Category: Jeremiah

[50:1] This is the message that the Lord gave me about the city of Babylon and its people:

[50:2] “Tell the news to the nations! Proclaim it! Give the signal and announce the news! Do not keep it a secret! Babylon has fallen! Her god Marduk has been shattered! Babylon's idols are put to shame; her disgusting images are crushed!

[50:3] “A nation from the north has come to attack Babylonia and will make it a desert. People and animals will run away, and no one will live there.”

[50:4] The Lord says, “When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God.

[50:5] They will ask the way to Zion and then go in that direction. They will make an eternal covenant with me and never break it.

[50:6] “My people are like sheep whose shepherds have let them get lost in the mountains. They have wandered like sheep from one mountain to another, and they have forgotten where their home is.

[50:7] They are attacked by all who find them. Their enemies say, ‘They sinned against the Lord, and so what we have done is not wrong. Their ancestors trusted in the Lord, and they themselves should have remained faithful to him.’

[50:8] “People of Israel, run away from Babylonia! Leave the country! Be the first to leave!

[50:9] I am going to stir up a group of strong nations in the north and make them attack Babylonia. They will line up in battle against the country and conquer it. They are skillful hunters, shooting arrows that never miss the mark.

[50:10] Babylonia will be looted, and those who loot it will take everything they want. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[50:11] The Lord says, “People of Babylonia, you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad, going about like a cow threshing grain or like a neighing horse,

[50:12] but your own great city will be humiliated and disgraced. Babylonia will be the least important nation of all; it will become a dry and waterless desert.

[50:13] Because of my anger no one will live in Babylon; it will be left in ruins, and all who pass by will be shocked and amazed.

[50:14] “Archers, line up for battle against Babylon and surround it. Shoot all your arrows at Babylon, because it has sinned against me, the Lord.

[50:15] Raise the war cry all around the city! Now Babylon has surrendered. Its walls have been broken through and torn down. I am taking my revenge on the Babylonians. So take your revenge on them, and treat them as they have treated others.

[50:16] Do not let seeds be planted in that country nor let a harvest be gathered. Every foreigner living there will be afraid of the attacking army and will go back home.”

[50:17] The Lord says, “The people of Israel are like sheep, chased and scattered by lions. First, they were attacked by the emperor of Assyria, and then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia gnawed on their bones.

[50:18] Because of this, I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will punish King Nebuchadnezzar and his country, just as I punished the emperor of Assyria.

[50:19] I will restore the people of Israel to their land. They will eat the food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the region of Bashan, and they will eat all they want of the crops that grow in the territories of Ephraim and Gilead.

[50:20] When that time comes, no sin will be found in Israel and no wickedness in Judah, because I will forgive those people whose lives I have spared. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[50:21] The Lord says, “Attack the people of Merathaim and of Pekod. Kill and destroy them. Do everything I command you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[50:22] The noise of battle is heard in the land, and there is great destruction.

[50:23] Babylonia hammered the whole world to pieces, and now that hammer is shattered! All the nations are shocked at what has happened to that country.

[50:24] Babylonia, you fought against me, and you have been caught in the trap I set for you, even though you did not know it.

[50:25] I have opened the place where my weapons are stored, and in my anger I have taken them out, because I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have work to do in Babylonia.

[50:26] Attack it from every side and break open the places where its grain is stored! Pile up the loot like piles of grain! Destroy the country! Leave nothing at all!

[50:27] Kill all their soldiers! Slaughter them! The people of Babylonia are doomed! The time has come for them to be punished!” (

[50:28] Refugees escape from Babylonia and come to Jerusalem, and they tell how the Lord our God took revenge for what the Babylonians had done to his Temple.)

[50:29] “Tell the archers to attack Babylon. Send out everyone who knows how to use the bow and arrow. Surround the city and don't let anyone escape. Pay it back for all it has done, and treat it as it has treated others, because it acted with pride against me, the Holy One of Israel.

[50:30] So its young men will be killed in the city streets, and all its soldiers will be destroyed on that day. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[50:31] “Babylonia, you are filled with pride, so I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, am against you! The time has come for me to punish you.

[50:32] Your proud nation will stumble and fall, and no one will help you up. I will set your cities on fire, and everything around will be destroyed.”

[50:33] The Lord Almighty says, “The people of Israel and of Judah are oppressed. All who captured them are guarding them closely and will not let them go.

[50:34] But the one who will rescue them is strong—his name is the Lord Almighty. He himself will take up their cause and will bring peace to the earth, but trouble to the people of Babylonia.”

[50:35] The Lord says, “Death to Babylonia! Death to its people, to its rulers, to its people of wisdom.

[50:36] Death to its lying prophets— what fools they are! Death to its soldiers— how terrified they are!

[50:37] Destroy its horses and chariots! Death to its hired soldiers— how weak they are! Destroy its treasures; plunder and loot.

[50:38] Bring a drought on its land and dry up its rivers. Babylonia is a land of terrifying idols that have made fools of the people.

[50:39] “And so Babylon will be haunted by demons and evil spirits, and by unclean birds. Never again will people live there, not for all time to come.

[50:40] The same thing will happen to Babylon that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when I destroyed them and the nearby towns. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[50:41] “People are coming from a country in the north, a mighty nation far away; many kings are preparing for war.

[50:42] They have taken their bows and swords; they are cruel and merciless. They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride their horses. They are ready for battle against Babylonia.

[50:43] The king of Babylonia hears the news, and his hands hang limp. He is seized by anguish, by pain like a woman in labor.

[50:44] “Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I, the Lord, will come and make the Babylonians run away suddenly from their city. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?

[50:45] So listen to the plan that I have made against the city of Babylon and to what I intend to do to its people. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.

[50:46] When Babylon falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard by the other nations.”

[51:1] The Lord says, “I am bringing a destructive wind against Babylonia and its people.

[51:2] I will send foreigners to destroy Babylonia like a wind that blows straw away. When that day of destruction comes, they will attack from every side and leave the land bare.

[51:3] Don't give its soldiers time to shoot their arrows or to put on their armor. Do not spare the young men! Destroy the whole army!

[51:4] They will be wounded and die in the streets of their cities.

[51:5] I, the Lord God Almighty, have not abandoned Israel and Judah, even though they have sinned against me, the Holy One of Israel.

[51:6] Run away from Babylonia! Run for your lives! Do not be killed because of Babylonia's sin. I am now taking my revenge and punishing it as it deserves.

[51:7] Babylonia was like a gold cup in my hand, making the whole world drunk. The nations drank its wine and went out of their minds.

[51:8] Babylonia has suddenly fallen and is destroyed! Mourn over it! Get medicine for its wounds, and maybe it can be healed.

[51:9] Foreigners living there said, ‘We tried to help Babylonia, but it was too late. Let's leave now and go back home. God has punished Babylonia with all his might and has destroyed it completely.’”

[51:10] The Lord says, “My people shout, ‘The Lord has shown that we are in the right. Let's go and tell the people in Jerusalem what the Lord our God has done.’”

[51:11] The Lord has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylonia. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command, “Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready!

[51:12] Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush!” The Lord has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylonia.

[51:13] That country has many rivers and rich treasures, but its time is up, and its thread of life is cut.

[51:14] The Lord Almighty has sworn by his own life that he will bring many men to attack Babylonia like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory.

[51:15] The Lord made the earth by his power; by his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens.

[51:16] At his command the waters above the sky roar; he brings clouds from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning flash in the rain and sends the wind from his storeroom.

[51:17] At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless; those who make idols are disillusioned because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

[51:18] They are worthless and should be despised; they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.

[51:19] The God of Jacob is not like them; he is the one who made everything, and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people. The Lord Almighty is his name.

[51:20] The Lord says, “Babylonia, you are my hammer, my weapon of war. I used you to crush nations and kingdoms,

[51:21] to shatter horses and riders, to shatter chariots and their drivers,

[51:22] to kill men and women, to slay old and young, to kill boys and girls,

[51:23] to slaughter shepherds and their flocks, to slaughter farmers and their plow horses, to crush rulers and high officials.”

[51:24] The Lord says, “You will see me repay Babylonia and its people for all the evil they did to Jerusalem.

[51:25] Babylonia, you are like a mountain that destroys the whole world, but I, the Lord, am your enemy. I will take hold of you, level you to the ground, and leave you in ashes.

[51:26] None of the stones from your ruins will ever be used again for building. You will be like a desert forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.

[51:27] “Give the signal to attack! Blow the trumpet so that the nations can hear! Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia! Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack. Appoint an officer to lead the attack. Bring up the horses like a swarm of locusts.

[51:28] Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia. Send for the kings of Media, their leaders and officials, and the armies of all the countries they control.

[51:29] The earth trembles and shakes because the Lord is carrying out his plan to make Babylonia a desert, where no one lives.

[51:30] The Babylonian soldiers have stopped fighting and remain in their forts. They have lost their courage and have become helpless. The city gates are broken down, and the houses are on fire.

[51:31] Messenger after messenger runs to tell the king of Babylonia that his city has been broken into from every side.

[51:32] The enemy have captured the river crossing and have set the fortresses on fire. The Babylonian soldiers have panicked.

[51:33] Soon the enemy will cut them down and trample them like grain on a threshing place. I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, have spoken.”

[51:34] The king of Babylonia cut Jerusalem up and ate it. He emptied the city like a jar; like a monster he swallowed it. He took what he wanted and threw the rest away.

[51:35] Let the people of Zion say, “May Babylonia be held responsible for the violence done to us!” Let the people of Jerusalem say, “May Babylonia be held responsible for what we have suffered!”

[51:36] And so the Lord said to the people of Jerusalem, “I will take up your cause and will make your enemies pay for what they did to you. I will dry up the source of Babylonia's water and make its rivers go dry.

[51:37] That country will become a pile of ruins where wild animals live. It will be a horrible sight; no one will live there, and all who see it will be terrified.

[51:38] The Babylonians all roar like lions and growl like lion cubs.

[51:39] Are they greedy? I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk and happy. They will go to sleep and never wake up.

[51:40] I will take them to be slaughtered, like lambs, goats, and rams. I, the Lord, have spoken.”