Study Desk

This is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to stir up The spirit of a destroyer against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai.

Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

"I will send foreigners to Babylon so that they may winnow her And devastate her land; For they will be opposed to her on every side On the day of her disaster.

And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

"Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his coat of armor. Do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction.

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

"They will fall down dead in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets."

Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the LORD of armies, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.

For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Flee from the midst of Babylon, And each of you save his life! Do not perish in her punishment, For this is the LORD'S time of vengeance; He is going to repay to her what she deserves.

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord 's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going insane.

Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord 's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; Wail over her! Bring balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed.

Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Abandon her and let's each go to his own country, For her judgment has reached to heaven And it rises to the clouds.

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

The LORD has brought about our vindication; Come and let's recount in Zion The work of the LORD our God!

The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.

Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord , the vengeance of his temple.

Lift up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon; Post a strong guard, Station sentries, Set up an ambush! For the LORD has both planned and performed What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

You who live by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end.

O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

The LORD of armies has sworn by Himself: "I will certainly fill you with a population like locusts, And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you."

The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

When He utters His voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, And He makes the clouds ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain And brings out wind from His storehouses.

When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his cast metal images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

They are worthless, a work of mockery; At the time of their punishment they will perish.

They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

The portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the Maker of everything, And of the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of armies is His name.

The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.

He says, "You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, And with you I destroy kingdoms.

Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,

And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

And with you I shatter man and woman, And with you I shatter the old man and youth, And with you I shatter the young man and virgin,

With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, And with you I shatter governors and officials.

I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

"But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes," declares the LORD.

And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord .

"Behold, I am against you, mountain of destruction That destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD, "And I will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the rocky cliffs, And I will make you a burnt out mountain.

Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord , which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

"They will not take from you even a stone for a corner Nor a stone for foundations, But you will be desolate forever," declares the LORD.

And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord .

Lift up a signal flag in the land, Blow a trumpet among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her, Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; Appoint an officer against her, Bring up the horses like bristly locusts.

Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their officials, And every land under their control.

Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

So the land quakes and writhes, For the plans of the LORD against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without inhabitants.

And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting, They stay in the strongholds; Their strength is exhausted, They are becoming like women; Their homes are set on fire, The bars of her gates are broken.

The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,

The river crossing places have been seized, And they have burned the marshes with fire, And the men of war are terrified.

And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor At the time that it is tread down; In just a little while the time of harvest will come for her."

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, He has set me down like an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a monster, He has filled his stomach with my delicacies; He has washed me away.

Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

"May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon," The inhabitant of Zion will say; And, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," Jerusalem will say.

The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to plead your case And take vengeance for you; And I will dry up her sea And make her fountain dry.

Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

"Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.

And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

"They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions' cubs.

They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

"When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet And make them drunk, so that they may rejoice in triumph, And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up," declares the LORD.

In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord .

"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.

"How Sheshak has been captured, And the praise of the whole earth has been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!

How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

"The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed by its roaring waves.

The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

"Her cities have become an object of horror, A dry land and a desert, A land in which no one lives And through which no one of mankind passes.

Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

"I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream toward him. Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

"Come out from her midst, My people, And each of you save yourselves From the fierce anger of the LORD.

My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord .

"Now, so that your heart does not grow faint, And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land— For the report will come in one year, And after that another report in another year, And violence will be in the land With ruler against ruler—

And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

Therefore behold, days are coming When I will punish the idols of Babylon; And her whole land will be put to shame. And all her slain will fall in her midst.

Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

"Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, Because the destroyers will come to her from the north," Declares the LORD.

Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord .

Indeed, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As the slain of all the earth have also fallen for Babylon.

As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

You who have escaped the sword, Go! Do not stay! Remember the LORD from far away, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.

Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke; Disgrace has covered our faces, Because strangers have entered The holy places of the LORD'S house.

We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord 's house.

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will punish her idols, And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.

Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

"Though Babylon ascends to the heavens, And though she fortifies her lofty stronghold, Destroyers will come from Me to her," declares the LORD.

Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord .

The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

For the LORD is going to destroy Babylon, And He will make her loud noise vanish from her. And their waves will roar like many waters; The clamor of their voices sounds forth.

Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her warriors will be captured, Their bows shattered; For the LORD is a God of retribution, He will fully repay.

Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite.

"I will make her leaders and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her officials, and her warriors, So that they will sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up," Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of armies.

And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

This is what the LORD of armies says: "The broad wall of Babylon will be completely demolished, And her high gates will be set on fire; So the peoples will labor for nothing, And the nations become exhausted only for fire."

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

The command that Jeremiah the prophet gave Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.)

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon.

So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

and say, 'You, LORD, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing living in it, whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.'

Then shalt thou say, O Lord , thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

"And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,

And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

and say, 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.'" To this point are the words of Jeremiah.

And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.