Jer 50 | NASB1995 | STEP | The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon , the land of the Chaldeans , through Jeremiah the prophet :

Jeremiah 50

Prophecy against Babylon

1 The word which the Lord spoke concerning ^aBabylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet: 2 ^b“Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and ^clift up a standard.
Do not conceal it but say,
‘ ^dBabylon has been captured,
^eBel has been put to shame, ^{▼▼ Heb Merodach}Marduk has been ^{▼▼ Or dismayed}shattered;
Her ^himages have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’

3 “For a nation has come up against her out of the ⁱnorth; it will make her land ^jan object of horror, and there will be ^kno inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!

4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah ^las well; they will go along ^mweeping as they go, and it will be ⁿthe Lord their God they will seek. 5 “They will ^oask for the way to Zion, turning their faces ^{▼▼ Lit hither}in its direction; ^{▼▼ M.T. reads come ye!}they ^{▼▼ Or will have come}will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an ^severlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. 6 “My people have become ^tlost sheep;
^uTheir shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the ^vmountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their ^wresting place.
7 “All who came upon them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘ ^xWe are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the ^yhabitation of righteousness,
Even the Lord, the ^zhope of their fathers.’

8 “Wander away from the ^aamidst of Babylon
And ^{▼▼ Another reading is let them go forth}go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be also like male goats ^{▼▼ Or in front of}at the head of the flock.
9 “For behold, I am going to ^adarouse and bring up against Babylon
A horde of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like ^{▼▼ So some mss and versions; M.T. reads a warrior who makes childless}an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10 ^{▼▼ Or the Chaldeans
,} ^ag“Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.

11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
O you who ^ahpillage My heritage,
Because you skip about ^{▼▼ Another reading is in the grass}like a threshing ^ajheifer
And neigh like ^{▼▼ Lit mighty ones}stallions,
12 Your ^almother ^{▼▼ Or has become}will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth ^{▼▼ Or has become}will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A ^aowilderness, a parched land and a desert.
13 “Because of the indignation of the Lord she will ^apnot be inhabited,
But she will be ^aqcompletely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon ^arwill be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 “Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All you who ^{▼▼ Lit tread (in order to string)}bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,
For she has ^atsinned against the Lord.
15 “Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has ^augiven ^{▼▼ Lit her hand}herself up, her pillars have fallen,
Her ^awwalls have been torn down.
For this is the ^axvengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
^ayAs she has done to others, so do to her.
16 “Cut off the ^azsower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From before ^{▼▼ Or the oppressing sword}the ^bbsword of the oppressor
^bcThey will each turn back to his own people
And they will each flee to his own land.

17 “Israel is a ^bdscattered ^{▼▼ Lit sheep}flock, the ^bflions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the ^bgking of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is ^bhNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I ^bipunished the king of Assyria. 19 ‘And I will ^bjbring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his ^{▼▼ Lit soul}desire will be satisfied in the ^blhill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 ‘In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but ^bmthere will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those ^bnwhom I leave as a remnant.’ 21 “Against the land of ^{▼▼ Or Double Rebellion}Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of ^{▼▼ Or Punishment
,} ^bqPekod.
Slay and ^{▼▼ Lit put under the ban}utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 “The ^bsnoise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23 “How the ^bthammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24 “I ^buset a snare for you and you were also ^bvcaught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in ^bwconflict with the Lord.”
25 The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the ^bxweapons of His indignation,
For it is a ^bywork of the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from the ^{▼▼ Lit end}farthest border;
^cbOpen up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And ^{▼▼ Lit put under the ban
,} ^cdutterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27 ^cePut all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them ^cfgo down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their ^cgday has come,
The time of their punishment.

28 There is a ^chsound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the ^civengeance of the Lord our God,
Vengeance for His ^cjtemple.

29 “Summon ^{▼▼ Another reading is archers}many against Babylon,
All those who ^{▼▼ Lit tread (in order to string)}bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape ^{▼▼ Some mss add to her}.
Repay her according to her work;
^cnAccording to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become ^coarrogant against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 “Therefore her ^cpyoung men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will be ^{▼▼ Or made lifeless or destroyed
,} ^crsilenced in that day,” declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, ^csI am against you, O ^{▼▼ Lit arrogance}arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of hosts,
“For your day has come,
The time ^{▼▼ Another reading is of your punishment}when I will punish you.
32 “The ^{▼▼ Lit arrogance
,} ^cxarrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will ^cyset fire to his cities
And it will devour all his environs.”

33 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And ^czall who took them captive have held them fast,
They have refused to let them go.
34 “Their ^daRedeemer is strong, ^dbthe Lord of hosts is His name;
He will vigorously ^dcplead their case
So that He may ^ddbring rest to ^{▼▼ Or their land}the earth,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A ^dfsword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her ^dgofficials and her ^dhwise men!
36 “A sword against the ^dioracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her ^djmighty men, and they will be ^{▼▼ Or dismayed
,} ^dlshattered!
37 “A sword against ^{▼▼ Lit his}their ^dnhorses and against ^{▼▼ Lit his}their chariots
And against all the ^{▼▼ Lit mixed multitude
,} ^dqforeigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become ^drwomen!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38 “A ^{▼▼ Another reading is sword
,} ^dtdrought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of ^duidols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols.

39 “Therefore the ^dvdesert creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will ^dwnever again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 “As when God overthrew ^dxSodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No man will live there,
Nor will any son of man reside in it.

41 “Behold, a people is coming ^dyfrom the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42 “They ^dzseize their bow and javelin;
They are ^eacruel and have no mercy.
Their ^ebvoice roars like the sea;
And they ride on ^echorses,
^edMarshalled like a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 “The ^eeking of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
^efDistress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.

44 ^eg“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the ^{▼▼ Lit pride}thicket of the Jordan to ^{▼▼ Or an enduring habitation}a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is ^ejchosen I will appoint over it. For who is ^eklike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can ^elstand before Me?” 45 Therefore hear the ^emplan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^ensurely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their ^{▼▼ Or habitation}pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the ^{▼▼ Lit voice}shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the ^eqearth is shaken, and an ^eroutcry is heard among the nations.