Jeremiah 51:1-14

New Living Translation

51 This is what the Lord says:
“I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon
    and the people of Babylonia.^[a]
2 Foreigners will come and winnow her,
    blowing her away as chaff.
They will come from every side
    to rise against her in her day of trouble.
³ Don’t let the archers put on their armor
    or draw their bows.
Don’t spare even her best soldiers!
    Let her army be completely destroyed.^[b]
4 They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians,^[c]
    slashed to death in her streets.
⁵ For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    has not abandoned Israel and Judah.
He is still their God,
    even though their land was filled with sin
    against the Holy One of Israel.”

⁶ Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves!
    Don’t get trapped in her punishment!
It is the Lord’s time for vengeance;
    he will repay her in full.
⁷ Babylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hands,
    a cup that made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank Babylon’s wine,
    and it drove them all mad.
⁸ But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen.
    Weep for her.
Give her medicine.
    Perhaps she can yet be healed.
⁹ We would have helped her if we could,
    but nothing can save her now.
Let her go; abandon her.
    Return now to your own land.
For her punishment reaches to the heavens;
    it is so great it cannot be measured.
¹⁰ The Lord has vindicated us.
    Come, let us announce in Jerusalem^[d]
    everything the Lord our God has done.

¹¹ Sharpen the arrows!
    Lift up the shields!^[e]
For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes
    to march against Babylon and destroy her.
This is his vengeance against those
    who desecrated his Temple.
¹² Raise the battle flag against Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen.
Prepare an ambush,
    for the Lord will fulfill all his plans against Babylon.
¹³ You are a city by a great river,
    a great center of commerce,
but your end has come.
    The thread of your life is cut.
¹⁴ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow
    and has sworn to it by his own name:
“Your cities will be filled with enemies,
    like fields swarming with locusts,
    and they will shout in triumph over you.”