| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 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: "See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. |
| 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 foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her 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. | 3Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. |
| 4"They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets." | 4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded 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 forsaken by their God, the LORD Almighty, 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. | 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. |
| 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 LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. |
| 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. | 8Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get 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 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.' |
| 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 vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has done.' |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 13O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end. | 13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 15"He made the earth by his power; he founded 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 makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out 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. | 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. |
| 18They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. | 18They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, 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. | 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. |
| 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 destroy kingdoms, |
| 21"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider, | 21with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter 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 old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and young woman, |
| 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 shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter 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. | 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. |
| 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"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. |
| 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 rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be 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"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. |
| 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 countries 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured, |
| 32The fords also have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified. | 32the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers 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." | 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." |
| 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 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. |
| 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 our flesh be on Babylon," say the inhabitants of Zion. "May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia," 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: "See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. |
| 37"Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. | 37Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives. |
| 38"They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions' cubs. | 38Her people all roar like young lions, they 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. | 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. |
| 40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats. | 40"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and 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! | 41"How Sheshak will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! How desolate Babylon will be among the nations! |
| 42"The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. | 42The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. |
| 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 towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no one travels. |
| 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 and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And 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. | 45"Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, for out of the north destroyers will attack 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 because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in 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, leave and do not linger! Remember the LORD in a distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem." |
| 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 disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers 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"But 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, I will send destroyers 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 Babylonians. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 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." |
| 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 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. |
| 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 scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon--all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. |
| 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, | 61He 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.' | 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.' |
| 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 throw 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 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. |
| 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 | 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. |
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