1The word that Jehovah 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. 4In those days , and in that time , saith Jehovah , the children of Israel shall come , they and the children of Judah together ; they shall go on their way weeping , and shall seek Jehovah their God . 5They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward , saying , Come ye , and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten . 6My people have 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 are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah , the habitation of righteousness , even Jehovah , 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 a company 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 prey : all that prey upon her shall be satisfied , saith Jehovah .
The Restoration of Israel
11Because ye are glad , because ye rejoice , O ye that plunder my heritage , because ye are wanton as a heifer that treadeth out the grain , and neigh as strong horses; 12your mother shall be utterly put to shame ; 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 Jehovah she shall not be inhabited , but she 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 Jehovah . 15Shout against her round about : she hath submitted herself ; her bulwarks are fallen , her walls are thrown down ; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah : 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 . 17Israel is a hunted sheep ; the lions have driven him away : first , the king of Assyria devoured him ; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones . 18Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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 Jehovah , 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 Call to Battle
21Go up against the land of Merathaim , even against it , and against the inhabitants of Pekod : slay and utterly destroy after them , saith Jehovah , 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 Jehovah . 25Jehovah hath opened his armory , and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation ; for the Lord , Jehovah of hosts , hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans . 26Come against her from the utmost border ; open her store-houses; 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 Jehovah our God , the vengeance of his temple . 29Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow ; encamp 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 Jehovah , 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 Jehovah .
The Judgment of the Nations
31Behold , I am against thee, O thou proud one , saith the Lord , Jehovah 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 Jehovah of hosts : The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together ; and all that took them captive hold them fast ; they refuse to let them go . 34Their Redeemer is strong ; Jehovah of hosts is his name : he will thoroughly plead their cause , that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35A sword is upon the Chaldeans , saith Jehovah , and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes , and upon her wise men . 36A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall become fools ; a sword is upon her mighty men , and they shall be dismayed . 37A sword is upon their horses , 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 over 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 neighbor cities thereof , saith Jehovah , 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 a man to the battle , against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43The king of Babylon hath heard the tidings of them , and his hands wax feeble : anguish hath taken hold of him , and pangs as of a woman in travail . 44Behold , the enemy shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation : for I will suddenly make them run away from it ; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it : for who is like me ? and who will appoint me a time ? and who is the shepherd that can stand before me ? 45Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah , 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 over them . 46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations .