Jeremiah 50

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The word that Yahweh spoke against Babylon, against the country of the Chaldaeans, through theprophet Jeremiah.	1 The word that the Lord has spoken about Babylon and about the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Announce it to the nations, proclaim it, hoist a signal and proclaim it, making no secret of it, say,'Babylon is captured, Bel disgraced, Marduk shattered. (Her idols are disgraced, her Obscenities shattered.)'	2 “Announce it among the Gentiles, and make it known. Lift up a sign. Proclaim it and do not conceal it. Say this: ‘Babylon has been captured. Bel has been confounded. Merodach has been conquered. Their graven things have been confounded. Their idols have not survived.’
3 For a nation is marching on her from the north, to turn her country into a desert: no one will live thereany more; human and animal have fled and gone.	3 For a nation has ascended against her from the north, which will set her land in desolation. And there will be no one who may live within it, from man even to beast. For they have been removed and have gone away.
4 In those days and at that time the people of Israel will return (they and the people of Judah); they wilcome weeping in search of Yahweh their God.	4 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the sons of Israel will advance, they and the sons of Judah together. Weeping as they walk, they will hurry on, and they will seek the Lord their God.
5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces towards her, 'Come, let us bind ourselves to Yahwehby an everlasting covenant never to be forgotten!'	5 They will ask the way to Zion; their faces will be set toward this place. They will arrive and will be joined to the Lord by an everlasting covenant, which nothing will wipe away into oblivion.
6 Lost sheep, such were my people; their shepherds led them astray, the mountains misled them; frommountain to hil they went, forgetful of their fold.	6 My people have become a lost flock. Their shepherds have led them astray and have caused them to wander in the mountains. They have crossed from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place.
7 Whoever came across them devoured them, their enemies said, 'We are not to blame, since they havesinned against Yahweh, the Home of Justice, against Yahweh, the Hope of their ancestors.'	7 All whom they have found, they have devoured. And their enemies have said: ‘We have not sinned. For it is they who have sinned against the Lord, the beauty of justice, and against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’
8 Escape from Babylon, leave the country of the Chaldaeans. Be like he-goats, leading the sheep!	8 Withdraw from the midst of Babylon, and go forth from the land of the Chaldeans. And be like young goats before the flock.
9 For look, I shall raise a league of mighty nations to attack Babylon, from the land of the north. They wiltake up position against her; by them she wil be taken. Their arrows, like an experienced soldier's, never returnin vain.	9 For behold, I am raising up, and I will lead against Babylon, a congregation of great nations from the land of the north. And they will be prepared against her, and from there she will be taken. Their arrows, like those of a strong man, a killer, will not return empty.
10 Chaldaea wil be plundered, al her plunderers wil be satisfied, Yahweh declares.	10 And Chaldea will become a prey. All who lay waste to her will be filled, says the Lord.
11 Rejoice! Have your triumph, you plunderers of my heritage! Be playful like a heifer let out to grass!Neigh like stallions!	11 For you exult and you speak great things, plundering my inheritance. For you have spread out like calves upon the grass, and you have bellowed like bulls.
12 But your mother is covered with shame, disgraced is the woman who bore you; she is the least ofnations now; a desert, a parched land, a wasteland.	12 Your mother has been exceedingly shamed, and she who bore you has become equal to the dust. Behold, she will be the last among the nations, a desert, impassable and dry.
13 Because of Yahweh's anger, no one wil live there any more, she wil become a total solitude. All whopass by Babylon wil be appal ed and whistle at the sight of al her wounds.	13 By the wrath of the Lord, it will not be inhabited. Instead, it will be entirely desolate. Every one who passes by Babylon will be stupefied and will hiss over all her wounds.
14 Take position against Babylon, surround her, al you who bend the bow. Shoot at her! Do not spareyour arrows, for she has sinned against Yahweh!	14 Prepare yourselves against Babylon, on every side, all you who bend the bow. Make war against her! You should not spare the arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise the war cry against her from all sides. She surrenders! Her bastions fal ! Her wal s collapse!This is Yahweh's vengeance! Take revenge on her. Treat her as she has treated others.	15 Cry out against her! For where she has put forth a hand, her foundations have fallen, her walls have been destroyed. For it is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance against her! Just as she has done, do so to her.
16 Deprive Babylon of the man who sows, of the man who wields the sickle at harvest. Away from thedevastating sword, let everyone return to his own people, let everyone flee to his own country!	16 Destroy the founder from Babylon, and the one who holds the sickle in the time of harvest. Before the face of the sword of the dove, each one will turn back to his people, and every one will flee to his own land.
17 Israel was a straying sheep pursued by lions. First, the king of Assyria devoured him, and latterlyNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon crunched his bones.	17 Israel is a scattered flock. The lions have driven him away. First, the king of Assyria devoured him. And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has taken away his bones.
18 So Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this: Look, I shall punish the king of Babylon and his countryas I punished the king of Assyria.	18 Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, just as I have visited the king of Assyria.
19 I wil bring Israel back to his pastures to browse on Carmel and in Bashan, on the highlands ofEphraim and in Gilead, and he wil be satisfied.	19 And I will lead back Israel to his habitation. And he will pasture on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul will be satiated at mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days and at that time, Yahweh declares, you may look for Israel's guilt, it will not be there, forJudah's sins, you wil not find them, for I shal pardon the remnant that I leave.	20 In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel will be sought, and there will be none. And the sin of Judah will be sought, and none will be found. For I will be forgiving to them, whom I will leave behind.
21 March on the country of Merathaim, march on it and on the inhabitants of Pekod; slaughter and cursewith destruction every last one of them, Yahweh declares, carry out my orders to the letter!	21 Ascend against the land of the rulers, and visit against its inhabitants! Scatter and destroy whatever has been left behind them, says the Lord, and act according to all that I have instructed you.
22 The din of battle fil s the country, immense destruction.	22 A voice of war in the land, and great destruction!
23 How utterly shattered that hammer of the whole world! What a thing of horror Babylon has becomethroughout the nations!	23 How has the mallet of the entire earth been broken and crushed? How has Babylon been turned into a desert among the nations?
24 I set a snare for you, Babylon; you were caught before you knew it. You have been found andoverpowered for having defied Yahweh.	24 I have ensnared you, and you have been captured, O Babylon, and you did not realize it. You have been discovered and seized, because you provoked the Lord.
25 Yahweh has opened his armoury and taken out the weapons of his fury. For Lord Yahweh Sabaothhas work to do in the country of the Chaldaeans.	25 The Lord has opened his storehouse, and he has brought forth the instruments of his wrath. For there is work for the Lord, the God of hosts, within the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Fal on her from every side, open her granaries, pile her in heaps, curse her with destruction, untilnothing is left of her.	26 Advance against her from the furthest regions! Open, so that those who will trample her may go out! Take stones from the road, and gather them into piles, and destroy her. And let there be nothing left of her.
27 Slaughter al her bulls, down to the slaughterhouse with them! Disaster on them, their day has come,their time for being punished.	27 Scatter all her strong ones. Let them descend to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has arrived, the time of their visitation.
28 Listen! Fugitives and runaways from the country of Babylon arrive in Zion and proclaim the revenge ofYahweh our God, revenge for his Temple!	28 It is the voice of those who are fleeing and of those who have escaped from the land of Babylon: to announce in Zion the revenge of the Lord our God, the revenge of his Temple.
29 Call up the archers against Babylon! Al you who bend the bow, invest her on al sides, leave her noway of escape. Repay her as her deeds deserve; treat her as she has treated others, for she was arrogant toYahweh, to the Holy One of Israel.	29 Announce it to the many in Babylon, to all who bend the bow. Stand together against her all around, and let no one escape. Repay her according to her work. In accord with all that she has done, do to her. For she has raised herself up against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 And so in her squares her young men wil fall, and all her fighting men wil perish, that day, Yahwehdeclares.	30 For this reason, her young men will fall in her streets. And all her men of war will be silenced, in that day, says the Lord.
31 My quarrel is with you, 'Arrogance!' Lord Yahweh Sabaoth declares, your day has come, the time forme to punish you.	31 Behold, I am against you, O proud one, says the Lord, the God of hosts. For your day has arrived, the time of your visitation.
32 'Arrogance' wil stumble, she will fal , no one wil lift her up: I shal set fire to her towns and it wildevour all around it.	32 And the proud one will fall and be ruined. And there will be no one who may lift him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him.”
33 Yahweh Sabaoth says this: The people of Israel are oppressed (and the people of Judah too), al theircaptors hold them fast, they will not let them go.	33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have endured calumny together. All who have seized them are holding them and refusing to release them.
34 But their redeemer is strong: Yahweh Sabaoth is his name. He wil take up their cause, to give ourcountry rest but make the inhabitants of Babylon tremble.	34 Their redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He will defend their case in judgment, so that he may terrify the land and disturb the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword against the Chaldaeans, Yahweh declares, against the inhabitants of Babylon, against herprinces and her sages!	35 A sword is for the Chaldeans, says the Lord, and for the inhabitants of Babylon, and for her leaders, and for her wise ones.
36 A sword against her diviners: may they lose their wits! A sword against her warriors: may they panic!	36 A sword is for her diviners, who will be fooled. A sword is for her strong ones, who will be afraid.
37 A sword against her horses, her chariots and the conglomeration of people inside her: may they belike women! A sword against her treasures: may they be plundered!	37 A sword is for their horses, and for their chariots, and for all the common people who are in her midst. And they will be like women. A sword is for her storehouses, and they will be plundered.
38 Drought on her waters: may they dry up! For it is a country of idols, and they are mad about those bogeys of theirs!	38 A drought is over her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and they glory in portents.
39 Hence wild cats and jackals wil live there, and ostriches make their home there. She will never againbe inhabited, for ever, but remain uninhabited age after age.	39 Because of this, dragons will live there with the fig fauns, and ostriches will live in it. And it will no longer be inhabited, even in perpetuity, nor will it be raised up, even from generation to generation.
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbouring towns, Yahweh declares, noone will live there any more, no human being settle there again.	40 Just as the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns, says the Lord, no man will live there, and a son of man will not tend it.
41 Look, a people is coming from the north, a mighty nation; from the far ends of the earth many kingsare stirring.	41 Behold, a people arrives from the north, and a great nation. And many kings will rise up from the ends of the earth.
42 They are armed with bow and spear, they are cruel and pitiless; their noise is like the roaring of thesea; they ride horses, ready as one man to fight you, daughter of Babylon!	42 They will take up the bow and the shield. They are cruel and merciless. Their voice will sound out, like the sea, and they will ride upon horses, like a man prepared for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the news, his hands fal limp, anguish has seized him, pain like that ofa woman in labour.	43 The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, and his hands have been weakened. Anguish has overtaken him, like the pains of a woman giving birth.
44 Look, like a lion he climbs the thickets of the Jordan to the perennial pasture! In a flash I shal makethem run away and there appoint someone I shal choose. For who is there like me? Who can hale me intocourt? Name me the shepherd who can stand up to me.	44 Behold, he will ascend like a lion from the arrogance of the Jordan to the robust beauty. For I will cause him to rush upon her suddenly. And who will be the elect one, whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who can endure me? And who is that pastor who can withstand my countenance?”
45 So now hear the plan that Yahweh has laid against Babylon, the schemes he has in mind against thecountry of the Chaldaeans: they wil certainly be dragged away like the smallest in the flock! Their pastures willcertainly be sacked before their eyes!	45 Because of this, listen to the counsel of the Lord, which he has conceived in his mind against Babylon, and to his thoughts, which he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: “Certainly the little ones of the flocks will pull them down, unless their habitation will have been destroyed with them.
46 The earth quakes at the sound of Babylon's capture, and the shouting echoes through the nations.	46 At the voice of the captivity of Babylon, the earth has been moved, and an outcry has been heard among the nations.”