Jer 50 | NASB2020 | 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 “ ^bDeclare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and ^clift up a flag,
Do not conceal it. Say,
‘ ^dBabylon has been captured,
^eBel has been put to shame, ^{▼▼Heb Merodach}Marduk has been ^{▼▼Or dismayed}shattered;
Her ^hidols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.’
3 For a nation has come up against her from the ⁱnorth; it will make her land ^jan object of horror, and there will be ^kno inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!

4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, they and the sons of Judah ^las well; they will go along ^mweeping as they go, and it will be ⁿthe Lord their God whom they will seek. 5 They will ^oask for the way to Zion, turning their faces ^{▼▼Lit toward here}in its direction; ^{▼▼MT come, that}they ^{▼▼Or will have come}will come so 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 from mountain to hill,
They have forgotten their ^wresting place.
7 “All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘ ^xWe are not guilty,
Since they have sinned against the Lord who is the ^yhabitation of righteousness,
The Lord, the ^zhope of their fathers.’

8 “Wander away from the ^aamidst of Babylon
And ^{▼▼Another reading is let them go out}go out from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like male goats ^{▼▼Or in front of}at the head of the flock.
9 “For behold, I am going to ^adrouse and bring up against Babylon
A contingent 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 ^{▼▼As in some mss and ancient versions; MT a warrior who makes childless}an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10 “ ^{▼▼Or the Chaldeans
,} ^agChaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.

11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
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 dry land and a desert.
13 “Because of the wrath 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 of you who ^{▼▼Lit step on (in order to string)}bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not spare 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 towers 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 “Eliminate the ^azsower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From ^{▼▼Or the oppressing sword}the ^bbsword of the oppressor
^bcEach of them will turn back to his own people
And each of them will 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 gnawed his bones is ^bhNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘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 wrongdoing of Israel, but ^bmthere will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will forgive 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 ^{▼▼I.e., punishment (uncertain)
,} ^bqPekod.
Kill and ^{▼▼Lit put under the ban}completely destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to everything 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 trap for you and you were also ^bvcaught, 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 out the ^bxweapons of His indignation,
For it is a ^bywork of the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies
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 of grain
And ^{▼▼Lit put under the ban
,} ^cdcompletely destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27 ^cePut all her 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 step on (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 ^cqperish on that day,” declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, ^crI am against you, ^{▼▼Lit arrogance}arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies,
“For your day has come,
The time ^{▼▼Another reading is of your punishment}when I will punish you.
32 “The ^{▼▼Lit arrogance
,} ^cwarrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will ^cxset fire to his cities,
And it will devour all his surroundings.”

33 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And ^cyall who took them captive have held them firmly,
They have refused to let them go.
34 “Their ^czRedeemer is strong, ^dathe Lord of armies is His name;
He will vigorously ^dbplead their case
So that He may ^dcbring rest to their land,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A ^ddsword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her ^deleaders and her ^dfwise men!
36 “A sword against the ^dgoracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her ^dhwarriors, and they will be ^{▼▼Or filled with terror
,} ^djshattered!
37 “A sword against ^{▼▼Lit his}their ^dlhorses, against ^{▼▼Lit his}their chariots,
And against all the ^{▼▼Lit mixed multitude
,} ^doforeigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become ^dpwomen!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38 “A ^{▼▼Another reading is sword
,} ^drdrought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of ^dsidols,
And they go insane at frightful images.

39 “Therefore the ^dtdesert creatures will live there with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it.
It will ^dunever again be inhabited
Nor lived in from generation to generation.
40 “As when God overthrew ^dvSodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No one will live there,
Nor will ^{▼▼Lit a son of man}anyone of mankind reside in it.

41 “Behold, a people is coming ^dxfrom the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth.
42 “They ^dyseize their bow and javelin;
They are ^dzcruel and have no mercy.
Their ^eavoice roars like the sea;
And they ride on ^ebhorses,
^ecDrawn up like a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 “The ^edking of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
^eeDistress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44 “ ^efBehold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase them away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is ^egchosen. For who is ^ehlike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can ^eistand against Me?” 45 Therefore hear the ^ejplan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: ^ekthey will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the ^{▼▼Lit voice}shout, “Babylon has been conquered!” the ^emearth quakes, and an ^enoutcry is heard among the nations.