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11 Sharpen the arrows!
    Lift up the shields![a]
For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes
    to march against Babylon and destroy her.
This is his vengeance against those
    who desecrated his Temple.
12 Raise the battle flag against Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen.
Prepare an ambush,
    for the Lord will fulfill all his plans against Babylon.
13 You are a city by a great river,
    a great center of commerce,
but your end has come.
    The thread of your life is cut.
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow
    and has sworn to it by his own name:
“Your cities will be filled with enemies,
    like fields swarming with locusts,
    and they will shout in triumph over you.”

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Footnotes

  1. 51:11 Greek version reads Fill up the quivers.

11 Sharpen your arrows;
    prepare your shields.
The Lord is stirring up
    the spirit of kings from Media.
    He intends to destroy Babylon;
    this is the Lord’s retribution,
        a day of reckoning for his temple.
12 Set up a flag on the walls of Babylon,
    fortify the guards,
    post watchmen,
    prepare an ambush,
        because the Lord has a plan
        against the inhabitants of Babylon.
He will accomplish it,
    just as he said he would.
13 You live beside a great river,
    and you are rich in treasures.
But your time has come;
    your cruelty has caught up with you.[a]
14 The Lord of heavenly forces has sworn by his own name:
    I’m going to fill your cities[b]
        with soldiers like a swarm of locusts;
    they will celebrate their victory over you.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:13 Heb uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 51:14 Heb lacks cities.