Jeremiah 50
50
A Message Concerning Babylon
1The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:
2“Declare among the nations and proclaim,
and lift up a banner.
Proclaim, you must not conceal it.
Say, ‘Babylon is captured,
Bel is ashamed,
Merodach is filled with terror,
her idols are ashamed,
her idols are filled with terror.
3For a nation will come up against her from the north.
It will make her land as a horror,
and an inhabitant will not be in her.
From humans#Hebrew “human” to animals#Hebrew “animal” they all will wander off.
They will go away.
4In those days and in that time,’ ” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“the people#Or “sons/children” of Israel will come,
they and the people#Or “sons/children” of Judah together.
Weeping as they go,#Literally “They shall go and weeping” they will go,
and Yahweh their God they will seek.
5They will ask the way to Zion,
turning their faces there.
They will come and join themselves to Yahweh
by an everlasting covenant#Literally “a covenant of eternity” that will not be forgotten.
6My people have become lost sheep,
their shepherds have caused them to go astray.
They led them away to the mountains.
From mountain to hill they have gone,
they have forgotten their resting place.
7All those who found them have devoured them.
And their foes have said, ‘We are not guilty,
because#Literally “under that” they have sinned against Yahweh, the true pasture,#Literally “settlement of righteousness”
even Yahweh, the hope of their ancestors.’#Or “fathers”
8Flee from the midst of Babylon,
and from the land of the Chaldeans.
Go out and be like he-goats
before#Literally “to the face of” the flock.
9For look, I am going to stir up,
and I am going to bring against Babylon
a contingent of great nations
from the land of the north.
And they will draw up a battle formation against her,
from there she will be captured.
Their arrows are like a warrior who has achieved success,
he does not return without success.
10And Chaldea will be as booty,
all those who plunder her will be satisfied,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
11“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my inheritance,
though you frisk about like a heifer on the grass,
and you neigh like the powerful stallions,
12your mother will be very ashamed.
She who gave birth to you will be humiliated.#Or “ashamed”
Look, she will be the least of the nations,
a desert,#Or “wilderness” dry land, and wilderness.#Or “Arabah”
13Because of the anger of Yahweh she will not be inhabited,
but she will be a wasteland, all of her.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled
and will hiss because of all her wounds.
14Draw up a battle formation at Babylon all around,
all those who bend the bow, shoot at her.
You must not spare arrows,#Hebrew “arrow”
for she has sinned against Yahweh.
15Raise a war cry against her on all sides.
She has surrendered.#Literally “She has given her hand”
Her towers have fallen,
her walls are ruined.
For this is the vengeance of Yahweh.
Take revenge on her.
As she has done to others,
so do to her.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and the one who uses the sickle in the time of harvest.
Because of#Literally “From the face of” the sword of the oppressor
each one will turn to their people,
and each one will flee to their land.
17Israel is a sheep scattered,
lions drove them away.
The first who devoured it was the king of Assyria,
and now at the end Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, gnawed its bones.”
18Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
“Look, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19And I will restore Israel to its pasture,
and it will feed on Carmel, and in Bashan,
and on the hills#Hebrew “hill” of Ephraim, and in Gilead
its hunger will be satisfied.
20In those days and at that time,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there is none,
and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found,
for I will forgive those I left behind.
21To the land of Merathaim,
go up against her,
and against the inhabitants of Pekod,
massacre and destroy them,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and do according to all that I have commanded you.
22The sound of battle is in the land,
and great destruction.
23How the blacksmith’s hammer of all the earth is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become as a horror among the nations!
24I laid a bird snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon.
But you yourself did not know.
You were discovered and seized,
because with Yahweh you measured yourself.
25Yahweh has opened his armory,
and he has brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for it is a word for my Lord Yahweh of hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come against her from the end,
open her granaries.
Pile her up like heaps and destroy her.
Let there be no remnant for her.
27Massacre all her bulls,
let them go down to the slaughtering.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
28There is the sound of fugitives and survivors
from the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,
the vengeance for his temple.
29Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Encamp all around her,
there must not be for her an escape.
Take revenge on her according to her deeds.
According to all that she has done, so do to her.
For against Yahweh she has behaved insolently,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore#Literally “To thus” her young men will fall in her public squares,
and all her soldiers#Literally “her the men of war” will perish on that day,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
31“Look, I am against you, O arrogant one,”
declares#Literally “a declaration of” Lord Yahweh of hosts,
“for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32And the arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and there is no one who raises him up.
And I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.”
33Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“The people#Or “sons/children” of Israel are oppressed,
and the people#Or “sons/children” of Judah likewise,
for#Literally “and” all their captors have seized them,
they refuse to let them go free.
34Their redeemer is strong,
his name is Yahweh of hosts.
Surely he will plead their case,
in order to make peace for the earth,
but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials,
and against her wise men.
36A sword against the oracle priests,
and they will become foolish.
A sword against her warriors,
and they will be filled with terror.
37A sword against his horses,
and against his chariots,#Hebrew “chariot”
and against all the foreign troops who are in the midst of her,
so that they may become as women.
A sword against her treasures,
so that they may be plundered.
38A drought will come against her waters,
and they will dry up,
for it is a land of images,
and because of the frightful objects, they act like madmen.
39Therefore#Literally “To thus” desert creatures will live there#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation with jackals,
and daughters of ostriches#Hebrew “ostrich” will inhabit her.
And she will not be inhabited again forever,#Literally “to eternity”
and she will not be dwelt in for all generations.#Literally “until generation and generation”
40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighbors,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“no one will live there,
and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.
41Look, a people is about to come
from the north,
and a great nation and many kings are woken up
from the remotest part of the earth.
42They keep hold of bow and short sword.
They are cruel and they have no mercy.
Their sound is like the sea, it roars,
and upon horses they ride.
Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle,
against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon heard their report
and his hands grew slack.
Anxiety has seized him,
fear and pain like the woman who gives birth.
44Look, like a lion he comes up from the thickets#Hebrew “thicket” of the Jordan
against a pastureland by a constantly flowing stream,#Literally “a pasture of ever-flowing”
so I will chase them away quickly#Literally “I will do in an instant I will cause them to run” from her,
and I will appoint whoever is chosen over her.
For who is like me, and who can summon me,
and who is this shepherd who can stand before me?#Literally “to the face of me”
45Therefore#Literally “To thus” hear the plan of Yahweh
that he has planned against Babylon,
and his plans
that he has planned against the land of the Chaldeans.
Surely#Literally “If not” they will drag them away,
the little ones of the flock.
Surely#Literally “If not” he will cause their grazing place
to be desolate over them.
46At the sound, ‘Babylon has been captured,’
the earth will quake,
and a cry for help among the nations
will be heard.”
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Jeremiah 50: LEB
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Jeremiah 50
50
A Message About Babylon
1This is the message the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about Babylon and its people.
2“Announce this to all nations!
Lift up a flag and announce the message!
Speak the whole message and say,
‘The nation of 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 gods will be filled with terror.’
3A nation from the north will attack Babylon.
That nation will make Babylon like an empty desert.
No one will live there.
Both men and animals will run away.”
4The Lord says, “At that time
the people of Israel and the people of Judah will be together.
They will cry and cry together,
and together, they will go look for the Lord their God.
5They will ask how to go to Zion.
They will start to go in that direction.
They will say, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord.
Let’s make an agreement that will last forever.
Let’s make an agreement that we will never forget.’
6“My people have been like lost sheep.
Their shepherds led them the wrong way
and caused them to wander away into the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their resting place was.
7They were attacked by all who saw them.
And their attackers said,
‘We were not wrong to attack them
because they sinned against the Lord.
They should have stayed close to him, their true resting place.
The Lord is the one their fathers trusted in.’
8“Run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of the Babylonians.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9I will bring many nations together from the north.
This group of nations will get ready for war against Babylon.
Babylon will be captured by people from the north.
Those nations will shoot many arrows at Babylon.
Their arrows will be like soldiers
who don’t come back from war with their hands empty.
10The enemy will take all the wealth from the Chaldeans.
The soldiers will take all they want.”
This is what the Lord said.
11“Babylon, you are excited and happy.
You took my land.
You dance around like a young cow
that got into the grain.
Your laughter is like the happy sounds
that horses make.
12Now your mother will be very ashamed.
The woman who gave you birth will be embarrassed.
Babylon will be the least important of all the nations.
She will be an empty, dry desert.
13The Lord will show his anger,
so no one 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 badly it has been destroyed.
14“Prepare for war against Babylon.
All you soldiers with bows, shoot your arrows at Babylon.
Don’t save any of your arrows.
Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
15Soldiers around Babylon, shout the cry of victory!
Babylon has surrendered!
Her walls and towers have been pulled down!
The Lord is giving her people the punishment they deserve.
You nations should give Babylon the punishment she deserves.
Do to her what she has done to other nations.
16Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops.
Don’t let them gather the harvest.
The soldiers of Babylon brought many prisoners to their city.
Now the enemy soldiers have come,
so the prisoners are going back home.
They are running back to their own countries.
17“Israel is like a flock of sheep that was scattered all over the country.
Israel is like sheep that were chased away by lions.
The first lion to attack was the king of Assyria.
The last lion to crush Israel’s bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
18So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
‘I will soon punish the king of Babylon and his country
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19“‘I will bring Israel back to his own fields.
He will eat food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the land of Bashan.
He will eat and be full.
He will eat on the hills in the lands of Ephraim and Gilead.’”
20The Lord says, “At that time people will try hard 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.
That is because I am saving a few survivors from Israel and Judah.
And I am forgiving them for all their sins.”
21The Lord says, “Attack the country of Merathaim!
Attack the people living in Pekod!
Attack them!
Kill them and destroy them completely!
Do everything I commanded you!
22“The noise of battle can be heard all over the country.
It is the noise of much destruction.
23Babylon was called
‘The Hammer of the Whole Earth.’
But now the ‘Hammer’ is shattered.
Babylon is the most ruined of 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 captured.
25The Lord has opened up his storeroom
and brought out the weapons of his anger.
The Lord GOD All-Powerful brought out those weapons,
because he has work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
26“Come against Babylon from far away.
Break open the storehouses where she keeps her grain.
Destroy Babylon completely.
Don’t leave anyone alive.
Pile up her dead bodies like big piles of grain.
27Kill all the young men in Babylon.
Let them be slaughtered like bulls.
How terrible for them that their day of defeat has come!
It is time for them to be punished.
28People are running out of Babylon.
They are escaping from that country and coming to Zion.
They are telling everyone the good news about what the Lord is doing.
The Lord our God is giving Babylon the punishment it deserves.
The Lord is destroying Babylon,
because it destroyed his Temple!
29“Call for the archers.
Tell them to attack 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 did not respect the Lord.
Babylon was very rude to the Holy One of Israel.
So punish Babylon.
30Babylon’s young men will be killed in the streets.
All her soldiers will die on that day.”
This is what the Lord says.
31“Babylon, you are too proud,
and I am against you,”
says the Lord GOD All-Powerful.
“I am against you,
and 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.
That fire will completely burn up everyone around her.”
33This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“The people of Israel and Judah are slaves.
The enemy took them, and the enemy will not let Israel go.
34But God will get them back.
His name is the Lord God All-Powerful.
He will defend them very strongly.
He will argue their case so that he can let their land rest.
But there will be no rest for those living in Babylon.”
35The Lord says,
“Sword, kill the people living in Babylon.
Sword, kill the king’s officials
and the wise men of Babylon.
36Sword, kill the priests of Babylon.
They will be like fools.
Sword, kill the soldiers of Babylon.
They will be full of fear.
37Sword, kill the horses and chariots of Babylon.
Sword, kill all the soldiers hired from other countries.
They will be like frightened women.
Sword, destroy the treasures of Babylon.
Those treasures will be taken away.
38Sword, strike the waters of Babylon.
Those waters will be dried up.
Babylon has many, many idols.
These idols show that the people of Babylon are foolish.
So bad things will happen to them.
39Babylon will never again be filled with people.
Wild dogs, ostriches, and other desert animals will live there.
But no one will live there ever again.
40God completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns around them.
In the same way no one will live in Babylon,
and no one will ever go to live there.”
This is what the Lord says.
41“Look! There are people coming from the north.
They come from a powerful nation.
Many kings are coming together from all around the world.
42Their armies have bows and spears.
The soldiers are cruel.
They have no mercy.
The soldiers come riding on their horses;
the sound is as loud as 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 is paralyzed with fear.
He is overcome with fear and pain,
like a woman giving birth.
44“Sometimes a lion will come
from the thick bushes near the Jordan River.
It will walk into the fields
where people have their animals.
I will be like that lion;
I will chase Babylon from its land.
Who should I choose to do this?
There is no one like me.
There is no one who can challenge me.
No shepherd will come to chase me away.
I will chase away the Babylonians.”
45Listen to what the Lord has planned
to do to Babylon.
Listen to what he has decided
to do to the Babylonians.
“I promise that an enemy will drag away the young kids of Babylon’s flock,
and Babylon will become an empty pasture.
46Babylon will fall,
and that fall will shake the earth.
People in all nations will hear about
the destruction of Babylon.”
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