Jeremiah 51

1 thus saith the lord; behold, i will raise up against babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2 and will send unto babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about 3 against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host 4 thus the slain shall fall in the land of the chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets 5 for israel hath not been forsaken, nor judah of his god, of the lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the holy one of israel 6 flee out of the midst of babylon, and deliver every man his soul be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence 7 babylon hath been a golden cup in the lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad 8 babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed 9 we would have healed babylon, but she is not healed forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies 10 the lord hath brought forth our righteousness come, and let us declare in zion the work of the lord our god 11 make bright the arrows; gather the shields the lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the medes for his device is against babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the lord, the vengeance of his temple 12 set up the standard upon the walls of babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes for the lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of babylon 13 o thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness 14 the lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying , surely i will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee 15 he hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding 16 when he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures 17 every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them 18 they are vanity, the work of errors in the time of their visitation they shall perish 19 the portion of jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things and israel is the rod of his inheritance the lord of hosts is his name 20 thou art my battle axe and weapons of war for with thee will i break in pieces the nations, and with thee will i destroy kingdoms; 21 and with thee will i break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will i break in pieces the chariot and his rider; 22 with thee also will i break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will i break in pieces old and young; and with thee will i break in pieces the young man and the maid; 23 i will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will i break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will i break in pieces captains and rulers 24 and i will render unto babylon and to all the inhabitants of chaldea all their evil that they have done in zion in your sight, saith the lord 25 behold, i am against thee, o destroying mountain, saith the lord, which destroyest all the earth and i will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain 26 and they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the lord 27 set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of ararat, minni, and ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers 28 prepare against her the nations with the kings of the medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion 29 and the land shall tremble and sorrow for every purpose of the lord shall be performed against babylon, to make the land of babylon a desolation without an inhabitant 30 the mighty men of babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds their might hath failed; they became as women they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken 31 one post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of babylon that his city is taken at one end, 32 and that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted 33 for thus saith the lord of hosts, the god of israel; the daughter of babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come 34 nebuchadrezzar the king of babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out 35 the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon babylon, shall the inhabitant of zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of chaldea, shall jerusalem say 36 therefore thus saith the lord; behold, i will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and i will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry 37 and babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant 38 they shall roar together like lions they shall yell as lions' whelps 39 in their heat i will make their feasts, and i will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the lord 40 i will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats 41 how is sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42 the sea is come up upon babylon she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof 43 her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby 44 and i will punish bel in babylon, and i will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him yea, the wall of babylon shall fall 45 my people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the lord 46 and lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler 47 therefore, behold, the days come, that i will do judgment upon the graven images of babylon and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her 48 then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for babylon for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the lord 49 as babylon hath caused the slain of israel to fall, so at babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth 50 ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still remember the lord afar off, and let jerusalem come into your mind 51 we are confounded, because we have heard reproach shame hath covered our faces for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the lord's house 52 wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the lord, that i will do judgment upon her graven images and through all her land the wounded shall groan 53 though babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the lord 54 a sound of a cry cometh from babylon, and great destruction from the land of the chaldeans 55 because the lord hath spoiled babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered 56 because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken for the lord god of recompences shall surely requite 57 and i will make drunk her princes, and her wise men , her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the king, whose name is the lord of hosts 58 thus saith the lord of hosts; the broad walls of babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary 59 the word which jeremiah the prophet commanded seraiah the son of neriah, the son of maaseiah, when he went with zedekiah the king of judah into babylon in the fourth year of his reign and this seraiah was a quiet prince 60 so jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon babylon, even all these words that are written against babylon 61 and jeremiah said to seraiah, when thou comest to babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; 62 then shalt thou say, o lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever 63 and it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of euphrates 64 and thou shalt say, thus shall babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that i will bring upon her and they shall be weary thus far are the words of jeremiah