Jeremiah 51
51
The Second Oracle Against Babylon
1Thus says the Lord:
See! I rouse against Babylon,
and the inhabitants of Chaldea,
a destroyer wind.#The destroyer wind is the fierce dry wind from the east (cf. 4:11).
2To Babylon I will send winnowers
to winnow and lay waste the land;
They shall besiege it on every side
on the day of affliction.#Jer 15:7; Is 41:16.
3How can the archers draw back their bows,
lift their armor?
Do not spare her young men,
put the entire army under the ban.#Jer 50:14, 29.
4The slain shall fall in the land of Chaldea,
the wounded, in its streets;#Jer 50:30.
5For Israel and Judah are not left widowed
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
Even though the land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee from Babylon;
each of you save your own life,
do not perish because of her guilt;
This is a time of retribution from the Lord,
7who pays out her due.#Jer 50:8, 15, 29; Is 48:20.
Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the Lord
making the whole earth drunk;
The nations drank its wine,
thus they have gone mad.#Rev 14:8; 17:4.
8Babylon suddenly falls and is broken:
wail over her!
Bring balm for her wounds,
in case she can be healed.#Rev 18:9–18.
9“We have tried to heal Babylon,
but she cannot be healed.
Leave her, each of us must go to our own land.”
The judgment against her reaches the heavens,
it touches the clouds.#Is 13:14; Rev 18:5.
10The Lord has brought forth our vindication;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord, our God, has done.#Jer 50:28.
11Sharpen the arrows,
fill the quivers;
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,#Kings of the Medes: the Medes and the Persians lived in the area known today as Iran.
for his resolve is Babylon’s destruction.
Yes, it is retribution from the Lord,
retribution for his temple.#2 Kgs 17:6; Is 13:17.
12Over the walls of Babylon raise a signal,
reinforce the watch;
Post sentries,
arrange ambushes!
For the Lord has both planned and carried out
what he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13You who dwell by mighty waters,
rich in treasure,
Your end has come,
the time at which you shall be cut off!#Na 2:1.
14The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
I will fill you with people as numerous as locusts,
who shall raise over you a joyous shout!
15He made the earth by his power,
established the world by wisdom,
and by his skill stretched out the heavens.#Jer 10:12.
16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar,
he summons clouds from the ends of the earth,
Makes lightning flash in the rain,
and brings out winds from their storehouses.
17Every man is stupid, ignorant;
every artisan is put to shame by his idol:
He molds a fraud,
without life-breath.
18They are nothing, a ridiculous work,
that will perish at the time of punishment.
19Jacob’s portion is nothing like them:
he is the creator of all things.
Israel is his very own tribe;
Lord of hosts is his name.
20You are my hammer,
a weapon for war;
With you I shatter nations,
with you I destroy kingdoms.
21With you I shatter horse and rider,
with you I shatter chariot and driver.#Dn 7:7, 19, 23.
22With you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old and young,
with you I shatter the young man and young woman.#Is 13:16, 18.
23With you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and team,
with you I shatter governors and officers.
24Thus I will repay Babylon,
all the inhabitants of Chaldea,
For all the evil they committed against Zion,
before your very eyes—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 25:14; 50:29; Ps 137:8.
25Beware! I am against you,
destroying mountain—oracle of the Lord—
destroyer of the entire earth,
I will stretch forth my hand against you,
roll you down over the cliffs,
and make you a burnt mountain:#Rev 8:7; 18:8–9.
26They will not take from you a cornerstone,
or a foundation stone;
You shall remain ruins forever—
oracle of the Lord.#Jer 25:12; Ps 118:22.
27Raise a signal in the land,
sound the trumpet among the nations;
Dedicate nations for war against her,
summon against her the kingdoms:
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;#Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: regions in eastern Asia Minor under the control of the Medes.
Appoint a recruiting officer against her,
dispatch horses like bristling locusts.#Na 3:17.
28Dedicate nations for war against her:
the king of the Medes,
Its governors and all its officers,
every land in its domain.
29The earth quakes and writhes,
the Lord’s plan against Babylon is carried out,
Turning the land of Babylon
into a wasteland without inhabitants.
30Babylon’s warriors have ceased to fight,
they remain in their strongholds;
Dried up is their strength,
they have become women.
Burned down are their homes,
broken their gates.
31One runner meets another,
herald meets herald,
Telling the king of Babylon
that his entire city has been taken.#2 Chr 30:6; Jb 1:14–18.
32The fords have been seized,
marshes set on fire,
warriors panic.
33For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time of treading;
Yet a little while,
and the harvest time will come for her.#Rev 14:15.
34“He consumed me, defeated me,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon;
he left me like an empty vessel,
Swallowed me like a sea monster,
filled his belly with my delicacies and cast me out.
35Let my torn flesh be visited upon Babylon,”
says enthroned Zion;
“My blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
says Jerusalem.
36But now, thus says the Lord:
I will certainly defend your cause,
I will certainly avenge you;
I will dry up her sea,
and drain her fountain.
37Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;
A place of horror and hissing,
without inhabitants.#Is 25:2.
38They roar like lions,
growl like lion cubs.#Na 2:11–12.
39When they are parched, I will set drink before them
to make them drunk, that they may be overcome
with everlasting sleep, never to awaken—
oracle of the Lord.
40I will bring them down like lambs to slaughter,
like rams and goats.
41How she has been seized, taken captive,
the glory of the whole world!
What a horror Babylon has become among the nations:#Is 13:19.
42against Babylon the sea rises,
she is overwhelmed by roaring waves!
43Her cities have become wasteland,
a parched and arid land
Where no one lives,
no one passes through.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and make him vomit up what he swallowed;
nations shall no longer stream to him.
Even the wall of Babylon falls!
45Leave her, my people; each of you save your own life
from the burning wrath of the Lord.
46Do not be discouraged when rumors spread through the land; this year one rumor comes, next year another: “Violence in the land!” or “Ruler against ruler!”#Mt 24:6–7. 47Realize that the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; the whole land shall be put to shame, all her slain shall fall in her midst. 48Then heaven and earth and everything in them shall shout over Babylon with joy, when the destroyers come against her from the north—oracle of the Lord.#Rev 18:20. 49Babylon, too, must fall, you slain of Israel, because by the hand of Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen.
50You who have escaped the sword,
go, do not stand idle;
Remember the Lord from far away,
let Jerusalem come to mind.
51We are ashamed because we have heard taunts,
disgrace covers our faces;
strangers have entered sanctuaries in the Lord’s house.#Ps 44:16–17; 78:1–4.
52Therefore see, the days are coming—oracle of the Lord—
when I will punish her idols,
and throughout the land the wounded will groan.
53Though Babylon scale the heavens,
and make her strong heights inaccessible,
my destroyers shall reach her—oracle of the Lord.#Is 14:13.
54A sound of crying from Babylon,
great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;
55For the Lord lays Babylon waste,
silences her loud cry,
Waves roaring like mighty waters,
a clamor resounding.
56For the destroyer comes upon her, upon Babylon;
warriors are captured, their bows broken;
The Lord is a God of recompense,
he will surely repay.#Na 1:2.
57I will make her princes and sages drunk, with her governors, officers, and warriors, so that they sleep an everlasting sleep, never to awaken—oracle of the King, whose name is Lord of hosts.
58Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The walls of spacious Babylon shall be leveled to the ground,
its lofty gates destroyed by fire.
The toil of the peoples is for nothing;
the nations weary themselves for what the flames consume.#Hb 2:13.
The Prophecy Sent to Babylon. 59The mission Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah,#Seraiah: the brother of Baruch; cf. 32:12. He may have gone to Babylon to explain away the presence of foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem that same year; cf. 27:3. son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign; Seraiah was chief quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote down on one scroll the disaster that would befall Babylon;#Jeremiah prophesied against Babylon, even as he foretold Judah’s release from Babylon’s power (3:14–18; 32:15; 33:6–9, 12–13); but his scroll against Babylon was thrown in the Euphrates (v. 63). Some of the preceding oracles may have been composed by later writers; see note on 50:1–51:58. all these words were written against Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you reach Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,#Jer 50:1–51. 62and then say: Lord, you yourself spoke against this place in order to cut it down so that nothing, human being or beast, could live in it, because it is to remain a wasteland forever. 63When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates,#Rev 18:21. 64and say: Thus Babylon shall sink. It will never rise, because of the disaster I am bringing upon it.” Thus far the words of Jeremiah.
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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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