Berean Study Bible

International Standard Version

1This is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will stir up against Babylon and against the people of Leb-kamai the spirit of a destroyer.

1This is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm going to stir up a destroying wind against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai.

2I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her and empty her land; for they will come against her from every side in her day of disaster.

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.

3Do not let the archer bend his bow or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; devote all her army to destruction!

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.

4And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and pierced through in her streets.

4The slain will fall in the land of Chaldea, pierced through in her streets.

5For Israel and Judah have not been abandoned by their God, the LORD of Hosts, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.”

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."

6Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.

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.

7Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.

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.

8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.

8Suddenly, Babylon fell down and was shattered. Wail for her! Bring balm for her wound, perhaps she will be healed.

9“We 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 to the clouds.”

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.

10“The LORD has brought forth our vindication; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has accomplished.”

10The LORD will vindicate us. Come! Let us declare the work of the LORD our God in Zion.

11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.

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.

12Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; post the guard; station the watchmen; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both devised and accomplished what He spoke against the people of Babylon.

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.

13You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.

13You who live beside many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut.

14The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.”

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."

15The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

15He made the earth by his power. He established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he spread out the heavens.

16When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

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.

17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

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.

18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

18They're worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they'll perish.

19The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

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.

20“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.

20"You are my war-club and weapons of war. I'll smash nations with you and destroy kingdoms with you.

21With you I shatter the horse and rider; with you I shatter the chariot and driver.

21I'll smash the horse and its rider with you. I'll smash the chariot and its rider with you.

22With you I shatter man and woman; with you I shatter the old man and the youth; with you I shatter the young man and the maiden.

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.

23With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock; with you I shatter the farmer and his oxen; with you I shatter the governors and officials.

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.

24Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.

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.

25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn you into a charred mountain.

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.

26No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone, because you will become desolate forever,” declares the LORD.

26They won't get a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will be a wasteland forever," declares the LORD.

27“Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.

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.

28Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule.

28Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors, their prefects, and every land under their domination.

29The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

29The land quakes and writhes because the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand firm, to make the land of Babylon a waste without inhabitants.

30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.

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.

31One courier races to meet another, and messenger follows messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.

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.

32The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified.”

32The fords have been captured, and the marshes burned with fire. The soldiers are terrified.

33For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come.”

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."

34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.

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.

35May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” says the dweller of Zion. “May my blood be on the dwellers of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.

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.

36Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.

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.

37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.

37Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals, a desolate place and an object of scorn.

38They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

38They'll roar together like young lions; they'll growl like lion cubs.

39While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.

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.

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

40"I'll bring them down like lambs for the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

41How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!

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!

42The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.

42The sea will come up against Babylon, and she will be covered by wave upon wave.

43Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no son of man passes through.

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.

44I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.

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.

45Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.

45"Come out of her, my people, flee for your lives from the LORD's anger!

46Do not let your heart grow faint, and do not be afraid when the rumor is heard in the land; for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

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.

47Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her slain will lie fallen within her.

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.

48Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her,” declares the LORD.

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.

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

49"So Babylon will fall because of the slain of Israel, even as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

50You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.”

50Go, you who escaped the sword! Don't stand around! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind.

51“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; disgrace has covered our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD’s house.”

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.

52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.

52"Therefore, look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.

53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.

53Though Babylon should reach up to the heavens and fortify her high fortresses, from me destroyers will come to her," declares the LORD.

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

54"The sound of a cry is coming from Babylon, great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.

55For the LORD will destroy Babylon; He will silence her mighty voice. The waves will roar like great waters; the tumult of their voices will resound.

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.

56For a destroyer is coming against her—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.

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.

57I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

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.

58This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”

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."

59This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

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.

60Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

60Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disasters that would come on Babylon, all these things that were written about Babylon.

61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,

61Jeremiah told Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words,

62and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’

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.'

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

63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock around it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.

64Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’ ” Here end the words of Jeremiah.

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.

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