| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1This is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm going to stir up a destroying wind against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai. | 1The LORD says, "I will cause a destructive wind to blow against Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. |
| 2I'll send foreigners to Babylon, and they'll winnow her, and devastate her land. They'll come against her from every side on the day of her disaster. | 2I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. They will winnow her and strip her land bare. This will happen when they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her. |
| 3Don't let the archer bend the bow; don't let him rise up in his armor. Don't spare her young men. Completely destroy her entire army. | 3Do not give her archers time to string their bows or to put on their coats of armor. Do not spare any of her young men. Completely destroy her whole army. |
| 4The slain will fall in the land of Chaldea, pierced through in her streets. | 4Let them fall slain in the land of Babylonia, mortally wounded in the streets of her cities. |
| 5Indeed, Israel and Judah haven't been abandoned by their God, by the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, although their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel." | 5"For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken by their God, the LORD who rules over all. For the land of Babylonia is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. |
| 6Flee from Babylon, and each of you, escape with your life! Don't be destroyed because of her guilt, for it's time for the LORD's vengeance. He is paying back what is due to her. | 6Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. Flee to save your lives. Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins. For it is time for the LORD to wreak his revenge. He will pay Babylonia back for what she has done. |
| 7Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD's hand, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine, therefore the nations have gone mad. | 7Babylonia had been a gold cup in the LORD's hand. She had made the whole world drunk. The nations had drunk from the wine of her wrath. So they have all gone mad. |
| 8Suddenly, Babylon fell down and was shattered. Wail for her! Bring balm for her wound, perhaps she will be healed. | 8But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. Cry out in mourning over it! Get medicine for her wounds! Perhaps she can be healed! |
| 9We tried to heal Babylon, but she wouldn't be healed. Leave her, and let each of us go to his own country. For her judgment has reached to the heavens, and is lifted up to the sky. | 9Foreigners living there will say, 'We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed. Let's leave Babylonia and each go back to his own country. For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.' |
| 10The LORD will vindicate us. Come! Let us declare the work of the LORD our God in Zion. | 10The exiles from Judah will say, 'The LORD has brought about a great deliverance for us! Come on, let's go and proclaim in Zion what the LORD our God has done!' |
| 11Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes— he has decided to destroy Babylon. Indeed, it's the LORD's vengeance, vengeance for his Temple. | 11"Sharpen your arrows! Fill your quivers! The LORD will arouse a spirit of hostility in the kings of Media. For he intends to destroy Babylonia. For that is how the LORD will get his revenge--how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians' destruction of his temple. |
| 12Lift up the battle standard against Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard; post watchmen. Set men in position for an ambush. For the LORD will both plan and carry out what he has declared against the inhabitants of Babylon. | 12Give the signal to attack Babylon's wall! Bring more guards! Post them all around the city! Put men in ambush! For the LORD will do what he has planned. He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. |
| 13You who live beside many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut. | 13"You who live along the rivers of Babylon, the time of your end has come. You who are rich in plundered treasure, it is time for your lives to be cut off. |
| 14The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sworn by himself: "I'll surely fill you with soldiers like a swarm of locusts, and they'll sing songs of victory over you." | 14The LORD who rules over all has solemnly sworn, 'I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. They will raise up shouts of victory over it.' |
| 15He made the earth by his power. He established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he spread out the heavens. | 15He is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom fixed the world in place, by his understanding he spread out the heavens. |
| 16When his voice sounds, there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses. | 16When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. |
| 17Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols, for his images are false, and there is no life in them. | 17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols. |
| 18They're worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they'll perish. | 18They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed. |
| 19The Portion of Jacob is not like these. He made everything, including the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name. | 19The LORD, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. He is known as the LORD who rules over all. |
| 20"You are my war-club and weapons of war. I'll smash nations with you and destroy kingdoms with you. | 20"Babylon, you are my war club, my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms. |
| 21I'll smash the horse and its rider with you. I'll smash the chariot and its rider with you. | 21I used you to smash horses and their riders. I used you to smash chariots and their drivers. |
| 22I'll smash man and woman with you. I'll smash old man and young boy with you. I'll smash young man and young woman with you. | 22I used you to smash men and women. I used you to smash old men and young men. I used you to smash young men and young women. |
| 23I'll smash the shepherd and his flock with you. I'll smash the farmer and his team of oxen with you. I'll smash governors and officials with you. | 23I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks. I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen. I used you to smash governors and leaders." |
| 24"Before your eyes I'll repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they did in Zion," declares the LORD. | 24"But I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wicked things they did in Zion right before the eyes of you Judeans," says the LORD. |
| 25"Look, I'm against you, destroying mountain, who destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD. "I'll stretch out my hand against you and roll you down from the crags. And I'll make you a burned-out mountain. | 25The LORD says, "Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth. I will unleash my power against you; I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. |
| 26They won't get a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will be a wasteland forever," declares the LORD. | 26No one will use any of your stones as a cornerstone. No one will use any of them in the foundation of his house. For you will lie desolate forever," says the LORD. |
| 27Lift up a battle standard in the land. Blow a trumpet among the nations. Consecrate the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz against her. Appoint a commander against her, bring up horses like bristling locusts. | 27"Raise up battle flags throughout the lands. Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle. Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. Call for these kingdoms to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Send horses against her like a swarm of locusts. |
| 28Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors, their prefects, and every land under their domination. | 28Prepare the nations to do battle against her. Prepare the kings of the Medes. Prepare their governors and all their leaders. Prepare all the countries they rule to do battle against her. |
| 29The land quakes and writhes because the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand firm, to make the land of Babylon a waste without inhabitants. | 29The earth will tremble and writhe in agony. For the LORD will carry out his plan. He plans to make the land of Babylonia a wasteland where no one lives. |
| 30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their strongholds; their strength is dried up; they have become like women. Her buildings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. | 30The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting. They will remain in their fortified cities. They will lose their strength to do battle. They will be as frightened as women. The houses in her cities will be set on fire. The gates of her cities will be broken down. |
| 31One runner runs to meet another runner, and one messenger to meet another messenger, to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been seized from one end to the other. | 31One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon. One messenger after another will come bringing news. They will bring news to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured. |
| 32The fords have been captured, and the marshes burned with fire. The soldiers are terrified. | 32They will report that the fords have been captured, the reed marshes have been burned, the soldiers are terrified. |
| 33For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it's pounded down. In just a little while, the time of her harvest will come." | 33For the LORD God of Israel who rules over all says, 'Fair Babylon will be like a threshing floor which has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested will come very soon.' |
| 34"King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me. He set me down like an empty vessel. He swallowed me like a monster, and filled his belly with my delicacies. Then he washed me away. | 34"King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devoured me and drove my people out. Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me. He filled his belly with my riches. He made me an empty dish. He completely cleaned me out." |
| 35May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon," says the inhabitant of Zion. "May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem. | 35The person who lives in Zion says, "May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives." Jerusalem says, "May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people." |
| 36Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm going to argue your case and take vengeance for you. I'll dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. | 36Therefore the LORD says, "I will stand up for your cause. I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. I will dry up their sea. I will make their springs run dry. |
| 37Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals, a desolate place and an object of scorn. | 37Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives. |
| 38They'll roar together like young lions; they'll growl like lion cubs. | 38The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat. |
| 39When they're excited I'll serve them their banquet, and make them drunk until they're merry. They'll sleep forever and won't wake up," declares the LORD. | 39When their appetites are all stirred up, I will set out a banquet for them. I will make them drunk so that they will pass out, they will fall asleep forever, they will never wake up," says the LORD. |
| 40"I'll bring them down like lambs for the slaughter, like rams with male goats. | 40"I will lead them off to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats." |
| 41"How Sheshak will be captured, and the prince of all the earth seized! How Babylon will become an object of horror among the nations! | 41"See how Babylon has been captured! See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations! |
| 42The sea will come up against Babylon, and she will be covered by wave upon wave. | 42The sea has swept over Babylon. She has been covered by a multitude of its waves. |
| 43Her cities will become an object of horror, a dry land and a desert, a land in which no one lives, and through which no human being passes. | 43The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more. No one even passes through them. |
| 44I'll punish Bel in Babylon, and I'll make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth. The nations will no longer stream to him. Even the wall of Babylon will fall. | 44I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make him spit out what he has swallowed. The nations will not come streaming to him any longer. Indeed, the walls of Babylon will fall." |
| 45"Come out of her, my people, flee for your lives from the LORD's anger! | 45"Get out of Babylon, my people! Flee to save your lives from the fierce anger of the LORD! |
| 46Do this now, so your heart does not grow faint, and so you don't become frightened because of the rumors that are heard in the land— a rumor comes one year and then after it another rumor comes the next year about violence in the land and one ruler against another ruler. | 46Do not lose your courage or become afraid because of the reports that are heard in the land. For a report will come in one year. Another report will follow it in the next. There will be violence in the land with ruler fighting against ruler." |
| 47Therefore, look, days are coming when I'll punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire land will be put to shame, and all her slain will fall in her midst. | 47"So the time will certainly come when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her whole land will be put to shame. All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst. |
| 48Then the heavens and the earth and all that are in them will shout for joy about Babylon because the destroyers will come out of the north against her," declares the LORD. | 48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will sing for joy over Babylon. For destroyers from the north will attack it," says the LORD. |
| 49"So Babylon will fall because of the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. | 49"Babylon must fall because of the Israelites she has killed, just as the earth's mortally wounded fell because of Babylon. |
| 50Go, you who escaped the sword! Don't stand around! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind. | 50You who have escaped the sword, go, do not delay. Remember the LORD in a faraway land. Think about Jerusalem. |
| 51We have been put to shame because we have heard insults. Disgrace has covered our faces because foreigners have come into the Holy Places of the LORD's house. | 51We are ashamed because we have been insulted. Our faces show our disgrace. For foreigners have invaded the holy rooms in the LORD's temple.' |
| 52"Therefore, look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. | 52Yes, but the time will certainly come," says the LORD, "when I will punish her idols. Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan. |
| 53Though Babylon should reach up to the heavens and fortify her high fortresses, from me destroyers will come to her," declares the LORD. | 53Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky and fortifies her elevated stronghold, I will send destroyers against her," says the LORD. |
| 54"The sound of a cry is coming from Babylon, great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans. | 54Cries of anguish will come from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. |
| 55For the LORD is destroying Babylon, and he will make the loud sounds from her disappear. Their waves will roar like many waters, the noise of their voices will sound forth. | 55For the LORD is ready to destroy Babylon, and put an end to her loud noise. Their waves will roar like turbulent waters. They will make a deafening noise. |
| 56Indeed, the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors are captured, and her bows are broken. For the LORD is a God of recompense, and he will repay in full. | 56For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. Her warriors will be captured; their bows will be broken. For the LORD is a God who punishes; he pays back in full. |
| 57I'll make their leaders, their wise men, their governors, their deputies, and their warriors drunk so that they sleep forever and don't wake up," declares the King whose name is the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. | 57"I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her governors, leaders, and warriors. They will fall asleep forever and never wake up," says the King whose name is the LORD who rules over all. |
| 58This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "The broad wall of Babylon will be completely leveled, and its high gate set on fire. and so the peoples toil for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire." | 58This is what the LORD who rules over all says, "Babylon's thick wall will be completely demolished. Her high gates will be set on fire. The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed." |
| 59This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet delivered to Neriah's son Seraiah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. | 59This is the order Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign. (Seraiah was a quartermaster.) |
| 60Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disasters that would come on Babylon, all these things that were written about Babylon. | 60Jeremiah recorded on one scroll all the judgments that would come upon Babylon--all these prophecies written about Babylon. |
| 61Jeremiah told Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, | 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read aloud all these prophecies. |
| 62and say, 'LORD, you have declared about this place that you would destroy it so that there wouldn't be an inhabitant in it, neither human nor animal, because it will be a wasteland forever.' | 62Then say, 'O LORD, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!' |
| 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock around it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. | 63When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. |
| 64Then say, 'Babylon will sink like this and won't rise from the disaster that I'm bringing on her. Her people will be exhausted.'" This concludes the writings of Jeremiah. | 64Then say, 'In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.'" The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. |
|
