A Message About Babylon
1This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians50:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 25, 35 and 45:
2“Announce and proclaim among the nations,
lift up a banner and proclaim it;
keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;
Bel will be put to shame,
Marduk filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
and her idols filled with terror.’
3A nation from the north will attack her
and lay waste her land.
No one will live in it;
both people and animals will flee away.
4“In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together
will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.
5They will ask the way to Zion
and turn their faces toward it.
They will come and bind themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant
that will not be forgotten.
6“My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
and forgot their own resting place.
7Whoever found them devoured them;
their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,
the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’
8“Flee out of Babylon;
leave the land of the Babylonians,
and be like the goats that lead the flock.
9For I will stir up and bring against Babylon
an alliance of great nations from the land of the north.
They will take up their positions against her,
and from the north she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like skilled warriors
who do not return empty-handed.
10So Babylonia50:10 Or Chaldea will be plundered;
all who plunder her will have their fill,”
declares the Lord.
11“Because you rejoice and are glad,
you who pillage my inheritance,
because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain
and neigh like stallions,
12your mother will be greatly ashamed;
she who gave you birth will be disgraced.
She will be the least of the nations—
a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.
13Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited
but will be completely desolate.
All who pass Babylon will be appalled;
they will scoff because of all her wounds.
14“Take up your positions around Babylon,
all you who draw the bow.
Shoot at her! Spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
15Shout against her on every side!
She surrenders, her towers fall,
her walls are torn down.
Since this is the vengeance of the Lord,
take vengeance on her;
do to her as she has done to others.
16Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the reaper with his sickle at harvest.
Because of the sword of the oppressor
let everyone return to their own people,
let everyone flee to their own land.
17“Israel is a scattered flock
that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
18Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20In those days, at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive the remnant I spare.
21“Attack the land of Merathaim
and those who live in Pekod.
Pursue, kill and completely destroy50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26. them,”
declares the Lord.
“Do everything I have commanded you.
22The noise of battle is in the land,
the noise of great destruction!
23How broken and shattered
is the hammer of the whole earth!
How desolate is Babylon
among the nations!
24I set a trap for you, Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured
because you opposed the Lord.
25The Lord has opened his arsenal
and brought out the weapons of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
in the land of the Babylonians.
26Come against her from afar.
Break open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain.
Completely destroy her
and leave her no remnant.
27Kill all her young bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe to them! For their day has come,
the time for them to be punished.
28Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon
declaring in Zion
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
29“Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who draw the bow.
Encamp all around her;
let no one escape.
Repay her for her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31“See, I am against you, you arrogant one,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day has come,
the time for you to be punished.
32The arrogant one will stumble and fall
and no one will help her up;
I will kindle a fire in her towns
that will consume all who are around her.”
33This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.
34Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the Lord Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35“A sword against the Babylonians!”
declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
and against her officials and wise men!
36A sword against her false prophets!
They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!
They will be filled with terror.
37A sword against her horses and chariots
and all the foreigners in her ranks!
They will become weaklings.
A sword against her treasures!
They will be plundered.
38A drought on50:38 Or A sword against her waters!
They will dry up.
For it is a land of idols,
idols that will go mad with terror.
39“So desert creatures and hyenas will live there,
and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation.
40As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.
41“Look! An army is coming from the north;
a great nation and many kings
are being stirred up from the ends of the earth.
42They are armed with bows and spears;
they are cruel and without mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
44Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
45Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians:
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;
its cry will resound among the nations.
Ujumbe Kuhusu Babeli
150:1 Isa 13:1; Za 137:8; Mwa 10:10Hili ndilo neno alilosema Bwana kupitia nabii Yeremia kuhusu Babeli na nchi ya Wakaldayo:
250:2 Kum 30:4; Yer 4:16; 51:31, 47; Isa 21:9; Za 20:5; Isa 13:2; Yer 46:6; Law 26:30“Tangazeni na mhubiri katikati ya mataifa,
twekeni bendera na mkahubiri;
msiache kitu chochote, bali semeni,
‘Babeli utatekwa;
Beli ataaibishwa,
Merodaki atajazwa na hofu kuu.
Sanamu zake zitaaibishwa
na vinyago vyake vitajazwa hofu kuu.’
350:3 Isa 14:22-23; Yer 9:11; Sef 1:3; Isa 13:17; 41:25; Yer 25:26Taifa kutoka kaskazini litamshambulia,
na kuifanya nchi yake ukiwa.
Hakuna hata mmoja atakayeishi ndani yake,
watu na wanyama wataikimbia.
450:4 Eze 37:22; Ezr 3:12; Yer 31:9; Isa 9:13; Hos 3:5; Yer 3:18“Katika siku hizo, wakati huo,”
asema Bwana,
“watu wa Israeli pamoja na watu wa Yuda
wataenda wakilia ili kumtafuta Bwana Mungu wao.
550:5 1Sam 29:1; Yer 33:7; Kum 29:14; Ebr 8:6-10; Isa 11:16; Yer 31:21; 32:40Wataiuliza njia iendayo Sayuni
na kuelekeza nyuso zao huko.
Watakuja na kuambatana na Bwana
katika agano la milele
ambalo halitasahaulika.
650:6 Isa 53:6; Mt 10:6; Yer 3:6; Eze 34:6; Za 119:176; Mt 9:36; Yer 10:21; Za 95:10“Watu wangu wamekuwa kondoo waliopotea;
wachungaji wao wamewapotosha
na kuwasababisha kuzurura
juu ya milima.
Walitangatanga juu ya mlima na kilima,
na kusahau mahali pao wenyewe pa kupumzikia.
750:7 Yer 2:3; 14:8; Za 22:4; Yer 5:17; 10:25; Eze 35:12Yeyote aliyewakuta aliwala;
adui zao walisema, ‘Sisi hatuna hatia,
kwa kuwa wao walitenda dhambi dhidi ya Bwana, malisho yao halisi,
Bwana, aliye tumaini la baba zao.’
850:8 Isa 48:20; Ufu 18:4; Yer 51:6“Kimbieni kutoka Babeli;
ondokeni katika nchi ya Wakaldayo
tena kuweni kama mbuzi wale waongozao kundi.
950:9 Isa 13:17; Yer 25:14; Isa 41:25; Yer 25:26Kwa maana nitaamsha na kuleta dhidi ya Babeli
muungano wa mataifa makubwa kutoka nchi ya kaskazini.
Watashika nafasi zao dhidi yake,
naye kutokea kaskazini atatekwa.
Mishale yao itakuwa kama mishale ya mashujaa walio hodari,
ambao hawawezi kurudi mikono mitupu.
10Kwa hiyo Ukaldayo utatekwa nyara;
wote wamtekao nyara watapata za kutosha,”
asema Bwana.
1150:11 Isa 47:6; Yer 31:18“Kwa sababu hushangilia na kufurahi,
wewe utekaye urithi wangu,
kwa sababu unachezacheza kama mtamba anayepura nafaka,
na kulia kama farasi dume,
1250:12 Yer 51:47; 25:12; 51:26mama yako ataaibika mno,
yeye aliyekuzaa atatahayari.
Atakuwa mdogo kuliko mataifa mengine yote,
atakuwa nyika, nchi kame na jangwa.
1350:13 Eze 27:36; Hab 2:6; Kum 29:22; Yer 49:17; 9:11; 48:9; 51:62; 18:16Kwa sababu ya hasira ya Bwana hatakaliwa na mtu,
lakini ataachwa ukiwa kabisa.
Wote watakaopita Babeli watatiwa hofu na kudhihaki
kwa sababu ya majeraha yake yote.
14“Shikeni nafasi zenu kuzunguka Babeli,
enyi nyote mvutao upinde.
Mpigeni! Msibakize mshale wowote,
kwa kuwa ametenda dhambi dhidi ya Bwana.
1550:15 Yer 51:14; 2Nya 30:8; Yer 51:44-58; 2Fal 25:4; Yer 51:6; Ufu 18:6; Isa 10:3; Hab 2:7-8Piga kelele dhidi yake kila upande!
Anajisalimisha, minara yake inaanguka,
kuta zake zimebomoka.
Kwa kuwa hiki ni kisasi cha Bwana,
mlipizeni kisasi;
mtendeeni kama alivyowatendea wengine.
1650:16 Yer 25:38; Isa 13:14; Yer 51:9Katilieni mbali mpanzi kutoka Babeli,
pamoja na mvunaji na mundu wake akivuna.
Kwa sababu ya upanga wa mdhalimu
kila mmoja na arejee kwa watu wake mwenyewe,
kila mmoja na akimbilie
kwenye nchi yake mwenyewe.
1750:17 2Fal 24:1; Yer 2:15; Kum 4:27; 2Fal 17:6; 24:10-17; 1Pet 2:25; Yer 2:15; Hes 24:8“Israeli ni kundi lililotawanyika
ambalo simba wamelifukuzia mbali.
Wa kwanza kumla alikuwa mfalme wa Ashuru,
wa mwisho kuponda mifupa yake
alikuwa Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli.”
1850:18 Isa 10:12; Eze 31:3; Sef 2:13Kwa hiyo hili ndilo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli, asemalo:
“Nitamwadhibu mfalme wa Babeli na nchi yake
kama nilivyomwadhibu mfalme wa Ashuru.
1950:19 Yer 31:10; Eze 34:13; Yer 33:12; Isa 65:10; Mik 7:14; Zek 10:10Lakini nitamrudisha Israeli katika malisho yake mwenyewe
naye atalisha huko Karmeli na Bashani;
njaa yake itashibishwa
juu ya vilima vya Efraimu na Gileadi.
2050:20 Za 103:12; Zek 3:4-9; Isa 33:24; Yer 31:34; Rum 9:27; Isa 10:20-22; Eze 36:16Katika siku hizo, wakati huo,”
asema Bwana,
“uchunguzi utafanyika kwa ajili ya kosa la Israeli,
lakini halitakuwepo,
kwa ajili ya dhambi za Yuda,
lakini haitapatikana hata moja,
kwa kuwa nitawasamehe
mabaki nitakaowaacha.
2150:21 Eze 23:23; Isa 10:6“Shambulieni nchi ya Merathaimu
na wale waishio huko Pekodi.
Wafuatieni, waueni
na kuwaangamiza kabisa,”
asema Bwana.
“Fanyeni kila kitu nilichowaamuru.
2250:22 Yer 4:19-21; 51:54Kelele ya vita iko ndani ya nchi,
kelele ya maangamizi makuu!
2350:23 Isa 14:16; Yer 51:20; Isa 10:5Tazama jinsi nyundo ya dunia yote
ilivyovunjika na kuharibika!
Tazama jinsi Babeli ilivyokuwa ukiwa
miongoni mwa mataifa!
2450:24 Yer 51:12; Dan 5:30-31; Yer 51:31; Ay 9:4Nimetega mtego kwa ajili yako, ee Babeli,
nawe ukakamatwa kabla haujafahamu;
ulipatikana na ukakamatwa
kwa sababu ulimpinga Bwana.
2550:25 Isa 13:5Bwana amefungua ghala lake la silaha
na kuzitoa silaha za ghadhabu yake,
kwa kuwa Bwana Mwenyezi Mwenye Nguvu Zote
anayo kazi ya kufanya
katika nchi ya Wakaldayo.
2650:26 Isa 14:22-23; Yer 51:11; Rut 3:7Njooni dhidi yake kutoka mbali.
Zifungueni ghala zake za nafaka;
mlundikeni kama lundo la nafaka.
Mwangamizeni kabisa
na msimwachie mabaki yoyote.
2750:27 Za 68:30; Yer 48:15; Ay 18:20; Yer 25:34Waueni mafahali wake wachanga wote;
waacheni washuke machinjoni!
Ole wao! Kwa kuwa siku yao imewadia,
wakati wao wa kuadhibiwa.
2850:28 Isa 48:20; Yer 51:10; 2Fal 24:13; Yer 52:13Wasikilizeni watoro na wakimbizi kutoka Babeli
wakitangaza katika Sayuni
jinsi Bwana, Mungu wetu alivyolipiza kisasi,
kisasi kwa ajili ya Hekalu lake.
2950:29 Ay 21:19; Ufu 18:6; Oba 1:15; Dan 5:23; Isa 14:13-14; Mao 3:24; Isa 13:18; Kum 32:41“Waiteni wapiga mishale dhidi ya Babeli,
wote wale wavutao upinde.
Pigeni kambi kumzunguka kabisa,
asitoroke mtu yeyote.
Mlipizeni kwa matendo yake;
mtendeeni kama alivyotenda.
Kwa kuwa alimdharau Bwana,
yeye Aliye Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
3050:30 Isa 13:18; Yer 49:26; 51:4Kwa hiyo, vijana wake wanaume wataanguka barabarani;
askari wake wote watanyamazishwa siku ile,”
asema Bwana.
3150:31 Yer 21:13; Ufu 18:7-8“Tazama, niko kinyume nawe, ewe mwenye majivuno,”
asema Bwana, Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote,
“kwa kuwa siku yako imewadia,
yaani, wakati wako wa kuadhibiwa.
3250:32 Yer 21:14; 49:27; Amo 5:2; Za 20:8; 119:21Mwenye majivuno atajikwaa na kuanguka,
wala hakuna yeyote atakayemuinua;
nitawasha moto katika miji yake,
utakaowateketeza wote wanaomzunguka.”
3350:33 Isa 58:6; 14:17Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote:
“Watu wa Israeli wameonewa,
nao watu wa Yuda pia.
Wote waliowateka wamewashikilia sana,
wanakataa kuwaachia waende.
3450:34 Yer 31:35; 51:19; Za 119:154; Mao 3:58; Kut 6:6; Ay 19:25; Isa 49:25Lakini Mkombozi wao ana nguvu;
Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndilo jina lake.
Atatetea kwa nguvu shauri lao
ili alete raha katika nchi yao,
lakini ataleta msukosuko
kwa wale waishio Babeli.
3550:35 Yer 47:6; Dan 5:7; Isa 37:13; 45:1“Upanga dhidi ya Wakaldayo!”
asema Bwana,
“dhidi ya wale waishio Babeli
na dhidi ya maafisa wake na watu wenye busara!
36Upanga dhidi ya manabii wake wa uongo!
Watakuwa wapumbavu.
Upanga dhidi ya mashujaa wake!
Watajazwa na hofu kuu
3750:37 Yer 25:20; 2Fal 19:23; Isa 19:16; Yer 51:21; Nah 3:13; Isa 45:3Upanga dhidi ya farasi na magari yake ya vita
pamoja na askari wake wote wa kigeni katika safu zake!
Wao watakuwa kama wanawake.
Upanga dhidi ya hazina zake!
Hizo zitatekwa nyara.
3850:38 Isa 11:15; Yer 51:36; Ufu 16:12Ukame juu ya maji yake!
Nayo yatakauka.
Kwa kuwa ni nchi ya sanamu,
wao wanaenda wazimu kwa ajili ya sanamu.
3950:39 Isa 34:13-15; Ufu 18:2; Isa 13:19-22; Za 74:14; Yer 51:37“Kwa hiyo, viumbe vya jangwani na fisi wataishi humo,
nao bundi watakaa humo.
Kamwe haitakaliwa tena
wala watu hawataishi humo kutoka kizazi hadi kizazi.
4050:40 Mwa 19:24; Mt 10:15; 2Pet 2:6; Yer 51:62Kama vile Mungu alivyoangamiza Sodoma na Gomora
pamoja na miji iliyokuwa jirani nayo,”
asema Bwana,
“vivyo hivyo hakuna mtu yeyote
atakayeishi humo.
Naam, hakuna mtu yeyote
atakayekaa humo.
4150:41 Isa 41:25; Yer 6:22; Isa 13:14; Yer 51:22-28; Ufu 17:16; Isa 23:17“Tazama! Jeshi linakuja kutoka kaskazini;
taifa kubwa na wafalme wengi
wanaamshwa kutoka miisho ya dunia.
4250:42 Isa 13:18; 5:30; 47:1; Yer 6:23; Ay 30:21Wamejifunga pinde na mikuki;
ni wakatili na wasio na huruma.
Wanatoa sauti kama bahari inayonguruma
wanapoendesha farasi zao;
wanakuja kama watu waliojipanga tayari kwa vita
ili kukushambulia, ee Binti Babeli.
4350:43 Yer 47:3; 6:22-24Mfalme wa Babeli amesikia habari kuwahusu,
nayo mikono yake imelegea.
Uchungu umemshika,
maumivu kama ya mwanamke katika utungu wa kuzaa.
4450:44 Hes 16:5; Ay 41:10; Isa 46:9; Yer 12:5; 49:19Kama simba anayepanda kutoka vichaka vya Yordani
kuja kwenye nchi ya malisho mengi,
ndivyo nitamfukuza Babeli kutoka nchi yake ghafula.
Ni nani aliye mteule,
nitakayemweka kwa ajili ya jambo hili?
Ni nani aliye kama mimi,
na ni nani awezaye kunipinga?
Tena ni mchungaji yupi
awezaye kusimama kinyume nami?”
4550:45 Isa 24:14; Mdo 4:28; Isa 48:14; Yer 51:11Kwa hiyo, sikia kile Bwana alichokipanga dhidi ya Babeli,
kile alichokusudia dhidi ya nchi ya Wakaldayo:
Aliye mchanga katika kundi ataburutwa mbali.
Yeye ataharibu kabisa malisho yao kwa sababu yao.
4650:46 Ay 24:12; Ufu 18:9-10; Amu 5:4; Yer 49:21Kwa sauti ya kutekwa kwa Babeli, dunia itatetemeka;
kilio chake kitasikika pote miongoni mwa mataifa.
