A Prophecy against Babylon

1This is the word that the LORD {YHWH} spoke through Jeremiah (whom YHWH has appointed) the prophet concerning Babylon (confusion by mixing) and the land of the Chaldeans (the Babylonians):a

2“Announce and declare to the nations;

lift up a banner and proclaim it;

hold nothing back when you say,

‘Babylon (confusion by mixing) is captured;

Bel (lord) is put to shame;

Marduk (your rebellion) is shattered,

her images are disgraced,

her idols are broken in pieces.’

3For a nation from the north will come against her;

it will make her land a desolation.

No one will live in it;

both man and beast will flee.”

Hope for Israel and Judah

4“In those days and at that time,

declares the LORD {YHWH},

the children of Israel (he wrestles with God) and the children of Judah (praised)

will come together, weeping as they come,

and will seek the LORD their God {YHWH Elohehem}.

5They will ask the way to Zion

and turn their faces toward it.

They will come and join themselves to the LORD {YHWH}

in an everlasting covenant

that will never be forgotten.

6My people are lost sheep;

their shepherds have led them astray,

causing them to roam the mountains.

They have wandered from mountain to hill;

they have forgotten their resting place.

7All who found them devoured them,

and their enemies said,

‘We are not guilty,

for they have sinned against the LORD {YHWH}, their true pasture,

the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

8Flee from the midst of Babylon (confusion by mixing);

depart from the land of the Chaldeans (clod-breakers);

be like the he-goats that lead the flock.

9For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon (confusion by mixing)

an assembly of great nations from the land of the north.

They will line up against her;

from the north she will be captured.

Their arrows will be like skilled warriors

who do not return empty-handed.

10Chaldea (Babylonia)b will be plundered;

all who plunder her will have their fill,”

declares the LORD {YHWH}.

Babylon’s Fall Is Certain

11“Because you⁺ rejoice,

because you⁺ sing in triumph—

you who plunder My inheritance—

because you⁺ frolic like a heifer treading grain

and neigh like stallions,

12your⁺ mother will be greatly ashamed;

she who bore you⁺ will be disgraced.

Behold, she will be the least of the nations,

a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13Because of the wrath of the LORD {YHWH},

she will not be inhabited;

she will become completely desolate.

All who pass through Babylon (confusion by mixing) will be horrified

and will hiss at all her wounds.

14Line up in formation around Babylon (confusion by mixing),

all you who draw the bow!

Shoot at her! Spare no arrows!

For she has sinned against the LORD {YHWH}.

15Raise a war cry against her on every side!

She has thrown up her hands in surrender;

her towers have fallen;

her walls are torn down.

Since this is the vengeance of the LORD {YHWH},

take out your vengeance upon her;

as she has done,

do the same to her.

16Cut off the sower from Babylon (confusion by mixing),

and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time.

In the face of the oppressor’s sword,

each will turn to his own people,

each will flee to his own land.

Redemption for God’s People

17Israel (he wrestles with God) is a scattered flock,

chased away by lions.

The first to devour him

was the king of Assyria (a step);

the last to crush his bones

was Nebuchadnezzar (may Nebo protect the crown) king of Babylon (confusion by mixing).”

18Therefore this is what the LORD {YHWH} of Hosts, the God {Elohe} of Israel (he wrestles with God), says:

“I will punish the king of Babylon (confusion by mixing) and his land

as I punished the king of Assyria (a step).

19I will return Israel (he wrestles with God) to his pasture,

and he will graze on Carmel (garden-land) and Bashan (fruitful);

his soul will be satisfied

on the hills of Ephraim (doubly fruitful) and Gilead (rocky region).

20In those days and at that time,

declares the LORD {YHWH},

a search will be made for Israel’s (he wrestles with God) guilt,

but there will be none,

and for Judah’s (praised) sins,

but they will not be found;

for I will forgive

the remnant I preserve.

The Destruction of Babylon

21Go up against the land of Merathaim (double rebellion),

and against the residents of Pekod (visitation).

Kill them [Avenge, O sword,]c and devote them to destruction {cherem}.d

Do all that I have commanded you,”

declares the LORD {YHWH}.

22“The noise of battle is in the land—

the noise of great destruction.

23How the hammer of the whole earth

lies broken and shattered!

What a horror Babylon (confusion by mixing) has become

among the nations!

24I laid a snare for you, O Babylon (confusion by mixing),

and you were caught before you knew it.

You were found and captured

because you challenged the LORD {YHWH}.

25The LORD {YHWH} has opened His armory

and brought out His weapons of wrath,

for this is the work of the Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH} of Hosts

in the land of the Chaldeans (clod-breakers).

26Come against her

from the farthest border.

Break open her granaries;

pile her up like mounds of grain.

Devote her to destruction;

leave her no survivors.

27Kill all her young bulls;

let them go down to the slaughter.

Woe to them, for their day has come—

the time of their punishment.

28Listen to the fugitives and refugees

from the land of Babylon (confusion by mixing),

declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God {YHWH Elohenu},

the vengeance for His temple.

29Summon the archers against Babylon (confusion by mixing),

all who string the bow.

Encamp all around her;

let no one escape.

Repay her according to her deeds;

do to her as she has done.

For she has defied the LORD {YHWH},

the Holy One of Israel (he wrestles with God).

30Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets,

and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,”

declares the LORD {YHWH}.

31“Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,”

declares the Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH} of Hosts,

“for your day has come,

the time when I will punish you.

32The arrogant one will stumble and fall

with no one to pick him up.

And I will kindle a fire in his cities

to consume all those around him.”

33This is what the LORD {YHWH} of Hosts says:

“The sons of Israel (he wrestles with God) are oppressed,

and the sons of Judah (praised) as well.

All their captors hold them fast,

refusing to release them.

34Their Redeemer is strong;

the LORD {YHWH} of Hosts is His name.

He will fervently plead their case

so that He may bring rest to the earth,

but turmoil to those who live in Babylon (confusion by mixing).

35A sword is against the Chaldeans (clod-breakers),

declares the LORD {YHWH},

against those who live in Babylon (confusion by mixing),

and against her officials and wise men.

36A sword is against her false prophets,

and they will become fools.

A sword is against her warriors,

and they will be filled with terror.

37A sword is against her horses and chariots

and against all the foreigners in her midst,

and they will become like women.

A sword is against her treasuries,

and they will be plundered.

38A drought is upon her waters,

and they will be dried up.

For it is a land of graven images,

and the people go mad over idols (go mad with fear).e

39So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there

and ostriches \daughters of an ostrich/f will dwell there.

It will never again be inhabited

or lived in from generation to generation.

40As God {Elohim} overthrew Sodom (burning) and Gomorrah (submersion)

along with their neighbors,”

declares the LORD {YHWH},

“no one will dwell there;

no man will abide there.

41Behold, an army is coming from the north;

a great nation and many kings are stirred up

from the ends of the earth.

42They grasp the bow and spear (javelin);g

they are cruel and merciless.

Their voice roars like the sea,

and they ride upon horses,

lined up like men in formation

against you, O Daughter of Babylon (confusion by mixing).

43The king of Babylon (confusion by mixing) has heard the report,

and his hands hang limp.

Anguish has gripped him,

pain like that of a woman in labor.

44Behold, one will come up like a lion

from the thickets of the Jordan (flowing down) to the watered pasture.

For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land.

Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?

For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me?

What shepherd can stand against Me?”

45Therefore hear the plans

that the LORD {YHWH} has drawn up against Babylon (confusion by mixing)

and the strategies He has devised

against the land of the Chaldeans (clod-breakers):

Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away;

certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

46At the sound of Babylon’s (confusion by mixing) capture the earth will quake;

a cry will be heard among the nations.