50 The
word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans
by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Declare
ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and
conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken
in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. 3 For
out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make
her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they
shall depart, both man and beast. 4 In
those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall
come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they
shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 5 They
shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come,
and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall
not be forgotten. 6 My
people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray,
they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain
to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. 7 All
that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend
not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice,
even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. 8 Remove
out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans,
and be as the he goats before the flocks. 9 For,
lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great
nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array
against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as
of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. 10 And
Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith
the LORD. 11 Because
ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because
ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; 12 Your
mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold,
the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a
desert. 13 Because
of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly
desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss
at all her plagues. 14 Put
yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the
bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. 15 Shout
against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are
fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD:
take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. 16 Cut
off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time
of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one
to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. 17 Israel
is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of
Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
hath broken his bones. 18 Therefore
thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish
the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 And
I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel
and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In
those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve. 21 Go
up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants
of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do
according to all that I have commanded thee. 22 A
sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23 How
is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon
become a desolation among the nations!
24
I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou
wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven
against the LORD. 25 The LORD hath opened his armoury, and
hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work
of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the utmost border,
open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let
nothing of her be left. 27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down
to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their
visitation. 28 The voice of them that flee and escape
out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD
our God, the vengeance of his temple. 29 Call together the archers against Babylon:
all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof
escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she
hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against
the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore shall her young men fall in
the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith
the LORD. 31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most
proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I
will visit thee. 32 And the most proud shall stumble and
fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it shall devour all round about him. 33 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children
of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that
took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of
hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give
rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith
the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and
upon her wise men. 36 A sword is upon the liars; and they
shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. 37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon
their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of
her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and
they shall be robbed. 38 A drought is upon her waters; and they
shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad
upon their idols. 39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert
with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall
dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall
it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide
there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. 41 Behold, a people shall come from the
north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts
of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance:
they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the
sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man
to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report
of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs
as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion
from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will
make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may
appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time?
and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the
LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath
purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock
shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with
them. 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon
the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations..