Jeremiah 51:53–57

53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens

and fortifies her lofty stronghold,

I will send destroyers against her,”

declares the Lord.

54 “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,

the sound of great destruction

from the land of the Babylonians.

55 The 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.

56 A 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.

57 I 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.

53 Though 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.

54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon,

And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

55 Because 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:

56 Because 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.

57 And 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.

53 Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens

and makes her fortifications incredibly strong,

I will still send enemies to plunder her.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

54 “Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon,

the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

55 For 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.

56 Destroying 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.

57 I 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.

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,

55 Because 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,

56 Because 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.

53 Even if Babylon grows until she touches the sky,

and even if she makes her highest cities strong,

I will send people to destroy her,” says the Lord.

54 “Sounds of people crying are heard in Babylon.

Sounds of people destroying things

are heard in the land of the Babylonians.

55 The Lord is destroying Babylon

and making the loud sounds of the city become silent.

Enemies come roaring in like ocean waves.

The roar of their voices is heard all around.

56 The army has come to destroy Babylon.

Her soldiers have been captured,

and their bows are broken,

because the Lord is a God who punishes people for the evil they do.

He gives them the full punishment they deserve.

57 I will make Babylon’s rulers and wise men drunk,

and her governors, officers, and soldiers, too.

Then they will sleep forever and never wake up,” says the King,

whose name is the Lord All-Powerful.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! 55 For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered: 56 for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite. 57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah. 54 The sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans; 55 for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth. 56 For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the •God of recompences, will certainly requite. 57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

53 The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. 

They might fortify their strongholds. 

But destroyers will still come from me against them,” 

declares the Lord. 

54 Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. 

Sounds of terrible destruction are heard 

from the land of the Babylonians. 

55 The Lord will destroy Babylon. 

He will silence the loud noise coming from it. 

Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. 

The noise will be heard everywhere. 

56 A destroyer will attack Babylon, 

its soldiers will be captured, 

and their bows and arrows will be broken. 

“I, the Lord, am a God who punishes evil. 

I will certainly punish them. 

57 I will make their officials and wise men drunk, 

along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. 

They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up,” 

declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies. 

53 Even 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.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon!

The sound of great destruction

from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon;

He will silence her mighty voice.

Their waves roar like abundant waters;

the tumult of their voice resounds,

56 for 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.

57 I will make her princes and sages drunk,

along with her governors, officials, and warriors.

Then they will fall asleep forever

and never wake up.

This is the King’s declaration;

Yahweh of Hosts is His name.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,

and though she should fortify her strong height,

from me destroyers would come upon her,

says the Lord.

54 Listen!—a cry from Babylon!

A great crashing from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste

and stilling her loud clamor.

Their waves roar like mighty waters;

the sound of their clamor resounds,

56 for a destroyer has come against her,

against Babylon;

her warriors are taken;

their bows are broken,

for the Lord is a God of recompense;

he will repay in full.

57 I will make her officials and her sages drunk,

also her governors, her deputies, and her warriors;

they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and never wake,

says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

53 Though Babylon goes up to the heavens,

and though she fortifies the high place of her strength,

from me destroyers will come to her,” declares Yahweh.

54 The sound of a cry for help from Babylon,

and a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.

55 For Yahweh is devastating Babylon,

and he obliterates her loud noise from her.

Their waves roar like mighty waters,

the roar of their voices resounds.

56 For a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,

and her warriors are captured.

Their bows are broken;

for Yahweh is a God of recompense,

certainly he will repay.

57 “And I will make drunk her officials, and her wise men,

her governors, and her officials, and her warriors,

and they will sleep an everlasting sleep,

and they will not wake up,”

declares the King, Yahweh of hosts is his name.

53 What if Babylon reached all the way to the sky?

What if it made its high walls even stronger?

I would still send destroyers against it,”

announces the Lord.

54 “The noise of people screaming comes from Babylon.

A terrible sound comes from its land.

It is the sound of a mighty city being destroyed.

55 I will destroy Babylon.

I will put an end to all of its noise.

Waves of enemies will sweep through it like great waters.

The roar of their voices will fill the air.

56 A destroying army will come against Babylon.

The soldiers in the city will be captured.

Their bows will be broken.

I am the Lord God who pays people back.

I will pay them back in full.

57 I will make Babylon’s officials and wise men drunk.

I will do the same thing to its governors, officers and soldiers.

They will lie down and die. They will never wake up,”

announces the King. His name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.

53 “Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens,

And though she should fortify her lofty stronghold,

From Me destroyers will come to her,” declares the Lord.

54 The sound of an outcry from Babylon,

And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For 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 tumult of their voices sounds forth.

56 For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,

And her mighty men will be captured,

Their bows are shattered;

For the Lord is a God of recompense,

He will fully repay.

57 “I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,

Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,

That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,”

Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.