Jeremiah 50
50
Babylon's Capture
1 #
Is 13.1—14.23; 47.1–15 This is the message that the LORD gave me about the city of Babylon and its people:
2“Tell the news to the nations! Proclaim it!
Give the signal and announce the news!
Do not keep it a secret!
Babylon has fallen!
Her god Marduk has been shattered!
Babylon's idols are put to shame,
her disgusting images are crushed!
3“A nation from the north has come to attack Babylonia and will make it a desert. People and animals will run away, and no one will live there.”
Israel's Return
4The LORD says, “When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God. 5They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.
6“My people are like sheep whose shepherds have let them get lost in the mountains. They have wandered like sheep from one mountain to another, and they have forgotten where their home is. 7They are attacked by all who find them. Their enemies say, ‘They sinned against the LORD, and so what we have done is not wrong. Their ancestors trusted in the LORD, and they themselves should have remained faithful to him.’
8 #
Rev 18.4
“People of Israel, run away from Babylonia! Leave the country! Be the first to leave! 9I am going to stir up a group of strong nations in the north and make them attack Babylonia. They will line up in battle against the country and conquer it. They are skilful hunters, shooting arrows that never miss the mark. 10Babylonia will be looted, and those who loot it will take everything they want. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Babylon's Fall
11The LORD says, “People of Babylonia, you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad, going about like a cow threshing corn or like a neighing horse, 12but your own great city will be humiliated and disgraced. Babylonia will be the least important nation of all; it will become a dry and waterless desert. 13Because of my anger no one will live in Babylon; it will be left in ruins, and all who pass by will be shocked and amazed.
14“Archers, line up for battle against Babylon and surround it. Shoot all your arrows at Babylon, because it has sinned against me, the LORD. 15Raise the war cry all round the city! Now Babylon has surrendered. Its walls have been broken through and torn down.#50.15 Hebrew has an additional word, the meaning of which is unclear. I am taking my revenge on the Babylonians. So take your revenge on them, and treat them as they have treated others. 16Do not let seeds be sown in that country or let a harvest be gathered. Every foreigner living there will be afraid of the attacking army and will go back home.”
Israel's Return
17The LORD says, “The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed their bones. 18Because of this, I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, will punish King Nebuchadnezzar and his country, just as I punished the emperor of Assyria. 19I will restore the people of Israel to their land. They will eat the food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the region of Bashan, and they will eat all they want of the crops that grow in the territories of Ephraim and Gilead. 20When that time comes, no sin will be found in Israel and no wickedness in Judah, because I will forgive those people whose lives I have spared. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
God's Judgement on Babylonia
21The LORD says, “Attack the people of Merathaim and of Pekod. Kill and destroy them.#50.21 One ancient translation them; Hebrew after them. Do everything I command you. I, the LORD, have spoken. 22The noise of battle is heard in the land, and there is great destruction. 23Babylonia hammered the whole world to pieces, and now that hammer is shattered! All the nations are shocked at what has happened to that country. 24Babylonia, you fought against me, and you have been caught in the trap I set for you, even though you did not know it. 25I have opened the place where my weapons are stored, and in my anger I have taken them out, because I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have work to do in Babylonia. 26Attack it from every side and break open the places where its grain is stored! Pile up the loot like piles of grain! Destroy the country! Leave nothing at all! 27Kill all their soldiers! Slaughter them! The people of Babylonia are doomed! The time has come for them to be punished!”
28(Refugees escape from Babylonia and come to Jerusalem, and they tell how the LORD our God took revenge for what the Babylonians had done to his Temple.)
29 #
Rev 18.6
“Tell the archers to attack Babylon. Send out everyone who knows how to use the bow and arrow. Surround the city and don't let anyone escape. Pay it back for all it has done, and treat it as it has treated others, because it acted with pride against me, the Holy One of Israel. 30So its young men will be killed in the city streets, and all its soldiers will be destroyed on that day. I, the LORD, have spoken.
31“Babylonia, you are filled with pride, so I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, am against you! The time has come for me to punish you. 32Your proud nation will stumble and fall, and no one will help you up. I will set your cities on fire, and everything around will be destroyed.”
33The LORD Almighty says, “The people of Israel and of Judah are oppressed. All who captured them are guarding them closely and will not let them go. 34But the one who will rescue them is strong — his name is the LORD Almighty. He himself will take up their cause and will bring peace to the earth, but trouble to the people of Babylonia.”
35The LORD says,
“Death to Babylonia!
Death to its people,
to its rulers, to its men of wisdom.
36Death to its lying prophets —
what fools they are!
Death to its soldiers —
how terrified they are!
37Destroy its horses and chariots!
Death to its hired soldiers —
how weak they are!
Destroy its treasures;
plunder and loot.
38Bring a drought on its land
and dry up its rivers.
Babylonia is a land of terrifying idols,
that have made fools of the people.
39 #
Rev 18.2
“And so Babylon will be haunted by demons and evil spirits,#50.39 demons and evil spirits; or wildcats and jackals. and by unclean birds. Never again will people live there, not for all time to come. 40#Gen 19.24–25The same thing will happen to Babylon as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when I destroyed them and the nearby towns. No one will ever live there again. I, the LORD, have spoken.
41“People are coming from a country in the north,
a mighty nation far away;
many kings are preparing for war.
42They have taken their bows and swords;
they are cruel and merciless.
They sound like the roaring sea,
as they ride their horses.
They are ready for battle against Babylonia.
43The king of Babylonia hears the news,
and his hands hang limp.
He is seized by anguish,
by pain like a woman in labour.
44“Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I, the LORD, will come and make the Babylonians run away suddenly from their city. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me? 45So listen to the plan that I have made against the city of Babylon and to what I intend to do to its people. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified. 46When Babylon falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard by the other nations.”
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Jeremiah 50: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Jeremiah 50
50
The First Oracle Against Babylon. 1The word the Lord spoke against Babylon,#50:1–51:58] A collection of miscellaneous oracles against Babylon introducing the story in 51:59–64. against the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:#Jer 51:1; Is 13:1–14; 21:1–10.
2Proclaim this among the nations, announce it!
Announce it, do not hide it, but say:
Babylon is captured, Bel#Bel: originally the title of the god of Nippur in Mesopotamia, later associated with Merodach (Marduk), chief god of Babylon (cf. Is 46:1). put to shame, Marduk terrified;
its images are put to shame, its idols shattered.
3A nation from the north advances against it,
making the land desolate
So that no one can live there;
human beings and animals have fled.#Jer 51:48; Is 13:17.
4In those days and at that time—oracle of the Lord—
Israelite and Judahite shall come together,
Weeping as they come, to seek the Lord, their God;#Jer 3:18; Ps 126:6.
5They shall ask for Zion,
seeking out the way.
“Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant, never to be forgotten.”#Jer 31:31; 32:40.
6Lost sheep were my people,
their shepherds misled them,
leading them astray on the mountains;
From mountain to hill they wandered,
forgetting their fold.#Is 53:6; 1 Pt 2:25.
7Whoever happened upon them devoured them;
their enemies said, “We are not guilty,
Because they sinned against the Lord,
the abode of justice, the hope of their ancestors.”#Jer 31:23.
8Flee from the midst of Babylon,
leave the land of the Chaldeans,
be like rams at the head of the flock.#Jer 51:6, 45; Is 48:20.
9See, I am stirring up against Babylon
a band of great nations from the land of the north;
They are arrayed against her,
from there she shall be taken.
Their arrows are like the arrows of a skilled warrior
who never returns empty-handed.#Jer 51:27.
10Chaldea shall become plunder;
all its plunderers shall be enriched—
oracle of the Lord.
11Yes, rejoice and exult,
you that plunder my heritage;
Frisk like calves on the grass,
neigh like stallions!
12Your mother will indeed be put to shame,
she that bore you shall be abashed;
See, the last of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry wasteland.#Jer 51:43; Is 13:20–22.
13Because of the Lord’s wrath it shall be uninhabited,
become an utter wasteland;
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled
and hiss at all its wounds.#Jer 25:12.
14Take your posts encircling Babylon,
you who bend the bow;
Shoot at it, do not spare your arrows,#Jer 51:11; Is 21:2.
15raise the war cry against it on every side.
It surrenders, its bastions fall,
its walls are torn down:#Its walls are torn down: the prophet describes the downfall of Babylon in conventional language. Babylon surrendered peacefully to the Persians in 539 B.C.
This is retribution from the Lord! Take retribution on her,
as she has done, do to her;
for she sinned against the Lord.#Jer 51:11, 44, 58; Ps 137:8.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon
and those who wield sickles at harvest time!
Before the destroying sword,
all of them turn back to their own people,
all flee to their own land.#Is 13:14.
17Israel was a stray sheep
that lions pursued;
The king of Assyria once devoured him;
now Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnaws his bones.#2 Kgs 17:24; 18:14.
18Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
as I once punished the king of Assyria;#Is 10:12; 14:24–25.
19But I will bring Israel back to its pasture,
to feed on Carmel and Bashan,
And on Mount Ephraim and Gilead,
until they have their fill.#Jer 23:3; Ez 34:13–14.
20In those days, at that time—oracle of the Lord:
The guilt of Israel may be sought, but it no longer exists,
the sin of Judah, but it can no longer be found;
for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.#Jer 31:34; Is 43:25; Mi 7:19.
21Attack the land of Merathaim,
and those who live in Pekod;#Merathaim…Pekod: “twice bitter,” “punishment,” symbolic terms for Babylon that recall the names of regions in the country.
Slaughter and put them under the ban—oracle of the Lord—
do all I have commanded you.
22Battle alarm in the land,
great destruction!
23How the hammer of the whole earth
has been cut off and broken!
What an object of horror
Babylon has become among the nations!#Jer 51:20; Is 14:6.
24You ensnared yourself and were caught,
Babylon, before you knew it!
You were discovered and seized,
because you challenged the Lord.#Jer 51:57.
25The Lord opens his armory,
brings out the weapons of his wrath;
The Lord God of hosts has work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.#Jer 51:11–12; Is 13:5.
26Come upon them from every side,
open their granaries,
Pile them up in heaps and put them under the ban;
do not leave a remnant.
27Slay all the oxen,
take them down to slaughter;
Woe to them! their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
28Listen! the fugitives, the refugees
from the land of Babylon:
They announce in Zion
the retribution of the Lord, our God.#Jer 51:10–11.
29Call archers out against Babylon,
all who bend the bow;
Encamp around them;
let no one escape.
Repay them for their deeds;
what they have done, do to them,
For they insulted the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.#Jer 51:56.
30Therefore their young men shall fall in the squares,
all their warriors shall be stilled on that day—
oracle of the Lord.#Jer 49:26; 51:4.
31I am against you, O Insolence—
oracle of the Lord God of hosts;
For your day has come,
the time for me to punish you.
32Insolence stumbles and falls;
there is no one to raise him up.
I will kindle a fire in his cities
to devour everything around him.
33Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Oppressed are the people of Israel,
together with the people of Judah;
All their captors hold them fast
and refuse to let them go.
34Strong is their Redeemer,
whose name is Lord of hosts,
The sure defender of their cause,
who gives rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.#Jer 51:36.
35A sword upon the Chaldeans—oracle of the Lord—
upon the inhabitants of Babylon, her princes and sages!
36A sword upon the soothsayers,
and they become fools!
A sword upon the warriors,
and they tremble;
37A sword upon their motley throng,
and they become women!
A sword upon their treasures,
and they are plundered;#Jer 51:30; Na 3:13.
38A drought upon the waters,
and they dry up!
For it is a land of idols,
soon made frantic by phantoms.#Jer 51:32, 36.
39Hence, wildcats shall dwell there with hyenas,
and ostriches occupy it;
Never again shall it be inhabited or settled,
from age to age.#Jer 51:37; Is 13:21–22.
40As happened when God overturned Sodom
and Gomorrah and their neighbors—oracle of the Lord—
No one shall dwell there,
no mortal shall settle there.#Jer 51:43.
41See, a people comes from the north,
a great nation, and mighty kings
rising from the ends of the earth.#Jer 51:27–28.
42Bow and javelin they wield,
cruel and pitiless are they;
They sound like the roaring sea,
as they ride forth on horses,
Each in place for battle
against you, daughter Babylon.
43The king of Babylon hears news of them,
and his hands hang helpless;
Anguish takes hold of him,
like the pangs of a woman giving birth.#Is 13:7.
44As happens when a lion comes up from a thicket of the Jordan
to permanent pasture,
So I, in an instant, will chase them off,
and establish there whomever I choose!
For who is like me? Who can call me to account?
What shepherd can stand against me?#Jer 49:19.
45Therefore, hear the strategy of the Lord,
which he has devised against Babylon;
Hear the plans drawn up
against the land of the Chaldeans:
They shall be dragged away, even the smallest sheep;
their own pasture aghast because of them.#Jer 51:12, 29.
46At the cry “Babylon is captured!” the earth quakes;
the outcry is heard among the nations.#Jer 51:29.
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