1. I, the Lord, am sendinga wind to destroythe people of Babyloniaand Babylon, its capital.
2. Foreign soldiers will comefrom every direction,and when the disaster is over,Babylonia will be emptyand worthless.
3. I will tell these soldiers,“Attack quickly,before the Babylonianscan string their bowsor put on their armour.Kill their best soldiersand destroy their army!”
4. Their troops will fall woundedin the streets of Babylon.
5. Everyone in Israel and Judahis guilty.But I, the Lord All-Powerful,their holy God,have not abandoned them.
6. Get out of Babylon!Run for your lives!If you stay, you will be killedwhen I take revenge on the cityand punish it for its sins.
7. Babylon was my golden cup,filled with the wineof my anger.The nations of the worldgot drunk on this wineand went insane.
8. But suddenly, Babylon will falland be destroyed.I, the Lord, told the foreignerswho lived there,“Weep for the city!Get medicine for its wounds;perhaps they will heal.”
9. The foreigners answered,“We have already triedto treat Babylon's wounds,but they would not heal.Come on, let's all go hometo our own countries.Nothing is left in Babylonia;everything is destroyed.”
10. The people of Israel said,“Tell everyone in Zion!The Lord has taken revengefor what Babylon did to us.”
11. I, the Lord,want Babylon destroyed,because its armydestroyed my temple.So, you kings of Media,sharpen your arrowsand pick up your shields.
12. Raise the signal flagand attack the city walls.Post more guards.Command soldiers to watch the cityand set up ambushes.I have made plansto destroy Babylon,and nothing will stop me.
13. People of Babylon, you livealong the River Euphratesand are surrounded by canals.You are rich,but now the time has comefor you to die.
14. I, the Lord All-Powerful,swear by my own lifethat enemy soldierswill fill your streetslike a swarm of locusts.They will shoutand celebrate their victory.
15. God used his wisdom and powerto create the earthand spread out the heavens.
16. The waters in the heavens roarat his command.He makes clouds appear;he sends the windfrom his storehouseand makes lightning flashin the rain.
17. People who make idolsare stupid!They will be disappointed,because their false godscannot breathe.
18. Idols are merely a joke,and when the time is right,they will be destroyed.
19. But the Lord, Israel's God,is all-powerful.He created everything,and he chose Israelto be his very own.
20. Babylonia, you were my hammer;I used you to pound nationsand break kingdoms,
21. to shatter cavalry and chariots,
22. as well as men and women,young and old,
23. shepherds and their flocks,farmers and their oxen,and governors and leaders.
24. But now, my people will watch,while I repay youfor what you did to Zion.
25. You destroyed the nationsand seem strong as a mountain,but I am your enemy.I might even grab youand roll you off a cliff.When I have finished,you'll only be a pileof scorched bricks.
26. Your stone blocks won't be reusedfor cornerstonesor foundations,and I promise that for everyou will be a desert.I, the Lord, have spoken.
27. Signal the nationsto get ready to attack.Raise a flag and blow a trumpet.Send for the armies of Ararat,Minni, and Ashkenaz.Choose a commander;let the cavalry attacklike a swarm of locusts.
28. Tell the kings and governors,the leaders and the peopleof the kingdoms of the Medesto prepare for war!
29. The earth twists and turnsin torment,because I have decidedto make Babylonia a desertwhere no one can live,and I won't change my mind.
30. The Babylonian soldiershave lost their strengthand courage.They stay in their fortresses,unable to fight,while the enemy breaks throughthe city gates,then sets their homes on fire.
31. One messenger after anotherannounces to the king,“Babylon has been captured!
32. The enemy now controlsthe river crossings!The marshes are on fire!Your army has panicked!”
33. I am the Lord All-Powerful,the God of Israel,and I make this promise—“Soon Babylon will be levelledand packed downlike a threshing placeat harvest time.”
34. The people of Jerusalem say,“King Nebuchadnezzarmade us panic.That monster stuffed himselfwith us and our treasures,leaving us empty—he gobbled upwhat he wantedand spat out the rest.
35. The people of Babyloniaharmed some of usand killed others.Now, Lord, make them pay!”
36. My people, I am on your side,and I will take revengeon Babylon.I will cut off its water supply,and its stream will dry up.
37. Babylon will be a pile of rubblewhere only jackals live.People will laugh,but they will be afraidto walk among the ruins.
38. The Babylonians roar and growllike young lions.
39. And since they are hungry,I will give them a banquet.They will celebrate, get drunk,then fall asleep,never to wake up!
40. I will lead them away to die,like sheep, lambs, and goatsbeing led to the butcher.
41. All nations now praise Babylon,but when it is captured,those same nationswill be horrified.
42. Babylon's enemies will riselike ocean wavesand flood the city.
43. Horrible destruction will strikethe nearby towns.The land will becomea barren desert,where no one can liveor even travel.
44. I will punish Marduk,the god of Babylon,and make him vomiteverything he gobbled up.Then nations will no longerbring him gifts,and Babylon's walls will crumble.
45. Get out of Babylon, my people,and run for your lives,before I strike the cityin my anger!
46. Don't be afraid or lose hope,though year after yearthere are rumoursof leaders fighting for controlin the city of Babylon.
47. The time will comewhen I will punishBabylon's false gods.Everyone there will die,and the whole nationwill be disgraced,
48. when an army attacksfrom the northand brings destruction.Then the earth and the heavensand everything in themwill celebrate.
49. Babylon must be overthrown,because it slaughteredthe people of Israeland of many other nations.
50. My people, you escaped deathwhen Jerusalem fell.Now you live far from home,but you should trust meand think about Jerusalem.Leave Babylon! Don't stay!
51. You feel ashamed and disgraced,because foreigners have enteredmy sacred temple.
52. Soon I will send a warto punish Babylon's idolsand leave its wounded peoplemoaning everywhere.
53. Although Babylon's wallsreach to the sky,the army I sendwill destroy that city.I, the Lord, have spoken.
54. Listen to the cries for helpcoming from Babylon.Everywhere in the countrythe sounds of destructioncan be heard.
55. The shouts of the enemy,like crashing ocean waves,will drown out Babylon's criesas I level the city.
56. An enemy will attackand destroy Babylon.Its soldiers will be capturedand their weapons broken,because I am a Godwho takes revenge against nationsfor what they do.
57. I, the Lord All-Powerful,the true King, promisethat the officials and advisers,the governors and leadersand the soldiers of Babylonwill get drunk, fall asleep,and never wake up.
58. The thick walls of that citywill be torn down,and its huge gates burnt.Everything that nationworked so hard to gainwill go up in smoke.
59. During Zedekiah's fourth year as king of Judah, he went to Babylon. And Baruch's brother Seraiah went along as the officer in charge of arranging for places to stay overnight.
60. Before they left, I wrote on a scroll all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon.
61. I gave the scroll to Seraiah and said:When you get to Babylon, read this scroll aloud,
62. then pray, “Our Lord, you promised to destroy this place and make it into a desert where no people or animals will ever live.”
63. When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the River Euphrates. Then say,
64. “This is how Babylon will sink when the Lord destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won't have the strength to rise again.”Jeremiah's writing ends here.