Jeremiah 50 (New American Standard)

Prophecy against Babylon

1 The word which the LORD spoke concerning ¹Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet : 2 "²Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and ³lift up a standard. Do not conceal it but say, '⁴Babylon has been captured, ⁵Bel has been put to shame, ^aMarduk has been ^bshattered ; Her ⁶images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.' 3 "For a nation has come up against her out of the ⁷north ; it will make her land ⁸an object of horror, and there will be ⁹no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! 4 "In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah ¹⁰as well ; they will go along ¹¹weeping as they go, and it will be ¹²the LORD their God they will seek. 5 "They will ¹³ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces ^cin its direction ; ^dthey ^ewill come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an ¹⁴everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. 6 "My people have become ¹⁵lost sheep ; ¹⁶Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the ¹⁷mountains ; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their ¹⁸resting place. 7 "All who came upon them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, '¹⁹We are not guilty, Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the ²⁰habitation of righteousness, Even the LORD, the ²¹hope of their fathers.' 8 "Wander away from the ²²midst of Babylon And ^fgo forth from the land of the Chaldeans ; Be also like male goats ^gat the head of the flock. 9 "For behold, I am going to ²³arouse and bring up against Babylon A horde 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 ^han expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed. 10 "ⁱ²⁴Chaldea will become plunder ; All who plunder her will have enough," declares the LORD. 11 "Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, O you who ²⁵pillage My heritage, Because you skip about ^jlike a threshing ²⁶heifer And neigh like ^kstallions, 12 Your ²⁷mother ^lwill be greatly ashamed, She who gave you birth ^mwill be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, A ²⁸wilderness, a parched land and a desert. 13 "Because of the indignation of the LORD she will ²⁹not be inhabited, But she will be ³⁰completely desolate ; Everyone who passes by Babylon ³¹will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds. 14 "Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side, All you who ⁿbend the bow ; Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows, For she has ³²sinned against the LORD. 15 "Raise your battle cry against her on every side ! She has ³³given ^oherself up, her pillars have fallen, Her ³⁴walls have been torn down. For this is the ³⁵vengeance of the LORD : Take vengeance on her; ³⁶As she has done to others, so do to her. 16 "Cut off the ³⁷sower from Babylon And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest ; From before ^pthe ³⁸sword of the oppressor ³⁹They will each turn back to his own people And they will each flee to his own land. 17 "Israel is a ⁴⁰scattered ^qflock, the ⁴¹lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the ⁴²king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is ⁴³Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel : 'Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I ⁴⁴punished the king of Assyria. 19 'And I will ⁴⁵bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his ^rdesire will be satisfied in the ⁴⁶hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 'In those days and at that time,' declares the LORD, 'search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but ⁴⁷there will be none ; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found ; for I will pardon those ⁴⁸whom I leave as a remnant.' 21 "Against the land of ^sMerathaim, go up against it, And against the inhabitants of ^t49Pekod. Slay and ^uutterly destroy them," declares the LORD, "And do according to all that I have commanded you. 22 "The ⁵⁰noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction. 23 "How the ⁵¹hammer of the whole earth Has been cut off and broken ! How Babylon has become An object of horror among the nations ! 24 "I ⁵²set a snare for you and you were also ⁵³caught, O Babylon, While you yourself were not aware ; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in ⁵⁴conflict with the LORD." 25 The LORD has opened His armory And has brought forth the ⁵⁵weapons of His indignation, For it is a ⁵⁶work of the Lord ^vGOD of hosts In the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come to her from the ^wfarthest border ; ⁵⁷Open up her barns, Pile her up like heaps And ^x58utterly destroy her, Let nothing be left to her. 27 ⁵⁹Put all her young bulls to the sword ; Let them ⁶⁰go down to the slaughter ! Woe be upon them, for their ⁶¹day has come, The time of their punishment. 28 There is a ⁶²sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the ⁶³vengeance of the LORD our God, Vengeance for His ⁶⁴temple. 29 "Summon ^ymany against Babylon, All those who ^zbend the bow : Encamp against her on every side, Let there be no escape ^aa. Repay her according to her work ; ⁶⁵According to all that she has done, so do to her; For she has become ⁶⁶arrogant against the LORD, Against the Holy One of Israel. 30 "Therefore her ⁶⁷young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will be ^bb68silenced in that day," declares the LORD. 31 "Behold, ⁶⁹I am against you, O ^ccarrogant one," Declares the Lord ^ddGOD of hosts, "For your day has come, The time ^eewhen I will punish you. 32 "The ^ff70arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will ⁷¹set fire to his cities And it will devour all his environs." 33 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well ; And ⁷²all who took them captive have held them fast, They have refused to let them go. 34 "Their ⁷³Redeemer is strong, ⁷⁴the LORD of hosts is His name ; He will vigorously ⁷⁵plead their case So that He may ⁷⁶bring rest to ^ggthe earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 "A ⁷⁷sword against the Chaldeans," declares the LORD, "And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her ⁷⁸officials and her ⁷⁹wise men ! 36 "A sword against the ⁸⁰oracle priests, and they will become fools ! A sword against her ⁸¹mighty men, and they will be ^hh82shattered ! 37 "A sword against ⁱⁱtheir ⁸³horses and against ^jjtheir chariots And against all the ^kk84foreigners who are in the midst of her, And they will become ⁸⁵women ! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered ! 38 "A ^ll86drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of ⁸⁷idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols. 39 "Therefore the ⁸⁸desert creatures will live there along with the jackals ; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will ⁸⁹never again be inhabited Or dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 "As when God overthrew ⁹⁰Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD, "No man will live there, Nor will any son of man reside in it. 41 "Behold, a people is coming ⁹¹from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. 42 "They ⁹²seize their bow and javelin ; They are ⁹³cruel and have no mercy. Their ⁹⁴voice roars like the sea ; And they ride on ⁹⁵horses, ⁹⁶Marshalled like a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Babylon. 43 "The ⁹⁷king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp ; ⁹⁸Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth. 44 "⁹⁹Behold, one will come up like a lion from the ^mmthicket of the Jordan to ⁿⁿa perennially watered pasture ; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is ¹⁰⁰chosen I will appoint over it. For who is ¹⁰¹like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can ¹⁰²stand before Me?" 45 Therefore hear the ¹⁰³plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans : ¹⁰⁴surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock ; surely He will make their ^oopasture desolate because of them. 46 At the ^ppshout, "Babylon has been seized !" the ¹⁰⁵earth is shaken, and an ¹⁰⁶outcry is heard among the nations.