Jeremiah 50:24-51:32

New International Version

²⁴ I set a trap^(A) for you, Babylon,
    and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured^(B)
    because you opposed^(C) the Lord.
²⁵ The Lord has opened his arsenal
    and brought out the weapons^(D) of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
    in the land of the Babylonians.^(E)
26 Come against her from afar.^(F)
    Break open her granaries;
    pile her up like heaps of grain.^(G)
Completely destroy^(H) her
    and leave her no remnant.
²⁷ Kill all her young bulls;^(I)
    let them go down to the slaughter!^(J)
Woe to them! For their day^(K) has come,
    the time^(L) for them to be punished.
²⁸ Listen to the fugitives^(M) and refugees from Babylon
    declaring in Zion^(N)
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,^(O)
    vengeance for his temple.^(P)

²⁹ “Summon archers against Babylon,
    all those who draw the bow.^(Q)
Encamp all around her;
    let no one escape.^(R)
Repay^(S) her for her deeds;^(T)
    do to her as she has done.
For she has defied^(U) the Lord,
    the Holy One^(V) of Israel.
³⁰ Therefore, her young men^(W) will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
³¹ “See, I am against^(X) you, you arrogant one,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day^(Y) has come,
    the time for you to be punished.
³² The arrogant^(Z) one will stumble and fall^(AA)
    and no one will help her up;^(AB)
I will kindle a fire^(AC) in her towns
    that will consume all who are around her.”

“The people of Israel are oppressed,^(AD)
    and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
    refusing to let them go.^(AE)
34 Yet their Redeemer^(AF) is strong;
    the Lord Almighty^(AG) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause^(AH)
    so that he may bring rest^(AI) to their land,
    but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

³⁵ “A sword^(AJ) against the Babylonians!”^(AK)
    declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
    and against her officials and wise^(AL) men!
³⁶ A sword against her false prophets!
    They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!^(AM)
    They will be filled with terror.^(AN)
37 A sword against her horses and chariots^(AO)
    and all the foreigners in her ranks!
    They will become weaklings.^(AP)
A sword against her treasures!^(AQ)
    They will be plundered.
³⁸ A drought on^[a] her waters!^(AR)
    They will dry^(AS) up.
For it is a land of idols,^(AT)
    idols that will go mad with terror.

³⁹ “So desert creatures^(AU) and hyenas will live there,
    and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
    or lived in from generation to generation.^(AV)
40 As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah^(AW)
    along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell in it.^(AX)

⁴¹ “Look! An army is coming from the north;^(AY)
    a great nation and many kings
    are being stirred^(AZ) up from the ends of the earth.^(BA)
42 They are armed with bows^(BB) and spears;
    they are cruel^(BC) and without mercy.^(BD)
They sound like the roaring sea^(BE)
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Babylon.^(BF)
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
    and his hands hang limp.^(BG)
Anguish has gripped him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(BH)
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets^(BI)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen^(BJ) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?^(BK)
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”

⁴⁵ Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
    what he has purposed^(BL) against the land of the Babylonians:^(BM)
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
⁴⁶ At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;^(BN)
    its cry^(BO) will resound among the nations.

“See, I will stir^(BP) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon^(BQ) and the people of Leb Kamai.^[b]
2 I will send foreigners^(BR) to Babylon
    to winnow^(BS) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day^(BT) of her disaster.
³ Let not the archer string his bow,^(BU)
    nor let him put on his armor.^(BV)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy^[c] her army.
⁴ They will fall^(BW) down slain in Babylon,^[d]
    fatally wounded in her streets.^(BX)
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken^(BY)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land^[e] is full of guilt^(BZ)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

⁶ “Flee^(CA) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.^(CB)
It is time^(CC) for the Lord’s vengeance;^(CD)
    he will repay^(CE) her what she deserves.
⁷ Babylon was a gold cup^(CF) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
⁸ Babylon will suddenly fall^(CG) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm^(CH) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

⁹ “‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave^(CI) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment^(CJ) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

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

¹¹ “Sharpen the arrows,^(CM)
    take up the shields!^(CN)
The Lord has stirred up the kings^(CO) of the Medes,^(CP)
    because his purpose^(CQ) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,^(CR)
    vengeance for his temple.^(CS)
12 Lift up a banner^(CT) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,^(CU)
    prepare an ambush!^(CV)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,^(CW)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
¹³ You who live by many waters^(CX)
    and are rich in treasures,^(CY)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.^(CZ)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:^(DA)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,^(DB)
    and they will shout^(DC) in triumph over you.

¹⁵ “He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom^(DD)
    and stretched^(DE) out the heavens by his understanding.^(DF)
16 When he thunders,^(DG) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain^(DH)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(DI)

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

²⁰ “You are my war club,^(DN)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter^(DO) nations,^(DP)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
²¹ with you I shatter horse and rider,^(DQ)
    with you I shatter chariot^(DR) 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,^(DS)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.^(DT)

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

²⁷ “Lift up a banner^(EB) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:^(EC)
    Ararat,^(ED) Minni and Ashkenaz.^(EE)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.^(EF)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,^(EG)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.^(EH)
29 The land trembles^(EI) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes^(EJ) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste^(EK) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.^(EL)
30 Babylon’s warriors^(EM) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.^(EN)
Her dwellings are set on fire;^(EO)
    the bars^(EP) of her gates are broken.
³¹ One courier^(EQ) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,^(ER)
32 the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,^(ES)
    and the soldiers terrified.^(ET)”