| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1This is what the LORD says: "See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. | 1This is what the LORD says: I am about to stir up a destructive wind against Babylon and against the population of Leb-qamai. |
| 2I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. | 2I will send strangers to Babylon who will scatter her and strip her land bare, for they will come against her from every side in the day of disaster. |
| 3Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. | 3Don't let the archer string his bow; dont let him put on his armor. Don't spare her young men; completely destroy her entire army! |
| 4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets. | 4Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans, those who were pierced through, in her streets. |
| 5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. | 5For Israel and Judah are not left widowed by their God, the LORD of Hosts, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. |
| 6"Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD's vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. | 6Leave Babylon; save your lives, each of you! Don't perish because of her guilt. For this is the time of the LORD's vengeance-- He will pay her what she deserves. |
| 7Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. | 7Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore, the nations go mad. |
| 8Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. | 8Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered. Wail for her; get balm for her wound-- perhaps she can be healed. |
| 9"'We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.' | 9We 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 sky and reaches as far as the clouds. |
| 10"'The LORD has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has done.' | 10The LORD has brought about our vindication; come, let's tell in Zion what the LORD our God has accomplished. |
| 11"Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. | 11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has put it into the mind of the kings of the Medes because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the LORD's vengeance, vengeance for His temple. |
| 12Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The LORD will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon. | 12Raise up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon; fortify the watch post; set the watchmen in place; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both planned and accomplished what He has threatened against those who live in Babylon. |
| 13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed. | 13You who reside by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut. |
| 14The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you. | 14The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself: I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will sing the victory song over you. |
| 15"He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. | 15He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His understanding. |
| 16When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. | 16When He thunders, the waters in the heavens are in turmoil, and He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses. |
| 17"Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them. | 17Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them. |
| 18They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. | 18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed. |
| 19He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the people of his inheritance-- the LORD Almighty is his name. | 19Jacob's Portion is not like these because He is the One who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; Yahweh of Hosts is His name. |
| 20"You are my war club, my weapon for battle-- with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms, | 20You are My battle club, My weapons of war. With you I will smash nations; with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin. |
| 21with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, | 21With you I will smash the horse and its rider; with you I will smash the chariot and its rider. |
| 22with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and young woman, | 22With you I will smash man and woman; with you I will smash the old man and the youth; with you I will smash the young man and the young woman. |
| 23with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials. | 23With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock; with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team. With you I will smash governors and officials. |
| 24"Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion," declares the LORD. | 24"I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion before your very eyes." This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 25"I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth," declares the LORD. "I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain. | 25Look, I am against you, devastating mountain-- this is the LORD's declaration-- you devastate the whole earth. I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you down from the cliffs, and turn you into a charred mountain. |
| 26No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever," declares the LORD. | 26No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will become desolate forever. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 27"Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her; summon against her these kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; send up horses like a swarm of locusts. | 27Raise a signal flag in the land; blow a ram's horn among the nations; set apart the nations against her. Summon kingdoms against her-- Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. |
| 28Prepare the nations for battle against her-- the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the countries they rule. | 28Set apart the nations for battle against her-- the kings of Media, her governors and all her officials, and all the lands they rule. |
| 29The land trembles and writhes, for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand-- to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one will live there. | 29The earth quakes and trembles because the LORD's intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon an uninhabited desolation. |
| 30Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become weaklings. Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. | 30Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their might is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon's homes have been set ablaze, her gate bars are shattered. |
| 31One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured, | 31Messenger races to meet messenger, and herald to meet herald, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end. |
| 32the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified." | 32The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified. |
| 33This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come." | 33For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come. |
| 34"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has thrown us into confusion, he has made us an empty jar. Like a serpent he has swallowed us and filled his stomach with our delicacies, and then has spewed us out. | 34"Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty dish; he has swallowed me like a sea monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out," |
| 35May the violence done to our flesh be on Babylon," say the inhabitants of Zion. "May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia," says Jerusalem. | 35says the inhabitant of Zion; "Let the violence done to me and my family be done to Babylon. Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem. |
| 36Therefore this is what the LORD says: "See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. | 36Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her fountain run dry. |
| 37Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives. | 37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals' den, a desolation and an object of scorn, without inhabitant. |
| 38Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs. | 38They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. |
| 39But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter-- then sleep forever and not awake," declares the LORD. | 39While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they revel. Then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats. | 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. |
| 41"How Sheshak will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! How desolate Babylon will be among the nations! | 41How Sheshach has been captured, the praise of the whole earth seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! |
| 42The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. | 42The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered with its turbulent waves. |
| 43Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no one travels. | 43Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no human being passes through. |
| 44I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall. | 44I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him vomit what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even Babylon's wall will fall. |
| 45"Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of the LORD. | 45Come out from among her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the LORD's burning anger. |
| 46Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. | 46May you not become cowardly and fearful when the report is proclaimed in the land, for the report will come one year, and then another the next year. There will be violence in the land with ruler against ruler. |
| 47For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her. | 47Therefore, look, the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's carved images. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her slain will lie fallen within her. |
| 48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her," declares the LORD. | 48Heaven and earth and everything in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 49"Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. | 49Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth fell because of Babylon. |
| 50You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the LORD in a distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem." | 50You who have escaped the sword, go and do not stand still! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind. |
| 51"We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD's house." | 51We are ashamed because we have heard insults. Humiliation covers our faces because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD's temple. |
| 52"But days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. | 52Therefore, look, the days are coming-- this is the LORD's declaration-- when I will punish her carved images, and the wounded will groan throughout her land. |
| 53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her," declares the LORD. | 53Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from Me. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 54"The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. | 54The sound of a cry from Babylon! The sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! |
| 55The LORD will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound. | 55For the LORD is going to devastate Babylon; He will silence her mighty voice. Their waves roar like abundant waters; the tumult of their voice resounds, |
| 56A destroyer will come 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. | 56for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, their bows shattered, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will certainly repay. |
| 57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake," declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty. | 57I will make her princes and sages drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up. This is the King's declaration; Yahweh of Hosts is His name. |
| 58This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Babylon's thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames." | 58This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: Babylon's thick walls will be totally demolished, and her high gates consumed by fire. The peoples will have labored for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves only to feed the fire. |
| 59This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. | 59This is what Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign. |
| 60Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon--all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. | 60Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon. |
| 61He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. | 61Jeremiah told Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. |
| 62Then say, 'LORD, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.' | 62You must say, ' LORD, You have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it--man or beast. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.' |
| 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. | 63When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. |
| 64Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.'" The words of Jeremiah end here. | 64Then say, 'In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.'" The words of Jeremiah end here. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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