Jeremiah 50
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 50
A Prophecy against Babylon.[a] 1 This is the word which the Lord spoke against Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:
2 Declare this among the nations and proclaim it;
lift up a banner and proclaim it;
keep nothing back, but announce,
“Babylon will be captured;
Bel[b] will be put to shame;
Marduk will be dismayed.
Her images are disgraced;
her idols are shattered.”
3 A nation from the north is marching against her
that will turn her land into a desolate waste,
so that no one will be able to live there anymore;
both men and beasts have fled and are gone.
4 In those days and at that time,
says the Lord,
the people of Israel and of Judah will come,
weeping as they seek the Lord, their God.
5 They will ask the way to Zion
and turn their faces toward it, saying,
“Come, let us bind ourselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant
that will never be forgotten.”
6 My people were lost sheep;
their shepherds led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountains and hills
and lost the way to their fold.
7 Whoever came upon them devoured them,
and their enemies insisted,
“We incur no guilt,
because they have sinned
against the Lord, their true pasture,
against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.”
8 Flee from Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans;
be like male goats leading the flock.
9 Behold, I will stir up against Babylon
a host of mighty nations from the land of the north.
They will advance against her,
and there she will be conquered.
Their arrows are like those of a skilled warrior
that are never shot unsuccessfully.
10 Chaldea will be plundered,
and all who plunder her will be sated,
says the Lord.
11 O you who plundered my heritage,
although you rejoice and exult,
although you playfully frolic
like heifers on the grass
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother[c] will be cruelly put to shame;
she who bore you will be completely disgraced.
She is now the least of the nations,
a desert, a parched land, a wilderness.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord
she will not be inhabited
but will be totally desolate.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled
and stunned at the enormity of her wounds.
14 Take up your positions and surround Babylon,
all you who draw the bow.
Shoot at her, and do not spare your arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.[d]
15 Raise your war cries against her on all sides;
shout in triumph,
“She has surrendered,
her bastions have fallen,
her walls have been demolished.”
This is the vengeance of the Lord.
Avenge yourselves on her;
as she has done, so do to her.
16 Drive out from Babylon the sowers
and those who wield the sickle at harvest time.
To escape the destroying sword,
all of them will return to their own people;
all of them will flee to their own land.
17 Israel is a scattered flock
that was pursued by lions.
First the king of Assyria devoured her,
and now her bones have been crushed
by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.
18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
I intend to punish the king of Babylon and his land,
as I formerly punished the king of Assyria.
19 I will restore Israel to her pastures,
and she will graze on Carmel and in Bashan;
on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead
her hunger will be satisfied.
20 In those days, and at that time,
says the Lord,
you will search for evidence of the iniquity of Israel,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but these will no longer be found,
for I will pardon the remnant
of those that I have preserved.
21 Attack the land of Merathaim[e]
and the inhabitants of Pekod.
Put them to the sword and destroy them;
do all I have commanded you, says the Lord.
22 The noise of battle amid great destruction
is heard throughout the land.
23 See how the hammer of the whole world
has been broken and shattered,
how Babylon has become
an object of horror among the nations.
24 I set a snare for you, O Babylon,
and you were caught before you realized it.
You were discovered and seized
because you challenged the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought forth the weapons of his wrath.
For the Lord God has work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every side;
open her granaries,
pile up her goods in heaps,
and completely destroy her
until nothing of her is left.
27 Slay all her bulls;
lead them down to the slaughterhouse.
Woe to them, for their time has come,
their day of punishment.
28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees
from the land of Babylon
have arrived in Zion to proclaim
the vengeance of the Lord, our God,
the vengeance he inflicts for his temple.
29 Summon against Babylon the archers,
all those who are skilled with the bow.
Surround her on all sides;
allow no one to escape.
Repay her in full for her misdeeds;
treat her as she has treated others.
30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets,
and all her soldiers will be destroyed on that day,
says the Lord.
31 I am against you, O arrogant city,
says the Lord of hosts.
For your day has come,
the time for me to punish you.
32 You will stumble and fall, O arrogant city,
and no one will offer to raise you up.
I will kindle a fire in your cities
that will devour everything within it.
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The people of Israel are oppressed,
as are the people of Judah.
All their captors hold them fast
and refuse to let them go.
34 But their redeemer[f] is strong;
his name is the Lord of hosts.
He will successfully take up their cause,
thereby affording rest to the earth
while leaving the inhabitants of Babylon in turmoil.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans, says the Lord,
against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her officials and her wise men.
36 A sword against her false prophets;
they will become fools.
A sword against her warriors;
they will succumb to panic.
37 A sword against her horses and her chariots
and all the foreign troops in her midst;
they will become like women.
A sword against her treasures;
they will be plundered.
38 A drought against her waters;
they will be dried up.
For it is a land of idols,
and they will be overcome with terror
when confronted by them.
39 Therefore, wildcats and jackals will dwell there,
and there ostriches will make their home.
Never again will it be inhabited;
no people ever again will dwell there.
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and all their neighboring towns, says the Lord,
no one will live there anymore
or attempt to settle there.
41 Look! A people is coming from the north,
a mighty nation.
Many kings are rousing themselves
from the ends of the earth.
42 They wield bows and spears,
and their cruelty allows no mercy.
As they ride forth on their horses,
their sound resembles that of the roaring sea.
All of them are arrayed for battle
to fight against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 News of their approach has reached the king of Babylon,
and his hands fall limp at his side.
Anguish has seized him,
pangs like those of a woman in labor.
44 Behold, like a lion coming up
from the thickets of the Jordan
to the perennial feeding grounds,
I will in a single instant drive them away
and appoint over her whomever I choose.
For who is there like me?
Who can challenge me?
What shepherd can stand up to me?
45 Therefore, hear the plan
that the Lord has devised against Babylon,
and what he proposes to do
against the land of the Chaldeans:
The young of the flock will be dragged away,
and he will completely destroy their pastures.
46 The earth will tremble at the news,
and the shouting will be heard among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:1 In Jeremiah’s eyes, Babylon was only an instrument in God’s hands, and he knew that sooner or later its control of the East would be taken from it. The prophet had predicted that Israel would be reprieved. Made confident by these reflections of Jeremiah, his disciples here proclaim the judgment of the Lord against the Chaldeans, at a time when, toward the middle of the sixth century B.C., their power was beginning to decline and the deportees were hoping for deliverance. We are in the atmosphere that reigned before 538 B.C. and which we know from Second Isaiah.
- Jeremiah 50:2 Bel was an ancient Sumerian deity; his name was then taken over by the Babylonian national god, Marduk.
- Jeremiah 50:12 Mother: the Babylonian nation.
- Jeremiah 50:14 The archers here are the Elamites.
- Jeremiah 50:21 Merathaim and Pekod: regions of Babylonia, the Hebrew names of which (“twofold rebellion” and “visit, punish”) lend themselves to a play on words.
- Jeremiah 50:34 Redeemer: Hebrew, goel; see Lev 25:25.
Jeremiah 50
King James Version
50 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Jeremiah 50
English Standard Version
Judgment on Babylon
50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning (A)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, (B)by Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
(C)‘Babylon is taken,
(D)Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
(E)Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For (F)out of the north a nation has come up against her, (G)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; (H)both man and beast shall flee away.
4 (I)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (J)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, (K)weeping as they come, and they (L)shall seek the Lord their God. 5 (M)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, (N)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an (O)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 (P)“My people have been lost sheep. (Q)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, (R)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for (S)they have sinned against the Lord, (T)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, (U)the hope of their fathers.’
8 (V)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, (W)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon (X)a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 (Y)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 (Z)“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
(AA)a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 (AB)Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
(AC)everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
(AD)and hiss because of all her wounds.
14 (AE)Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
(AF)all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
(AG)for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 (AH)Raise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
(AI)her walls are thrown down.
For (AJ)this is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
(AK)do to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
(AL)because of the sword of the oppressor,
(AM)every one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 (AN)“Israel is a hunted sheep (AO)driven away by lions. (AP)First the king of Assyria (AQ)devoured him, and now at last (AR)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (AS)has gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, (AT)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, (AU)as I punished the king of Assyria. 19 (AV)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and (AW)he shall feed on (AX)Carmel and in (AY)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in (AZ)Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, (BA)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for (BB)I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim,[a]
and against the inhabitants of Pekod.[b]
Kill, (BC)and devote them to destruction,[c]
declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 (BD)The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 (BE)How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
(BF)How Babylon (BG)has become
a horror among the nations!
24 (BH)I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and (BI)you did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out (BJ)the weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
(BK)pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all (BL)her bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
(BM)the time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They (BN)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, (BO)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for (BP)his temple.
29 (BQ)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. (BR)Encamp around her; let no one escape. (BS)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has (BT)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 (BU)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O (BV)proud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
(BW)for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 (BX)The proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
(BY)and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (BZ)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; (CA)they refuse to let them go. 34 (CB)Their Redeemer is strong; (CC)the Lord of hosts is his name. (CD)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against (CE)her officials and her (CF)wise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her (CG)warriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all (CH)the foreign troops in her midst,
that (CI)they may become women!
(CJ)A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 (CK)A drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
(CL)For it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 (CM)“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,[d] and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 (CN)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, (CO)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
41 (CP)“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 (CQ)“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd (CR)can stand before me? 45 Therefore hear (CS)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, (CT)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: (CU)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 (CV)At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:21 Merathaim means double rebellion
- Jeremiah 50:21 Pekod means punishment
- Jeremiah 50:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 50:39 Hebrew lacks in Babylon
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
