11 “Sharpen the arrows,(A)
    take up the shields!(B)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(C) of the Medes,(D)
    because his purpose(E) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(F)
    vengeance for his temple.(G)
12 Lift up a banner(H) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(I)
    prepare an ambush!(J)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(K)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(L)
    and are rich in treasures,(M)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.(N)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(O)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(P)
    and they will shout(Q) in triumph over you.

15 “He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom(R)
    and stretched(S) out the heavens by his understanding.(T)
16 When he thunders,(U) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(V)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(W)

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

20 “You are my war club,(AB)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(AC) nations,(AD)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(AE)
    with you I shatter chariot(AF) 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,(AG)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(AH)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(AI) Babylon(AJ) and all who live in Babylonia[a] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

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

27 “Lift up a banner(AP) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:(AQ)
    Ararat,(AR) Minni and Ashkenaz.(AS)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(AT)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,(AU)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.(AV)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35

11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

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