Jeremiah 51 - Easy To Read Version

¹ The Lord says,\par “I will cause a powerful, destructive\par wind to blow against Babylon\par and the Babylonian people. {\cf2\super [415]} \par

² I will send foreigners to winnow {\cf2\super [416]} Babylon,\par and they will take everything from the city.\par Armies will surround the city,\par and there will be terrible destruction.\par

³ The Babylonian soldiers will not get to use\par their bows and arrows.\par Those soldiers will not even put on\par their armor.\par Don’t feel sorry for the soldiers of Babylon.\par Destroy her army completely!\par

⁴ Babylon’s soldiers will be killed\par in the land of the Chaldeans.\par They will be badly wounded\par in the streets of Babylon.”\par

⁵ The Lord All-Powerful\par did not leave Israel and Judah alone,\par like a woman whose husband has died.\par God did not leave those people.\par No! Those people are guilty\par of leaving the Holy One of Israel.\par They left him,\par but he has not left them.\par

⁶ Run away from Babylon.\par Run to save your lives!\par Don’t stay and be killed\par because of Babylon’s sins!\par It is time for the Lord to punish\par the people of Babylon\par for the bad things they did.\par Babylon will get the punishment\par that she should have.\par

⁷ Babylon was like a golden cup\par in the Lord’s hand.\par Babylon made the whole world drunk.\par The nations drank Babylon’s wine.\par So they went crazy.\par

⁸ But Babylon will suddenly fall\par and be broken.\par Cry for her!\par Get medicine for her pain!\par Maybe she can be healed!\par

⁹ We tried to heal Babylon,\par but she can’t be healed.\par So let us leave her,\par and let each of us\par go to our own country.\par God in heaven will decide\par Babylon’s punishment.\par He will decide what will happen to Babylon.\par

¹⁰ The Lord got even for us.\par Come, let’s tell about that in Zion. {\cf2\super [417]} \par Let us tell about the things\par that the Lord our God has done.\par

¹¹ Sharpen the arrows!\par Get your shields!\par The Lord stirred up the kings\par of the Medes. {\cf2\super [418]} \par He has stirred them up\par because he wants to destroy Babylon.\par The Lord will give the people of Babylon\par the punishment that they deserve.\par The army from Babylon destroyed\par the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [419]} in Jerusalem.\par So the Lord will give them\par the punishment they should have.\par

¹² Lift up a flag against the walls of Babylon.\par Bring more guards.\par Put the watchmen in their places.\par Get ready for a secret attack.\par The Lord will do what he has planned.\par He will do what he said he would do\par against the people of Babylon.\par

¹³ Babylon, you live near much water.\par You are rich with treasures.\par But your end as a nation has come.\par It is time for you to be destroyed.\par

¹⁴ The Lord All-Powerful used his name\par to make this promise:\par “Babylon, I will fill you\par with many enemy soldiers.\par They will be like a swarm of locusts. {\cf2\super [420]} \par They will win their war against you.\par And they will stand over you\par and shout the cry of victory.”\par

¹⁵ The Lord used his great power\par and made the earth.\par He used his wisdom to build the world.\par He used his understanding\par to stretch out the skies.\par

¹⁶ When he thunders,\par the water in the skies roar.\par He sends clouds all over the earth.\par He sends lightning with the rain.\par He brings out the wind\par from his storehouses.\par

¹⁷ But people are so stupid.\par They don’t understand what God has done.\par Skilled workers make statues of false gods.\par Those statues are only false gods.\par They show how foolish that worker is.\par Those statues are not alive.\par

¹⁸ Those idols are worthless.\par People made those idols,\par and they are nothing but a joke.\par Their time of judgment will come,\par and those idols will be destroyed.\par

¹⁹ But Jacob’s Portion (God) is not like those worthless statues.\par People didn’t make God,\par God made his people.\par God made everything.\par His name is the Lord All-Powerful.\par

²⁰ \{The Lord says,\}\par “\{Babylon,\} you are my club.\par I used you to smash nations.\par I used you to destroy kingdoms.\par

²¹ I used you to smash horse and rider.\par I used you to smash chariot and driver.\par

²² I used you to smash men and women.\par I used you to smash men, old and young.\par I used you to smash young men\par and young women.\par

²³ I used you to smash shepherds and flocks.\par I used you to smash farmers and cows.\par I used you to smash governors\par and important officials.\par

²⁴ But I will pay Babylon back.\par I will pay all the Babylonian people back.\par I will pay them back for all the bad things\par that they did to Zion. {\cf2\super [421]} \par I will pay them back so that you can see it, Judah.”\par The Lord said those things.\par

²⁵ The Lord says,\par “Babylon, you are a destroying mountain,\par and I am against you.\par Babylon, you destroyed the whole country,\par and I am against you.\par I will put my hand out against you.\par I will roll you off the cliffs.\par I will make you into a burned-up mountain.\par

²⁶ People will not take any rocks from Babylon\par to use for the foundation of a building.\par People will not find any rocks\par big enough for cornerstones.\par Why? Because your city will be\par a pile of broken rocks forever.”\par The Lord said these things.\par

²⁷ “Lift up the war flag in the land!\par Blow the trumpet in all the nations!\par Prepare the nations for war against Babylon!\par Call these kingdoms to come fight\par against Babylon:\par Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.\par Choose a commander to lead the army\par against her.\par Send so many horses\par that they are like a swarm of locusts. {\cf2\super [422]} \par

²⁸ Get the nations ready for battle against her.\par Get the kings of the Medes {\cf2\super [423]} ready.\par Get their governors and all their important officials ready.\par Get all the countries they rule ready for battle against Babylon.\par

²⁹ The land shakes and moves like it is in pain.\par It will shake when the Lord does what he planned to Babylon.\par The Lord’s plan is to make the land of Babylon into an empty desert.\par No person will live there.\par

³⁰ Babylon’s soldiers have stopped fighting.\par They stay in their forts.\par Their strength is gone.\par They have become like scared women.\par Babylon’s houses are burning.\par The bars of her gates are broken.\par

³¹ One messenger follows another.\par Messenger follows messenger.\par They announce to the king of Babylon\par that his whole city has been captured.\par

³² The places where people cross the rivers\par have been captured.\par The swamplands are burning.\par All of Babylon’s soldiers are afraid.”\par

³³ The Lord All-Powerful,\par the God of the people of Israel, says:\par “Babylon is like a threshing floor. {\cf2\super [424]} \par At harvest time, people beat grain\par to separate the good parts from the chaff. {\cf2\super [425]} \par And the time to beat Babylon\par is coming soon.\par

³⁴ “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, destroyed us in the past.\par In the past, Nebuchadnezzar hurt us.\par In the past, he took our people away,\par and we became like an empty jar.\par He took the best we had.\par He was like a giant monster\par that ate everything until it was full.\par He took the best we had\par and threw us away.\par

³⁵ Babylon did terrible things to hurt us.\par Now I want those things\par to happen to Babylon.”\par

³⁶ So the Lord says:\par “I will defend you, Judah.\par I will make sure\par that Babylon is punished.\par I will dry up Babylon’s sea.\par And I will make her water springs\par become dry.\par

³⁷ Babylon will become\par a pile of ruined buildings.\par Babylon will be a place for wild dogs\par to live.\par People will look at that pile of rocks\par and be amazed.\par People will shake their heads\par when they think about Babylon.\par Babylon will be a place\par where no people live.\par

³⁸ “The people of Babylon\par are like roaring young lions.\par They growl like baby lions.\par

³⁹ Those people are acting like powerful lions.\par I will give a party for them.\par I will make them drunk.\par They will laugh and have a good time.\par And then they will sleep forever.\par They will never wake up.”\par

⁴⁰ “Babylon will be like sheep, rams,\par and goats\par waiting to be killed.\par I will lead them to the slaughter.\par

⁴¹ “Sheshach {\cf2\super [427]} will be defeated.\par The best and proudest country\par of the whole earth\par will be taken captive.\par People from other nations\par will look at Babylon,\par and the things they see\par will make them afraid.\par

⁴² The sea will rise over Babylon.\par Its roaring waves will cover her.\par

⁴³ Babylon will be like a dry, desert land.\par Its cities will be empty ruins.\par No people will live in those cities.\par No people will even travel through them.\par

⁴⁴ I will punish the false god Bel {\cf2\super [428]} in Babylon.\par I will make him vomit out the people\par that he swallowed.\par The wall around Babylon will fall.\par And other nations will stop coming\par to Babylon.\par

⁴⁵ Come out of the city of Babylon, my people.\par Run to save your lives.\par Run from the Lord’s great anger.\par

⁴⁶ “Don’t be sad, my people.\par Rumors will spread, but don’t be afraid.\par One rumor comes this year.\par Another rumor will come next year.\par There will be rumors about terrible fighting\par in the country.\par There will be rumors about rulers fighting\par against other rulers.\par

⁴⁷ The time will surely come—\par I will punish the false gods of Babylon.\par And the whole land of Babylon\par will be put to shame.\par There will be many, many dead people,\par lying in the streets of that city.\par

⁴⁸ Then heaven and earth and all that is in them\par will shout with joy about Babylon.\par They will shout because\par an army came from the north\par and fought against Babylon.”\par The Lord said these things.\par

⁴⁹ “Babylon killed people from Israel.\par Babylon killed people\par from every place on earth.\par So Babylon must fall!\par

⁵⁰ You people escaped the swords.\par You must hurry and leave Babylon.\par Don’t wait!\par You are in a faraway land.\par But remember the Lord where you are.\par And remember Jerusalem.”\par

⁵¹ “We people of Judah are ashamed.\par We have been insulted.\par Why? Because strangers have gone into\par the Holy Places of the Lord’s temple.”\par

⁵² The Lord says,\par “The time is coming, when I will punish\par the idols of Babylon.\par At that time, wounded people will cry\par with pain everywhere in that country.\par

⁵³ Babylon might grow\par until she touches the sky.\par Babylon might make her forts strong.\par But I will send people\par to fight against that city.\par And those people will destroy her.”\par The Lord said these things.\par

⁵⁴ “We can hear people crying in Babylon.\par We hear the sound of people destroying\par things in the land of Babylon.\par

⁵⁵ The Lord will destroy Babylon very soon.\par He will stop the loud noises in that city.\par Enemies will come roaring in\par like ocean waves.\par People all around will hear that roar.\par

⁵⁶ The army will come and destroy Babylon.\par Babylon’s soldiers will be captured.\par Their bows will be broken.\par Why? Because the Lord punishes people\par for the bad things they do.\par The Lord gives them the full punishment\par that they deserve.\par

⁵⁷ I will make Babylon’s wise men\par and important officials drunk.\par I will make the governors, officers,\par and soldiers drunk too.\par Then they will sleep forever.\par They will never wake up.”\par The King said these things.\par His name is the Lord All-Powerful.\par

⁵⁸ The Lord All-Powerful says:\par “Babylon’s thick, strong wall\par will be pulled down.\par Her high gates will be burned.\par The people of Babylon will work hard,\par but it will not help.\par They will become very tired\par trying to save the city.\par But they will only become fuel\par for the flames.”\par

⁵⁹ This is the message that Jeremiah gave to the officer Seraiah. {\cf2\super [429]} Seraiah was the son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah. Seraiah went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah. This happened in the fourth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. {\cf2\super [430]} At that time, Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah, the officer.

⁶⁰ Jeremiah had written on a scroll {\cf2\super [431]} all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon. He had written all these things about Babylon.

⁶¹ Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “Seraiah, go to Babylon. Be sure to read this message so all the people can hear you.

⁶² Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy this place, Babylon. You will destroy it so that no people or animals will live in it. This place will be an empty ruin forever.’

⁶³ After you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it. Then throw this scroll {\cf2\super [432]} into the Euphrates River.

⁶⁴ Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink. Babylon will rise no more. Babylon will sink because of the terrible things that I will make happen here.’”