Jeremiah 50 - Easy To Read Version

¹ This is the message the Lord spoke about the nation of Babylon and the Babylonian people. The Lord spoke this message through Jeremiah.

² “Announce this to all nations!\par Lift up a flag and announce the message!\par Speak the whole message and say,\par ‘The nation of Babylon will be captured.\par The god Bel {\cf2\super [407]} will be put to shame.\par The god Marduk {\cf2\super [408]} will be very afraid.\par Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.\par Her idol gods will be filled with terror.’\par

³ A nation from the north will attack Babylon.\par That nation will make Babylon\par like an empty desert.\par No people will live there.\par Both men and animals\par will run away from there.”\par

⁴ The Lord says,\par “At that time, the people of Israel\par and the people of Judah will be together.\par They will cry and cry together.\par And together, they will go to look\par for the Lord their God.\par

⁵ Those people will ask how to go to Zion. {\cf2\super [409]} \par They will start to go in that direction.\par The people will say,\par ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord.\par Let’s make an agreement\par that will last forever.\par Let’s make an agreement\par that we will never forget.’\par

⁶ “My people have been like lost sheep.\par Their shepherds (leaders)\par led them the wrong way,\par Their leaders made them wander around\par in the mountains and hills.\par They forgot where their resting place is.\par

⁷ Whoever found my people hurt them.\par And those enemies said,\par ‘We did nothing wrong.’\par Those people sinned against the Lord.\par The Lord was their true resting place.\par The Lord was the God\par that their fathers trusted in.\par

⁸ “Run away from Babylon.\par Leave the land of the Babylonian people.\par Be like the goats that lead the flock.\par

⁹ I will bring many nations together\par from the north.\par This group of nations will get ready for war\par against Babylon.\par Babylon will be captured by people\par from the north.\par Those nations will shoot many arrows\par at Babylon.\par Those arrows will be like soldiers\par that don’t come back from war\par with their hands empty.\par

¹⁰ The enemy will take all the wealth\par from the Chaldean people.\par Those soldiers will take all they want.”\par The Lord said these things.\par

¹¹ “Babylon, you are excited and happy.\par You took my land.\par You dance around like a young cow\par that got into the grain.\par Your laughter is like the happy sounds\par that horses make.\par

¹² Now your mother will be very ashamed.\par The woman that gave you birth\par will be embarrassed.\par Babylon will be the least important\par of all the nations.\par She will be an empty, dry desert.\par

¹³ The Lord will show his anger,\par so no people will live there.\par Babylon will be completely empty.\par Everyone that passes by Babylon\par will be afraid.\par They will shake their heads when they see\par how badly it has been destroyed.\par

¹⁴ “Prepare for war against Babylon.\par All you soldiers with bows,\par shoot your arrows at Babylon.\par Don’t save any of your arrows.\par Babylon has sinned against the Lord.\par

¹⁵ Soldiers around Babylon,\par shout the cry of victory!\par Babylon has surrendered!\par Her walls and towers\par have been pulled down!\par The Lord is giving those people\par the punishment they should have.\par You nations should give Babylon\par the punishment she deserves.\par Do to her what she has done\par to other nations.\par

¹⁶ Don’t let the people from Babylon\par plant their crops.\par Don’t let them gather the harvest.\par The soldiers of Babylon\par brought many prisoners to their city.\par Now the enemy soldiers have come,\par So those prisoners are going back home.\par Those prisoners are running back\par to their own countries.\par

¹⁷ “Israel is like a flock of sheep\par that were scattered all over the country.\par Israel is like sheep that were chased away\par by lions.\par The first lion to attack\par was the king of Assyria.\par The last lion to crush his bones\par was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.\par

¹⁸ So the Lord All-Powerful,\par the God of Israel, says:\par ‘I will soon punish the king of Babylon\par and his country.\par I will punish him\par like I punished the king of Assyria.\par

¹⁹ “I will bring Israel back to his own fields.\par He will eat food that grows\par on Mount Carmel\par and in the land of Bashan.\par He will eat and be full.\par He will eat on the hills\par in the lands of Ephraim and Gilead.”\par

²⁰ The Lord says,\par “At that time, people will try hard\par to find Israel’s guilt.\par But there will be no guilt.\par People will try to find Judah’s sins,\par but no sins will be found.\par Why? Because I am saving a few\par survivors {\cf2\super [410]} from Israel and Judah.\par And I am forgiving them\par for all of their sins.”\par

²¹ The Lord says,\par “Attack the country of Merathaim!\par Attack the people living in Pekod!\par Attack them!\par Kill them and completely destroy them!\par Do everything I commanded you!\par

²² “The noise of battle can be heard\par all over the country.\par It is the noise of much destruction.\par

²³ Babylon was called\par ‘The Hammer of the Whole Earth.’\par But now the ‘Hammer’ is shattered.\par Babylon is the most ruined of the nations.\par

²⁴ Babylon, I set a trap for you.\par And you were caught before you knew it.\par You fought against the Lord,\par so you were found and captured.\par

²⁵ The Lord has opened up his storeroom\par and brought out the weapons of his anger.\par The Lord God All-Powerful\par brought out those weapons\par because he has work to do\par in the land of the Chaldean people.\par

²⁶ “Come against Babylon from far away.\par Break open the storehouses\par where she keeps her grain.\par Completely destroy Babylon.\par Don’t leave anyone alive.\par Pile her dead bodies like big piles of grain.\par

²⁷ Kill all the young bulls (men) in Babylon.\par Let them be slaughtered. {\cf2\super [411]} \par The time has come for them to be defeated,\par so it will be very bad for them.\par It is time for them to be punished.\par

²⁸ People are running out of Babylon.\par They are escaping from that country\par and coming to Zion {\cf2\super [412]} .\par They are telling everyone the good news\par about what the Lord is doing.\par The Lord is giving Babylon\par the punishment it deserves.\par The Lord is destroying Babylon,\par because it destroyed his temple!\par

²⁹ “Call for the men that shoot arrows.\par Tell them to attack Babylon.\par Tell them to surround the city.\par Don’t let anyone escape.\par Pay her back for the bad things she has done.\par Do to her what she has done\par to other nations.\par Babylon did not respect the Lord.\par Babylon was very rude\par to the Holy One of Israel.\par So punish Babylon.\par

³⁰ Babylon’s young men\par will be killed in the streets.\par All her soldiers will die on that day.”\par

³¹ “Babylon, you are too proud.\par And I am against you.”\par Our Master, the Lord All-Powerful,\par says these things.\par “I am against you,\par and the time has come\par for you to be punished.\par

³² Proud Babylon will stumble and fall.\par And no person will help her get up.\par I will start a fire in her towns.\par That fire will completely burn\par everyone around her.”\par

³³ The Lord All-Powerful says:\par “The people of Israel and Judah are slaves.\par The enemy took them,\par and the enemy will not let Israel go.\par

³⁴ But God will get those people back.\par His name is the Lord God All-Powerful.\par He will defend those people very strongly.\par He will defend them so that he can let that land rest.\par But there will be no rest\par for the people living in Babylon.”\par

³⁵ The Lord says,\par “Sword, kill the people living in Babylon.\par Sword, kill the king’s officials\par and the wise men of Babylon.\par

³⁶ Sword, kill the priests of Babylon.\par Those priests will be like foolish people.\par Sword, kill the soldiers of Babylon.\par Those soldiers will be full of terror.\par

³⁷ Sword, kill the horses and chariots of Babylon.\par Sword, kill all the soldiers hired\par from other countries.\par Those soldiers will be\par like frightened women.\par Sword, destroy the treasures of Babylon.\par Those treasures will be taken away.\par

³⁸ Sword, strike the waters of Babylon.\par Those waters will be dried up.\par Babylon has many, many idols.\par Those idols show\par that the people of Babylon are foolish.\par So bad things will happen to those people.\par

³⁹ “Babylon will never again\par be filled with people.\par Wild dogs, ostriches, {\cf2\super [413]} and other desert animals will live there.\par But no people will live there ever again.\par

⁴⁰ God completely destroyed\par Sodom and Gomorrah {\cf2\super [414]} \par and the towns around them.\par \{And no person lives in those towns now.\}\par In the same way, no people\par will live in Babylon.\par And no people will ever go to live there.\par

⁴¹ “Look!\par There are people coming from the north.\par They come from a powerful nation.\par Many kings are coming together\par from all around the world.\par

⁴² Their armies have bows and spears.\par The soldiers are cruel.\par They have no mercy.\par The soldiers come riding on their horses,\par and the sound is loud like the roaring sea.\par They stand in their places, ready for battle.\par They are ready to attack you,\par city of Babylon.\par

⁴³ The king of Babylon\par heard about those armies.\par And he became very scared.\par He is so afraid,\par his hands will not move.\par His fear makes his stomach hurt\par like a woman having a baby.”\par

⁴⁴ \{The Lord says,\}\par “Sometimes a lion will come from\par the thick bushes near the Jordan River.\par That lion will walk into the fields\par where people have their animals.\par \{and the animals will all run away.\}\par I will be like that lion,\par I will chase Babylon from its land.\par Who should I choose to do this?\par There is no person like me.\par There is no person that can challenge me.\par \{So I will do it.\}\par No shepherd will come to chase me away.\par I will chase away the people of Babylon.”\par

⁴⁵ Listen to what the Lord has planned\par to do to Babylon.\par Listen to what the Lord has decided\par to do to the Babylonian people.\par “I swear (promise), an enemy will drag away\par the young kids of Babylon’s flock (people)\par and Babylon will become\par an empty pasture.\par

⁴⁶ Babylon will fall,\par and that fall will shake the earth.\par People in all nations will hear about\par