bible_study/Bible/Jeremiah/Jer 50.md

## Word Against Babylon 

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The word which Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet: 

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"Declare and make _it_ heard among the nations. Make _it_ heard and lift up a standard. Do not conceal _it but_ say, 'Babylon has been captured; Bel has been put to shame; Marduk has been shattered; Her images have been put to shame; her idols have been shattered.' 

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For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off; they have gone away! 

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"In those days and at that time," declares Yahweh, "the sons of Israel will come, _both_ they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be Yahweh their God they will seek. 

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They will ask for the way to Zion--_turning_ their faces in its direction _and saying_, 'Come!'--in order that they may join themselves to Yahweh _in_ an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. 

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"My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn away _on_ the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place. 

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All who came out against them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, 'We are not guilty, Inasmuch as they have sinned against Yahweh, _who is_ the abode of righteousness, Even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.' 

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"Wander away from the midst of Babylon And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans; Be also like male goats at the head of the flock. 

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For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the land of the north, And they will arrange _their_ battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like a warrior who makes _one_ childless Who does not return empty-handed. 

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Chaldea will become spoil; All who take her spoil will have enough," declares Yahweh. 

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"Because you are glad, because you exult, O you who plunder My inheritance, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like valiant steeds, 

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Your mother will be greatly ashamed; She who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, _she will be_ the least of the nations, A wilderness, a parched land, and a desert. 

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Because of the wrath of Yahweh she will not be inhabited, But she will be completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be in desolation And will hiss because of all her wounds. 

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Arrange your battle lines against Babylon on every side, All you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, do not be sparing with _your_ arrows, For she has sinned against Yahweh. 

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Raise a loud shout against her on every side! She has given herself up, her pillars have fallen, Her walls have been pulled down. For this is the vengeance of Yahweh: Take vengeance on her; As she has done _to others_, _so_ do to her. 

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Cut off the sower from Babylon And the one who seizes the sickle at the time of harvest; From before the sword of the oppressor They will each turn back to his own people, And they will each flee to his own land. 

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"Israel is a scattered flock; the lions have banished _them_ away. The first one _who_ devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one _who_ has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 

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Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria. 

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And I will return Israel back to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 

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In those days and at that time,' declares Yahweh, 'search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.' 

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"Against the land of Merathaim, go up against it, And against the inhabitants of Pekod. Put _them_ to the sword and devote them to destruction," declares Yahweh, "And do according to 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 Has been cut in pieces and broken! How Babylon has become An object of horror among the nations! 

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I set a snare for you, and you were also caught, O Babylon, But you yourself did not know; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with Yahweh." 

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Yahweh has opened His armory And has brought forth the weapons of His indignation, For it is a work of Lord Yahweh of hosts In the land of the Chaldeans. 

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Come to her from the farthest border; Open up her barns; Pile her up like heaps, And devote her to destruction; Let nothing of her remain. 

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Put all her young bulls to the sword; Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe be upon them, for their day has come, The time of their punishment. 

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There is a sound of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, Vengeance for His temple. 

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"Summon many against Babylon, All those who bend the bow: Encamp against her on every side, Let there be no escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all that she has done, _so_ do to her; For she has become arrogant against Yahweh, Against the Holy One of Israel. 

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Therefore her young men will fall in her open squares, And all her men of war will be silenced in that day," declares Yahweh. 

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"Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one," Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts, "For your day has come, The time when I will punish you. 

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The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities, And it will devour him on every side." 

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Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go. 

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Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring relief to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. 

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A sword against the Chaldeans," declares Yahweh, "And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her officials and her wise men! 

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A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her mighty men, and they will be shattered! 

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A sword against their horses and against their chariots And against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her, And they will become women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered! 

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A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of graven images, And they are mad over terrifying idols. 

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"Therefore the desert creatures will live _there_ along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be lived in Or dwelt in from generation to generation. 

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As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares Yahweh, "No man will live there, Nor will _any_ son of man sojourn in it. 

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"Behold, a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. 

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They seize _their_ bow and javelin; They are cruel and have no compassion. Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, Arranged like a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Babylon. 

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The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress has taken hold of him, Agony like a woman in childbirth. 

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"Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to an enduring pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen I will appoint over it. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me _into court_? And who then is the shepherd who can stand before Me?" 

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Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh which He has counseled against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, _even_ the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 

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At the sound, "Babylon has been seized!" the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.