Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof, who have lifted up their heart against me.
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Thus says the Lord: I am going to stir up a destructive wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants of Leb-qamai;
2 And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the day of her affliction.
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and I will send winnowers to Babylon, and they shall winnow her. They shall empty her land when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble.
3 Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not him go up that is armed with a coat of mail: spare not her young men, destroy all her army.
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Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not array himself in his coat of mail. Do not spare her young men; utterly destroy her entire army.
4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the regions thereof.
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They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets.
5 For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord of hosts: but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
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Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved.
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Flee from the midst of Babylon, save your lives, each of you! Do not perish because of her guilt, for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he is repaying her what is due.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore they have staggered.
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Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine, and so the nations went mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
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Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is shattered; wail for her! Bring balm for her wound; perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed: let us forsake her, and let us go every man to his own land: because her judgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the clouds.
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We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Forsake her, and let each of us go to our own country; for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brought forth our justices: Come, and let us declare in Sion the work of the Lord our God.
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The Lord has brought forth our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.
11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: and his mind is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
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Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his temple.
12 Upon the walls of Babylon set up the standard, strengthen the watch: set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
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Raise a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; post sentinels; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy end is come for thy entire destruction.
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You who live by mighty waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the thread of your life is cut.
14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying: I will fill thee with men as with locusts, and they shall lift up a joyful shout against thee.
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The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with troops like a swarm of locusts, and they shall raise a shout of victory over you.
15 He that made the earth by his power, that hath prepared the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
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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 uttereth his voice the waters are multiplied in heaven: he lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth, he hath turned lightning into rain: and hath brought forth the wind out of his treasures.
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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 lightnings for the rain, and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
17 Every man is become foolish by his knowledge: every founder is confounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
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Everyone is stupid and without knowledge; goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols; for their images are false, and there is no breath in them.
18 They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he that made all things he it is, and Israel is the sceptre of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
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Not like these is the Lord, 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 Thou dashest together for me the weapons of war, and with thee I will dash nations together, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms:
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You are my war club, my weapon of battle: with you I smash nations; with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 And with thee I will break in pieces the horse, and his rider, and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot, and him that getteth up into it:
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with you I smash the horse and its rider; with you I smash the chariot and the charioteer;
22 And with thee I will break in pieces man and woman, and with thee I will break in pieces the old man and the child, and with thee I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin:
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with you I smash man and woman; with you I smash the old man and the boy; with you I smash the young man and the girl;
23 And with thee I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, and with thee I will break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, and with thee I will break in pieces captains and rulers.
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with you I smash shepherds and their flocks; with you I smash farmers and their teams; with you I smash governors and deputies.
24 And I will render to Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil, that they have done in Sion, before your eyes, saith the Lord.
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I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the wrong that they have done in Zion, says the Lord.
25 Behold I come against thee, thou destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which corruptest the whole earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
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I am against you, O destroying mountain, says the Lord, that destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burned-out mountain.
26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for the corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for ever, saith the Lord.
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No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, says the Lord.
27 Set ye up a standard in the land: sound with the trumpet among the nations: prepare the nations against her: call together against her the kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez: number Taphsar against her, bring the horse as the stinging locust.
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Raise a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her, summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her, bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.
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Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion.
29 And the land shall be in a commotion, and shall be troubled: for the design of the Lord against Babylon shall awake, to make the land of Babylon desert and uninhabitable.
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The land trembles and writhes, for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 The valiant men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have dwelt in holds: their strength hath failed, and they are become as women: her dwelling places are burnt, her bars are broken.
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The warriors of Babylon have given up fighting, they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed, they have become women; her buildings are set on fire, her bars are broken.
31 One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet messenger: to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one end to the other:
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One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end:
32 And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
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the fords have been seized, the marshes have been burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic.
33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a thrashingfloor, this is the time of her thrashing: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
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For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.
34 Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath eaten me up, he hath devoured me: he hath made me as an empty vessel: he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicate meats, and he hath cast me out.
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"King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his belly with my delicacies, he has spewed me out.
35 The wrong done to me, and my flesh be upon Babylon, saith the habitation of Sion: and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, saith Jerusalem.
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May my torn flesh be avenged on Babylon," the inhabitants of Zion shall say. "May my blood be avenged on the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem shall say.
36 Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will judge thy cause, and will take vengeance for thee, and I will make her sea desolate, I and will dry up her spring.
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Therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to defend your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry;
37 And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
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and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a den of jackals, an object of horror and of hissing, without inhabitant.
38 They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
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Like lions they shall roar together; they shall growl like lions' whelps.
39 In their heat I will set them drink: and I will make them drunk, that they may slumber, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and awake no more, saith the Lord.
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When they are inflamed, I will set out their drink and make them drunk, until they become merry and then sleep a perpetual sleep and never wake, says the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with kids.
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I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.
41 How is Sesach taken, and the renowned one of all the earth surprised? How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?
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How Sheshach is taken, the pride of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42 The sea is come up over Babylon:she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
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The sea has risen over Babylon; she has been covered by its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities are become an astonishment, a land uninhabited and desolate, a land wherein none can dwell, nor son of man pass through it.
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Her cities have become an object of horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one lives, and through which no mortal passes.
44 And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he had swallowed down: and the nations shall no more flow together to him, for the wall also of Babylon shall fall.
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I will punish Bel in Babylon, and make him disgorge what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer stream to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 Go out of the midst of her, my people: that every man may save his life from the fierce wrath of the Lord.
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Come out of her, my people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the Lord!
46 And lest your hearts faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land: and a rumour shall come in one year, and after this year another rumour: and iniquity in the land, and ruler upon ruler.
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Do not be fainthearted or fearful at the rumors heard in the land— one year one rumor comes, the next year another, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore behold the days come, and I will visit the idols of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
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Assuredly, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in her midst.
48 And the heavens and the earth, and all things that are in them shall give praise for Babylon: for spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the Lord.
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Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall shout for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, says the Lord.
49 And as Babylon caused that there should fall slain in Israel: so of Babylon there shall fall slain in all the earth.
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Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
50 You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
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You survivors of the sword, go, do not linger! Remember the Lord in a distant land, and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: because strangers are come upon the sanctuaries of the house of the Lord.
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We are put to shame, for we have heard insults; dishonor has covered our face, for aliens have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.
52 Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit her graven things, and in all her land the wounded shall groan:
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Therefore the time is surely coming, says the Lord, when I will punish her idols, and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53 If Babylon should mount up to heaven, and establish her strength on high: from me there should come spoilers upon her, saith the Lord.
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Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, from me destroyers would come upon her, says the Lord.
54 The noise of a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
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Listen!—a cry from Babylon! A great crashing from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 Because the Lord hath laid Babylon waste, and destroyed out of her the great voice: and their wave shall roar like many waters: their voice hath made a noise:
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For the Lord is laying Babylon waste, and stilling her loud clamor. Their waves roar like mighty waters, the sound of their clamor resounds;
56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, that is, upon Babylon, and her valiant men are taken, and their bow is weakened, because the Lord, who is a strong revenger, will surely repay.
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for a destroyer has come against her, against Babylon; her warriors are taken, their bows are broken; for the Lord is a God of recompense, he will repay in full.
57 And I will make her princes drunk, and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: and they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the king whose name is Lord of hosts.
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I will make her officials and her sages drunk, also her governors, her deputies, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and never wake, says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: That broad wall of Babylon shall be utterly broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire, and the labours of the people shall come to nothing, and of the nations shall go to the fire, and shall perish.
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Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire.
59 The word that Jeremias the prophet commanded Saraias the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, when he went with king Sedecias to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign: now Saraias was chief over the prophecy.
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The word that the prophet Jeremiah commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster.
60 And Jeremias wrote in one book all the evil that was to come upon Babylon: all these words that are written against Babylon.
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Jeremiah wrote in a scroll all the disasters that would come on Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon.
61 And Jeremias said to Saraias: When thou shalt come into Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words,
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And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words,
62 Thou shalt say: O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to destroy it: so that there should be neither man nor beast to dwell therein, and that it should be desolate for ever.
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and say, "O Lord, you yourself threatened to destroy this place so that neither human beings nor animals shall live in it, and it shall be desolate forever.'
63 And when thou shalt have made an end of reading this book, thou shalt tie a stone to it, and shalt throw it into the midst of the Euphrates:
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When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it, and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,
64 And thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and she shall not rise up from the affliction that I will bring upon her, and she shall be utterly destroyed. Thus far are the words of Jeremias.
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and say, "Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disasters that I am bringing on her.' " Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.