Jer 50-51 | NASB1995 | STEP | The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon , the land of the Chaldeans , through Jeremiah the prophet :

Jeremiah 50

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.

Jeremiah 51

Babylon Judged for Sins against Israel

1 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of ^{▼▼ Cryptic name for Chaldea; or the heart of those who rise up against Me}Leb-kamai
^{▼▼ Or a destroying wind}The ^euspirit of a destroyer.
2 “I will dispatch ^{▼▼ Some versions read winnowers}foreigners to Babylon that they may ^ewwinnow her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her
In the day of her calamity.
3 ^{▼▼ M.T. reads Against him who}“Let not ^{▼▼ I.e. the Chaldean defender}him who ^{▼▼ Lit tread(s) (in order to string)
,} ^fabends his bow ^{▼▼ Lit tread(s) (in order to string)}bend it,
^{▼▼ M.T. reads Against him who}Nor let him rise up in his ^fdscale-armor;
So do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
4 “They will fall down ^{▼▼ Or wounded}slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
And ^ffpierced through in their streets.”

5 For ^fgneither Israel nor Judah has been ^{▼▼ Lit widowed}forsaken
By his God, the Lord of hosts,
Although their land is ^fifull of guilt
^{▼▼ Lit From}Before the Holy One of Israel.
6 ^fkFlee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not be ^{▼▼ Or silenced or made lifeless
,} ^fmdestroyed in her ^{▼▼ Or penalty for iniquity}punishment,
For this is the ^foLord’s time of vengeance;
He is going to ^fprender recompense to her.
7 Babylon has been a golden ^fqcup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The ^frnations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are ^fsgoing mad.
8 Suddenly ^ftBabylon has fallen and been broken;
^fuWail over her!
^fvBring ^{▼▼ Or balsam resin}balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
9 We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Forsake her and ^fxlet us each go to his own country,
For her judgment has ^fyreached to heaven
And ^{▼▼ Lit is lifted}towers up to the very skies.
10 The Lord has ^gabrought ^{▼▼ Lit forth}about our vindication;
Come and let us ^gcrecount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!

11 ^gdSharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the ^gevengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 ^gfLift up a ^{▼▼ Or standard}signal against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station ^{▼▼ Or watchmen}sentries,
Place men in ambush!
For the Lord has both ^gipurposed and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you who ^gjdwell by many waters,
Abundant in ^gktreasures,
Your end has come,
The ^{▼▼ Lit cubit}measure of your ^{▼▼ Lit being cut off
,} ^gnend.
14 The ^goLord of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with a ^{▼▼ Or mankind}population like ^gqlocusts,
And they will cry out with ^{▼▼ I.e. like the song of grape treaders}shouts of victory over you.”

15 It is ^gsHe who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He ^gtstretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His ^guvoice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the ^gvclouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the ^gwwind from His storehouses.
17 ^gxAll mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his ^{▼▼ Or graven images}idols,
For his molten images are ^gzdeceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are ^haworthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The ^hbportion of Jacob is not like these;
For the ^{▼▼ Lit Fashioner}Maker of all is He,
And of the ^{▼▼ Or Scepter; cf Num 24:17}tribe of His inheritance;
The ^heLord of hosts is His name.
20 He says, “You are My ^{▼▼ Lit shatterer
,} ^hgwar-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I ^hhshatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 “With you I ^hishatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the ^hjchariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter ^hkman and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and ^hlyouth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
23 And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.

24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of ^hmChaldea for ^hnall their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord. 25 “Behold, ^hoI am against you, ^hpO destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a ^hqburnt out mountain.
26 “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be ^hrdesolate forever,” declares the Lord.

27 ^hsLift up a ^{▼▼ Or standard}signal in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the ^hukingdoms of ^hvArarat, Minni and ^hwAshkenaz;
Appoint a marshal against her,
Bring up the ^hxhorses like bristly locusts.
28 Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
^{▼▼ Lit Her}Their governors and all ^{▼▼ Lit Her}their ^{▼▼ I.e. lieutenant governors}prefects,
And every land of ^{▼▼ Lit his}their dominion.
29 So the ^icland quakes and writhes,
For the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
^{▼▼ Or An object of horror}A ^iedesolation without inhabitants.
30 The ^ifmighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
^igTheir strength is ^{▼▼ Lit dried up}exhausted,
They are becoming ⁱⁱ like women;
Their dwelling places are set on fire,
The ^ijbars of her gates are broken.
31 One ^{▼▼ Lit runner
,} ^ilcourier runs to meet ^{▼▼ Lit runner}another,
And one ^{▼▼ Lit announcer
,} ^iomessenger to meet ^{▼▼ Lit announcer}another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
32 The fords also have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.

33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a ^iqthreshing floor
At the time ^{▼▼ Lit of treading it}it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of ^isharvest will come for her.”

34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has ^itdevoured me and crushed me,
He has set me down like an ^iuempty vessel;
He has ^ivswallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35 “May the ^iwviolence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The ^{▼▼ Lit inhabitress}inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.

36 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am going to ^iyplead your case
And ^izexact full vengeance for you;
And ^jaI will dry up her ^{▼▼ Or broad river}sea
And make her fountain dry.
37 ^jc“Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An ^jdobject of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38 “They will roar together like ^jeyoung lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And ^jfmake them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may ^jgsleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down like ^{▼▼ Or young rams}lambs ^jito the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.

41 “How ^{▼▼ Cryptic name for Babylon
,} ^jkSheshak has been captured,
And ^jlthe praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42 “The ^{▼▼ Or broad river
,} ^jnsea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.
43 “Her cities have become an ^joobject of horror,
A parched land and a desert,
A land in which ^jpno man lives
And through which no son of man passes.
44 ^jq“I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed ^jrcome out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer ^jsstream to him.
Even the ^jtwall of Babylon has fallen down!

45 ^ju“Come forth from her midst, My people,
And each of you ^jvsave yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 “Now ^jwso that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the ^jxreport that will be heard in the land—
For the report will come ^{▼▼ Lit in the}one year,
And after that ^{▼▼ Lit the}another report in ^{▼▼ Lit the}another year,
And violence will be in the land
With ^kbruler against ruler—
47 Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the ^kcidols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be ^kdput to shame
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 “Then ^keheaven and earth and all that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
For ^kfthe destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.

49 ^kgIndeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As also for Babylon ^khthe slain of all the earth have fallen.
50 You ^kiwho have escaped the sword,
Depart! Do not stay!
^kjRemember the Lord from afar,
And let Jerusalem ^{▼▼ Lit come upon your heart}come to your mind.
51 ^klWe are ashamed because we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For ^kmaliens have entered
The holy places of the Lord’s house.

52 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will punish her ^knidols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 “Though Babylon should ^koascend to the heavens,
And though she should fortify ^{▼▼ Lit the height of her strength}her lofty stronghold,
From ^kqMe destroyers will come to her,” declares the Lord.

54 The ^krsound of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud ^{▼▼ Or voice}noise vanish from her.
And their ^ktwaves will roar like many waters;
The tumult of their voices ^{▼▼ Lit is given}sounds forth.
56 For the ^kvdestroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her mighty men will be captured,
Their ^kwbows are shattered;
For the Lord is a God of ^kxrecompense,
He will fully repay.
57 “I will ^kymake her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a ^kzperpetual sleep and not wake up,”
^laDeclares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

58 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “The broad ^lbwall of Babylon will be completely razed
And her high ^lcgates will be set on fire;
So the peoples will ^ldtoil for nothing,
And the nations become ^leexhausted only for fire.”

59 The ^{▼▼ Lit word}message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of ^lgNeriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with ^lhZedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 So Jeremiah ^liwrote in a single ^{▼▼ Or book}scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘You, O Lord, have ^{▼▼ Lit spoken}promised concerning this place to ^llcut it off, so that there will be ^lmnothing dwelling in it, ^{▼▼ Lit from man even to beast}whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.’ 63 “And as soon as you finish reading this ^{▼▼ Or book}scroll, you will tie a stone to it and ^lpthrow it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and ^lqnot rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become ^lrexhausted.’” ^lsThus far are the words of Jeremiah.