Jeremiah 51:56–58

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.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled

and her high gates set on fire;

the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,

the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”

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.

58 Thus 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.

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.

58 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

“The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,

and her massive gates will be burned.

The builders from many lands have worked in vain,

for their work will be destroyed by fire!”

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.

58 Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken,

And her high gates shall be burned with fire;

The people will labor in vain,

And the nations, because of the fire;

And they shall be weary.”

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.

58 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:

“Babylon’s thick wall will be completely pulled down

and her high gates burned.

The people will work hard, but it won’t help;

their work will only become fuel for the flames!”

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. 58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

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. 58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.

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. 

58 This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, 

and its high gates will be set on fire. 

People exhaust themselves for nothing. 

The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. 

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.

58 This is what Yahweh of Hosts says:

Babylon’s thick walls will be totally demolished,

and her high gates consumed by fire.

The peoples will have labored for nothing;

the nations will exhaust themselves only to feed the fire.

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.

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 exhaust themselves for nothing,

the nations only for fire,

and they have become weary.

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.

58 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:

“The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished,

and her high gates will burn with fire,

and the peoples will labor for nothing,

and the nations for fire,

and they will grow weary.”

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.

58 The Lord who rules over all says,

“Babylon’s thick walls will fall down flat.

Its high gates will be set on fire.

The nations wear themselves out for no reason at all.

Their hard work will only be burned up in the flames.”

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.

58 Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely razed

And her high gates will be set on fire;

So the peoples will toil for nothing,

And the nations become exhausted only for fire.”