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
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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