1 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.

1The word that the Lord spake against Babylon, and against the land of the Caldeans by Ieremiah the Prophet.

2Declare yee among the nations, and publish, and set vp a standart, publish and conceale not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, her idols are confounded, her Images are broken in pieces.

3For out of the North there commeth vp a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remoue, they shall depart both man and beast.

4 In those daies, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they, and the children of Iudah together, going and weeping: they shall goe, and seeke the Lord their God.

5They shall aske the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let vs ioyne our selues to the Lord, in a perpetuall Couenant that shall not be forgotten.

6My people hath bene lost sheepe: their shepheards haue caused them to goe astray, they haue turned them away on the mountaines: they haue gone from mountaine to hill, they haue forgotten their resting place.

7All that found them haue deuoured them, and their aduersaries said, We offend not, because they haue sinned against the Lord, the habitation of iustice, euen the Lord, the hope of their fathers.

8Remoue out of the midst of Babylon, and goe foorth out of the land of the Caldeans, and be as the hee goats before the flocks.

9 For loe, I will raise and cause to come vp against Babylon, an assembly of great nations from the North countrey, and they shall set themselues in aray against her, from thence shee shalbe taken: their arrowes shalbe as of a mightie expert man: none shall returne in vaine.

10And Caldea shall bee a spoile: all that spoile her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.

11Because ye were glad, because yee reioyced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are growen fat, as the heifer at grasse, and bellow as bulles:

12Your mother shalbe sore confounded, she that bare you shalbe ashamed: beholde, the hindermost of the nations shalbe a wildernes, a dry land, & a desert.

13Because of the wrath of the Lord, it shall not be inhabited, but it shalbe wholly desolate: euery one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hisse at all her plagues.

14Put your selues in aray against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her; spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord,

15Shout against her round about: shee hath giuen her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are throwen downe: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance vpon her; as she hath done, doe vnto her.

16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of haruest: for feare of the oppressing sword, they shall turne euery one to his people, and they shall flee euery one to his owne lande.

17 Israel is a scattered sheepe, the lyons haue driuen him away: first the king of Assyria hath deuoured him, and last this Nebuchad-rezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

18Therefore thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I haue punished the king of Assyria.

19And I will bring Israel againe to his habitation, and he shal feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soule shall be satisfied vpon mount Ephraim and Gilead.

20In those dayes, and in that time, sayth the Lord, the iniquitie of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sinnes of Iudah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserue.

21 Goe vp against the land of Merathaim, euen against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and vtterly destroy after them, sayeth the Lord, and doe according to all that I haue commanded thee.

22A sound of battell is in the land, and of great destruction.

23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken? how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations?

24I haue laide 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 striuen against the Lord.

25The Lord hath opened his armorie, and hath brought foorth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the worke of the Lord God of hosts, in the land of the Caldeans.

26Come against her from the vtmost border, open her store-houses: cast her vp as heapes, and destroy her vtterly: let nothing of her be left.

27Slay all her bullocks: let them goe downe to the slaughter: woe vnto them, for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28The voice of them that flee & escape out of the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his Temple.

29Call together the archers against Babylon: all yee that bend the bow, campe against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her worke; according to all that shee hath done vnto her: for shee hath bene proud against the Lord, against the Holy one of Israel.

30Therefore shall her yong men fall in the streets, & all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.

31Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, sayth the Lord God of hostes: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.

32And the most proude shall stumble and fall, and none shal raise him vp: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall deuoure all round about him.

33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Iudah were oppressed together, and all that tooke them captiues, held them fast, they refused to let them goe.

34Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his Name, he shall throughly pleade their cause, that hee may giue rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is vpon the Caldeans, saith the Lord, and vpon the inhabitants of Babylon, and vpon her princes, and vpon her wise men.

36A sword is vpon the lyers, and they shall dote: a sword is vpon her mighty men, and they shalbe dismayed.

37A sword is vpon their horses, and vpon their charets, and vpon all the mingled people that are in the middest of her, and they shall become as women: a sword is vpon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

38A drought is vpon her waters, and they shalbe dried vp: for it is the land of grauen images, and they are madde vpon their idoles.

39Therefore the wilde beasts of the desert with the wilde beastes of the Ilands shall dwel there, and the owles shall dwell therein: & it shalbe no more inhabited for euer: neither shall it bee dwelt in frō generation to generation.

40As God ouerthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbour cities thereof, sayth the Lord: so shall no man abide there, neither shal any sonne of man dwell therein.

41Behold, a people shall come from the North, and a great nation, and many kings shall bee raised vp from the coasts of the earth.

42They shall holde the bow and the lance: they are cruell and will not shewe mercy: their voice shall roare like the sea, and they shall ride vpon horses, euery one put in aray like a man to the battell, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble; anguish tooke hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in trauell.

44Behold, he shall come vp like a lyon from the swelling of Iordan, vnto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly runne away from her: and who is a chosen man that I may appoint ouer her? for who is like me, and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepheard that will stand before me?

45Therefore heare yee the counsell of the Lord that hee hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes that he hath purposed against the land of the Caldeans: surely the least of the flocke shall drawe them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moued, and the cry is heard among the nations.

II == Isa 46:1 ; Jer 43:12-13 ; 51:44

III == Isa 13:17-18 , 20 ; Jer 50:39-40 ; 51:48

IV == Ezra 3:12-13 ; Ps 126:5-6 ; Jer 31:9 ; Hos 1:11 ; 3:5 ; Zech 12:10

V == Jer 31:31 ; 32:40

VI == Isa 53:6 ; Jer 2:20 ; 3:6 , 23 ; 50:17 ; 1st peter 2:25

VII == Ps 22:4 ; 79:7 ; 60:1 ; 91:1 ; Jer 2:3 ; 40:2-3 ; Dan 9:16 ; Zech 11:5

VIII == Isa 48:20 ; Jer 51:6 , 45 ; Zech 2:6-7 ; Rev 18:4

IX == 2nd Sam 1:22 ; Jer 15:14 ; 50:3 , 14 , 29 , 41 ; 51:27

X == Rev 17:16

XI == Isa 47:6 ; Hos 10:11

XIII == Jer 25:12 ; 49:17

XV == Rev 18:6

XVI == Isa 13:14 ; Jer 51:9

XVII == 2nd Kings 17:6 ; 24:10 , 14 ; Jer 2:15 ; 50:6

XIX == Isa 65:10 ; Jer 33:12 ; Ezek 34:13-14

XX == Isa 1:9 ; Jer 31:34

XXI == 2nd Sam 16:11 ; 2nd Kings 18:25 ; 2nd Chr 36:23 ; Isa 10:6 ; 44:28 ; 48:14 ; Jer 34:22 ; Ezek 23:23

XXII == Jer 51:54

XXIII == Isa 14:6 ; Jer 51:20

XXIV == Jer 51:8 , 31 , 39 , 57 ; Dan 5:30-31

XXV == Isa 13:5

XXVII == Ps 22:12 ; Isa 34:7 ; Jer 46:21 ; 48:44 ; 50:31

XXVIII == Jer 51:10-11

XXIX == Isa 47:10 ; Jer 50:14-15 ; 51:56 ; Rev 18:6

XXX == Jer 49:26 ; 51:4

XXXI == Jer 50:27

XXXII == Jer 21:14

XXXIV == Isa 47:4 ; Rev 18:8

XXXV == Isa 47:13 ; Dan 5:30

XXXVI == Isa 44:25 ; Jer 48:30

XXXVII == Jer 52:20 , 24 ; 51:30 ; Ezek 30:5 ; Nah 3:13

XXXVIII == Isa 44:27 ; Jer 50:2 ; 51:32 , 36 , 44 , 47 , 52 ; Rev 16:12

XXXIX == Isa 13:20-22 ; 34:14 ; Jer 25:12 ; 51:37 ; Rev 18:2

XL == Gen 19:25 ; Isa 13:19 ; Jer 49:18 ; 51:26

XLI == Jer 6:22 ; 54:14 ; 50:9 ; 51:27 ; Rev 17:16

XLII == Isa 5:30 13:18 ; Jer 6:23

XLIII == Jer 49:24

XLIV == Job 41:10 ; Jer 49:19

XLV == Isa 14:24 ; Jer 51:11

XLVI == 2nd Kings 19:7 ; Jer 4:11 ; Rev 18:9

1 The word which the LORD spoke against Babylon, against the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:

2 Announce and publish it among the nations; publish it, hide it not, but say: Babylon is taken, Bel confounded, Merodach shattered; her images are put to shame, her idols shattered.

3 A people from the north advances against her to turn her land into a desert, So that no one shall live there, because man and beast have fled away.

4 In those days, at that time, says the LORD, the men of Israel and of Judah shall come, Weeping as they come, to seek the LORD, their God;

5 to their goal in Zion they shall ask the way. "Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD with covenant everlasting, never to be forgotten."

6 Lost sheep were my people, their shepherds misled them, straggling on the mountains; From mountain to hill they wandered, losing the way to their fold.

7 Whoever came upon them devoured them, and their enemies said, "We incur no guilt, Because they sinned against the LORD, the hope of their fathers, their abode of justice."

8 Flee from Babylon, leave the land of the Chaldeans, be like the rams at the head of the flock.

9 See, I am stirring up against Babylon a band of great nations from the north; from there they advance, and she shall be taken. Their arrows are arrows of the skilled warrior; none shall return without effect.

10 Chaldea shall be their plunder, and all her plunderers shall be enriched, says the LORD.

11 Yes, rejoice and exult, you that plunder my portion; Frisk like calves on the green, snort like stallions!

12 Your mother shall be sorely put to shame, she that bore you shall be abashed; See, the last of the nations, a desert, dry and waste.

13 Because of the LORD'S wrath she shall be empty, and become a total desert; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled and catch his breath, at all her wounds.

14 Take your posts encircling Babylon, you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, spare not your arrows,

15 raise the war cry against her on all sides. She surrenders, her bastions fall, her walls are torn down: Vengeance of the LORD is this! Take revenge on her, as she has done, do to her; for she sinned against the LORD.

16 Cut off from Babylon the sower and him who wields the sickle in harvest time! Before the destroying sword, each of them turns to his own people, everyone flees to his own land.

17 A stray sheep was Israel that lions pursued; Formerly the king of Assyria devoured her, now Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnaws her bones.

18 Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as once I punished the king of Assyria;

19 But I will bring back Israel to her fold, to feed on Carmel and Bashan, And on Mount Ephraim and Gilead, till she has her fill.

20 In those days, at that time, says the LORD: They shall seek Israel's guilt, but it shall be no more, and Judah's sins, but these shall no longer be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

21 Attack the land of Merathaim, and those who live in Pekod; Slaughter and doom them, says the LORD, do all I have commanded you.

22 Battle alarm in the land, dire destruction!

23 How has the hammer of the whole earth been broken and shattered! What an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations.

24 You ensnared yourself, and were caught, O Babylon, before you knew it! You were discovered and seized, because you challenged the LORD.

25 The LORD opens his armory and brings forth the weapons of his wrath; For the Lord GOD of hosts has work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come upon her from every side, open her granaries, Pile up her goods in heaps and doom it, leave not a remnant.

27 Slay all her oxen, let them go down to the slaughter; Woe to them! their day has come, the time of their punishment.

28 Listen! the fugitives, the escaped from the land of Babylon: They announce in Zion the vengeance of the LORD, our God.

29 Call up against Babylon archers, all who bend the bow; Encamp around her, let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; as she has done, do to her, For she insulted the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, all her warriors shall perish on that day, says the LORD.

31 I am against you, man of insolence, says the Lord GOD of hosts; For your day has come, the time for me to punish you.

32 Insolence stumbles and falls; there is no one to raise him up. I will kindle in his cities a fire that shall devour everything around him.

33 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Oppressed are the men of Israel, and with them the men of Judah; All their captors hold them fast and refuse to let them go.

34 Strong is their avenger, whose name is LORD of hosts; He will defend their cause with success, and give rest to the earth, but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

35 A sword upon the Chaldeans, says the LORD, upon Babylon's people, her princes and wise men!

36 A sword upon the soothsayers, that they may become fools! A sword upon her warriors, that they may tremble;

37 A sword upon her motley throng, that they may become women! A sword upon her treasures, that they may be plundered;

38 A sword upon her waters, that they may dry up! For it is a land of idols, and they shall be made frantic by fearful things.

39 Hence, wildcats and desert beasts shall dwell there, and ostriches shall occupy it; Never again shall it be peopled, or lived in, from age to age.

40 As when God overturned Sodom and Gomorrah, with their neighbors, says the LORD, Not a man shall dwell there, no human being shall tarry there.

41 See! a people comes from the north, a great nation, and mighty kings roused from the ends of the earth.

42 Bow and javelin they wield, cruel and pitiless are they; They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride forth on steeds, Each in his place for battle against you, daughter Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon hears news of them, and helpless fall his hands; Anguish seizes him, throes like a mother's in childbirth.

44 As when a lion comes up from the Jordan's thicket to the permanent feeding grounds, So I, in one instant, will drive them off, and whom I choose I will establish there; For who is like me? who calls me to account? what shepherd can stand against me?

45 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD which he has taken against Babylon; Hear the plans he has made against the land of the Chaldeans: They shall be dragged away, even the smallest sheep; their own pasture shall be aghast because of them.

46 At the cry "Babylon is captured!" the earth quakes; the outcry is heard among the nations.

v 1-5. Babylon was to be destroyed and her idols put to shame. That was partially fulfilled, but awaits final fulfillment in the end times. 1. The Persians were from the east, not the north, v 3; 2. Cyrus did not destroy the city so it would be uninhabited; 3. No one fled the city when it fell to Medo-Persia, Daniel and many others continued on; 4. Not till the Millennium will Israel bind themselves to God in an everlasting covenant.

v 6-10. Israel are still lost sheep and nations from the north haven’t yet attacked.

v 11-13. This punishment on Babylon is because of how they treated Jerusalem.

v 14-16. This destruction was not done by Cyrus, but awaits fulfillment.

v 17-20. Assyria and Babylon both have suffered for what they did to Israel.

v 21-28. God will take vengeance on Babylon for destroying the temple.

v 29-32. God will use armies to break the pride of Babylon.

v 33,34. Israel would be released when the 70 years was up.

v 35.-38. Foreign attacks and drouth will be because of the obsession with idols.

v 39,40. Babylon has been deserted, but still has inhabitants, and Iraq is building up parts of Babylon. The destruction here is to come at the end of the Tribulation.

v 41-46. Nations will swoop in from all parts of the world with mighty weapons to destroy Babylon. Present threats of Bush to attack Iraq may or may not materialize, but this is merely leading up to the great destruction at the end of the Tribulation, 51:40.