耶利米书 50
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
關於巴比倫的預言
50 以下是耶和華藉耶利米先知論到巴比倫，就是迦勒底人的地所說的話。
2 “你們要在列國中傳揚和宣告，
要豎起旗幟宣揚，
不可隱瞞，說：
‘巴比倫被攻取了！
彼勒蒙羞，
米羅達驚慌；
巴比倫的神像都蒙羞，它的偶像都驚慌。’
3 因為有一個國家從北方來攻擊它，
使它的地荒涼；
沒有人在那裡居住，
人畜都逃跑無蹤。
4 到那些日子、那時候（這是耶和華的宣告），
以色列人必和猶大人一同來，
邊走邊哭，
要尋找耶和華他們的 神。
5 他們要詢問往錫安的路，又面向錫安，說：
‘來吧！我們要以那永不可忘記的約與耶和華連合。’
6 我的子民成了迷失的羊，
他們的牧人使他們走錯了路，
使他們在山上徘徊；
他們從大山走到小山，
忘記了他們安歇之處。
7 所有遇見他們的都吞吃他們；
他們的敵人說：‘我們沒有罪，
因為他們得罪了耶和華，那真正的居所；
耶和華是他們列祖的盼望。’
8 我的子民哪！你們要從巴比倫中間逃跑，
從迦勒底人的地出來；
要像公山羊走在羊群前面。
9 因為，看哪！我必激動強國從北方之地聯群而來，
攻擊巴比倫；
他們要列陣攻打巴比倫；
巴比倫就必被攻取。
他們的箭必像善戰的勇士，
不會空手而回。
10 迦勒底必成為掠物，
擄掠它的都必心滿意足。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
11 “搶奪我產業的啊！
你們雖然歡喜快樂，
像踹穀的母牛犢跳躍，
像雄壯的馬嘶叫；
12 但你們的母親必極度羞愧，
生你們的必受恥辱。
看哪！她要在列國中淪為最弱小的，
成為曠野、旱地、沙漠。”
13 因耶和華的烈怒，巴比倫必沒有人居住，
完全荒廢；
每一個住過巴比倫的，
都必因這地遭受的一切創傷而驚駭，
並且嗤笑它。
14 所有拉弓的啊！
你們要在巴比倫四圍列陣；
射箭攻擊它，不要吝嗇箭枝，
因為它得罪了耶和華。
15 你們要在它的四周吶喊攻擊它；
它投降了，
它城牆的支柱倒塌了，
它的城牆拆毀了。
因為這是耶和華的報復；
你們要向巴比倫報復，
它怎樣待人，你們也要怎樣待它。
16 你們要把播種的，和在收割的時候手持鐮刀的，
都從巴比倫剪除；
因為欺壓者的刀劍，
他們各人必歸回自己的本族，
各自逃回自己的故鄉。
以色列的回歸
17 以色列是被趕散的羊，它被獅子趕逐。先是亞述王把它吞滅，現在巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒要咬碎它的骨頭。 18 因此，萬軍之耶和華 神這樣說：“看哪！我必懲罰巴比倫王和他的國土，像我以前懲罰亞述王一樣， 19 我必領以色列回到它的牧場，它必在迦密和巴珊吃草，又在以法蓮山地和基列地吃得飽足。 20 到那些日子，那時候，人要尋查以色列的罪孽，卻無所發現；要查究猶大的罪惡，卻一無所見；因為我必赦免我留下的那些人。”這是耶和華的宣告。
神審判巴比倫
21 “你們要攻擊米拉大翁的地，
上去攻擊她，
又攻擊比割的居民，
屠殺他們，把他們徹底消滅，
照著我吩咐你們的一切執行。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
22 境內有戰爭的聲音，
和極大的毀滅。
23 擊打全地的大鎚，怎麼被砍斷毀掉！
巴比倫在列國中，怎麼成了令人驚駭的對象呢！
24 “巴比倫哪！我設下網羅捉拿你，
你被捉住，仍不自覺；
你被發現，也被抓住，
因為你和耶和華爭鬥。”
25 耶和華打開了自己的軍械庫，
拿出他忿怒的武器；
因為主萬軍之耶和華
在迦勒底人的地有事要作。
26 你們要從四面八方攻擊巴比倫，
打開它的穀倉，
把它堆起來好像堆穀物一樣；
把它徹底消滅，
甚麼都不留下。
27 要擊殺它所有的公牛，
使他們下去被屠殺！
他們有禍了！因為他們的日子，
就是他們受懲罰的時候，來到了。
28 聽哪！從巴比倫的地逃出得以脫險的人，
在錫安述說耶和華我們 神的報復，
就是為他的殿而施行的報復。
29 “要召集弓箭手去攻擊巴比倫，
要召集所有拉弓的；
要在巴比倫的四圍安營攻擊它，
不容一人逃脫。
要照著它的所作所為報應它，
它怎樣待人，你們也要怎樣待它；
因它狂傲地敵對耶和華，
與以色列的聖者為敵。
30 所以，它的年輕人必仆倒在它的街道上，
到那一天，它所有的戰士都必被消滅。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
31 “傲慢的人哪！我必敵對你
（這是主萬軍之耶和華的宣告），
因為你的日子，就是我懲罰你的時候，來到了。
32 那傲慢的必絆跌仆倒，
沒有人扶他起來；
我必在他的城鎮中放火，
吞滅他四圍的一切。”
33 萬軍之耶和華這樣說：
“以色列人被壓迫，
猶大人也一樣受到欺壓；
所有俘擄他們的都緊緊抓住他們，
不肯釋放他們。
34 但他們的救贖主大有能力，
萬軍之耶和華是他的名；
他必認真地為他們的案件申辯，
好使那地得到安寧，
卻使巴比倫的居民惶亂不安。
35 刀劍必攻擊迦勒底人，
攻擊巴比倫的居民，
攻擊它的領袖和智慧人。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
36 “刀劍必攻擊胡說八道的假先知，
他們必變成愚昧；
刀劍必攻擊它的勇士，
他們必驚惶失措；
37 刀劍必攻擊它的馬匹和戰車，
攻擊它境內所有外族的人，
他們必像婦女一樣柔弱；
刀劍必攻擊它的一切寶庫，
它們必被搶掠；
38 乾旱（“乾旱”或參照《七十士譯本》和其他古譯本翻譯為“刀劍”）必攻擊它的河流，
它們必乾涸；
因為這是偶像的地，
人必因可怕的偶像迷失本性。
39 曠野的走獸和豺狼必住在那裡，
鴕鳥也必住在其中；
那地永遠再沒有人居住，
世世代代不再有人住在那裡，
40 就像 神傾覆的所多瑪、蛾摩拉，
和它們鄰近的城鎮一樣；
必沒有人住在那裡，
也必沒有人在那裡寄居。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
41 “看哪！有一個民族從北方而來，
有一大國和許多君王被激動，
從地極來到。
42 他們緊握弓和槍，
性情殘忍，毫無憐憫；
他們的聲音像海洋怒吼；
巴比倫的居民哪！
他們騎著戰馬，
在戰場上如同一人，列陣攻擊你們。
43 巴比倫王聽了有關他們的消息，
手就發軟；
痛苦緊緊抓住他，
他疼痛好像正在生產的婦人。
44 看哪！獅子怎樣從約旦河邊的叢林走上來，
攻擊常綠的牧場，
照樣，我必在眨眼之間把巴比倫趕走，使它離開這地；
誰蒙揀選，我就派誰治理這地。
誰能和我相比呢？誰可以把我傳來審訊呢？
哪一個牧人能在我面前站立得住呢？”
45 因此，你們要聽耶和華籌謀對付巴比倫的計劃，
和他為了攻擊迦勒底人的地所定下的策略。
他們羊群中最小的也必被拉去，
他們的牧場也必因臨到它們的災禍而荒廢。
46 因巴比倫陷落的響聲，
地就震動；
列國都聽見它的哀叫聲。
Jeremiah 50
The Voice
50 This now is the word the Eternal spoke through His prophet Jeremiah concerning the mighty empire of Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans.
Babylon is a dominant world power in Jeremiah’s time that God uses to accomplish His purposes. The prophet says that even Babylon will answer to God. East of Chaldea, the Persian Empire will take over the region and conquer Babylon. This time the Persian King Cyrus will be used by God to alter the course of events.
Jeremiah now conveys his firm belief that it is the God of Israel—not kings and their armies—who shapes history. He delivers a strong message from God concerning Babylon (who oversteps her bounds in the treatment of Judah and the other nations). Intermixed is Jeremiah’s message of hope for those in exile. One day, the people of Judah will return home from Babylon. Those who make the journey will find that God never stops loving them, even as He disciplines them.
2 Eternal One: Tell the nations of the world; announce it to them all.
Raise a flag—get their attention—tell them! Hold nothing back; tell them,
“Babylon has fallen; Bel has been put to shame:
Marduk has been shattered. Her images are disgraced;
There’s nothing left of Babylon’s idols but broken pieces.”
3 Now it is Babylon’s turn to be attacked from the north; another nation will destroy her land. No one will live there; both man and beast will run away.
4 But in those days of judgment and when the time is right, I, the Eternal One, declare this: The people of Israel and those of Judah will come to Me together. With tears in their eyes, they will come and seek the Eternal their God. 5 They will ask about the way back to Zion and turn toward home. They will come together and bind themselves to the Eternal in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
6 My people have become like lost sheep, and their shepherds have led them astray. They wandered so far from My protection—on mountaintops and hills they lost their way, worshiping false gods, forgetting where I was and where they could find rest. 7 And whoever found My lost sheep devoured them. Their enemies said to themselves, “Why worry? We are not the guilty ones here. They are the ones who sinned against their God, the Eternal One, their place of safety, the Eternal One, the hope of their ancestors.”
8 Get out of Babylon while you can! Leave behind this land of the Chaldeans. Be like the goats at the head of the flock; lead the way home. 9 For I am stirring up trouble against Babylon; I am bringing together the armies of great nations to attack Babylon from the north. They will draw up their battle plans and march against her. The arrows of this army will be like those of a skilled marksman; they will not miss the target or come home empty-handed. 10 Chaldea will be plundered; all her conquerors shall have their fill of the land’s wealth.
This is what the Eternal declares.
11 Eternal One (to Babylon): Because of your treatment of My people,
because you rejoice and celebrate as you plunder My heritage,
Because you dance about like a heifer roaming the grassland
and neigh like a stallion as you plunder them,
12 Your homeland will be put to shame.
She who gave you life will be disgraced.
She will become the least of all nations,
nothing but a patch of wilderness, a dry and dusty patch of land, a barren desert.
13 Because of My anger, no one will live there.
She will be a desolate wasteland.
All who pass by Babylon and see what I, the Eternal, have done
will shudder and gasp at her many deep wounds.
14 (to Babylon’s enemies) Prepare for battle! Take your positions!
Surround Babylon on every side, all you archers.
Shoot at her! Show no mercy! Spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Eternal.
15 Shout your battle cries on every side!
She has already given up.
Her towers have fallen, and her walls have crumbled.
Since this is My vengeance, the justice of the Eternal,
Do not hold back—take vengeance on her.
Do to her what she has done to others.
16 Uproot from Babylon those who plant crops
and those who harvest with the sickle.
When they see the flash from the enemy’s sword,
everyone will run away; everyone will go back to his own land.
17 Israel is like a frightened flock scattered by the lions who hunt them. The first to attack and devour them was the king of Assyria, and the last to chew on their remains was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 18 For this reason, I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, promise this: Just as I punished the king of Assyria for the way he treated you, so will I punish the king of Babylon and his land. 19 But you, Israel, I will bring back to your own pasture. Once again you will graze in the lush fields of Carmel and Bashan; your hunger will be no more; you will fill yourself on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 And in those days when the time is right, I, the Eternal One, promise this: If anyone searches for even a trace of Israel’s wrongdoings, they will find nothing. If they look for the sins of Judah, none will be found because I will have forgiven this remnant of My people.
21 (to Babylon’s enemies) Go up and attack the land of Merathaim
and those who live in Pekod.
Slay them all; completely destroy them.
Do everything I, the Eternal One, have commanded you.
22 The sounds of war can be heard in the land,
anguished cries of great destruction.
23 That hammer who pounded the nations of the earth
now lies broken and pounded into pieces herself!
Mighty Babylon—how you have become a horror
to the watching world!
24 I set a trap for you, O Babylon, and you fell for it.
Before you realized what had happened,
You were discovered and captured
because you dared to fight against the Eternal.
25 Yes, the Eternal has opened His armory—
unleashed the weapons of His wrath—
For the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies, is at work
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from far away and on every side.
Break open her storehouses;
Crush her cities, and leave her dead in piles like so much grain.
Destroy her completely; let nothing survive.
27 Let her young bulls die by the sword.
Let them all be slaughtered!
Woe to each of them, for their day of punishment has come.
28 Hear the clamor of refugees and fugitives, fresh from the land of Babylon. They arrive in Zion to announce how the Eternal our God has paid Babylon back for what she did to His people and His temple.
29 Call up the archers to attack Babylon; surround her on all sides so no one can escape. Repay her for her horrible deeds; do to her what she has done to others, because she has proudly defied the Eternal, the Holy One of Israel. 30 The Eternal declares that her young men will fall in the streets, and all her soldiers will fall silent on that day.
31 Eternal One: See I am against you, O prideful one.
I, the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies, declare
That your time has come:
I will now punish you for all you’ve done.
32 In your pride, you will stumble and fall,
and no one will help you up.
I will set fire to your cities and towns,
and it will devour everything around you.
33 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, says about Israel:
Eternal One: The people of Israel are oppressed—
so, too, the people of Judah.
All those who took them captive continue to hold them
and refuse to let them go.
34 But their Redeemer is strong;
the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, is His name.
He will take their side and defend their cause;
He will give them rest in their own land.
But He will shake the earth beneath the citizens of Babylon.
35 Eternal One: I will send a sword against the Chaldeans—
against the citizens of Babylon herself—
against her leaders and wise men.
36 I will send a sword against her diviners;
they will be exposed as fools.
I will send a sword against her mighty warriors;
they will be paralyzed with terror.
37 I will send a sword against her war horses and chariots
and all the foreign troops fighting alongside her;
They will all become weak like women.
I will send a sword against her treasures;
They will all be plundered.
38 I will send a drought against her water supplies;
they will all dry up
Because this is a land filled with images,
and the people are madly devoted to their idols.
39 So the beasts of the desert will roam this land—jackals and ostriches will make it their homes. But never again will it be home to people; from generation to generation, no one will live there. 40 As God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and all of their neighbors,[a] so does the Eternal declare that no one will live in the land of Babylon. No one will make his home there.
41 Eternal One: Look in the distance and you will see an army
marching toward you out of the north.
A nation of many kings whose size and might you can’t imagine
is now awakening and coming from the remote parts of the earth.
42 They are armed with bows and spears;
their hearts are cruel and will show you no mercy.
The sound of their massive army, riding in on their horses,
is like the sound of an angry sea;
They are ready for battle, marching in formation,
coming to destroy you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has received the news about them,
and his hands fall to his side, weak and helpless—
Distress has gripped him so,
like a woman in the agony of giving birth.
44 Like a lion that suddenly emerges from the dense undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack a flock feeding in the lush pasture, so in an instant I will arrive and chase Babylon from her land. Then I will put in place a leader of My choosing. For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?
45 That is why you must hear the plan that the Eternal has for Babylon, and what He intends to do to those who live in the land of the Chaldeans: The little ones will be dragged away from the flock. He will leave their pasture desolate. 46 The sound of Babylon falling will cause the earth to shake; her cry will echo among the nations.
Footnotes
Jeremiah 50
King James Version
50 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.