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]
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.
(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.
They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
    (F)and wounded in her streets.
(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.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
  2. Jeremiah 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  3. Jeremiah 51:5 Hebrew their land

Judgment against Babylon

51 This is what the Lord says:

“Look, I’m going to stir up a destroying wind
    against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai.[a]
I’ll send foreigners to Babylon,
    and they’ll winnow her,
        and devastate[b] her land.
They’ll come against her from every side
    on the day of her[c] disaster.
Don’t let the archer[d] bend the bow;
    don’t let him rise up in his armor.
Don’t spare her young men.
    Completely destroy her entire army.
The slain will fall in the land of Chaldea,
    pierced through in her streets.
Indeed, Israel and Judah haven’t been
    abandoned[e] by their[f] God,
by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
    although their land is full of guilt
        against the Holy One of Israel.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:1 I.e. a cryptogram for Chaldea
  2. Jeremiah 51:2 Lit. empty out
  3. Jeremiah 51:2 The Heb. lacks her
  4. Jeremiah 51:3 Lit. one who bends the bow
  5. Jeremiah 51:5 Lit. widowed
  6. Jeremiah 51:5 Lit. his