completely destroy them.
Do everything I commanded you!” says the Lord.
22“The noise of battle can be heard all over the country;
it is the noise of much destruction.
23Babylon was the hammer of the whole earth,
but how broken and shattered that hammer is now.
It is truly the most ruined
of all the nations.
24Babylon, I set a trap for you,
and you were caught before you knew it.
You fought against the Lord,
so you were found and taken prisoner.
25The Lord has opened up his storeroom
and brought out the weapons of his anger,
because the Lord God All-Powerful has work to do
in the land of the Babylonians.
26Come against Babylon from far away.
Break open her storehouses of grain.
Pile up her dead bodies like heaps of grain.
Completely destroy Babylon
and do not leave anyone alive.
27Kill all the young men in Babylon;
let them be killed like animals.
How terrible it will be for them, because the time has come for their defeat;
it is time for them to be punished.
28Listen to the people running to escape the country of Babylon!
They are telling Jerusalem
how the Lord our God is punishing Babylon as it deserves
for destroying his Temple.
29“Call for the archers
to come against Babylon.
Tell them to surround the city,
and let no one escape.
Pay her back for what she has done;
do to her what she has done to other nations.
Babylon acted with pride against the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
30So her young men will be killed in her streets.
All her soldiers will die on that day,” says the Lord.
31“Babylon, you are too proud, and I am against you,”
says the Lord God All-Powerful.
“The time has come
for you to be punished.
32Proud Babylon will stumble and fall,
and no one will help her get up.
I will start a fire in her towns,
and it will burn up everything around her.”
33This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“The people of Israel
and Judah are slaves.
The enemy took them as prisoners
and won’t let them go.
34But God is strong and will buy them back.
His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
He will surely defend them with power
so he can give rest to their land.
But he will not give rest to those living in Babylon.”
35The Lord says,
“Let a sword kill the people living in Babylon
and her officers and wise men!
36Let a sword kill her false prophets,
and they will become fools.
Let a sword kill her warriors,
and they will be full of terror.
37Let a sword kill her horses and chariots
and all the soldiers hired from other countries!
Then they will be like frightened women.
Let a sword attack her treasures,
so they will be taken away.
38Let a sword attack her waters
so they will be dried up.
She is a land of idols,
and the people go crazy with fear over them.
39“Desert animals and hyenas will live there,
and owls will live there,
but no people will ever live there again.
She will never be filled with people again.
40God completely destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns around them,” says the Lord.
“In the same way no people will live in Babylon,
and no human being will stay there.
41“Look! An army is coming from the north.
A powerful nation and many kings
are coming together from all around the world.
42Their armies have bows and spears.
The soldiers are cruel and have no mercy.
As the soldiers come riding on their horses,
the sound is loud like the roaring sea.
They stand in their places, ready for battle.
They are ready to attack you, city of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon heard about those armies,
and he became helpless with fear.
Distress has gripped him.
His pain is like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
44“Like a lion coming up from the thick bushes near the Jordan River
to attack a strong pen for sheep,
I will suddenly chase the people of Babylon from their land.
Who is the one I have chosen to do this?
There is no one like me,
no one who can take me to court.
None of their leaders can stand up against me.”
45So listen to what the Lord has planned to do against Babylon.
Listen to what he has decided to do to the people in the city of Babylon.
He will surely drag away the young ones of Babylon.
Their hometowns will surely be shocked at what happens to them.
46At the sound of Babylon’s capture, the earth will shake.
People in all nations will hear Babylon’s cry of distress.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.