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

Yahweh says: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, 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.

I will send to Babylon strangers, who shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her around.

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.

Against him who bends let the archer bend his bow, and against him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail: and don’t spare her young men; utterly destroy all her army.

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

They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and 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 is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Yahweh of Armies; though their land is full of guilt 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 middle of Babylon, and save every man his life; don’t be cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance; he will render to 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 Yahweh’s hand, who made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk 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: wail 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 would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

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

Yahweh has produced our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Yahweh 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 sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Yahweh has 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 Yahweh, 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 a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Yahweh has both purposed and done that which he spoke concerning 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.

You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your 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

Yahweh of Armies has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.

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 has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens:

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.

when he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.

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 brutish without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his 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, a work of delusion: 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 these; for he is the former of all things; and is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Armies 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.

You are my battle ax and weapons of war: and with you will I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms;

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

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

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.

and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein; and with you will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;

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

and with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke; and with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

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.

I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says Yahweh.

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 you, destroying mountain, says Yahweh, which destroys all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand on you, and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you 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.

They shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever, says Yahweh.

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 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.

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 against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, 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.

The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without 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 remain in their strongholds; their might has failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

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 runner will run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

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

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 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: 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.

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.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster, swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; 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 done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be on 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 Yahweh says: Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain 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.

Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without 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 young lions; they shall growl as lions’ cubs.

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.

When 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, says Yahweh.

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

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

The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of its waves.

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 are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither does 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.

I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

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

My people, go away from the middle of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Yahweh.

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.

Don’t let your heart faint, neither fear for the news that shall be heard in the land; for news shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come news, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

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 execute judgment on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the middle 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 for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come to her from the north, says Yahweh.

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 slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

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.

You who have escaped the sword, go, don’t stand still; remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

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 confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion has covered our faces: for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of Yahweh’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, says Yahweh, that I will execute judgment on her engraved images; and through all her land the wounded 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 the sky, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come to her, says Yahweh.

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 from Babylon, and of 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.

For Yahweh lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:

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.

for the destroyer has come on her, even on Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Yahweh is a God of recompenses, he will 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.

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 up, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.

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

Yahweh of Armies says: The wide 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.

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 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 quartermaster.

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.

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

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

Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words,

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.’

and say, Yahweh, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that no one shall dwell therein, neither man nor animal, but that it shall be desolate forever.

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

It shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the middle of the 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 you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.