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Jeremiah 50
Easy-to-Read Version
Jeremiah 50
Easy-to-Read Version
A Message About Babylon
50 This is the message the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about Babylon and its people.
2 “Announce this to all nations!
Lift up a flag and announce the message!
Speak the whole message and say,
‘The nation of Babylon will be captured.
The god Bel will be put to shame.
The god Marduk will be very afraid.
Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.
Her gods will be filled with terror.’
3 A nation from the north will attack Babylon.
That nation will make Babylon like an empty desert.
No one will live there.
Both men and animals will run away.”
4 The Lord says, “At that time
the people of Israel and the people of Judah will be together.
They will cry and cry together,
and together, they will go look for the Lord their God.
5 They will ask how to go to Zion.
They will start to go in that direction.
They will say, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord.
Let’s make an agreement that will last forever.
Let’s make an agreement that we will never forget.’
6 “My people have been like lost sheep.
Their shepherds led them the wrong way
and caused them to wander away into the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their resting place was.
7 They were attacked by all who saw them.
And their attackers said,
‘We were not wrong to attack them
because they sinned against the Lord.
They should have stayed close to him, their true resting place.
The Lord is the one their fathers trusted in.’
8 “Run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of the Babylonians.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9 I will bring many nations together from the north.
This group of nations will get ready for war against Babylon.
Babylon will be captured by people from the north.
Those nations will shoot many arrows at Babylon.
Their arrows will be like soldiers
who don’t come back from war with their hands empty.
10 The enemy will take all the wealth from the Chaldeans.
The soldiers will take all they want.”
This is what the Lord said.
11 “Babylon, you are excited and happy.
You took my land.
You dance around like a young cow
that got into the grain.
Your laughter is like the happy sounds
that horses make.
12 Now your mother will be very ashamed.
The woman who gave you birth will be embarrassed.
Babylon will be the least important of all the nations.
She will be an empty, dry desert.
13 The Lord will show his anger,
so no one will live there.
Babylon will be completely empty.
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be afraid.
They will shake their heads when they see how badly it has been destroyed.
14 “Prepare for war against Babylon.
All you soldiers with bows, shoot your arrows at Babylon.
Don’t save any of your arrows.
Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
15 Soldiers around Babylon, shout the cry of victory!
Babylon has surrendered!
Her walls and towers have been pulled down!
The Lord is giving her people the punishment they deserve.
You nations should give Babylon the punishment she deserves.
Do to her what she has done to other nations.
16 Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops.
Don’t let them gather the harvest.
The soldiers of Babylon brought many prisoners to their city.
Now the enemy soldiers have come,
so the prisoners are going back home.
They are running back to their own countries.
17 “Israel is like a flock of sheep that was scattered all over the country.
Israel is like sheep that were chased away by lions.
The first lion to attack was the king of Assyria.
The last lion to crush Israel’s bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
18 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
‘I will soon punish the king of Babylon and his country
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 “‘I will bring Israel back to his own fields.
He will eat food that grows on Mount Carmel and in the land of Bashan.
He will eat and be full.
He will eat on the hills in the lands of Ephraim and Gilead.’”
20 The Lord says, “At that time people will try hard to find Israel’s guilt,
but there will be no guilt.
People will try to find Judah’s sins,
but no sins will be found.
That is because I am saving a few survivors from Israel and Judah.
And I am forgiving them for all their sins.”
21 The Lord says, “Attack the country of Merathaim!
Attack the people living in Pekod!
Attack them!
Kill them and destroy them completely!
Do everything I commanded you!
22 “The noise of battle can be heard all over the country.
It is the noise of much destruction.
23 Babylon was called
‘The Hammer of the Whole Earth.’
But now the ‘Hammer’ is shattered.
Babylon is the most ruined of the nations.
24 Babylon, I set a trap for you,
and you were caught before you knew it.
You fought against the Lord,
so you were found and captured.
25 The Lord has opened up his storeroom
and brought out the weapons of his anger.
The Lord God All-Powerful brought out those weapons,
because he has work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 “Come against Babylon from far away.
Break open the storehouses where she keeps her grain.
Destroy Babylon completely.
Don’t leave anyone alive.
Pile up her dead bodies like big piles of grain.
27 Kill all the young men in Babylon.
Let them be slaughtered like bulls.
How terrible for them that their day of defeat has come!
It is time for them to be punished.
28 People are running out of Babylon.
They are escaping from that country and coming to Zion.
They are telling everyone the good news about what the Lord is doing.
The Lord our God is giving Babylon the punishment it deserves.
The Lord is destroying Babylon,
because it destroyed his Temple!
29 “Call for the archers.
Tell them to attack Babylon.
Tell them to surround the city.
Don’t let anyone escape.
Pay her back for the bad things she has done.
Do to her what she has done to other nations.
Babylon did not respect the Lord.
Babylon was very rude to the Holy One of Israel.
So punish Babylon.
30 Babylon’s young men will be killed in the streets.
All her soldiers will die on that day.”
This is what the Lord says.
31 “Babylon, you are too proud,
and I am against you,”
says the Lord God All-Powerful.
“I am against you,
and the time has come for you to be punished.
32 Proud Babylon will stumble and fall,
and no one will help her get up.
I will start a fire in her towns.
That fire will completely burn up everyone around her.”
33 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“The people of Israel and Judah are slaves.
The enemy took them, and the enemy will not let Israel go.
34 But God will get them back.
His name is the Lord God All-Powerful.
He will defend them very strongly.
He will argue their case so that he can let their land rest.
But there will be no rest for those living in Babylon.”
35 The Lord says,
“Sword, kill the people living in Babylon.
Sword, kill the king’s officials
and the wise men of Babylon.
36 Sword, kill the priests of Babylon.
They will be like fools.
Sword, kill the soldiers of Babylon.
They will be full of fear.
37 Sword, kill the horses and chariots of Babylon.
Sword, kill all the soldiers hired from other countries.
They will be like frightened women.
Sword, destroy the treasures of Babylon.
Those treasures will be taken away.
38 Sword, strike the waters of Babylon.
Those waters will be dried up.
Babylon has many, many idols.
These idols show that the people of Babylon are foolish.
So bad things will happen to them.
39 Babylon will never again be filled with people.
Wild dogs, ostriches, and other desert animals will live there.
But no one will live there ever again.
40 God completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns around them.
In the same way no one will live in Babylon,
and no one will ever go to live there.”
This is what the Lord says.
41 “Look! There are people coming from the north.
They come from a powerful nation.
Many kings are coming together from all around the world.
42 Their armies have bows and spears.
The soldiers are cruel.
They have no mercy.
The soldiers come riding on their horses;
the sound is as loud as the roaring sea.
They stand in their places, ready for battle.
They are ready to attack you, city of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon heard about those armies,
and he is paralyzed with fear.
He is overcome with fear and pain,
like a woman giving birth.
44 “Sometimes a lion will come
from the thick bushes near the Jordan River.
It will walk into the fields
where people have their animals.
I will be like that lion;
I will chase Babylon from its land.
Who should I choose to do this?
There is no one like me.
There is no one who can challenge me.
No shepherd will come to chase me away.
I will chase away the Babylonians.”
45 Listen to what the Lord has planned
to do to Babylon.
Listen to what he has decided
to do to the Babylonians.
“I promise that an enemy will drag away the young kids of Babylon’s flock,
and Babylon will become an empty pasture.
46 Babylon will fall,
and that fall will shake the earth.
People in all nations will hear about
the destruction of Babylon.”
Jeremiah 50
New International Version
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.’
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.”
18 Therefore 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)
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.”
33 This 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)
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.
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 50
King James Version
Jeremiah 50
King James Version
50 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
4 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath 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 restingplace.
7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remove 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.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly 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 a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord.
15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16 Cut 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.
17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord 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.
19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, 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 reserve.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24 I 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 the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it 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 the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
36 A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.
37 A 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.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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