JEREMIAH’S LAST WORD

Passage: Jeremiah 51:33-64

Key verse: 56

NIV

33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon(A) is like a threshing floor(B)
    at the time it is trampled;
    the time to harvest(C) her will soon come.(D)”

34 “Nebuchadnezzar(E) king of Babylon has devoured(F) us,(G)
    he has thrown us into confusion,
    he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
    and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
    and then has spewed(H) us out.
35 May the violence(I) done to our flesh[a] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.(J)

36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your cause(K)
    and avenge(L) you;
I will dry up(M) her sea
    and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt(N) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,(O)
    a place where no one lives.(P)
38 Her people all roar like young lions,(Q)
    they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,(R)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever(S) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.(T)
40 “I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.(U)

41 “How Sheshak[b](V) will be captured,(W)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate(X) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves(Y) will cover her.
43 Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert(Z) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.(AA)
44 I will punish Bel(AB) in Babylon
    and make him spew out(AC) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
    And the wall(AD) of Babylon will fall.

45 “Come out(AE) of her, my people!
    Run(AF) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger(AG) of the Lord.
46 Do not lose heart(AH) or be afraid(AI)
    when rumors(AJ) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols(AK) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced(AL)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.(AM)
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout(AN) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north(AO)
    destroyers(AP) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.(AQ)
50 You who have escaped the sword,
    leave(AR) and do not linger!
Remember(AS) the Lord in a distant land,(AT)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

51 “We are disgraced,(AU)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”(AV)

52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,(AW)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.(AX)
53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens(AY)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers(AZ) against her,”
declares the Lord.

54 “The sound of a cry(BA) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction(BB)
    from the land of the Babylonians.[c]
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence(BC) her noisy din.
Waves(BD) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
56 A destroyer(BE) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.(BF)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay(BG) in full.
57 I will make her officials(BH) and wise(BI) men drunk,(BJ)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep(BK) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,(BL) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall(BM) will be leveled
    and her high gates(BN) set on fire;
the peoples(BO) exhaust(BP) themselves for nothing,
    the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”(BQ)

59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,(BR) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah(BS) king of Judah in the fourth(BT) year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll(BU) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate(BV) forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.(BW) 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more(BX) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people(BY) will fall.’”(BZ)

The words of Jeremiah end(CA) here.

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Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
  2. Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
  3. Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
(A)The daughter of Babylon is like (B)a threshing floor
    at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
    and (C)the time of her harvest will come.”

34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon (D)has devoured me;
    he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
    (E)he has swallowed me like (F)a monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
    he has rinsed me out.[a]
35 The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”
    let the inhabitant of Zion say.
“My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
    let Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (G)I will plead your cause
    and take vengeance for you.
(H)I will dry up her sea
    and (I)make her fountain dry,
37 and Babylon shall become (J)a heap of ruins,
    (K)the haunt of jackals,
(L)a horror (M)and a hissing,
    without inhabitant.

38 (N)“They shall roar together (O)like lions;
    they shall growl like lions' cubs.
39 (P)While they are inflamed (Q)I will prepare them a feast
    and (R)make them drunk, that they may become merry,
(S)then sleep a perpetual sleep
    and not wake, declares the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and male goats.

41 “How (T)Babylon[b] is taken,
    (U)the praise of the whole earth (V)seized!
How Babylon has become
    a horror among the nations!
42 (W)The sea has come up on Babylon;
    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a horror,
    (X)a land of drought and a desert,
(Y)a land in which no one dwells,
    and through which no son of man passes.
44 And I will punish (Z)Bel in Babylon,
    and (AA)take out of his mouth (AB)what he has swallowed.
(AC)The nations shall no longer flow to him;
    (AD)the wall of Babylon has fallen.

45 “Go out of the midst of her, (AE)my people!
    Let every one save his life
    from (AF)the fierce anger of the Lord!
46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
    (AG)at the report heard in the land,
(AH)when a report comes in one year
    and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
    (AI)and ruler is against ruler.

47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
    when (AJ)I will punish the images of Babylon;
(AK)her whole land shall be put to shame,
    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 (AL)Then the heavens and the earth,
    and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
    (AM)for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
    (AN)just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.

50 (AO)“You who have escaped from the sword,
    go, do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 (AP)‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
    (AQ)dishonor has covered our face,
(AR)for foreigners have come
    into the holy places of the Lord's house.’

52 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when (AS)I will execute judgment upon her images,
(AT)and through all her land
    the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should (AU)mount up to heaven,
    and though she should (AV)fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
    declares the Lord.

54 (AW)“A voice! A cry from Babylon!
    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
    and stilling her mighty voice.
(AX)Their waves roar like many waters;
    the noise of their voice is raised,
56 for a destroyer has come upon her,
    upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
    their bows are broken in pieces,
(AY)for the Lord is a God of recompense;
    he will surely repay.
57 (AZ)I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
    (BA)her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
    declares (BB)the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

58 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad (BC)wall of Babylon
    shall be leveled to the ground,
(BD)and her high gates
    shall be burned with fire.
(BE)The peoples labor for nothing,
    and (BF)the nations weary themselves only for fire.”

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah (BG)the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, (BH)in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 (BI)Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, (BJ)all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so (BK)that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be (BL)desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, (BM)(BN)tie a stone to it (BO)and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, (BP)‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, (BQ)and they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

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Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 51:34 Or he has expelled me
  2. Jeremiah 51:41 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The Babylonians treated Israel with great cruelty. The Lord would defend their cause and bring Babylon down like lambs to the slaughter. He would punish their idols and their nation but would command his people to come out. Though they suffered, the Lord told them not to be afraid. He assured them that the time of Babylon’s destruction would come. The Lord would avenge Israel’s slain and restore them. He would take away their disgrace and punish their captors. The Lord would send the destroyer because he is a God of retribution. He is just; he will repay in full. The Lord’s judgment on Babylon was probably inconceivable to those in exile. But this is what Jeremiah prophesied. He testified to the living God of Israel. The Lord would not forget his own.

Jeremiah’s final word was a prediction of the fall of Babylon. Babylon would sink like the scroll tied to a stone thrown into the Euphrates River. It would never rise again. The scroll was sent to Babylon with the people as the Lord’s testimony.

Prayer: Lord, you alone are truly just. Help me to live with trust in your judgments and hope in your salvation.

One Word: The Lord will repay in full