| English Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, | 1Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer. |
| 2and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble. | 2"I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her And may devastate her land; For on every side they will be opposed to her In the day of her calamity. |
| 3Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army. | 3"Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his scale-armor; So do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction. |
| 4They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets. | 4"They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets." |
| 5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. | 5For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the LORD of hosts, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel. |
| 6“Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her. | 6Flee from the midst of Babylon, And each of you save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, For this is the LORD'S time of vengeance; He is going to render recompense to her. |
| 7Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad. | 7Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad. |
| 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. | 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. |
| 9We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. | 9We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Forsake her and let us each go to his own country, For her judgment has reached to heaven And towers up to the very skies. |
| 10The LORD has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. | 10The LORD has brought about our vindication; Come and let us recount in Zion The work of the LORD our God! |
| 11“Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. | 11Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple. |
| 12“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. | 12Lift up a signal against the walls of Babylon; Post a strong guard, Station sentries, Place men in ambush! For the LORD has both purposed and performed What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. |
| 13O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. | 13O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end. |
| 14The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. | 14The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: "Surely I will fill you with a population like locusts, And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you." |
| 15“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. | 15It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. |
| 16When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. | 16When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain And brings forth the wind from His storehouses. |
| 17Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. | 17All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. |
| 18They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. | 18They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. |
| 19Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name. | 19The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And of the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name. |
| 20“You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; | 20He says, "You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, And with you I destroy kingdoms. |
| 21with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; | 21"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider, |
| 22with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; | 22And with you I shatter man and woman, And with you I shatter old man and youth, And with you I shatter young man and virgin, |
| 23with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. | 23And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, And with you I shatter governors and prefects. |
| 24“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD. | 24"But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes," declares the LORD. |
| 25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. | 25"Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD, "And I will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the crags, And I will make you a burnt out mountain. |
| 26No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the LORD. | 26"They will not take from you even a stone for a corner Nor a stone for foundations, But you will be desolate forever," declares the LORD. |
| 27“Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts. | 27Lift up a signal in the land, Blow a trumpet among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her, Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz; Appoint a marshal against her, Bring up the horses like bristly locusts. |
| 28Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion. | 28Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their prefects, And every land of their dominion. |
| 29The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the LORD’s purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. | 29So the land quakes and writhes, For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without inhabitants. |
| 30The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken. | 30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They stay in the strongholds; Their strength is exhausted, They are becoming like women; Their dwelling places are set on fire, The bars of her gates are broken. |
| 31One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side; | 31One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end; |
| 32the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic. | 32The fords also have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified. |
| 33For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.” | 33For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor At the time it is stamped firm; Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her." |
| 34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out. | 34"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me, He has set me down like an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a monster, He has filled his stomach with my delicacies; He has washed me away. |
| 35The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,” let the inhabitant of Zion say. “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” let Jerusalem say. | 35"May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon," The inhabitant of Zion will say; And, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say. |
| 36Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, | 36Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am going to plead your case And exact full vengeance for you; And I will dry up her sea And make her fountain dry. |
| 37and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant. | 37"Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. |
| 38“They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions’ cubs. | 38"They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions' cubs. |
| 39While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the LORD. | 39"When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet And make them drunk, that they may become jubilant And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up," declares the LORD. |
| 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats. | 40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats. |
| 41“How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! | 41"How Sheshak has been captured, And the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! |
| 42The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. | 42"The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. |
| 43Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes. | 43"Her cities have become an object of horror, A parched land and a desert, A land in which no man lives And through which no son of man passes. |
| 44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen. | 44"I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream to him. Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down! |
| 45“Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the LORD! | 45"Come forth from her midst, My people, And each of you save yourselves From the fierce anger of the LORD. |
| 46Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler. | 46"Now so that your heart does not grow faint, And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land-- For the report will come one year, And after that another report in another year, And violence will be in the land With ruler against ruler-- |
| 47“Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. | 47Therefore behold, days are coming When I will punish the idols of Babylon; And her whole land will be put to shame And all her slain will fall in her midst. |
| 48Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD. | 48"Then heaven and earth and all that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, For the destroyers will come to her from the north," Declares the LORD. |
| 49Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. | 49Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen. |
| 50“You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind: | 50You who have escaped the sword, Depart! Do not stay! Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. |
| 51‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the LORD’s house.’ | 51We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; Disgrace has covered our faces, For aliens have entered The holy places of the LORD'S house. |
| 52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. | 52"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will punish her idols, And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land. |
| 53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the LORD. | 53"Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens, And though she should fortify her lofty stronghold, From Me destroyers will come to her," declares the LORD. |
| 54“A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! | 54The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! |
| 55For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, | 55For the LORD is going to destroy Babylon, And He will make her loud noise vanish from her. And their waves will roar like many waters; The tumult of their voices sounds forth. |
| 56for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; he will surely repay. | 56For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men will be captured, Their bows are shattered; For the LORD is a God of recompense, He will fully repay. |
| 57I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. | 57"I will make her princes and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men, That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up," Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. |
| 58“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire.” | 58Thus says the LORD of hosts, "The broad wall of Babylon will be completely razed And her high gates will be set on fire; So the peoples will toil for nothing, And the nations become exhausted only for fire." |
| 59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. | 59The message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded 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 reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) |
| 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. | 60So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. |
| 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, | 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, |
| 62and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ | 62and say, 'You, O LORD, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.' |
| 63When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, | 63"And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, |
| 64and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. | 64and say, 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.'" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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