Jeremiah 51
New Living Translation
51 This is what the Lord says:
“I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon
and the people of Babylonia.[a]
2 Foreigners will come and winnow her,
blowing her away as chaff.
They will come from every side
to rise against her in her day of trouble.
3 Don’t let the archers put on their armor
or draw their bows.
Don’t spare even her best soldiers!
Let her army be completely destroyed.[b]
4 They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians,[c]
slashed to death in her streets.
5 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has not abandoned Israel and Judah.
He is still their God,
even though their land was filled with sin
against the Holy One of Israel.”
6 Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves!
Don’t get trapped in her punishment!
It is the Lord’s time for vengeance;
he will repay her in full.
7 Babylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hands,
a cup that made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank Babylon’s wine,
and it drove them all mad.
8 But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen.
Weep for her.
Give her medicine.
Perhaps she can yet be healed.
9 We would have helped her if we could,
but nothing can save her now.
Let her go; abandon her.
Return now to your own land.
For her punishment reaches to the heavens;
it is so great it cannot be measured.
10 The Lord has vindicated us.
Come, let us announce in Jerusalem[d]
everything the Lord our God has done.
11 Sharpen the arrows!
Lift up the shields![e]
For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes
to march against Babylon and destroy her.
This is his vengeance against those
who desecrated his Temple.
12 Raise the battle flag against Babylon!
Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen.
Prepare an ambush,
for the Lord will fulfill all his plans against Babylon.
13 You are a city by a great river,
a great center of commerce,
but your end has come.
The thread of your life is cut.
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow
and has sworn to it by his own name:
“Your cities will be filled with enemies,
like fields swarming with locusts,
and they will shout in triumph over you.”
A Hymn of Praise to the Lord
15 The Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
16 When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
17 The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge!
The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make,
for their carefully shaped works are a fraud.
These idols have no breath or power.
18 Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!
On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
19 But the God of Israel[f] is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including his people, his own special possession.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Babylon’s Great Punishment
20 “You[g] are my battle-ax and sword,”
says the Lord.
“With you I will shatter nations
and destroy many kingdoms.
21 With you I will shatter armies—
destroying the horse and rider,
the chariot and charioteer.
22 With you I will shatter men and women,
old people and children,
young men and young women.
23 With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,
farmers and oxen,
captains and officers.
24 “I will repay Babylon
and the people of Babylonia[h]
for all the wrong they have done
to my people in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.
25 “Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth!
I am your enemy,” says the Lord.
“I will raise my fist against you,
to knock you down from the heights.
When I am finished,
you will be nothing but a heap of burnt rubble.
26 You will be desolate forever.
Even your stones will never again be used for building.
You will be completely wiped out,”
says the Lord.
27 Raise a signal flag to the nations.
Sound the battle cry!
Mobilize them all against Babylon.
Prepare them to fight against her!
Bring out the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander,
and bring a multitude of horses like swarming locusts!
28 Bring against her the armies of the nations—
led by the kings of the Medes
and all their captains and officers.
29 The earth trembles and writhes in pain,
for everything the Lord has planned against Babylon stands unchanged.
Babylon will be left desolate without a single inhabitant.
30 Her mightiest warriors no longer fight.
They stay in their barracks, their courage gone.
They have become like women.
The invaders have burned the houses
and broken down the city gates.
31 The news is passed from one runner to the next
as the messengers hurry to tell the king
that his city has been captured.
32 All the escape routes are blocked.
The marshes have been set aflame,
and the army is in a panic.
33 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the God of Israel, says:
“Babylon is like wheat on a threshing floor,
about to be trampled.
In just a little while
her harvest will begin.”
34 “King Nebuchadnezzar[i] of Babylon has eaten and crushed us
and drained us of strength.
He has swallowed us like a great monster
and filled his belly with our riches.
He has thrown us out of our own country.
35 Make Babylon suffer as she made us suffer,”
say the people of Zion.
“Make the people of Babylonia pay for spilling our blood,”
says Jerusalem.
The Lord’s Vengeance on Babylon
36 This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem:
“I will be your lawyer to plead your case,
and I will avenge you.
I will dry up her river,
as well as her springs,
37 and Babylon will become a heap of ruins,
haunted by jackals.
She will be an object of horror and contempt,
a place where no one lives.
38 Her people will roar together like strong lions.
They will growl like lion cubs.
39 And while they lie inflamed with all their wine,
I will prepare a different kind of feast for them.
I will make them drink until they fall asleep,
and they will never wake up again,”
says the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats to be sacrificed.
41 “How Babylon[j] is fallen—
great Babylon, praised throughout the earth!
Now she has become an object of horror
among the nations.
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;
she is covered by its crashing waves.
43 Her cities now lie in ruins;
she is a dry wasteland
where no one lives or even passes by.
44 And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon,
and make him vomit up all he has eaten.
The nations will no longer come and worship him.
The wall of Babylon has fallen!
A Message for the Exiles
45 “Come out, my people, flee from Babylon.
Save yourselves! Run from the Lord’s fierce anger.
46 But do not panic; don’t be afraid
when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces.
For rumors will keep coming year by year.
Violence will erupt in the land
as the leaders fight against each other.
47 For the time is surely coming
when I will punish this great city and all her idols.
Her whole land will be disgraced,
and her dead will lie in the streets.
48 Then the heavens and earth will rejoice,
for out of the north will come destroying armies
against Babylon,” says the Lord.
49 “Just as Babylon killed the people of Israel
and others throughout the world,
so must her people be killed.
50 Get out, all you who have escaped the sword!
Do not stand and watch—flee while you can!
Remember the Lord, though you are in a far-off land,
and think about your home in Jerusalem.”
51 “We are ashamed,” the people say.
“We are insulted and disgraced
because the Lord’s Temple
has been defiled by foreigners.”
52 “Yes,” says the Lord, “but the time is coming
when I will destroy Babylon’s idols.
The groans of her wounded people
will be heard throughout the land.
53 Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens
and makes her fortifications incredibly strong,
I will still send enemies to plunder her.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Babylon’s Complete Destruction
54 “Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon,
the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
55 For the Lord is destroying Babylon.
He will silence her loud voice.
Waves of enemies pound against her;
the noise of battle rings through the city.
56 Destroying armies come against Babylon.
Her mighty men are captured,
and their weapons break in their hands.
For the Lord is a God who gives just punishment;
he always repays in full.
57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
along with her captains, officers, and warriors.
They will fall asleep
and never wake up again!”
says the King, whose name is
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
58 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
and her massive gates will be burned.
The builders from many lands have worked in vain,
for their work will be destroyed by fire!”
Jeremiah’s Message Sent to Babylon
59 The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.[k] 60 Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon—all the words written here. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ 63 When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River. 64 Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’”
This is the end of Jeremiah’s messages.
Footnotes
- 51:1 Hebrew of Leb-kamai, a code name for Babylonia.
- 51:3 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
- 51:4 Or Chaldeans; also in 51:54.
- 51:10 Hebrew Zion; also in 51:24.
- 51:11 Greek version reads Fill up the quivers.
- 51:19 Hebrew the Portion of Jacob. See note on 5:20.
- 51:20 Possibly Cyrus, whom God used to conquer Babylon. Compare Isa 44:28; 45:1.
- 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in 51:35.
- 51:34 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
- 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon.
- 51:59 The fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign was 593 B.c.
Jeremiah 51
Living Bible
51 The Lord says: I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon, against that whole land of the Chaldeans, and destroy it. 2 Winnowers shall come and winnow her and blow her away; they shall come from every side to rise against her in her day of trouble. 3 The arrows of the enemy shall strike down the bowmen of Babylon and pierce her warriors in their coats of mail. No one shall be spared; both young and old alike shall be destroyed. 4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, slashed to death in her streets. 5 For the Lord Almighty has not forsaken Israel and Judah. He is still their God, but the land of the Chaldeans[a] is filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped! If you stay, you will be destroyed when God takes his vengeance on all of Babylon’s sins. 7 Babylon has been as a gold cup in the Lord’s hands, a cup from which he made the whole earth drink and go mad. 8 But now, suddenly Babylon too has fallen. Weep for her; give her medicine; perhaps she can yet be healed. 9 We would help her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go. Abandon her and return to your own land, for God is judging her from heaven. 10 The Lord has vindicated us. Come, let us declare in Jerusalem all the Lord our God has done.
11 Sharpen the arrows! Lift up the shields! For the Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes to march on Babylon and destroy her. This is his vengeance on those who wronged his people and desecrated his Temple. 12 Prepare your defenses, Babylon! Set many watchmen on your walls; send out an ambush, for the Lord will do all he has said he would concerning Babylon. 13 O wealthy port, great center of commerce, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. 14 The Lord Almighty has taken this vow and sworn to it in his own name: Your cities shall be filled with enemies, like fields filled with locusts in a plague, and they shall lift to the skies their mighty shouts of victory.
15 God made the earth by his power and wisdom. He stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 16 When he speaks, there is thunder in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to rise around the world; he brings the lightning with the rain and the winds from his treasuries. 17 Compared to him, all men are stupid beasts. They have no wisdom—none at all! The silversmith is dulled by the images he makes, for in making them he lies; for he calls them gods when there is not a breath of life in them at all! 18 Idols are nothing! They are lies! And the time is coming when God will come and see, and shall destroy them all. 19 But the God of Israel is no idol! For he made everything there is, and Israel is his nation; the Lord Almighty is his name.
20 Cyrus is[b] God’s battleaxe and sword. I will use you, says the Lord, to break nations in pieces and to destroy many kingdoms. 21 With you I will crush armies, destroying the horse and his rider, the chariot and the charioteer— 22 yes, and the civilians too, both old and young, young men and maidens, 23 shepherds and flocks, farmers and oxen, captains and rulers; 24 before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all the Chaldeans for all the evil they have done to my people, says the Lord.
25 For see, I am against you, O mighty mountain, Babylon, destroyer of the earth! I will lift my hand against you, roll you down from your heights, and leave you, a burnt-out mountain. 26 You shall be desolate forever;[c] even your stones shall never be used for building again. You shall be completely wiped out.
27 Signal many nations to mobilize for war on Babylon. Sound the battle cry; bring out the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a leader; bring a multitude of horses! 28 Bring against her the armies of the kings of the Medes and their generals, and the armies of all the countries they rule.
29 Babylon trembles and writhes in pain, for all that the Lord has planned against her stands unchanged. Babylon will be left desolate without a living soul. 30 Her mightiest soldiers no longer fight; they stay in their barracks. Their courage is gone; they have become as women. The invaders have burned the houses and broken down the city gates. 31 Messengers from every side come running to the king to tell him all is lost! 32 All the escape routes are blocked; the fortifications are burning, and the army is in panic.
33 For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Babylon is like the wheat upon a threshing floor; in just a little while the flailing will begin.
34-35 The Jews in Babylon say, “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has eaten and crushed us and emptied out our strength; he has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches; he has cast us out of our own country. May Babylon be repaid for all she did to us! May she be paid in full for all our blood she spilled!”
36 And the Lord replies: I will be your lawyer; I will plead your case; I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, her water supply, 37 and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, haunted by jackals, a land horrible to see, incredible, without a living soul. 38 In their drunken feasts, the men of Babylon roar like lions. 39 And while they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will prepare a different kind of feast for them and make them drink until they fall unconscious to the floor, to sleep forever, never to waken again, says the Lord. 40 I will bring them like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.
41 How Babylon is fallen—great Babylon, lauded by all the earth! The world can scarcely believe its eyes at Babylon’s fall! 42 The sea has risen upon Babylon; she is covered by its waves. 43 Her cities lie in ruins—she is a dry wilderness where no one lives nor even travelers pass by. 44 And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon, and pull from his mouth what he has taken. The nations shall no longer come and worship him; the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 O my people, flee from Babylon; save yourselves from the fierce anger of the Lord. 46 But don’t panic when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces. For rumors will keep coming year by year. Then there will be a time of civil war as the governors of Babylon fight against each other. 47 For the time is surely coming when I will punish this great city and all her idols; her dead shall lie in the streets. 48 Heaven and earth shall rejoice, for out of the north shall come destroying armies against Babylon, says the Lord. 49 Just as Babylon killed the people of Israel, so must she be killed. 50 Go, you who escaped the sword! Don’t stand and watch—flee while you can! Remember the Lord and return to Jerusalem far away!
51 “We are ashamed because the Temple of the Lord has been defiled by foreigners from Babylon.”
52 Yes, says the Lord. But the time is coming for the destruction of the idols of Babylon. All through the land will be heard the groans of the wounded. 53 Though Babylon be as powerful as heaven, though she increase her strength immeasurably, she shall die, says the Lord.
54 Listen! Hear the cry of great destruction out of Babylon, the land the Chaldeans rule! 55 For the Lord is destroying Babylon; her mighty voice is stilled as the waves roar in upon her. 56 Destroying armies come and slay her mighty men; all her weapons break in her hands, for the Lord God gives just punishment and is giving Babylon all her due. 57 I will make drunk her princes, wise men, rulers, captains, warriors. They shall sleep and not wake up again! So says the King, the Lord Almighty. 58 For the wide walls of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned; the builders from many lands have worked in vain—their work shall be destroyed by fire!
59 During the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign, this message came to Jeremiah to give to Seraiah (son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah), concerning Seraiah’s capture[d] and exile to Babylon along with Zedekiah, king of Judah. (Seraiah was quartermaster of Zedekiah’s army.) 60 Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the terrible things God had scheduled against Babylon—all the words written above— 61-62 and gave the scroll to Seraiah and said to him, “When you get to Babylon, read what I have written and say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that not a living creature will remain, and it will be abandoned forever.’ 63 Then, when you have finished reading the scroll, tie a rock to it, and throw it into the Euphrates River, 64 and say, ‘So shall Babylon sink, never more to rise, because of the evil I am bringing upon her.’”
(This ends Jeremiah’s messages.)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:5 the land of the Chaldeans, implied.
- Jeremiah 51:20 Cyrus is, literally, “You are,” Cyrus was used of God to conquer Babylon. See also Isaiah 44:28; 45:1.
- Jeremiah 51:26 You shall be desolate forever. This complete destruction of the city of Babylon was accomplished by later Persian kings. Jeremiah here sees the long-range picture of the city’s history, and does not confine himself to Cyrus.
- Jeremiah 51:59 concerning Seraiah’s capture. This event occurred six years after this prophecy.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.