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29 The land trembles and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
    without inhabitant.(A)

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43 Her cities have become an object of horror,
    a land of drought and a desert,
a land in which no one lives
    and through which no mortal passes.(A)

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11 Sharpen the arrows!
    Fill the quivers!

The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his temple.(A)

12 Raise a standard against the walls of Babylon;
    make the watch strong;
post sentinels;
    prepare the ambushes,
for the Lord has both planned and done
    what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.(B)

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16 The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan;
    at the sound of the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land quakes.
They come and devour the land and all that fills it,
    the city and those who live in it.(A)

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Shall not the land tremble on this account,
    and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
    and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?(A)

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45 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely the fold shall be appalled at their fate.

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13 Because of the wrath of the Lord, she shall not be inhabited
    but shall be an utter desolation;
everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled
    and hiss because of all her wounds.(A)

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10 But the Lord is the true God;
    he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
    and the nations cannot endure his indignation.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 10.10 Q ms Gk lack 10.10

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
    the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
    when God overthrew them.(A)
20 It will never be inhabited
    or lived in for all generations;
Arabs will not pitch their tents there;
    shepherds will not make their flocks lie down there.(B)

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21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“With such violence Babylon the great city
    will be thrown down
    and will be found no more;(A)
22 and the sound of harpists and entertainers and of flutists and trumpeters
    will be heard in you no more,
and an artisan of any trade
    will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the millstone
    will be heard in you no more,(B)
23 and the light of a lamp
    will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.(C)
24 And in you[a] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
    and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.24 Gk her

He called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    It has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
    a haunt of every foul bird,
    a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.2 Other ancient authorities read a haunt of every foul and hateful bird

10 The earth quakes before them;
    the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.(A)

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62 and say, ‘O Lord, you yourself threatened to destroy this place so that neither humans nor animals shall live in it, and it shall be desolate forever.’(A) 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it, and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,(B) 64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disasters that I am bringing on her.’ ”[a]

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 51.64 Gk: Heb on her. And they shall weary themselves

43 The king of Babylon heard news of them,
    and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(A)

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39 Therefore wild animals shall live with hyenas in Babylon,[a] and ostriches shall inhabit her; she shall never again be peopled or inhabited for all generations.(A) 40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, says the Lord, so no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in her.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 50.39 Heb lacks in Babylon

The Humiliation of Babylon

47 Come down and sit in the dust,
    virgin daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne,
    daughter Chaldea!
For you shall no more be called
    tender and delicate.(A)
Take the millstones and grind meal;
    remove your veil;
strip off your robe; uncover your legs;
    pass through the rivers.
Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
    and your shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
    and I will spare no one.[a](B)
Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
    is the Holy One of Israel.(C)

Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
    daughter Chaldea!
For you shall no more be called
    the mistress of kingdoms.(D)
I was angry with my people;
    I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
    you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke
    exceedingly heavy.(E)
You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”
    so that you did not lay these things to heart
    or remember their end.(F)

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,
    who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow
    or know the loss of children”—(G)
both these things shall come upon you
    in a moment, in one day:
the loss of children and widowhood
    shall come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
    and the great power of your enchantments.(H)

10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
    you said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and your knowledge
    led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”(I)
11 But evil shall come upon you,
    which you cannot charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
    which you will not be able to ward off,
and ruin shall come on you suddenly,
    of which you know nothing.(J)

12 Stand fast in your enchantments
    and your many sorceries,
    with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
    perhaps you may inspire terror.(K)
13 You are wearied with your many consultations;
    let those who study[b] the heavens
stand up and save you,
    those who gaze at the stars
and at each new moon predict
    what[c] shall befall you.(L)

14 See, they are like stubble;
    the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
    from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
    no fire to sit before!(M)
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
    who have trafficked with you from your youth;
they all wander about in their own paths;
    there is no one to save you.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 47.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 47.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 47.13 Gk Syr Compare Vg: Heb from what

10 declaring the outcome from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My purpose shall stand,
    and I will fulfill my intention,”(A)
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man for my purpose from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have planned, and I will do it.(B)

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23 And I will make it a possession of the screech owl[a] and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.(A)

An Oracle concerning Assyria

24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
As I have designed,
    so shall it be,
and as I have planned,
    so shall it come to pass:(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.23 Meaning of Heb uncertain

16 Those who see you will stare at you
    and ponder over you:
“Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
    who shook kingdoms,(A)

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13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
    and the earth will be shaken out of its place
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    in the day of his fierce anger.(A)
14 Like a gazelle on the run
    or like sheep with no one to gather them,
all will turn back to their own people,
    and all will flee to their own lands.(B)

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36 A sword against the diviners,
    so that they may become fools!
A sword against her warriors,
    so that they may be dismayed!(A)

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