Jeremiah 50-51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Prophecies against Babylon
50 The word the Lord spoke about Babylon,(A) the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 Announce to the nations;
proclaim and raise up a signal flag;(B)
proclaim, and hide nothing.
Say: Babylon is captured;
Bel(C) is put to shame;
Marduk is devastated;
her idols are put to shame;
her false gods, devastated.
3 For a nation from the north will come against her;(D)
it will make her land desolate.
No one will be living in it—
both man and beast will escape.[a]
4 In those days and at that time—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
weeping as they come,
and will seek the Lord their God.(E)
5 They will ask about Zion,
turning their faces to this road.
They will come and join themselves[b] to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant(F) that will never be forgotten.
6 My people are lost sheep;(G)
their shepherds have led them astray,
guiding them the wrong way in the mountains.(H)
They have wandered from mountain to hill;
they have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who found them devoured them.
Their adversaries said, “We’re not guilty;
instead, they have sinned against the Lord,
their righteous grazing land,(I)
the hope of their ancestors,(J) the Lord.”
8 Escape from Babylon;(K)
depart from the Chaldeans’ land.
Be like the rams that lead the flock.
9 For I will soon stir up and bring against Babylon
an assembly of great nations from the north country.
They will line up in battle formation against her;
from there she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like those of a skilled[c] warrior
who does not return empty-handed.
10 The Chaldeans will become plunder;
all Babylon’s plunderers will be fully satisfied.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 Because you rejoice,
because you sing in triumph—
you who plundered My inheritance—
because you frolic like a young cow treading grain
and neigh like stallions,(L)
12 your mother will be utterly humiliated;
she who bore you will be put to shame.
Look! She will lag behind all[d] the nations—
a dry land, a wilderness,(M) an Arabah.
13 Because of the Lord’s wrath,
she will not be inhabited;
she will become a desolation, every bit of her.
Everyone who passes through Babylon
will be horrified
and scoff because of all her wounds.(N)
14 Line up in battle formation around Babylon,
all you archers!
Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise a war cry against her on every side!
She has thrown up her hands in surrender;
her defense towers have fallen;
her walls are demolished.(O)
Since this is the Lord’s vengeance,(P)
take out your vengeance on her;
as she has done, do the same to her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon
as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor’s sword,(Q)
each will turn to his own people,(R)
each will flee to his own land.
The Return of God’s People
17 Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions.(S)
The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria;
the last one who crushed his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.(T)
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to punish the king of Babylon(U) and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 I will return Israel to his grazing land,
and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan;
he will be satisfied
in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.(V)
20 In those days and at that time—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
one will search for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for Judah’s sins,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive(W) those I leave as a remnant.(X)
The Invasion of Babylon
21 “Go against the land of Merathaim,
and against those living in Pekod.
Put them to the sword;
completely destroy them—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
do everything I have commanded you.(Y)
22 The sound of war is in the land(Z)—
a great destruction.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and smashed!
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!(AA)
24 Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught,(AB)
but you did not even know it.
You were found and captured
because you fought against the Lord.
25 The Lord opened His armory
and brought out His weapons of wrath,(AC)
because it is a task of the Lord God of Hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the most distant places.[e]
Open her granaries;
pile her up like mounds of grain
and completely destroy her.
Leave her no survivors.
27 Put all her young bulls to the sword;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, because their day has come,
the time of their punishment.(AD)
The Humiliation of Babylon
28 “There is a voice of fugitives and those who escape
from the land of Babylon
announcing in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
the vengeance for His temple.(AE)
29 Summon the archers to Babylon,
all who string the bow;
camp all around her; let none escape.
Repay her according to her deeds;(AF)
just as she has done, do the same to her,
for she has acted arrogantly against the Lord,
against the Holy One of Israel.(AG)
30 Therefore, her young men will fall
in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the Lord’s declaration.(AH)
31 Look, I am against you, you arrogant one—
this is the declaration of
the Lord God of Hosts—
because your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 The arrogant will stumble and fall
with no one to pick him up.
I will set fire to his cities,
and it will consume everything around him.”(AI)
The Desolation of Babylon
33 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed.
All their captors hold them fast;(AJ)
they refuse to release them.
34 Their Redeemer is strong;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.
He will fervently plead their case(AK)
so that He might bring rest to the earth
but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.(AL)
35 A sword is over the Chaldeans—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
against those who live in Babylon,
against her officials, and against her sages.
36 A sword is against the diviners,
and they will act foolishly.
A sword is against her heroic warriors,
and they will be terrified.
37 A sword is against his horses and chariots
and against all the foreigners among them,(AM)
and they will be like women.(AN)
A sword is against her treasuries,
and they will be plundered.
38 A drought will come on her waters,
and they will be dried up.
For it is a land of carved images,
and they go mad because of terrifying things.[f](AO)
39 Therefore, desert creatures[g] will live with hyenas,
and ostriches will also live in her.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in through all generations.(AP)
40 Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns(AQ)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
so no one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it
as a temporary resident.(AR)
The Conquest of Babylon
41 Look! A people comes from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.(AS)
42 They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea,(AT)
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands fall helpless.
Distress has seized him—
pain, like a woman in labor.(AU)
44 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[h](AV) of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Babylon[i] away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”
45 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock’s little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 46 At the sound of Babylon’s conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.(AW)
God’s Judgment on Babylon
51 This is what the Lord says:
I am about to stir up a destructive wind[j] against Babylon(AX)
and against the population of Leb-qamai.[k][l]
2 I will send strangers to Babylon
who will scatter her and strip her land bare,(AY)
for they will come against her
from every side in the day of disaster.
3 Don’t let the archer string his bow;
don’t let him put on[m] his armor.(AZ)
Don’t spare her young men;
completely destroy her entire army!
4 Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans,
those who were pierced through, in her streets.(BA)
5 For Israel and Judah are not left widowed
by their God, the Lord of Hosts,
though their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.(BB)
6 Leave Babylon;(BC)
save your lives, each of you!(BD)
Don’t perish because of her guilt.
For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance—
He will pay her what she deserves.(BE)
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand,(BF)
making the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;(BG)
therefore, the nations go mad.(BH)
8 Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered.
Wail for her;
get balm(BI) for her wound—
perhaps she can be healed.
9 We tried to heal Babylon,
but she could not be healed.
Abandon her!
Let each of us go to his own land,(BJ)
for her judgment extends to the sky
and reaches as far as the clouds.(BK)
10 The Lord has brought about our vindication;(BL)
come, let’s tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has accomplished.(BM)
11 Sharpen the arrows!
Fill the quivers!
The Lord has put it into the mind
of the kings of the Medes
because His plan is aimed at Babylon
to destroy her,
for it is the Lord’s vengeance,
vengeance for His temple.(BN)
12 Raise up a signal flag(BO)
against the walls of Babylon;
fortify the watch post;
set the watchmen in place;
prepare the ambush.
For the Lord has both planned and accomplished
what He has threatened
against those who live in Babylon.
13 You who reside by many waters,(BP)
rich in treasures,
your end has come,
your life thread is cut.
14 The Lord of Hosts has sworn by Himself:
I will fill you up with men as with locusts,
and they will sing the victory song over you.
15 He made the earth by His power,
established the world(BQ) by His wisdom,(BR)
and spread out the heavens by His understanding.(BS)
16 When He thunders,[n]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,(BT)
and He causes the clouds
to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.(BU)
17 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image,(BV)
for his cast images are a lie;(BW)
there is no breath in them.(BX)
18 They are worthless,(BY) a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.(BZ)
19 Jacob’s Portion[o] is not like these
because He is the One who formed all things.(CA)
Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;(CB)
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(CC)
20 You are My battle club,
My weapons of war.
With you I will smash nations;
with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin.
21 With you I will smash the horse and its rider;
with you I will smash the chariot and its rider.
22 With you I will smash man and woman;(CD)
with you I will smash the old man and the youth;
with you I will smash the young man and the young woman.
23 With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock;
with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team.[p]
With you I will smash governors and officials.
24 “I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion before your very eyes.”(CE)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
25 Look, I am against you, devastating mountain—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you devastate the whole earth.
I will stretch out My hand against you,(CF)
roll you down from the cliffs,
and turn you into a charred mountain.
26 No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone
or a foundation stone from you,
because you will become desolate forever.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
27 Raise a signal flag(CG) in the land;
blow a ram’s horn among the nations;
set apart the nations against her.(CH)
Summon kingdoms against her—
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a marshal against her;
bring up horses like a swarm[q] of locusts.
28 Set apart the nations for battle against her—
the kings of Media,
her governors and all her officials,
and all the lands they rule.
29 The earth quakes(CI) and trembles
because the Lord’s intentions against Babylon stand:
to make the land of Babylon an uninhabited desolation.
30 Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting;(CJ)
they sit in their strongholds.
Their might is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze,
her gate bars are shattered.(CK)
31 Messenger races to meet messenger,(CL)
and herald to meet herald,
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his city has been captured
from end to end.
32 The fords have been seized,(CM)
the marshes set on fire,
and the soldiers are terrified.
33 For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:
Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is trampled.(CN)
In just a little while her harvest time will come.(CO)
34 “Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me;
he has crushed me.
He has set me aside like an empty dish;
he has swallowed me like a sea monster;(CP)
he filled his belly with my delicacies;
he has vomited me out,”[r]
35 says the inhabitant of Zion;
“Let the violence done to me and my family be done to Babylon.
Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
says Jerusalem.
36 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I am about to plead your case(CQ)
and take vengeance on your behalf;
I will dry up her sea(CR)
and make her fountain run dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble,
a jackals’ den,
a desolation and an object of scorn,(CS)
without inhabitant.
38 They will roar together like young lions;
they will growl like lion cubs.
39 While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,
and I will make them drunk so that they revel.[s](CT)
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams together with male goats.(CU)
41 How Sheshach has been captured,
the praise(CV) of the whole earth seized.
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!(CW)
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;(CX)
she is covered with its turbulent waves.
43 Her cities have become a desolation,(CY)
a dry and arid land,
a land where no one lives,
where no human being passes through.
44 I will punish Bel(CZ) in Babylon.
I will make him vomit what he swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him;
even Babylon’s wall will fall.
45 Come out from among her, My people!(DA)
Save your lives, each of you,
from the Lord’s burning anger.
46 May you not become cowardly and fearful
when the report is proclaimed in the land,
for the report will come one year,
and then another the next year.
There will be violence in the land
with ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, look, the days are coming
when I will punish Babylon’s carved images.(DB)
Her entire land will suffer shame,
and all her slain will lie fallen within her.(DC)
48 Heaven and earth and everything in them
will shout for joy(DD) over Babylon
because the destroyers from the north
will come against her.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
49 Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel,
even as the slain of all the earth fell
because of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,(DE)
go and do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We are ashamed
because we have heard insults.(DF)
Humiliation covers our faces
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s temple.(DG)
52 Therefore, look, the days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when I will punish her carved images,
and the wounded will groan
throughout her land.
53 Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens(DH)
and fortify her tall fortresses,
destroyers will come against her from Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
54 The sound of a cry from Babylon!(DI)
The sound of great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon;
He will silence her mighty voice.
Their waves roar like abundant waters;
the tumult of their voice resounds,
56 for a destroyer is coming against her,
against Babylon.
Her warriors will be captured,
their bows shattered,
for the Lord is a God of retribution;
He will certainly repay.
57 I will make her princes and sages drunk,
along with her governors, officials, and warriors.
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.(DJ)
This is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(DK)
58 This is what Yahweh of Hosts says:
Babylon’s thick walls will be totally demolished,
and her high gates consumed by fire.
The peoples will have labored for nothing;(DL)
the nations will exhaust themselves only to feed the fire.
59 This is what Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah,(DM) the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60 Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon;(DN) all these words were written against Babylon.
61 Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 You must say, ‘Lord, You have threatened to cut off(DO) this place so that no one will live in it—man or beast. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.’ 63 When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.(DP) 64 Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.’”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:3 Lit escape; they will walk
- Jeremiah 50:5 LXX; MT reads Come and join yourselves
- Jeremiah 50:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read bereaving
- Jeremiah 50:12 Lit Look! The last of
- Jeremiah 50:26 Lit from the end
- Jeremiah 50:38 Or of dreaded gods
- Jeremiah 50:39 Or desert demons
- Jeremiah 50:44 Lit pride
- Jeremiah 50:44 Lit them
- Jeremiah 51:1 Or stir up the spirit of a destroyer
- Jeremiah 51:1 Lit heart of my adversaries
- Jeremiah 51:1 = Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 51:3 Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 51:16 Lit At His giving of the voice
- Jeremiah 51:19 = the Lord
- Jeremiah 51:23 Lit yoke
- Jeremiah 51:27 Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 51:34 Lit has rinsed me off
- Jeremiah 51:39 LXX reads pass out
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