Jeremiah 50
Expanded Bible
A Message to Babylon
50 This is the message the Lord spoke to Babylon and the ·Babylonian people [L Chaldeans] through Jeremiah the prophet.
2 “·Announce [Proclaim] this to the nations [L and let them hear].
Lift up a banner [C a battle standard] and ·tell them [make them hear].
·Speak the whole message [L Do not conceal anything] and say:
‘Babylon will be captured.
The god Bel [C another name for Marduk] will be ·put to shame [humiliated],
and the god Marduk [C the chief god of the Babylonians] will be ·afraid [terrified].
·Babylon’s gods [L Its images] will be ·put to shame [humiliated],
and her idols will be ·afraid [terrified]!’
3 A nation from the north will attack Babylon [C Persia]
and make it like an ·empty desert [desolation].
No one will live there;
both people and animals will ·run away [flee].”
4 The Lord says, “At that time [L and in those days]
the ·people [L sons] of Israel and Judah will come together.
They will cry and ·look for [L seek] the Lord their God.
5 Those people will ask ·how to go [L the way/path] to ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
and will start in that direction.
They will come and join themselves to the Lord.
They will make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him that will last forever,
an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] that will never be forgotten [31:31–34].
6 “My people have been like lost sheep.
Their ·leaders [L shepherds] have led them ·in the wrong way [astray]
and made them wander around in the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their ·resting place [fold] was [Ps. 23].
7 Whoever ·saw [L found] my people ·hurt [L devoured] them.
And those ·enemies [foes] said, ‘We ·did nothing wrong [are not guilty].
Those people sinned against the Lord, their ·true [L righteous] ·resting place [fold],
the God their fathers ·trusted [hoped in].’
8 “·Run away [Flee] from Babylon,
and leave the land of the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans].
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9 I will soon ·arouse [L stir up] and bring against Babylon
·many great nations [a large assembly of nations] from the north [C led by Persia].
They will take their places for war against it,
and it will be captured ·by people from the north [L from there].
Their arrows are like trained soldiers
who do not return [C from war] with empty hands.
10 The ·enemy will take all the wealth from the Babylonians [L Chaldeans will be plundered].
·Those enemy soldiers will get all they want [L The plunderers will be satisfied/sated],” says the Lord.
11 “Babylon, you are excited and happy,
because you took my ·land [L inheritance; C Israel].
You ·dance around [run free] like a young cow ·in the grain [during the threshing; Deut. 25:4].
·Your laughter is like the neighing of male horses [L You neigh like a stallion].
12 Your mother will be ·very ashamed [humiliated];
the woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced.
·Soon Babylonia will be the least important of all [L It brings up the backside of] the nations.
She will be an empty, dry ·desert [wilderness].
13 Because of the Lord’s anger,
no one will live there.
She will be completely ·empty [desolate].
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be shocked.
They will shake their heads when they see all her injuries.
14 “Take your positions for war against Babylon,
all ·you soldiers with [L who draw] bows.
Shoot your arrows at Babylon! Do not ·save any of them [L spare any arrows],
because Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
15 ·Soldiers around Babylon [L On every side], shout the war cry!
Babylon has surrendered, her ·towers [defenses] have fallen,
and her walls have been ·torn down [demolished].
The Lord is giving her people the punishment they deserve.
·You nations should give her what she deserves;
do to her what she has done to others [L Just as it did, they did].
16 ·Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops [L Cut the sower off from Babylon]
·or gather [L seize the sickle wielder at the time of] the harvest.
·The soldiers treated their captives cruelly [L …before the sword of the oppressor].
Now, let everyone ·go back home [L turn face toward his people].
Let everyone ·run [flee] to his own country [C after the fall of Babylon, the Persians allowed the exiled people to return to their own lands; Ezra 1].
17 “The people of Israel are like a flock of sheep that are scattered
from being ·chased [driven] by lions.
The first lion to eat them up
was the king of Assyria [C Sennacherib defeated the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 bc].
The last lion to ·crush [gnaw] their bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [C defeated the southern kingdom of Judah in 586 bc].”
18 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his country
as I punished the king of Assyria [C defeated by Babylon at the end of the seventh century bc].
19 But I will bring the people of Israel back to their own pasture.
They will ·eat [feed] on Mount Carmel and in Bashan [C particularly lush areas].
They will ·eat and be full [be sated]
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.”
20 The Lord says,
“At that time and in those days people will try to find Israel’s guilt,
but there will be no guilt.
People will try to find Judah’s sins,
but no sins will be found,
because I will leave a ·few people alive from Israel and Judah [remnant],
and I will forgive their sins.
21 “Attack the land of Merathaim.
Attack the people who live in Pekod [C alternate names for Babylon].
·Chase them, kill them [L Put them to the sword], and ·completely destroy [annihilate] them.
Do everything I commanded you!” says the Lord.
22 “The noise of battle can be heard all over the country;
it is the noise of ·much destruction [L great fracture].
23 ·Babylon was the hammer of the whole earth,
but how broken and shattered that hammer is now [L How cut down and broken is the hammer of the whole earth].
·It is truly the most ruined
of [L How Babylon has become a horror among] all the nations.
24 I set a trap for you [C Babylon],
and you were caught before you knew it.
You ·fought against [challenged] the Lord,
so you were found and ·taken prisoner [captured].
25 The Lord has opened up his storeroom
and brought out the weapons of his anger,
because the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has work to do
in the land of the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans].
26 Come against it [C Babylon] from far away.
Break open her storehouses of grain.
Pile them up [C dead bodies] like heaps of grain.
·Completely destroy Babylon [L Annihilate it]
and ·do not leave anyone alive [L let there be no remnant].
27 ·Kill [L Put to the sword] all its bulls [C the young men in Babylon];
let them go down to the slaughter [C killed like animals].
·How terrible it will be for [Woe to] them, because ·the time has come for their defeat [L their day has come];
it is time for them to be punished.
28 Listen to the people ·running [fleeing] to escape the country of Babylon!
They are telling ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
how the Lord our God is punishing Babylon as it deserves
for destroying his Temple.
29 “Call for ·the archers [L all those who draw the bow]
to come against Babylon.
·Tell them to surround the city [L Camp all around it],
and let no one escape.
Pay her back for what she has done;
do to her what she has done to other nations.
Babylon acted with ·pride [arrogance] against the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
30 So her young men will be killed in her streets.
All her soldiers will ·die [L be silenced] on that day,” says the Lord.
31 “You [C Babylon] are too ·proud [arrogant], and I am against you,”
says the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“·The time has come [L Your day is coming]
·for you to be punished [L the time of your punishment].
32 The ·proud [arrogant; C Babylon] will stumble and fall,
and no one will help her get up.
I will ·start [kindle] a fire in her towns,
and it will ·burn up [L devour] everything around her.”
33 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“The people of Israel
and Judah are ·slaves [oppressed].
·The enemy took them as prisoners [L Their captors have seized them]
and won’t let them go.
34 But ·God is strong and will buy them back [L their redeemer is strong].
His name is the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
He will surely ·defend them with power [take up their cause/case]
so he can give rest to their land.
But ·he will not give rest [turmoil] to those living in Babylon.”
35 The Lord says,
“Let a sword ·kill the people living in Babylon [L be against the Chaldeans]
and her officers and wise men!
36 Let a sword ·kill [L be against] her ·false prophets [diviners],
and they will become fools.
Let a sword ·kill [L be against] her warriors,
and they will be full of terror.
37 Let a sword ·kill [L be against] her horses and chariots
and all the soldiers hired from other countries!
Then they will be like women [C frightened].
Let a sword ·attack [L be against] her treasures,
so they will be ·taken away [L plundered].
38 Let a sword ·attack [L be against] her waters
so they will be dried up.
She is a land of idols,
and the people go ·crazy [mad] with fear over them.
39 “Desert animals and hyenas will live there,
and ·owls [or ostriches] will live there [C ritually unclean birds that live in desolate places],
but no people will ever live there again.
She will never be ·filled with people [resided in] again.
40 God ·completely destroyed [L overturned] the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and ·the towns around them [L their neighbors; 20:6; 23:13–15; 49:18; Gen. 18–19],” says the Lord.
“In the same way no people will live there [C Babylon],
and no human being will stay there.
41 “Look! An army is coming from the north [C Persia and its allies].
A powerful nation and many kings
are ·coming together [L stirred up] from all around the world.
42 ·Their armies have [L They have grabbed] bows and spears.
The soldiers are ·cruel [fierce; violent] and have no ·mercy [compassion].
As the soldiers come riding on their horses,
the sound is loud like the ·roaring [thundering] sea.
They stand in their places, ready for battle.
They are ready to attack you, city of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon heard ·about those armies [L the news/report],
and ·he became helpless with fear [L his hands grew slack/feeble].
Distress has gripped him.
His pain is like that of a woman ·giving birth to a baby [in labor; 6:22–24].
44 “Like a lion coming up from the thick bushes near the Jordan River
to attack a ·strong pen for sheep [or perennial pastures],
I will suddenly chase them away [C people of Babylon from their land].
Who is the one I have ·chosen [appointed] to do this?
·There is no one [L Who is…?] like me,
·no one who [L Who…?] can take me to court.
·None of their leaders [L Who is the shepherd who…?] can stand up against me [49:19].”
45 So listen to ·what the Lord has planned to do against Babylon [L counsel/advice of the Lord].
Listen to ·what he has decided to do to [L his plans against] the people in the city of Babylon.
He will surely drag away the young of the flock [C the youth of Babylon].
Their ·hometowns [L pasture] will surely be shocked at what happens to them.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture, the earth will shake.
People in all nations will hear Babylon’s cry of distress.
Jeremiah 50
Amplified Bible
Prophecy against Babylon
50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning [a]Babylon and concerning the land of the [b]Chaldeans through Jeremiah the prophet:(A)
2
“Declare among the nations.
Lift up a signal [to spread the news]—publish and proclaim it,
Do not conceal it; say,
‘Babylon has been taken,
Bel [the patron god] has been shamed, [c]Marduk (Bel) has been shattered.
Babylon’s images have been shamed, her [worthless] idols have been thrown down.’
3 For out of the north a nation (Media) has come against her which will make her land desolate, and no one will live there. They have fled, they have gone away—both man and animal.
4 “In those days and at that time,” says the Lord, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will come up weeping [in repentance] as they come and seek the Lord their God [inquiring for and of Him]. 5 They will ask the way to Zion, with their faces in that direction, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’
6
“My people have become lost sheep;
Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside [to the seductive places of idolatry] on the mountains.
They have gone along [from one sin to another] from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their [own] resting place.(B)
7
“All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,
Because they have sinned against the Lord [and are no longer holy to Him], their [true] habitation of righteousness and justice,
Even the Lord, the [confident] hope of their fathers.’
8
“Wander away from the midst of Babylon
And go out of the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like the male goats [who serve as leaders] at the head of the flocks.(C)
9
“For behold, I will stir up and bring up against Babylon
An assembly of great nations from the north country.
They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who will not return empty-handed.
10
“Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will be satisfied,” says the Lord.
11
“Though you are glad, though you rejoice,
O you who plunder My heritage,
Though you are wanton and skip about like a heifer in the grass
And neigh like stallions,
12
Your mother [Babylon] shall be greatly shamed;
She who gave you birth will be ashamed.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.
13
“Because of the wrath of the Lord she will not be inhabited
But she will be completely desolate;
Everyone who goes by Babylon will be appalled
And will hiss (mock) at all her wounds and plagues.
14
“Set yourselves in battle formation against Babylon on every side,
All you archers.
Shoot at her! Do not spare the arrows,
For she has sinned against the Lord.
15
“Raise the battle cry against her on every side!
She has given her hand [in agreement] and has surrendered; her pillars have fallen,
Her walls have been torn down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
As she has done [to others], do to her.
16
“Cut off the sower from Babylon
And the one who handles the sickle at the time of harvest.
For fear of the sword of the oppressor
Everyone will return to his own people
And everyone will flee to his own land.
17 Israel is a hunted and scattered flock [driven here and there as prey]; the lions have chased them away. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken (gnawed) his bones. 18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will visit (inspect, examine) and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring Israel [home] again to his pasture and he will graze on [the most fertile lands of] Carmel [in the west] and Bashan [in the east], and his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ says the Lord, ‘a search will be made for the wickedness of Israel, but there will be none and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’(D)
21
“Go against [Babylon] the land of Merathaim (Double Rebellion),
Go up against it and against the people of Pekod (Punishment).
Kill and utterly destroy them,” says the Lord,
“And do everything that I have commanded you.”
22
“The noise of battle is in the land,
And [the noise of] great destruction.
23
“How the hammer of the whole earth
Is crushed and broken!
How Babylon has become
A horror [of desolation] among the nations!
24
“I set a trap for you and you also were caught, O Babylon,
And you did not know it;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have struggled against the Lord.”
25
The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought out [the nations who unknowingly are] the weapons of His indignation (wrath),
For it is a work of the Lord God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26
Come against her from the farthest border.
Open her storehouses;
Pile it up like heaps of rubbish.
Burn and destroy her completely;
Let nothing be left of her.
27
Kill all her young bulls [her strength—her young men];
Let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe (judgment is coming) to the Chaldeans, for their day has come,
The time of their punishment.
28
Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,
Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
The vengeance [of the Lord against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.
29
“Call together many [archers] against Babylon,
All those who bend the bow.
Encamp against her on every side;
Let no one from there escape.
Repay her according to her actions;
Just as she has done, do to her.
For she has been proudly defiant and presumptuous against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30
“Therefore her young men will fall in her streets,
And all her soldiers will be destroyed on that day,” says the Lord.
31
“Behold, I am against you, [O Babylon, you] arrogant one, [you who are pride and presumption personified],”
Says the Lord God of hosts,
“For your day has come,
The time when I will punish you.
32
“The arrogant (proud) one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will set fire to his cities
And it will devour all who are around him.”
33
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“The children of Israel are oppressed,
And the children of Judah as well;
And all who took them captive have held them tightly,
They have refused to let them go.
34
“Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name.
He will most certainly plead their case and defend their cause
So that He may bring rest to their land,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35
“A sword against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her princes (officials, civic rulers) and against her wise men (astrologers, religious rulers)!
36
“A sword against the oracle priests (the babbling liars), and they will become fools!
A sword against her mighty warriors, and they will be shattered and destroyed!
37
“A sword against their horses and against their chariots
And against all the foreign troops that are in her midst,
And they will become [as weak and defenseless as] women!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38
“A drought on her waters, and they will dry up!
For it is a land of [worthless] idols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols [those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust].
39
“Therefore [d]wild beasts of the desert will live there [in Babylon] with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live there,
And it will never again be inhabited [with people]
Or lived in from generation to generation.(E)
40
“As when God overthrew Sodom
And Gomorrah and their neighboring cities,” says the Lord,
“So no man will live there;
Nor shall any son of man live there.”(F)
41
“Behold, a people is coming from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be stirring from the remote parts of the earth.
42
“They seize their bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no compassion.
They sound like the roaring of the sea;
They ride on horses,
Every man equipped like a man [ready] for the battle
Against you, O Daughter of Babylon.
43
“The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands fall limp and helpless;
Anguish has seized him,
And agony like that of a woman in childbirth.
44 “See, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Babylon] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make Babylon run from his land. I will appoint over Babylon the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”(G) 45 Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has devised against Babylon, and hear what He has purposed against [the inhabitants of the land of] the Chaldeans: surely they will be dragged away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their habitation desolate because of them. 46 At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth quakes, and an outcry is heard among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:1 Babylon was the name of the magnificent capital city of Babylonia, but “Babylon” was commonly used to refer to the entire area which was located at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent. Both the plain of Shinar and Chaldea (land of the Chaldeans) were part of ancient Babylonia.
- Jeremiah 50:1 The Chaldeans became the dominant people in Babylonia in about 721 b.c. when Merodach-baladan declared himself king of Babylon. The words “Chaldean” and “Babylonian” are used interchangeably.
- Jeremiah 50:2 Heb Merodach.
- Jeremiah 50:39 See note Is 13:22 for this prophecy’s fulfillment.
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