[1] The word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land
of the Chalde'ans, by Jeremiah the prophet: [2] "Declare among the nations
and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say:
`Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Mer'odach is dismayed. Her images
are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.' [3] "For out of the north a
nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and
none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away. [4] "In those
days and in that time, says the LORD, the people of Israel and the people
of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come; and they shall seek the
LORD their God. [5] They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned
toward it, saying, `Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an
everlasting covenant which will never be forgotten.' [6] "My people have
been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on
the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten
their fold. [7] All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies
have said, `We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their
true habitation, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.' [8] "Flee from the
midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chalde'ans, and be as
he-goats before the flock. [9] For behold, I am stirring up and bringing
against Babylon a company of great nations, from the north country; and
they shall array themselves against her; from there she shall be taken.
Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.
[10] Chalde'a shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, says
the LORD. [11] "Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my
heritage, though you are wanton as a heifer at grass, and neigh like
stallions, [12] your mother shall be utterly shamed, and she who bore you
shall be disgraced. Lo, she shall be the last of the nations, a wilderness
dry and desert. [13] Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be
inhabited, but shall be an utter desolation; every one who passes by
Babylon shall be appalled, and hiss because of all her wounds. [14] Set
yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all you that bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD. [15]
Raise a shout against her round about, she has surrendered; her bulwarks
have fallen, her walls are thrown down. For this is the vengeance of the
LORD: take vengeance on her, do to her as she has done. [16] Cut off from
Babylon the sower, and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
because of the sword of the oppressor, every one shall turn to his own
people, and every one shall flee to his own land. [17] "Israel is a hunted
sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now
at last Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. [18]
Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am
bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the
king of Assyria. [19] I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall
feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the
hills of E'phraim and in Gilead. [20] In those days and in that time, says
the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none; and
sin in Judah, and none shall be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave
as a remnant. [21] "Go up against the land of Meratha'im, and against the
inhabitants of Pekod. Slay, and utterly destroy after them, says the LORD,
and do all that I have commanded you. [22] The noise of battle is in the
land, and great destruction! [23] How the hammer of the whole earth is cut
down and broken! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! [24] I
set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it;
you were found and caught, because you strove against the LORD. [25] The
LORD has opened his armory, and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for
the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chalde'ans. [26]
Come against her from every quarter; open her granaries; pile her up like
heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her. [27]
Slay all her bulls, let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for
their day has come, the time of their punishment. [28] "Hark! they flee and
escape from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the
LORD our God, vengeance for his temple. [29] "Summon archers against
Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp round about her; let no one
escape. Requite her according to her deeds, do to her according to all that
she has done; for she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
[30] Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her
soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, says the LORD. [31] "Behold, I am
against you, O proud one, says the Lord GOD of hosts; for your day has
come, the time when I will punish you. [32] The proud one shall stumble and
fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is round about him. [33] "Thus says the LORD of
hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with
them; all who took them captive have held them fast, they refuse to let
them go. [34] Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He
will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but
unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. [35] "A sword upon the Chalde'ans,
says the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes
and her wise men! [36] A sword upon the diviners, that they may become
fools! A sword upon her warriors, that they may be destroyed! [37] A sword
upon her horses and upon her chariots, and upon all the foreign troops in
her midst, that they may become women! A sword upon all her treasures, that
they may be plundered! [38] A drought upon her waters, that they may be
dried up! For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols. [39]
"Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches
shall dwell in her; she shall be peopled no more for ever, nor inhabited
for all generations. [40] As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomor'rah and
their neighbor cities, says the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no
son of man shall sojourn in her. [41] "Behold, a people comes from the
north; a mighty nation and many kings are stirring from the farthest parts
of the earth. [42] They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel, and have
no mercy. The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea; they ride upon
horses, arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon!
[43] "The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell
helpless; anguish seized him, pain as of a woman in travail. [44] "Behold,
like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a strong
sheepfold, I will suddenly make them run away from her; and I will appoint
over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What
shepherd can stand before me? [45] Therefore hear the plan which the LORD
has made against Babylon, and the purposes which he has formed against the
land of the Chalde'ans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be
dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. [46] At
the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry
shall be heard among the nations."

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