Online Bible

Prophecy against Babylon

The word that the LORD spoke concerning ¹^aBabylon and concerning the land of the ²Chaldeans through Jeremiah the prophet: Is 13:1-14:23; 47; Hab 1:1, 2

2 “^aDeclare among the nations.^bLift up a signal to spread the news—publish and proclaim it,Do not conceal it; say,‘^cBabylon has been taken,^dBel the patron god has been shamed, ¹Marduk (Bel) has been shattered.Babylon’s ^eimages have been shamed, her worthless idols have been thrown down.’

3 For out of the ^anorth a nation (Media) has come against her which will make her land ^bdesolate, and ^cno one will live there. They have fled, they have gone away—both man and animal.

4 “In those days and at that time,” says the LORD, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah ^atogether; they will come up ^bweeping in repentance as they come and seek ^cthe LORD their God inquiring for and of Him. 5 They will ^aask the way to Zion, with their faces in that direction, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an ^beverlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’

6 “My people have become ^alost sheep;^bTheir shepherds have led them astray.They have made them turn aside to the seductive places of idolatry on the ^cmountains.They have gone along from one sin to another from mountain to hill;They have forgotten their own ^dresting place. Is 53:6; 1+@Pet 2:257 “All who found them have devoured them;And their adversaries have said, ‘^aWe are not guilty,Because they have sinned against the LORD and are no longer holy to Him, their true ^bhabitation of righteousness and justice,Even the LORD, the confident ^chope of their fathers.’

8 “Wander away from the ^amidst of BabylonAnd go out of the land of the Chaldeans;Be like the male goats who serve as leaders at the head of the flocks. Jer 51:6, 9, 45; 2+@Cor 6:17; Rev 18:49 “For behold, I will ^astir up and bring up against BabylonAn assembly of great nations from the north country.They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like an expert warriorWho will not return empty-handed.10 “^aChaldea will become plunder;All who plunder her will be satisfied,” says the LORD.

11 “Though you are glad, though you rejoice,O you who ^aplunder My heritage,Though you are wanton and skip about like a ^bheifer in the grassAnd neigh like stallions,12 Your ^amother Babylon shall be greatly shamed;She who gave you birth will be ashamed.Behold, she will be the least of the nations,A ^bwilderness, a parched land and a desert.13 “Because of the wrath of the LORD she will ^anot be inhabitedBut she will be ^bcompletely desolate;Everyone who goes by Babylon ^cwill be appalledAnd will hiss (mock) at all her wounds and plagues.14 “Set yourselves in battle formation against Babylon on every side,All you archers.Shoot at her! Do not spare the arrows,For she has ^asinned against the LORD.15 “Raise the battle cry against her on every side!She ^ahas given her hand in agreement and has surrendered; her pillars have fallen,Her ^bwalls have been torn down.For this is the ^cvengeance of the LORD:Take vengeance on her;^dAs she has done to others, do to her.16 “Cut off the ^asower from BabylonAnd the one who handles the sickle at the time of harvest.For fear of the ^bsword of the oppressor^cEveryone will return to his own peopleAnd everyone will flee to his own land.

17 “Israel is a hunted and ^ascattered flock driven here and there as prey; the ^blions have chased them away. First the ^cking of Assyria devoured him, and now at last ^dNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken (gnawed) his bones. 18 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will visit (inspect, examine) and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and ^apunished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will ^abring Israel home again to his pasture and he will graze on the most fertile lands of Carmel in the west and Bashan in the east, and his soul will be satisfied on the ^bhills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ says the LORD, ‘a search will be made for the wickedness of Israel, but ^athere will be none and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will pardon those ^bwhom I leave as a remnant.’ Is 1:9; 43:25; Jer 31:34; 33:8; Rom 9:27

21 “Go against Babylon the land of Merathaim (Double Rebellion) ,Go up against it and against the people of ^aPekod (Punishment) .Kill and utterly destroy them,” says the LORD,“And do everything that I have commanded you.”22 “The ^anoise of battle is in the land,And the noise of great destruction.23 “How the ^ahammer of the whole earthIs crushed and broken!How Babylon has becomeA horror of desolation among the nations!24 “I ^aset a trap for you and you also were ^bcaught, O Babylon,And you did not know it;You have been found and also seizedBecause you have ^cstruggled against the LORD.”25 The LORD has opened His armoryAnd has brought out the nations who unknowingly are the ^aweapons of His indignation (wrath) ,For it is a ^bwork of the Lord GOD of hostsIn the land of the Chaldeans.26 Come against her from the farthest border.^aOpen her storehouses;Pile it up like heaps of rubbish.^bBurn and destroy her completely;Let nothing be left of her.27 ^aKill all her young bulls her strength—her young men;Let them ^bgo down to the slaughter!Woe (judgment is coming) to the Chaldeans, for their ^cday has come,The time of their punishment.

28 Listen to the ^avoice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,Proclaiming in Zion the ^bvengeance of the LORD our God,The vengeance of the LORD against the Chaldeans for plundering and destroying His ^ctemple.

29 “Call together many archers against Babylon,All those who bend the bow.Encamp against her on every side;Let no one from there escape.Repay her according to her actions;^aJust as she has done, do to her.For she has been ^bproudly defiant and presumptuous against the LORD,Against the Holy One of Israel.30 “Therefore her ^ayoung men will fall in her streets,And all her soldiers will be ^bdestroyed on that day,” says the LORD.31 “Behold, ^aI am against you, O Babylon, you arrogant one, you who are pride and presumption personified,”Says the Lord GOD of hosts,“For your day has come,The time when I will punish you.32 “The ^aarrogant (proud) one will stumble and fallWith no one to raise him up;And I will ^bset fire to his citiesAnd it will devour all who are around him.”

33 Thus says the LORD of hosts,“The children of Israel are oppressed,And the children of Judah as well;^aAnd all who took them captive have held them tightly,They have refused to let them go.34 “Their ^aRedeemer is strong; ^bthe LORD of hosts is His name.He will most certainly ^cplead their case and defend their causeSo that He may ^dbring rest to their land,But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.35 “A ^asword against the Chaldeans,” says the LORD,“And against the inhabitants of BabylonAnd against her ^bprinces (officials, civic rulers) and against her ^cwise men (astrologers, religious rulers) !36 “A sword against the ^aoracle priests (the babbling liars) , and they will become fools!A sword against her ^bmighty warriors, and they will be shattered and ^cdestroyed!37 “A sword against their ^ahorses and against their chariotsAnd against all the ^bforeign troops that are in her midst,And they will become as weak and defenseless as ^cwomen!A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!38 “A ^adrought on her waters, and they will dry up!For it is a land of worthless ^bidols,And they are mad over fearsome idols those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust.

39 “Therefore ¹wild beasts of the ^adesert will live there in Babylon with the jackals;The ostriches also will live there,And it will ^bnever again be inhabited with peopleOr lived in from generation to generation. Is 13:20-2240 “As when God overthrew ^aSodomAnd Gomorrah and their neighboring cities,” says the LORD,“So no man will live there;Nor shall any son of man live there.” Jer 49:18

41 “Behold, a people is coming ^afrom the north,And a great nation and many kingsWill be stirring from the remote parts of the earth.42 “They ^aseize their bow and spear;They are ^bcruel and have no compassion.They ^csound like the roaring of the sea;They ride on ^dhorses,Every man ^eequipped like a man ready for the battleAgainst you, O Daughter of Babylon.43 “The ^aking of Babylon has heard the report about them,And his hands fall limp and helpless;^bAnguish has seized him,And agony like that of a woman in childbirth.

44 “^aSee, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation of Babylon and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make Babylon run from his land. I will appoint over Babylon the one whom I ^bchoose. For who is ^clike Me, and who will summon Me into court and prosecute Me for this? Who is the earthly shepherd who can ^dstand defiantly before Me?” Jer 49:19 45 Therefore hear the ^aplan of the LORD which He has devised against Babylon, and hear what He has purposed against the inhabitants of the land of the Chaldeans: ^bsurely they will be dragged away, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their habitation desolate because of them. 46 At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the ^aearth quakes, and an ^boutcry is heard among the nations.