51 This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.[a]
I will send foreigners(C) to Babylon
    to winnow(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day(E) of her disaster.
Let not the archer string his bow,(F)
    nor let him put on his armor.(G)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy[b] her army.
They will fall(H) down slain in Babylon,[c]
    fatally wounded in her streets.(I)
For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken(J)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[d] is full of guilt(K)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

“Flee(L) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.(M)
It is time(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;(O)
    he will repay(P) her what she deserves.
Babylon was a gold cup(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
Babylon will suddenly fall(R) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm(S) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

“‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(T) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment(U) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

10 “‘The Lord has vindicated(V) us;
    come, let us tell in Zion
    what the Lord our God has done.’(W)

11 “Sharpen the arrows,(X)
    take up the shields!(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(Z) of the Medes,(AA)
    because his purpose(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(AC)
    vengeance for his temple.(AD)
12 Lift up a banner(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(AF)
    prepare an ambush!(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(AH)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(AI)
    and are rich in treasures,(AJ)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.(AK)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(AL)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(AM)
    and they will shout(AN) in triumph over you.

15 “He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom(AO)
    and stretched(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.(AQ)
16 When he thunders,(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(AS)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(AT)

17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(AU)
    they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless,(AV) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance(AX)
    the Lord Almighty is his name.

20 “You are my war club,(AY)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(AZ) nations,(BA)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(BB)
    with you I shatter chariot(BC) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(BD)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(BE)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(BF) Babylon(BG) and all who live in Babylonia[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

25 “I am against(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
    you who destroy the whole earth,”(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand(BJ) against you,
    roll you off the cliffs,
    and make you a burned-out mountain.(BK)
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
    nor any stone for a foundation,
    for you will be desolate(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.

27 “Lift up a banner(BM) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:(BN)
    Ararat,(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(BQ)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.(BS)
29 The land trembles(BT) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste(BV) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.(BW)
30 Babylon’s warriors(BX) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;(BZ)
    the bars(CA) of her gates are broken.
31 One courier(CB) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,(CC)
32 the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,(CD)
    and the soldiers terrified.(CE)

33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon(CF) is like a threshing floor(CG)
    at the time it is trampled;
    the time to harvest(CH) her will soon come.(CI)

34 “Nebuchadnezzar(CJ) king of Babylon has devoured(CK) us,(CL)
    he has thrown us into confusion,
    he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
    and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
    and then has spewed(CM) us out.
35 May the violence(CN) done to our flesh[f] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.(CO)

36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your cause(CP)
    and avenge(CQ) you;
I will dry up(CR) her sea
    and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt(CS) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,(CT)
    a place where no one lives.(CU)
38 Her people all roar like young lions,(CV)
    they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,(CW)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever(CX) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.(CY)
40 “I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.(CZ)

41 “How Sheshak[g](DA) will be captured,(DB)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate(DC) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves(DD) will cover her.
43 Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert(DE) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.(DF)
44 I will punish Bel(DG) in Babylon
    and make him spew out(DH) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
    And the wall(DI) of Babylon will fall.

45 “Come out(DJ) of her, my people!
    Run(DK) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger(DL) of the Lord.
46 Do not lose heart(DM) or be afraid(DN)
    when rumors(DO) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols(DP) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced(DQ)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.(DR)
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout(DS) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north(DT)
    destroyers(DU) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.(DV)
50 You who have escaped the sword,
    leave(DW) and do not linger!
Remember(DX) the Lord in a distant land,(DY)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

51 “We are disgraced,(DZ)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”(EA)

52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,(EB)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.(EC)
53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens(ED)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers(EE) against her,”
declares the Lord.

54 “The sound of a cry(EF) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction(EG)
    from the land of the Babylonians.[h]
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence(EH) her noisy din.
Waves(EI) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
56 A destroyer(EJ) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.(EK)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay(EL) in full.
57 I will make her officials(EM) and wise(EN) men drunk,(EO)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep(EP) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,(EQ) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall(ER) will be leveled
    and her high gates(ES) set on fire;
the peoples(ET) exhaust(EU) themselves for nothing,
    the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”(EV)

59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,(EW) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah(EX) king of Judah in the fourth(EY) year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll(EZ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate(FA) forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.(FB) 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more(FC) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people(FD) will fall.’”(FE)

The words of Jeremiah end(FF) here.

The Fall of Jerusalem(FG)(FH)(FI)

52 Zedekiah(FJ) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.(FK) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim(FL) had done. It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,(FM) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.(FN)

Now Zedekiah rebelled(FO) against the king of Babylon.

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth(FP) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem(FQ) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works(FR) all around it.(FS) The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.(FT) Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.(FU) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians[i] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,[j] but the Babylonian[k] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured.(FV)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah(FW) in the land of Hamath,(FX) where he pronounced sentence on him. 10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons(FY) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.(FZ)

12 On the tenth day of the fifth(GA) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan(GB) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He set fire(GC) to the temple(GD) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses(GE) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14 The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls(GF) around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(GG) some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen[l] and those who had deserted(GH) to the king of Babylon. 16 But Nebuzaradan left behind(GI) the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

17 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,(GJ) the movable stands(GK) and the bronze Sea(GL) that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.(GM) 18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,(GN) dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.(GO) 19 The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,(GP) sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,(GQ) dishes(GR) and bowls used for drink offerings(GS)—all that were made of pure gold or silver.(GT)

20 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls(GU) under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.(GV) 21 Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference[m]; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.(GW) 22 The bronze capital(GX) on top of one pillar was five cubits[n] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates(GY) of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates(GZ) above the surrounding network was a hundred.(HA)

24 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah(HB) the chief priest, Zephaniah(HC) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.(HD) 25 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary(HE) who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land, sixty of whom were found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan(HF) the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There at Riblah,(HG) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away(HH) from her land. 28 This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:(HI)

in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;

29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,

832 people from Jerusalem;

30 in his twenty-third year,

745 Jews taken into exile(HJ) by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard.

There were 4,600 people in all.(HK)

Jehoiachin Released(HL)

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin(HM) king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.(HN) 34 Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance(HO) as long as he lived, till the day of his death.

[o]How deserted(HP) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(HQ)
How like a widow(HR) is she,
    who once was great(HS) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(HT)

Bitterly she weeps(HU) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(HV)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(HW) her;
    they have become her enemies.(HX)

After affliction and harsh labor,
    Judah has gone into exile.(HY)
She dwells among the nations;
    she finds no resting place.(HZ)
All who pursue her have overtaken her(IA)
    in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,(IB)
    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,(IC)
    her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
    and she is in bitter anguish.(ID)

Her foes have become her masters;
    her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief(IE)
    because of her many sins.(IF)
Her children have gone into exile,(IG)
    captive before the foe.(IH)

All the splendor has departed
    from Daughter Zion.(II)
Her princes are like deer
    that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled(IJ)
    before the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and wandering
    Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
    that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
    there was no one to help her.(IK)
Her enemies looked at her
    and laughed(IL) at her destruction.

Jerusalem has sinned(IM) greatly
    and so has become unclean.(IN)
All who honored her despise her,
    for they have all seen her naked;(IO)
she herself groans(IP)
    and turns away.

Her filthiness clung to her skirts;
    she did not consider her future.(IQ)
Her fall(IR) was astounding;
    there was none to comfort(IS) her.
“Look, Lord, on my affliction,(IT)
    for the enemy has triumphed.”

10 The enemy laid hands
    on all her treasures;(IU)
she saw pagan nations
    enter her sanctuary(IV)
those you had forbidden(IW)
    to enter your assembly.

11 All her people groan(IX)
    as they search for bread;(IY)
they barter their treasures for food
    to keep themselves alive.
“Look, Lord, and consider,
    for I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?(IZ)
    Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering(JA)
    that was inflicted on me,
that the Lord brought on me
    in the day of his fierce anger?(JB)

13 “From on high he sent fire,
    sent it down into my bones.(JC)
He spread a net(JD) for my feet
    and turned me back.
He made me desolate,(JE)
    faint(JF) all the day long.

14 “My sins have been bound into a yoke[p];(JG)
    by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
    and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands(JH)
    of those I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord has rejected
    all the warriors in my midst;(JI)
he has summoned an army(JJ) against me
    to[q] crush my young men.(JK)
In his winepress(JL) the Lord has trampled(JM)
    Virgin Daughter(JN) Judah.

16 “This is why I weep
    and my eyes overflow with tears.(JO)
No one is near to comfort(JP) me,
    no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
    because the enemy has prevailed.”(JQ)

17 Zion stretches out her hands,(JR)
    but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob
    that his neighbors become his foes;(JS)
Jerusalem has become
    an unclean(JT) thing(JU) among them.

18 “The Lord is righteous,(JV)
    yet I rebelled(JW) against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
    look on my suffering.(JX)
My young men and young women
    have gone into exile.(JY)

19 “I called to my allies(JZ)
    but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
    perished(KA) in the city
while they searched for food
    to keep themselves alive.

20 “See, Lord, how distressed(KB) I am!
    I am in torment(KC) within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,(KD)
    for I have been most rebellious.(KE)
Outside, the sword bereaves;
    inside, there is only death.(KF)

21 “People have heard my groaning,(KG)
    but there is no one to comfort me.(KH)
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
    they rejoice(KI) at what you have done.
May you bring the day(KJ) you have announced
    so they may become like me.

22 “Let all their wickedness come before you;
    deal with them
as you have dealt with me
    because of all my sins.(KK)
My groans(KL) are many
    and my heart is faint.”

[r]How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion
    with the cloud of his anger[s]!(KM)
He has hurled down the splendor of Israel
    from heaven to earth;
he has not remembered his footstool(KN)
    in the day of his anger.(KO)

Without pity(KP) the Lord has swallowed(KQ) up
    all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has torn down
    the strongholds(KR) of Daughter Judah.
He has brought her kingdom and its princes
    down to the ground(KS) in dishonor.

In fierce anger he has cut off
    every horn[t][u](KT) of Israel.
He has withdrawn his right hand(KU)
    at the approach of the enemy.
He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
    that consumes everything around it.(KV)

Like an enemy he has strung his bow;(KW)
    his right hand is ready.
Like a foe he has slain
    all who were pleasing to the eye;(KX)
he has poured out his wrath(KY) like fire(KZ)
    on the tent(LA) of Daughter Zion.

The Lord is like an enemy;(LB)
    he has swallowed up Israel.
He has swallowed up all her palaces
    and destroyed her strongholds.(LC)
He has multiplied mourning and lamentation(LD)
    for Daughter Judah.(LE)

He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;
    he has destroyed(LF) his place of meeting.(LG)
The Lord has made Zion forget
    her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;(LH)
in his fierce anger he has spurned
    both king and priest.(LI)

The Lord has rejected his altar
    and abandoned his sanctuary.(LJ)
He has given the walls of her palaces(LK)
    into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord
    as on the day of an appointed festival.(LL)

The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.(LM)
He stretched out a measuring line(LN)
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts(LO) and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.(LP)

Her gates(LQ) have sunk into the ground;
    their bars(LR) he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled(LS) among the nations,
    the law(LT) is no more,
and her prophets(LU) no longer find
    visions(LV) from the Lord.

10 The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;(LW)
they have sprinkled dust(LX) on their heads(LY)
    and put on sackcloth.(LZ)
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.(MA)

11 My eyes fail from weeping,(MB)
    I am in torment within(MC);
my heart(MD) is poured out(ME) on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,(MF)
because children and infants faint(MG)
    in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”(MH)
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(MI)
    in their mothers’ arms.(MJ)

13 What can I say for you?(MK)
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter(ML) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?(MM)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(MN)
    Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets
    were false(MO) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.(MP)
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.(MQ)

15 All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;(MR)
they scoff(MS) and shake their heads(MT)
    at Daughter Jerusalem:(MU)
“Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,(MV)
    the joy of the whole earth?”(MW)

16 All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;(MX)
they scoff and gnash their teeth(MY)
    and say, “We have swallowed her up.(MZ)
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.”(NA)

17 The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has fulfilled(NB) his word,
    which he decreed long ago.(NC)
He has overthrown you without pity,(ND)
    he has let the enemy gloat over you,(NE)
    he has exalted the horn[v] of your foes.(NF)

18 The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.(NG)
You walls of Daughter Zion,(NH)
    let your tears(NI) flow like a river
    day and night;(NJ)
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.(NK)

19 Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart(NL) like water
    in the presence of the Lord.(NM)
Lift up your hands(NN) to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint(NO) from hunger
    at every street corner.

20 “Look, Lord, and consider:
    Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,(NP)
    the children they have cared for?(NQ)
Should priest and prophet be killed(NR)
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?(NS)

21 “Young and old lie together
    in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
    have fallen by the sword.(NT)
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
    you have slaughtered them without pity.(NU)

22 “As you summon to a feast day,
    so you summoned against me terrors(NV) on every side.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped(NW) or survived;
those I cared for and reared(NX)
    my enemy has destroyed.”

[w]I am the man who has seen affliction(NY)
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(NZ)
He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness(OA) rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me(OB)
    again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(OC)
    and has broken my bones.(OD)
He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness(OE) and hardship.(OF)
He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.(OG)

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(OH)
    he has weighed me down with chains.(OI)
Even when I call out or cry for help,(OJ)
    he shuts out my prayer.(OK)
He has barred(OL) my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.(OM)

10 Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion(ON) in hiding,(OO)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(OP) me
    and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(OQ)
    and made me the target(OR) for his arrows.(OS)

13 He pierced(OT) my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.(OU)
14 I became the laughingstock(OV) of all my people;(OW)
    they mock me in song(OX) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.(OY)

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(OZ)
    he has trampled me in the dust.(PA)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”(PB)

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness(PC) and the gall.(PD)
20 I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast(PE) within me.(PF)
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love(PG) we are not consumed,(PH)
    for his compassions never fail.(PI)
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.(PJ)
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;(PK)
    therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;(PL)
26 it is good to wait quietly(PM)
    for the salvation of the Lord.(PN)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,(PO)
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust(PP)
    there may yet be hope.(PQ)
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,(PR)
    and let him be filled with disgrace.(PS)

31 For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.(PT)
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.(PU)
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.(PV)

34 To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,(PW)
36 to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?(PX)

37 Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?(PY)
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?(PZ)
39 Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?(QA)

40 Let us examine our ways and test them,(QB)
    and let us return to the Lord.(QC)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
    to God in heaven,(QD) and say:
42 “We have sinned and rebelled(QE)
    and you have not forgiven.(QF)

43 “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued(QG) us;
    you have slain without pity.(QH)
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud(QI)
    so that no prayer(QJ) can get through.(QK)
45 You have made us scum(QL) and refuse
    among the nations.

46 “All our enemies have opened their mouths
    wide(QM) against us.(QN)
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,(QO)
    ruin and destruction.(QP)
48 Streams of tears(QQ) flow from my eyes(QR)
    because my people are destroyed.(QS)

49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
    without relief,(QT)
50 until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and sees.(QU)
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
    because of all the women of my city.

52 Those who were my enemies without cause
    hunted me like a bird.(QV)
53 They tried to end my life in a pit(QW)
    and threw stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,(QX)
    and I thought I was about to perish.(QY)

55 I called on your name, Lord,
    from the depths(QZ) of the pit.(RA)
56 You heard my plea:(RB) “Do not close your ears
    to my cry for relief.”
57 You came near(RC) when I called you,
    and you said, “Do not fear.”(RD)

58 You, Lord, took up my case;(RE)
    you redeemed my life.(RF)
59 Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.(RG)
    Uphold my cause!(RH)
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
    all their plots against me.(RI)

61 Lord, you have heard their insults,(RJ)
    all their plots against me—
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
    against me all day long.(RK)
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
    they mock me in their songs.(RL)

64 Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
    for what their hands have done.(RM)
65 Put a veil over their hearts,(RN)
    and may your curse be on them!
66 Pursue(RO) them in anger and destroy them
    from under the heavens of the Lord.

[x]How the gold has lost its luster,
    the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
    at every street corner.(RP)

How the precious children of Zion,(RQ)
    once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
    the work of a potter’s hands!

Even jackals offer their breasts
    to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
    like ostriches in the desert.(RR)

Because of thirst(RS) the infant’s tongue
    sticks to the roof of its mouth;(RT)
the children beg for bread,
    but no one gives it to them.(RU)

Those who once ate delicacies
    are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple(RV)
    now lie on ash heaps.(RW)

The punishment of my people
    is greater than that of Sodom,(RX)
which was overthrown in a moment
    without a hand turned to help her.

Their princes were brighter than snow
    and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
    their appearance like lapis lazuli.

But now they are blacker(RY) than soot;
    they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;(RZ)
    it has become as dry as a stick.

Those killed by the sword are better off
    than those who die of famine;(SA)
racked with hunger, they waste away
    for lack of food from the field.(SB)

10 With their own hands compassionate women
    have cooked their own children,(SC)
who became their food
    when my people were destroyed.

11 The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;(SD)
    he has poured out(SE) his fierce anger.(SF)
He kindled a fire(SG) in Zion
    that consumed her foundations.(SH)

12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
    nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
    the gates of Jerusalem.(SI)

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
    and the iniquities of her priests,(SJ)
who shed within her
    the blood(SK) of the righteous.

14 Now they grope through the streets
    as if they were blind.(SL)
They are so defiled with blood(SM)
    that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
    “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander(SN) about,
    people among the nations say,
    “They can stay here no longer.”(SO)

16 The Lord himself has scattered them;
    he no longer watches over them.(SP)
The priests are shown no honor,
    the elders(SQ) no favor.(SR)

17 Moreover, our eyes failed,
    looking in vain(SS) for help;(ST)
from our towers we watched
    for a nation(SU) that could not save us.

18 People stalked us at every step,
    so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
    for our end had come.(SV)

19 Our pursuers were swifter
    than eagles(SW) in the sky;
they chased us(SX) over the mountains
    and lay in wait for us in the desert.(SY)

20 The Lord’s anointed,(SZ) our very life breath,
    was caught in their traps.(TA)
We thought that under his shadow(TB)
    we would live among the nations.

21 Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
    you who live in the land of Uz.(TC)
But to you also the cup(TD) will be passed;
    you will be drunk and stripped naked.(TE)

22 Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;(TF)
    he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
    and expose your wickedness.(TG)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
  2. Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  3. Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
  4. Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
  5. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
  6. Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
  7. Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
  8. Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
  9. Jeremiah 52:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 17
  10. Jeremiah 52:7 Or the Jordan Valley
  11. Jeremiah 52:8 Or Chaldean; also in verse 14
  12. Jeremiah 52:15 Or the populace
  13. Jeremiah 52:21 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
  14. Jeremiah 52:22 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  15. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  16. Lamentations 1:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint He kept watch over my sins
  17. Lamentations 1:15 Or has set a time for me / when he will
  18. Lamentations 2:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  19. Lamentations 2:1 Or How the Lord in his anger / has treated Daughter Zion with contempt
  20. Lamentations 2:3 Or off / all the strength; or every king
  21. Lamentations 2:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  22. Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  23. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
  24. Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Bible Gateway Recommends