Jeremiah 51

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Thus says the LORD: See! I rouse against Babylon, and against those who live in Chaldea, a destroying wind.	1 Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof, who have lifted up their heart against me.
2 Against Babylon I will send winnowers to winnow her and lay waste her land; They shall besiege her from all sides on the day of affliction.	2 And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the day of her affliction.
3 Let the bowman draw his bow, and flaunt his coat of mail; Spare not her young men, doom her entire army.	3 Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not, him go up that is armed with a coat of mail: spare not her young men, destroy all her army.
4 The slain shall fall in the land of Chaldea, the transfixed, in her streets;	4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the regions thereof.
5 For Israel and Judah are not widowed of their God, the LORD of hosts, And the Chaldean land is full of guilt to be punished by the Holy One of Israel.	5 For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord of hosts: but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee out of Babylon; let each one save his life, perish not for her guilt; This is a time of vengeance for the LORD, he pays her her due.	6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will I render unto her what she hath deserved.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the LORD which made the whole earth drunk; The nations drank its wine, with this they have become mad.	7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore they have staggered.
8 Babylon suddenly falls and is crushed: howl over her! Bring balm for her wounds, in case she can be healed.	8 Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
9 "We have tried to heal Babylon, but she cannot be healed. Leave her, let us go, each to his own land." Her judgment reaches heaven, it touches the clouds.	9 We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed: let us forsake her, and let us go every man to his own land: because her judgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the clouds.
10 The LORD has brought to light our just cause; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD, our God, has done.	10 The Lord hath brought forth our justices: Come, and let us declare in Sion the work of the Lord our God.
11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers; The LORD has stirred up the spirit of Media's kings; Babylon he is resolved to destroy. Yes, it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for his temple.	11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: and his mind is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Against the walls of Babylon raise a signal, make strong the watch; Post sentries, arrange ambushes! For the LORD has planned and he will carry out his threat against the inhabitants of Babylon.	12 Upon the walls of Babylon set up the standard, strengthen the watch: set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who dwell by mighty waters, rich in treasure, Your end has come, the term at which you shall be cut off!	13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy end is come for thy entire destruction.
14 The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: I will fill you with men as numerous as locusts, who shall raise over you the vintage shout!	14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying : I will fill thee with men as with locusts, and they shall lift up a joyful shout against thee.
15 He has sworn who made the earth by his power, and established the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his skill.	15 He that made the earth by his power, that hath prepared the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar, and he brings up clouds from the end of the earth; He makes the lightning flash in the rain, and releases stormwinds from their chambers.	16 When he uttereth his voice the waters are multiplied in heaven: he lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth, he hath turned lightning into rain: and hath brought forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Every man is stupid, ignorant; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He molded a fraud, without breath of life.	17 Every man is become foolish by his knowledge: every founder is confounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
18 Nothingness are they, a ridiculous work, that will perish in their time of punishment.	18 They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 Not like these is the portion of Jacob, he is the creator of all things; Israel is his very own tribe, LORD of hosts is his name.	19 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he that made all things he it is, and Israel is the sceptre of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
20 You are my hammer, my weapon for war; With you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.	20 Thou dashest together for me the weapons of war, and with thee I will dash nations together, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms:
21 With you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver.	21 And with thee I will break in pieces the horse, and his rider, and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot, and him that getteth up into it:
22 With you I shatter man and wife, with you I shatter old and young, with you I shatter the youth and maiden.	22 And with thee I will break in pieces man and woman, and with thee I will break in pieces the old man and the child, and with thee I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin:
23 With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, with you I shatter the farmer and his team, with you I shatter satraps and prefects.	23 And with thee I will break in pieces the shepherd and his dock, and with thee I will break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, and with thee I will break in pieces captains and rulers.
24 Thus will I repay Babylon, and all who live in Chaldea All the evil they did to Zion, as you shall see with your own eyes, says the LORD.	24 And I will render to Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil, that they have done in Sion, before your eyes, saith the Lord.
25 Beware! I am against you, destroying mountain, destroyer of the entire earth, says the LORD; I will stretch forth my hand against you, roll you down over the cliffs, and make you a burnt mountain:	25 Behold I come against thee, thou destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which corruptest the whole earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 They will not take from you a cornerstone, or a foundation stone; Ruins forever shall you be, says the LORD.	26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for the corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for ever, saith the Lord.
27 Raise a signal on the earth, blow the trumpet among the nations; Dedicate peoples to war against her, summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; Appoint recruiting officers against her, send up horses like bristling locusts.	27 Set ye up a standard in the land: sound with the trumpet among the nations: prepare the nations against her: call together against her the kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez: number Taphsar against her, bring the horse as the stinging locust.
28 Dedicate peoples to war against her: the king of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, every land in his domain.	28 Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.
29 The earth quakes and writhes, the LORD'S plan against Babylon is carried out, Turning the land of Babylon into a desert where no one lives.	29 And the land shall be in a commotion, and shall be troubled: for the design of the Lord against Babylon shall awake, to make the land of Babylon desert and uninhabitable.
30 Babylon's warriors have ceased to fight, they remain in their strongholds; Dried up is their strength, they have become women. Burned are their homes, and broken their bars.	30 The valiant men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have dwelt in holds: their strength hath failed, and they are become as women: her dwelling places are burnt, her bars are broken.
31 One runner meets another, herald meets herald, Telling the king of Babylon that all his city is taken.	31 One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet messenger: to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one end to the other:
32 The fords have been seized, and the fortresses set on fire, while warriors are in panic.	32 And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trodden; Yet a little while, and the harvest time will come for her.	33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a thrashingfloor, this is the time of her thrashing: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
34 He has consumed me, routed me, (Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,) he has left me as an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a dragon: filled his belly with my delights, and cast me out.	34 Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath eaten me up, he hath devoured me: he hath made me as an empty vessel: he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicate meats, and he hath cast me out.
35 My torn flesh be upon Babylon, says the city on Zion; My blood upon the people of Chaldea, says Jerusalem.	35 The wrong done to me, and my flesh be upon Babylon, saith the habitation of Sion : and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, saith Jerusalem.
36 But now, thus says the LORD: Surely I will defend your cause, I will avenge you; I will dry up her sea, and drain her fountain.	36 Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will judge thy cause, and will take vengeance for thee, and I will make her sea desolate, and will dry up her spring.
37 Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; A place of horror and ridicule, where no one lives.	37 And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
38 They all roar like lions, growl like lion cubs.	38 They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
39 When they are parched, I will set a drink before them to make them drunk, that they may be overcome with perpetual sleep, never to awaken, says the LORD.	39 In their heat I will set them drink: and I will make them drunk, that they may slumber, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and awake no more, saith the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.	40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with kids.
41 How has she been seized, made captive, the glory of the whole world! What a horror has Babylon become among nations:	41 How is Sesach taken, and the renowned one of all the earth surprised? How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?
42 against Babylon the sea rises, she is overwhelmed by the roaring waves!	42 The sea is come up over Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities have become a desert, parched and arid land Where no man lives, and no one passes through.	43 Her cities are become an astonishment, a land uninhabited and desolate, a land wherein none can dwell, nor son of man pass through it.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon, and make him disgorge what he swallowed; peoples shall stream to him no more. The wall of Babylon falls!	44 And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he had swallowed down: and the rations shall no more flow together to him, for the wall also of Babylon shall fall.
45 Leave her, my people, let each one save himself from the burning wrath of the LORD.	45 Go out of the midst of her, my people: that every man may save his life from the fierce wrath of the Lord.
46 Be not discouraged for fear of rumors spread in the land; this year the rumor comes, then violence in the land, tyrant against tyrant.	46 And lest your hearts faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land : and a rumour shall come in one year, and after this year another rumour: and iniquity in the land, and ruler upon ruler.
47 But behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall lie fallen within her.	47 Therefore behold the days come, and I will visit the idols of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then heaven, and earth, and everything in them shall shout over Babylon with joy, when the destroyers come against her from the north, says the LORD.	48 And the heavens and the earth, and all things that are in them shall give praise for Babylon: for spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the Lord.
49 Babylon, too, must fall, O slain of Israel, as at the hands of Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.	49 And as Babylon caused that there should fall slain in Israel: so of Babylon there shall fall slain in all the earth.
50 You who have escaped the sword, go on, stand not still; Remember the LORD from afar, let Jerusalem come to your minds.	50 You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We are ashamed because we have heard taunts, confusion covers our faces; strangers have entered the holy places of the house of the LORD.	51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: because strangers are come upon the sanctuaries of the house of the Lord.
52 But behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish her idols, and in her whole land the wounded will groan.	52 Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit her graven things, and in all her land the wounded shall groan:
53 Though Babylon scale the heavens, and make her strong heights inaccessible, destroyers from me shall reach her, says the LORD.	53 If Babylon should mount up to heaven, and establish her strength on high: from me there should come spoilers upon her, saith the Lord.
54 Hear! loud cries from Babylon, dire destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;	54 The noise of a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans :
55 For the LORD lays Babylon waste, stills her loud cry, Though her waves were roaring like mighty waters, and their clamor was heard afar.	55 Because the Lord hath laid Babylon waste, and destroyed out of her the great voice: and their wave shall roar like many waters: their voice hath made a noise:
56 For the destroyer comes upon her, (Babylon,) her heroes are captured, their bows broken; The LORD is a God who requites, he will surely repay.	56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, that is, upon Babylon, and her valiant men are taken, and their bow is weakened, because the Lord, who is a strong revenger, will surely repay.
57 I will make her princes and her wise men drunk, her governors, her prefects, and her warriors, so that they sleep an eternal sleep, never to awaken, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.	57 And I will make her princes drunk. and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: and they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the whose name is Lord of hosts.
58 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The walls of spacious Babylon shall be leveled utterly; her lofty gates shall be destroyed by fire. The toil of the nations is for nothing; for the flames the peoples weary themselves.	58 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: That broad wall of Babylon shall be utterly broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire, and the labours of the people shall come to nothing, and of the nations shall go to the fire, and shall perish.
59 This was the errand given by the prophet Jeremiah to Seraiah, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon for the king in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah; Seraiah was chief quartermaster.	59 The word that Jeremias the prophet commanded Saraias the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, when he went with king Sedecias to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign: now Saraias was chief over the prophecy.
60 Jeremiah had written all the misfortune that was to befall Babylon in a single book: all these words that were written against Babylon.	60 And Jeremias wrote in one book all the evil that was to come upon Babylon: all these words that are written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you reach Babylon, see that you read aloud all these words,	61 And Jeremias said to Saraias: When thou shalt come into Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words,
62 and then say: O LORD, you yourself threatened to destroy this place, so that neither man nor beast should dwell in it, since it would remain an everlasting desert.	62 Thou shalt say: O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to destroy it: so that there should be neither man nor beast to dwell therein, and that it should be desolate for ever.
63 When you have finished reading this book, tie a stone to it and throw it in the Euphrates,	63 And when thou shalt have made an end of reading this book, thou shalt tie a stone to it, and shalt throw it into the midst of the Euphrates:
64 and say: Thus shall Babylon sink. Never shall she rise, because of the evil I am bringing upon her. (To "weary themselves" are the words of Jeremiah.)	64 And thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and she shall not rise up from the affliction that I will bring upon her, and she shall be utterly destroyed. Thus far are the words of Jeremias.