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51 Adonai says this:

“Against Bavel and those living in Lev-Kamai
I will stir up a destructive wind.
Against Bavel I will send foreigners
to winnow her and leave her land empty.
They will besiege her from every side
on the day of disaster.
Let the archer draw his bow,
let him flaunt his coat of mail;
do not spare her young men,
completely destroy her whole army.
In the land of the Kasdim the slain will fall,
those thrust through [by the sword] in her streets.
Isra’el and Y’hudah are not left widowed
of their God, Adonai-Tzva’ot;
but the land of [the Kasdim] is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Isra’el.”

Flee from Bavel, let each one save his life!
Don’t perish because of her guilt.
For the time has come for the vengeance of Adonai;
he will repay her what she deserves.
Bavel was a gold cup in the hands of Adonai;
it made the whole earth drunk —
the nations drank her wine;
this is why the nations have lost their senses.
Bavel has suddenly fallen.
She is broken; wail for her.
Bring healing ointment for her wounds;
perhaps she can be healed.
“We tried to heal Bavel,
but she cannot be healed.
So leave her alone, and each of us
will return to his own country.”
For the judgment against her rises to the skies
and reaches even the clouds.
10 Adonai has brought forth our victory.
Come, let us proclaim in Tziyon
the work of Adonai our God!

11 Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers!
Adonai roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
because he plans to destroy Bavel.
This is the vengeance of Adonai
vengeance over his temple.
12 Raise a standard against the walls of Bavel!
Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries!
Prepare ambushes! For Adonai
has both planned and accomplished
what he promised to do to those living in Bavel.
13 You who live near plenty of water,
so rich in treasure — your end has come,
your time for being cut off!
14 Adonai-Tzva’ot has sworn by himself,
“I will fill you with men as numerous as grasshoppers;
they will raise over you a shout of triumph.”

15 He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom
spread out the sky by his understanding.
16 When he thunders, the waters in heaven roar,
he raises clouds from the ends of the earth,
he makes the lightning flash in the rain
and brings the wind out from his storehouses.
17 At this, everyone is proved stupid, ignorant,
every goldsmith put to shame by his idol!
The figures he casts are a fraud,
there is no breath in them,
18 they are nothings, ridiculous objects;
when the day for their punishment comes, they will perish.
19 Ya‘akov’s portion is not like these,
for he is the one who formed all things,
including the tribe he claims as his heritage.
Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name.

20 “[Bavel] you are my war club and weapons of war —
with you I shatter nations;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 with you I shatter horses and their riders;
with you I shatter chariots and their drivers;
22 with you I shatter husbands and wives;
with you I shatter old and young;
with you I shatter young men and virgins;
23 with you I shatter shepherds and their flocks;
with you I shatter farmers and their teams;
with you I shatter governors and deputies.

24 “But I will repay Bavel and all living
in the land of the Kasdim for all the evil
they did in Tziyon,” says Adonai,
“before your eyes [, Y’hudah].”

25 “I am against you, destructive mountain,
destroying all the earth,” says Adonai.
“I will stretch out my hand against you,
to send you tumbling down from the crags
and make you a burned-out mountain.
26 No one will make cornerstones
or foundation-stones from you again;
but you will be desolate
forever,” says Adonai.

27 Raise up a banner in the land,
blow the shofar among the nations.
Prepare the nations for war against her.
Summon kingdoms against her —
Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.
Appoint an officer against her;
bring up horses like bristling grasshoppers.
28 Prepare the nations against her,
the kings of the Medes, his governors and deputies,
and all the land he controls.

29 The earth quakes and writhes,
as Adonai’s designs against Bavel are fulfilled,
to make the land of Bavel a ruin,
with no one living there.
30 Bavel’s warriors have given up fighting;
they remain in their fortresses;
their courage has failed; they are now like women.
Her homes are on fire, her gate-bars broken.
31 One runner runs to meet another,
messenger to meet messenger,
to report to the king of Bavel
that every part of his city is taken,
32 the fords have been occupied,
and the swamp thickets set on fire,
while the warriors are seized with panic.
33 For here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot,
the God of Isra’el, says:
“The daughter of Bavel is like
a threshing-floor at treading-time.
Just a little while longer,
and the time for harvesting her will come.”

34 N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel
has devoured me, crushed me.
He left me like an empty pot.
Like a monster, he swallowed me whole.
With my delicacies he stuffed his belly;
then he rinsed me out.
35 But one who lives in Tziyon will say,
“May my torn flesh be avenged on Bavel”;
and Yerushalayim will say,
“May my blood be avenged on the Kasdim.”
36 Therefore here is what Adonai says:
“I will plead your cause.
I will take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her river
and make her water sources dry.
37 Bavel will become a heap of ruins,
a place for jackals to live,
an object of horror and hissing,
with no one living there.
38 Together they roar like young lions,
growl like lion cubs.
39 When they are hot with desire,
I will prepare them a drink.
I will make them so drunk
they will have convulsions,
sleep forever and never wake up,”
says Adonai.
40 “I will drag them down like lambs to be slaughtered,
like rams and male goats.”

41 Sheshakh has been captured,
the pride of the whole earth seized!
Bavel has become an object of horror
throughout the nations!
42 The sea has flooded Bavel,
overwhelmed her with its raging waves.
43 Her cities have become desolate —
parched, arid land,
a land where no one lives;
nobody even passes through.
44 “I will punish Bel in Bavel
and make him disgorge what he swallowed.
The nations will no longer flow to him.
Bavel’s wall will fall.
45 Get out of her, my people!
Each one, save yourself
from Adonai’s furious anger!
46 Don’t be fainthearted, don’t be afraid
of the rumors spreading abroad in the land.
One year one rumor comes,
the next year another one,
rumors of violence in the land
and rulers fighting rulers.
47 Therefore, listen! The days are coming
when I will pass judgment on Bavel’s idols.
Her whole land will be put to shame,
as all her slain fall on home soil.
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will sing for joy over Bavel;
for the plunderers from the north
are coming to her,” says Adonai.

49 Just as Bavel caused
the slain of Isra’el to fall,
so at Bavel will fall
the slain of all the land.
50 You who escaped the sword,
go! Don’t stand still!
Remember Adonai from afar,
let Yerushalayim come into your minds.
51 “The reproaches we have heard have put us to shame,
disgrace covers our faces;
because foreigners have entered
the sanctuaries of Adonai’s house.”

52 “Therefore,” says Adonai, “the days are coming
when I will pass judgment on her idols,
and the wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 Even if Bavel scales the heavens
or reinforces her lofty stronghold,
plunderers will come to her
from me,” says Adonai.

54 An agonized cry is heard from Bavel!
Great destruction in the land of the Kasdim!
55 For Adonai is plundering Bavel
and silencing her noisy din —
their waves roar like the raging ocean,
their clamor sounds and resounds.
56 Yes, the plunderer has fallen upon her,
fallen on Bavel.
Her warriors are captured, their bows are broken.
For Adonai is a God of retribution;
he will surely repay.

57 “I will intoxicate her leaders and sages,
her governors, deputies and warriors.
They will sleep forever and never wake up,”
says the king, whose name is Adonai-Tzva’ot.

58 Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot:
“The wide walls of Bavel will be razed to the ground,
her lofty gates will be set on fire.
The peoples are toiling for nothing,
the nation’s labor goes up in flames,
and everyone is exhausted.”

59 This is the order which Yirmeyahu the prophet gave to S’rayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went to Bavel with Tzidkiyahu the king of Y’hudah in the fourth year of his reign. S’rayah was quartermaster. 60 Yirmeyahu had written on a separate scroll all the above words describing the disaster that was to befall Bavel. 61 Yirmeyahu said to S’rayah, “See to it that when you arrive in Bavel you read all these words aloud. Then say, 62 Adonai, you have promised to destroy this place, that no one will live here, neither human nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock to it, throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Like this, Bavel will sink, never to rise again, because of the disaster I am bringing on her; and they will grow weary.’”

(Up to here, these have been the words of Yirmeyahu.)

Babylon Judged for Sins against Israel

51 This is what the Lord says:

“Behold, I am going to stir up
[a]The (A)spirit of a destroyer against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of [b]Leb-kamai.
I will send [c]foreigners to Babylon so that they may (B)winnow her
And devastate her land;
For they will be opposed to her on every side
On the day of her disaster.
Let not [d]him who [e](C)bends his bow [f]bend it,
Nor let him rise up in his (D)coat of armor.
Do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
They will fall down [g]dead in the land of the Chaldeans,
And (E)pierced through in their streets.”

For (F)neither Israel nor Judah has been [h]forsaken
By his God, the Lord of armies,
Although their land is (G)full of guilt
[i]Before the Holy One of Israel.
(H)Flee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not (I)perish in her [j]punishment,
For this is the (J)Lords time of vengeance;
He is going to (K)repay to her what she deserves.
Babylon has been a golden (L)cup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The (M)nations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are (N)going insane.
Suddenly (O)Babylon has fallen and been broken;
(P)Wail over her!
(Q)Bring [k]balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Abandon her and (R)let’s each go to his own country,
For her judgment has (S)reached to heaven
And it rises to the clouds.
10 The Lord has (T)brought [l]about our vindication;
Come and let’s (U)recount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!

11 (V)Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the (W)vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 (X)Lift up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station [m]sentries,
Set up an ambush!
For the Lord has both (Y)planned and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who (Z)live by many waters,
Abundant in (AA)treasures,
Your end has come,
The [n]measure of your [o](AB)end.
14 The (AC)Lord of armies has sworn by Himself:
“I will certainly fill you with a [p]population like (AD)locusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”

15 It is (AE)He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He (AF)stretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His (AG)voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the (AH)clouds ascend from the end of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings out (AI)wind from His storehouses.
17 (AJ)Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his [q]idols,
For his cast metal images are (AK)deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are (AL)worthless, a work of mockery;
At the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The (AM)portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the [r]Maker of everything,
And of the [s]tribe of His inheritance;
The (AN)Lord of armies is His name.
20 He says, “You are My [t](AO)war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I (AP)shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 With you I (AQ)shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the (AR)chariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter (AS)man and woman,
And with you I shatter the old man and (AT)youth,
And with you I shatter the young man and virgin,
23 And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and officials.

24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of (AU)Chaldea for (AV)all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.

25 “Behold, (AW)I am against you, mountain of (AX)destruction
That destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the rocky cliffs,
And I will make you a (AY)burnt out mountain.
26 They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be (AZ)desolate forever,” declares the Lord.

27 (BA)Lift up a signal flag in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the (BB)kingdoms of (BC)Ararat, Minni, and (BD)Ashkenaz;
Appoint an officer against her,
Bring up the (BE)horses like bristly locusts.
28 Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
[u]Their governors and all [v]their officials,
And every land [w]under their control.
29 So the (BF)land quakes and writhes,
For the plans of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
[x]A (BG)desolation without inhabitants.
30 The (BH)warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
(BI)Their strength is [y]exhausted,
They are becoming (BJ)like women;
Their homes are set on fire,
The (BK)bars of her gates are broken.
31 One [z](BL)courier runs to meet [aa]another,
And one [ab](BM)messenger to meet [ac]another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
32 The river crossing places have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.

33 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a (BN)threshing floor
At the time that [ad]it is tread down;
In just a little while the time of (BO)harvest will come for her.”

34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has (BP)devoured me, he has crushed me,
He has set me down like an (BQ)empty vessel;
He has (BR)swallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35 May the (BS)violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The [ae]inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.

36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Behold, I am going to (BT)plead your case
And (BU)take vengeance for you;
And (BV)I will dry up her [af]sea
And make her fountain dry.
37 (BW)Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An (BX)object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38 They will roar together like (BY)young lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And (BZ)make them drunk, so that they may rejoice in triumph,
And may (CA)sleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down like [ag]lambs (CB)to the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.

41 “How [ah](CC)Sheshak has been captured,
And (CD)the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42 The [ai](CE)sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed by its roaring waves.
43 Her cities have become an (CF)object of horror,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which (CG)no one lives
And through which no [aj]one of mankind passes.
44 (CH)I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed (CI)come out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer (CJ)stream toward him.
Even the (CK)wall of Babylon has fallen down!

45 (CL)Come out from her midst, My people,
And each of you (CM)save yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 Now, (CN)so that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the (CO)report that will be heard in the land—
For the report will come in [ak]one year,
And after that [al]another report in [am]another year,
And violence will be in the land
With (CP)ruler against ruler—
47 Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the (CQ)idols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be (CR)put to shame.
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 Then (CS)heaven and earth and everything that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
Because (CT)the destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.

49 (CU)Indeed, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As (CV)the slain of all the earth have also fallen for Babylon.
50 You (CW)who have escaped the sword,
Go! Do not stay!
(CX)Remember the Lord from far away,
And let Jerusalem [an]come to your mind.
51 (CY)We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
Because (CZ)strangers have entered
The holy places of the Lords house.

52 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will punish her (DA)idols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 Though Babylon (DB)ascends to the heavens,
And though she fortifies [ao]her lofty stronghold,
Destroyers will come from (DC)Me to her,” declares the Lord.

54 The (DD)sound of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud [ap]noise vanish from her.
And their (DE)waves will roar like many waters;
The clamor of their voices [aq]sounds forth.
56 For the (DF)destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her warriors will be captured,
Their (DG)bows shattered;
For the Lord is a God of (DH)retribution,
He will fully repay.
57 “I will (DI)make her leaders and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her officials, and her warriors,
So that they will sleep a (DJ)perpetual sleep and not wake up,”
(DK)Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.

58 This is what the Lord of armies says:

“The broad (DL)wall of Babylon will be completely demolished,
And her high (DM)gates will be set on fire;
So the peoples will (DN)labor for nothing,
And the nations become (DO)exhausted only for fire.”

59 The [ar]command that Jeremiah the prophet [as]gave Seraiah the son of (DP)Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with (DQ)Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 Jeremiah (DR)wrote [at]on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘You, Lord, have [au]promised concerning this place to (DS)cut it off, so that there will be (DT)nothing living in it, [av]whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’ 63 And as soon as you finish reading this [aw]scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and (DU)throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and (DV)not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become (DW)exhausted.’” (DX)To this point are the words of Jeremiah.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:1 Or a destroying wind
  2. Jeremiah 51:1 Cryptic name for Chaldea; or the heart of those who rise up against Me
  3. Jeremiah 51:2 Some ancient versions winnowers
  4. Jeremiah 51:3 I.e., the Chaldean defender
  5. Jeremiah 51:3 Lit step(s) on; MT in order to string
  6. Jeremiah 51:3 Lit step(s) on; MT in order to string
  7. Jeremiah 51:4 Lit killed; or wounded
  8. Jeremiah 51:5 Lit widowed
  9. Jeremiah 51:5 Lit From
  10. Jeremiah 51:6 Or penalty for wrongdoing
  11. Jeremiah 51:8 Or balsam resin
  12. Jeremiah 51:10 Lit forth
  13. Jeremiah 51:12 Or watchmen
  14. Jeremiah 51:13 Lit cubit
  15. Jeremiah 51:13 Lit being cut off
  16. Jeremiah 51:14 Or mankind
  17. Jeremiah 51:17 Or images
  18. Jeremiah 51:19 Lit Fashioner
  19. Jeremiah 51:19 Or scepter; cf. Num 24:17
  20. Jeremiah 51:20 Lit shatterer
  21. Jeremiah 51:28 Lit her
  22. Jeremiah 51:28 Lit her
  23. Jeremiah 51:28 Lit of his dominion
  24. Jeremiah 51:29 Or An object of horror
  25. Jeremiah 51:30 Lit dried up
  26. Jeremiah 51:31 Lit runner
  27. Jeremiah 51:31 Lit runner
  28. Jeremiah 51:31 Lit announcer
  29. Jeremiah 51:31 Lit announcer
  30. Jeremiah 51:33 Lit of treading it
  31. Jeremiah 51:35 Lit inhabitress
  32. Jeremiah 51:36 Or broad river
  33. Jeremiah 51:40 Or young rams
  34. Jeremiah 51:41 Cryptic name for Babylon
  35. Jeremiah 51:42 Or broad river
  36. Jeremiah 51:43 Lit son of man
  37. Jeremiah 51:46 Lit the
  38. Jeremiah 51:46 Lit the
  39. Jeremiah 51:46 Lit the
  40. Jeremiah 51:50 Lit come upon your heart
  41. Jeremiah 51:53 Lit the height of her strength
  42. Jeremiah 51:55 Or voice
  43. Jeremiah 51:55 Lit is given
  44. Jeremiah 51:59 Lit word
  45. Jeremiah 51:59 Lit commanded
  46. Jeremiah 51:60 Or in...book
  47. Jeremiah 51:62 Lit spoken
  48. Jeremiah 51:62 Lit from man even to beast
  49. Jeremiah 51:63 Or book