1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning cBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, dby Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
e‘Babylon is taken,
fBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
eHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For gout of the north a nation has come up against her, hwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; iboth man and beast shall flee away.
4 j“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, jthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, kweeping as they come, and they lshall seek the Lord their God. 5 mThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, nsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an oeverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
6 p“My people have been lost sheep. qTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, rand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for sthey have sinned against the Lord, ttheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, uthe hope of their fathers.’
8 v“Flee from the midst of Babylon, vand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon wa gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 xChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.
11 y“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
za wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 aBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
beveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
band hiss because of all her wounds.
14 cSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
dall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
efor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 fRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
gher walls are thrown down.
For hthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
ido to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
jbecause of the sword of the oppressor,
kevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 l“Israel is a hunted sheep mdriven away by lions. nFirst the king of Assyria odevoured him, and now at last pNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon qhas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, rI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, sas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 tI will restore Israel to his pasture, and the shall feed on uCarmel and in uBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in uGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, viniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for wI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
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