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Jeremiah 51
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 51
English Standard Version
The Utter Destruction of Babylon
51 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up (A)the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,[a]
2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and (B)they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
when they come against her from every side
(C)on the day of trouble.
3 (D)Let not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
(E)devote to destruction[b] all her army.
4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
(F)and wounded in her streets.
5 (G)For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
but the land of the Chaldeans[c] is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 (H)“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
let every one save his life!
(I)Be not cut off in her punishment,
(J)for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance,
the repayment he is rendering her.
7 Babylon was (K)a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
(L)making all the earth drunken;
(M)the nations drank of her wine;
therefore the nations went mad.
8 (N)Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
(O)wail for her!
(P)Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon,
but she was not healed.
(Q)Forsake her, and (R)let us go
each to his own country,
for (S)her judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10 (T)The Lord has brought about our vindication;
(U)come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11 (V)“Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!
(W)The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of (X)the Medes, because (Y)his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, (Z)for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for (AA)his temple.
12 (AB)“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
(AC)make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
prepare the ambushes;
(AD)for the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 (AE)O you who dwell by many waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come;
the thread of your life is cut.
14 (AF)The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, (AG)as many as locusts,
(AH)and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.
15 (AI)“It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
17 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I (AJ)break nations in pieces;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I break in pieces man and woman;
with you I break in pieces (AK)the old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces (AL)the young man and the young woman;
23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
with you I break in pieces (AM)governors and commanders.
24 (AN)“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
declares the Lord,
which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
(AO)and make you a burnt mountain.
26 No (AP)stone shall be taken from you for a corner
and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be (AQ)a perpetual waste,
declares the Lord.
27 (AR)“Set up a standard on the earth;
(AS)blow the trumpet among the nations;
(AT)prepare (AU)the nations for war against her;
summon against her (AV)the kingdoms,
(AW)Ararat, Minni, and (AX)Ashkenaz;
appoint a (AY)marshal against her;
(AZ)bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 (BA)Prepare (BB)the nations for war against her,
the kings of (BC)the Medes, (BD)with their governors (BE)and deputies,
and every (BF)land under their dominion.
29 (BG)The land trembles and writhes in pain,
(BH)for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
without inhabitant.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed;
(BI)they have become women;
(BJ)her dwellings are on fire;
(BK)her bars are broken.
31 One (BL)runner runs to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
that his city is taken on every side;
32 the fords have been (BM)seized,
the marshes are burned with fire,
and the soldiers are in panic.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
(BN)The daughter of Babylon is like (BO)a threshing floor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and (BP)the time of her harvest will come.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon (BQ)has devoured me;
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
(BR)he has swallowed me like (BS)a monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
he has rinsed me out.[d]
35 The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
let Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (BT)I will plead your cause
and take vengeance for you.
(BU)I will dry up her sea
and (BV)make her fountain dry,
37 and Babylon shall become (BW)a heap of ruins,
(BX)the haunt of jackals,
(BY)a horror (BZ)and a hissing,
without inhabitant.
38 (CA)“They shall roar together (CB)like lions;
they shall growl like lions' cubs.
39 (CC)While they are inflamed (CD)I will prepare them a feast
and (CE)make them drunk, that they may become merry,
(CF)then sleep a perpetual sleep
and not wake, declares the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and male goats.
41 “How (CG)Babylon[e] is taken,
(CH)the praise of the whole earth (CI)seized!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
42 (CJ)The sea has come up on Babylon;
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a horror,
(CK)a land of drought and a desert,
(CL)a land in which no one dwells,
and through which no son of man passes.
44 And I will punish (CM)Bel in Babylon,
and (CN)take out of his mouth (CO)what he has swallowed.
(CP)The nations shall no longer flow to him;
(CQ)the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 “Go out of the midst of her, (CR)my people!
Let every one save his life
from (CS)the fierce anger of the Lord!
46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
(CT)at the report heard in the land,
(CU)when a report comes in one year
and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
(CV)and ruler is against ruler.
47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when (CW)I will punish the images of Babylon;
(CX)her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 (CY)Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
(CZ)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
(DA)just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50 (DB)“You who have escaped from the sword,
go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 (DC)‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
(DD)dishonor has covered our face,
(DE)for foreigners have come
into the holy places of the Lord's house.’
52 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when (DF)I will execute judgment upon her images,
(DG)and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should (DH)mount up to heaven,
and though she should (DI)fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
declares the Lord.
54 (DJ)“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
and stilling her mighty voice.
(DK)Their waves roar like many waters;
the noise of their voice is raised,
56 for a destroyer has come upon her,
upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
their bows are broken in pieces,
(DL)for the Lord is a God of recompense;
he will surely repay.
57 (DM)I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
(DN)her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
declares (DO)the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad (DP)wall of Babylon
shall be leveled to the ground,
(DQ)and her high gates
shall be burned with fire.
(DR)The peoples labor for nothing,
and (DS)the nations weary themselves only for fire.”
59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah (DT)the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, (DU)in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 (DV)Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, (DW)all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so (DX)that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be (DY)desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, (DZ)(EA)tie a stone to it (EB)and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, (EC)‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, (ED)and they shall become exhausted.’”
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
- Jeremiah 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Jeremiah 51:5 Hebrew their land
- Jeremiah 51:34 Or he has expelled me
- Jeremiah 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon
Jeremia 51
Svenska Folkbibeln
Jeremia 51
Svenska Folkbibeln
51 Så säger Herren: Se, jag skall uppväcka en ödeläggande ande
mot Babel och mot Leb-Kamajs[a] invånare.
2 Jag skall sända skördemän mot Babel,
och de skall rensa bort dess invånare och ödelägga landet.
Från alla sidor skall de komma emot det på olyckans dag.
3 Skyttar skall spänna sina bågar
mot dem som där spänner båge
och mot dem som där bröstar sig i sitt pansar.
Skona inte de unga männen,
förgör hela dess här!
4 Slagna män skall då falla i kaldeernas land
och genomborrade män på deras gator.
5 Ty Israel och Juda är inte änkor
övergivna av sin Gud,
av Herren Sebaot,
fastän deras land är fullt av skuld mot Israels Helige.
6 Fly ut ur Babel!
Var och en må rädda sitt liv,
så att ni inte går under genom dess missgärning.
Ty detta är för Herren en hämndens tid
då han vedergäller Babel vad det har gjort.
7 En gyllene bägare var Babel i Herrens hand,
den gjorde hela jorden drucken.
Av dess vin drack hednafolken,
därför blev de från vettet.
8 Men plötsligt har nu Babel fallit och krossats.
Jämra er över det!
Hämta balsam för dess plåga,
kanske kan det helas.
9 "Vi har försökt att bota Babel,
men det har inte kunnat botas.
Låt oss lämna det och gå var och en till sitt land.
Ty dess straffdom räcker upp till himlen,
den når ända upp till skyarna.
10 Herren har låtit vår rättfärdighet gå fram.
Kom, låt oss berätta i Sion om Herrens, vår Guds, verk."
11 Vässa pilarna, fatta sköldarna!
Herren har uppväckt de mediska kungarnas ande,
hans avsikt är att lägga Babel i ruiner.
Det är Herrens hämnd, hämnden för hans tempel.
12 Res upp ett baner mot Babels murar!
Håll sträng bevakning,
ställ ut vakter,
lägg bakhåll!
Ty Herren har fattat sitt beslut,
och han utför vad han har talat mot Babels invånare.
13 Du som bor vid stora vatten
och är så rik på skatter,
ditt slut har nu kommit,
din girighets mått är fyllt.
14 Herren Sebaot har svurit vid sig själv:
Sannerligen, jag skall fylla dig med människor
så talrika som gräshoppor,
och de skall höja segerrop mot dig.
15 Han har skapat jorden genom sin kraft,
han har grundat världen genom sin vishet,
och genom sitt förstånd har han spänt ut himlen.
16 När han låter sin röst höras
då brusar himlens vatten,
då låter han regnskyar stiga upp från jordens ände.
Han gör blixtar åt regnet
och för vinden ut ur dess förvaringsrum.
17 Alla människor står då som dårar, utan förstånd.
Alla guldsmederna kommer på skam med sina avgudar,
ty deras gjutna gudabilder är bedrägeri,
ingen ande är i dem.
18 Förgänglighet är de, ett verk som väcker åtlöje.
När straffet kommer över dem förgås de.
19 Sådan är inte han som är Jakobs del.
Han är den som har format allt
och sin arvedels stam.
Herren Sebaot är hans namn.
20 Min hammare är du, mitt stridsvapen.
Med dig krossar jag hednafolk,
med dig fördärvar jag riken,
21 med dig krossar jag häst och ryttare,
med dig krossar jag vagn och kusk,
22 med dig krossar jag man och kvinna,
med dig krossar jag gammal och ung,
med dig krossar jag yngling och jungfru
23 med dig krossar jag herden och hans hjord,
med dig krossar jag bonden och hans oxar,
med dig krossar jag ståthållare och styresmän.
24 Men nu skall jag inför era ögon vedergälla Babel och alla Kaldeens invånare för allt det onda som de har gjort mot Sion, säger Herren. 25 Se, jag vänder mig mot dig, du fördärvets berg, säger Herren, du som fördärvar hela jorden, och jag skall sträcka ut min hand mot dig och störta dig ner från klipporna och göra dig till ett förbränt berg, 26 så att man inte från dig skall kunna ta vare sig hörnsten eller grundsten, utan du skall bli en ödemark för alltid, säger Herren.
27 Res upp ett baner på jorden,
blås i horn bland hednafolken,
förbered hednafolk till strid mot det,
båda upp riken mot det,
Ararats, Minnis och Askenas.
Välj ut en härförare mot det,
drag dit upp med hästar som liknar borstiga gräshoppor.
28 Förbered hednafolk till strid mot det:
Mediens kungar, dess ståthållare och alla dess landsfurstar
och hela det land som lyder under deras välde.
29 Då skälver jorden och bävar,
ty Herrens planer mot Babel fullbordas:
att göra Babels land till en ödemark, utan invånare.
30 Babels hjältar upphör att strida,
de sitter stilla i sina fästen.
Deras styrka har försvunnit,
de har blivit som kvinnor.
Man har tänt eld på Babels boningar,
och dess bommar är sönderbrutna.
31 Löpare möter löpare,
den ene budbäraren korsar den andres väg
för att meddela kungen i Babel
att hela hans stad har intagits,
32 att vadställena har erövrats,
att dammarna är uppbrända i eld
och stridsmännen står skräckslagna.
33 Ty så säger Herren Sebaot, Israels Gud:
Dottern Babel är som en tröskplats,
när man just har trampat till den.
Ännu en liten tid, och skördetiden är inne.
34 Han har slukat mig och tillintetgjort mig,
Nebukadressar, kungen i Babel.
Han har gjort mig till ett tomt kärl,
lik en drake har han svalt mig,
han har fyllt sin buk med mina läckerheter
och drivit bort mig.
35 "Må det våld som har drabbat mig och mitt kött
komma över Babel",
säger kvinnan som bor i Sion.
"Må mitt blod komma över Kaldeens invånare",
säger Jerusalem.
36 Därför säger Herren så:
Se, jag skall utföra din sak och utkräva din hämnd.
Jag skall låta Babels hav sina bort och dess brunn torka ut,
37 och Babel skall bli en stenhög,
ett tillhåll för schakaler,
till häpnad och förakt.
Ingen skall bo där.
38 Alla ryter de nu som lejon,
de morrar som lejonungar.
39 Men när de är som mest upptända
skall jag ordna ett gästabud för dem.
Jag skall göra dem druckna så att de jublar,
och så skall de somna in i en evig sömn
och aldrig mer vakna upp, säger Herren.
40 Jag skall föra dem ner till att slaktas som lamm,
som baggar och bockar.
41 Hur har inte Sesak blivit intaget,
det som var hela jordens berömmelse har erövrats!
Hur har inte Babel kommit hednafolken att häpna!
42 Havet steg upp över Babel,
de brusande böljorna täckte över det.
43 Så förvandlades dess städer till en ödemark,
ett torrt land och en öken,
ett land där ingen bor
och där ingen människa går fram.
44 Jag skall straffa Bel i Babel
och dra ut ur hans gap vad han har slukat.
Hednafolken skall inte mer strömma till honom,
också Babels murar skall falla.
45 Drag ut därifrån, mitt folk.
Var och en må rädda sitt liv
undan Herrens brinnande vrede.
46 Var inte försagda i era hjärtan
och frukta inte för de rykten som hörs i landet,
även om ett rykte kommer det ena året
och ett nytt rykte nästa år,
även om våld råder på jorden
och härskare står mot härskare.
47 Ty se, dagar skall komma
då jag skall straffa Babels avgudar
och då hela dess land skall stå med skam
och alla bli slagna därinne.
48 Då skall de jubla över Babel,
himmel och jord och allt som finns där,
ty norrifrån kommer härjarna över det.
säger Herren.
49 På grund av dem som i Israel har dräpts,
måste Babel falla,
så som dräpta över hela jorden
har fallit för Babels skull.
50 Ni som räddat er undan svärdet,
ge er av, stanna inte!
Kom ihåg Herren i fjärran land
och låt Jerusalem vara i era hjärtan!
51 Vi står här med skam, vi blir hånade.
Blygsel täcker vårt ansikte,
ty främlingar har trängt in i
de heliga platserna i Herrens hus.
52 Se, därför skall dagar komma, säger Herren,
då jag skall döma Babels avgudar
och i hela dess land skall slagna män jämra sig.
53 Även om Babel steg upp till himlen
och gjorde sin befästning hög och ointaglig,
så skulle ändå plundrare från mig nå dit,
säger Herren.
54 Klagorop hörs från Babel
och stor förödelse från kaldeernas land.
55 Ty Herren ödelägger Babel
och gör slut på det stora larmet därinne.
Deras vågor brusar som stora vatten,
dånet av dem ljuder högt.
56 Ty över Babel kommer en som ödelägger,
och hjältarna där tas till fånga,
deras bågar bryts sönder.
Herren är en vedergällningens Gud,
han lönar till fullo.
57 Jag skall göra dem druckna,
Babels furstar och visa,
dess ståthållare, styresmän och hjältar.
De skall somna in i en evig sömn
och aldrig mer vakna upp, säger Konungen.
Herren Sebaot är hans namn.
58 Så säger Herren Sebaot:
Babels breda murar skall i grund rivas ner,
och de höga portarna skall brännas upp i eld.
Så mödar sig folken för intet
och folkslagen arbetar sig trötta
för det som blir lågornas rov."
59 Detta är vad profeten Jeremia befallde Seraja, son till Neria, son till Mahaseja, då denne begav sig till Babel med Sidkia, Juda kung, i hans fjärde regeringsår.[b] Seraja var nämligen kvartermästare.
60 Jeremia tecknade upp i en och samma bok all den olycka som skulle komma över Babel, allt detta som nu är skrivet om Babel. 61 Jeremia sade till Seraja: "När du kommer till Babel, se då till att du läser upp allt detta. 62 Och du skall säga: Herre, du har själv talat om denna plats att du vill fördärva den så att ingen mer skall bo här, varken människa eller djur, ty den skall vara en ödemark för all framtid. 63 Och när du har läst upp hela boken, skall du binda en sten vid den och kasta den mitt i floden Eufrat 64 och säga: På samma sätt skall Babel sjunka ner och inte mer komma upp på grund av den olycka som jag skall låta komma över det. Och de skall gå under."
Här slutar Jeremias ord.
Footnotes
- Jeremia 51:1 Leb-Kamajs är ett kryptogram för Kaldeen, dvs Babylonien.
- Jeremia 51:59 År 593 f. Kr.
Jeremiah 51
New International Version
Jeremiah 51
New International Version
51 This is what the Lord says:
“See, I will stir(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.[a]
2 I will send foreigners(C) to Babylon
to winnow(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
in the day(E) of her disaster.
3 Let not the archer string his bow,(F)
nor let him put on his armor.(G)
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy[b] her army.
4 They will fall(H) down slain in Babylon,[c]
fatally wounded in her streets.(I)
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken(J)
by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[d] is full of guilt(K)
before the Holy One of Israel.
6 “Flee(L) from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.(M)
It is time(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;(O)
he will repay(P) her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall(R) and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm(S) for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
9 “‘We would have healed Babylon,
but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(T) her and each go to our own land,
for her judgment(U) reaches to the skies,
it rises as high as the heavens.’
11 “Sharpen the arrows,(X)
take up the shields!(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(Z) of the Medes,(AA)
because his purpose(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(AC)
vengeance for his temple.(AD)
12 Lift up a banner(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(AF)
prepare an ambush!(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(AH)
his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(AI)
and are rich in treasures,(AJ)
your end has come,
the time for you to be destroyed.(AK)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(AL)
I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(AM)
and they will shout(AN) in triumph over you.
15 “He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom(AO)
and stretched(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.(AQ)
16 When he thunders,(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(AS)
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(AT)
17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(AU)
they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless,(AV) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance(AX)—
the Lord Almighty is his name.
20 “You are my war club,(AY)
my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(AZ) nations,(BA)
with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(BB)
with you I shatter chariot(BC) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old man and youth,
with you I shatter young man and young woman,(BD)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
with you I shatter governors and officials.(BE)
24 “Before your eyes I will repay(BF) Babylon(BG) and all who live in Babylonia[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.
25 “I am against(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,”(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand(BJ) against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.(BK)
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.
27 “Lift up a banner(BM) in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:(BN)
Ararat,(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(BQ)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
the kings of the Medes,(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
and all the countries they rule.(BS)
29 The land trembles(BT) and writhes,
for the Lord’s purposes(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste(BV) the land of Babylon
so that no one will live there.(BW)
30 Babylon’s warriors(BX) have stopped fighting;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
they have become weaklings.(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;(BZ)
the bars(CA) of her gates are broken.
31 One courier(CB) follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,(CC)
32 the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,(CD)
and the soldiers terrified.(CE)”
33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Daughter Babylon(CF) is like a threshing floor(CG)
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest(CH) her will soon come.(CI)”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar(CJ) king of Babylon has devoured(CK) us,(CL)
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed(CM) us out.
35 May the violence(CN) done to our flesh[f] be on Babylon,”
say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
says Jerusalem.(CO)
36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“See, I will defend your cause(CP)
and avenge(CQ) you;
I will dry up(CR) her sea
and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt(CS) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,(CT)
a place where no one lives.(CU)
38 Her people all roar like young lions,(CV)
they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,(CW)
so that they shout with laughter—
then sleep forever(CX) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.(CY)
40 “I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.(CZ)
41 “How Sheshak[g](DA) will be captured,(DB)
the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate(DC) Babylon will be
among the nations!
42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
its roaring waves(DD) will cover her.
43 Her towns will be desolate,
a dry and desert(DE) land,
a land where no one lives,
through which no one travels.(DF)
44 I will punish Bel(DG) in Babylon
and make him spew out(DH) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
And the wall(DI) of Babylon will fall.
45 “Come out(DJ) of her, my people!
Run(DK) for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger(DL) of the Lord.
46 Do not lose heart(DM) or be afraid(DN)
when rumors(DO) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
rumors of violence in the land
and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come
when I will punish the idols(DP) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced(DQ)
and her slain will all lie fallen within her.(DR)
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout(DS) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north(DT)
destroyers(DU) 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.(DV)
50 You who have escaped the sword,
leave(DW) and do not linger!
Remember(DX) the Lord in a distant land,(DY)
and call to mind Jerusalem.”
51 “We are disgraced,(DZ)
for we have been insulted
and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s house.”(EA)
52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will punish her idols,(EB)
and throughout her land
the wounded will groan.(EC)
53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens(ED)
and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
I will send destroyers(EE) against her,”
declares the Lord.
54 “The sound of a cry(EF) comes from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction(EG)
from the land of the Babylonians.[h]
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;
he will silence(EH) her noisy din.
Waves(EI) of enemies will rage like great waters;
the roar of their voices will resound.
56 A destroyer(EJ) will come against Babylon;
her warriors will be captured,
and their bows will be broken.(EK)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
he will repay(EL) in full.
57 I will make her officials(EM) and wise(EN) men drunk,(EO)
her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep(EP) forever and not awake,”
declares the King,(EQ) whose name is the Lord Almighty.
58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Babylon’s thick wall(ER) will be leveled
and her high gates(ES) set on fire;
the peoples(ET) exhaust(EU) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”(EV)
59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,(EW) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah(EX) king of Judah in the fourth(EY) year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll(EZ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate(FA) forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.(FB) 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more(FC) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people(FD) will fall.’”(FE)
The words of Jeremiah end(FF) here.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
- Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
- Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
- Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
- Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
- Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
- Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
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