2Ki 20:17-18, Psa 137:1, 8-9, Isa 13, 14:4-6, Jer 25:9, Jer 50-51 | ESV | STEP | Behold , the days are coming , when all that is in your house , and that which your fathers have stored up till this day , shall be carried to Babylon . Nothing shall be left , says the Lord .

17 Behold, the days are coming, when ^aall that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 ^bAnd some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, ^cand they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Psalms 137:1

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.

Psalms 137:8-9

8 O daughter of Babylon, ^ddoomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who ^erepays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and ^fdashes them against the rock!

Isaiah 13

The Judgment of Babylon

1 The oracle concerning ^gBabylon which ^hIsaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2 On a bare hill ⁱraise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for ^jthem to enter
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones. ^{▼▼Or those who exult in my majesty}
4 The sound ^lof a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
^mThe Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 ⁿThey come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land. ^{▼▼Or earth; also verse 9}
6 ^pWail, for ^qthe day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike} it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart ^swill melt.
8 They will be dismayed:
^tpangs and agony will seize them;
^uthey will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, ^vthe day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and ^wto destroy its sinners from it.
10 ^xFor the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
^ythe sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish ^zthe world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will ^aaput an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
^aband lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make ^acpeople more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the ^adgold of Ophir.
13 Therefore ^aeI will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
14 And like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with none to gather them,
^afeach will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 ^agTheir infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, ^ahI am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 ^aiTheir bows will slaughter ^{▼▼Hebrew dash in pieces} the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, ^akthe glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be ^allike Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20 ^amIt will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no ^anArab will pitch his tent there;
no ^aoshepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But ^apwild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ^aqostriches ^{▼▼Or owls} will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas ^{▼▼Or foxes} will cry in its towers,
and ^atjackals in ^authe pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 14:4-6

4 you will take up this ^avtaunt against the king of Babylon:

“How the oppressor has ceased,
^awthe insolent fury ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain} ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the ^aystaff of the wicked,
the ^azscepter of rulers,
6 ^bathat struck the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.

Jeremiah 25:9

9 ^bbbehold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^bcmy servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^bdand make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

Jeremiah 50

Judgment on Babylon

1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^beBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^bfby Jeremiah the prophet:

2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
^bg‘Babylon is taken,
^bhBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
^biHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For ^bjout of the north a nation has come up against her, ^bkwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^blboth man and beast shall flee away.

4 ^bm“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^bnthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^boweeping as they come, and they ^bpshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ^bqThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^brsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^bseverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

6 ^bt“My people have been lost sheep. ^buTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, ^bvand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^bwthey have sinned against the Lord, ^bxtheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^bythe hope of their fathers.’

8 ^bz“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^caand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^cba gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 ^ccChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

11 ^cd“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
^cea wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 ^cfBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
^cgeveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
^chand hiss because of all her wounds.
14 ^ciSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
^cjall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
^ckfor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 ^clRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
^cmher walls are thrown down.
For ^cnthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
^codo to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^cpbecause of the sword of the oppressor,
^cqevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 ^cr“Israel is a hunted sheep ^csdriven away by lions. ^ctFirst the king of Assyria ^cudevoured him, and now at last ^cvNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^cwhas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^cxI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^cyas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^czI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^dahe shall feed on ^dbCarmel and in ^dcBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^ddGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^deiniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^dfI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, ^{▼▼ Merathaim means double rebellion}
and against the inhabitants of Pekod. ^{▼▼ Pekod means punishment}
Kill, ^diand devote them to destruction, ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)}

declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 ^dkThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 ^dlHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
^dmHow Babylon ^dnhas become
a horror among the nations!
24 ^doI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and ^dpyou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out ^dqthe weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
^drpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all ^dsher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
^dtthe time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They ^duflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^dvto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^dwhis temple.

29 ^dx“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^dyEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^dzRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^eaproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^ebTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O ^ecproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
^edfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 ^eeThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
^efand I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^egThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^ehthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^eiTheir Redeemer is strong; ^ejthe Lord of hosts is his name. ^ekHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against ^elher officials and her ^emwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^enwarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all ^eothe foreign troops in her midst,
that ^epthey may become women!
^eqA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 ^erA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
^esFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 ^et“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 ^euAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^evso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 ^ew“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 ^ex“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^eycan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^ezthe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^faand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^fbSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^fcAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”

Jeremiah 51

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

1 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up ^fdthe spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, ^{▼▼A code name for Chaldea}
2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and ^ffthey shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
when they come against her from every side
^fgon the day of trouble.
3 ^fhLet not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
^fidevote to destruction ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)} all her army.
4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
^fkand wounded in her streets.
5 ^flFor Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
but the land of the Chaldeans ^{▼▼Hebrew their land} is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 ^fn“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
let every one save his life!
^foBe not cut off in her punishment,
^fpfor this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance,
the repayment he is rendering her.
7 Babylon was ^fqa golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
^frmaking all the earth drunken;
^fsthe nations drank of her wine;
therefore the nations went mad.
8 ^ftSuddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
^fuwail for her!
^fvTake balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon,
but she was not healed.
^fwForsake her, and ^fxlet us go
each to his own country,
for ^fyher judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10 ^fzThe Lord has brought about our vindication;
^gacome, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11 ^gb“Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!
^gcThe Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of ^gdthe Medes, because ^gehis purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, ^gffor that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for ^gghis temple.

12 ^gh“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
^gimake the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
prepare the ambushes;
^gjfor the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 ^gkO you who dwell by many waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come;
the thread of your life is cut.
14 ^glThe Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, ^gmas many as locusts,
^gnand they shall raise the shout of victory over you.
15 ^go“It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
17 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I ^gpbreak nations in pieces;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I break in pieces man and woman;
with you I break in pieces ^gqthe old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces ^grthe young man and the young woman;
23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
with you I break in pieces ^gsgovernors and commanders.
24 ^gt“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.

25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,

declares the Lord,
which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
^guand make you a burnt mountain.
26 No ^gvstone shall be taken from you for a corner
and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be ^gwa perpetual waste,
declares the Lord.
27 ^gx“Set up a standard on the earth;
^gyblow the trumpet among the nations;
^gzprepare ^hathe nations for war against her;
summon against her ^hbthe kingdoms,
^hcArarat, Minni, and ^hdAshkenaz;
appoint a ^hemarshal against her;
^hfbring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 ^hgPrepare ^hhthe nations for war against her,
the kings of ^hithe Medes, ^hjwith their governors ^hkand deputies,
and every ^hlland under their dominion.
29 ^hmThe land trembles and writhes in pain,
^hnfor the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
without inhabitant.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed;
^hothey have become women;
^hpher dwellings are on fire;
^hqher bars are broken.
31 One ^hrrunner runs to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
that his city is taken on every side;
32 the fords have been ^hsseized,
the marshes are burned with fire,
and the soldiers are in panic.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
^htThe daughter of Babylon is like ^hua threshing floor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and ^hvthe time of her harvest will come.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon ^hwhas devoured me;
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
^hxhe has swallowed me like ^hya monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
he has rinsed me out. ^{▼▼Or he has expelled me}
35 The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
let Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, ^iaI will plead your cause
and take vengeance for you.
^ibI will dry up her sea
and ^icmake her fountain dry,
37 and Babylon shall become ^ida heap of ruins,
^iethe haunt of jackals,
^ifa horror ^igand a hissing,
without inhabitant.
38 ^ih“They shall roar together ⁱⁱlike lions;
they shall growl like lions’ cubs.
39 ^ijWhile they are inflamed ^ikI will prepare them a feast
and ^ilmake them drunk, that they may become merry,
^imthen sleep a perpetual sleep
and not wake, declares the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and male goats.
41 “How ⁱⁿBabylon ^{▼▼Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon} is taken,
^ipthe praise of the whole earth ^iqseized!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
42 ^irThe sea has come up on Babylon;
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a horror,
^isa land of drought and a desert,
^ita land in which no one dwells,
and through which no son of man passes.
44 And I will punish ^iuBel in Babylon,
and ^ivtake out of his mouth ^iwwhat he has swallowed.
^ixThe nations shall no longer flow to him;
^iythe wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 “Go out of the midst of her, ^izmy people!
Let every one save his life
from ^jathe fierce anger of the Lord!
46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
^jbat the report heard in the land,
^jcwhen a report comes in one year
and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
^jdand ruler is against ruler.
47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when ^jeI will punish the images of Babylon;
^jfher whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 ^jgThen the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
^jhfor the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,

declares the Lord.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
^jijust as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50 ^jj“You who have escaped from the sword,
go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 ^jk‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
^jldishonor has covered our face,
^jmfor foreigners have come
into the holy places of the Lord’s house.’
52 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when ^jnI will execute judgment upon her images,
^joand through all her land
the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should ^jpmount up to heaven,
and though she should ^jqfortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
declares the Lord.
54 ^jr“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
and stilling her mighty voice.
^jsTheir waves roar like many waters;
the noise of their voice is raised,
56 for a destroyer has come upon her,
upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
their bows are broken in pieces,
^jtfor the Lord is a God of recompense;
he will surely repay.
57 ^juI will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
^jvher governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
declares ^jwthe King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad ^jxwall of Babylon
shall be leveled to the ground,
^jyand her high gates
shall be burned with fire.
^jzThe peoples labor for nothing,
and ^kathe nations weary themselves only for fire.”
59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah ^kbthe son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, ^kcin the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 ^kdJeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, ^keall these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so ^kfthat nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be ^kgdesolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, ^kh, ^kitie a stone to it ^kjand cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ^kk‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, ^kland they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.