The Judgment on Babylon

1The word that the LORD spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.

3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.

Hope for Israel and Judah

4In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek the LORD their God. 5They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.

6My 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 resting place.

7All 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.

8Flee 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.

9For, lo, I will stir up 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 an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.

10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.

Babylon's Fall is Certain

11Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder mine heritage, because ye are wanton as an heifer that treadeth out the corn, and neigh as strong horses;

12your mother shall be sore ashamed; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13Because 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.

14Set 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.

15Shout against her round about; she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks 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.

16Cut 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.

Redemption for God's People

17Israel 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. 18Therefore 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; 19And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. 20In 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 leave as a remnant.

The Destruction of Babylon

21Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24I 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.

25The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for the Lord, the LORD of hosts, hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.

26Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.

27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28The 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.

29Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; camp against her 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.

30Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith the LORD.

31Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.

32And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.

33Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

34Their redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.

36A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

37A sword is upon their horse, 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.

38A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up: for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon idols.

39Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

41Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

42They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set in array, as man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43The king of Babylon hath heard the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.

44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me? 45Therefore 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 they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. 46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.