Jeremiah 51

¹Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.

²And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

³Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

⁴And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.

⁵For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

⁶Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.

⁷Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

⁸Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

⁹We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

¹⁰Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

¹¹Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

¹²Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹³O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

¹⁴Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

¹⁵He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens.

¹⁶When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

¹⁷Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

¹⁸They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

¹⁹The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

²⁰Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

²¹and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

²²and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;

²³and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

²⁴And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah.

²⁵Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

²⁶And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

²⁷Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

²⁸Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion.

²⁹And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

³⁰The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

³¹One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

³²and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

³³For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

³⁴Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.

³⁵The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

³⁶Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

³⁷And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

³⁸They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps.

³⁹When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.

⁴⁰I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

⁴¹How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

⁴²The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

⁴³Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

⁴⁴And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

⁴⁵My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah.

⁴⁶And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

⁴⁷Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

⁴⁸Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.

⁴⁹As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

⁵⁰Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

⁵¹We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah’s house.

⁵²Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

⁵³Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

⁵⁴The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

⁵⁵For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:

⁵⁶for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.

⁵⁷And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

⁵⁸Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

⁵⁹The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

⁶⁰And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

⁶¹And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,

⁶²and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

⁶³And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:

⁶⁴and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 51

¹Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of LebMy withstanders, A destroying wind,

²And I have sent to Babylon fanners, And they have fanned it, and they empty its land, For they have been against it, Round aboutin the day of evil.

³Let not the treader tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, Nor have ye pity on her young men, Devote ye to destruction all her host.

⁴And fallen have the wounded in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.

⁵For, not forsaken is Israel and Judah, By its Godby Jehovah of Hosts, For their land hath been full of guilt, Against the Holy One of Israel.

⁶Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And deliver ye each his soul, Be not cut off in its iniquity, For a time of vengeance it is to Jehovah, Recompence He is rendering to her.

⁷A golden cup is Babylon in the hand of Jehovah, Making drunk all the earth, Of its wine drunk have nations, Therefore boast themselves do nations.

⁸Suddenly hath Babylon fallen, Yea, it is broken, howl ye for it, Take balm for her pain, if so be it may be healed.

⁹We healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For come unto the heavens hath its judgment, And it hath been lifted up unto the clouds.

¹⁰Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

¹¹Cleanse ye the arrows, fill the shields, Stirred up hath Jehovah the spirit of the kings of Madia, For against Babylon His device is to destroy it, For the vengeance of Jehovah it is , The vengeance of His temple.

¹²Unto the walls of Babylon lift up an ensign, Strengthen the watch, Establish the watchers, prepare the ambush, For Jehovah hath both devised and done that which He spake, Concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹³O dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Come in hath thine end, the measure of thy dishonest gain.

¹⁴Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts by Himself, That, Surely I have filled thee with men as the cankerworm, And they have cried against theeshouting.

¹⁵The maker of earth by His power, The establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding stretched out the heavens,

¹⁶At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters are in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And He bringeth out wind from His treasures.

¹⁷Brutish hath been every man by knowledge, Put to shame hath been every refiner by a graven image, For false is his molten image, And there is no breath in them.

¹⁸Vanity are theywork of errors, In the time of their inspection they perish.

¹⁹Not like these is the portion of Jacob, For He is former of all things, And Israel is the rod of His inheritance, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.

²⁰An axe art thou to meweapons of war, And I have broken in pieces by thee nations, And I have destroyed by thee kingdoms,

²¹And I have broken in pieces by thee horse and its rider, And I have broken in pieces by thee chariot and its charioteer,

²²And I have broken in pieces by thee man and woman, And I have broken in pieces by thee old and young, And I have broken in pieces by thee young man and virgin,

²³And I have broken in pieces by thee shepherd and his drove, And I have broken in pieces by thee husbandman and his team, And I have broken in pieces by thee governors and prefects.

²⁴And I have recompensed to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyesan affirmation of Jehovah.

²⁵Lo, I am against thee, O destroying mount, An affirmation of Jehovah, That is destroying all the earth, And I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I have rolled thee from the rocks, And given thee for a burnt mountain.

²⁶And they take not out of thee a stone for a corner, And a stone for foundations, For desolations age-during art thou, An affirmation of Jehovah.

²⁷Lift ye up an ensign in the land, Blow a trumpet among nations, Sanctify against it nations, Summon against it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, Appoint against it an infant head, Cause the horse to ascend as the rough cankerworm.

²⁸Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its dominion.

²⁹And shake doth the land, and it is pained, For stood against Babylon have the purposes of Jehovah, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.

³⁰Ceased have the mighty of Babylon to fight, They have remained in strongholds, Failed hath their might, they have become woman, They have burnt her tabernacles, Broken have been her bars.

³¹Runner to meet runner doth run, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For, captured hath been his cityat the extremity.

³²And the passages have been captured, And the reeds they have burnt with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.

³³For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon is as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshingyet a little, And come hath the time of her harvest.

³⁴Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us as an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.

³⁵My wrong, and that of my flesh is on Babylon, Say doth the inhabitant of Zion, And my blood is on the inhabitants of Chaldea, Say doth Jerusalem.

³⁶Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am pleading thy cause, And I have avenged thy vengeance, And dried up its sea, and made its fountains dry.

³⁷And Babylon hath been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

³⁸Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps.

³⁹In their heat I make their banquets, And I have caused them to drink, so that they exult, And have slept a sleep age-during, And awake notan affirmation of Jehovah.

⁴⁰I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with he-goats.

⁴¹How hath Sheshach been captured, Yea, caught is the praise of the whole earth, How hath Babylon been for an astonishment among nations.

⁴²Come up against Babylon hath the sea, With a multitude of its billows it hath been covered.

⁴³Its cities have been for a desolation, A dry land, and a wilderness, A landnone doth dwell in them, Nor pass over into them doth a son of man.

⁴⁴And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowedfrom his mouth, And flow no more unto him do nations, Also the wall of Babylon hath fallen.

⁴⁵Go forth from its midst, O My people, And deliver ye, each his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of Jehovah,

⁴⁶And lest your heart be tender, And ye be afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And come in a year hath the report, And after it in a year the report, And violence is in the land, ruler against ruler;

⁴⁷Therefore, lo, days are coming, And I have seen after the graven images of Babylon. And all its land is ashamed, And all its pierced ones do fall in its midst.

⁴⁸And cried aloud against Babylon Have heavens and earth, and all that is in them, For, from the north come to it do the spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

⁴⁹Even Babylon is to fall, ye pierced of Israel, Even they of Babylon have fallen, Ye pierced of all the earth.

⁵⁰Ye escaped of the sword, go on, stand not, Remember ye from afar Jehovah, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.

⁵¹We have been ashamed, for we heard reproach, Covered hath shame our faces, For come in have strangers, against the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah.

⁵²Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have seen after its graven images, And in all its land groan doth the wounded.

⁵³Because Babylon goeth up to the heavens, And because it fenceth the high place of its strength, From Me come into it do spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

⁵⁴A voice of a cry is from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.

⁵⁵For Jehovah is spoiling Babylon, And hath destroyed out of it a great voice, And sounded have its billows as many waters, Given forth a noise hath their voice.

⁵⁶For come in against itagainst Babylonhath a spoiler, And captured have been its mighty ones, Broken have been their bows, For the God of recompencesJehovahdoth certainly repay.

⁵⁷And I have caused its princes to drink, And its wise men, its governors, And its prefects, and its mighty ones, And they have slept a sleep age-during, And they awake notan affirmation of the king, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.

⁵⁸Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of BabylonThe broad oneis utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!

⁵⁹The word that Jeremiah the prophet hath commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, in his going with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reignand Seraiah is a quiet prince;

⁶⁰and Jeremiah writeth all the evil that cometh unto Babylon on one bookall these words that are written concerning Babylon.

⁶¹And Jeremiah saith unto Seraiah, `When thou dost enter Babylon, then thou hast seen, and hast read all these words,

⁶²and hast said: Jehovah, Thou, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that there is none dwelling in it, from man even unto cattle, for it is a desolation age-during.

⁶³And it hath come to pass, when thou dost finish reading this book, thou dost bind to it a stone, and hast cast it into the midst of Phrat,

⁶⁴and said, Thus sink doth Babylon, and it doth not arise, because of the evil that I am bringing in against it, and they have been weary.' Hitherto are words of Jeremiah.