For it is a land of graven images, And they are mad upon things of horror. Therefore the wild-cats with the jackals shall dwell there, And the ostriches shall dwell therein; And it shall be no more inhabited for ever, Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah And the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; So shall no man abide there, 45Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, That He hath taken against Babylon, And His purposes, that He hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall drag them away, Surely their habitation shall be appalled at them. "At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth quaketh, And the cry is heard among the nations. Neither shall any son of man dwell 51 Thus saith the LORD: therein. "Behold, a people cometh from the north, And a great nation, and many kings Shall be roused from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear, Their voice is like the roaring sea, from the thickets of the Jordan And whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it; For who is like Me? and who will appoint Me a time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before Me? Behold, I will raise up against And against them that dwell in strangers, that shall fan her, And let him lift himself up against And thrust through in her streets. Of his God, of the LORD of hosts; He will render unto her a recom- That is, The heart of them that rise up against Me. According to ancient tradition, a cypher for Casdim, that is, Chaldea. "Make bright the arrows, Fill the quivers, The LORD hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes; Because His device is against Babylon, to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, The vengeance of His temple. 12Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, Make the watch strong, Set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; For the LORD hath both devised and done That which He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 130 thou that dwellest upon many waters, Abundant in treasures, The measure of thy covetousness. Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm. And they shall lift up a shout against thee. 15 He that hath made the earth by His power, That hath established the world by And hath stretched out the heavens by His discernment; 16At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings at the time of the rain, And bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries; 17Every man is proved to be brutish, for the knowledge Every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image― That his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18They are vanity, a work of delusion; In the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19The portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the former of all things, And [Israel] is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name. 20Thou art My maul and weapons of war, And with thee will I shatter the nations, And with thee will I destroy kingdoms; 21 And with thee will I shatter the horse and his rider, And with thee will I shatter the chariot and him that rideth there in; And with thee will I shatter man and woman, And with thee will I shatter the old man and the youth, And with thee will I shatter the young man and the maid; 23And with thee will I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with thee will I shatter the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, And with thee will I shatter governors and deputies. 24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea All their evil that they have done in Zion, in your sight, Saith the LORD. 25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, Which destroyest all the earth; And I will stretch out My hand upon thee, And roll thee down from the rocks, And will make thee a burnt mountain. 26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, Nor a stone for foundations; But thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD. 27Set ye up a standard in the land, Blow the horn among the nations, Prepare the nations against her, Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; Appoint a marshal against her; Cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm. 28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, The governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, 33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor At the time when it is trodden; Yet a little while, and the time of harvest Shall come for her. 34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, He hath crushed me, He hath set me down as an empty vessel, He hath swallowed me up like a dragon, He hath filled his maw with my delicacies; He hath washed me clean. 35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon', Shall the inhabitant of Zion say; And: 'My blood be upon the in- "My people, go ye out of the midst habitants of Chaldea', Shall Jerusalem say. 36Therefore thus saith the LORD: They shall roar together like young lions; They shall growl as lions' whelps. 39With their poison I will prepare their feast, And I will make them drunken, that they may be convulsed, And sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, Saith the LORD. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with he-goats. "How is Sheshach taken! And the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment Among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. "Her cities are become a desolation, A dry land, and a desert, A land wherein no man dwelleth, Neither doth any son of man pass thereby. "And I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up, And the nations shall not flow any more unto him; Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. of her, And save yourselves every man From the fierce anger of the LORD. 46And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye, For the rumour that shall be heard in the land; For a rumour shall come one year, And after that in another year a rumour, And violence in the land, ruler against ruler. "Therefore, behold, the days come, That I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, And her whole land shall be ashamed; And all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, Shall sing for joy over Babylon; For the spoilers shall come unto her From the north, saith the LORD. 49As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land. 50Ye that have escaped the sword, Go ye, stand not still; Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come into your mind. 51'We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach, Confusion hath covered our faces; Into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.' 52Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will do judgment upon her graven images; And through all her land the wounded shall groan. "Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, And though she should fortify the And great destruction from the And their waves roar like many The noise of their voice is uttered; And her mighty men are taken, For the LORD is a God of recom- He will surely requite. $7 And I will make drunk her princes Her governors and her deputies, 58Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; termaster. 60And Jeremiah wrote in one book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: 'When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words, and say: O LORD, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; and thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary.' Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. 52 Zedekiah was one and twenty For years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. through the anger of the LORD did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until He had cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 'And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all The word which Jeremiah the his army, against Jerusalem, and enprophet commanded Seraiah the son camped against it; and they built of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when forts against it round about. So the he went with Zedekiah the king of city was besieged unto the eleventh Judah to Babylon in the fourth year year of king Zedekiah. In the fourth of his reign. Now Seraiah was quar-month, in the ninth day of the month, And the peoples shall labour for And the nations for the fire; |