Jeremiah 50

Prophecy against Babylon

1The word which the Lord spoke concerning 1Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:2“2Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and 3lift up a flag, Do not conceal it. Say, ‘4Babylon has been captured, 5Bel has been put to shame, 6Marduk has been 7shattered; Her 8idols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.’ 3For a nation has come up against her from the 9north; it will make her land 10an object of horror, and there will be 11no inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!

4“In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, they and the sons of Judah 12as well; they will go along 13weeping as they go, and it will be 14the Lord their God whom they will seek. 5They will 15ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces 16in its direction; 17they 18will come so that they may join themselves to the Lord in an 19everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

6“My people have become 20lost sheep; 21Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the 22mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their 23resting place.7All who found them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, ‘24We are not guilty, Since they have sinned against the Lord who is the 25habitation of righteousness, The Lord, the 26hope of their fathers.’

8“Wander away from the 27midst of Babylon And 28go out from the land of the Chaldeans; Be like male goats 29at the head of the flock.9For behold, I am going to 30rouse and bring up against Babylon A contingent of great nations from the land of the north, And they will draw up their battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like 31an expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed.103233Chaldea will become plunder; All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.

11“Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, You who 34pillage My heritage, Because you skip about 35like a threshing 36heifer And neigh like 37stallions,12Your 38mother 39will be greatly ashamed, She who gave you birth 40will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, A 41wilderness, a dry land and a desert.13Because of the wrath of the Lord she will 42not be inhabited, But she will be 43completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon 44will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds.14Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side, All of you who 45bend the bow; Shoot at her, do not spare your arrows, For she has 46sinned against the Lord.15Raise your battle cry against her on every side! She has 47given 48herself up, her towers have fallen, Her 49walls have been torn down. For this is the 50vengeance of the Lord: Take vengeance on her; 51As she has done to others, so do to her.16Eliminate the 52sower from Babylon And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest; From 53the 54sword of the oppressor 55Each of them will turn back to his own people And each of them will flee to his own land.

17“Israel is a 56scattered 57flock, the 58lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the 59king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is 60Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I 61punished the king of Assyria. 19And I will 62bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his 63desire will be satisfied in the 64hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the wrongdoing of Israel, but 65there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will forgive those 66whom I leave as a remnant.’

21“Against the land of 67Merathaim, go up against it, And against the inhabitants of 6869Pekod. Kill and 70completely destroy them,” declares the Lord, “And do according to everything that I have commanded you.22The 71noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction.23How the 72hammer of the whole earth Has been cut off and broken! How Babylon has become An object of horror among the nations!24I 73set a trap for you and you were also 74caught, Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in 75conflict with the Lord.”25The Lord has opened His armory And has brought out the 76weapons of His indignation, For it is a 77work of the Lord 78God of armies In the land of the Chaldeans.26Come to her from the 79farthest border; 80Open up her barns, Pile her up like heaps of grain And 8182completely destroy her, Let nothing be left to her.2783Put all her bulls to the sword; Let them 84go down to the slaughter! Woe be upon them, for their 85day has come, The time of their punishment.

28There is a 86sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the 87vengeance of the Lord our God, Vengeance for His 88temple.

29“Summon 89many against Babylon, All those who 90bend the bow: Encamp against her on every side, Let there be no escape91. Repay her according to her work; 92According to all that she has done, so do to her; For she has become 93arrogant against the Lord, Against the Holy One of Israel.30Therefore her 94young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will 95perish on that day,” declares the Lord.31“Behold, 96I am against you, 97arrogant one,” Declares the Lord 98God of armies, “For your day has come, The time 99when I will punish you.32The 100101arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will 102set fire to his cities, And it will devour all his surroundings.”

33This is what the Lord of armies says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And 103all who took them captive have held them firmly, They have refused to let them go.34Their 104Redeemer is strong, 105the Lord of armies is His name; He will vigorously 106plead their case So that He may 107bring rest to their land, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.35A 108sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord, “And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her 109leaders and her 110wise men!36A sword against the 111oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her 112warriors, and they will be 113114shattered!37A sword against 115their 116horses, against 117their chariots, And against all the 118119foreigners who are in the midst of her, And they will become 120women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!38A 121122drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of 123idols, And they go insane at frightful images.

39“Therefore the 124desert creatures will live there with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it. It will 125never again be inhabited Nor lived in from generation to generation.40As when God overthrew 126Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord, “No one will live there, Nor will 127anyone of mankind reside in it.

41“Behold, a people is coming 128from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth.42They 129seize their bow and javelin; They are 130cruel and have no mercy. Their 131voice roars like the sea; And they ride on 132horses, 133Drawn up like a man for the battle Against you, daughter of Babylon.43The 134king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; 135Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth.

44“136Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase them away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is 137chosen. For who is 138like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can 139stand against Me?” 45Therefore hear the 140plan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: 141they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them. 46At the 142shout, “Babylon has been conquered!” the 143earth quakes, and an 144outcry is heard among the nations.