1 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am going to stir up
The spirit of a destroyer against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai.
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon so that they may winnow her
And devastate her land;
For they will be opposed to her on every side
On the day of her disaster.
3 Let not him who bends his bow bend it,
Nor let him rise up in his coat of armor.
Do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
4 They will fall down dead in the land of the Chaldeans,
And pierced through in their streets.”
5 For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken
By his God, the Lord of armies,
Although their land is full of guilt
Before the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not perish in her punishment,
For this is the Lord’s time of vengeance;
He is going to repay to her what she deserves.
7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are going insane.
8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
Wail over her!
Bring balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
9 We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Abandon her and let’s each go to his own country,
For her judgment has reached to heaven
And it rises to the clouds.
10 The Lord has brought about our vindication;
Come and let’s recount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!
11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 Lift up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station sentries,
Set up an ambush!
For the Lord has both planned and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end has come,
The measure of your end.
14 The Lord of armies has sworn by Himself:
“I will certainly fill you with a population like locusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”
15 It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the clouds ascend from the end of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings out wind from His storehouses.
17 Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his cast metal images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of mockery;
At the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the Maker of everything,
And of the tribe of His inheritance;
The Lord of armies is His name.
20 He says, “You are My war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 With you I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter man and woman,
And with you I shatter the old man and youth,
And with you I shatter the young man and virgin,
23 And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and officials.
24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, I am against you, mountain of destruction
That destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the rocky cliffs,
And I will make you a burnt out mountain.
26 They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate forever,” declares the Lord.
27 Lift up a signal flag in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
Appoint an officer against her,
Bring up the horses like bristly locusts.
28 Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their officials,
And every land under their control.
29 So the land quakes and writhes,
For the plans of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
A desolation without inhabitants.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
Their strength is exhausted,
They are becoming like women;
Their homes are set on fire,
The bars of her gates are broken.
31 One courier runs to meet another,
And one messenger to meet another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
32 The river crossing places have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.
33 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
At the time that it is tread down;
In just a little while the time of harvest will come for her.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me,
He has set me down like an empty vessel;
He has swallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35 May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.
36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am going to plead your case
And take vengeance for you;
And I will dry up her sea
And make her fountain dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38 They will roar together like young lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
39 When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And make them drunk, so that they may rejoice in triumph,
And may sleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.
41 “How Sheshak has been captured,
And the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42 The sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed by its roaring waves.
43 Her cities have become an object of horror,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which no one lives
And through which no one of mankind passes.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer stream toward him.
Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!
45 “Come out from her midst, My people,
And each of you save yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 Now, so that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land—
For the report will come in one year,
And after that another report in another year,
And violence will be in the land
With ruler against ruler—
47 Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the idols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be put to shame.
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
Because the destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.
49 Indeed, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As the slain of all the earth have also fallen for Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,
Go! Do not stay!
Remember the Lord from far away,
And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
Because strangers have entered
The holy places of the Lord’s house.
52 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will punish her idols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53 Though Babylon ascends to the heavens,
And though she fortifies her lofty stronghold,
Destroyers will come from Me to her,” declares the Lord.
1 But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not stealing, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.
15 These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.
1 The Lord reigns, the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned above the cherubim, the earth quakes!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
3 May they praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.
4 The strength of the King loves justice;
You have established order;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 Lord our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For the Lord our God is holy.
17 Like one who takes a dog by the ears,
So is one who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.
