I will send foreigners to winnow Babylon, and they will take everything from the city. Armies will surround the city, and there will be terrible destruction.
The Babylonian soldiers will not get to use their bows and arrows. They will not even put on their armor. Don't feel sorry for the soldiers of Babylon. Destroy her army completely!
The Lord All-Powerful did not leave Israel and Judah alone like a widow. No, they are guilty of leaving the Holy One of Israel. They left him, but he has not left them.
Run away from Babylon. Run to save your lives! Don't stay and be killed because of Babylon's sins! It is time for the Lord to punish the Babylonians for the bad things they did. Babylon will get the punishment that she should have.
We tried to heal Babylon, but she cannot be healed. So let us leave her, and let each of us go to our own country. God in heaven will decide Babylon's punishment. He will decide what will happen to Babylon.
Sharpen the arrows! Get your shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because he wants to destroy Babylon. The army from Babylon destroyed his Temple in Jerusalem, so he will give them the punishment they deserve.
Lift up a flag against the walls of Babylon. Bring more guards. Put the watchmen in their places. Get ready for a secret attack. The Lord will do what he has planned. He will do what he said he would do against the people of Babylon.
The Lord All-Powerful used his name to make this promise: "Babylon, I will fill you with so many enemy soldiers they will be like clouds of locusts. They will win their war against you. They will stand over you shouting their victory cry."
When he thunders, the waters in the skies roar. He sends clouds all over the earth. He sends lightning with the rain. He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
But people are so stupid. They don't understand what God has done. Skilled workers make statues of false gods. Those statues are only false gods. They show how foolish those workers are. Those statues are not alive.
But God, who is Jacob's Portion, is not like those worthless statues. People didn't make God; God made his people. He made everything. His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
But I will repay Babylonia and all the Babylonians for all the evil things they did to Zion. I will pay them back so that you can see it, Judah." This is what the Lord said.
The Lord says, "Babylon, you are like a volcano that destroys the whole country. But I have turned against you, and I will turn you into a burned-out mountain.
People will not take stones from Babylon to use as the foundation of a building. They will not find any stones big enough for cornerstones. Your city will be a pile of broken rocks forever." This is what the Lord said.
"Lift up the war flag in the land! Blow the trumpet in all the nations! Prepare the nations for war against Babylon. Call these kingdoms to come fight against Babylon: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander to lead the army against her. Send so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts.
Get the nations ready for battle against her. Get the kings of the Medes ready. Get their governors and all their important officials ready. Get all the countries they rule ready for battle against Babylon.
The land shakes and moves like it is in pain. It will shake when the Lord does what he planned to Babylon. The Lord's plan is to make the land of Babylon into an empty desert. No one will live there.
Babylon's soldiers have stopped fighting. They stay in their forts. Their strength is gone. They have become like frightened women. Babylon's houses are burning. The bars of her gates are broken.
This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: "Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people beat the grain at harvest time. And the time to beat Babylon is coming soon.
"King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed us in the past. In the past he hurt us. In the past he took our people away, and we became like an empty jar. He took the best we had. He was like a giant monster that ate everything until it was full. He took the best we had and then threw us away.
Babylon did terrible things to hurt us. Now I want those things to happen to Babylon." The people living in Zion said, "The people of Babylon are guilty of killing our people. Now they are being punished for the bad things they did." That's what the city of Jerusalem said.
So this is what the Lord says: "I will defend you, Judah. I will make sure that Babylon is punished. I will dry up Babylon's sea. And I will make her water springs become dry.
Babylon will become a pile of ruined buildings, a place fit only for wild dogs. People will be shocked and shake their heads at what is left there. It will be a place where no one lives.
They are acting like powerful lions. I will give a party for them. I will make them drunk. They will laugh and have a good time, and then they will sleep forever. They will never wake up." This is what the Lord said.
"Sheshach will be defeated. The best and proudest country of the whole earth will be taken captive. People from other nations will look at Babylon, and what they see will make them afraid.
I will punish the false god Bel in Babylon. I will make him vomit out the people he swallowed. The wall around Babylon will fall, and other nations will stop coming to Babylon.
"Don't be sad, my people. Rumors will spread, but don't be afraid. One rumor comes this year. Another rumor will come next year. There will be rumors about terrible fighting in the country. There will be rumors about rulers fighting against other rulers.
The time will surely come when I will punish the false gods of Babylon, and the whole land of Babylon will be put to shame. There will be many dead people, lying in the streets of that city.
Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout with joy about Babylon. They will shout because an army came from the north and fought against Babylon." This is what the Lord said.
You people escaped the swords. You must hurry and leave Babylon. Don't wait! You are in a faraway land, but remember the Lord where you are and remember Jerusalem."
The Lord says, "The time is coming, when I will punish the idols of Babylon. At that time wounded people will cry with pain everywhere in that country.
Babylon might grow until she touches the sky. Babylon might make her forts strong, but I will send people to fight against that city. And they will destroy her." This is what the Lord said.
The Lord will destroy Babylon very soon. He will stop the loud noises in that city. Enemies will come roaring in like ocean waves. People all around will hear that roar.
The army will come and destroy Babylon. Its soldiers will be captured, and their bows will be broken, This will happen because the Lord punishes people for the bad things they do. He gives them the full punishment they deserve.
I will make Babylon's wise men and important officials drunk. I will make the governors, officers, and soldiers drunk too. Then they will sleep forever. They will never wake up." This is what the King said. His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
The Lord All-Powerful says: "Babylon's thick, strong wall will be pulled down. Her high gates will be burned. The people of Babylon will work hard, but it will not help. They will become very tired trying to save the city. But they will only become fuel for the flames."
This is the message that Jeremiah gave to the officer Seraiah son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah. Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This happened in the fourth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. At that time Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah, the officer.
Then say, 'Lord, you have said that you will destroy this place, Babylon. You will destroy it so that no people or animals will live in it. This place will be an empty ruin forever.'
Then say, 'In the same way Babylon will sink. Babylon will rise no more. It will sink because of the terrible things that I will make happen here.'" The words of Jeremiah end here.