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The word that the LORD spoke through the prophet Jeremiah concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans:
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“Declare among the nations and proclaim it; set up a banner and proclaim it; do not conceal it. Say: Babylon has been taken; Bel is put to shame; Merodach is dismayed! Her idols are put to shame; her detestable gods are dismayed!
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For a nation comes up against her from the north, and it will make her land a desolation; no one shall dwell in it, both man and beast shall flee away.
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In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel shall come, together with the people of Judah; they shall go weeping and seek the LORD their God.
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They shall ask the way to Zion, turning their faces toward it: Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten!
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My people were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray, causing them to wander on the mountains; they went from mountain to hill and forgot their resting place.
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All who found them devoured them, and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
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Flee from the midst of Babylon, from the land of the Chaldeans! Go out! Be like the he-goats before the flock!
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For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a great company of nations from the north; they shall draw up their battle line against her, and from there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like those of a skilled warrior, who does not return empty-handed.
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The land of the Chaldeans shall become plunder; all who plunder her shall be satisfied, declares the LORD.
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Though you rejoice and exult, you plunderers of my heritage, though you skip about like a heifer in the pasture and neigh like stallions,
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yet your mother shall be utterly put to shame, and she who bore you shall be disgraced. Behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
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Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited, but shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled and shall hiss because of all her wounds.
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Draw up your battle line against Babylon on every side, all you archers! Shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD!”
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Shout against her on every side! She has surrendered; her pillars have fallen, her walls have been torn down! Truly, this is the LORD’s vengeance. Take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done.
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Cut off from Babylon the sower and the reaper in the time of harvest! Because of the sword of destruction, each one will turn back to his own people, each one will flee to his own land.
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Israel is a scattered sheep, driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has gnawed his bones.
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Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am punishing the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria.
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But I will bring Israel back to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
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In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there will be none, and the sins of Judah, but none will be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave alive.
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Go up against the land of Merathaim, go up against it and against the inhabitants of Pekod! Slay and utterly destroy them, declares the LORD; do all that I have commanded you!
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The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction!
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How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
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I set a snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon, without knowing it. You were found and indeed seized, because you challenged the LORD.
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The LORD has opened his armory and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans:
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Come against her from every side; open her storehouses; pile her up like heaps, and utterly destroy her; let nothing remain of her!
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Slay all her bulls; let them all go down to the slaughter! Woe to them, for their day has come, the time of their punishment!
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Listen! Fugitives and survivors from the land of Babylon are coming to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, vengeance for his temple.
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Summon the archers against Babylon, all who bend the bow! Encamp around her, let no one escape! Repay her according to her deeds; do to her exactly as she has done! For she has acted arrogantly against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
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Therefore her young men shall fall in her open squares, and all her soldiers shall be silenced in that day, declares the LORD.
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Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one, declares the Lord GOD of hosts, for your time has come, the time when I will punish you.
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The arrogant one shall stumble and fall, and no one shall raise him up. In his cities I will kindle a fire that shall consume all that is around him.
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Thus says the LORD of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed together with the people of Judah. All who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
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But their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
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A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against the inhabitants of Babylon, against her officials and her wise men!
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A sword is against the diviners, so that they become fools! A sword is against her warriors, so that they are dismayed!
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A sword is against her horses and against her chariots, against all the mixed troops in her midst, so that they become like women! A sword is against her treasures, so that they are plundered!
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A sword is against all her waters, so that they are dried up! For it is a land of carved images, and they are mad over their idols!
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Therefore wild beasts and jackals shall dwell there, and ostriches shall live in it. It shall never again be inhabited, nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
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As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in it.
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Behold, a people shall come from the north, a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the farthest parts of the earth.
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They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, arrayed as men for battle, against you, O daughter of Babylon!
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The king of Babylon has heard the report of them, and his hands grow feeble; anguish has seized him, pain as of a woman in labor.
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Behold, like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a pasture of sheep, I will suddenly drive them away from it and appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me to account? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
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Therefore hear the decision that the LORD has taken against Babylon, and the plans that he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their own pasture shall be appalled at them.
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The earth shall tremble at the report: Babylon has been taken; their wailing shall be heard among the nations!”
🦁🔥🏛️ Summary of Jeremiah 50 – The Great Prophecy Against Babylon: The Fall of the World Ruler
Jeremiah 50 is the beginning of two long chapters (50–51) containing a prophecy about the fall of Babylon, the superpower kingdom that had destroyed Jerusalem and carried God’s people into exile. Babylon is portrayed as a great enemy, proud, full of idols, and cruel, yet not beyond the judgment of God. In the midst of the news of Babylon’s destruction, God sows hope of restoration for His scattered people. This chapter shows that God is sovereign over history, even over the greatest kingdoms of the world.
📌 1. Babylon Will Fall and Israel Will Return (verses 1–10)
“See, a nation comes from the north against her…”
➡️ Babylon, which was once God’s instrument to strike Judah, will now be struck by God himself.
➡️ Their gods, Bel and Merodach, will be put to shame.
➡️ God’s people will again seek the LORD and Zion with tears of repentance.
🎯 Babylon’s judgment = the beginning of Israel’s restoration.
📌 2. Babylon’s Great Sin: Pride and Cruelty (verses 11–20)
“You rejoiced over My inheritance, you who plunder…”
➡️ Babylon rejoiced when it destroyed Judah, but God calls it pride and treachery.
➡️ God will repay Babylon’s deeds and cleanse His people from sin.
🎯 God does not forget injustice and pride.
📌 3. God’s People Are Called to Flee from Babylon (verses 21–32)
“Flee from Babylon, each one save your life…”
➡️ The Lord calls His people to leave Babylon, because its destruction is certain.
➡️ Babylon, which feels untouchable, will fall suddenly.
🎯 To remain in an evil world system is to share in its judgment.
📌 4. A Detailed Picture of Babylon’s Fall (verses 33–46)
“A sword against the Chaldeans… they shall become a prey.”
➡️ Nebuchadnezzar captured Israel and Judah, but now the Lord defends His people.
➡️ Babylon will be plundered, abandoned, and shaken by an attack from the north.
➡️ This political earthquake will make the whole earth tremble.
🎯 No kingdom is too great for the Lord to bring down.
📖 Main Teaching
- The Lord does not forget evil, even when it is done through an instrument He once used (such as Babylon)
- Great power without righteousness will be overturned by God
- God’s repentant people will be restored and brought back to the promised land
- The call to come out of the Babylon system is a call to holy living
- The Lord is Judge and Shepherd: He punishes Babylon, but also gathers His people
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 Revelation 18:2,4
“Great Babylon has fallen… Come out of her, my people…”
➡️ Jeremiah 50 becomes a prophetic and symbolic picture of the world system that opposes God (spiritual Babylon).
📖 James 4:6
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
➡️ Proud Babylon → brought low; repentant Israel → restored.
📖 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Come out from among them, and be separate…”
➡️ The Lord’s call to His people not to compromise with the world.
📖 Matthew 23:12
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled…”
➡️ God’s eternal principle applies to Babylon and all proud rulers.
🕊️ “Declare among the nations and say: Babylon has been taken!” – Jeremiah 50:2
🕊️ “They shall seek the LORD, their God…” – Jeremiah 50:4
🕊️ “Flee from Babylon, each one save his life…” – Jeremiah 50:8
🕊️ “I will pardon those whom I leave alive.” – Jeremiah 50:20
