| New King James Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai, A destroying wind. | 1Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, |
| 2And I will send winnowers to Babylon, Who shall winnow her and empty her land. For in the day of doom They shall be against her all around. | 2and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble. |
| 3Against her let the archer bend his bow, And lift himself up against her in his armor. Do not spare her young men; Utterly destroy all her army. | 3Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army. |
| 4Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, And those thrust through in her streets. | 4They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets. |
| 5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, By his God, the LORD of hosts, Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.” | 5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. |
| 6Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He shall recompense her. | 6“Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her. |
| 7Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. | 7Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad. |
| 8Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. | 8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. |
| 9We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. | 9We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. |
| 10The LORD has revealed our righteousness. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. | 10The LORD has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. |
| 11Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the LORD, The vengeance for His temple. | 11“Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. |
| 12Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon; Make the guard strong, Set up the watchmen, Prepare the ambushes. For the LORD has both devised and done What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. | 12“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. |
| 13O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness. | 13O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. |
| 14The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts, And they shall lift up a shout against you.” | 14The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. |
| 15He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heaven by His understanding. | 15“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. |
| 16When He utters His voice— There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” | 16When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. |
| 17Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image; For his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. | 17Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. |
| 18They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. | 18They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. |
| 19The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The LORD of hosts is His name. | 19Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name. |
| 20“You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms; | 20“You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; |
| 21With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; | 21with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; |
| 22With you also I will break in pieces man and woman; With you I will break in pieces old and young; With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; | 22with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; |
| 23With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers. | 23with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. |
| 24“And I will repay Babylon And all the inhabitants of Chaldea For all the evil they have done In Zion in your sight,” says the LORD. | 24“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD. |
| 25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys all the earth,” says the LORD. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the rocks, And make you a burnt mountain. | 25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. |
| 26They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever,” says the LORD. | 26No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the LORD. |
| 27Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts. | 27“Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts. |
| 28Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land of his dominion. | 28Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion. |
| 29And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. | 29The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the LORD’s purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. |
| 30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, They became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, The bars of her gate are broken. | 30The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken. |
| 31One runner will run to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides; | 31One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side; |
| 32The passages are blocked, The reeds they have burned with fire, And the men of war are terrified. | 32the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic. |
| 33For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor When it is time to thresh her; Yet a little while And the time of her harvest will come.” | 33For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.” |
| 34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon Has devoured me, he has crushed me; He has made me an empty vessel, He has swallowed me up like a monster; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies, He has spit me out. | 34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out. |
| 35Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon,” The inhabitant of Zion will say; “And my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea!” Jerusalem will say. | 35The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,” let the inhabitant of Zion say. “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” let Jerusalem say. |
| 36Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. | 36Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, |
| 37Babylon shall become a heap, A dwelling place for jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant. | 37and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant. |
| 38They shall roar together like lions, They shall growl like lions’ whelps. | 38“They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions’ cubs. |
| 39In their excitement I will prepare their feasts; I will make them drunk, That they may rejoice, And sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the LORD. | 39While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the LORD. |
| 40“I will bring them down Like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with male goats. | 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats. |
| 41“Oh, how Sheshach is taken! Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! | 41“How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! |
| 42The sea has come up over Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of its waves. | 42The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. |
| 43Her cities are a desolation, A dry land and a wilderness, A land where no one dwells, Through which no son of man passes. | 43Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes. |
| 44I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. | 44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen. |
| 45“My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the LORD. | 45“Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the LORD! |
| 46And lest your heart faint, And you fear for the rumor that will be heard in the land (A rumor will come one year, And after that, in another year A rumor will come, And violence in the land, Ruler against ruler), | 46Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler. |
| 47Therefore behold, the days are coming That I will bring judgment on the carved images of Babylon; Her whole land shall be ashamed, And all her slain shall fall in her midst. | 47“Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. |
| 48Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the LORD. | 48Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD. |
| 49As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall. | 49Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. |
| 50You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the LORD afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. | 50“You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind: |
| 51We are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house. | 51‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the LORD’s house.’ |
| 52“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will bring judgment on her carved images, And throughout all her land the wounded shall groan. | 52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. |
| 53Though Babylon were to mount up to heaven, And though she were to fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the LORD. | 53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the LORD. |
| 54The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, | 54“A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! |
| 55Because the LORD is plundering Babylon And silencing her loud voice, Though her waves roar like great waters, And the noise of their voice is uttered, | 55For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, |
| 56Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; For the LORD is the God of recompense, He will surely repay. | 56for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; he will surely repay. |
| 57“And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts. | 57I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. |
| 58Thus says the LORD of hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; The people will labor in vain, And the nations, because of the fire; And they shall be weary.” | 58“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire.” |
| 59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster. | 59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. |
| 60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. | 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. |
| 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, | 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, |
| 62then you shall say, ‘O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ | 62and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ |
| 63Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. | 63When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, |
| 64Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. | 64and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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