Jeremiah 51:53-63
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 51
53Though Babylon ascends to the heavens, And though she fortifies her lofty stronghold, Destroyers will come from Me to her,' declares the Lord. 54The sound of an outcry from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon, And He will make her loud noise vanish from her. And their waves will roar like many waters; The clamor of their voices sounds forth. 56For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her warriors will be captured, Their bows shattered; For the Lord is a God of retribution, He will fully repay. 57'I will make her leaders and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her officials, and her warriors, So that they will sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,' Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.
59The command that Jeremiah the prophet gave Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.)
60Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon.
61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, 'As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,
62and say, ‘You, Lord, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing living in it, whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’
63And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,
King James Version
Chapter 51
53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD. 54A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: 55Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: 56Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. 57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.
61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
62Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 51
53Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from me. This is the Lord's declaration. 54The sound of a cry from Babylon! The sound of terrible destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon; he will silence her mighty voice. Their waves roar like a huge torrent; the tumult of their voice resounds, 56for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, their bows shattered, for the Lord is a God of retribution; he will certainly repay.
59This is what the prophet Jeremiah commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign.
60Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.
61Jeremiah told Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.
62Say, 'Lord, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it--people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.'
63When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.
New Living Translation
54'Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
55For the Lord is destroying Babylon. He will silence her loud voice. Waves of enemies pound against her; the noise of battle rings through the city.
56Destroying armies come against Babylon. Her mighty men are captured, and their weapons break in their hands. For the Lord is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full.
57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her captains, officers, and warriors. They will fall asleep and never wake up again!' says the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
59The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.
60Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon — all the words written here.
61He said to Seraiah, 'When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll.
62Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’
63When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River.
English Standard Version
Chapter 51
53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the LORD. 54“A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, 56for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; he will surely repay. 57I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire.” 59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ 63When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,New International Version
Chapter 51
53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,' declares the LORD. 54The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. 55The LORD will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound. 56A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the LORD is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. 57I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,' declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty.
59This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign.
60Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon--all that had been recorded concerning Babylon.
61He said to Seraiah, 'When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.
62Then say, 'LORD, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate forever.'
63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
New King James Version
Chapter 51
53 Though Babylon were to mount up to heaven, And though she were to fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the Lord. 54 The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, 55Because the Lord is plundering Babylon And silencing her loud voice, Though her waves roar like great waters, And the noise of their voice is uttered, 56Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; For the Lord is the God of recompense, He will surely repay. 57“And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster.
60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.
61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words,
62then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’
63Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates.
