Dual Panel1The Lord <03068> says <0559>, “I will cause <06965> a destructive <07843> wind <07307> to blow <05782> against <05921> Babylon <0894> and the people who inhabit <03427> Babylonia.
2I will send <07971> people <02114> to winnow <02219> Babylonia <0894> like a wind blowing away chaff <02219>. They will winnow <01238> her and strip <01238> her land <0776> bare <01238>. This will happen when <03588> they come <01961> against <05921> her from every direction <05439>, when it is time <03117> to destroy <07451> her.
3Do not <0408> give her archers time to string <01869> their bows <07198> or to put <05927> on their coats of armor <05630>. Do not spare <02550> any of her young men <0970>. Completely destroy <02763> her whole <03605> army <06635>.
4Let them fall <05307> slain <02491> in the land <0776> of Babylonia <03778>, mortally wounded <01856> in the streets <02351> of her cities.
5“For <03588> Israel <03478> and Judah <03063> will not <03808> be forsaken <0488> by their God <0430>, the Lord <03068> who rules over all <06635>. For <03588> the land <0776> of Babylonia is full <04390> of guilt <0817> against the Holy One <06918> of Israel <03478>.
6Get out <05127> of <08432> Babylonia <0894> quickly, you foreign people <0376>. Flee <04422> to save your lives <05315>. Do not <0408> let yourselves be killed <01826> because of her sins <05771>. For <03588> it is time <06256> for the Lord <03068> to wreak his revenge <05360>. He will pay <07999> Babylonia back <07999> for what she has done <01576>.
7Babylonia <0894> had been a gold <02091> cup <03563> in the Lord’s <03068> hand <03027>. She had made the whole <03605> world <0776> drunk <07937>. The nations <01471> had drunk <08354> from the wine <03196> of her wrath. So <03651> they <01471> have all gone mad <01984>.
8But suddenly <06597> Babylonia <0894> will fall <05307> and be destroyed <07665>. Cry out in mourning <03213> over <05921> it! Get <03947> medicine <06875> for her wounds <04341>! Perhaps <0194> she can be healed <07495>!
9Foreigners living there will say, ‘We tried to heal <07495> her, but she could not <03808> be healed <07495>. Let’s leave <05800> Babylonia <0894> and each <0376> go back <01980> to his own country <0776>. For <03588> judgment <04941> on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up <05060> to <0413> heaven <08064>, stacked up <05375> into <05704> the clouds <07834>.’
10The exiles from Judah will say, ‘The Lord <03069> has brought about <03318> a great deliverance <06666> for us! Come <0935> on, let’s go and proclaim <05608> in Zion <06726> what the Lord <03069> our God <0430> has done <04639>!’
11“Sharpen <01305> your arrows <02671>! Fill <04390> your quivers <07982>! The Lord <03068> will arouse <05782> a spirit <07307> of hostility in <05921> the kings <04428> of Media <04074>. For <03588> he intends <04209> to destroy <07843> Babylonia <0894>. For <03588> that is how the Lord <03068> will get his revenge <05360>– how he <01931> will get his revenge <05360> for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple <01964>.
12Give the signal <05251> to <0413> attack <05251> Babylon’s <0894> wall <02346>! Bring <05375> more guards <08104>! Post <04929> them all around the city! Put <03559> men in ambush <0693>! For <03588> the Lord <03068> will do what he has planned <02161>. He will do <06213> what he said <01696> he would do to <0413> the people <03427> of Babylon <0894>.
13“You who live <07931> along <05921> the rivers <07227> <04325> of Babylon, the time of your end <07093> has come <0935>. You who are rich <07227> in plundered treasure <0214>, it is time for your lives to be cut off <01215>.
14The Lord <03068> who rules over all <06635> has solemnly sworn <05315> <07650>, ‘I will fill <04390> your land with enemy soldiers <0120>. They will swarm <06030> over <05921> it like locusts <03218>. They will raise up shouts <01959> of victory over it.’
15He is the one who by his power <03581> made <06213> the earth <0776>. He is the one who by his wisdom <02451> fixed <03559> the world <08398> in place, by his understanding <08394> he spread out <05186> the heavens <08064>.
16When his voice <06963> thunders <05414>, the waters <04325> in the heavens <08064> roar <01995>. He makes <05927> the clouds <05387> rise from the far-off horizons <07097>. He makes the lightning <01300> flash out in the midst of the rain <04306>. He unleashes <03318> <06213> the wind <07307> from the places where he stores <0214> it.
17All <03605> idolaters <0120> will prove to be stupid and ignorant <01847> <01197>. Every <03605> goldsmith <06884> will be disgraced <03001> by the idol <06459> he made. For <03588> the image <05262> he forges is merely a sham <08267>. There is no <03808> breath <07307> in any of those idols.
18They <01992> are worthless <01892>, objects <04639> to be ridiculed <08595>. When the time <06256> comes to punish <06486> them, they will be destroyed <06>.
19The Lord, who is the portion <02506> of the descendants of Jacob <03290>, is not <03808> like them <0428>. For <03588> he is the one <01931> who created <03335> everything <03605>, including the people <07626> of Israel whom he claims as his own <05159>. He is known <08034> as the Lord <03068> who rules over all <06635>.
20“Babylon, you <0859> are my war club <04661>, my weapon <03627> for battle <04421>. I used you to smash <05310> nations <01471>. I used you to destroy <07843> kingdoms <04467>.
21I used you to smash <05310> horses <05483> and their riders <07392>. I used you to smash <05310> chariots <07393> and their drivers <07392>.
22I used you to smash <05310> men <0376> and women <0802>. I used you to smash <05310> old <02205> men and young men <05288>. I used you to smash <05310> young men <0970> and young women <01330>.
23I used you to smash <05310> shepherds <07462> and their flocks <05739>. I used you to smash <05310> farmers <0406> and their teams of oxen <06776>. I used you to smash <05310> governors <06346> and leaders <05461>.”
24“But I will repay <07999> Babylon <0894> and all <03605> who live <03427> in Babylonia <03778> for all <03605> the wicked <07451> things they did <06213> in Zion <06726> right before the eyes <05869> of you Judeans,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
25The Lord <03068> says <05002>, “Beware <02005>! I am opposed to <0413> you, Babylon! You are like a destructive <04889> mountain <02022> that destroys <07843> all <03605> the earth <0776>. I will unleash <05186> my power <03027> against <05921> you; I will roll <01556> you off <04480> the cliffs <05553> and make <05414> you like a burned-out <08316> mountain <02022>.
26No <03808> one will use <03947> any of <04480> your stones <068> as a cornerstone <068> <06438>. No one will use any of them in the foundation <04146> of his house. For <03588> you will lie <01961> desolate <08077> forever <05769>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
27“Raise up <05375> battle flags <05251> throughout the lands <0776>. Sound <08628> the trumpets <07782> calling the nations <01471> to do battle. Prepare <06942> the nations <01471> to do battle against <05921> Babylonia. Call for these kingdoms <04467> to attack her: Ararat <0780>, Minni <04508>, and Ashkenaz <0813>. Appoint <06485> a commander <02951> to lead <05927> the attack. Send horses <05483> against her like a swarm <05569> of locusts <03218>.
28Prepare <06942> the nations <01471> to do battle against <0854> her. Prepare the kings <04428> of the Medes <04074>. Prepare their governors <06346> and all <03605> their leaders <05461>. Prepare all <03605> the countries <0776> they rule <04475> to do battle against her.
29The earth <0776> will tremble <07493> and writhe <02342> in agony. For <03588> the Lord <03068> will carry out <06965> his plan. He plans <04284> to make <07760> the land <0776> of Babylonia <0894> a wasteland <08047> where no one <0369> lives <03427>.
30The soldiers <01368> of Babylonia <0894> will stop <02308> fighting <03898>. They will remain <03427> in their fortified cities <04679>. They will lose <05405> their strength <01369> to do battle. They will be <01961> as frightened as women <0802>. The houses in her cities <04908> will be set on fire <03341>. The gates <01280> of her cities will be broken down <07665>.
31One runner <07323> after <07125> another <07323> will come <07323> to the king of Babylon. One messenger <05046> after <07125> another <05046> will come bringing news. They will bring news <05046> to the king <04428> of Babylon <0894> that <03588> his whole city <05892> has been captured <03920>.
32They will report that the fords <04569> have been captured <08610>, the reed marshes <098> have been burned <08313>, the soldiers <04421> are terrified <0926>.
33For <03588> the Lord <03068> God <0430> of Israel <03478> who rules over all <06635> says <0559>, ‘Fair <01323> Babylon <0894> will be like a threshing floor <01637> which has been trampled flat <01869> for <05750> harvest <07105>. The time <06256> for her to be cut down and harvested will come <0935> very soon.’
34“King <04428> Nebuchadnezzar <05019> of Babylon <0894> devoured <0398> me and drove <02000> my people out <02000>. Like a monster <08577> from the deep he swallowed <01104> me. He filled <04390> his belly <03770> with my riches <05730>. He made <03322> me an empty <07385> dish <03627>. He completely cleaned <01740> me out <01740>.”
35The person who lives <03427> in Zion <06726> says <0559>, “May Babylon <0894> pay for the violence <02555> done to <05921> me and to my relatives <07607>.” Jerusalem <03389> says <0559>, “May those living <03427> in Babylonia <03778> pay for <0413> the bloodshed <01818> of my people.”
36Therefore <03651> the Lord <03068> says <0559>, “I will stand up <07378> for your cause <07379>. I will pay <05360> <05358> the Babylonians back <05360> <05358> for what they have done to you. I will dry up <02717> their sea <03220>. I will make their springs <04726> run dry <03001>.
37Babylon <0894> will become <01961> a heap <01530> of ruins. Jackals <08577> will make their home <04583> there. It will become an object of horror <08047> and of hissing <08322> scorn, a place where no <0369> one lives <03427>.
38The Babylonians are all like lions <03715> roaring <07580> for prey. They are like lion <0738> cubs <01484> growling <05286> for something to eat.
39When their appetites <02527> are all stirred up, I will set <07896> out a banquet <04960> for them. I will make them drunk <07937> so that <04616> they will pass out <05937>, they will fall asleep <08142> <03462> forever <05769>, they will never <03808> wake up <06974>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
40“I will lead <03381> them off <03381> to be slaughtered <02873> like lambs <03733>, rams <0352>, and <05973> male goats <06260>.”
41“See how <0349> Babylon <08347> has been captured <03920>! See how the pride <08416> of the whole <03605> earth <0776> has been taken! See what <0349> an object of horror <08047> Babylon <0894> has become among the nations <01471>!
42The sea <03220> has swept <05927> over <05921> Babylon <0894>. She has been covered <03680> by a multitude <01995> of its waves <01530>.
43The towns <05892> of Babylonia have become <01961> heaps of ruins <08047>. She has become a dry <06723> and barren desert <06160>. No <03605> <03808> one <0376> lives <03427> in those towns <0776> any more. No <03808> one <0120> even passes through <05674> them <02004>.
44I will punish <06485> the god Bel <01078> in <05921> Babylon <0894>. I will make him spit out <03318> what he has swallowed <01105>. The nations <01471> will not <03808> come streaming <05102> to <0413> him any longer <05750>. Indeed <01571>, the walls <02346> of Babylon <0894> will fall <05307>.”
45“Get out <03318> of Babylon, my people <05971>! Flee to save <04422> your lives <05315> from the fierce <02740> anger <0639> of the Lord <03068>!
46Do not <06435> lose <07401> your courage <03824> or become afraid <03372> because of the reports <08052> that are heard <08085> in the land <0776>. For a report <08052> will come <0935> in one year <08141>. Another report <08052> will follow <0310> it in the next <08141>. There will be violence <02555> in the land <0776> with ruler <04910> fighting against <05921> ruler <04910>.”
47“So <03651> the time <03117> will certainly come <0935> when I will punish <06485> the idols <06456> of Babylon <0894>. Her whole <03605> land <0776> will be put to shame <0954>. All <03605> her mortally wounded <02491> will collapse <05307> in her midst <08432>.
48Then heaven <08064> and earth <0776> and all <03605> that <0834> is in them will sing <07442> for joy over <05921> Babylon <0894>. For <03588> destroyers <07703> from the north <06828> will attack <0935> it,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
49“Babylon <0894> must fall <05307> because of the Israelites <03478> she has killed <02491>, just as <01571> the earth’s <0776> mortally wounded <02491> fell <05307> because of Babylon <0894>.
50You who have escaped <06412> the sword <02719>, go <01980>, do not <0408> delay <05975>. Remember <02142> the Lord <03068> in a faraway <07350> land. Think <03824> <05927> about <05921> Jerusalem <03389>.
51‘We are ashamed <0954> because <03588> we have been insulted <02781> <08085>. Our faces <06440> show <03680> our disgrace <03639>. For <03588> foreigners <02114> have invaded <0935> the holy rooms <04720> in <05921> the Lord’s <03068> temple <01004>.’
52Yes <03651>, but the time <03117> will certainly come <0935>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>, “when I will punish <06485> her idols <06456>. Throughout <03605> her land <0776> the mortally wounded <02491> will groan <0602>.
53Even if <03588> Babylon <0894> climbs <05927> high into the sky <08064> and fortifies <01219> her elevated <04791> stronghold <05797>, I will send <0935> destroyers <07703> against her,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
54Cries <06963> of anguish <02201> will come from Babylon <0894>, the sound of great <01419> destruction <07667> from the land <0776> of the Babylonians <03778>.
55For <03588> the Lord <03068> is ready to destroy <07703> Babylon <0894>, and put an end <06> to her loud <01419> noise <06963>. Their waves <01530> will roar <01993> like turbulent <07227> waters <04325>. They will make <05414> a deafening <07588> noise <06963>.
56For <03588> a destroyer <07703> is attacking <05921> <0935> Babylon <0894>. Her warriors <01368> will be captured <03920>; their bows <07198> will be broken <02865>. For <03588> the Lord <03068> is a God <0410> who punishes <01578>; he pays back in full <07999> <07999>.
57“I will make her officials <08269> and wise men <02450> drunk <07937>, along with her governors <06346>, leaders <05461>, and warriors <01368>. They will fall asleep <08142> <03462> forever <05769> and never <03808> wake up <06974>,” says <05002> the King <04428> whose name <08034> is the Lord <03068> who rules over all <06635>.
58This is what <03541> the Lord <03068> who rules over all <06635> says <0559>, “Babylon’s <0894> thick <07342> wall <02346> will be completely demolished <06209> <06209>. Her high <01364> gates <08179> will be set <03341> on fire <03341>. fire <0784>. The peoples <05971> strive <03021> for what does not satisfy <07385>. satisfy <01767>. The nations <03816> grow weary <03286> trying to get what will be destroyed <0784>.”
59This is the order <06680> Jeremiah <03414> the prophet <05030> gave to Seraiah <08304> son <01121> of Neriah <05374>, son <01121> of Mahseiah <04271>, when he went <01980> to <0854> King <04428> Zedekiah <06667> of Judah <03063> in Babylon <0894> during the fourth <07243> year <08141> of his reign <04427>. (Seraiah <08304> was a quartermaster <04496> <08269>.)
60Jeremiah <03414> recorded <03789> on <0413> one <0259> scroll <05612> all <03605> the judgments <07451> that <0834> would come <0935> upon <0413> Babylon <0894>– all <03605> these <0428> prophecies <01697> written <03789> about <0413> Babylon <0894>.
61Then Jeremiah <03414> said <0559> to <0413> Seraiah <08304>, “When you arrive <0935> in Babylon <0894>, make sure <07200> you read <07121> aloud all <03605> these <0428> prophecies <01697>.
62Then say <0559>, ‘O Lord <03068>, you <0859> have announced <01696> that you will destroy <03772> this <02088> place <04725> so that no <01115> people <0120> or animals <0929> live <03427> in it any longer <05704>. Certainly <03588> it will lie <01961> desolate <08077> forever <05769>!’
63When <01961> you finish <03615> reading <07121> this <02088> scroll <05612> aloud, tie <07194> a stone <068> to <05921> it and throw <07993> it into <0413> the middle <08432> of the Euphrates <06578> River.
64Then say <0559>, ‘In the same way <03602> Babylon <0894> will sink <08257> and never <03808> rise <06965> again because <06440> of the judgments <07451> I <0595> am ready to bring <0935> upon <05921> her; they will grow faint <03286>.’” The prophecies <01697> of Jeremiah <03414> end <05704> here <02008>.