Jeremiah:50-51

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* The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet . * Declare ye among the nations , and publish , and set up a standard ; publish , and conceal not : say , Babylon is taken , Bel is confounded , Merodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded , her images are broken in pieces . * For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her , which shall make her land desolate , and none shall dwell therein : they shall remove , they shall depart , both man and beast . * In those days , and in that time , saith the LORD , the children of Israel shall come , they and the children of Judah together , going and weeping : they shall go , and seek the LORD their God . * They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward , saying , Come , and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten . * My people hath been lost sheep : their shepherds have caused them to go astray , they have turned them away on the mountains : they have gone from mountain to hill , they have forgotten their restingplace . * All that found them have devoured them : and their adversaries said , We offend not , because they have sinned against the LORD , the habitation of justice , even the LORD , the hope of their fathers . * Remove out of the midst of Babylon , and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans , and be as the he goats before the flocks . * For , lo , I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her ; from thence she shall be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man ; none shall return in vain . * And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her shall be satisfied , saith the LORD . * Because ye were glad , because ye rejoiced , O ye destroyers of mine heritage , because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass , and bellow as bulls ; * Your mother shall be sore confounded ; she that bare you shall be ashamed : behold , the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness , a dry land , and a desert . * Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited , but it shall be wholly desolate : every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished , and hiss at all her plagues . * Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about : all ye that bend the bow , shoot at her , spare no arrows : for she hath sinned against the LORD . * Shout against her round about : she hath given her hand : her foundations are fallen , her walls are thrown down : for it is the vengeance of the LORD : take vengeance upon her ; as she hath done , do unto her . * Cut off the sower from Babylon , and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest : for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people , and they shall flee every one to his own land . * Israel is a scattered sheep ; the lions have driven him away : first the king of Assyria hath devoured him ; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones . * Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; Behold , I will punish the king of Babylon and his land , as I have punished the king of Assyria . * And I will bring Israel again to his habitation , and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan , and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead . * In those days , and in that time , saith the LORD , the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for , and there shall be none ; and the sins of Judah , and they shall not be found : for I will pardon them whom I reserve . * Go up against the land of Merathaim , even against it , and against the inhabitants of Pekod : waste and utterly destroy after them , saith the LORD , and do according to all that I have commanded thee . * A sound of battle is in the land , and of great destruction . * How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken ! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations ! * I have laid a snare for thee , and thou art also taken , O Babylon , and thou wast not aware : thou art found , and also caught , because thou hast striven against the LORD . * The LORD hath opened his armoury , and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation : for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans . * Come against her from the utmost border , open her storehouses : cast her up as heaps , and destroy her utterly : let nothing of her be left . * Slay all her bullocks ; let them go down to the slaughter : woe unto them ! for their day is come , the time of their visitation . * The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon , to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God , the vengeance of his temple . * Call together the archers against Babylon : all ye that bend the bow , camp against it round about ; let none thereof escape : recompense her according to her work ; according to all that she hath done , do unto her : for she hath been proud against the LORD , against the Holy One of Israel . * Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets , and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day , saith the LORD . * Behold , I am against thee , O thou most proud , saith the Lord GOD of hosts : for thy day is come , the time that I will visit thee . * And the most proud shall stumble and fall , and none shall raise him up : and I will kindle a fire in his cities , and it shall devour all round about him . * Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together : and all that took them captives held them fast ; they refused to let them go . * Their Redeemer is strong ; the LORD of hosts is his name : he shall throughly plead their cause , that he may give rest to the land , and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon . * A sword is upon the Chaldeans , saith the LORD , and upon the inhabitants of Babylon , and upon her princes , and upon her wise men . * A sword is upon the liars ; and they shall dote : a sword is upon her mighty men ; and they shall be dismayed . * A sword is upon their horses , and upon their chariots , and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her ; and they shall become as women : a sword is upon her treasures ; and they shall be robbed . * A drought is upon her waters ; and they shall be dried up : for it is the land of graven images , and they are mad upon their idols . * Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there , and the owls shall dwell therein : and it shall be no more inhabited for ever ; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation . * As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof , saith the LORD ; so shall no man abide there , neither shall any son of man dwell therein . * Behold , a people shall come from the north , and a great nation , and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth . * They shall hold the bow and the lance : they are cruel , and will not shew mercy : their voice shall roar like the sea , and they shall ride upon horses , every one put in array , like a man to the battle , against thee , O daughter of Babylon . * The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them , and his hands waxed feeble : anguish took hold of him , and pangs as of a woman in travail . * Behold , he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong : but I will make them suddenly run away from her : and who is a chosen man , that I may appoint over her ? for who is like me ? and who will appoint me the time ? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me ? * Therefore 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 draw them out : surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them . * At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved , and the cry is heard among the nations . * Thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will raise up against Babylon , and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me , a destroying wind ; * And will send unto Babylon fanners , that shall fan her , and shall empty her land : for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about . * Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow , and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine : and spare ye not her young men ; destroy ye utterly all her host . * Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans , and they that are thrust through in her streets . * For Israel hath not been forsaken , nor Judah of his God , of the LORD of hosts ; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel . * Flee out of the midst of Babylon , and deliver every man his soul : be not cut off in her iniquity ; for this is the time of the LORD 'S vengeance ; he will render unto her a recompence . * Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD 'S hand , that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunken of her wine ; therefore the nations are mad . * Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed : howl for her ; take balm for her pain , if so be she may be healed . * We would have healed Babylon , but she is not healed : forsake her , and let us go every one into his own country : for her judgment reacheth unto heaven , and is lifted up even to the skies . * The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness : come , and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God . * Make bright the arrows ; gather the shields : the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes : for his device is against Babylon , to destroy it ; because it is the vengeance of the LORD , the vengeance of his temple . * Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon , make the watch strong , set up the watchmen , prepare the ambushes : for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon . * O thou that dwellest upon many waters , abundant in treasures , thine end is come , and the measure of thy covetousness . * The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself , saying , Surely I will fill thee with men , as with caterpillers ; and they shall lift up a shout against thee . * He hath made the earth by his power , he hath established the world by his wisdom , and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding . * When he uttereth his voice , there is a multitude of waters in the heavens ; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth : he maketh lightnings with rain , and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures . * Every man is brutish by his knowledge ; every founder is confounded by the graven image : for his molten image is falsehood , and there is no breath in them . * They are vanity , the work of errors : in the time of their visitation they shall perish . * The portion of Jacob is not like them ; for he is the former of all things : and Israel is the rod of his inheritance : the LORD of hosts is his name . * Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war : for with thee will I break in pieces the nations , and with thee will I destroy kingdoms ; * And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider ; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider ; * With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman ; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young ; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid ; * I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock ; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen ; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers . * And 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 . * Behold , I am against thee , O destroying mountain , saith the LORD , which destroyest all the earth : and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee , and roll thee down from the rocks , and will make thee a burnt mountain . * 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 . * Set ye up a standard in the land , blow the trumpet among the nations , prepare the nations against her , call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat , Minni , and Ashchenaz ; appoint a captain against her ; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers . * Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes , the captains thereof , and all the rulers thereof , and all the land of his dominion . * And the land shall tremble and sorrow : for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon , to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant . * The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight , they have remained in their holds : their might hath failed ; they became as women : they have burned her dwellingplaces ; her bars are broken . * One post shall run to meet another , and one messenger to meet another , to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end , * And that the passages are stopped , and the reeds they have burned with fire , and the men of war are affrighted . * For thus saith the LORD of hosts , the God of Israel ; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor , it is time to thresh her : yet a little while , and the time of her harvest shall come . * Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me , he hath crushed me , he hath made me an empty vessel , he hath swallowed me up like a dragon , he hath filled his belly with my delicates , he hath cast me out . * The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon , shall the inhabitant of Zion say ; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea , shall Jerusalem say . * Therefore thus saith the LORD ; Behold , I will plead thy cause , and take vengeance for thee ; and I will dry up her sea , and make her springs dry . * And Babylon shall become heaps , a dwellingplace for dragons , an astonishment , and an hissing , without an inhabitant . * They shall roar together like lions : they shall yell as lions ' whelps . * In their heat I will make their feasts , and I will make them drunken , that they may rejoice , and sleep a perpetual sleep , and not wake , saith the LORD . * I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter , like rams with he goats . * How is Sheshach taken ! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised ! 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 a desolation , a dry land , and a wilderness , 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 together any more unto him : yea , the wall of Babylon shall fall . * My people , go ye out of the midst of her , and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD . * And lest your heart faint , and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land ; a rumour shall both come one year , and after that in another year shall come 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 confounded , and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her . * Then the heaven and the earth , and all that is therein , shall sing for Babylon : for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north , saith the LORD . * As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall , so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth . * Ye that have escaped the sword , go away , stand not still : remember the LORD afar off , and let Jerusalem come into your mind . * We are confounded , because we have heard reproach : shame hath covered our faces : for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD 'S house . * Wherefore , 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 height of her strength , yet from me shall spoilers come unto her , saith the LORD . * A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon , and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans : * Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon , and destroyed out of her the great voice ; when her waves do roar like great waters , a noise of their voice is uttered : * Because the spoiler is come upon her , even upon Babylon , and her mighty men are taken , every one of their bows is broken : for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite . * And I will make drunk her princes , and her wise men , her captains , and her rulers , and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep , and not wake , saith the King , whose name is the LORD of hosts . * Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken , and her high gates shall be burned with fire ; and the people shall labour in vain , and the folk in the fire , and they shall be weary . * The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah , the son of Maaseiah , when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign . And this Seraiah was a quiet prince . * So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon , even all these words that are written against Babylon . * And Jeremiah said to Seraiah , When thou comest to Babylon , and shalt see , and shalt read all these words ; * Then shalt thou say , O LORD , thou hast spoken against this place , to cut it off , that none shall remain in it , neither man nor beast , but that it shall be desolate for ever . * And 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 Euphrates : * And thou shalt say , Thus shall Babylon sink , and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her : and they shall be weary . Thus far are the words of Jeremiah . * Zedekiah was one and twenty 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 .

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