Jeremiah 50
King James Version
50 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Jeremiah 50
New King James Version
Judgment on Babylon and Babylonia
50 The word that the Lord spoke (A)against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 “Declare among the nations,
Proclaim, and [a]set up a standard;
Proclaim—do not conceal it—
Say, ‘Babylon is (B)taken, (C)Bel is shamed.
[b]Merodach is broken in pieces;
(D)Her idols are humiliated,
Her images are broken in pieces.’
3 (E)For out of the north (F)a nation comes up against her,
Which shall make her land desolate,
And no one shall dwell therein.
They shall [c]move, they shall depart,
Both man and beast.
4 “In those days and in that time,” says the Lord,
“The children of Israel shall come,
(G)They and the children of Judah together;
(H)With continual weeping they shall come,
(I)And seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion,
With their faces toward it, saying,
‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord
In (J)a perpetual covenant
That will not be forgotten.’
6 “My people have been (K)lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them (L)astray;
They have turned them away on (M)the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who found them have (N)devoured them;
And (O)their adversaries said, (P)‘We have not offended,
Because they have sinned against the Lord, (Q)the habitation of justice,
The Lord, (R)the hope of their fathers.’
8 “Move(S) from the midst of Babylon,
Go out of the land of the Chaldeans;
And be like the [d]rams before the flocks.
9 (T)For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon
An assembly of great nations from the north country,
And they shall array themselves against her;
From there she shall be captured.
Their arrows shall be like those of [e]an expert warrior;
(U)None shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall become plunder;
(V)All who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the Lord.
11 “Because(W) you were glad, because you rejoiced,
You destroyers of My heritage,
Because you have grown fat (X)like a heifer threshing grain,
And you [f]bellow like bulls,
12 Your mother shall be deeply ashamed;
She who bore you shall be ashamed.
Behold, the least of the nations shall be a (Y)wilderness,
A dry land and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord
She shall not be inhabited,
(Z)But she shall be wholly desolate.
(AA)Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified
And hiss at all her plagues.
14 “Put(AB) yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, spare no arrows,
For she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her all around;
She has (AC)given her hand,
Her foundations have fallen,
(AD)Her walls are thrown down;
For (AE)it is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her.
As she has done, so do to her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
And him who handles the sickle at harvest time.
For fear of the oppressing sword
(AF)Everyone shall turn to his own people,
And everyone shall flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is like (AG)scattered sheep;
(AH)The lions have driven him away.
First (AI)the king of Assyria devoured him;
Now at last this (AJ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
As I have punished the king of (AK)Assyria.
19 (AL)But I will bring back Israel to his home,
And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan;
His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and in that time,” says the Lord,
(AM)“The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none;
And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found;
For I will pardon those (AN)whom I preserve.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it,
And against the inhabitants of (AO)Pekod.
[g]Waste and utterly destroy them,” says the Lord,
“And do (AP)according to all that I have commanded you.
22 (AQ)A sound of battle is in the land,
And of great destruction.
23 How (AR)the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken!
How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!
24 I have laid a snare for you;
You have indeed been (AS)trapped, O Babylon,
And you were not aware;
You have been found and also caught,
Because you have (AT)contended against the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened His armory,
And has brought out (AU)the weapons of His indignation;
For this is the work of the Lord God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the farthest border;
Open her storehouses;
Cast her up as heaps of ruins,
And destroy her utterly;
Let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her (AV)bulls,
Let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them!
For their day has come, the time of (AW)their punishment.
28 The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon
(AX)Declares in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
The vengeance of His temple.
29 “Call together the archers against Babylon.
All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around;
Let none of them [h]escape.
(AY)Repay her according to her work;
According to all she has done, do to her;
(AZ)For she has been proud against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 (BA)Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets,
And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you,
O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts;
“For your day has come,
[i]The time that I will punish you.
32 The most (BB)proud shall stumble and fall,
And no one will raise him up;
(BC)I will kindle a fire in his cities,
And it will devour all around him.”
33 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“The children of Israel were oppressed,
Along with the children of Judah;
All who took them captive have held them fast;
They have refused to let them go.
34 (BD)Their Redeemer is strong;
(BE)The Lord of hosts is His name.
He will thoroughly plead their (BF)case,
That He may give rest to the land,
And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord,
“Against the inhabitants of Babylon,
And (BG)against her princes and (BH)her wise men.
36 A sword is (BI)against the soothsayers, and they will be fools.
A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed.
37 A sword is against their horses,
Against their chariots,
And against all (BJ)the mixed peoples who are in her midst;
And (BK)they will become like women.
A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed.
38 (BL)A [j]drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up.
For it is the land of carved images,
And they are insane with their idols.
39 “Therefore(BM) the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,
And the ostriches shall dwell in it.
(BN)It shall be inhabited no more forever,
Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 (BO)As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
And their neighbors,” says the Lord,
“So no one shall reside there,
Nor son of man (BP)dwell in it.
41 “Behold,(BQ) a people shall come from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth.
42 (BR)They shall hold the bow and the lance;
(BS)They are cruel and shall not show mercy.
(BT)Their voice shall roar like the sea;
They shall ride on horses,
Set in array, like a man for the battle,
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 “The king of Babylon has (BU)heard the report about them,
And his hands grow feeble;
Anguish has taken hold of him,
Pangs as of a woman in (BV)childbirth.
44 “Behold,(BW) he shall come up like a lion from the [k]floodplain of the Jordan
Against the dwelling place of the strong;
But I will make them suddenly run away from her.
And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her?
For who is like Me?
Who will arraign Me?
And (BX)who is that shepherd
Who will withstand Me?”
45 Therefore hear (BY)the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Babylon,
And His (BZ)purposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans:
(CA)Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out;
Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them.
46 (CB)At the noise of the taking of Babylon
The earth trembles,
And the cry is heard among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:2 lift
- Jeremiah 50:2 Or Marduk; a Babylonian god
- Jeremiah 50:3 Or wander
- Jeremiah 50:8 male goats
- Jeremiah 50:9 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr.; MT, Tg., Vg. a warrior who makes childless
- Jeremiah 50:11 Or neigh like steeds
- Jeremiah 50:21 Or Attack with the sword
- Jeremiah 50:29 Qr., some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg. add to her
- Jeremiah 50:31 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. The time of your punishment
- Jeremiah 50:38 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. sword; LXX omits A drought is
- Jeremiah 50:44 Or thicket
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
