Jeremiah 51:1-2, 6, 8, 11, 13-14, 27-28, 33, 36-37, 41-43, 45-46, 54-57

This is what the LORD says: “I will soon cause a destroying wind to blow against Babylon and the Babylonian people. I will send foreign people to destroy Babylon like a wind that blows chaff away. They will destroy the land. Armies will surround the city when the day of disaster comes upon her.

“Run away from Babylon and save your lives! Don’t stay and be killed because of Babylon’s sins. It is time for the LORD to punish Babylon; he will give Babylon the punishment she deserves.

Babylon has suddenly fallen and been broken. Cry for her! Get balm for her pain, and maybe she can be healed.

“Sharpen the arrows! Pick up your shields! The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because he wants to destroy Babylon. The LORD will punish them as they deserve for destroying his Temple.

People of Babylon, you live near much water and are rich with many treasures, but your end as a nation has come. It is time to stop you from robbing other nations. The LORD All-Powerful has promised in his own name: ‘Babylon, I will surely fill you with so many enemy soldiers they will be like a swarm of locusts. They will stand over you and shout their victory.’

“Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon. Call these kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to fight against her. Choose a commander to lead the army against Babylon. Send so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts. Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon— the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officers, and all the countries they rule.

This is what the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “The city of Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people crush the grain at harvest time. The time to harvest Babylon is coming soon.”

So this is what the LORD says: “I will soon defend you, Judah, and make sure that Babylon is punished. I will dry up Babylon’s sea and make her springs become dry. Babylon will become a pile of ruins, a home for wild dogs. People will be shocked by what happened there. No one will live there anymore.

“How Babylon has been defeated! The pride of the whole earth has been taken captive. People from other nations are shocked at what happened to Babylon, and the things they see make them afraid. The sea has risen over Babylon; its roaring waves cover her. Babylon’s towns are ruined and empty. It has become a dry, desert land, a land where no one lives. People do not even travel through Babylon.

“Come out of Babylon, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the LORD’s great anger. Don’t lose courage; rumors will spread through the land, but don’t be afraid. One rumor comes this year, and another comes the next year. There will be rumors of terrible fighting in the country, of rulers fighting against rulers.

“Sounds of people crying are heard in Babylon. Sounds of people destroying things are heard in the land of the Babylonians. The LORD is destroying Babylon and making the loud sounds of the city become silent. Enemies come roaring in like ocean waves. The roar of their voices is heard all around. The army has come to destroy Babylon. Her soldiers have been captured, and their bows are broken, because the LORD is a God who punishes people for the evil they do. He gives them the full punishment they deserve. I will make Babylon’s rulers and wise men drunk, and her governors, officers, and soldiers, too. Then they will sleep forever and never wake up,” says the King, whose name is the LORD All-Powerful.