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Jeremiah 50
International Standard Version
Jeremiah 50
International Standard Version
Prophecies against Babylon
50 This is[a] the message that the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans.
2 “Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Lift up a banner and proclaim.
Don’t conceal anything.[b]
Say, ‘Babylon will be captured.
Bel[c] will be disgraced,
and Marduk will be destroyed.
Her idols will be disgraced,
and her filthy images will be destroyed.’
3 For a nation from the north will go up against her.
It will make her land into an object of horror,
and no one will live in it.
Both people and animals will wander off,
and they’ll leave.
4 In those days, and at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel will come together
with the people of Judah.
They’ll be weeping as they travel along,
and they’ll be seeking the Lord their God.
5 They’ll ask the way to Zion,
turning their faces in that direction.
They’ll come[d] and join themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant that won’t be forgotten.
6 My people have become lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray,
turning them toward the mountains.
They go from mountain to hill.
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who find them devour them,
but their enemies say, ‘We’re not guilty,
because they have sinned against
the Lord, the habitation of righteousness,
the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8 Move away from the middle of Babylon,
and go out of the land of the Chaldeans.
Be like male goats at the head[e] of the flock.
9 Indeed, I’m going to stir up
and bring against Babylon
a great company of nations
from the land of the north.
They’ll deploy for battle against her,
and from there she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior;
they won’t miss their targets.[f]
10 The Chaldeans will become plunder,
and all who plunder them will get more than enough,”
declares the Lord.
11 “Though you rejoice, though you exult,
you plunderers of my inheritance,
though you skip around like a heifer in the grass[g]
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother will be greatly devastated,
she who gave birth to you will be ashamed.
She will become the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the anger of the Lord
she won’t be inhabited,
but will be utterly devastated.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified
and will scoff[h] because of all her wounds.
14 Deploy the troops all around Babylon.
All who bend the bow, shoot at her
and spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise a battle cry against her on every side.
She has surrendered,[i] her pillars have fallen,
her walls are thrown down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her;
as she has done, do to her.
16 Eliminate from Babylon the one who plants seeds
and the one who uses the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor’s sword, let each one turn
toward his own people and flee to his own land.”
Hope for Israel
17 “Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward[j] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed[k] his bones. 18 Therefore this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I’m about to judge the king of Babylon and his land, just as I’ve judged the king of Assyria. 19 I’ll bring Israel back to his pasture. He will graze on Carmel, on Bashan, on Mt. Ephraim, and on Gilead—his hunger will be satisfied. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘the iniquity of Israel will be searched for, but there will be none; and the sin of Judah, but none will be found, because I’ll pardon those I leave as a remnant.’”
God’s Judgment on Babylon
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim[l]
and the inhabitants of Pekod.[m]
Kill them with swords, and completely destroy them,”
declares the Lord,
“and do everything that I’ve commanded you.
22 The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction.
23 How the hammer of all the earth is cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
24 I’ll set a trap for you,
and you will be caught, Babylon,
but you don’t realize it.
You will be found and also seized,
because you challenged the Lord!
25 “The Lord will open his armory,
and bring out the weapons of his anger.
Indeed, a work of the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
will be in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from afar.[n]
Open up her barns.
Pile her up like heaps of grain,
and completely destroy her.
Don’t leave any survivors.
27 Put all her bulls to the sword,
let them go down to the slaughter.
How terrible for them because their day has come,
the time of their judgment.
28 “The sound of fugitives and refugees
will come from the land of Babylon
to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
vengeance for his Temple.
29 “Summon many to Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Camp all around her,
let no one escape.
Repay her according to her deeds.
Do to her just as she has done.
For she has behaved arrogantly against the Lord,
against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore, her warriors will fall in her streets,
and all her soldiers will be silenced on that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “Look, I’m against you, arrogant one,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
“Indeed your day is coming,
the time of your judgment.
32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall,
and there will be no one to lift him up.
I’ll set fire to his cities,
and it will devour everything around him.”
33 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“The people of[o] Israel are oppressed,
along with the people of [p] Judah.
All their captors have held on to them
and refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer[q] is strong,
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
He will vigorously plead their case
in order to bring rest to the earth,
but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldeans,”
declares the Lord,
“and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
against her officials and her wise men.
36 A sword against the diviners.[r]
They’ll be made fools.
A sword against her warriors.
They’ll be shattered.
37 A sword against her horses, against her chariots,[s]
and against all the foreign troops[t] in her midst.
They’ll become women.
A sword against her treasures.
They’ll be plundered.
38 A drought against her waters.
They’ll dry up.
For it’s a land of idols,
and they go mad over their terrifying images.
39 Therefore the desert creatures
along with hyenas will live there.
They’ll live in it with ostriches,
but people won’t live in it again.
They won’t inhabit it from generation to generation.
40 Just as when God overthrew Sodom,
Gomorrah, and their neighbors,”
declares the Lord,
“so also no one will live there.
No human being will reside in it.
41 “Look, people are coming from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
from the ends of the earth.
42 They grab bow and spear.
They’re cruel and show no mercy.
Their sound roars like the sea,
as they ride on horses
deployed like men ready for battle
against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the news about them,
and his hands hang limp.
Distress has seized him,
like a woman in labor.
44 “Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round,[u] so I’ll drive them away from her in an instant, and I’ll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?” 45 Therefore, hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, and the strategy that he devised against the land of the Chaldeans. Surely they’ll drag the little ones of the flock away. Surely their pasture will be desolate because of them. 46 At the shout that Babylon has been seized, the earth will be shaken, and the cry will be heard among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:1 The Heb. lacks This is
- Jeremiah 50:2 The Heb. lacks anything
- Jeremiah 50:2 Bel was another name for Marduk, the sun god of Babylon
- Jeremiah 50:5 So with LXX; MT reads Come!
- Jeremiah 50:8 Lit. in front of
- Jeremiah 50:9 Lit. won’t return empty-handed
- Jeremiah 50:11 So LXX; MT reads like a threshing heifer
- Jeremiah 50:13 Lit. hiss; i.e. hissing was an expression of contempt
- Jeremiah 50:15 Lit. she has given her hand
- Jeremiah 50:17 The Heb. lacks afterward
- Jeremiah 50:17 The Heb. lacks gnawed
- Jeremiah 50:21 Merathaim was an area in southern Mesopotamia; the Heb. word means double rebellion
- Jeremiah 50:21 Pekod was a region in southern Mesopotamia; the Heb. word means punishment
- Jeremiah 50:26 Lit. from the end
- Jeremiah 50:33 Lit. sons of
- Jeremiah 50:33 Lit. sons of
- Jeremiah 50:34 I.e. the one who pleads their case in a court of law
- Jeremiah 50:36 Lit. empty talkers; a pun on the Babylonian word for these priests
- Jeremiah 50:37 Lit. against his horses, against his chariots
- Jeremiah 50:37 Lit. mixed peoples
- Jeremiah 50:44 Lit. a perpetual pasture
Jeremiah 50
New International Version
Jeremiah 50
New International Version
A Message About Babylon(A)
50 This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon(B) and the land of the Babylonians[a]:
2 “Announce and proclaim(C) among the nations,
lift up a banner(D) and proclaim it;
keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;(E)
Bel(F) will be put to shame,(G)
Marduk(H) filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
and her idols(I) filled with terror.’
3 A nation from the north(J) will attack her
and lay waste her land.
No one will live(K) in it;
both people and animals(L) will flee away.
4 “In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together(M)
will go in tears(N) to seek(O) the Lord their God.
5 They will ask the way(P) to Zion
and turn their faces toward it.
They will come(Q) and bind themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant(R)
that will not be forgotten.
6 “My people have been lost sheep;(S)
their shepherds(T) have led them astray(U)
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill(V)
and forgot their own resting place.(W)
7 Whoever found them devoured(X) them;
their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,(Y)
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
the Lord, the hope(Z) of their ancestors.’
8 “Flee(AA) out of Babylon;(AB)
leave the land of the Babylonians,
and be like the goats that lead the flock.
9 For I will stir(AC) up and bring against Babylon
an alliance of great nations(AD) from the land of the north.(AE)
They will take up their positions against her,
and from the north she will be captured.(AF)
Their arrows(AG) will be like skilled warriors
who do not return empty-handed.
10 So Babylonia[b] will be plundered;(AH)
all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.
11 “Because you rejoice and are glad,
you who pillage my inheritance,(AI)
because you frolic like a heifer(AJ) threshing grain
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother will be greatly ashamed;
she who gave you birth will be disgraced.(AK)
She will be the least of the nations—
a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.(AL)
13 Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
but will be completely desolate.(AM)
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;(AN)
they will scoff(AO) because of all her wounds.(AP)
14 “Take up your positions around Babylon,
all you who draw the bow.(AQ)
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,(AR)
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout(AS) against her on every side!
She surrenders, her towers fall,
her walls(AT) are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance(AU) of the Lord,
take vengeance on her;
do to her(AV) as she has done to others.(AW)
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword(AX) of the oppressor
let everyone return to their own people,(AY)
let everyone flee to their own land.(AZ)
17 “Israel is a scattered flock(BA)
that lions(BB) have chased away.
The first to devour(BC) them
was the king(BD) of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones(BE)
was Nebuchadnezzar(BF) king(BG) of Babylon.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king(BH) of Assyria.(BI)
19 But I will bring(BJ) Israel back to their own pasture,
and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied(BK)
on the hills(BL) of Ephraim and Gilead.(BM)
20 In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,(BN)
and for the sins(BO) of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive(BP) the remnant(BQ) I spare.
21 “Attack the land of Merathaim
and those who live in Pekod.(BR)
Pursue, kill and completely destroy[c] them,”
declares the Lord.
“Do everything I have commanded you.
22 The noise(BS) of battle is in the land,
the noise of great destruction!
23 How broken and shattered
is the hammer(BT) of the whole earth!(BU)
How desolate(BV) is Babylon
among the nations!
24 I set a trap(BW) for you, Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured(BX)
because you opposed(BY) the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
and brought out the weapons(BZ) of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
in the land of the Babylonians.(CA)
26 Come against her from afar.(CB)
Break open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain.(CC)
Completely destroy(CD) her
and leave her no remnant.
27 Kill all her young bulls;(CE)
let them go down to the slaughter!(CF)
Woe to them! For their day(CG) has come,
the time(CH) for them to be punished.
28 Listen to the fugitives(CI) and refugees from Babylon
declaring in Zion(CJ)
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,(CK)
vengeance for his temple.(CL)
29 “Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who draw the bow.(CM)
Encamp all around her;
let no one escape.(CN)
Repay(CO) her for her deeds;(CP)
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied(CQ) the Lord,
the Holy One(CR) of Israel.
30 Therefore, her young men(CS) will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “See, I am against(CT) you, you arrogant one,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day(CU) has come,
the time for you to be punished.
32 The arrogant(CV) one will stumble and fall(CW)
and no one will help her up;(CX)
I will kindle a fire(CY) in her towns
that will consume all who are around her.”
33 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,(CZ)
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.(DA)
34 Yet their Redeemer(DB) is strong;
the Lord Almighty(DC) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause(DD)
so that he may bring rest(DE) to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35 “A sword(DF) against the Babylonians!”(DG)
declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
and against her officials and wise(DH) men!
36 A sword against her false prophets!
They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!(DI)
They will be filled with terror.(DJ)
37 A sword against her horses and chariots(DK)
and all the foreigners in her ranks!
They will become weaklings.(DL)
A sword against her treasures!(DM)
They will be plundered.
38 A drought on[d] her waters!(DN)
They will dry(DO) up.
For it is a land of idols,(DP)
idols that will go mad with terror.
39 “So desert creatures(DQ) and hyenas will live there,
and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation.(DR)
40 As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah(DS)
along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.(DT)
41 “Look! An army is coming from the north;(DU)
a great nation and many kings
are being stirred(DV) up from the ends of the earth.(DW)
42 They are armed with bows(DX) and spears;
they are cruel(DY) and without mercy.(DZ)
They sound like the roaring sea(EA)
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Babylon.(EB)
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands hang limp.(EC)
Anguish has gripped him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.(ED)
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets(EE)
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen(EF) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?(EG)
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
45 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
what he has purposed(EH) against the land of the Babylonians:(EI)
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;(EJ)
its cry(EK) will resound among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45
- Jeremiah 50:10 Or Chaldea
- Jeremiah 50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
- Jeremiah 50:38 Or A sword against
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