Jeremiah, 51

1. Thus 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;

1. This is what Yahweh says: I will stir up a devastating wind against Babylon and the Chaldeans.

2. And 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.

2. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and lay waste her land. On the day of her affliction they will besiege her from all sides.

3. Against [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.

3. Let not her archers bend their bows, let them not stand up in their armor. Spare not her young men; destroy the host of her warriors.

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

4. They will fall fatally wounded in the streets of Babylon.

5. For 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.

5. For Israel and Judah have not been forgotten by their God, Yahweh Sabaoth, though their land is guilt-ridden before the Holy One of Israel.

6. Flee 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.

6. Save your lives, flee from Babylon! Partake not of her punishment; this is a time of Yahweh's vengeance, a time of his recompense to her.

7. Babylon [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.

7. Babylon was a golden cup in Yahweh's hand, a cup which made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine, and they have become mad.

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

8. Babylon's fall is sudden. Wail for her, wail! Bring balm for her wounds, if she could yet be healed.

9. We 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.

9. 'We have tried to heal Babylon, but she is beyond healing. Let us go back, each to his own land, and leave her to her judgment which rises up to heaven.'

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

10. Yahweh has defended our rights, come, let us declare in Zion what our God Yahweh has done.

11. Make 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.

11. Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! Yahweh has aroused Media's kings in his resolve to destroy Babylon. This is Yahweh's vengeance, vengeance for his temple.

12. Set 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.

12. Raise a flag on the walls of Babylon, and make the watch strong. Post guards, prepare an ambush! Yahweh will carry out his purpose, his words against the people of Babylon.

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

13. You who dwell by mighty waters, you who are rich in treasures, this is your end; the time for you to be cut off has come.

14. The 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.

14. Yahweh Sabaoth has sworn: Surely I will fill you with men, thick as a swarm of locusts; they will exult over you and raise the vintage shout.

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

15. He made the earth by his power, founded the world by his wisdom, spread out the sky by his discernment.

16. When 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.

16. When he thunders, the heaven roars; from the earth he makes clouds rise; he sends lightning with the rain, and from his vaults brings out the wind.

17. Every 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.

17. Men stand stupefied at this; artisans blush, for the idols they made have no life and are a fraud.

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

18. They are worthless, ridiculous; when judgment comes they will perish.

19. 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 hosts [is] his name.

19. The Portion of Jacob is not like them, for he is the creator of all; Yahweh Sabaoth is his name, and his heritage is Israel.

20. Thou [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;

20. You were my hammer, my weapon of war. With you I wrecked nations, with you I demolished kingdoms.

21. And 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;

21. With you I wrecked horse and rider, chariot and charioteer.

22. With 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;

22. With you I wrecked man and woman, youth and aged, young man and maiden.

23. I 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.

23. With you I wrecked shepherd and flock, farmer and draft animal, rulers and officials.

24. 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, saith the LORD.

24. But now I will repay Babylon and those who dwell in Chaldea for the wrong they did to Zion.

25. Behold, 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.

25. I am against you, ravaging mountain, ravager of the whole earth! It is Yahweh who speaks. I will lay my hands on you, roll you down over the crags, and make you a parched, eroded mountain.

26. And 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.

26. No cornerstone will be taken from you, or foundation stone; forever shall you be a ruins, Yahweh says.

27. Set 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.

27. Raise a signal on the earth, among the nations blow the trumpet. Prepare the nations for war, summon the kingdoms to battle Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Marshal a great force against her; bring up the cavalry, swarming and bristling.

28. Prepare 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.

28. Prepare the nations to battle her, the Medes with their kings, their governors and officials, all the countries they rule.

29. And 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.

29. The earth trembles and writhes as Yahweh carries out his process of turning the land of Babylon into a desert where no one lives.

30. The 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.

30. Her warriors have ceased to fight; they cower in their strongholds. Their strength is dried up, their homes are burned and their gates broken.

31. One 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,

31. One after another couriers run to the king, bringing news that his entire city is fallen:

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

32. The fords have been seized, the fortresses set afire, and all the warriors terrified.

33. For 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.

33. Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says: Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trodden. A little while, and the time of the harvest grain will come for her."

34. Nebuchadrezzar 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.

34. The people of Zion said: 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has consumed and routed me. He has left me as an empty vessel. Like a dragon he has swallowed me, and filled his belly; he cast me out of my Eden.

35. The 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.

35. May the violence done to my flesh be upon Babylon,' says the city of Zion. 'May my blood be upon the Chaldeans,' says Jerusalem.

36. Therefore 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.

36. Yahweh says to his people: "See now, I defend your cause and avenge you. I will dry up her sea and drain her springs.

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

37. Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and derision, a place where no one lives.

38. They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

38. Her people will roar like lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

39. In 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.

39. But while they are feverish, I will prepare a drink for them and make them drunk till they grow drowsy and fall into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.

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

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

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

41. How has Babylon been seized, the glory of the world taken captive! How has Babylon become a horror among nations!

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

42. The sea has risen over Babylon and covered her with its roaring waves.

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

43. Her cities have become desolate, a land of drought and a desert, a land where no one dwells, a land through which no man travels.

44. And 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.

44. I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him belch out what he devoured. No longer will nations stream to him. The wall of Babylon has fallen.

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

45. My people, come out of her! Run for your lives! Run from Yahweh's fierce anger.

46. And 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.

46. Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard, when rumors come year after year, rumors of violence and disaster, intrigues of ruler against ruler.

47. Therefore, 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.

47. The time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her land will be put to shame when all around her lie slain.

48. Then 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.

48. Then heaven and earth and all therein will rejoice over Babylon, for out of the north the destroyers will come to attack her - it is Yahweh who speaks.

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

49. Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

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

50. You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger. Remember Yahweh from this far country and think of Jerusalem:

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

51. 'We have been put to shame, dishonor has covered our faces; because aliens have entered the holy places of Yahweh's house.'

52. Wherefore, 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.

52. But days will come - Yahweh declares - when I will punish her idols, the wounded will groan all over her land.

53. Though 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.

53. Though Babylon mount skyward, though she fortify her heights, the mere threat of the destroyers I send is enough to make her terrified.

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

54. Listen! Loud cries from Babylon, the sound of terrible destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55. Because 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:

55. That is Yahweh laying waste the city, silencing her monstrous din. Well may her waves roar and their clamor be heard afar!

56. Because 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.

56. Upon Babylon the destroyer has come; her warriors are captured, their bows are broken. For Yahweh is a God who rewards, who repays her enemies in full.

57. And 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.

57. I will make her rulers and sages drunk, her governors, her officers and warriors; they will sleep the sleep of death and never awake, says the King whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth.

58. Thus 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.

58. Yahweh Sabaoth says this: The wide ramparts of Babylon will be razed to the ground, her high gates burned down. The people's labor will go to naught; the nation's toil will end in fire."

59. The 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.

59. This is the message Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah who is Mahseiah's son, when he went to Babylon at the command of Zedekiah, who was then in the fourth year of his reign as king of Judah.

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

60. Jeremiah had written on a scroll the entire disaster that was to befall Babylon - all these words recorded here.

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

61. Jeremiah then said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.

62. Then 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.

62. Then say: 'Yahweh, you yourself have proclaimed that this place will be destroyed, that neither man nor beast will ever live here again, for it will remain desolate forever.'

63. 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:

63. When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.

64. 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 weary. Thus far [are] the words of Jeremiah.

64. Then say: "So will Babylon sink and rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her." Here end the words of Jeremiah.