1 Word Against Babylon The word which Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare and makeitheard among the nations.Makeitheard and lift up a standard.Do not concealit butsay,‘Babylon has been captured;Bel has been put to shame; 50:2Heb Merodach Marduk has been 50:2Or dismayed shattered;Her images have been put to shame; her idols have been shattered.’
3 For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off; they have gone away!
4 “In those days and at that time,” declares Yahweh, “the sons of Israel will come,boththey and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be Yahweh their God they will seek.
5 They will ask for the way to Zion—turningtheir faces 50:5Lit hither in its directionand saying, ‘ 50:5Gr they will come and join themselves Come!’—in order that they may join themselves to Yahwehinan everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
6 ¶“My people have become lost sheep;Their shepherds have led them astray.They have made them turn awayonthe mountains;They have gone along from mountain to hillAnd have forgotten their resting place.
7 “All who came out against them have devoured them;And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,Inasmuch as they have sinned against Yahweh,who isthe abode of righteousness,Even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.’
8 ¶“Wander away from the midst of BabylonAnd 50:8Or let them go forth go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;Be also like male goats 50:8Or in front of at the head of the flock.
9 “For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against BabylonAn assembly of great nations from the land of the north,And they will arrangetheirbattle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like 50:9Some mss and versions an expert warrior a warrior who makesonechildlessWho does not return empty-handed.
10 “ 50:10Or The Chaldeans Chaldea will become spoil;All who take her spoil will have enough,” declares Yahweh.
11 ¶“Because you are glad, because you exult,O you who plunder My inheritance,Because you skip about 50:11Or in the grass like a threshing heiferAnd neigh like 50:11Lit mighty ones valiant steeds,
12 Your mother 50:12Or has become will be greatly ashamed;She who gave you birth 50:12Or has become will be humiliated.Behold,she will bethe least of the nations,A wilderness, a parched land, and a desert.
13 “Because of the wrath of Yahweh she will not be inhabited,But she will be completely desolate;Everyone who passes by Babylon will be in desolationAnd will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 “Arrange your battle lines against Babylon on every side,All you who 50:14Lit tread (in order to string) bend the bow;Shoot at her, do not be sparing withyourarrows,For she has sinned against Yahweh.
15 “Raise a loud shout against her on every side!She has given 50:15Lit her hand herself up, her pillars have fallen,Her walls have been pulled down.For this is the vengeance of Yahweh:Take vengeance on her;As she has doneto others,sodo to her.
16 “Cut off the sower from BabylonAnd the one who seizes the sickle at the time of harvest;From before 50:16Or the oppressing sword the sword of the oppressorThey will each turn back to his own people,And they will each flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is a scattered 50:17Lit sheep flock; the lions have banishedthemaway. The first onewhodevoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last onewhohas broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
18 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will 50:19Or restore return Israel back to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his 50:19Lit soul desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time,’ declares Yahweh, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’
21 ¶“Against the land of 50:21Lit double rebellion Merathaim, go up against it,And against the inhabitants of 50:21Lit punishment Pekod.Putthemto the sword and 50:21Lit put under the ban devote them to destruction,” declares Yahweh,“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 “The noise of battle is in the land,And great destruction.
23 “How the hammer of the whole earthHas been cut in pieces and broken!How Babylon has becomeAn object of horror among the nations!
24 “I set a snare for you, and you were also caught, O Babylon,But you yourself did not know;You have been found and also seizedBecause you have engaged in conflict with Yahweh.”
25 Yahweh has opened His armoryAnd has brought forth the weapons of His indignation,For it is a work of Lord Yahweh of hostsIn the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from the 50:26Lit end farthest border;Open up her barns;Pile her up like heaps,And 50:26Or put her under the ban devote her to destruction;Let nothing of her remain.
27 Put all her young bulls to the sword;Let them go down to the slaughter!Woe be upon them, for their day has come,The time of their punishment.
28 ¶There is a sound of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,To declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,Vengeance for His temple.
29 ¶“Summon 50:29Or archers many against Babylon,All those who 50:29Lit tread (in order to string) bend the bow:Encamp against her on every side,Let there be no escape 50:29Some mss add to her .Repay her according to her work;According to all that she has done,sodo to her;For she has become arrogant against Yahweh,Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 “Therefore her young men will fall in her open squares,And all her men of war will be 50:30Or made lifeless, destroyed silenced in that day,” declares Yahweh.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O 50:31Lit arrogance arrogant one,”Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts,“For your day has come,The time 50:31Or of your punishment when I will punish you.
32 “The 50:32Lit arrogance arrogant one will stumble and fallWith no one to raise him up;And I will set fire to his cities,And it will devour him on every side.”
33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,“The sons of Israel are oppressed,And the sons of Judah as well;And all who took them captive have held them fast;They have refused to let them go.
34 “Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts is His name;He will vigorously plead their caseSo that He may bring relief to 50:34Or their land the earth,But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares Yahweh,“And against the inhabitants of BabylonAnd against her officials and her wise men!
36 “A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools!A sword against her mighty men, and they will be 50:36Or dismayed shattered!
37 “A sword against 50:37Lit his their horses and against 50:37Lit his their chariotsAnd against all the 50:37Lit mixed multitude foreigners who are in the midst of her,And they will become women!A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38 “A 50:38Or sword drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!For it is a land of graven images,And they are mad over terrifying idols.
39 ¶“Therefore the desert creatures will livetherealong with the jackals;The ostriches also will live in it,And it will never again be lived inOr dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 “As when God overthrew SodomAnd Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares Yahweh,“No man will live there,Nor willanyson of man sojourn in it.
41 ¶“Behold, a people is coming from the north,And a great nation and many kingsWill be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42 “They seizetheirbow and 50:42Or scimitar javelin;They are cruel and have no compassion.Their voice roars like the sea;And they ride on horses,Arranged like a man for the battleAgainst you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,And his hands hang limp;Distress has taken hold of him,Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44 “Behold, one will come up like a lion from the 50:44Lit pride thicket of the Jordan to an enduring pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen I will appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will 50:44Or cause Me to testify, cf. Job 9:19 summon Meinto court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand before Me?”
45 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh which He has counseled against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off,eventhe little ones of the flock; surely He will make their 50:45Or habitation pasture desolate because of them.
46 At the sound, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.