A Prophecy against Babylon
This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans: 1 Jer 25:26-27Isa 13:1-3Jer 51:1-142Pe 1:212Sa 23:2Act 7:4Hab 2:5-20Isa 14:4
“Announce and declare to the nations; Isa 46:1Isa 21:9Jer 51:44Jer 51:47Isa 12:4Isa 13:2Isa 37:19Isa 39:1
lift up a banner and proclaim it;
hold nothing back when you say,
‘Babylon is captured;
Bel is put to shame;
Marduk is shattered,
her images are disgraced,
her idols are broken in pieces.’
For a nation from the north will come against her; Jer 51:11Zep 1:3Jer 50:9Jer 51:62Exo 12:12Gen 6:7Isa 13:17-22Isa 13:5-10
it will make her land a desolation.
No one will live in it;
both man and beast will flee.”
Hope for Israel and Judah
“In those days and at that time, Hos 1:11Hos 3:5Jer 31:31Isa 11:12-13Ezk 37:16-22Ezk 39:25Ezr 3:12-13Isa 14:1
declares the LORD,
the children of Israel and the children of Judah
will come together, weeping as they come,
and will seek the LORD their God.
They will ask the way to Zion Jer 32:40Isa 35:8Heb 8:6-10Jer 6:16Isa 2:3-5Isa 55:3Isa 56:6-7Mic 4:1-2
and turn their faces toward it.
They will come and join themselves to the LORD
in an everlasting covenant
that will never be forgotten.
My people are lost sheep; Isa 53:6Mat 9:36Ezk 34:14Mat 10:6Jer 50:17Psa 119:176Ezk 34:4-12Jer 3:6
their shepherds have led them astray,
causing them to roam the mountains.
They have wandered from mountain to hill;
they have forgotten their resting place.
All who found them devoured them, Jer 14:8Jer 2:3Jer 31:23Jer 40:2-3Zec 11:5Jer 50:171Ti 1:1Dan 9:16
and their enemies said,
‘We are not guilty,
for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture,
the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
Flee from the midst of Babylon; Isa 48:20Jer 51:6Rev 18:4Jer 51:452Co 6:17Isa 52:1Num 16:26Pro 30:31
depart from the land of the Chaldeans;
be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon 2Sa 1:22Ezr 1:1-2Isa 13:17-18Isa 13:2-5Isa 21:2Isa 41:25Isa 45:1-4Jer 15:14
an assembly of great nations from the land of the north.
They will line up against her;
from the north she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like skilled warriors
who do not return empty-handed.
Chaldea 2will be plundered; Jer 25:12Isa 33:23Isa 33:4Isa 45:3Jer 27:7Rev 17:16
all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the LORD.
Babylon’s Fall Is Certain
“Because you rejoice, Isa 47:6Amo 4:1Deu 32:15Ezk 25:15-17Ezk 25:3-8Ezk 26:2-3Hos 10:11Isa 10:6-7
because you sing in triumph—
you who plunder My inheritance—
because you frolic like a heifer treading grain
and neigh like stallions,
your mother will be greatly ashamed; Jer 51:43Gal 4:26Isa 13:20-22Isa 14:22Isa 23:13Jer 25:12Jer 25:26Jer 49:2
she who bore you will be disgraced.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Because of the wrath of the LORD, Jer 18:16Jer 49:17Hab 2:6-18Isa 14:4-17Jer 19:8Jer 25:12Jer 51:37Job 27:23
she will not be inhabited;
she will become completely desolate.
All who pass through Babylon will be horrified
and will hiss at all her wounds.
Line up in formation around Babylon, Jer 50:29Hab 2:171Sa 17:20Hab 2:8Jer 50:42Jer 50:7Jer 50:92Sa 10:9
all you who draw the bow!
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows!
For she has sinned against the LORD.
Raise a war cry against her on every side! Jer 51:58Jer 46:10Jer 51:6Rev 18:61Ch 29:242Ch 30:8Jer 51:11Jer 51:14
She has thrown up her hands in surrender;
her towers have fallen;
her walls are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance of the LORD,
take out your vengeance upon her;
as she has done,
do the same to her.
Cut off the sower from Babylon, Jer 46:16Jer 51:9Isa 13:14Jol 1:11Amo 5:16Jer 25:38Jer 51:23
and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time.
In the face of the oppressor’s sword,
each will turn to his own people,
each will flee to his own land.
Redemption for God’s People
Israel is a scattered flock, Jer 2:151Pe 2:252Ki 18:9-13Jer 50:6Jhn 10:10-12Jol 3:22Ch 28:202Ch 32:1-23
chased away by lions.
The first to devour him
was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Isa 10:12Nam 1:1-3Ezk 31:3-17Isa 37:36-38Zep 2:13-15
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
I will return Israel to his pasture, Amo 9:14-15Ezk 34:13-14Jer 23:3Jer 24:6-7Jer 3:18Jer 30:10Jer 30:18Jer 31:14
and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
his soul will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
In those days and at that time, Mic 7:19Jer 31:34Isa 1:9Isa 43:25Heb 10:17-18Psa 103:12Rom 8:33-34Isa 44:22
declares the LORD,
a search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for Judah’s sins,
but they will not be found;
for I will forgive
the remnant I preserve.
The Destruction of Babylon
Go up against the land of Merathaim, Ezk 23:231Sa 15:11-241Sa 15:32Ch 36:232Ki 18:252Sa 16:11Isa 10:6Isa 44:28
and against the residents of Pekod.
Kill them 3and devote them to destruction. 4
Do all that I have commanded you,”
declares the LORD.
“The noise of battle is in the land— Jer 4:19-21Jer 51:54-56Isa 21:2-4
the noise of great destruction.
How the hammer of the whole earth Jer 51:20-24Isa 14:12-17Isa 14:4-6Rev 18:16
lies broken and shattered!
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!
I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, Dan 5:30-31Job 9:4Job 40:2Job 40:92Th 2:4Ecc 9:12Exo 10:3Isa 13:11
and you were caught before you knew it.
You were found and captured
because you challenged the LORD.
The LORD has opened His armory Jer 51:25Jer 51:55Amo 3:6Jer 50:15Jer 51:20Isa 13:17-18Isa 13:2-5Isa 14:22-24
and brought out His weapons of wrath,
for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
Come against her Isa 14:23Isa 45:3Jer 50:10Isa 10:6Isa 25:10Isa 5:26Isa 63:3-4Jer 50:13
from the farthest border.
Break open her granaries;
pile her up like mounds of grain.
Devote her to destruction;
leave her no survivors.
Kill all her young bulls; Isa 34:7Jer 46:21Jer 48:44Psa 22:12Psa 37:13Ezk 39:17-20Ezk 7:5-7Jer 27:7
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come—
the time of their punishment.
Listen to the fugitives and refugees Isa 48:20Jer 50:15Lam 1:10Dan 5:23Jer 51:10-11Lam 2:6-7Psa 149:6-9Dan 5:3-5
from the land of Babylon,
declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God,
the vengeance for His temple.
Summon the archers against Babylon, Isa 47:10Jer 51:56Dan 4:37Exo 10:3Jer 50:14-15Rev 18:62Th 2:4Dan 11:36
all who string the bow.
Encamp all around her;
let no one escape.
Repay her according to her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets, Jer 49:26Jer 18:21Jer 9:21Isa 13:15-18Jer 48:15Jer 50:36Jer 51:3-4Jer 51:56-57
and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,”
declares the LORD.
“Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” Jer 21:13Jer 50:291Pe 5:5Ezk 39:1Hab 2:4-5Jas 4:6Nam 2:13Dan 4:30-31
declares the Lord GOD of Hosts,
“for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
The arrogant one will stumble and fall Jer 21:14Jer 49:27Isa 10:12-15Amo 2:5Rev 18:8Amo 1:10Amo 1:12Amo 1:14
with no one to pick him up.
And I will kindle a fire in his cities
to consume all those around him.”
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: Exo 9:2-3Isa 14:17Isa 58:6Exo 9:17-18Isa 47:6Jer 50:17-18Exo 5:2Exo 8:2
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
and the sons of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to release them.
Their Redeemer is strong; Isa 54:5Isa 41:14Isa 47:4Jer 15:21Jer 51:36Isa 43:14Mic 7:9Psa 35:1
the LORD of Hosts is His name.
He will fervently plead their case
so that He may bring rest to the earth,
but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
A sword is against the Chaldeans, Jer 47:6Dan 5:1-2Dan 5:30Dan 5:7-8Hos 11:6Jer 51:57Ezk 14:2Isa 19:11-13
declares the LORD,
against those who live in Babylon,
and against her officials and wise men.
A sword is against her false prophets, Jer 49:22Isa 44:25Nam 3:131Ti 4:21Ti 6:42Ch 25:162Sa 17:142Th 2:9-11
and they will become fools.
A sword is against her warriors,
and they will be filled with terror.
A sword is against her horses and chariots Jer 51:30Nam 3:13Jer 25:20Jer 48:41Jer 51:21Isa 19:16Ezk 30:5Isa 45:3
and against all the foreigners in her midst,
and they will become like women.
A sword is against her treasuries,
and they will be plundered.
A drought is upon her waters, Isa 44:27Jer 50:2Rev 16:12Jer 51:47Jer 51:52Act 17:16Dan 3:1-30Dan 5:4
and they will be dried up.
For it is a land of graven images,
and the people go mad over idols. 5
So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there Isa 13:20-22Rev 18:2Jer 25:12Isa 14:23Isa 34:11-17Jer 50:12-13Jer 51:26Jer 51:37-38
and ostriches 6will dwell there.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation.
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah Gen 19:24-252Pe 2:6Isa 13:19-20Jer 49:18Jud 1:7Luk 17:28-30Amo 4:11Deu 29:23
along with their neighbors,”
declares the LORD,
“no one will dwell there;
no man will abide there.
Behold, an army is coming from the north; Jer 51:27-28Isa 13:2-5Jer 50:9Jer 6:22-23Isa 13:17-18Jer 25:14Jer 50:2-3Jer 51:1-2
a great nation and many kings are stirred up
from the ends of the earth.
They grasp the bow and spear; 7 Isa 5:30Isa 13:17-18Isa 47:6Jer 47:3Jer 8:16Hab 1:6-8Isa 14:6Isa 5:28
they are cruel and merciless.
Their voice roars like the sea,
and they ride upon horses,
lined up like men in formation
against you, O Daughter of Babylon.
The king of Babylon has heard the report, Jer 49:24Jer 51:31Dan 5:5-6Isa 13:6-8Isa 21:3-4Jer 49:22
and his hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
Behold, one will come up like a lion Jer 49:19-21Exo 15:11Isa 40:25Isa 41:25Isa 43:10Isa 46:11Isa 46:9Psa 89:6
from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture.
For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land.
Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me?
What shepherd can stand against Me?”
Therefore hear the plans Jer 49:20Jer 51:10-11Act 4:28Eph 1:11Isa 14:24-27Isa 46:10-11Jer 37:10Psa 33:10-11
that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon
and the strategies He has devised
against the land of the Chaldeans:
Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away;
certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; Jer 49:21Ezk 26:18Ezk 31:16Rev 18:9-19Ezk 32:10Isa 14:9-10
a cry will be heard among the nations.