Jer 2, Jer 50 | ESV | STEP | The word of the Lord came to me, saying ,

1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^ayour youth,
your love ^bas a bride,
^chow you followed me in the wilderness,
^din a land not sown.
3 ^eIsrael was holy to the Lord,
^fthe firstfruits of his harvest.
^gAll who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:

^h“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
ⁱand went after ^jworthlessness, and became worthless?
6 They did not say, ^k‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^lin the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
7 ^mAnd I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ⁿyou defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
^oThose who handle the law did not know me;
^pthe shepherds ^{▼▼Or rulers} transgressed against me;
^rthe prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after ^sthings that do not profit.
9 “Therefore ^tI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,
and ^uwith your children’s children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of ^vCyprus and see,
or send to ^wKedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 ^xHas a nation changed its gods,
^yeven though they are no gods?
But my people ^zhave changed their glory
for ^aathat which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, ^abO heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
^acthey have forsaken ^adme,
the fountain of ^aeliving waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 ^af“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 ^agThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, ^ahwithout inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of ^aiMemphis and ^ajTahpanhes
^akhave shaved ^{▼▼Hebrew grazed} the crown of your head.
17 ^amHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when ^anhe led you in the way?
18 ^aoAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of ^apthe Nile?
^aqOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of ^arthe Euphrates? ^{▼▼Hebrew the River}
19 ^atYour evil will chastise you,
and ^auyour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^avbitter
for ^awyou to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For long ago I ^axbroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ^ay‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^azon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down ^balike a whore.
21 ^bbYet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
^bcHow then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
^bdthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.
23 ^beHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way ^bfin the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 ^bga wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25 Keep ^bhyour feet from going unshod
and ^biyour throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
^bjfor I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’
26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
^bkthey, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
But ^blin the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
28 But ^bmwhere are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, ^bnif they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for ^boas many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,

declares the Lord.
30 In vain have I ^bpstruck your children;
they took no correction;
^bqyour own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?
32 ^brCan a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet ^bsmy people have forgotten me
days without number.
33 “How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
^btthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them ^bubreaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
^bvBehold, I will bring you to judgment
for ^bwsaying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 ^bxHow much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be ^byput to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 From it too you will come away
with ^bzyour hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.

Jeremiah 50

Judgment on Babylon

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

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

4 ^ci“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^cjthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^ckweeping as they come, and they ^clshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ^cmThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^cnsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^coeverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

6 ^cp“My people have been lost sheep. ^cqTheir 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, ^crand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^csthey have sinned against the Lord, ^cttheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^cuthe hope of their fathers.’

8 ^cv“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^cwand 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 ^cxa 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 ^cyChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

11 ^cz“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,
^daa wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 ^dbBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
^dceveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
^ddand hiss because of all her wounds.
14 ^deSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
^dfall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
^dgfor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 ^dhRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
^diher walls are thrown down.
For ^djthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
^dkdo to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^dlbecause of the sword of the oppressor,
^dmevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 ^dn“Israel is a hunted sheep ^dodriven away by lions. ^dpFirst the king of Assyria ^dqdevoured him, and now at last ^drNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^dshas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^dtI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^duas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^dvI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^dwhe shall feed on ^dxCarmel and in ^dyBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^dzGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^eainiquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^ebI 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, ^eeand 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 ^egThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 ^ehHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
^eiHow Babylon ^ejhas become
a horror among the nations!
24 ^ekI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and ^elyou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out ^emthe 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;
^enpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all ^eoher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
^epthe time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They ^eqflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^erto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^eshis temple.

29 ^et“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^euEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^evRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^ewproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^exTherefore 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 ^eyproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
^ezfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 ^faThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
^fband I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^fcThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^fdthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^feTheir Redeemer is strong; ^ffthe Lord of hosts is his name. ^fgHe 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 ^fhher officials and her ^fiwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^fjwarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all ^fkthe foreign troops in her midst,
that ^flthey may become women!
^fmA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 ^fnA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
^foFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 ^fp“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 ^fqAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^frso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 ^fs“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 ^ft“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 ^fucan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^fvthe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^fwand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^fxSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^fyAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”