Jeremiah 50:1-46

YAHWEH spoke to me this prophecy against mighty Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans: “Tell the nations the news; proclaim it everywhere. Publicize it far and wide; make no secret of it, and declare: ‘Babylon has fallen! Her god Marduk is greatly humiliated, and his power is broken. Her idols are disgraced; her filthy images are shattered.’ For a nation is attacking Babylon from the north that will reduce her nation to a desert. People and animals will flee, and no one will inhabit it.” YAHWEH says: “When that day comes the people of Israel and the people of Judah will go out together with tears streaming down their cheeks to seek YAHWEH their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward her, saying to one another, ‘Come, let us bind our hearts to YAHWEH in an eternal covenant, which we will never break.’ “My people are like lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray. They are lost, wandering about in the mountains. They went from mountain to hill, forgetting their resting place. Whoever came across them took advantage of them. Their enemies said, ‘We are not to blame, for they have sinned against YAHWEH, the True Home of Justice, against YAHWEH, the Living Hope of their ancestors.’ “My people, flee Babylon and run from the land of the Chaldeans. Be the first ones to leave! For listen, I am stirring up trouble out of the north against Babylon, and raising up a coalition of mighty nations to attack her. They will take up battle positions against her and conquer her. Their arrows are like a skilled soldier who kills and never returns empty-handed. I, YAHWEH, declare that Chaldea will be plundered, and all who plunder her will be satisfied.” “I, YAHWEH, say to the people of Babylon: You rejoiced when you robbed my people, my inheritance. You had a good time, making more noise than horses neighing and frolicking like playful heifers at the time of the threshing of grain. But your motherland is covered with shame, and the city that nurtured you like a mother is totally disgraced. Now, she is the least of nations, nothing but a desert, a parched wasteland. Because of YAHWEH’s anger, Babylon will become desolate and uninhabited forever. Everyone who passes by will be shocked to see what has happened and will hiss out their scorn. Archers! Take your positions against Babylon and surround her. Shoot at her! Empty your quiver, for she has sinned against YAHWEH. Raise the war cry against her from all sides. She surrenders! The attackers have broken down her fortifications and walls. This is YAHWEH’s vengeance! Take revenge on her. Do to them what they did to others. Uproot from Babylon those who plant fields and harvest crops. They have all fled from the attacking army and returned to their homelands.” “Israel was like straying lambs, driven away and scattered by lions. “First, the king of Assyria devoured them, and now, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed their bones. So I, YAHWEH, God of Israel, Commander of Angel Armies, say this: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation as I punished the king of Assyria. “I will bring Israel back to her own land. The people will be like sheep eating their fill on Mount Carmel, in Bashan, in the hill country of Ephraim, and in Gilead. They will all be satisfied. I, YAHWEH, declare that at that time, you may look for Israel’s guilt, but it will disappear, you may search for Judah’s sins, but you will not find them, for I will forgive the remnant whose lives I have spared.” YAHWEH YAHWEH says: “Now, carry out my instructions to the letter. Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod! Kill them and destroy everything they leave behind. For the noise of battle fills the land, and already great destruction is taking place. Babylon, you hammered the whole world to pieces, but now your hammer is broken and shattered to pieces. Now you are an object of horror to the nations. You defied me and fought against me, Babylon, so I laid a trap for you. You were caught before you knew it! I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, had a work to do in Babylon, So, I opened my armory and brought out the mighty weapons of my wrath. Attack it from every side! Open her granaries. Pile her up like heaps of grain; curse her with destruction until nothing is left of her. Slaughter all her warriors; lead them away as cattle to be slaughtered. Woe to them, for their day of reckoning has come, their time for being punished is here. Listen! Fugitives and refugees from the country of Babylon arrive in Zion, proclaiming on Mount Zion how YAHWEH our God has punished the Babylonians for destroying his temple!” “Assemble the archers and attack Babylon! Encamp around her and leave no way of escape. Treat her as she has treated others and repay her for all she has done, for she was arrogant and defiant to YAHWEH, the Holy One of Israel. “I, YAHWEH, say to you: On that day, your young men will fall in the streets, and all your warriors will perish. I am against you, O arrogant one! I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, decree: Your day of reckoning has now come, the time for me to punish you is here. Your proud, arrogant city will stumble and fall with no one to lift her up. I will set the cities of Babylon on fire, and everything around you will go up in flames.” YAHWEH YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, says: “My people, Israel and Judah, are oppressed, You hold them fast and will not let them go. But their Redeemer is powerful! My name is YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. I will take up their cause and rescue them. I will give the nation rest but make the people of Babylon tremble. “I, YAHWEH, have decreed war against the Chaldeans, against the people of Babylon, and against her mighty rulers and advisers. I have decreed war against her false prophets. May they lose their wits! I have decreed war against her warriors; let them panic. War against her horses, her chariots, and the foreign troops among them! Their mighty warriors will become frightened like ordinary citizens. May the war result in all their treasure being plundered! May a drought dry up all their rivers! For it is a country full of idols, and their terrors make them delirious. Demons and dark spirits dwell in Babylon, and ostriches make their home there. For all generations, no one will live there again. As Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns were destroyed and left uninhabited, not one person will ever settle in Babylon again, for I, YAHWEH, have spoken. “Look! They’re coming! Warriors approach from the north. From the remote parts of the earth, great nations and mighty kings are preparing for war. Armed with bows and scimitars, they are merciless and without compassion. The sound of their armies riding their horses is like the roaring sea. The cavalry is in battle formation and ready to attack you, Fair Babylon. The king of Babylon heard the news, and his strength melted away. Anguish seized him, like the pain of a woman in labor. “Behold, like a lion suddenly comes out of the jungle of the Jordan to a rich pastureland, I will suddenly make the people of Babylon run away, and I will appoint a leader that I choose. For who can be compared to me? Who is able to challenge me? Name the ruler who can stand up to me. So now, listen to the plans that I have against you, Babylon. Listen to what I have in store for the land of the Chaldeans. Like little lambs, your children will be dragged away before your own eyes, and everyone will be horrified! The earth will shudder at the sound of Babylon’s downfall as their cry echoes to the nations.”