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51 This is what the Lord says:
“I will soon ·cause [arouse; stir up] a destroying ·wind [or spirit]
against Babylon and the ·Babylonian people [L inhabitants of Leb Qemai; C a coded reference to Chaldea (Babylon)].
2 I will send ·foreign people [strangers; or winnowers] to ·destroy [L winnow] Babylon.
They will ·destroy [L empty] the land.
Armies will surround the city
when the day of ·disaster [evil; trouble] comes upon her.
3 Don’t let the archers [C of Babylon] ·prepare [draw] their bows to shoot.
Don’t even let them put on their ·armor [coat of mail].
Don’t ·feel sorry for [pity] the young men of Babylon,
but ·completely destroy [annihilate] her army.
4 ·They will be killed [L Corpses will fall] in the land of the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans]
and ·will die [L the wounded] in her streets.
5 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
did not ·leave [L widow] Israel and Judah,
even though ·they were completely guilty [L their land was full of guilt]
in the presence of the Holy One of Israel.
6 “·Run away [Flee] from Babylon
and ·save your lives [rescue yourselves]!
Don’t stay and be killed because of Babylon’s sins.
It is time for the Lord to ·punish Babylon [L avenge himself];
he will give Babylon the punishment she deserves.
7 Babylon was like a gold cup in the Lord’s hand
that made the whole earth drunk [C God used Babylon to administer his cup of wrath].
The nations drank Babylon’s wine,
so they went ·crazy [mad].
8 Babylon has suddenly fallen and been broken.
·Cry [Wail] for her!
Get balm [8:22; 46:11] for her pain,
and maybe she can be healed.
9 “Foreigners in Babylon say, ‘We tried to heal Babylon,
but she cannot be healed.
So let us leave her and each go to his own country [C after the fall of Babylon, the Persians allowed the exiled people to return to their own lands; Ezra 1].
Babylon’s ·punishment [judgment] ·is as high as [reaches; touches] the ·sky [heavens];
it ·reaches [L lifts up] to the ·clouds [or skies].’
10 “The people of Judah say, ‘The Lord has ·shown us to be right [brought about/forth our vindication].
Come, let us ·tell [recount] in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
what the Lord our God has done.’
11 “Sharpen the arrows!
·Pick up your shields [or Fill the quivers]!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
because he ·wants [L purposes] to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will punish them as they deserve
for destroying his Temple.
12 Lift up a banner [C a battle standard] against the walls of Babylon!
·Bring more [L Strengthen the] guards.
Put the watchmen in their places,
and ·get ready for a secret attack [prepare an ambush]!
The Lord will certainly do what he has planned
and what he said he would do against the people of Babylon.
13 You [C Babylon] live near ·much [mighty] water [C the Euphrates]
and are rich with many treasures,
but your end as a nation has come.
·It is time to stop you from robbing other nations [or Your destiny is fixed].
14 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has promised ·in his own name [L by himself]:
‘I will surely fill you [C Babylon] with so many men [C enemy soldiers] they will be like locusts [46:23; Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Nah. 3:15–17; Rev. 9:7].
They will ·stand [raise] over you and shout their victory.’
15 “The Lord made the earth by his power.
He used his wisdom to ·build [L establish] the world
and his understanding to stretch out the ·skies [heavens; Prov. 3:19–20; 8:22–31].
16 When he ·thunders [L gives forth his voice], the waters in the skies roar.
He makes ·clouds [mist] rise ·all over [L from the ends of] the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
17 “People are so stupid and know so little.
Goldsmiths are ·made ashamed [humiliated] by their idols,
because those statues are ·only false gods [L deceptive].
They have no breath in them.
18 They are worth nothing; ·people make fun of them [or works of delusion].
·When they are judged [L At the time of their punishment], they will be destroyed.
19 But Jacob’s Portion [C God] is not like the idols.
He ·made [formed; shaped] everything,
and ·he chose Israel to be his special people [Israel is the tribe of his inheritance].
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is his name.
20 “You are my war club,
my battle weapon.
I use you to ·smash [shatter; C and so throughout this passage] nations.
I use you to destroy kingdoms.
21 I use you to smash horses and riders.
I use you to smash chariots and drivers.
22 I use you to smash men and women.
I use you to smash old people and young people.
I use you to smash young men and young women.
23 I use you to smash shepherds and flocks.
I use you to smash farmers and oxen.
I use you to smash governors and ·officers [officials; leaders].
24 “But I will pay back Babylon and all the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans] for all the ·evil things [disasters; troubles] they did to ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] in your ·sight [L eyes],” says the Lord.
25 The Lord says,
“Babylon, you are a destroying mountain,
and I am against you.
You have destroyed the whole land.
I will ·put [reach; stretch] my hand out against you.
I will roll you off the ·cliffs [rocks; crags],
and I will make you a burned-out mountain.
26 People will not ·find any rocks in Babylon big enough for [L take from you] cornerstones.
People will not take any rocks from you for a foundation [C of a building],
because your city will be ·just a pile of ruins [a desolation] forever,” says the Lord.
27 “Lift up a banner [C a battle standard] in the land!
Blow the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] among the nations!
·Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon [L Consecrate the nations against it].
Call these kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz [C near Lake Urmia and Lake Van to the northwest of Babylon, and part of the coalition against it] against her [C to fight].
Choose a commander ·to lead the army against Babylon [L against it].
·Send [L Bring up] so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts.
28 ·Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon [L Consecrate the nations against it]—
the kings of the Medes,
their governors and all their officers,
and all the countries they rule.
29 The land shakes and ·moves in pain [writhes],
because the Lord will do what he has planned to Babylon.
He will make Babylon an ·empty desert [desolation],
where no one will live.
30 Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting.
They stay in their ·protected cities [strongholds].
Their strength is gone,
and they have become like women [C frightened].
Babylon’s houses are burning.
The bars [C of its gates] are broken.
31 One runner meets another runner;
messenger meets messenger.
They announce to the king of Babylon
that his whole city has been captured.
32 The river crossings have been ·captured [seized],
and the swamplands are burning with fire.
All of the soldiers [C of Babylon] are terribly afraid.”
33 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says:
“The ·city [L daughter] of Babylon is like a threshing floor,
where people trod [C on grain at harvest time].
The time to harvest [C Babylon] is coming soon.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has ·defeated [L devoured; consumed] and ·destroyed [crushed] us.
We became like an empty jar [C probably a reference to the exile].
He was like a ·giant snake [monster; dragon; Is. 27:1; 51:9; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2; Job 7:1; Ps. 74:13] that swallowed us.
He filled his stomach with our ·best things [delicacies].
Then he spit us out.
35 ·Babylon did terrible things to hurt us.
Now let those things happen to Babylon [L May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon],”
say the people of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
“·The people of Babylon killed our people.
Now let them be punished for what they did [L May my blood be on the Chaldeans],” says Jerusalem.
36 So this is what the Lord says:
“I will ·soon defend you [L present your case; C addressed to Judah],
and make sure that Babylon is punished.
I will dry up Babylon’s sea
and make her springs become dry [Is. 24:4; Nah. 1:4].
37 Babylon will become a pile of ruins,
a ·home [den; haunt] for wild dogs [jackals; 9:11; 10:22; 49:33; Lam. 5:18].
People will be shocked and hiss at what happened there.
No one will live there anymore.
38 Babylon’s people roar like young lions;
they growl like baby lions.
39 While they are ·stirred [heated] up,
I will give ·a feast for [drinks to] them
and make them drunk.
They will shout and laugh.
And they will sleep forever and never wake up!” says the Lord.
40 “I will take them [C people of Babylon] to be ·killed [slaughtered].
They will be like lambs,
like sheep and goats [11:19; 12:3].
41 “How ·Babylon [L Sheshach; C an alternate name for Babylon; 25:26] has been ·defeated [captured]!
The pride of the whole earth has been ·taken captive [seized].
·People from other nations are shocked at what happened to Babylon,
and the things they see make them afraid [L How Babylon has become a horror among the nations].
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;
its ·roaring [tumultuous] waves cover her.
43 ·Babylon’s [L Its] towns are ·ruined and empty [desolate].
It has become a dry, desert land,
a land where no one lives.
People do not even travel through it .
44 I will punish the god Bel [C another name for Marduk, the chief god of Babylon] in Babylon.
I will make him spit out what he has swallowed.
Nations will no longer ·come [L stream] to Babylon;
even the wall around the city will fall.
45 “Come out of it [C Babylon], my people!
·Run for [Escape with] your lives!
·Run [Escape] from the Lord’s great anger.
46 Don’t lose ·courage [heart];
rumors will spread through the land, but don’t be afraid.
One rumor comes this year, and another comes the next year.
There will be rumors of ·terrible fighting [violence] in the country,
of rulers fighting against rulers.
47 The ·time will surely come [L days are coming]
when I will punish the idols of Babylon,
and the whole land will be disgraced.
There will be many ·dead people [corpses] ·lying all around [L falling in its midst].
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout for joy about Babylon.
They will shout because the army comes from the north [C Persia and its allies]
to destroy Babylon,” says the Lord.
49 “Babylon must fall, because ·she killed people from [L of the corpses of] Israel.
·She killed people from everywhere on [L …and the corpses of all the] earth.
50 You who have escaped being killed with swords,
·leave Babylon [go; flee; depart]! Don’t wait!
Remember the Lord in the faraway land
and ·think about Jerusalem [L let Jerusalem come up in your heart/mind].”
51 “We people of Judah are disgraced,
because we have been ·insulted [reproached].
·We have been shamed [L Shame/Humiliation covers our face],
because strangers have gone into
the holy places of the Lord’s Temple [L house]!”
52 So the Lord says, “The ·time is [L days are] coming soon
when I will punish the idols of Babylon.
Wounded people will ·cry with pain [groan]
all over that land.
53 Even if Babylon grows until she touches the ·sky [heavens],
and even if she ·makes her highest cities strong [fortifies her lofty stronghold],
I will send people to destroy her,” says the Lord.
Follow theTrue Teaching
2 But you must tell everyone what ·to do to follow [or is consistent with] ·the true [sound; healthy] teaching. 2 Teach older men to be ·self-controlled [sober], ·serious [dignified; worthy of respect], ·wise [self-controlled], ·strong [sound; healthy] in faith, in love, and in ·patience [endurance].
3 In the same way, teach older women to be ·holy [reverent] in their behavior, not ·speaking against [slandering; gossiping about] others or enslaved to ·too much wine [excessive drinking], but teaching what is good. 4 Then they can ·teach [train] the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be ·wise [sensible; self-controlled] and pure, to be ·good workers at home [devoted to home life], to be kind, and to ·yield [submit] to their husbands. Then no one will be able to ·criticize [discredit; malign; blaspheme] the ·teaching God gave us [word of God].
6 In the same way, encourage young men to be ·wise [self-controlled]. 7 In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with ·honesty [integrity] and ·seriousness [dignity]. 8 Speak ·the truth [a sound message] so that you cannot be ·criticized [condemned]. Then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us.
9 ·Slaves [Bondservants] should ·yield [submit] to their own masters at all times, trying to please them and not ·arguing with [talking back to] them. 10 They should not ·steal [pilfer] from them but should show their masters ·they can be fully trusted [or that their faith is good/productive; L all good faith] so that in everything they do they will ·make attractive [adorn; show the beauty of] the teaching of God our Savior.
11 ·That is the way we should live, because [L For] God’s grace that can save everyone has ·come [appeared; been revealed]. 12 It ·teaches [trains; disciplines] us to ·turn away from [reject; deny] ungodly living and ·the evil things the world wants to do [or worldly desires; sinful pleasures]. Instead, that grace teaches us to live in the present age in a ·wise [self-controlled] and ·right [upright; just] way and in a ·way that shows we serve God [godly manner]. 13 We should live like that while we wait for our ·great [happy; blessed] hope and the ·coming of the glory [glorious appearing/manifestation] of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us so he might ·pay the price to free [redeem; ransom] us from all ·evil [wickedness; lawlessness] and to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always ·wanting [eager; zealous] to do good deeds.
15 Say these things and ·encourage [exhort] the people and ·tell them what is wrong in their lives [rebuke/admonish them], with all authority. Do not let anyone ·treat you as if you were unimportant [look down on/despise/disregard you].
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
17 Interfering in ·someone else’s quarrel as you pass by [or a fight not your own]
is like grabbing a dog by the ears [L as it passes by; C the idea of passing by can go with either line].
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