1 T he Lord says, “See, I will raise up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and against the people of Chaldea.

¶ Thus hath the LORD said; Behold, I raise up against Babylon and against her inhabitants that rise up against me from the heart, a destroying wind.

2 I will send strangers to destroy Babylon like a wind that blows straw away. For they will be against her on every side and leave her land empty in the day of her trouble.

And I 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.

3 D o not let the bow-man use his bow. Do not let him stand up in his heavy battle-clothes. Do not leave her young men alive, but destroy all of her army.

I shall say to the archer that bends his bow and unto him that lifts himself up in his brigandine, Spare ye not her young men; utterly destroy all her host.

4 T hey will fall down dead in the land of Babylon and be killed in their streets.”

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

5 F or Israel and Judah have not been left alone by their God, the Lord of All, even though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

For Israel and Judah have not been made widows of their God, of the LORD of the hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

6 R un away from Babylon! Let every man save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, for it is time for the Lord to punish her. He will make her pay for her sins.

Flee out of the midst of Babylon and deliver each one his soul that ye not perish because of her iniquity, for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.

7 B abylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk her wine, and so the nations have gone wild.

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

8 A ll at once Babylon has fallen and been broken. Cry over her with a loud voice. Bring healing oil for her pain. It may be that she will be healed.

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

9 W e would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Leave her alone, and let each of us go to his own country. For she is being judged from as far as heaven and lifted even to the skies.

We applied the medicine to Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go each one into his own land; for her judgment is come unto heaven and is lifted up even to the clouds.

10 T he Lord has taken our guilt away. Come and let us make the work of the Lord our God known in Zion.

The LORD has brought our righteousness to light; come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

11 M ake the arrows sharp! Take the body-coverings! The Lord has moved the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because He is planning to destroy Babylon. It is the punishment of the Lord, the punishment for what was done to His house of worship.

Make bright the arrows; gather the shields; the LORD has awakened the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his thought is against Babylon to destroy her; for it is vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

12 L ift up a flag on the walls of Babylon. Have many keep watch. Put the watchmen in their places. And get men ready to fight against her by surprise. For the Lord has both planned and done what He said about the people of Babylon.

Set up the banner upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has deliberated and shall put into effect that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O you who live by many waters and have many riches, your end has come. Your life is being cut off.

O thou that dwellest among many waters, rich in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

14 T he Lord of All has promised by Himself, saying, “For sure I will fill you with men, as with many locusts. And they will call out that they have won the war against you.” A Song of Praise

The LORD of the hosts has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men as with locusts; and they shall sing the song of the winepress against thee.

15 H e made the earth by His power. He made the world by His wisdom. And by His understanding He spread out the heavens.

He is the one who makes the earth by his power; he upholds the world by his wisdom and extends the heavens by his intelligence;

16 W hen He speaks, there is a storm of waters in the heavens. He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings the wind from His store-houses.

he who gives with his voice a multitude of waters from heaven, then he causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings with the rain and brings forth the wind out of his treasures.

17 N o man thinks well, and he is without learning. Every man who works with gold is put to shame by his false gods. For the objects of worship that he makes are false, and there is no breath in them.

Every man has become carnal and is without knowledge; let every founder be ashamed of the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 T hey are of no worth, a false show. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.

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

19 H e Who is the Share of Jacob is not like these. For He is the Maker of All. And Israel is the family who receives His gifts. The Lord of All is His name.

The 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 the hosts is his name.

20 H e says, “You are My battle-ax which I use in war. With you I destroy countries. With you I destroy nations.

Thou art my hammer, O weapons of war: for with thee I will break in pieces the Gentiles, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms;

21 W ith you I break in pieces the horse and its rider.

and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariots and their riders;

22 W ith you I destroy the war-wagon and its driver. With you I destroy man and woman. With you I destroy old man and boy. With you I destroy young man and young woman.

with thee also I will break in pieces men and women; and with thee I will break in pieces old and young; and with thee I will break in pieces young men and virgins;

23 W ith you I destroy the shepherd and his flock. With you I destroy the farmer and his oxen. And with you I destroy rulers and captains. Babylon Is Punished

I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee I will break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee I will break in pieces dukes and princes.

24 “ I will punish Babylon and all the people of Chaldea for all their sins that they have done in Zion in front of your eyes,” says the Lord.

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

25 “ See, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys the whole earth,” says the Lord. “I will put out My hand against you and roll you down from the high rocks. I will make you a burned-out mountain.

Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, said the LORD, which destroys 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.

26 N ot even a stone will be taken from you for a corner stone, or a stone to be used to build upon. But you will be a waste forever,” says the Lord.

And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, said the LORD.

27 L ift up a flag in the land! Sound the horn among the nations! Make the nations ready to fight against Babylon. Call against her the nations of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a captain to go against her. Bring up the horses like many locusts.

Set ye up a banner in the land, blow the shofar among the Gentiles, 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 raised up locusts.

28 M ake the nations ready to fight against her. Make ready the kings of the Medes, their rulers and captains, and every land under their rule.

Prepare the nations against her: the kings of Media, the captains thereof, and all the princes thereof, and all the land of their dominion.

29 T he land shakes and moves in its pain. For the Lord’s plans against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a waste land without people.

And the land shall tremble and sorrow for every thought of the LORD is confirmed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

30 T he powerful soldiers of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their strong-places. Their strength is gone. They have become like women. Their houses are set on fire, and the iron parts of her gates are broken.

The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight; they have remained in their holds; their might has failed; they became as women: the enemies have burned her dwellingplaces; they have broken her bars.

31 O ne man with news runs to meet another, and he runs to meet another. They run to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been taken from end to end.

One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken in all places,

32 T he ways to cross the river have been stopped. The water grass has been burned with fire. And the soldiers are filled with fear.

And the fords were taken, and they have burned the reeds with fire, and the men of war were astounded.

33 T he Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “The daughter of Babylon is like the grain floor when it is being stepped on and made hard. In a little while her gathering time will come.”

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

34 “ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has destroyed me, and has crushed me. He has made me like an empty pot. He has eaten me up like a large, angry animal. He has filled his stomach with my good food, and he has washed me away.

Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a dragon; he has filled his belly with my delicates; he has cast me out.

35 M ay the hurt done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” the person living in Zion will say. “May my blood be upon the people of Babylon,” Jerusalem will say.

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

36 S o the Lord says, “See, I will help you in your cause and punish Babylon for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her well dry.

Therefore thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I judge thy cause and shall take thy vengeance; and I will dry up her sea and make her flowing waters dry.

37 B abylon will become a waste place, a place where wild dogs live. She will be an object of trouble and hate, where no people live.

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

38 T ogether the people of Babylon make noise like young lions. They sound like a lion’s young ones.

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

39 B ut when they are hot, I will give them a special supper and make them drunk. Then they will be happy and fall asleep, and will never wake up,” says the Lord.

In their heat I will place their feasts before them, and I will make them drunken that they may rejoice and sleep an eternal sleep and not wake, said the LORD.

40 “ I will bring them down like lambs to be killed, like rams and male goats. Babylon Is Destroyed

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

41 “ How Babylon has been taken, the praise of the whole earth taken! How Babylon has become an object of trouble among the nations!

How is Sheshach a prey! and how is she who was the praise of the whole earth taken! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the Gentiles!

42 T he sea has come up over Babylon. She has been covered with its many big waves.

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

43 H er cities have become an object of trouble, a dry land and a desert. It is a land where no man lives, and where no man passes through.

Her cities were devastated, the land dry and desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither shall any son of man pass thereby.

44 A nd I will punish the false god of Bel in Babylon. I will make what he has eaten come out of his mouth. The nations will no longer come to him. The wall of Babylon will fall.

And I will visit Bel himself in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the Gentiles shall not flow together any more unto him; and the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 “ Come out of her, My people. Save yourselves from the burning anger of the Lord.

Come out of the midst of her, my people, and save each one his life from the fierce anger of the LORD.

46 D o not let your heart become weak. Do not be afraid at the news that will be heard in the land. For news will come this year, and other news will come the next. There will be fighting in the land, with ruler against ruler.

And lest your heart faint, and ye fear because of the news that shall be heard in the land; in one year shall the news come, and after that in the next year shall come the rumour, and then shall come the violence in the land, and the ruler over him who rules.

47 S o the days are coming when I will punish the false gods of Babylon. Her whole land will be put to shame, and all her dead will fall within her.

Therefore, behold, the days come that I will visit the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be ashamed, and all her dead shall fall in the midst of her.

48 T hen heaven and earth and all that is in them will call out for joy over Babylon. For the destroyers will come to her from the north,” says the Lord.

Then the heavens and the earth and all that is therein shall sing praises over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, said the LORD.

49 B abylon must fall because of the dead of Israel, just as the dead of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

As Babylon has caused the dead of Israel to fall, so because of Babylon the dead of all the earth fell.

50 Y ou who have not been killed by the sword, go! Do not stay! Remember the Lord from far away, and think of Jerusalem.

Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, do not tarry: remember the LORD for many days, and remember Jerusalem.

51 W e are ashamed because much has been said against us. Our faces are covered with shame, for strangers have gone into the holy places of the Lord’s house.

We are ashamed, because we have heard the reproach; confusion has covered our faces; for strangers are come against the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house.

52 “ But the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish her false gods. And those who are hurt will cry in pain through all her land.

Therefore, behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will visit her graven images; and through all her land the wounded unto death shall groan.

53 E ven if Babylon rises to the heavens and makes her high place strong, I will send destroyers against her,” says the Lord.

Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strength upon high, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, said the LORD.

54 T he sound of a cry comes from Babylon! A noise comes from the land of the Babylonians because much is being destroyed!

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

55 F or the Lord will destroy Babylon. He will quiet her loud voice. Their waves will sound like many waters, and the noise of their voices is loud.

Because the LORD destroys Babylon and takes out of her the many thunders, her waves shall roar; like many waters shall be the sound of their voice:

56 F or the destroyer is coming against Babylon, and her strong men will be taken. Their bows are broken. For the Lord is a God Who makes the sinner pay for his sin, and He will be sure to punish.

because the destroyer is come against her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bow is broken: for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely requite.

57 “ I will make her leaders and her wise men, her rulers, her captains, and her strong men of war drunk. Then they will fall asleep and never wake up,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of All.

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

58 T he Lord of All says, “The wide wall of Babylon will be broken to the ground. Her high gates will be set on fire. So the people will work hard for nothing, and because of the fire nations become tired.” Jeremiah’s Word Gets to Babylon

Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly cast down, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and peoples and nations shall labour in vain in the fire to save her, and they shall become weary.

59 T his is the word which Jeremiah the man of God told Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his rule. Seraiah was the head captain of the house.

¶ The word which Jeremiah the prophet sent to 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 the chief steward of the bedchambers.

60 J eremiah wrote in a book all the trouble that would come upon Babylon. He wrote down all these words which have been written about Babylon.

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

61 T hen Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words out loud.

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

62 A nd say, ‘O Lord, You have said that this place will be destroyed, so that there will be nothing living in it, not man or animal. It is to be a waste place forever.’

then thou shalt say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that no one shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 W hen you have finished reading this book, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates River.

And 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;

64 A nd say, ‘In this way Babylon will go down and not rise again, because of the trouble I am going to bring upon her. And her people will fall.’” The words of Jeremiah end here.

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