1 The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of
the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Declare you among the
nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don’t conceal: say,
Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are
disappointed, her idols are dismayed. 3 For out of the north there comes
up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall
dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal. 4 In
those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come,
they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping,
and shall seek Yahweh their God. 5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with
their faces turned toward it, saying, Come you, and join
yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people have 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 resting-place. 7 All who found
them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty,
because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness,
even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers. 8 Flee out of the midst of
Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male
goats before the flocks. 9 For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come
up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and
they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be
taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in
vain. 10 Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied,
says Yahweh. 11 Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O
you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer
that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses; 12 your
mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded:
behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and
a desert. 13 Because of the wrath of Yahweh she shall not be inhabited,
but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be
astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. 14 Set yourselves in array
against Babylon round about, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her,
spare no arrows: for she has sinned against Yahweh. 15 Shout against her
round about: she has submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls
are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh: take vengeance on her; as
she has done, do to her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who
handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword
they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his
own land. 17 Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away:
first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king
of Babylon has broken his bones. 18 Therefore thus says Yahweh 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 I will bring Israel again to his
pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be
satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. 20 In those days, and in
that time, says Yahweh, 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 leave as a remnant. 21 Go up against the land of
Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: kill and
utterly destroy after them, says Yahweh, and do according to all that I have
commanded you. 22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great
destruction. 23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken!
how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! 24 I have laid a
snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren’t aware: you
are found, and also caught, because you have striven against Yahweh.
25 Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his
indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, has a work to do in the
land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the utmost border; open
her store-houses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing
of her be left. 27 Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter:
woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. 28 The
voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in
Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his temple. 29 Call
together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp
against her round about; let none of it escape: recompense her according to
her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been
proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore shall
her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to
silence in that day, says Yahweh. 31 Behold, I am against you, you proud
one, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts; for your day is come, the time that I
will visit you. 32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall
raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all
who are round about him. 33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: The children of
Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took
them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer
is strong; Yahweh of Hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause,
that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is on the Chaldeans, says Yahweh, and on the inhabitants of
Babylon, and on her princes, and on her wise men. 36 A sword is on the
boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is on her mighty men, and they
shall be dismayed. 37 A sword is on their horses, and on their chariots,
and on all the mixed people who are in the midst of her; and they shall
become as women: a sword is on her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a
land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols. 39 Therefore the
wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the
ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever;
neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation. 40 As when God
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, so
shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
41 Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many
kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 42 They
lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice
roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man
to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon
has heard the news of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold
of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, the
enemy shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the
strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and
whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who
will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
45 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against
Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the
Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of
the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them. 46 At
the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard
among the nations.
World English Bible - Public Domain |
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