Jeremiah 51

1Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;footnote a

2And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and 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 brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

4Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

5For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

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

8Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl 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.

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

11Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.footnote b

12Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.footnote c

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

14The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.footnote dfootnote e

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

16When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.footnote f

17Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.footnote g

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

19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

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

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

22With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23I will also break in pieces with thee 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 captains and rulers.

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 the LORD.

25Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine 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 the LORD.footnote i

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 Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

28Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

29And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

30The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

31One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,

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

33For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.footnote j

34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, 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 upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.footnote kfootnote lfootnote m

36Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

38They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.footnote n

39In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

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

41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

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

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

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

45My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.

46And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.footnote o

47Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do 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.footnote p

48Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.

49As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.footnote qfootnote r

50Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

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

52Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do 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 spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

54A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

55Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

56Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.

57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

58Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.footnote sfootnote t

59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.footnote ufootnote v

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

61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

62Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.footnote w

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 Euphrates:

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

Judgment on Babylon

1This is what the LORD says:“Behold, I will stir up against Babylonand against the people of Leb-kamaifootnote athe spirit of a destroyer. 2I will send strangers to Babylonto winnow her and empty her land;for they will come against her from every sidein her day of disaster.

3Do not let the archer bend his bowor put on his armor.Do not spare her young men;devote all her army to destruction!footnote b 4And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans,footnote cand pierced through in her streets. 5For Israel and Judah have not been abandonedby their God, the LORD of Hosts,though their land is full of guiltbefore the Holy One of Israel.”

6Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives!Do not be destroyed in her punishment.For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance;He will pay her what she deserves. 7Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD,making the whole earth drunk.The nations drank her wine;therefore the nations have gone mad.

8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered.Wail for her; get her balm for her pain;perhaps she can be healed.

9“We tried to heal Babylon,but she could not be healed.Abandon her!Let each of us go to his own land,for her judgment extends to the skyand reaches to the clouds.”

10“The LORD has brought forth our vindication;come, let us tell in Zionwhat the LORD our God has accomplished.”

11Sharpen the arrows!Fill the quivers!footnote dThe LORD has aroused the spiritof the kings of the Medes,because His plan is aimed at Babylonto destroy her,for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.

12Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon;post the guard;station the watchmen;prepare the ambush.For the LORD has both devised and accomplishedwhat He spoke against the people of Babylon. 13You who dwell by many waters,rich in treasures,your end has come;the thread of your life is cut.

14The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself:“Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts,and they will shout in triumph over you.”

Praise to the God of Jacob

15The LORD made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomand stretched out the heavens by His understanding. 16When He thunders,the waters in the heavens roar;He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge;every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols.For his molten images are a fraud,and there is no breath in them. 18They are worthless, a work to be mocked.In the time of their punishment they will perish. 19The Portion of Jacob is not like these,for He is the Maker of all things,and of the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

Babylon’s Punishment

20“You are My war club,My weapon for battle.With you I shatter nations;with you I bring kingdoms to ruin. 21With you I shatter the horse and rider;with you I shatter the chariot and driver. 22With you I shatter man and woman;with you I shatter the old man and the youth;with you I shatter the young man and the maiden. 23With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock;with you I shatter the farmer and his oxen;with you I shatter the governors and officials.

24Before your very eyes I will repayBabylon and all the dwellers of Chaldeafootnote efor all the evil they have done in Zion,”declares the LORD. 25“Behold, I am against you,O destroying mountain,you who devastate the whole earth,declares the LORD.I will stretch out My hand against you;I will roll you over the cliffsand turn you into a charred mountain. 26No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstoneor a foundation stone,because you will become desolate forever,”declares the LORD. 27“Raise a banner in the land!Blow the ram’s horn among the nations!Prepare the nations against her.Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.Appoint a captain against her;bring up horses like swarming locusts. 28Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes,their governors and all their officials,and all the lands they rule.

29The earth quakes and writhesbecause the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand:to make the land of Babylon a desolation,without inhabitant. 30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting;they sit in their strongholds.Their strength is exhausted;they have become like women.Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze,the bars of her gates are broken. 31One courier races to meet another,and messenger follows messenger,to announce to the king of Babylonthat his city has been captured from end to end. 32The fords have been seized,the marshes set on fire,and the soldiers are terrified.”

33For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:“The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floorat the time it is trampled.In just a little whileher harvest time will come.”

34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me;he has crushed me.He has set me aside like an empty vessel;he has swallowed me like a monster;he filled his belly with my delicaciesand vomited me out.footnote f 35May the violence done to meand to my fleshbe upon Babylon,”says the dweller of Zion.“May my blood be on the dwellers of Chaldea,”says Jerusalem.

36Therefore this is what the LORD says:“Behold, I will plead your caseand take vengeance on your behalf;I will dry up her seaand make her springs run dry. 37Babylon will become a heap of rubble,a haunt for jackals,footnote gan object of horror and scorn,without inhabitant. 38They will roar together like young lions;they will growl like lion cubs. 39While they are flushed with heat,I will serve them a feast,and I will make them drunkso that they may revel;then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up,declares the LORD. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,like rams with male goats.

41How Sheshachfootnote hhas been captured!The praise of all the earth has been seized.What a horror Babylon has becomeamong the nations! 42The sea has come up over Babylon;she is covered in turbulent waves. 43Her cities have become a desolation,a dry and arid land,a land where no one lives,where no son of man passes through. 44I will punish Bel in Babylon.I will make him spew out what he swallowed.The nations will no longer stream to him;even the wall of Babylon will fall.

45Come out of her, My people!footnote iSave your lives, each of you,from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46Do not let your heart grow faint,and do not be afraidwhen the rumor is heard in the land;for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the landand of ruler against ruler.

47Therefore, behold, the days are comingwhen I will punish the idols of Babylon.Her entire land will suffer shame,and all her slain will lie fallen within her. 48Then heaven and earth and all that is in themwill shout for joy over Babylonbecause the destroyers from the northwill come against her,”declares the LORD. 49“Babylon must fallon account of the slain of Israel,just as the slain of all the earthhave fallen because of Babylon. 50You who have escaped the sword,depart and do not linger!Remember the LORD from far away,and let Jerusalem come to mind.”

51“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach;disgrace has covered our faces,because foreigners have enteredthe holy places of the LORD’s house.”

52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,”declares the LORD,“when I will punish her idols,and throughout her land the wounded will groan. 53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavensand fortifies her lofty stronghold,the destroyers I send will come against her,”declares the LORD.

54“The sound of a crycomes from Babylon,the sound of great destructionfrom the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the LORD will destroy Babylon;He will silence her mighty voice.The waves will roar like great waters;the tumult of their voices will resound.

56For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon.Her warriors will be captured,and their bows will be broken,for the LORD is a God of retribution;He will repay in full. 57I will make her princes and wise men drunk,along with her governors, officials, and warriors.Then they will fall asleep foreverand not wake up,”declares the King,whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

58This is what the LORD of Hosts says:“Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled,and her high gates consumed by fire.So the labor of the people will be for nothing;the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”

Jeremiah’s Message to Seraiah

59This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’

63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates. 64Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’”
Here end the words of Jeremiah.