36 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

I am about to champion your cause(A)
and take vengeance on your behalf;
I will dry up her sea(B)
and make her fountain run dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble,
a jackals’ den,
a desolation and an object of scorn,(C)
without inhabitant.(D)
38 They will roar together like young lions;
they will growl like lion cubs.
39 While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,
and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate.[a](E)
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams together with male goats.(F)

41 How Sheshak[b](G) has been captured,(H)
the praise(I) of the whole earth seized.
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!(J)
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;(K)
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a desolation,(L)
an arid desert,
a land where no one lives,
where no human being even passes through.
44 I will punish Bel(M) in Babylon.
I will make him vomit what he swallowed.(N)
The nations will no longer stream to him;(O)
even Babylon’s wall will fall.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:39 LXX reads pass out
  2. 51:41 = Babylon

36 Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
        I’m going to defend your cause;
        I’ll turn the tables on your attacker.
        I’ll dry up her sea;
        I’ll shut up her springs.
37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins,
    a den of wild dogs, a wasteland
        with no one left in it.

38 Like lions they will roar together;
    they will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 They are ready to devour,
    so I’ll prepare the feast
        and mix the drinks!
But after their noisy drunkenness,
    they will fall fast asleep.
    They will sleep forever,
        never to get up,
        declares the Lord.
40 I’ll lead them off
    like lambs for slaughter,
    like rams and goats.

41 How Sheshach[a] has been defeated,
    the pride of the whole earth taken captive!
How Babylon has become a wasteland
    among the nations!
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;
    its pounding waves overwhelm her.
43 Her towns are devastated;
    her land is scorched and barren,
        a place where no one lives
        or dares to pass through.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon;
    I will force him to vomit what he’s consumed.
Then nations will no longer stream to him,
    and Babylon’s walls will collapse!

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshach is a name for Babylon.