Jer 50 | ESV | STEP | The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon , concerning the land of the Chaldeans , by Jeremiah the prophet :

2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
^c‘Babylon is taken,
^dBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
^eHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’

3 “For ^fout of the north a nation has come up against her, ^gwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^hboth man and beast shall flee away.

4 ⁱ“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, ^wand 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 ^xa 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 ^yChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

11 ^z“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,
^aaa wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 ^abBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
^aceveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
^adand hiss because of all her wounds.
14 ^aeSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
^afall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
^agfor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 ^ahRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
^aiher walls are thrown down.
For ^ajthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
^akdo to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^albecause of the sword of the oppressor,
^amevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.

17 ^an“Israel is a hunted sheep ^aodriven away by lions. ^apFirst the king of Assyria ^aqdevoured him, and now at last ^arNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^ashas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^atI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^auas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^avI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^awhe shall feed on ^axCarmel and in ^ayBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^azGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^bainiquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^bbI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, ^{▼▼ Merathaim means double rebellion}
and against the inhabitants of Pekod. ^{▼▼ Pekod means punishment}
Kill, ^beand devote them to destruction, ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)}

declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 ^bgThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 ^bhHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
^biHow Babylon ^bjhas become
a horror among the nations!
24 ^bkI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and ^blyou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out ^bmthe weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
^bnpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all ^boher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
^bpthe time of their punishment.

28 “A voice! They ^bqflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^brto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^bshis temple.

29 ^bt“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^buEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^bvRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^bwproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^bxTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O ^byproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
^bzfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 ^caThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
^cband I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.

33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^ccThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^cdthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^ceTheir Redeemer is strong; ^cfthe Lord of hosts is his name. ^cgHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against ^chher officials and her ^ciwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^cjwarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all ^ckthe foreign troops in her midst,
that ^clthey may become women!
^cmA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 ^cnA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
^coFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.

39 ^cp“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 ^cqAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^crso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 ^cs“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.

44 ^ct“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^cucan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^cvthe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^cwand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^cxSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^cyAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”