Jeremiah 51:45-64

King James Version

⁴⁵My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

⁴⁶And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

⁴⁷Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

⁴⁸Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord.

⁴⁹As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

⁵⁰Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

⁵¹We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.

⁵²Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

⁵³Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord.

⁵⁴A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

⁵⁵Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

⁵⁶Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite.

⁵⁷And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

⁵⁸Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

⁵⁹The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

⁶⁰So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

⁶¹And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

⁶²Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

⁶³And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

⁶⁴And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

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Jeremiah 51:45-64

New International Version

⁴⁵“Come out^(A) of her, my people!
    Run^(B) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger^(C) of the Lord.
⁴⁶Do not lose heart^(D) or be afraid^(E)
    when rumors^(F) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
⁴⁷For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols^(G) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced^(H)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.^(I)
⁴⁸Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout^(J) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north^(K)
    destroyers^(L) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

⁴⁹“Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.^(M)
⁵⁰You who have escaped the sword,
    leave^(N) and do not linger!
Remember^(O) the Lord in a distant land,^(P)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

⁵¹“We are disgraced,^(Q)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”^(R)

⁵²“But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,^(S)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.^(T)
⁵³Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens^(U)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers^(V) against her,”
declares the Lord.

⁵⁴“The sound of a cry^(W) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction^(X)
    from the land of the Babylonians.^[a]
⁵⁵The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence^(Y) her noisy din.
Waves^(Z) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
⁵⁶A destroyer^(AA) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.^(AB)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay^(AC) in full.
⁵⁷I will make her officials^(AD) and wise^(AE) men drunk,^(AF)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep^(AG) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,^(AH) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

⁵⁸This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall^(AI) will be leveled
and her high gates^(AJ) set on fire;
the peoples^(AK) exhaust^(AL) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”^(AM)

⁵⁹This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,^(AN) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah^(AO) king of Judah in the fourth^(AP) year of his reign. ⁶⁰Jeremiah had written on a scroll^(AQ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. ⁶¹He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. ⁶²Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate^(AR) forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.^(AS) ⁶⁴Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more^(AT) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people^(AU) will fall.’”^(AV)