Jeremiah 50

The Message

Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can

50 ^1-3The Message of God through the prophet Jeremiah on Babylon, land of the Chaldeans:

“Get the word out to the nations! Preach it!
    Go public with this, broadcast it far and wide:
Babylon taken, god-Bel hanging his head in shame,
    god-Marduk exposed as a fraud.
All her god-idols shuffling in shame,
    all her play-gods exposed as cheap frauds.
For a nation will come out of the north to attack her,
    reduce her cities to rubble.
Empty of life—no animals, no people—
    not a sound, not a movement, not a breath.

^4-5“In those days, at that time”—God’s Decree—
    “the people of Israel will come,
And the people of Judah with them.
    Walking and weeping, they’ll seek me, their God.
They’ll ask directions to Zion
    and set their faces toward Zion.
They’ll come and hold tight to God,
    bound in a covenant eternal they’ll never forget.

^6-7“My people were lost sheep.
    Their shepherds led them astray.
They abandoned them in the mountains
    where they wandered aimless through the hills.
They lost track of home,
    couldn’t remember where they came from.
Everyone who met them took advantage of them.
    Their enemies had no qualms:
‘Fair game,’ they said. ‘They walked out on God.
    They abandoned the True Pasture, the hope of their parents.’

^8-10“But now, get out of Babylon as fast as you can.
    Be rid of that Babylonian country.
On your way. Good sheepdogs lead, but don’t you be led.
    Lead the way home!
Do you see what I’m doing?
    I’m rallying a host of nations against Babylon.
They’ll come out of the north,
    attack and take her.
Oh, they know how to fight, these armies.
    They never come home empty-handed.
Babylon is ripe for picking!
    All her plunderers will fill their bellies!” God’s Decree.

^11-16“You Babylonians had a good time while it lasted, didn’t you?
    You lived it up, exploiting and using my people,
Frisky calves romping in lush pastures,
    wild stallions out having a good time!
Well, your mother would hardly be proud of you.
    The woman who bore you wouldn’t be pleased.
Look at what’s come of you! A nothing nation!
    Rubble and garbage and weeds!
Emptied of life by my holy anger,
    a desert of death and emptiness.
Travelers who pass by Babylon will gasp, appalled,
    shaking their heads at such a comedown.
Gang up on Babylon! Pin her down!
    Throw everything you have against her.
Hold nothing back. Knock her flat.
    She’s sinned—oh, how she’s sinned, against me!
Shout battle cries from every direction.
    All the fight has gone out of her.
Her defenses have been flattened,
    her walls smashed.
‘Operation God’s Vengeance.’
    Pile on the vengeance!
Do to her as she has done.
    Give her a good dose of her own medicine!
Destroy her farms and farmers,
    ravage her fields, empty her barns.
And you captives, while the destruction rages,
    get out while the getting’s good,
    get out fast and run for home.

* * *

¹⁷“Israel is a scattered flock,
    hunted down by lions.
The king of Assyria started the carnage.
    The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,
Has completed the job,
    gnawing the bones clean.”

^18-20And now this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    the God of Israel, has to say:
“Just watch! I’m bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land,
    the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria.
But Israel I’ll bring home to good pastures.
    He’ll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan,
On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead.
    He will eat to his heart’s content.
In those days and at that time”—God’s Decree—
    “they’ll look high and low for a sign of Israel’s guilt—nothing;
Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah’s sin—nothing.
    These people that I’ve saved will start out with a clean slate.

* * *

²¹“Attack Merathaim, land of rebels!
Go after Pekod, country of doom!
Hunt them down. Make a clean sweep.” God’s Decree.
“These are my orders. Do what I tell you.

^22-24“The thunderclap of battle
    shakes the foundations!
The Hammer has been hammered,
    smashed and splintered,
Babylon pummeled
    beyond recognition.
I set out a trap and you were caught in it.
    O Babylon, you never knew what hit you,
Caught and held in the steel grip of that trap!
    That’s what you get for taking on God.

^25-28“I, God, opened my arsenal.
    I brought out my weapons of wrath.
The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    has a job to do in Babylon.
Come at her from all sides!
    Break into her granaries!
Shovel her into piles and burn her up.
    Leave nothing! Leave no one!
Kill all her young turks.
    Send them to their doom!
Doom to them! Yes, Doomsday!
    The clock has finally run out on them.
And here’s a surprise:
    Runaways and escapees from Babylon
Show up in Zion reporting the news of God’s vengeance,
    taking vengeance for my own Temple.

^29-30“Call in the troops against Babylon,
    anyone who can shoot straight!
Tighten the noose!
    Leave no loopholes!
Give her back as good as she gave,
    a dose of her own medicine!
Her brazen insolence is an outrage
    against God, The Holy of Israel.
And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets,
    her soldiers dead, silent forever.” God’s Decree.

^31-32“Do you get it, Mister Pride? I’m your enemy!”
    Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“Time’s run out on you:
    That’s right: It’s Doomsday.
Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.
    No one will offer him a hand.
I’ll set his towns on fire.
    The fire will spread wild through the country.”

* * *

^33-34And here’s more from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The people of Israel are beaten down,
    the people of Judah along with them.
Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel.
    They won’t let go.
But the Rescuer is strong:
    God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
Yes, I will take their side,
    I’ll come to their rescue.
I’ll soothe their land,
    but rough up the people of Babylon.

^35-40“It’s all-out war in Babylon”—God’s Decree—
    “total war against people, leaders, and the wise!
War to the death on her boasting pretenders, fools one and all!
    War to the death on her soldiers, cowards to a man!
War to the death on her hired killers, gutless wonders!
    War to the death on her banks—looted!
War to the death on her water supply—drained dry!
    A land of make-believe gods gone crazy—hobgoblins!
The place will be haunted with jackals and scorpions,
    night-owls and vampire bats.
No one will ever live there again.
    The land will reek with the stench of death.
It will join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,
    the cities I did away with.” God’s Decree.
“No one will live there again.
    No one will again draw breath in that land, ever.

* * *

^41-43“And now, watch this! People pouring
    out of the north, hordes of people,
A mob of kings stirred up
    from far-off places.
Flourishing deadly weapons,
    barbarians they are, cruel and pitiless.
Roaring and relentless, like ocean breakers,
    they come riding fierce stallions,
In battle formation, ready to fight
    you, Daughter Babylon!
Babylon’s king hears them coming.
    He goes white as a ghost, limp as a dishrag.
Terror-stricken, he doubles up in pain, helpless to fight,
    like a woman giving birth to a baby.

⁴⁴“And now watch this: Like a lion coming up
    from the thick jungle of the Jordan,
Looking for prey in the mountain pastures,
    I’ll take over and pounce.
I’ll take my pick of the flock—and who’s to stop me?
    All the so-called shepherds are helpless before me.”

^45-46So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Babylon, the blueprint of what he’s prepared for dealing with Chaldea:

Believe it or not, the young,
    the vulnerable—mere lambs and kids—will be dragged off.
Believe it or not, the flock
    in shock, helpless to help, watches it happen.
When the shout goes up, “Babylon’s down!”
    the very earth will shudder at the sound.
    The news will be heard all over the world.

Jeremiah 50

New International Version

A Message About Babylon^(A)

50 This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon^(B) and the land of the Babylonians^[a]:

²“Announce and proclaim^(C) among the nations,
    lift up a banner^(D) and proclaim it;
    keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;^(E)
    Bel^(F) will be put to shame,^(G)
    Marduk^(H) filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
    and her idols^(I) filled with terror.’
³A nation from the north^(J) will attack her
    and lay waste her land.
No one will live^(K) in it;
    both people and animals^(L) will flee away.

⁴“In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together^(M)
    will go in tears^(N) to seek^(O) the Lord their God.
⁵They will ask the way^(P) to Zion
    and turn their faces toward it.
They will come^(Q) and bind themselves to the Lord
    in an everlasting covenant^(R)
    that will not be forgotten.

⁶“My people have been lost sheep;^(S)
    their shepherds^(T) have led them astray^(U)
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill^(V)
    and forgot their own resting place.^(W)
⁷Whoever found them devoured^(X) them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,^(Y)
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
    the Lord, the hope^(Z) of their ancestors.’

⁸“Flee^(AA) out of Babylon;^(AB)
    leave the land of the Babylonians,
    and be like the goats that lead the flock.
⁹For I will stir^(AC) up and bring against Babylon
    an alliance of great nations^(AD) from the land of the north.^(AE)
They will take up their positions against her,
    and from the north she will be captured.^(AF)
Their arrows^(AG) will be like skilled warriors
    who do not return empty-handed.
¹⁰So Babylonia^[b] will be plundered;^(AH)
    all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.

¹¹“Because you rejoice and are glad,
    you who pillage my inheritance,^(AI)
because you frolic like a heifer^(AJ) threshing grain
    and neigh like stallions,
¹²your mother will be greatly ashamed;
    she who gave you birth will be disgraced.^(AK)
She will be the least of the nations—
    a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.^(AL)
¹³Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
    but will be completely desolate.^(AM)
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;^(AN)
    they will scoff^(AO) because of all her wounds.^(AP)

¹⁴“Take up your positions around Babylon,
    all you who draw the bow.^(AQ)
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,^(AR)
    for she has sinned against the Lord.
¹⁵Shout^(AS) against her on every side!
    She surrenders, her towers fall,
    her walls^(AT) are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance^(AU) of the Lord,
    take vengeance on her;
    do to her^(AV) as she has done to others.^(AW)
¹⁶Cut off from Babylon the sower,
    and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword^(AX) of the oppressor
    let everyone return to their own people,^(AY)
    let everyone flee to their own land.^(AZ)

¹⁷“Israel is a scattered flock^(BA)
    that lions^(BB) have chased away.
The first to devour^(BC) them
    was the king^(BD) of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones^(BE)
    was Nebuchadnezzar^(BF) king^(BG) of Babylon.”

¹⁸Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king^(BH) of Assyria.^(BI)
¹⁹But I will bring^(BJ) Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied^(BK)
    on the hills^(BL) of Ephraim and Gilead.^(BM)
²⁰In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,^(BN)
and for the sins^(BO) of Judah,
    but none will be found,
    for I will forgive^(BP) the remnant^(BQ) I spare.

²¹“Attack the land of Merathaim
    and those who live in Pekod.^(BR)
Pursue, kill and completely destroy^[c] them,”
declares the Lord.
    “Do everything I have commanded you.
²²The noise^(BS) of battle is in the land,
    the noise of great destruction!
²³How broken and shattered
    is the hammer^(BT) of the whole earth!^(BU)
How desolate^(BV) is Babylon
    among the nations!
²⁴I set a trap^(BW) for you, Babylon,
    and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured^(BX)
    because you opposed^(BY) the Lord.
²⁵The Lord has opened his arsenal
    and brought out the weapons^(BZ) of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
    in the land of the Babylonians.^(CA)
²⁶Come against her from afar.^(CB)
    Break open her granaries;
    pile her up like heaps of grain.^(CC)
Completely destroy^(CD) her
    and leave her no remnant.
²⁷Kill all her young bulls;^(CE)
    let them go down to the slaughter!^(CF)
Woe to them! For their day^(CG) has come,
    the time^(CH) for them to be punished.
²⁸Listen to the fugitives^(CI) and refugees from Babylon
    declaring in Zion^(CJ)
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,^(CK)
    vengeance for his temple.^(CL)

²⁹“Summon archers against Babylon,
    all those who draw the bow.^(CM)
Encamp all around her;
    let no one escape.^(CN)
Repay^(CO) her for her deeds;^(CP)
    do to her as she has done.
For she has defied^(CQ) the Lord,
    the Holy One^(CR) of Israel.
³⁰Therefore, her young men^(CS) will fall in the streets;
    all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
³¹“See, I am against^(CT) you, you arrogant one,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day^(CU) has come,
    the time for you to be punished.
³²The arrogant^(CV) one will stumble and fall^(CW)
    and no one will help her up;^(CX)
I will kindle a fire^(CY) in her towns
    that will consume all who are around her.”

³³This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“The people of Israel are oppressed,^(CZ)
    and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
    refusing to let them go.^(DA)
³⁴Yet their Redeemer^(DB) is strong;
    the Lord Almighty^(DC) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause^(DD)
    so that he may bring rest^(DE) to their land,
    but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

³⁵“A sword^(DF) against the Babylonians!”^(DG)
    declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
    and against her officials and wise^(DH) men!
³⁶A sword against her false prophets!
    They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!^(DI)
    They will be filled with terror.^(DJ)
³⁷A sword against her horses and chariots^(DK)
    and all the foreigners in her ranks!
    They will become weaklings.^(DL)
A sword against her treasures!^(DM)
    They will be plundered.
³⁸A drought on^[d] her waters!^(DN)
    They will dry^(DO) up.
For it is a land of idols,^(DP)
    idols that will go mad with terror.

³⁹“So desert creatures^(DQ) and hyenas will live there,
    and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
    or lived in from generation to generation.^(DR)
⁴⁰As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah^(DS)
    along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell in it.^(DT)

⁴¹“Look! An army is coming from the north;^(DU)
    a great nation and many kings
    are being stirred^(DV) up from the ends of the earth.^(DW)
⁴²They are armed with bows^(DX) and spears;
    they are cruel^(DY) and without mercy.^(DZ)
They sound like the roaring sea^(EA)
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Babylon.^(EB)
⁴³The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
    and his hands hang limp.^(EC)
Anguish has gripped him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(ED)
⁴⁴Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets^(EE)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen^(EF) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?^(EG)
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”

⁴⁵Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
    what he has purposed^(EH) against the land of the Babylonians:^(EI)
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
    their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
⁴⁶At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;^(EJ)
    its cry^(EK) will resound among the nations.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45
Jeremiah 50:10 Or Chaldea
Jeremiah 50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
Jeremiah 50:38 Or A sword against

Jeremiah 51

The Message

Hurricane Persia

51 ^1-5There’s more. God says more:

“Watch this:
    I’m whipping up
A death-dealing hurricane against Babylon—‘Hurricane Persia’—
    against all who live in that perverse land.
I’m sending a cleanup crew into Babylon.
    They’ll clean the place out from top to bottom.
When they get through there’ll be nothing left of her
    worth taking or talking about.
They won’t miss a thing.
    A total and final Doomsday!
Fighters will fight with everything they’ve got.
    It’s no-holds-barred.
They will spare nothing and no one.
    It’s final and wholesale destruction—the end!
Babylon littered with the wounded,
    streets piled with corpses.
It turns out that Israel and Judah
    are not widowed after all.
As their God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, I am still alive and well,
    committed to them even though
They filled their land with sin
    against Israel’s most Holy God.

^6-8“Get out of Babylon as fast as you can.
    Run for your lives! Save your necks!
Don’t linger and lose your lives to my vengeance on her
    as I pay her back for her sins.
Babylon was a fancy gold chalice
    held in my hand,
Filled with the wine of my anger
    to make the whole world drunk.
The nations drank the wine
    and they’ve all gone crazy.
Babylon herself will stagger and crash,
    senseless in a drunken stupor—tragic!
Get anointing balm for her wound.
    Maybe she can be cured.”

* * *

⁹“We did our best, but she can’t be helped.
    Babylon is past fixing.
Give her up to her fate.
    Go home.
The judgment on her will be vast,
    a skyscraper-memorial of vengeance.

Your Lifeline Is Cut

¹⁰“God has set everything right for us.
Come! Let’s tell the good news
Back home in Zion.
Let’s tell what our God did to set things right.

^11-13“Sharpen the arrows!
    Fill the quivers!
God has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
    infecting them with war fever: ‘Destroy Babylon!’
God’s on the warpath.
    He’s out to avenge his Temple.
Give the signal to attack Babylon’s walls.
    Station guards around the clock.
Bring in reinforcements.
    Set men in ambush.
God will do what he planned,
    what he said he’d do to the people of Babylon.
You have more water than you need,
    you have more money than you need—
But your life is over,
    your lifeline cut.”

* * *

¹⁴God-of-the-Angel-Armies has solemnly sworn:
“I’ll fill this place with soldiers.
They’ll swarm through here like locusts
chanting victory songs over you.”

* * *

^15-19By his power he made earth.
    His wisdom gave shape to the world.
    He crafted the cosmos.
He thunders and rain pours down.
    He sends the clouds soaring.
He embellishes the storm with lightnings,
    launches the wind from his warehouse.
Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish!
    god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods!
Their gods are frauds, dead sticks—
    deadwood gods, tasteless jokes.
They’re nothing but stale smoke.
    When the smoke clears, they’re gone.
But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing;
    he put the whole universe together,
With special attention to Israel.
    His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

They’ll Sleep and Never Wake Up

^20-23God says, “You, Babylon, are my hammer,
    my weapon of war.
I’ll use you to smash godless nations,
    use you to knock kingdoms to bits.
I’ll use you to smash horse and rider,
    use you to smash chariot and driver.
I’ll use you to smash man and woman,
    use you to smash the old man and the boy.
I’ll use you to smash the young man and young woman,
    use you to smash shepherd and sheep.
I’ll use you to smash farmer and yoked oxen,
    use you to smash governors and senators.

²⁴“Judeans, you’ll see it with your own eyes. I’ll pay Babylon and all the Chaldeans back for all the evil they did in Zion.” God’s Decree.

^25-26“I’m your enemy, Babylon, Mount Destroyer,
    you ravager of the whole earth.
I’ll reach out, I’ll take you in my hand,
    and I’ll crush you till there’s no mountain left.
I’ll turn you into a gravel pit—
    no more cornerstones cut from you,
No more foundation stones quarried from you!
    Nothing left of you but gravel.” God’s Decree.

* * *

^27-28“Raise the signal in the land,
    blow the shofar-trumpet for the nations.
Consecrate the nations for holy work against her.
    Call kingdoms into service against her.
    Enlist Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a field marshal against her,
    and round up horses, locust hordes of horses!
Consecrate the nations for holy work against her—
    the king of the Medes, his leaders and people.

^29-33“The very land trembles in terror, writhes in pain,
    terrorized by my plans against Babylon,
Plans to turn the country of Babylon
    into a lifeless moonscape—a wasteland.
Babylon’s soldiers have quit fighting.
    They hide out in ruins and caves—
Cowards who’ve given up without a fight,
    exposed as cowering crybabies.
Babylon’s houses are going up in flames,
    the city gates torn off their hinges.
Runner after runner comes racing in,
    each on the heels of the last,
Bringing reports to the king of Babylon
    that his city is a lost cause.
The fords of the rivers are all taken.
    Wildfire rages through the swamp grass.
Soldiers desert left and right.
    I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, said it would happen:
‘Daughter Babylon is a threshing floor
    at threshing time.
Soon, oh very soon, her harvest will come
    and then the chaff will fly!’

* * *

^34-37“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
    chewed up my people and spit out the bones.
He wiped his dish clean, pushed back his chair,
    and belched—a huge gluttonous belch.
Lady Zion says,
    ‘The brutality done to me be done to Babylon!’
And Jerusalem says,
    ‘The blood spilled from me be charged to the Chaldeans!’
Then I, God, step in and say,
    ‘I’m on your side, taking up your cause.
I’m your Avenger. You’ll get your revenge.
    I’ll dry up her rivers, plug up her springs.
Babylon will be a pile of rubble,
    scavenged by stray dogs and cats,
A dumping ground for garbage,
    a godforsaken ghost town.’

* * *

^38-40“The Babylonians will be like lions and their cubs,
    ravenous, roaring for food.
I’ll fix them a meal, all right—a banquet, in fact.
    They’ll drink themselves falling-down drunk.
Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep, and sleep . . . 
    and they’ll never wake up.” God’s Decree.
“I’ll haul these ‘lions’ off to the slaughterhouse
    like the lambs, rams, and goats,
    never to be heard of again.

* * *

^41-48“Babylon is finished—
    the pride of the whole earth is flat on her face.
What a comedown for Babylon,
    to end up inglorious in the sewer!
Babylon drowned in chaos,
    battered by waves of enemy soldiers.
Her towns stink with decay and rot,
    the land empty and bare and sterile.
No one lives in these towns anymore.
    Travelers give them a wide berth.
I’ll bring doom on the glutton god-Bel in Babylon.
    I’ll make him vomit up all he gulped down.
No more visitors stream into this place,
    admiring and gawking at the wonders of Babylon.
    The wonders of Babylon are no more.
Run for your lives, my dear people!
    Run, and don’t look back!
Get out of this place while you can,
    this place torched by God’s raging anger.
Don’t lose hope. Don’t ever give up
    when the rumors pour in hot and heavy.
One year it’s this, the next year it’s that—
    rumors of violence, rumors of war.
Trust me, the time is coming
    when I’ll put the no-gods of Babylon in their place.
I’ll show up the whole country as a sickening fraud,
    with dead bodies strewn all over the place.
Heaven and earth, angels and people,
    will throw a victory party over Babylon
When the avenging armies from the north
    descend on her.” God’s Decree!

Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile

^49-50“Babylon must fall—
    compensation for the war dead in Israel.
Babylonians will be killed
    because of all that Babylonian killing.
But you exiles who have escaped a Babylonian death,
    get out! And fast!
Remember God in your long and distant exile.
    Keep Jerusalem alive in your memory.”

⁵¹How we’ve been humiliated, taunted and abused,
kicked around for so long that we hardly know who we are!
And we hardly know what to think—
our old Sanctuary, God’s house, desecrated by strangers.

^52-53“I know, but trust me: The time is coming”
    —God’s Decree—
“When I will bring doom on her no-god idols,
    and all over this land her wounded will groan.
Even if Babylon climbed a ladder to the moon
    and pulled up the ladder so that no one could get to her,
That wouldn’t stop me.
    I’d make sure my avengers would reach her.”
        God’s Decree.

^54-56“But now listen! Do you hear it? A cry out of Babylon!
    An unearthly wail out of Chaldea!
God is taking his wrecking bar to Babylon.
    We’ll be hearing the last of her noise—
Death throes like the crashing of waves,
    death rattles like the roar of cataracts.
The avenging destroyer is about to enter Babylon:
    Her soldiers are taken, her weapons are trashed.
Indeed, God is a God who evens things out.
    All end up with their just deserts.

⁵⁷“I’ll get them drunk, the whole lot of them—
princes, sages, governors, soldiers.
Dead drunk, they’ll sleep—and sleep and sleep . . . 
and never wake up.” The King’s Decree.
His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

⁵⁸God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:

“The city walls of Babylon—those massive walls!—
    will be flattened.
And those city gates—huge gates!—
    will be set on fire.
The harder you work at this empty life,
    the less you are.
Nothing comes of ambition like this
    but ashes.”

* * *

⁵⁹Jeremiah the prophet gave a job to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon. It was in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Seraiah was in charge of travel arrangements.

^60-62Jeremiah had written down in a little booklet all the bad things that would come down on Babylon. He told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read this out in public. Read, ‘You, O God, said that you would destroy this place so that nothing could live here, neither human nor animal—a wasteland to top all wastelands, an eternal nothing.’

^63-64“When you’ve finished reading the page, tie a stone to it, throw it into the River Euphrates, and watch it sink. Then say, ‘That’s how Babylon will sink to the bottom and stay there after the disaster I’m going to bring upon her.’”

Jeremiah 51

New International Version

51 This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir^(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon^(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.^[a]
²I will send foreigners^(C) to Babylon
    to winnow^(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day^(E) of her disaster.
³Let not the archer string his bow,^(F)
    nor let him put on his armor.^(G)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy^[b] her army.
⁴They will fall^(H) down slain in Babylon,^[c]
    fatally wounded in her streets.^(I)
⁵For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken^(J)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land^[d] is full of guilt^(K)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

⁶“Flee^(L) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.^(M)
It is time^(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;^(O)
    he will repay^(P) her what she deserves.
⁷Babylon was a gold cup^(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
⁸Babylon will suddenly fall^(R) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm^(S) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

⁹“‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave^(T) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment^(U) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

¹⁰“‘The Lord has vindicated^(V) us;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has done.’^(W)

¹¹“Sharpen the arrows,^(X)
    take up the shields!^(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings^(Z) of the Medes,^(AA)
    because his purpose^(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,^(AC)
    vengeance for his temple.^(AD)
¹²Lift up a banner^(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,^(AF)
    prepare an ambush!^(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,^(AH)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
¹³You who live by many waters^(AI)
    and are rich in treasures,^(AJ)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.^(AK)
¹⁴The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:^(AL)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,^(AM)
    and they will shout^(AN) in triumph over you.

¹⁵“He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom^(AO)
    and stretched^(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.^(AQ)
¹⁶When he thunders,^(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain^(AS)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(AT)

¹⁷“Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;^(AU)
    they have no breath in them.
¹⁸They are worthless,^(AV) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁹He who is the Portion^(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance^(AX)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.

²⁰“You are my war club,^(AY)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter^(AZ) nations,^(BA)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
²¹with you I shatter horse and rider,^(BB)
    with you I shatter chariot^(BC) and driver,
²²with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,^(BD)
²³with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.^(BE)

²⁴“Before your eyes I will repay^(BF) Babylon^(BG) and all who live in Babylonia^[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

²⁵“I am against^(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
    you who destroy the whole earth,”^(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand^(BJ) against you,
    roll you off the cliffs,
    and make you a burned-out mountain.^(BK)
²⁶No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
    nor any stone for a foundation,
    for you will be desolate^(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.

²⁷“Lift up a banner^(BM) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:^(BN)
    Ararat,^(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.^(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.^(BQ)
²⁸Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,^(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.^(BS)
²⁹The land trembles^(BT) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes^(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste^(BV) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.^(BW)
³⁰Babylon’s warriors^(BX) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.^(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;^(BZ)
    the bars^(CA) of her gates are broken.
³¹One courier^(CB) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,^(CC)
³²the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,^(CD)
    and the soldiers terrified.^(CE)”

³³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon^(CF) is like a threshing floor^(CG)
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest^(CH) her will soon come.^(CI)”

³⁴“Nebuchadnezzar^(CJ) king of Babylon has devoured^(CK) us,^(CL)
    he has thrown us into confusion,
    he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
    and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
    and then has spewed^(CM) us out.
³⁵May the violence^(CN) done to our flesh^[f] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.^(CO)

³⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your cause^(CP)
    and avenge^(CQ) you;
I will dry up^(CR) her sea
    and make her springs dry.
³⁷Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt^(CS) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,^(CT)
    a place where no one lives.^(CU)
³⁸Her people all roar like young lions,^(CV)
    they growl like lion cubs.
³⁹But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,^(CW)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever^(CX) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.^(CY)
⁴⁰“I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.^(CZ)

⁴¹“How Sheshak^[g]^(DA) will be captured,^(DB)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate^(DC) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
⁴²The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves^(DD) will cover her.
⁴³Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert^(DE) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.^(DF)
⁴⁴I will punish Bel^(DG) in Babylon
    and make him spew out^(DH) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
    And the wall^(DI) of Babylon will fall.

⁴⁵“Come out^(DJ) of her, my people!
    Run^(DK) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger^(DL) of the Lord.
⁴⁶Do not lose heart^(DM) or be afraid^(DN)
    when rumors^(DO) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
⁴⁷For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols^(DP) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced^(DQ)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.^(DR)
⁴⁸Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout^(DS) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north^(DT)
    destroyers^(DU) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

⁴⁹“Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.^(DV)
⁵⁰You who have escaped the sword,
    leave^(DW) and do not linger!
Remember^(DX) the Lord in a distant land,^(DY)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

⁵¹“We are disgraced,^(DZ)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”^(EA)

⁵²“But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,^(EB)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.^(EC)
⁵³Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens^(ED)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers^(EE) against her,”
declares the Lord.

⁵⁴“The sound of a cry^(EF) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction^(EG)
    from the land of the Babylonians.^[h]
⁵⁵The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence^(EH) her noisy din.
Waves^(EI) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
⁵⁶A destroyer^(EJ) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.^(EK)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay^(EL) in full.
⁵⁷I will make her officials^(EM) and wise^(EN) men drunk,^(EO)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep^(EP) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,^(EQ) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

⁵⁸This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall^(ER) will be leveled
and her high gates^(ES) set on fire;
the peoples^(ET) exhaust^(EU) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”^(EV)

⁵⁹This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,^(EW) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah^(EX) king of Judah in the fourth^(EY) year of his reign. ⁶⁰Jeremiah had written on a scroll^(EZ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. ⁶¹He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. ⁶²Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate^(FA) forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.^(FB) ⁶⁴Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more^(FC) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people^(FD) will fall.’”^(FE)

The words of Jeremiah end^(FF) here.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans

3 John

The Message

^1-4The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!

Model the Good

^5-8Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

^9-10Earlier I wrote something along this line to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves being in charge, denigrates my counsel. If I come, you can be sure I’ll hold him to account for spreading vicious rumors about us.

As if that weren’t bad enough, he not only refuses hospitality to traveling Christians but tries to stop others from welcoming them. Worse yet, instead of inviting them in he throws them out.

¹¹Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.

¹²Everyone has a good word for Demetrius—the Truth itself stands up for Demetrius! We concur, and you know we don’t hand out endorsements lightly.

^13-14I have a lot more things to tell you, but I’d rather not use pen and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk.

Peace to you. The friends here say hello. Greet our friends there by name.

3 John

New International Version

¹The elder,^(A)

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

²Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. ³It gave me great joy when some believers^(B) came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.^(C) ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children^(D) are walking in the truth.^(E)

⁵Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,^[a]^(F) even though they are strangers to you.^(G) ⁶They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way^(H) in a manner that honors^(I) God. ⁷It was for the sake of the Name^(J) that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.^(K) ⁸We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

⁹I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. ¹⁰So when I come,^(L) I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers.^(M) He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.^(N)

¹¹Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.^(O) Anyone who does what is good is from God.^(P) Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.^(Q) ¹²Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone^(R)—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.^(S)

¹³I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. ¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.^(T)

¹⁵Peace to you.^(U) The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.^(V)

Footnotes

3 John 1:5 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family.

The Message (MSG)

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 50

The Message

Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can

Jeremiah 50

New International Version

A Message About Babylon^(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 51

The Message

Hurricane Persia

Your Lifeline Is Cut

They’ll Sleep and Never Wake Up

Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile

Jeremiah 51

New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

3 John

The Message

Model the Good

3 John

New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 50 The Message

Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can

Jeremiah 50 New International Version

A Message About Babylon(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

Jeremiah 51 The Message

Hurricane Persia

Your Lifeline Is Cut

They’ll Sleep and Never Wake Up

Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile

Jeremiah 51 New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

3 John The Message

Model the Good

3 John New International Version

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Jeremiah 50

The Message

Jeremiah 50

New International Version

A Message About Babylon^(A)

Jeremiah 51

The Message

Jeremiah 51

New International Version

3 John

The Message

3 John

New International Version