Jeremiah 51

The LORD Declares Babylon’s Destruction

1 This is what the LORD says: “I am about to stir up a destructive wind Against Babylon and those who live in Leb-kamai.”

2 “I will send foreigners to Babylon To winnow her and devastate her land. They will come against her from every side In the day of disaster.”

3 “Do not let the archer string his bow Or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; Completely destroy her army.”

4 “They will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans, Pierced through in her streets.”

God Has Not Forsaken Israel

5 “For Israel and Judah are not forsaken by their God, The LORD of armies, Though their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.”

6 “Flee from Babylon! Save your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her guilt. This is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will repay her what she deserves.”

Babylon’s Cup Is Full

7 “Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’s hand, Making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations went mad.”

8 “Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is shattered. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain, Perhaps she can be healed.”

9 “We tried to heal Babylon, But she could not be healed. Leave her! Let us each go to our own land, For her judgment reaches to the sky, It rises as high as the clouds.”

The LORD Vindicates His People

10 “The LORD has brought about our vindication. Come, let us tell in Zion What the LORD our God has done.”

Prepare for Battle

11 “Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose is to destroy Babylon. This is the LORD’s vengeance, Vengeance for His temple.”

12 “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard! Station the watchmen! Prepare the ambush! For the LORD has planned and will carry out What He has spoken against the people of Babylon.”

The End of a Proud Empire

13 “You who live by many waters, Rich in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your greed.”

14 “The LORD of armies has sworn by Himself: ‘I will surely fill you with men like a swarm of locusts, And they will shout in triumph over you.’”

The Power of the Creator

15 “He made the earth by His power, Established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heavens by His understanding.”

16 “When 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.”

17 “Everyone is stupid and ignorant; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his cast images are a lie, And there is no breath in them.”

18 “They are worthless, objects of mockery. When their judgment comes, they will perish.”

19 “The Portion of Jacob is not like these, For He is the Maker of everything, Including Israel, the people of His inheritance. The LORD of armies is His name.”

Babylon the Weapon, Now Judged

20 “You are My war club, My weapon of battle. With you I shatter nations; With you I destroy kingdoms.”

21 “With you I shatter horse and rider; With you I shatter chariot and driver.”

22 “With you I shatter man and woman; With you I shatter old and young; With you I shatter young man and young woman.”

23 “With you I shatter shepherd and flock; With you I shatter farmer and oxen; With you I shatter governors and officials.”

Babylon Must Pay

24 “But I will repay Babylon And all the inhabitants of Chaldea For all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes,” Declares the LORD.

25 “Look, I am against you, destroying mountain,” Declares the LORD, “you who destroy the whole earth. I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the cliffs, And make you a burned-out mountain.”

26 “No stone will be taken from you for a cornerstone, Nor any stone for a foundation, For you will be desolate forever,” Declares the LORD.

Nations Summoned Against Babylon

27 “Raise a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her! Summon kingdoms against her, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.”

28 “Prepare the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their officials, And all the lands under their rule.”

29 “The land trembles and writhes, For the LORD’s purposes against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon a desolation, Without inhabitant.”

The Fall Is Certain

30 “Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; They remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; They have become like women. Her dwellings are set on fire; The bars of her gates are broken.”

31 “One courier races to meet another, One messenger to meet another, To announce to the king of Babylon That his city is captured from end to end.”

32 “The fords are seized, The marshes are burned with fire, And the soldiers are terrified.”

The Harvest of Judgment

33 “For this is what the LORD of armies, 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, The time of her harvest will come.”

Jeremiah Cries Out

34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; He has crushed me; He made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me like a monster, Filled his stomach with my delicacies, And vomited me out.”

35 “May the violence done to me and my flesh Be upon Babylon,” Says the inhabitant of Zion. “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” Says Jerusalem.

The LORD Answers Zion

36 “Therefore this is what the LORD says: I will defend your cause And take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea And make her springs dry.”

37 “Babylon will become a heap of ruins, A haunt for jackals, An object of horror and scorn, Without inhabitant.”

Drunk on Judgment

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

39 “While they are inflamed, I will prepare their feast And make them drunk, So they may shout with laughter And then sleep forever And never wake up,” Declares the LORD.

40 “I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered, Like rams and goats.”

Babylon’s Glory Ends

41 “How Sheshach is captured, The pride of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror Among the nations!”

42 “The sea has risen over Babylon; She is covered by its tumultuous waves.”

43 “Her cities have become a desolation, A dry land and a desert, A land where no one lives And no man passes through.”

False Gods Shamed

44 “I will punish Bel in Babylon And make him vomit what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him, And even the wall of Babylon will fall.”

Call to Escape

45 “Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, Each of you, From the LORD’s burning anger.”

46 “Do not let your heart grow faint or be afraid When rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes this year, Another the next, Violence in the land And ruler against ruler.”

The Appointed Time

47 “Therefore, days are coming When I will punish Babylon’s idols. Her whole land will be put to shame, And all her slain will fall in her midst.”

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

Babylon Falls for Israel

49 “Babylon must fall Because of Israel’s slain, Just as the slain of all the earth Have fallen because of Babylon.”

Final Call to Remember the LORD

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

51 “We were ashamed when we heard insults; Disgrace covered our faces, Because foreigners entered The holy places of the LORD’s house.”

The Lord’s Final Word

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

53 “Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens And fortifies her lofty stronghold, Destroyers will come against her from Me,” Declares the LORD.

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

55 “For the LORD is destroying Babylon And silencing her loud noise. Her waves roar like mighty waters; The sound of their voice resounds.”

56 “A destroyer has come against Babylon. Her warriors are captured, Their bows are shattered. For the LORD is a God of recompense; He will surely repay.”

57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk, Along with her governors, commanders, and warriors. They will sleep forever And never wake up,” Declares the King, Whose name is the LORD of armies.

Babylon Will Be No More

58 This is what the LORD of armies says: “The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, And her high gates burned with fire. So the peoples will labor for nothing, And the nations will exhaust themselves for fire.”

Jeremiah’s Final Act

59 This is the command Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, When he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster.

60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll All the disaster that would come on Babylon, All these words written against Babylon.

61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, See that you read all these words aloud.”

62 Then say, ‘LORD, You have spoken against this place To cut it off, So that no one will live in it, Neither man nor animal, But it will be desolate forever.’”

63 “When you finish reading this scroll, Tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.”

64 Then say, “Just like this, Babylon will sink And never rise again Because of the disaster I am bringing on her.” The words of Jeremiah end here.