Jeremiah 50
50
Judgment on Babylon
1The word that the Lord spoke concerning #See Isa. 13:1–14:27; 21:1-10 Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, #[ch. 51:59, 60]by Jeremiah the prophet:
2“Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
#
Isa. 21:9 ‘Babylon is taken,
# See Isa. 46:1 Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
#
Isa. 21:9 Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3“For #See ch. 1:14 out of the north a nation has come up against her, #ver. 13, 23; ch. 51:29 which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; #ch. 51:62; [Ps. 135:8]both man and beast shall flee away.
4 # See ch. 3:18 “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, #See ch. 3:18 the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, #ch. 31:9, 18; Ezra 8:21; Ps. 126:6 weeping as they come, and they #Hos. 3:5shall seek the Lord their God. 5#[ch. 31:21] They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, #[Isa. 2:3] saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an #See ch. 32:40everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 # ver. 17; Isa. 53:6; [Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4] “My people have been lost sheep. #Zech. 10:2; See Ezek. 34:1-6Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7All who found them have devoured them, #[ch. 40:2, 3] and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for #[ver. 14] they have sinned against the Lord, #ch. 31:23 their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, #See ch. 14:8the hope of their fathers.’
8 # ch. 51:6, 45; See Isa. 48:20 “Flee from the midst of Babylon, #ch. 51:6, 45; See Isa. 48:20and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon #See ch. 25:14a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10#[ch. 25:12]Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 # [Lam. 4:21] “Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
# ch. 51:43 a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 # ver. 39 Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
# See ch. 18:16 everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
# See ch. 18:16 and hiss because of all her wounds.
14 # ver. 9; ch. 51:11; Isa. 21:2 Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
# ver. 29; [ch. 51:3] all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
# [ver. 7] for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 # [Josh. 6:16] Raise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
# ch. 51:58 her walls are thrown down.
For #ch. 46:10; 51:6, 11 this is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
# ver. 29; ch. 51:56 do to her as she has done.
16Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
# ch. 46:16 because of the sword of the oppressor,
# [ch. 51:9]; See Isa. 13:14 every one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 # See ver. 6 “Israel is a hunted sheep #ch. 2:15; 4:7; Isa. 5:29 driven away by lions. #2 Kgs. 17:6; 18:13 First the king of Assyria #ch. 51:34 devoured him, and now at last #2 Kgs. 24:10, 14; See 2 Kgs. 25:1-11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon #[ch. 51:34]has gnawed his bones. 18Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, #Isa. 10:12; 24:21; [Ps. 76:12] I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, #Isa. 14:24, 25as I punished the king of Assyria. 19#Ezek. 34:13, 14 I will restore Israel to his pasture, and #Ezek. 34:13, 14 he shall feed on #Mic. 7:14Carmel and in #Mic. 7:14Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in #Mic. 7:14Gilead. 20In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, #[Isa. 40:2] iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for #Isa. 33:24; See ch. 31:34I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21“Go up against the land of Merathaim,#50:21 Merathaim means double rebellion
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.#50:21 Pekod means punishment
Kill, #ver. 26; [ch. 51:3]and devote them to destruction,#50:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 # ch. 51:54 The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 #
Isa. 14:6 How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
# [Rev. 18:19, 21] How Babylon #ver. 3, 13has become
a horror among the nations!
24 # [Ps. 141:9] I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and #[ch. 51:31; Dan. 5:30]you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out #Isa. 13:5the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
# [Neh. 4:2] pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27Kill all #[Ps. 22:12; Isa. 34:7, 8] her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
# ch. 46:21 the time of their punishment.
28“A voice! They #[ver. 8] flee and escape from the land of Babylon, #ch. 51:10; Ps. 64:9 to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for #[ch. 51:11; 52:13; Dan. 5:3, 23]his temple.
29 # [ver. 14; Job 16:13] “Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. #[ver. 14; Job 16:13] Encamp around her; let no one escape. #ch. 25:14 Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has #Isa. 47:10proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30#ch. 49:26Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
31“Behold, I am against you, O #[See ver. 29 above] proud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
# ver. 27; ch. 49:8 for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 # [See ver. 29 above] The proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
# See ch. 17:27 and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33“Thus says the Lord of hosts: #[ver. 17] The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; #[Isa. 14:17]they refuse to let them go. 34#See Isa. 43:14 Their Redeemer is strong; #See ch. 10:16 the Lord of hosts is his name. #ch. 51:36; Isa. 51:22He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35“A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against #ch. 51:57; Dan. 5:30 her officials and her #Dan. 4:6wise men!
36A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her #ch. 51:57warriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all #See ch. 25:20 the foreign troops in her midst,
that #ch. 51:30 they may become women!
# [Isa. 45:3] A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 #
Isa. 44:27; [ch. 51:36] A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
# ver. 2; ch. 51:47, 52 For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 #
Isa. 13:21, 22 “Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,#50:39 Hebrew lacks in Babylon and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40#Gen. 19:25; See Isa. 13:19 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, #ch. 51:43so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 # For ver. 41-43, see ch. 6:22-24 “Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43“The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 # For ver. 44-46, see ch. 49:19-21 “Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd #Job 41:10can stand before me? 45Therefore hear #ch. 51:11, 12, 29; Isa. 14:24 the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, #ch. 51:11, 12, 29; Isa. 14:24 and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: #ch. 49:20Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46#See ch. 49:21At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”
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Jeremiah 50
50
A Message About Babylon
1Here is the message the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. It was about the city of Babylon and the land of Babylon. He said,
2“Announce this message among the nations.
Lift up a banner.
Let the nations hear the message.
Do not keep anything back.
Say, ‘Babylon will be captured.
The god named Bel will be put to shame.
The god named Marduk will be filled with terror.
Babylon’s gods will be put to shame.
The gods its people made will be filled with terror.’
3A nation from the north will attack it.
That nation will destroy Babylon.
No one will live there.
People and animals alike will run away.
4“The days are coming,”
announces the Lord.
“At that time the people of Israel and Judah will gather together.
They will come in tears to me.
I am the Lord their God.
5They will ask how to get to Zion.
Then they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come and join themselves to me.
They will enter into the covenant I make with them.
It will last forever.
It will never be forgotten.
6“My people have been like lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have caused them to wander in the mountains.
They have wandered over mountains and hills.
They have forgotten that I am their true resting place.
7Everyone who found them destroyed them.
Their enemies said, ‘We aren’t guilty.
They sinned against the Lord.
He gave them everything they needed.
He has always been Israel’s hope.’
8“People of Judah, run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of Babylon.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9I will stir up great nations
that will join forces against Babylon.
I will bring them from the land of the north.
They will take up their battle positions against Babylon.
They will come from the north and capture it.
Their arrows will be like skilled soldiers.
They will not miss their mark.
10So the riches of Babylon will be taken away.
All those who steal from it will have more than enough,”
announces the Lord.
11“People of Babylon, you have stolen what belongs to me.
That has made you glad and full of joy.
You dance around like a young cow on a threshing floor.
You neigh like stallions.
12Because of that, you will bring great shame on your land.
Your whole nation will be dishonored.
It will become the least important of the nations.
It will become a dry and empty desert.
13Because I am angry with it, no one will live there.
It will be completely deserted.
All those who pass by Babylon will be shocked.
They will make fun of it because of all its wounds.
14“All you who shoot arrows,
take up your battle positions around Babylon.
Shoot at it! Do not spare any arrows!
Its people have sinned against me.
15Shout against them on every side!
They are giving up.
The towers of the city are falling.
Its walls are being pulled down.
The Lord is paying back its people.
So pay them back yourselves.
Do to them what they have done to others.
16Do not leave anyone in Babylon to plant the fields.
Do not leave anyone to harvest the grain.
Let each of them return to their own people.
Let them run away to their own land.
If they don’t, their enemy’s sword will bring them great harm.
17“Israel is like a scattered flock
that lions have chased away.
The first lion that ate them up
was the king of Assyria.
The last one that broke their bones
was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.”
18The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,
“I punished the king of Assyria.
In the same way, I will punish
the king of Babylon and his land.
19But I will bring Israel back to their own grasslands.
I will feed them on Mount Carmel and in Bashan.
I will satisfy their hunger
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20The days are coming,”
announces the Lord.
“At that time people will search for Israel’s guilt.
But they will not find any.
They will search for Judah’s sins.
But they will not find any.
That is because I will forgive the people I have spared.
21“Enemies of Babylon, attack their land of Merathaim.
Make war against those who live in Pekod.
Chase them and kill them. Destroy them completely,”
announces the Lord.
“Do everything I have commanded you to do.
22The noise of battle is heard in the land.
It is the noise of a great city being destroyed!
23It has been broken to pieces.
It was the hammer that broke the whole earth.
How empty Babylon is among the nations!
24Babylon, I set a trap for you.
And you were caught before you knew it.
You were found and captured.
That is because you opposed me.
25I have opened up my storeroom.
I have brought out the weapons I use when I am angry.
I am the Lord and King who rules over all.
I have work to do in the land of the Babylonians.
26So come against it from far away.
Open up its storerooms.
Stack everything up like piles of grain.
Completely destroy that country.
Do not leave anyone alive there.
27Kill all Babylon’s strongest warriors.
Let them die in battle.
How terrible it will be for them!
Their time to be judged has come.
Now they will be punished.
28Listen to those who have escaped.
Listen to those who have returned from Babylon.
They are announcing in Zion
how I have paid Babylon back.
I have paid it back for destroying my temple.
29“Send for men armed with bows and arrows.
Send them against Babylon.
Set up camp all around it.
Do not let anyone escape.
Pay it back for what its people have done.
Do to them what they have done to others.
They have dared to disobey me.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
30You can be sure its young men will fall dead in the streets.
All its soldiers will be put to death at that time,”
announces the Lord.
31“Proud Babylonians, I am against you,”
announces the Lord.
The Lord who rules over all says,
“Your day to be judged has come.
It is time for you to be punished.
32You proud people will trip and fall.
No one will help you up.
I will start a fire in your towns.
It will burn up everyone around you.”
33The Lord who rules over all says,
“The people of Israel are being treated badly.
So are the people of Judah.
Those who have captured them are holding them.
They refuse to let them go.
34But I am strong and will save them.
My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
I will stand up for them.
I will bring peace and rest to their land.
But I will bring trouble to those who live in Babylon.
35“A sword is coming against the Babylonians!”
announces the Lord.
“It is coming against those who live in Babylon.
It is coming against their officials and wise men.
36A sword is coming against their prophets.
But they are not really prophets at all!
So they will look foolish.
A sword is coming against their soldiers!
They will be filled with terror.
37A sword is coming against their horses and chariots!
It is coming against all the hired soldiers in their armies.
They will become weak.
A sword is coming against their treasures!
They will be stolen.
38There will not be any rain for their rivers.
So they will dry up.
Those things will happen because their land is full of statues of gods.
Those gods will go crazy with terror.
39“Desert creatures and hyenas will live in Babylon.
And so will owls.
People will never live there again.
It will not be lived in for all time to come.
40I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
I also destroyed the towns that were near them,”
announces the Lord.
“Babylon will be just like them.
No one will live there.
No human beings will stay there.
41“Look! An army is coming from the north.
I am stirring up a great nation and many kings.
They are coming from a land that is very far away.
42Their soldiers are armed with bows and spears.
They are mean.
They do not show any mercy at all.
They come riding in on their horses.
They sound like the roaring ocean.
They are lined up for battle.
They are coming to attack you, city of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard reports about them.
His hands can’t help him.
He is in great pain.
It is like the pain of a woman having a baby.
44I will be like a lion coming up from the bushes by the Jordan River.
I will hunt in rich grasslands.
I will chase the people of Babylon from their land in an instant.
What nation will I choose to do this?
Which one will I appoint?
Is anyone like me? Who would dare to argue with me?
What leader can stand against me?”
45So listen to what the Lord has planned against Babylon.
Hear what he has planned against the land of the Babylonians.
Their young people will be dragged away.
Their grasslands will be shocked at their fate.
46At the news of Babylon’s capture,
the earth will shake.
The people’s cries will be heard among the nations.
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