Jeremiah 51 Thus said the Lord. Behold against Babylon and against the Chaldean inhabitants I am raising up a hot destroying wind.

Thomson⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Thus said the Lord. Behold against Babylon and against the Chaldean inhabitants I am raising up a hot destroying wind. ² And against Babylon I will send scorners who will treat her with scorn and waste her land. Woe shall surround Babylon on all sides on the day of her affliction. ³ Let him, who bendeth the bow, bend it; and him, who hath armour put it on; shew no compassion to her youths, and destroy utterly all her host. ⁴ And let the wounded fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and those who are pierced through, fall in her streets. ⁵ [p] Since Israel and Juda are not quite forsaken by their God, the Lord Almighty, on account of their land being filled with iniquity by reason of the sanctuaries of Israel; ⁶ flee out of Babylon and save every one his life and be not involved, in her iniquity. For the time of her punishment is come from the Lord, and he is rendering to her a recompence. ⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, furnishing a plentiful draught to all the nations. Of her wine the nations drank, therefore they reeled. ⁸ But Babylon is suddenly fallen and broken. Utter a lamentation for her. Get balm for her deadly wound; perhaps she may be cured. ⁹ [c] We have administered, medicines to Babylon, but she is not healed. Let us leave her and depart every one to his own land: for her judgment hath reached to heaven and mounted up to the stars. ¹⁰ The Lord hath published his decree. Come let us proclaim in Sion the works of the Lord our God. ¹¹ [p] Prepare the arrows. Fill the quivers. The Lord hath stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes. For his wrath is against Babylon to destroy her utterly. For it is the vengeance of the Lord; the avengement of his people. ¹² On the walls of Babylon erect a standard; set the watch; have arms ready. Because the Lord hath undertaken; therefore he will accomplish what he hath spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon; ¹³ against them who dwell on many waters, and against the multitude of her treasures. Thine end is come, it is come indeed into thy bowels: ¹⁴ for the Lord hath sworn by his arm, "I will fill thee with men as with locusts; and they who go down shall utter a sound against thee." ¹⁵ [c] The Lord is he who made the earth by his power, who fitted up the World by his wisdom. By his understanding he stretched out the heaven. ¹⁶ At his voice there was in heaven a sound of water, and he brought up clouds from the extremity of the earth. He made the lightning for rain and brought out light from his treasuries. ¹⁷ Every man by knowledge became stupefied, every melter of gold was put to shame for his graven images; for their molten images were falsehoods, there is no breath in them. ¹⁸ They are works of vanity and objects of derision. In the time of their visitation they shall perish. ¹⁹ The portion of Jacob is not such as these, for he who formed all things is his inheritance: his name is the Lord. ²⁰ [J] Thou art dispersing for rne implements oi' war, but in thee I will disperse nations and remove kings out of thee; ²¹ and in thee I will disperse the horse and his rider; ²² and in thee I will disperse chariots and charioteers; and in thee I will disperse the youth and the virgin; and in thee I will disperse the husband and the wife; ²³ and in thee I will disperse the shepherd and the flock; and in thee I will disperse the husbandman and his husbandry; and in thee I will disperse the generals and leaders of armies, ²⁴ and retribute to Babylon and all the Chaldean inhabitants all the evils which they have done to Sion in your sight, saith the Lord. ²⁵ Behold I am against thee, corrupted mountain which corruptest the whole earth, and I will stretch out my hand against thee and roll thee down on rocks; and I will make thee like a mountain which hath been burned to ashes, ²⁶ so that they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner nor a stone for a foundation. For thou shalt be a desolation for ever, saith the Lord. ²⁷ Erect a standard in the land. Sound a trumpet among the nations. ²⁸ Prepare the nations against her. Issue orders against her. Carry them, kings, from me even to the Achanazeans. Erect towers against her. Bring up against her, cavalry like a multitude of locusts. Bring up against her nations, the king of the Medes and of the whole earth; his generals and all the leaders of his army. ²⁹ [p] The earth was in commotion and oppressed with toil, because the determination of the Lord against Babylon had roused it, to make the land of Babylon a desolation and uninhabitable. ³⁰ The warriors of Babylon declined to fight. They will sit still there during a siege. Their mighty power is broken. ³¹ They are become like women. Her habitations are burned with fire. Her bars are broken. Courier will run to meet courier and messenger to meet messenger to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken; For thus said the Lord, the houses of the king of Babylon shall be threshed like a floor full of ripe grain. Yet a little while and her harvest will come. [c] She devoured me; she chewed me to pieces: thick darkness overwhelmed me. ³² that the passages one after another are forced; that the barriers are burned with fire and his warriors are fleeing. Nabuchodonosar king of Babylon swallowed Die down; like a dragon he tilled his belly with my dainties. They have cast me up. ³⁵ [p] Let the inhabitants of Sion say, My troubles and my miseries be upon Babylon! and let Jerusalem say, My blood be upon the Chaldean inhabitants! ³⁶ [J] For this cause, thus saith the Lord, Behold I will judge thine adversary and avenge thy cause; and I will drain off her sea and make her fountain dry, ³⁷ and Babylon shall be a desolation and shall not be inhabited. ³⁸ Because they roused together like lions and like lions' whelps; ³⁹ in their heat I will give them a draught and make them drunk; that they may be stupefied and sleep a perpetual sleep and never awake, saith the Lord. ⁴⁰ [p] Down, down with them, like lambs to slaughter and like rams and he goats. ⁴¹ How the boast of the whole earth is hunted and taken! how Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! ⁴² The sea came up against Babylon with its roaring waves, and she is overwhelmed. ⁴³ Her cities are become like a land without water, an untrodden desert. Not an individual can dwell there: nor can a son of man lodge in her. ⁴⁴ [J] I will indeed punish Babylon and bring forth out of her mouth what she hath swallowed. And the nations shall no more be gathered together to her; nor shall the victims of the whole earth fall by Babylon. ⁴⁵ Away from her country, ⁴⁶ [Omitted] ⁴⁷ [Omitted] ⁴⁸ [Omitted] ⁴⁹ [Omitted] ⁵⁰ ye who have escaped; and tarry not; ye who are far off, remember the Lord; and let Jerusalem recur to your mind. ⁵¹ [c] We are ashamed; because we have heard our reproach, disgrace hath covered our face; strangers have entered our sanctuaries; into the house of the Lord. ⁵² [J] Therefore behold the days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will execute vengeance on her graven images, and among all them her wounded shall fall in that land. ⁵³ For though Babylon should mount up to heaven; though she fortify her walls with all her might, from me shall come forth those who shall destroy her, saith the Lord. ⁵⁴ [p] A sound of screaming in Babylon! and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans! ⁵⁵ For the Lord hath utterly destroyed Babylon, and put an end to her din, which was like the sound of great waters. Her din he hath given up to destruction. ⁵⁷ For misery is come upon Babylon. Her warriors are taken. Their bow is confounded; for God rendereth them retribution. [J] The Lord rendereth them retribution; and he will make utterly drunk her leaders and her wise men and her generals, saith the king whose name is The Lord Almighty. ⁵⁸ Thus saith the Lord, The wall of Babylon was made broad; It shall be totally demolished and her lofty gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall not labour in vain, though the nations may at first fail. ⁵⁹ The word which the Lord commanded Jeremias the prophet to deliver to Saraias son of Nerias son of Maasias when he was going from Sedekias king of Juda to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Saraias had the charge of the homage gifts. ⁶⁰ When Jeremias bad written in a book all the evils which were to come upon Babylon, even all the words above written against Babylon, ⁶¹ Jeremias said to Saraias; When thou art come to Babylon and shalt have seen and read all these words, ⁶² then thou shalt say, "O Lord, Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, that thou wilt destroy it utterly, so that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast; for it shall be a desolation forever." ⁶³ And when thou hast finished reading the book, then thou shalt tye a stone to it and throw it into the midst of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴ and say, "So shall Babylon sink and rise no more by reason of the evils which I bring upon it".