1. This is what the Lord said concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians through the prophet Jeremiah:
2. Tell the nations;proclaim it far and wide!Set up a flag;proclaim it far and wide!Hold nothing back;just shout it:"Babylon is captured;Bel is shamed;Marduk is panic-stricken.Her images are shamed;her idols are panic-stricken."
3. A nation from the northhas risen up against her.It will decimate her land,and no one will live in it.Every living thing will flee.
4. In those days and at that time,declares the Lord, the people of Israel and Judahwill come out of Babylon together;with weeping they will leaveas they seek the Lord their God.
5. They will search for Zion,turning their faces toward it.They will come andunite with the Lord, in an everlasting covenantthat will never be forgotten.
6. My people were lost sheep;their shepherds led them astray;they deserted them on the mountains,where they wandered off among the hills,forgetting their resting place.
7. All who found them devoured them;and their attackers said,"It’s not our fault,because they have sinned against the Lord, the true pasture,the hope of their ancestors—the Lord."
8. Now wander far from Babylon.Get out of that country.Like rams of the flock,lead the way home.
9. I’m stirring up against Babylona coalition of mighty nations.It will mobilize in the north,and from there she will be captured.Their arrows are like those of an expert archerwho does not return empty-handed.
10. Babylon will be defeated;its attackers will carry off all that they want,declares the Lord.
11. Sure, you gloat and rejoice,you plunderers of my possession.Sure, you dance around like a calfand neigh like a stallion.
12. But Mother Babylon will be humiliated;the one who bore you will be disgraced.She will become the least of the nations:a wilderness, a desert, and parched land.
13. Because of the Lord’s anger,no one will live there;she will be reduced to total ruin.All who pass by Babylon will be shocked;they will gasp at all her injuries.
14. Take up your positions around Babylon,all you archers;now shoot at her;save none of your arrows,because she’s sinnedagainst the Lord.
15. Raise a victory shoutagainst her on every side!She’s surrendered;her towers have collapsed;her walls are destroyed.This is the Lord’s retribution;now pay her back:do to her what she’s done to others!
16. Cut Babylon off from those who plantand those who harvest the crops,because of its ruthless sword.Now return, all of you, to your people;flee to your homeland!
17. Israelites are scattered sheep,driven away by lions.First the king of Assyria devoured them,and now Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar has ravaged them.
18. Therefore, the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims:I’m going to punish the king of Babylon and his land,just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19. But I will restore Israel to their pasture;they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;they will eat their fillin the highlands of Ephraim and Gilead.
20. In those days and at that time,declares the Lord, if one searches for the sin of Israel,they will find nothing;if one seeks outthe wrongdoing of Judah,they will look in vain.I will forgive those I have spared.
21. Attack the land of Merathaim;crush those living in Pekod.Ruin and destroy them,declares the Lord;do all I have commanded you.
22. There’s the sound of war in the landand enormous devastation.
23. How the hammer of the whole earthhas been broken and shatteredinto pieces!How Babylon has become a wastelandamong the nations!
24. You set a trap for others, Babylon,but you yourself were caughtin it unaware;you have been found and capturedbecause you have defied the Lord.
25. The Lord has opened his arsenaland brought out his brutal weapons.The Lord God of heavenly forceshas a job to doin the land of the Babylonians.
26. Come against her from every side;throw open her granaries;pile her up like stalks of grain;totally destroy her;leave nothing intact.
27. Destroy all her bulls;prepare them for slaughter.How terrible for them!Their time has come,the day of reckoning.
28. A voice of fugitives and refugees,from the land of Babylon,declaring in Zionthe retribution of the Lord our Godbecause of what has been doneto his temple.
29. Send the archers against Babylon,all who draw the bow!Surround herand let no one escape.Pay her back for her deeds;do to her what she’s done to others.She has acted arrogantlytoward the Lord, the holy one of Israel!
30. Therefore, her soldiers will fallin the streets;all her warriors will be silencedon that day,declares the Lord.
31. I’m against you, you arrogant one!declares the Lord Godof heavenly forces.Your day has come,your time of reckoning.
32. The arrogant one will stumble and fall,and no one will help her up.I’ll set your cities on fire,and it will consume all that’s around her.
33. The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:The people of Israel were oppressed,together with the people of Judah.Their captors held themand refused to let them go.
34. Yet their redeemer is strong;the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.He will surely defend their causeand give them rest in the land.But he will unsettlethe people of Babylon.
35. A sword against Babylon and its people,declares the Lord, along with its officials and sages.
36. A sword against its divinersso that they become fools.A sword against its warriorsso that they are terrified.
37. A sword against its horsesand chariots,and the mercenaries in its midstso that they lose courage.A sword against its treasuresso that they are looted.
38. A sword against the water suppliesso that they dry up.It is truly the land of idols,idols about which they have gone utterly mad!
39. Therefore, Babylonwill become a ghost town,a place for desert animals,hyenas, and ravenous birds.No one will live there again;no one will make it their home.
40. Just as God destroyed Sodomand Gomorrah and their neighbors,declares the Lord, so no one will live in Babylonor settle there again.
41. Look! An army is on the movefrom the northern regions.A powerful nationand many kings are comingfrom the ends of the earth.
42. Equipped with bow and spear,they are crueland show no mercy.Their horsemen soundlike the roaring sea,arrayed in battle formation against you,Daughter Babylon.
43. The king of Babylon has heardreports of themand is panic-stricken;distress overwhelms him,pain like that of a woman in labor.
44. Like a lion coming up fromthe jungle of the Jordanto a well-watered meadow,so I will suddenly chase down Babylonand single out its choicest of rams.Who is like me?Who can direct me?What shepherd can withstand me?
45. Therefore, listen to the counselthat the Lord has for Babylonand the plans he’s devisedagainst the land of Babylon:The little ones of the flockwill be dragged off,as their pasture watchesin utter disbelief.
46. The earth quakesat the sound of Babylon’s capture;its screams echothroughout the world.