Online Bible

Prophecy against Babylon

The word which the LORD spoke concerning ^aBabylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

2 “^aDeclare and proclaim among the nations.Proclaim it and ^blift up a standard.Do not conceal it but say,‘^cBabylon has been captured,^dBel has been put to shame, ¹Marduk has been ²shattered;Her ^eimages have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’

3 For a nation has come up against her out of the ^anorth; it will make her land ^ban object of horror, and there will be ^cno inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!

4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the LORD, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah ^aas well; they will go along ^bweeping as they go, and it will be ^cthe LORD their God they will seek. 5 They will ^aask for the way to Zion, turning their faces ¹in its direction; ²they ³will come that they may join themselves 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 on the ^cmountains;They have gone along from mountain to hillAnd have forgotten their ^dresting place.7 “All who came upon them have devoured them;And their adversaries have said, ‘^aWe are not guilty,Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the ^bhabitation of righteousness,Even the LORD, the ^chope of their fathers.’

8 “Wander away from the ^amidst of BabylonAnd ¹go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;Be also like male goats ²at the head of the flock.9 “For behold, I am going to ^aarouse and bring up against BabylonA horde of great nations from the land of the north,And they will draw up their battle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like ¹an expert warriorWho does not return empty-handed.10 “¹^aChaldea will become plunder;All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the LORD.

11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,O you who ^apillage My heritage,Because you skip about ¹like a threshing ^bheiferAnd neigh like ²stallions,12 Your ^amother ¹will be greatly ashamed,She who gave you birth ²will be humiliated.Behold, she will be the least of the nations,A ^bwilderness, a parched land and a desert.13 “Because of the indignation of the LORD she will ^anot be inhabited,But she will be ^bcompletely desolate;Everyone who passes by Babylon ^cwill be horrifiedAnd will hiss because of all her wounds.14 “Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,All you who ¹bend the bow;Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,For she has ^asinned against the LORD.15 “Raise your battle cry against her on every side!She has ^agiven ¹herself up, 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, so do to her.16 “Cut off the ^asower from BabylonAnd the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;From before ¹the ^bsword of the oppressor^cThey will each turn back to his own peopleAnd they will each flee to his own land.

17 “Israel is a ^ascattered ¹flock, the ^blions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the ^cking of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is ^dNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I ^apunished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will ^abring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his ¹desire will be satisfied in the ^bhill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but ^athere will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those ^bwhom I leave as a remnant.’

21 “Against the land of ¹Merathaim, go up against it,And against the inhabitants of ²^aPekod.Slay and ³utterly destroy them,” declares the LORD,“And do according to all that I have commanded you.22 “The ^anoise of battle is in the land,And great destruction.23 “How the ^ahammer of the whole earthHas been cut off and broken!How Babylon has becomeAn object of horror among the nations!24 “I ^aset a snare for you and you were also ^bcaught, O Babylon,While you yourself were not aware;You have been found and also seizedBecause you have engaged in ^cconflict with the LORD.”25 The LORD has opened His armoryAnd has brought forth the ^aweapons of His indignation,For it is a ^bwork of the Lord ¹GOD of hostsIn the land of the Chaldeans.26 Come to her from the ¹farthest border;^aOpen up her barns,Pile her up like heapsAnd ²^butterly destroy her,Let nothing be left to her.27 ^aPut all her young bulls to the sword;Let them ^bgo down to the slaughter!Woe be upon them, for their ^cday has come,The time of their punishment.

28 There is a ^asound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,To declare in Zion the ^bvengeance of the LORD our God,Vengeance for His ^ctemple.

29 “Summon ¹many against Babylon,All those who ²bend the bow:Encamp against her on every side,Let there be no escape³.Repay her according to her work;^aAccording to all that she has done, so do to her;For she has become ^barrogant against the LORD,Against the Holy One of Israel.30 “Therefore her ^ayoung men will fall in her streets,And all her men of war will be ¹^bsilenced in that day,” declares the LORD.31 “Behold, ^aI am against you, O ¹arrogant one,”Declares the Lord ²GOD of hosts,“For your day has come,The time ³when I will punish you.32 “The ¹^aarrogant one will stumble and fallWith no one to raise him up;And I will ^bset fire to his citiesAnd it will devour all his environs.”

33 Thus says the LORD of hosts,“The sons of Israel are oppressed,And the sons of Judah as well;And ^aall who took them captive have held them fast,They have refused to let them go.34 “Their ^aRedeemer is strong, ^bthe LORD of hosts is His name;He will vigorously ^cplead their caseSo that He may ^dbring rest to ¹the earth,But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.35 “A ^asword against the Chaldeans,” declares the LORD,“And against the inhabitants of BabylonAnd against her ^bofficials and her ^cwise men!36 “A sword against the ^aoracle priests, and they will become fools!A sword against her ^bmighty men, and they will be ¹^cshattered!37 “A sword against ¹their ^ahorses and against ²their chariotsAnd against all the ³^bforeigners who are in the midst of her,And they will become ^cwomen!A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!38 “A ¹^adrought on her waters, and they will be dried up!For it is a land of ^bidols,And they are mad over fearsome idols.

39 “Therefore the ^adesert creatures will live there along with the jackals;The ostriches also will live in it,And it will ^bnever again be inhabitedOr dwelt in from generation to generation.40 “As when God overthrew ^aSodomAnd Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the LORD,“No man will live there,Nor will any son of man reside in it.

41 “Behold, a people is coming ^afrom the north,And a great nation and many kingsWill be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.42 “They ^aseize their bow and javelin;They are ^bcruel and have no mercy.Their ^cvoice roars like the sea;And they ride on ^dhorses,^eMarshalled like a man for the battleAgainst you, O daughter of Babylon.43 “The ^aking of Babylon has heard the report about them,And his hands hang limp;^bDistress has gripped him,Agony like a woman in childbirth.

44 “^aBehold, one will come up like a lion from the ¹thicket of the Jordan to ²a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is ^bchosen I will appoint over it. For who is ^clike Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can ^dstand before Me?” 45 Therefore hear the ^aplan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^bsurely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their ¹pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the ¹shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the ^aearth is shaken, and an ^boutcry is heard among the nations.