Babylon will be captured

1-2The LORD told me to say:50.1—51.64: Is 13.1—14.23; 47.1-15.

Announce what will happen

and don't leave anything out.

Raise the signal flags;

shout so all nations can hear—

Babylon will be captured!

Marduk,50.1,2 Marduk: The Hebrew text has “Bel” and “Marduk”, two names for the same god. Babylon's god,

will be ashamed and terrified,

and his idols broken.

3The attack on the Babylonians

will come from the north;

they and their animals will run,

leaving the land empty.

Israel and Judah will return to their land

4The LORD said:

People of Israel and Judah,

when these things happen

you will weep, and together

you will return to your land

and worship me,

the LORD your God.

5You will ask the way to Zion

and then come and join with me

in making an agreement

you won't break or forget.

6My people, you are lost sheep

abandoned by their shepherds

in the mountains.

You don't even remember

your resting place.

7I am your true pasture land,

the one who gave hope

to your ancestors.

But you abandoned me,

so when your enemies found you,

they felt no guilt

as they gobbled you up.

8Escape from Babylonia,50.8: Rev 18.4.

my people.

Get out of that country!

Don't wait for anyone else.

9In the north I am bringing

great nations together.

They will attack Babylon

and capture it.

The arrows they shoot

are like the best soldiers,50.9 the best soldiers: Some Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “soldiers who kill children”.

always finding their target.

10Babylonia will be conquered,

and its enemies will carry off

everything they want.

Babylon will be disgraced

The LORD said:

11People of Babylonia,

you were glad

to rob my people.

You had a good time,

making more noise

than horses

and jumping around

like calves threshing grain.50.11 threshing grain: Hebrew; two ancient translations “in a pasture”.

12The city of Babylon

was like a mother to you.

But it will be disgraced

and become nothing

but a barren desert.

13My anger will destroy Babylon,

and no one will live there.

Everyone who passes by

will be shocked to see

what has happened.

14Babylon has rebelled against me.

Archers, take your places.

Shoot all your arrows at Babylon.

15Attack from every side!

Babylon surrenders!

The enemy tears down

its walls and towers.

I am taking my revenge

by doing to Babylon what it did

to other cities.

16There is no one in Babylonia

to plant or harvest crops.

Even foreigners who lived there

have left for their homelands,

afraid of the enemy armies.

17Israel is a flock of sheep

scattered by hungry lions.

The king of Assyria50.17 king of Assyria: Either Shalmaneser V, who ruled 726-722 BC, conquered most of the northern kingdom, and surrounded its capital city Samaria; or Sargon II, who ruled 721-705 BC and took thousands of prisoners back to Assyria.

first gobbled Israel up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar,50.17 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.

king of Babylonia,

crunched on Israel's bones.

18I, the LORD All-Powerful,

the God of Israel,

punished the king of Assyria,

and I will also punish

the king of Babylonia.

19But I will bring Israel

back to its own land.

The people will be like sheep

eating their fill

on Mount Carmel

and in Bashan,

in the hill country of Ephraim

and in Gilead.

20I will rescue a few people

from Israel and Judah.

I will forgive them so completely

that their sin and guilt

will disappear,

never to be found.

The LORD's commands to the enemies of Babylonia

21The LORD said:

I have told

the enemies of Babylonia,

“Attack the people of Merathaim

and Pekod.50.21 Merathaim…Pekod: Hebrew forms of two Babylonian names that refer to the land of Babylonia. Merathaim probably referred to lagoons near the mouth of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates or to the Persian Gulf, but in Hebrew it means “Twice as Rebellious”. Pekod referred to a tribe of south-eastern Babylonia, but in Hebrew it means “Punishment”.

Kill them all!

Destroy their possessions!”

22Sounds of war

and the noise of destruction

can be heard.

23Babylonia was a hammer

pounding every country,

but now it lies broken.

What a shock to the nations

of the world!

24Babylonia challenged me,

the LORD God All-Powerful,

but that nation doesn't know

it is caught in a trap

that I set.

25I've brought out my weapons,

and with them I will put a curse

on Babylonia.

26Come from far away,

you enemies of Babylon!

Pile up the grain

from its storehouses,

and destroy it completely,

along with everything else.

27Kill the soldiers of Babylonia,

because the time has come

for them to be punished.

28The Babylonian army

destroyed my temple,

but soon I will take revenge.

Then refugees from Babylon

will tell about it in Zion.

29Attack Babylon, enemy archers;50.29: Rev 18.6.

set up camp around the city,

and don't let anyone escape.

It challenged me, the holy God,

so do to it

what it did to other cities.

Proud Babylon will fall

30People of Babylon,

I, the LORD, promise

that even your best soldiers

will lie dead in the streets.

31Babylon, you should be named,

“The Proud One”.

But the time has come when I,

the LORD All-Powerful,

will punish you.

32You are proud,

but you will stumble and fall,

and no one will help you up.

I will set your villages on fire,

and everything around you

will go up in flames.

33You Babylonians were cruel

to Israel and Judah.

You took them captive, and now

you refuse to let them go.

34But I, the LORD All-Powerful,

will rescue and protect them.

I will bring peace to their land

and trouble to yours.

35I have declared war on you,

your officials, and advisers.

36This war will prove

that your prophets

are liars and fools.

And it will frighten

your warriors.

37Then your chariot horses

and the foreigners in your army

will refuse to go into battle,

and the enemy will carry away

everything you treasure.

38Your rivers and canals

will dry up.

All this will happen,

because your land

is full of idols,

and they have made fools

of you.

39Never again will people live50.39: Rev 18.2.

in your land—

only desert animals, jackals,50.39 jackals: See the note at 9.11.

and unclean birds.

40I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah50.40: Gn 19.24,25.

and the nearby towns,

and I will destroy Babylon

just as completely.

No one will live there again.

Babylonia is invaded

The LORD said:

41Far to the north,

a nation and its allies

have been awakened.

They are powerful

and ready for war.

42Bows and arrows and swords

are in their hands.

The soldiers are cruel

and show no pity.

The hoofbeats of their horses

echo like ocean waves

crashing against the shore.

The army has lined up for battle

and is coming to attack you,

people of Babylonia!

43Ever since your king heard

about this army,

he has been weak with fear;

he twists and turns in pain

like a woman giving birth.

44Babylonia, I will attack you

like a lion from the forest,

attacking sheep in a meadow

along the Jordan.

In a moment the flock runs,

and the land is empty.

Who will I choose to attack you?

I will do it myself!

No one can force me to fight

or chase me away.

45Listen to my plans for you,

people of Babylonia.

Your children will be dragged off,

and your country destroyed.

46The sounds of your destruction

will be heard among the nations,

and the earth will shake.