Jeremiah 51

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Yahweh says this: Against Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-Kamai I shal rouse a destructive 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 I shal send winnowers to Babylon to winnow her and leave her country bare, for she wil bebeleaguered on all sides, on the day of disaster.	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 no archer bend his bow! Let no man swagger in his breastplate!-No quarter for her young men!Curse her whole army with destruction!	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 In the country of the Chaldaeans the slaughtered wil fall, in the streets of Babylon, those run throughby the sword.	4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the regions thereof.
5 For Israel and Judah have not been bereft of their God, Yahweh Sabaoth, although their country wasful of sin against 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 Escape from Babylon (save your lives, each one of you); do not perish for her guilt, for now is the timefor Yahweh's vengeance: he wil pay her her reward!	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 Yahweh's hand, she made the whole world drunk, the nations drank herwine and then went 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 has suddenly fal en, is broken: wail for her! Fetch balm for her wounds, perhaps she can becured!	8 Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
9 -'We tried to cure Babylon; she has got no better. Leave her alone and let us each go to his owncountry.' -Yes, her sentence reaches to the sky, rises to the very 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 Yahweh has shown the uprightness of our cause. Come, let us tell in Zion what Yahweh our God hasdone.	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! Yahweh has roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, becausehe has a plan against Babylon to destroy it; this is Yahweh's revenge, revenge 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 wal s of Babylon raise the standard! Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Take upconcealed positions! For Yahweh has both planned and done what he promised he would to the inhabitants ofBabylon.	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 Enthroned beside abundant waters, rich in treasures, you now meet your end, the finish of yourpil aging.	13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy end is come for thy entire destruction.
14 By his own self Yahweh Sabaoth has sworn: I shal fil you with men as though with grasshoppers,and over you they wil raise the triumph-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 By his power he made the earth, by his wisdom set the world firm, by his discernment spread out theheavens.	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 there is a roaring of waters in heaven; he raises clouds from the furthest limits ofthe earth, makes the lightning flash for the downpour, and brings the wind from his storehouse.	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 At this everyone stands stupefied, uncomprehending, every goldsmith blushes for his idols; hiscastings are but delusion, with no breath in them.	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 They are futile, a laughable production, when the time comes for them to be punished, they wilvanish.	18 They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 The Heritage of Jacob is not like these, for he is the maker of everything, and Israel is the tribe that ishis heritage; His name is Yahweh Sabaoth.	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 were my mace, a weapon of war. With you I crushed nations, struck kingdoms down,	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 crushed horse and rider, with you crushed chariot and charioteer,	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 crushed man and woman, with you crushed old man and young, with you crushed youngman and girl,	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 crushed shepherd and flock, with you crushed ploughman and team, with you crushedgovernors and magistrates,	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 and I shal repay Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldaea, before your eyes, for al the wrongs theyhave done to Zion, Yahweh declares.	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 I am setting myself against you, mountain of destruction, Yahweh declares, destroyer of the wholeworld! I shall reach out my hand for you and send you tumbling from the crags and make you a burnt-outmountain.	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 No corner-stone wil be taken from you again and no foundation-stone, for you will be a desert forever, Yahweh declares.	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 the standard throughout the world, sound the trumpet among the nations! Consecrate nationsto make war on her; summon kingdoms against her: Ararat, Minni, Ashkenaz; appoint a recruiting-officer for herenemies, bring up the cavalry, bristling like 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 Consecrate nations to make war on her: the kings of Media, her governors, all her magistrates andthe whole territory under their rule.	28 Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.
29 Then the earth trembled and writhed, for Yahweh's plan against Babylon was being executed: tochange the country of Babylon into an unpopulated desert.	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 The warriors of Babylon have done with fighting, they have stayed inside their fortresses; theircourage exhausted, they are now like women. Her houses are on fire, her gates are shattered.	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 Courier fol ows close on courier, messenger on messenger, to tel the king of Babylon that his city hasbeen taken from al sides,	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 occupied, the bastions burnt down and the fighting men seized with panic.	32 And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floorwhen it is being trodden: a little while, and then the time for harvesting her wil come.	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 devoured me, consumed me, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, left me like an empty dish, like theDragon he has swal owed me whole, filled his belly with my titbits and threw 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 'On Babylon be the wounds I suffered!' the daughter of Zion wil say. 'On the inhabitants of Chaldaeabe my blood!' Jerusalem wil say.	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 So, Yahweh says this: Look, I am taking up your cause to make sure you are avenged. I shal dry herriver up, make her springs run dry.	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 wil become a heap of stones, the lair of jackals, a thing of horror and of scorn, with no oneliving in it.	37 And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
38 Like lions they roar together, they growl like lions' whelps.	38 They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
39 Are they feverish? I wil prepare them a drink and make them drink until they are tipsy and fal into aneverlasting sleep, never to wake again, Yahweh declares.	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 wil drag them away to the slaughterhouse like lambs, like rams and goats.	40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with kids.
41 What! Has Sheshak been taken, been conquered, the pride of the whole world? What a thing of horrorBabylon has become throughout the 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 The sea has risen over Babylon, she sinks beneath its boisterous waves.	42 The sea is come up over Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her towns have been turned into wasteland, a parched land, a desert, a country where no one livesand where nobody goes.	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 shal punish Bel in Babylon and make him disgorge what he has swal owed. In future the nations wilstream to him no more. The very walls of Babylon wil fal .	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 Get out of her, my people; save your lives, each one of you, from Yahweh's furious anger.	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 But do not be faint-hearted! Do not take fright at rumours hawked round the country: one rumourspreads one year, next year another fol ows; violence rules on earth and one tyrant succeeds another.	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 So look, the days are coming when I shal punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire country wil behumbled, with all her slaughtered lying on home-soil.	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 The heaven and earth and all within them wil shout for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers from thenorth are coming to her, Yahweh declares.	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 in her turn must fal , you slaughtered ones of Israel, just as through Babylon there fel menslaughtered al over the world.	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 her sword, leave her, do not wait! Remember Yahweh from afar, letJerusalem come into your mind.	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 were ashamed when we heard of the outrage, we were covered in confusion because foreignershad entered the Temple of Yahweh's holy places.'	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 -So look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall punish her idols, and the wounded willgroan throughout her country.	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 Were Babylon to scale the heavens or reinforce her towering citadel, destroyers would stil come to her on my orders, Yahweh declares.	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 The din of shouting from Babylon, of immense destruction, from the country of the Chaldaeans!	54 The noise of a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans :
55 Yes, Yahweh is laying Babylon waste and silencing her monstrous din, whose waves used to roar likethe ocean and their tumultuous voices rang out.	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 has fal en on Babylon, her warriors are captured, their bows are broken. Yes,Yahweh is a God of retribution, he never fails to 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 shal make her princes and her sages drink, her governors, her magistrates, her warriors; they wilfal into an everlasting sleep, never to wake again, declares the King, whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth.	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 Yahweh Sabaoth says this: The wal s of Babylon the Great wil be rased to the ground, and her loftygates wil be burnt down. Thus peoples toil for nothing and nations wear themselves out, for the flames.	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 is the order that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah whenSeraiah left for Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was lordchamberlain.	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 Now, on one sheet, Jeremiah had written down the entire disaster that was to befal Babylon, that is,al these words recorded here 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 Jeremiah then said to Seraiah, 'When you reach Babylon, see to it that you read al these wordsaloud.	61 And Jeremias said to Saraias: When thou shalt come into Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words,
62 Then say, "You, Yahweh, have promised to destroy this place, so that no one will live here ever again,neither human nor animal, and it wil be desolate for ever."	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 Then, when you have finished reading this sheet, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of theEuphrates,	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 with the words, "So shal Babylon sink, never to rise again from the disaster which I am going to bringon her." ' Thus far 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.