Jeremiah 50:20-24

The Message

^18-20And now this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    the God of Israel, has to say:
“Just watch! I’m bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land,
    the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria.
But Israel I’ll bring home to good pastures.
    He’ll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan,
On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead.
    He will eat to his heart’s content.
In those days and at that time”—God’s Decree—
    “they’ll look high and low for a sign of Israel’s guilt—nothing;
Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah’s sin—nothing.
    These people that I’ve saved will start out with a clean slate.

* * *

²¹“Attack Merathaim, land of rebels!
Go after Pekod, country of doom!
Hunt them down. Make a clean sweep.” God’s Decree.
“These are my orders. Do what I tell you.

^22-24“The thunderclap of battle
    shakes the foundations!
The Hammer has been hammered,
    smashed and splintered,
Babylon pummeled
    beyond recognition.
I set out a trap and you were caught in it.
    O Babylon, you never knew what hit you,
Caught and held in the steel grip of that trap!
    That’s what you get for taking on God.