Jeremiah 51
51
1 Thus says Yahweh:
“Look, I am going to stir up against Babylon
and against the inhabitants of Leb-qamai a destructive wind.
2And I will send winnowers to Babylon,
and they will winnow her,
and they will lay waste her land,
for they will be against her from all sides on the day of disaster.
3Let not him who bends the bow shoot his bow,
and let him not rise high in his body armor.
And you must not spare her young men;
destroy her whole army.
4And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and pierced through in her streets.
5For neither Israel nor Judah is a widower from their God,
from Yahweh of hosts,
though their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.”
6Flee from the midst of Babylon and save each one his life.
You must not perish because of her guilt.
For this is the time of vengeance for Yahweh,
he will repay her what is deserved.
7Babylon was a cup of gold in the hand of Yahweh,
making drunk all the earth.
The nations drank of her wine.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” the nations acted like madmen.
8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and she is shattered.
Wail over her!
Take balm for her wounds,
perhaps she may be healed.
9We tried to heal Babylon, and she was not healed.
Forsake her and let us go each one to his country,
for her judgment has reached to the heavens,
and it has been lifted up to the skies.
10Yahweh has brought forth our vindication.
Come and let us make known in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.
11Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.
Because his plan concerning Babylon is to destroy it,
for that is the vengeance of Yahweh,
the vengeance for his temple.
12Against the walls of Babylon raise a banner;
post a strong watch,#Literally “make strong the guard” post watchmen, prepare the ambushes,
for Yahweh has both planned as well as performed
what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13O you who live by mighty waters, rich in treasures,
your end has come, the measure of your life.#Literally “the cubit of your severing”
14Yahweh of hosts has sworn by himself,
“Surely I will fill you with troops like the creeping locusts,#Hebrew “locust”
and they will sing over you a war cry.”
15He is the one who made the earth by his power,
the one who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
16At the giving of his voice
there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
and he causes the patches of mist
to go up from the end of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
17All humankind turns out to be stupid,
without knowledge.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by the divine image.
For his cast image is a lie,
and there is no breath in them.
18They are worthless,
a work of mockery.
At the time of their punishment,
they will perish.
19The portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the creator of everything,#Literally “the all”
and the tribe of his inheritance.
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
20He says, “You are a war club for me,
a weapon of battle,
and I smash nations with you,
and I destroy kingdoms with you.
21And I smash the horse with you,
and its rider,
and I smash the chariot with you,
and its rider.
22And I smash man and woman with you,
and I smash the old man and the boy with you,
and I smash the young man and the young woman with you.
23And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you,
and I smash the farmer and his team with you,
and I smash the governors and the officials with you.
24And I will repay Babylon,
and all the inhabitants of Chaldea,
all their wickedness that they have done in Zion
before your eyes,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
25“Look, I am against you,
O mountain of the destruction,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“the one that destroys the whole earth.
And I will stretch out my hand against you,
and I will roll you down from the cliffs,
and I will make you as a mountain burned away.
26They will not take from you
a stone for a corner,
and a stone for a foundation,
for you will be an everlasting desolation,”#Literally “a desolation of everlasting” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
27Raise a banner in the land;
blow a horn among the nations;
prepare for holy war against her;
summon the nations against her,
the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
summon against her an official;
bring up horses#Hebrew “horse” like bristling creeping locusts.#Hebrew “locust”
28Prepare the nations for holy war against her,
the kings of the Medes,
with their governors and all their officials,
and every land of their dominion.
29And the land quakes and writhes,
for the plans of Yahweh against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon as a horror,
without#Literally “from there is not” inhabitant.
30The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight,
they remain in the strongholds,
their power has dried up,
they have become as women.
Her dwelling places are set on fire,
her bars are broken.
31one runner runs to meet another runner,
and one messenger to meet another messenger,
to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured,
from end to end.#Literally “from end”
32And the fords have been seized,
and the reed marshes have been burned with fire,
and the soldiers#Literally “the men of the war” are horrified.
33For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is trodden down,
just a little while#Literally “still a little”
and the time of the harvest will come for her.”
34Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
has devoured me and sucked me dry;
he has made me an empty vessel;
he has swallowed me like the sea monster;
he has filled his belly with my delicacies;
he has rinsed me.
35“May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,”
the inhabitants#Hebrew “inhabitant” of Zion will say;
and “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.
36Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh,
“Look, I am going to contend your case,
and I will avenge your vengeance,
and I will cause her sea to dry up,
and I will cause her fountain to dry up.
37And Babylon will become as a heap of stones,
a lair of jackals,
an object of horror, and an object of hissing,
without#Literally “from there is not” inhabitants.
38They will roar together like the young lions,
they will growl like the cubs of lions.
39At their becoming hot I will set their banquets,
and I will make them drunk,
so that they will fall into a swoon,
and they will sleep an everlasting sleep,#Literally “a sleep of eternity”
and they will not wake up,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
40“I will bring them down like young rams to slaughter,
like rams and goats.
41How Sheshach is captured,
and the glory of all the earth is seized!
How Babylon has become as an object of horror
among the nations!
42The sea has risen over Babylon,
she has been covered by the roar of its waves.
43Her cities have become as an object of horror,
a dry land and a wilderness,#Or “Arabah”
a land in which no person lives,
nor does a son of humankind pass through it.
44And I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and I will wrench out from his mouth what he has swallowed.#Literally “what has been swallowed by him”
And the nations will not stream towards him any longer
what’s worse,#Literally “also” the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45Come out from her midst, my people,
and save each one his life
from the burning anger of#Literally “the blazing of the nose of” Yahweh.
46Now so that you are not fainthearted,#Literally “so that your heart is not timid”
and you are afraid at the rumors#Hebrew “rumor” that are heard in the land—
and in the year the rumor comes,
and in the year after it the rumor,
and violence is in the land,
with ruler against ruler—
47therefore#Literally “to thus” look, days are coming,
and I will punish the images of Babylon,
and all her land will be put to shame,
and all her slain ones will fall in the midst of her.
48Then the heaven and the earth and all that is in them
will shout for joy over Babylon,
for from the north
the destroyers will come to it,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
49Babylon must fall not only because of the slain ones of Israel,
but also because of Babylon the slain ones of all the earth have fallen.
50Survivors of the sword, go!
You must not linger!
Remember Yahweh from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.#Literally “heart”
51We are ashamed,
for we have heard taunts,#Hebrew “taunt”
disgrace covers our faces,
for strangers have come to the holy places of the house of Yahweh.
52“Therefore#Literally “To thus” look, days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and I will punish her images,
and the fatally wounded will sigh through all her land.
53Though Babylon goes up to the heavens,
and though she fortifies the high place of her strength,
from me destroyers will come to her,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
54The sound of a cry for help from Babylon,
and a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.
55For Yahweh is devastating Babylon,
and he obliterates her loud noise#Or “voice” from her.
Their waves roar like mighty waters,
the roar of their voices#Hebrew “voice” resounds.
56For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
and her warriors are captured.
Their bows are broken;
for Yahweh is a God of recompense,
certainly he will repay.
57“And I will make drunk her officials, and her wise men,
her governors, and her officials, and her warriors,
and they will sleep an everlasting sleep,#Literally “a sleep of eternity”
and they will not wake up,”
declares#Literally “a declaration of” the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name.
58Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished,
and her high gates will burn with fire,
and the peoples will labor for nothing,#Literally “for enough of empty”
and the nations for fire,#Literally “for enough of fire”
and they will grow weary.”
The Scroll Concerning Babylon is Thrown into the Euphrates
59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, at his going with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was the quartermaster.#Literally “official of the resting place” 60And Jeremiah wrote all the disasters#Hebrew “disaster” that would come on Babylon in one scroll, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “At your coming to Babylon, then you must see that you read aloud all these words. 62And you must say, ‘Yahweh, you yourself spoke against this place, to destroy it, so that there will not be in it anything living, from humankind to animals,#Hebrew “animal” for it will be an everlasting desolation.’#Literally “a desolation of eternity” 63And then#Literally “And it will happen” when you finish reading aloud this scroll, you must tie a stone on it, and you must throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. 64And you must say, ‘Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, because of#Literally “from” the face of the disasters#Hebrew “disaster” that I am bringing on her, and they will grow weary.’ ” Thus far#Literally “Up to here” the words of Jeremiah.
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Jeremiah 51: LEB
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Jeremiah 51
51
1This is what the Lord says:
I will stir up a destructive wind against Babylon
and against the people who live in Leb Kamai.
2I will send people to winnow #51:2 Winnowing is the process of separating husks from grain. Babylon,
to winnow it and strip its land bare.
They will attack it from every direction on the day of trouble.
3Have the archers bend their bows.
Have them put on their armor.
Don’t spare Babylon’s young men.
Completely destroy its whole army.
4Babylon’s soldiers will fall down badly wounded in their streets.
They will lie dead in their own land.
5Israel and Judah haven’t been abandoned by their God, the Lord of Armies, although their land is guilty of abandoning the Holy One of Israel.
6Run away from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
You shouldn’t die because of Babylon’s crimes.
This is the time for the vengeance of the Lord.
He will pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done.
7Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand.
It made the whole world drunk.
The nations drank its wine.
That is why the nations have gone insane.
8Babylon will suddenly fall and be shattered.
Cry for it.
Bring medicine for its pain.
Maybe it can be healed.
9We wanted to heal Babylon, but it couldn’t be healed.
Let’s abandon it and go to our own land.
God has judged Babylon.
Its judgment is complete.
10The Lord has brought about our victory.
Let’s announce in Zion what the Lord our God has done.
11Sharpen the arrows; fill the quivers.
The Lord will stir up the spirit of the kings of the Medes
because his plan is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will avenge his temple.
12Raise your battle flag in front of the walls of Babylon.
Strengthen the guards.
Station watchmen.
Prepare ambushes.
The Lord will carry out his plans
against the people who live in Babylon.
13Babylon, you live beside many rivers and are rich with treasures,
but your end has come.
The thread of your life has been cut off.
14The Lord of Armies has taken an oath on himself:
“I will certainly fill you with many enemy armies.
They will swarm like locusts.
People will shout their victory over you.”
15The Lord made the earth by his power.
He set up the world by his wisdom.
He stretched out heaven by his understanding.
16When he thunders, the water in the sky roars.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings wind out of his storehouses.
17Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Metalsmiths are put to shame by their idols.
Their statues are false ⌞gods⌟.
18They can’t breathe.
They are worthless jokes.
When they are punished, they will disappear.
19Jacob’s God isn’t like them.
He made everything,
and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
20“You are my war club and my weapon for battle.
I will use you to crush nations.
I will use you to destroy kingdoms.
21I will use you to crush horses and their riders.
I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers.
22I will use you to crush men and women.
I will use you to crush the old and the young.
I will use you to crush young men and women.
23I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks.
I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen.
I will use you to crush governors and officials.
24“In your presence I will pay back Babylon
and all the people who live in Babylon
for all the evil things that they did in Zion,”
declares the Lord.
25“I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain.
You have destroyed the whole earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will use my power against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a scorched mountain.
26People won’t find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone.
They won’t find any stones in you to use for a foundation.
You will become permanent ruins,” declares the Lord.
27Raise your battle flag throughout the world.
Blow the ram’s horn among the nations.
Prepare nations to attack Babylon.
Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it.
Appoint a commander to lead the attack.
Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts.
28Prepare nations to attack Babylon.
Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies,
and all the countries that they rule.
29The earth trembles and writhes in pain.
The Lord carries out his plans against Babylon
to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there.
30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting.
They stay in their fortified cities.
Their strength has failed. They have become women.
Their buildings are set on fire.
The bars across their gates are broken.
31Runners run to meet runners.
Messengers follow messengers.
They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured.
32The river crossings have been taken.
The enemy has burned its marshes,
and its soldiers are terrified.
33This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
The people of Babylon are like a threshing floor #51:33 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
at the time it is trampled.
Their harvest time will come soon.
34King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured us.
He has thrown us into confusion.
He has turned us into empty jars.
He has swallowed us like a monster.
He has filled his belly with our delicacies.
Then he spit us out.
35The people who live in Zion say,
“May the violence done to us be done to Babylon.”
Jerusalem says,
“May the people of Babylon be held responsible for our deaths.”
36This is what the Lord says:
I am going to take up your cause and get revenge for you.
I will dry up Babylon’s sea and make its springs dry.
37Babylon will become piles of rubble.
It will become a dwelling place for jackals,
something horrible, and an object of contempt,
where no one lives.
38Its people are like roaring lions and growling lion cubs.
39When they are excited,
I will prepare a feast for them
and make them drunk so that they will shout and laugh.
They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again,
declares the Lord.
40I will take them to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.
41“Sheshach has been captured.
Babylon, the city that the whole world praised, has been taken captive.
42What a horrifying sight Babylon will be to the nations!
The sea will rise over Babylon,
and its roaring waves will cover it.
43Its cities will be ruined.
It will become a desert, a land where no one lives
and where no human travels.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon.
I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed.
Nations will no longer stream to Babylon,
and its walls will fall.
45“Leave it, my people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the burning anger of the Lord.
46Don’t lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land.
One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year.
Rumors of violence are in the land.
Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land.
47That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s idols.
The whole country will be put to shame,
and all its soldiers will lie dead.
48Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon,
because destroyers from the north will attack it,”
declares the Lord.
49Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites
and because they have killed many people throughout the earth,
Babylon must fall.
50You people who escaped from the sword, leave!
Don’t just stand there.
Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think about Jerusalem.
51We have been put to shame, and we have been disgraced.
Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone
into the holy places of the Lord’s temple.
52“That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will punish their idols,
and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land.
53The people of Babylon might go up to heaven.
They might fortify their strongholds.
But destroyers will still come from me against them,”
declares the Lord.
54Cries of agony are heard from Babylon.
Sounds of terrible destruction are heard
from the land of the Babylonians.
55The Lord will destroy Babylon.
He will silence the loud noise coming from it.
Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water.
The noise will be heard everywhere.
56A destroyer will attack Babylon,
its soldiers will be captured,
and their bows and arrows will be broken.
“I, the Lord, am a God who punishes evil.
I will certainly punish them.
57I will make their officials and wise men drunk,
along with their governors, officers, and soldiers.
They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up,”
declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
58This is what the Lord of Armies says:
The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled,
and its high gates will be set on fire.
People exhaust themselves for nothing.
The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire.
59This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s rule. (Seraiah was the quartermaster.)
60Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. 61Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. 62Then say, ‘Lord, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here, and it will become a permanent ruin.’ 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. 64Say, ‘Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.’ ”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
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