Jeremiah 50

1 This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:

2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’

3 For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”

4 “In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.

5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

6 My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

7 All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

8 Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.

9 For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.

10 Chaldea will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,” declares the LORD.

11 “Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,

12 your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who bore you will be disgraced. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.

14 Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.

15 Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.

17 Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

18 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.

19 I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.

22 “The noise of battle is in the land—the noise of great destruction.

23 How the hammer of the whole earth lies broken and shattered! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!

24 I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.

25 The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the farthest border. Break open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain. Devote her to destruction; leave her no survivors.

27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.

28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.

29 Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.

32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.”

33 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.

34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

35 A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.

36 A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.

37 A sword is against her horses and chariots and against all the foreigners in her midst, and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered.

38 A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.

39 So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.

40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.

41 Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.

42 They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

44 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

45 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.

1 ¶ The word that the LORD spake against Babylon [and] against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, [and] conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

4 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.

5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, [saying], Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant [that] shall not be forgotten.

6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away [on] the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.

8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.

9 ¶ For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows [shall be] as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.

10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.

11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;

12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations [shall be] a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD.

15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it [is] the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

17 Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

18 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and [there shall be] none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.

21 ¶ Go up against the land of Merathaim, [even] against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22 A sound of battle [is] in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD.

25 The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this [is] the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.

27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD.

31 Behold, I [am] against thee, [O thou] most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time [that] I will visit thee.

32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.

33 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah [were] oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer [is] strong; the LORD of hosts [is] his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword [is] upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise [men].

36 A sword [is] upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword [is] upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.

37 A sword [is] upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that [are] in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword [is] upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.

38 A drought [is] upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it [is] the land of graven images, and they are mad upon [their] idols.

39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD; [so] shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that shepherd that will stand before me?

45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make [their] habitation desolate with them.

46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

1 This is the word which the LORD spake by Jeremiah the prophet against Babylon, and against the land of the Chaldeans:

2 Proclaim among the heathen, and let it be heard; lift up a banner. Let it be heard, and hide it not, saying, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken, her idols are confounded, and her gods are broken.

3 For a people shall come up against them from the north, and shall make their land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: and they shall flee away, both men and cattle.

4 In those days and at that time, saith the LORD, shall the children of Israel come with the children of Judah, weeping, and seeking the LORD their God.

5 They shall seek the way to Zion, and there shall they turn: Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD with an everlasting covenant, which shall never be forgotten.

6 For my people are as a lost flock: their shepherds have deceived them, and caused them to go astray upon the mountains, and they have gone from mountains to hills, and have forgotten their obstacles.

7 All that they met with they devoured: and their enemies said: We do not wrong, because they have sinned against the LORD in the tabernacle of righteousness, and against the LORD, which is the hope of their fathers.

8 Flee from Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and stand as goats before the flock.

9 For, behold, I will raise up great nations with multitudes out of the land toward the north, and will bring them up against Babylon, and they shall arm themselves against them, and they shall prevail against them: his arrows are as the arrows of a good warrior that faileth not.

10 And the land of the Chaldeans shall be a spoil; and all they that spoil it shall have enough of it, saith the LORD,

11 Therefore rejoice ye, and boast that ye have plundered my inheritance, and leech like the horny calves, and neigh like the strong horses.

12 Your mother standeth with great shame, and she that bare you is a mockery: behold, she is the least among the heathen, desolate, barren, and waste.

13 For before the wrath of the LORD it shall be uninhabited, and utterly desolate: and all that pass over before Babylon shall marvel and whistle at all the plague thereof.

14 Set yourselves about against Babylon, all ye archers; shoot into her, spare not the arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD.

15 Rejoice over her round about; she shall give herself up: her foundations are fallen, her walls are broken down: for this is the LORD'S vengeance. Take vengeance upon her; do unto her as she hath done.

16 Cut off from Babylon both the sower and the reaper of the harvest, that they may turn every man to his own people before the sword of the tyrant, and that they may flee every man to his own land.

17 Israel hath been a scattered flock, which the lions have driven away. First the king of Assyria devoured them, and afterward Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon overcame them.

18 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon, and his land, as I visited the king of Assyria.

19 And I will bring Israel again unto his habitation, and they shall feed in Carmel and Bashan, and their soul shall be satisfied in mount Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In that day and time shall the iniquity of Israel be sought, saith the LORD, but there shall be none: and the sin of Judah, but there shall be none found: for I will forgive them of them that remain.

21 Send up against the land that hath made all things bitter; send up against the inhabitants of the visitation; devastate and banish their seed, saith the LORD, and do all that I have commanded thee.

22 There is a cry of war in the land, and great lamentation.

23 How is it that the hammer of the whole world is broken and shattered? How is it that Babylon is become a desolation among all the nations?

24 I have delivered thee, O Babylon; therefore thou art taken before thou knowest: thou art smitten and taken, because thou hast trespassed against the LORD.

25 The LORD hath opened his treasure, and brought forth the weapons of his wrath: for the LORD of hosts hath shewed it in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come up against her, ye of the end, open her granaries, cast them into a heap, and banish her, that nothing be left unto her.

27 Slay all their oxen, bring them down to the slaughter. Woe unto them! For the day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The cry of the fugitives, and of them that escape out of the land of Babylon, is heard, that they may declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, and the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call many against Babylon, besiege her round about, all the archers, and let none escape: repay her according to her deserts; as she hath done, so do ye again. For she has acted proudly against the LORD, the Holy One of Israel,

30 Therefore their young men shall fall in their streets, and all their men of war shall perish in that day, saith the LORD:

31 Behold, thou proud one, I will be with thee, saith the LORD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time of thy visitation.

32 And the proud man shall fall, and fall down, and no man shall lift him up: and I will set his cities on fire, and it shall devour all that is round about him.

33 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, the children of Israel, and the children of Judah, suffer violence and wrong: all that carried them away captive hold them, and will not let them go.

34 But their Redeemer is strong, whose name is the LORD of hosts: he shall accomplish their cause, and shall make the land to shake, and the inhabitants of Babylon to tremble.

35 The sword shall come, saith the LORD, upon the Chaldeans, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon their princes, and upon their wise men.

36 The sword shall come upon their diviners, and they shall become fools. A sword shall come upon their mighty men, and they shall despair.

37 And the sword shall come upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the people that are therein, and they shall become women. The sword shall come upon their treasures, and they shall be spoiled.

38 Dryness shall come upon their waters, and they shall be dried up: for it is an idolatrous land, and they defy their abominable idols.

39 Therefore the great beasts and the fowls shall dwell therein, and the young ostriches: it shall never be inhabited, neither shall any man dwell therein for ever,

40 As God turned back Sodom and Gomorrah with their neighbours, saith the LORD, that no man dwelleth therein, neither dwelleth therein.

41 Behold, a people cometh from the north: many nations and many kings shall arise from the side of the land.

42 They have bows and shields, they are cruel and ruthless; their shout is like the roar of the sea; they ride upon horses, armed as men of war against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43 When the king of Babylon heareth of their tidings, his fists shall fall out: he shall be as afraid as a woman in childbearing.

44 Behold, he cometh up as a lion from the proud Jordan against the strong holds: for there will I make him to run in haste. And who knoweth who the young man is, whom I will prepare against them? For who is like unto me? Who will master me, and who is the shepherd that can withstand me?

45 Hear therefore the counsel of the LORD, which he hath concerning Babylon, and the thoughts which he hath concerning the inhabitants of the land of the Chaldeans. What matter if the shepherds drag them, and destroy their habitation?

46 And the earth shall shake with the cry, and shall resound among the nations, when Babylon shall be won.