| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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! |
| 4"They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets." | 4And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and pierced through in her streets. |
| 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. | 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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. | 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. |
| 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. | 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.” |
| 10The LORD has brought about our vindication; Come and let us recount in Zion The work of the LORD our God! | 10“The LORD has brought forth our vindication; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has accomplished.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 13O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end. | 13You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. |
| 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." | 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.” |
| 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. | 15The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 18They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. | 18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 20He says, "You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, And with you I destroy kingdoms. | 20“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin. |
| 21"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider, | 21With you I shatter the horse and rider; with you I shatter the chariot and driver. |
| 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, | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 26No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone, because you will become desolate forever,” declares the LORD. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 28Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their prefects, And every land of their dominion. | 28Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule. |
| 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. | 29The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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; | 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. |
| 32The fords also have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified. | 32The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers 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 it is stamped firm; Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her." | 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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 37"Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. | 37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant. |
| 38"They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions' cubs. | 38They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats. | 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. |
| 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! | 41How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! |
| 42"The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. | 42The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves. |
| 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. | 43Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no son of man passes through. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 45"Come forth from her midst, My people, And each of you save yourselves From the fierce anger of the LORD. | 45Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD. |
| 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-- | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 49Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen. | 49“Babylon must fall on account of the slain of Israel, just as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. |
| 50You who have escaped the sword, Depart! Do not stay! Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. | 50You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.” |
| 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. | 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.” |
| 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. | 52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan. |
| 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. | 53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD. |
| 54The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! | 54“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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." | 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.” |
| 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.) | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, | 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, |
| 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.' | 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.’ |
| 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, | 63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 | The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. |
|
