Jer 51 | NASB1995 | STEP | Thus says the Lord : “ Behold , I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer .

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 ^cspirit of a destroyer.
2 “I will dispatch ^{▼▼ Some versions read winnowers}foreigners to Babylon that they may ^ewinnow 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)
,} ⁱbends his bow ^{▼▼ Lit tread(s) (in order to string)}bend it,
^{▼▼ M.T. reads Against him who}Nor let him rise up in his ^lscale-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 ⁿpierced through in their streets.”

5 For ^oneither Israel nor Judah has been ^{▼▼ Lit widowed}forsaken
By his God, the Lord of hosts,
Although their land is ^qfull of guilt
^{▼▼ Lit From}Before the Holy One of Israel.
6 ^sFlee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not be ^{▼▼ Or silenced or made lifeless
,} ^udestroyed in her ^{▼▼ Or penalty for iniquity}punishment,
For this is the ^wLord’s time of vengeance;
He is going to ^xrender recompense to her.
7 Babylon has been a golden ^ycup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The ^znations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are ^aagoing mad.
8 Suddenly ^abBabylon has fallen and been broken;
^acWail over her!
^adBring ^{▼▼ 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 ^aflet us each go to his own country,
For her judgment has ^agreached to heaven
And ^{▼▼ Lit is lifted}towers up to the very skies.
10 The Lord has ^aibrought ^{▼▼ Lit forth}about our vindication;
Come and let us ^akrecount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!

11 ^alSharpen 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 ^amvengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 ^anLift 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 ^aqpurposed and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you who ^ardwell by many waters,
Abundant in ^astreasures,
Your end has come,
The ^{▼▼ Lit cubit}measure of your ^{▼▼ Lit being cut off
,} ^avend.
14 The ^awLord of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with a ^{▼▼ Or mankind}population like ^aylocusts,
And they will cry out with ^{▼▼ I.e. like the song of grape treaders}shouts of victory over you.”

15 It is ^baHe who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He ^bbstretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His ^bcvoice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the ^bdclouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the ^bewind from His storehouses.
17 ^bfAll mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his ^{▼▼ Or graven images}idols,
For his molten images are ^bhdeceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are ^biworthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The ^bjportion 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 ^bmLord of hosts is His name.
20 He says, “You are My ^{▼▼ Lit shatterer
,} ^bowar-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I ^bpshatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 “With you I ^bqshatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the ^brchariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter ^bsman and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and ^btyouth,
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 ^buChaldea for ^bvall their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord. 25 “Behold, ^bwI am against you, ^bxO 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 ^byburnt out mountain.
26 “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be ^bzdesolate forever,” declares the Lord.

27 ^caLift up a ^{▼▼ Or standard}signal in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the ^cckingdoms of ^cdArarat, Minni and ^ceAshkenaz;
Appoint a marshal against her,
Bring up the ^cfhorses 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 ^ckland quakes and writhes,
For the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
^{▼▼ Or An object of horror}A ^cmdesolation without inhabitants.
30 The ^cnmighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
^coTheir strength is ^{▼▼ Lit dried up}exhausted,
They are becoming ^cq like women;
Their dwelling places are set on fire,
The ^crbars of her gates are broken.
31 One ^{▼▼ Lit runner
,} ^ctcourier runs to meet ^{▼▼ Lit runner}another,
And one ^{▼▼ Lit announcer
,} ^cwmessenger 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 ^cythreshing floor
At the time ^{▼▼ Lit of treading it}it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of ^daharvest will come for her.”

34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has ^dbdevoured me and crushed me,
He has set me down like an ^dcempty vessel;
He has ^ddswallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35 “May the ^deviolence 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 ^dgplead your case
And ^dhexact full vengeance for you;
And ^diI will dry up her ^{▼▼ Or broad river}sea
And make her fountain dry.
37 ^dk“Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An ^dlobject of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38 “They will roar together like ^dmyoung lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And ^dnmake them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may ^dosleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down like ^{▼▼ Or young rams}lambs ^dqto the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.

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

45 ^ec“Come forth from her midst, My people,
And each of you ^edsave yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 “Now ^eeso that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the ^efreport 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 ^ejruler against ruler—
47 Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the ^ekidols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be ^elput to shame
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 “Then ^emheaven and earth and all that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
For ^enthe destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.

49 ^eoIndeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As also for Babylon ^epthe slain of all the earth have fallen.
50 You ^eqwho have escaped the sword,
Depart! Do not stay!
^erRemember the Lord from afar,
And let Jerusalem ^{▼▼ Lit come upon your heart}come to your mind.
51 ^etWe are ashamed because we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For ^eualiens 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 ^evidols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 “Though Babylon should ^ewascend to the heavens,
And though she should fortify ^{▼▼ Lit the height of her strength}her lofty stronghold,
From ^eyMe destroyers will come to her,” declares the Lord.

54 The ^ezsound 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 ^fbwaves will roar like many waters;
The tumult of their voices ^{▼▼ Lit is given}sounds forth.
56 For the ^fddestroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her mighty men will be captured,
Their ^febows are shattered;
For the Lord is a God of ^ffrecompense,
He will fully repay.
57 “I will ^fgmake her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a ^fhperpetual sleep and not wake up,”
^fiDeclares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

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

59 The ^{▼▼ Lit word}message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of ^foNeriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with ^fpZedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 So Jeremiah ^fqwrote 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 ^ftcut it off, so that there will be ^funothing 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 ^fxthrow it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and ^fynot rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become ^fzexhausted.’” ^gaThus far are the words of Jeremiah.