Jeremiah 51:36-44
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
I am going to defend your cause
and take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her sea
and make her fountain dry,(A)
37 and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,
a den of jackals,
an object of horror and of hissing,
without inhabitant.(B)
38 Like lions they shall roar together;
they shall growl like lions’ whelps.
39 When they are inflamed, I will set out their drink
and make them drunk, until they become merry
and then sleep a perpetual sleep
and never wake, says the Lord.(C)
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.(D)
41 How Sheshach[a] is taken;
the pride of the whole earth seized!
How Babylon has become
an object of horror among the nations!(E)
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;
she has been covered by its tumultuous waves.(F)
43 Her cities have become an object of horror,
a land of drought and a desert,
a land in which no one lives
and through which no mortal passes.(G)
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon
and make him disgorge what he has swallowed.
The nations shall no longer stream to him;
the wall of Babylon has fallen.(H)
Footnotes
- 51.41 That is, Babylon
Jeremiah 51:36-44
Common English Bible
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!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshach is a name for Babylon.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible