Jeremiah 50:1-19

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.