Jeremiah 50
50
1 THE WORD that the Lord spoke concerning and against Babylon and concerning and against the land of the Chaldeans through Jeremiah the prophet: [Isa. 13:1-14:23; 47; Hab. 1, 2.]
2 Declare it among the nations and publish it and set up a signal [to spread the news]–publish and conceal it not; say, Babylon has been taken; Bel [the patron god] is put to shame, Merodach (Bel) is dismayed and broken down. [Babylon's] images are put to shame, her [senseless] idols are thrown down!
3 For out of the north there has come up a nation [Media] against her which will make her land desolate, and none will dwell there. They will have fled, they will be gone–from man even to beast.
4 In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall come up weeping as they come and seek the Lord their God [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him, both by right of necessity and of the promises of God's Word].
5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces in that direction, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray [to favorite places of idolatry] on mountains [that seduce]. They have gone from [one sin to another] mountain to hill; they have forgotten their [own] resting-place. [Isa. 53:6; I Pet. 2:25.]
7 All who found them devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their true habitation of righteousness and justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans; and be as the he-goats [who serve as examples and as leaders in the flight] before the flocks. [Jer. 51:6, 9, 45; II Cor. 6:17; Rev. 18:4.]
9 For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country. They will equip and set themselves against her; from there she will be taken. Their arrows will be like [both] an expert, mighty warrior and like his arrows–none [of them] will return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall become plunder; all who plunder her shall be satisfied, says the Lord.
11 Though you are glad, though you rejoice, O you who plunder My heritage, though you are wanton and skip about like a heifer at grass and neigh like strong stallions,
12 Your mother [Babylon] shall be put to great shame; she who bore you shall blush and be disgraced. Behold, she shall be at the rear of the nations [least of the nations]–a wilderness, waste, and desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited but shall be wholly desolate; everyone who goes by Babylon shall be appalled and hiss and mock at all her wounds and plagues.
14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all you archers. Shoot at her! Spare not the arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise the battle cry against her round about! She gives her hand [in agreement] and surrenders; her supports and battlements fall, her walls are thrown down. For this is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance on her; as she has done [to others], do to her.
16 Exterminate the sower from Babylon, and the one who handles the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the sword of the oppressor everyone shall return to his people, and everyone shall flee to his own land.
17 Israel is a hunted and scattered sheep [driven hither and thither and preyed upon by savage beasts]; the lions have chased him. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has broken and gnawed his bones.
18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel [home] again to his fold and pasturage, and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan [in the most fertile districts both west and east], and his soul will be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel will be sought, but there will be none, and the sins of Judah [will be sought], but none will be found, for I will pardon those whom I cause to remain as a remnant (the preserved ones who come forth after a long tribulation). [Isa. 1:9; 43:25; Jer. 31:34; 33:8; Rom. 9:27.]
21 Go up against [Babylon] the land of Merathaim [two rebellions, double or intense defiance], even against it and against the inhabitants of Pekod [visitation and punishment]. Slay and utterly destroy them, says the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 The cry and noise of battle is in the land, and [the noise] of great destruction.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth is crushed and broken! How Babylon has become a horror of desolation among the nations!
24 I set a trap for you, and you also were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it; you were found and also caught because you have struggled and contended against the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened His armory and has brought forth [the nations who unknowingly are] the weapons of His indignation and wrath, for the Lord God of hosts has work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter and from the utmost border. Open her granaries and storehouses; pile up [their contents] like heaps of rubbish. Burn and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her.
27 Slay all her bullocks (her choice youths, the strength of her army); let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to [the Chaldeans]! For their day has come, the time of their visitation (their inspection and punishment).
28 Listen! The voice of those [Jews] who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance [of the Lord upon the Chaldeans] for [the plundering and destruction of] His temple.
29 Call together [many] archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp against her round about; let none from there escape. Recompense her according to her deeds; just as she has done, do to her. For against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel, has she been proudly defiant and presumptuous.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets and squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, says the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against you, O Babylon [you who are pride and presumption personified], says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will visit and punish you.
32 And Pride (the arrogant one) shall stumble (totter) and fall, and none shall raise him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are round about him.
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; all who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name. He will surely and thoroughly plead their case and defend their cause, that He may give rest to [the land of Israel and to the Babylonian-enslaved nations of] the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword upon the Chaldeans, says the Lord–upon the inhabitants of Babylon and upon her princes (rulers in civic matters) and upon her wise men (the astrologers and rulers in religious affairs)!
36 A sword upon the babbling liars (the diviners), that they may become fools! A sword upon her mighty warriors, that they may be dismayed and destroyed!
37 A sword upon their horses and upon their chariots and upon all the mixed foreign troops that are in the midst of her, that they may become [as weak and defenseless as] women! A sword upon her treasures, that they may be plundered!
38 A sword and a drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up! For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols (objects of terror in which they foolishly trust).
39 Therefore wild beasts of the desert shall dwell [in Babylon] with the jackals, and ostriches shall dwell there. And it shall never again be inhabited with people, even from generation to generation. [Isa. 13:20-22.]
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, says the Lord, so no man shall dwell there; neither shall any son of man live there temporarily. [Jer. 49:18.]
41 Behold, a people is coming from the north; and a great nation and many kings are stirring from the uttermost parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow, lance, and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy or compassion. They sound like the roaring of the sea; they ride upon horses, every man equipped like a man [ready] for the battle against you, O Daughter of Babylon!
43 The king of Babylon has heard the news about them, and his hands fall feeble and helpless; anguish has seized him, and pangs like that of a woman in childbirth.
44 See, there comes up one like a lion from the jungles (the pride) of the Jordan against the strong habitation [of Babylon] and into the permanent pasturage and sheepfold; for in a twinkling I will drive him [Babylon] from there. And I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me? And who will challenge Me and prosecute Me for this proceeding? And what [earthly, national] shepherd can stand before Me and defy Me? [Jer. 49:19.]
45 Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has made against Babylon, and His purposes which He has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall be dragged away, even the little ones of the flock; surely He shall make their habitation desolate because of them and their fold amazed and appalled at their fate.
46 At the cry, Babylon has been taken! the earth shall tremble, and the cry shall be heard among the nations.
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Jeremiah 50: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Jeremiah 50
50
A Message About Babylon
1This is the message the Lord spoke about Babylon and the Babylonian people. He spoke this message 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.
The god Marduk will be very afraid.
Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.
Her idols will be filled with terror!’
3A nation from the north will attack Babylon.
That nation will make Babylon like an empty desert.
No people will live there.
Both men and animals will run away from there.”
4The Lord says, “At that time
the people of Israel and Judah will be together.
They will cry and look for the Lord their God.
5Those people will ask how to go to Jerusalem.
They will start to go in that direction.
They will come and join themselves to the Lord.
They will make an agreement that will last forever.
It will be an agreement that will never be forgotten.
6“My people have been like lost sheep.
Their leaders have led them in the wrong way.
Their leaders made them wander around in the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their resting place was.
7Whoever found my people hurt them.
And those enemies said, ‘We did nothing wrong.
Those people sinned against the Lord, their true resting place.
He was the God their fathers trusted.’
8“Run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of the Babylonians.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9I will bring against Babylon
many nations from the north.
This group of nations will take their places for war against Babylon.
Babylon 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.
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 you birth will be disgraced.
Babylonia will be the least important of all the nations.
She will be an empty, dry desert.
13The Lord will show his anger.
No people will live there.
Babylon will be completely empty.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be afraid.
They will shake their heads when they see how it has been destroyed.
14“Take your positions for war against Babylon,
all you soldiers with bows.
Shoot your arrows at Babylon! Do not save any of them.
This is because Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
15Soldiers around Babylon, shout the war cry!
Babylon has surrendered. Her towers have fallen.
Her walls have been torn down.
The Lord is giving them the punishment they deserve.
You nations should give Babylon what she deserves.
Do to her what she has done to others.
16Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops.
Don’t let them gather the harvest.
The soldiers of Babylon 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.
They are like sheep that have been chased away 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 of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his country.
I will punish him 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.
They will eat 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.
This is because I am saving the few people left alive from Israel and Judah.
And I am forgiving 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!
Babylon 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.
He has brought out the weapons of his anger.
This is because the Lord God of heaven’s armies has work to do.
He 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 big piles of grain.
Completely destroy Babylon
and do not leave anyone alive.
27Kill all the young men in Babylon.
Let them be killed.
The time has come for their defeat.
How terrible it will be for them!
It is time for them to be punished.
28Listen to the people running from the country of Babylon!
They are telling Jerusalem
how the Lord our God is punishing Babylon as it deserves.
This is because Babylon destroyed his Temple.
29“Call for the men who shoot arrows
to come against Babylon.
Tell them to surround the city.
Don’t let anyone escape.
Pay her back for the bad things 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 Babylon’s young men will be killed in the 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 Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies.
“This is because 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.
It will completely burn up everything around her.”
33This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“The people of Israel
and Judah both are slaves.
The enemy took them as prisoners.
And they won’t let them go.
34But God is strong and will buy them back.
His name is the Lord of heaven’s armies.
He will 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!
Let a sword kill its officers and wise men!
36Let a sword kill its false prophets!
They will become fools.
Let a sword kill Babylon’s warriors!
They will be full of terror.
37Let a sword kill its horses and chariots.
Let a sword kill all the soldiers hired from other countries!
They will be like frightened women.
Let there be a sword against Babylon’s treasures!
They will be taken away.
38Let there be a sword against its waters!
They will be dried up.
It is a land of idols.
Those idols will go crazy with fear.
39“Babylon will never be filled with people again.
Desert animals and hyenas will live there.
Owls will live there.
But no people will live there ever 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.
No man will stay there.
41“Look! An army is coming from the north.
It comes from a powerful nation.
Many kings are coming together from all around the world.
42Their armies have bows and spears.
The soldiers are cruel and have no mercy.
The soldiers come riding on their horses.
And 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 because of his fear.
His fear is like pain.
It is like the pain of a woman having a baby.
44“A lion will come from the thick bushes near the Jordan River.
It will go into the rich pastures where people feed their flocks.
I am like that lion! 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.
There is no one who can challenge me.
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 Babylon.
He will surely drag away the young ones of Babylon.
Babylon’s pastures will be destroyed because of them.
46At the sound of Babylon’s fall, the earth will shake.
People in all nations will hear about their destruction.
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