Bible Reading Plan

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.'
³ A 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.
⁵ They 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)
7 Whoever 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.
⁹ For 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.
¹⁰ So 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,
¹² your 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)
13 Because 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 .
¹⁵ Shout^(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)
16 Cut 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."

"I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
     as I punished the king^(bh) of Assyria.^(bi)
19 But 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)
20 In 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.
²² The noise^(bs) of battle is in the land,
     the noise of great destruction!
²³ How broken and shattered
     is the hammer^(bt) of the whole earth!^(bu)
How desolate^(bv) is Babylon
     among the nations!
²⁴ I 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 .
²⁵ The 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)
26 Come 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.
²⁷ Kill 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.
²⁸ Listen 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.
³⁰ Therefore, 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.
³² The 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."

"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)
34 Yet 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!
³⁶ A sword against her false prophets!
     They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!^(di)
     They will be filled with terror.^(dj)
37 A 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.
³⁸ A 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)
40 As 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)
42 They 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)
43 The 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)
44 Like 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?"

⁴⁵ Therefore, 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.
⁴⁶ At the sound of Babylon's capture the earth will tremble;^(ej)
     its cry^(ek) will resound among the nations.