Jeremiah 51

Matthew^{(i) 1} Thus hath the Lorde sayd: behold I wyll rayse vp a perlous wind agaynst Babylon & her citezens that beare euyll wyll agaynste me. ² I wyl sende also into Babylon fanners to fanne her oute, & to destroy lande: for in the daye of her trouble they shalbe aboute her on euery syde: ³ Moreouer, the Lorde hath sayde vnto the bowe men, and to them that clymme ouer the walles in brest plates: He shall not spare her yong men, kil doune all her hoste. ⁴ Thus the slayne shall fall doune in the lande of the Caldees, & the wounded in the stretes. ⁵ As for Israel and Iuda, they shal not be forsaken of theyr God, of the Lorde of Hostes, of the holy one of Israel: no, thoughe they haue fylled all theyr lande full of synne. ⁶ Flye awaye from Babylon, euery man saue hys lyfe. Let no man holde hys tonge to her wyckednes, for the tyme of the Lordes vengeaunce is come, yea he shall rewarde her agayne. ⁷ Babylon hath bene in the Lordes hande a golden cuppe, that maketh all landes droncken. Of her wyne haue all people droncken, therfore are they oute of theyr wyttes. ⁸ But sodenly is Babylon fallen, & destroyed. Mourne for her, bryng plasters for her woundes, yf she may peraduenture be healed agayne. ⁹ We wolde haue made Babylon whole (saye they) but she is not recouered. Therfore wyll we let her alone, & go euery man into hys owne countre. For her iudgemente is come into heauen, and is gone vp to the cloudes. ¹⁰ And therfore come on, we wyll shewe Syon the worke of the Lorde oure God. ¹¹ Make sharpe the arowes, and fyll the quyuers: for the Lorde shall rayse vp the sprete of the kynge of the Meedes, which hath already a desyre to destroye Babylon. This shalbe the vengeaunce of the Lordes, and the vengeaunce of hys temple. ¹² Set vp tokens vpon the walles of Babylon, make youre watche stronge, set youre watche men in araye, yea holde preuye watches, & yet for all that shall the Lorde go forth with the deuyce, whiche he hath taken vpon them that dwell in Babylon. ¹³ O thou that dwellest by the greate waters O thou that hast so greate treasure & ryches, thyne ende is come: and the rekenynge of thy winninges. ¹⁴ The Lord of hostes hath sworne by him selfe, that he wyll ouer whelme the wt men lyke greshoppers in nombre, which with a corage shall crye Alatum Alarum agaynst the. ¹⁵ Yea euen the Lorde of hostes, that wyth his power made the earthe, with hys wysedome prepared the rounde worlde, and with his discrecyon spred oute the heauens. ¹⁶ As soone as he letteth hys voyce be hearde, the waters in the ayre waxe fearce: He draweth vp the cloudes from the endes of the earthe. He turneth the lyghtenynges to rayne, he bryngeth the wyndes oute of theyr secrete places. ¹⁷ By the reason of wysdome, all men are become fooles. Confounded be all the casters of ymages for the thynge that they make is but disceyte, and hath no breath. ¹⁸ Vayne is it and worthye to be laughed at: and in the tyme of vysitacion it shall peryshe. ¹⁹ Neuertheles, the porcyon of Iacob is none soch: but he that made al thinges, whose name is the Lorde of hostes, he is the rode of hys enherytaunce. ²⁰ Thou breakest my weapens of warre, and yet thorowe the I haue scatered the nacyons & kyngdomes: ²¹ Thorow the haue I scatred horse and horse man: yea the charettes, and suche as sat vpon them: ²² Thorowe the I haue scatred man and woman, olde & yong, bacheler and mayden. ²³ Thorowe the I haue scatred the shepherde and hys flocke, the husbandeman and hys cattell, the prynces and the rulers. ²⁴ Therfore wyl I rewarde the citie of Babylon and all her cytesens the Caldees with all the euyll whiche they haue done vnto Syon: yea that ye youre selues shall se it, sayeth the Lorde. ²⁵ Beholde, I come vpon the (thou noysome hyll) sayeth the Lorde, thou that destroyest all landes. I wyll stretche out my hande ouer the, and caste the doune from the stony rockes: and wyll make the a brente hyll, ²⁶ so that neyther corner stones, nor pynnacles, nor foundacyon stones shalbe taken anye more oute of the, but waste and desolate shalt thou lye for euer more, sayeth the Lorde. ²⁷ Set vp a token in the lande: blow the trompettes amonge the Heythen, prouoke the nacyons agaynst her, call the kyngedomes of Ararat, Memni, and Ascanes agaynste her: nombre oute Taphsar agaynst her, bryng as greate a sorte of horses against her, as yf they were greshoppers. ²⁸ Prepare agaynste them the people of the Meedes wyth theyr kynges prynces, and al theyr chefe rulers, yea and the whole lande that is vnder them. ²⁹ The lande also shall shake & be afrayed, when the deuyce of the Lorde shal come forth agaynste Babylon: to make the lande of Babylon so waste, that no man shall dwell anye more therein. ³⁰ The worthyes of Babylon shal leaue the battell, & kepe them selues in stronge holdes, theyr strength hath fayled them, they shalbe lyke wemen. Theyr dwellynge places shal be brente vp, theyr barres shalbe broken. ³¹ One purseuaunte shal mete another, yea one poste shall come by another, to bring the king of Babylon tydynges: that his citie is taken in on euerye syde, ³² the foordes occupyed, the fennes brente vp, and the soudyares sore afrayed. ³³ For thus sayeth the Lorde of hostes the God of Israell: the doughter of Babylon hath bene in her tyme lyke as a threshynge floure, but shortly shal her haruest come. ³⁴ Nabuchodonosor the kynge of Babylon hath deuoured & destroyed me, he hath made me an emptye vessell. He swalowed me vp lyke a dragon, and filled his bely with my delycates: he hath cast me oute, ³⁵ he hath taken my substaunce awaye and the thynge that was lefte me, hath he caryed vnto Babylon, sayeth the doughter that dwelleth in Syon: yea and my bloude also vnto the Caldees, sayeth Ierusalem. ³⁶ Therfore thus sayth the Lorde: Beholde, I wyll defende thy cause, and auenge the: I wil dryncke vp her sea, and drye vp her water springes. ³⁷ Babilon shalt become an heape of stones a dwellinge place for dragons, a fearfulnes and wondrynge, because no man dwelleth there. ³⁸ They shall roare together lyke lyons, and as the yonge lyons when they be angrie, so shall they bende them selues. ³⁹ In their heate I shall sett drinke before them, & they shalbe droncken for ioye: Then shall they slepe an euerlastinge slepe, and neuer wake, sayeth the Lord ⁴⁰ I shall carie them downe to be slayne like shepe, like wethers and gootes. ⁴¹ O, how was Sesach wonne? O, how was the glorye of the whole lande taken? how happeneth it, that Babilon is so wondred at amonge the Heathen? ⁴² The see is risen ouer Babilon, and hath couered her with his greate waues. ⁴³ Her cytyes are layed waste, the lande lyeth vnbuylded and voyde: it is a lande where no man dwelleth, and where no man traueleth thorow. ⁴⁴ Moreouer, I wyll vyset Bell at Babylon: and the thynge that he hath swalowed vp, that same shall I plucke out of hys mouth. The Gentyles also shall runne nomore vnto hym, yee and the walles of Babylon shall fall. ⁴⁵ O my people, come out of Babylon, that euery man maye saue his lyfe, from the fearfull wrath of the Lorde. ⁴⁶ Be not faynte herted, and feare not at euery rumoure that shalbe herde in the lande: for euery yeare bringeth new tydinges, yee straunge wyckednes and lordshyppe. ⁴⁷ And lo, the tyme commeth that I wyll vyset the ymages of Babylon, and the whole lande shalde confounded, yee and her slayne shall lye in the myddest of her. ⁴⁸ Heauen and earth with all that is therin, shall reioyce ouer Babylon, when the destroyers shall come vpon her from the North, sayeth the Lorde. ⁴⁹ Like as Babylon hath beaten downe and slayne many out of Israell, so shall there fall many, and be slayne in all her kyngdome. ⁵⁰ Ye that haue escaped the swearde, haste you, stande not styll, remembre the Lorde afarre of: and thincke vpon Ierusalem, ⁵¹ for we were ashamed to heare the blasphemyes: oure faces were couered with shame, because the straung aleauntes came into the Sanctuarye of the Lorde. ⁵² Wherfore beholde (sayeth the Lorde) the tyme commeth, that I will vyset the ymages of Babylon, and thorow the whole lande they shall mourne and fall. ⁵³ Though Babylon clymmed vp into heauen, & kepte her power an hye: yet shal I sende her destroyers, sayeth the Lorde. ⁵⁴ A pyteous crye shall be hearde from Babylon, and a greate misery from the lande of the Caldees: ⁵⁵ when the Lorde destroyeth them, and when he dryueth out the hye stomacke & proude boastyng, wherwith they haue bene as furyous as the waues of greate water floudes, and made greate crakes with their wordes. ⁵⁶ For the destroyers shall come vpon her (euen vpon Babylon) whyche shall take her worthyes, & breake their bowes: for God is dysposed to auenge hym selfe vpon them, and suffycyentlye to recompence them. ⁵⁷ Yee (sayeth the Lorde) I will make their Princes their wyse men, their chefe rulers & all their worthyes, droncken: so that they shall slepe an euerlastynge slepe, and neuer wake: Thus sayeth the Kynge, whose name is the Lorde of hostes. ⁵⁸ Moreouer, thus sayeth the Lorde of Hostes: The thycke wall of Babylon shalbe broken, & her proude gates shalbe brent vp. And the thynge that the Gentyles and the people haue wrought with greate trauayle and laboure, shal come to naught and be consumed in the fyre. ⁵⁹ Thys is the charge that Ieremy gaue vnto Saraiah the sonne of Neriah, the sonne of Maasiah, when he went towarde Babylon with Zedekiah the kynge of Iuda, in the .iiij. yeare of his raigne. Now this Saraiah was a peaceable Prince. ⁶⁰ Ieremye wrote in a boke all the mysery that shulde come vpon Babylon, yee and all these sermons that be wrytten agaynst Babylon, ⁶¹ and gaue Saraiah thys charge: When thou commest vnto Babylon se that thou reade all these wordes, ⁶² and saye: O Lorde, thou art determed to rote out thys place, so that nether people ner catell shall dwell there eny more but to lie waste for eu ⁶³ and when thou hast redde out the boke, bynde a stone to it, and cast it in the myddest of Euphrates, ⁶⁴ and saye: Euen thus shall Babylon syncke, & be thrust downe with the burthen of trouble, that I will bringe vpon her: so that she shall neuer come vp agayne. Thus farre are the preachinges of Ieremy.