rsv Jeremiah:50:1-51 SEEK
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The word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon ,
concerning the land of the Chalde '
ans ,
by Jeremiah the prophet :
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Declare among the nations and proclaim ,
set up a banner and proclaim ,
conceal it not ,
and say : `
Babylon is taken ,
Bel is put to shame ,
Mer '
odach is dismayed .
Her images are put to shame ,
her idols are dismayed .'
* "
For out of the north a nation has come up against her ,
which shall make her land a desolation ,
and none shall dwell in it ;
both man and beast shall flee away .
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In those days and in that time ,
says the LORD ,
the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together ,
weeping as they come ;
and they shall seek the LORD their God .
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They shall ask the way to Zion ,
with faces turned toward it ,
saying , `
Come ,
let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant which will never be forgotten .'
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My people have been lost sheep ;
their shepherds have led them astray ,
turning them away on the mountains ;
from mountain to hill they have gone ,
they have forgotten their fold .
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All who found them have devoured them ,
and their enemies have said , `
We are not guilty ,
for they have sinned against the LORD ,
their true habitation ,
the LORD ,
the hope of their fathers .'
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Flee from the midst of Babylon ,
and go out of the land of the Chalde '
ans ,
and be as he-goats before the flock .
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For behold ,
I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a company of great nations ,
from the north country ;
and they shall array themselves against her ;
from there she shall be taken .
Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed .
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Chalde '
a shall be plundered ;
all who plunder her shall be sated ,
says the LORD .
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Though you rejoice ,
though you exult ,
O plunderers of my heritage ,
though you are wanton as a heifer at grass ,
and neigh like stallions ,
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your mother shall be utterly shamed ,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced .
Lo ,
she shall be the last of the nations ,
a wilderness dry and desert .
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Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited ,
but shall be an utter desolation ;
every one who passes by Babylon shall be appalled ,
and hiss because of all her wounds .
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Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about ,
all you that bend the bow ;
shoot at her ,
spare no arrows ,
for she has sinned against the LORD .
*
Raise a shout against her round about ,
she has surrendered ;
her bulwarks have fallen ,
her walls are thrown down .
For this is the vengeance of the LORD :
take vengeance on her ,
do to her as she has done .
*
Cut off from Babylon the sower ,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest ;
because of the sword of the oppressor ,
every one shall turn to his own people ,
and every one shall flee to his own land .
* "
Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions .
First the king of Assyria devoured him ,
and now at last Nebuchadrez '
zar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones .
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Therefore ,
thus says the LORD of hosts ,
the God of Israel :
Behold ,
I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land ,
as I punished the king of Assyria .
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I will restore Israel to his pasture ,
and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan ,
and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of E '
phraim and in Gilead .
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In those days and in that time ,
says the LORD ,
iniquity shall be sought in Israel ,
and there shall be none ;
and sin in Judah ,
and none shall be found ;
for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant .
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Go up against the land of Meratha '
im ,
and against the inhabitants of Pekod .
Slay ,
and utterly destroy after them ,
says the LORD ,
and do all that I have commanded you .
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The noise of battle is in the land ,
and great destruction !
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How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken !
How Babylon has become a horror among the nations !
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I set a snare for you and you were taken ,
O Babylon ,
and you did not know it ;
you were found and caught ,
because you strove against the LORD .
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The LORD has opened his armory ,
and brought out the weapons of his wrath ,
for the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chalde '
ans .
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Come against her from every quarter ;
open her granaries ;
pile her up like heaps of grain ,
and destroy her utterly ;
let nothing be left of her .
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Slay all her bulls ,
let them go down to the slaughter .
Woe to them ,
for their day has come ,
the time of their punishment .
* "
Hark !
they flee and escape from the land of Babylon ,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God ,
vengeance for his temple .
* "
Summon archers against Babylon ,
all those who bend the bow .
Encamp round about her ;
let no one escape .
Requite her according to her deeds ,
do to her according to all that she has done ;
for she has proudly defied the LORD ,
the Holy One of Israel .
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Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares ,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day ,
says the LORD .
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Behold ,
I am against you ,
O proud one ,
says the Lord GOD of hosts ;
for your day has come ,
the time when I will punish you .
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The proud one shall stumble and fall ,
with none to raise him up ,
and I will kindle a fire in his cities ,
and it will devour all that is round about him .
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Thus says the LORD of hosts :
The people of Israel are oppressed ,
and the people of Judah with them ;
all who took them captive have held them fast ,
they refuse to let them go .
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Their Redeemer is strong ;
the LORD of hosts is his name .
He will surely plead their cause ,
that he may give rest to the earth ,
but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon .
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A sword upon the Chalde '
ans ,
says the LORD ,
and upon the inhabitants of Babylon ,
and upon her princes and her wise men !
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A sword upon the diviners ,
that they may become fools !
A sword upon her warriors ,
that they may be destroyed !
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A sword upon her horses and upon her chariots ,
and upon all the foreign troops in her midst ,
that they may become women !
A sword upon all her treasures ,
that they may be plundered !
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A drought upon her waters ,
that they may be dried up !
For it is a land of images ,
and they are mad over idols .
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Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon ,
and ostriches shall dwell in her ;
she shall be peopled no more for ever ,
nor inhabited for all generations .
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As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomor '
rah and their neighbor cities ,
says the LORD ,
so no man shall dwell there ,
and no son of man shall sojourn in her .
* "
Behold ,
a people comes from the north ;
a mighty nation and many kings are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth .
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They lay hold of bow and spear ;
they are cruel ,
and have no mercy .
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea ;
they ride upon horses ,
arrayed as a man for battle against you ,
O daughter of Babylon !
* "
The king of Babylon heard the report of them ,
and his hands fell helpless ;
anguish seized him ,
pain as of a woman in travail .
* "
Behold ,
like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a strong sheepfold ,
I will suddenly make them run away from her ;
and I will appoint over her whomever I choose .
For who is like me ?
Who will summon me ?
What shepherd can stand before me ?
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Therefore hear the plan which the LORD has made against Babylon ,
and the purposes which he has formed against the land of the Chalde '
ans :
Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away ;
surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate .
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At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble ,
and her cry shall be heard among the nations ."