> [[jeremiah-49|← Previous]] | [[jeremiah-00|TOC]] | [[jeremiah-51|Next →]] --- # Jeremiah, Chapter 50 ## Chapter 50 **The First Oracle Against Babylon.** 1 The word the LORD spoke against Babylon, against the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet: ^jeremiah-50-1 2 Proclaim this among the nations, announce it! ^jeremiah-50-2 Announce it, do not hide it, but say: Babylon is captured, Bel put to shame, Marduk terrified; its images are put to shame, its idols shattered. 3 A nation from the north advances against it, ^jeremiah-50-3 making the land desolate So that no one can live there; human beings and animals have fled. 4 In those days and at that time—oracle of the LORD — ^jeremiah-50-4 Israelite and Judahite shall come together, Weeping as they come, to seek the LORD, their God; 5 They shall ask for Zion, ^jeremiah-50-5 seeking out the way. “Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant, never to be forgotten.” 6 Lost sheep were my people, ^jeremiah-50-6 their shepherds misled them, leading them astray on the mountains; From mountain to hill they wandered, forgetting their fold. 7 Whoever happened upon them devoured them; ^jeremiah-50-7 their enemies said, “We are not guilty, Because they sinned against the LORD, the abode of justice, the hope of their ancestors.” 8 Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^jeremiah-50-8 leave the land of the Chaldeans, be like rams at the head of the flock. 9 See, I am stirring up against Babylon ^jeremiah-50-9 a band of great nations from the land of the north; They are arrayed against her, from there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like the arrows of a skilled warrior who never returns empty-handed. 10 Chaldea shall become plunder; ^jeremiah-50-10 all its plunderers shall be enriched— oracle of the LORD. 11 Yes, rejoice and exult, ^jeremiah-50-11 you that plunder my heritage; Frisk like calves on the grass, neigh like stallions! 12 Your mother will indeed be put to shame, ^jeremiah-50-12 she that bore you shall be abashed; See, the last of the nations, a wilderness, a dry wasteland. 13 Because of the LORD’s wrath it shall be uninhabited, ^jeremiah-50-13 become an utter wasteland; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalled and hiss at all its wounds. 14 Take your posts encircling Babylon, ^jeremiah-50-14 you who bend the bow; Shoot at it, do not spare your arrows, 15 raise the war cry against it on every side. ^jeremiah-50-15 It surrenders, its bastions fall, its walls are torn down: This is retribution from the LORD! Take retribution on her, as she has done, do to her; for she sinned against the LORD. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon ^jeremiah-50-16 and those who wield sickles at harvest time! Before the destroying sword, all of them turn back to their own people, all flee to their own land. 17 Israel was a stray sheep ^jeremiah-50-17 that lions pursued; The king of Assyria once devoured him; now Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnaws his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ^jeremiah-50-18 I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I once punished the king of Assyria; 19 But I will bring Israel back to its pasture, ^jeremiah-50-19 to feed on Carmel and Bashan, And on Mount Ephraim and Gilead, until they have their fill. 20 In those days, at that time—oracle of the LORD: ^jeremiah-50-20 The guilt of Israel may be sought, but it no longer exists, the sin of Judah, but it can no longer be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve. 21 Attack the land of Merathaim, ^jeremiah-50-21 and those who live in Pekod; Slaughter and put them under the ban—oracle of the LORD — do all I have commanded you. 22 Battle alarm in the land, ^jeremiah-50-22 great destruction! 23 How the hammer of the whole earth ^jeremiah-50-23 has been cut off and broken! What an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations! 24 You ensnared yourself and were caught, ^jeremiah-50-24 Babylon, before you knew it! You were discovered and seized, because you challenged the LORD. 25 The LORD opens his armory, ^jeremiah-50-25 brings out the weapons of his wrath; The Lord G OD of hosts has work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come upon them from every side, ^jeremiah-50-26 open their granaries, Pile them up in heaps and put them under the ban; do not leave a remnant. 27 Slay all the oxen, ^jeremiah-50-27 take them down to slaughter; Woe to them! their day has come, the time of their punishment. 28 Listen! the fugitives, the refugees ^jeremiah-50-28 from the land of Babylon: They announce in Zion the retribution of the LORD, our God. 29 Call archers out against Babylon, ^jeremiah-50-29 all who bend the bow; Encamp around them; let no one escape. Repay them for their deeds; what they have done, do to them, For they insulted the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore their young men shall fall in the squares, ^jeremiah-50-30 all their warriors shall be stilled on that day— oracle of the LORD. 31 I am against you, O Insolence— ^jeremiah-50-31 oracle of the Lord G OD of hosts; For your day has come, the time for me to punish you. 32 Insolence stumbles and falls; ^jeremiah-50-32 there is no one to raise him up. I will kindle a fire in his cities to devour everything around him. 33 Thus says the LORD of hosts: ^jeremiah-50-33 Oppressed are the people of Israel, together with the people of Judah; All their captors hold them fast and refuse to let them go. 34 Strong is their Redeemer, ^jeremiah-50-34 whose name is LORD of hosts, The sure defender of their cause, who gives rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon. 35 A sword upon the Chaldeans—oracle of the LORD — ^jeremiah-50-35 upon the inhabitants of Babylon, her princes and sages! 36 A sword upon the soothsayers, ^jeremiah-50-36 and they become fools! A sword upon the warriors, and they tremble; 37 A sword upon their motley throng, ^jeremiah-50-37 and they become women! A sword upon their treasures, and they are plundered; 38 A drought upon the waters, ^jeremiah-50-38 and they dry up! For it is a land of idols, soon made frantic by phantoms. 39 Hence, wildcats shall dwell there with hyenas, ^jeremiah-50-39 and ostriches occupy it; Never again shall it be inhabited or settled, from age to age. 40 As happened when God overturned Sodom ^jeremiah-50-40 and Gomorrah and their neighbors—oracle of the LORD — No one shall dwell there, no mortal shall settle there. 41 See, a people comes from the north, ^jeremiah-50-41 a great nation, and mighty kings rising from the ends of the earth. 42 Bow and javelin they wield, ^jeremiah-50-42 cruel and pitiless are they; They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride forth on horses, Each in place for battle against you, daughter Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hears news of them, ^jeremiah-50-43 and his hands hang helpless; Anguish takes hold of him, like the pangs of a woman giving birth. 44 As happens when a lion comes up from a thicket of the Jordan ^jeremiah-50-44 to permanent pasture, So I, in an instant, will chase them off, and establish there whomever I choose! For who is like me? Who can call me to account? What shepherd can stand against me? 45 Therefore, hear the strategy of the LORD, ^jeremiah-50-45 which he has devised against Babylon; Hear the plans drawn up against the land of the Chaldeans: They shall be dragged away, even the smallest sheep; their own pasture aghast because of them. 46 At the cry “Babylon is captured!” the earth quakes; ^jeremiah-50-46 the outcry is heard among the nations. \* (50:1] – [51:58) A collection of miscellaneous oracles against Babylon introducing the story in [51:59] – [64]. \* (50:2) Bel: originally the title of the god of Nippur in Mesopotamia, later associated with *Merodach* (Marduk), chief god of Babylon (cf. [Is 46:1]). \* (50:15) Its walls are torn down: the prophet describes the downfall of Babylon in conventional language. Babylon surrendered peacefully to the Persians in 539 B.C. \* (50:21) Merathaim…Pekod: “twice bitter,” “punishment,” symbolic terms for Babylon that recall the names of regions in the country. a. (50:1) [Jer 51:1]; [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:1 – [14]; [21:1] – [10]. b. (50:3) [Jer 51:48]; [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:17. c. (50:4) [Jer 3:18]; [Ps 126:6]. d. (50:5) [Jer 31:31]; [32:40]. e. (50:6) [Is 53:6]; [1 Pt 2:25]. f. (50:7) [Jer 31:23]. g. (50:8) [Jer 51:6], [45]; [Is 48:20]. h. (50:9) [Jer 51:27]. i. (50:12) [Jer 51:43]; [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:20 – [22]. j. (50:13) [Jer 25:12]. k. (50:14) [Jer 51:11]; [[isaiah-21|Is 21]]:2. l. (50:15) [Jer 51:11], [44], [58]; [Ps 137:8]. m. (50:16) [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:14. n. (50:17) [[2-kings-17|2 Kgs 17]]:24; [18:14]. o. (50:18) [[isaiah-10|Is 10]]:12; [14:24] – [25]. p. (50:19) [Jer 23:3]; [Ez 34:13] – [14]. q. (50:20) [Jer 31:34]; [Is 43:25]; [Mi 7:19]. r. (50:23) [Jer 51:20]; [[isaiah-14|Is 14]]:6. s. (50:24) [Jer 51:57]. t. (50:25) [Jer 51:11] – [12]; [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:5. u. (50:28) [Jer 51:10] – [11]. v. (50:29) [Jer 51:56]. w. (50:30) [Jer 49:26]; [51:4]. x. (50:34) [Jer 51:36]. y. (50:37) [Jer 51:30]; [Na 3:13]. z. (50:38) [Jer 51:32], [36]. a. (50:39) [Jer 51:37]; [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:21 – [22]. b. (50:40) [Jer 51:43]. c. (50:41) [Jer 51:27] – [28]. d. (50:43) [[isaiah-13|Is 13]]:7. e. (50:44) [Jer 49:19]. f. (50:45) [Jer 51:12], [29]. g. (50:46) [Jer 51:29]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[jeremiah-49|← Previous]] | [[jeremiah-00|TOC]] | [[jeremiah-51|Next →]]