Jeremiah 51:11–14

11 “Sharpen the arrows,

take up the shields!

The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,

because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.

The Lord will take vengeance,

vengeance for his temple.

12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!

Reinforce the guard,

station the watchmen,

prepare an ambush!

The Lord will carry out his purpose,

his decree against the people of Babylon.

13 You who live by many waters

and are rich in treasures,

your end has come,

the time for you to be destroyed.

14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:

I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,

and they will shout in triumph over you.

11 “Sharpen the arrows!

Take up the shields!

The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.

12 “Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;

make the watch strong;

set up watchmen;

prepare the ambushes;

for the Lord has both planned and done

what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O you who dwell by many waters,

rich in treasures,

your end has come;

the thread of your life is cut.

14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:

Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts,

and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields:

The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes:

For his device is against Babylon, to destroy it;

Because it is the vengeance of the Lord,

The vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon,

Make the watch strong, set up the watchmen,

Prepare the ambushes:

For the Lord hath both devised and done

That which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures,

Thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying,

Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers;

And they shall lift up a shout against thee.

11 Sharpen the arrows!

Lift up the shields!

For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes

to march against Babylon and destroy her.

This is his vengeance against those

who desecrated his Temple.

12 Raise the battle flag against Babylon!

Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen.

Prepare an ambush,

for the Lord will fulfill all his plans against Babylon.

13 You are a city by a great river,

a great center of commerce,

but your end has come.

The thread of your life is cut.

14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow

and has sworn to it by his own name:

“Your cities will be filled with enemies,

like fields swarming with locusts,

and they will shout in triumph over you.”

11 Make the arrows bright!

Gather the shields!

The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.

For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,

Because it is the vengeance of the Lord,

The vengeance for His temple.

12 Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon;

Make the guard strong,

Set up the watchmen,

Prepare the ambushes.

For the Lord has both devised and done

What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O you who dwell by many waters,

Abundant in treasures,

Your end has come,

The measure of your covetousness.

14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself:

“Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,

And they shall lift up a shout against you.”

11 “Sharpen the arrows!

Pick up your shields!

The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,

because he wants to destroy Babylon.

The Lord will punish them as they deserve

for destroying his Temple.

12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!

Bring more guards.

Put the watchmen in their places,

and get ready for a secret attack!

The Lord will certainly do what he has planned

and what he said he would do against the people of Babylon.

13 People of Babylon, you live near much water

and are rich with many treasures,

but your end as a nation has come.

It is time to stop you from robbing other nations.

14 The Lord All-Powerful has promised in his own name:

‘Babylon, I will surely fill you with so many enemy soldiers they will be like a swarm of locusts.

They will stand over you and shout their victory.’

11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. 12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness. 14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

11 Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. 12 Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity. 14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.

11 Sharpen the arrows; fill the quivers. 

The Lord will stir up the spirit of the kings of the Medes 

because his plan is to destroy Babylon. 

The Lord will avenge his temple. 

12 Raise your battle flag in front of the walls of Babylon. 

Strengthen the guards. 

Station watchmen. 

Prepare ambushes. 

The Lord will carry out his plans 

against the people who live in Babylon. 

13 Babylon, you live beside many rivers and are rich with treasures, 

but your end has come. 

The thread of your life has been cut off. 

14 The Lord of Armies has taken an oath on himself: 

“I will certainly fill you with many enemy armies. 

They will swarm like locusts. 

People will shout their victory over you.” 

11 Sharpen the arrows!

Fill the quivers!

The Lord has put it into the mind

of the kings of the Medes

because His plan is aimed at Babylon

to destroy her,

for it is the Lord’s vengeance,

vengeance for His temple.

12 Raise up a signal flag

against the walls of Babylon;

fortify the watch post;

set the watchmen in place;

prepare the ambush.

For the Lord has both planned and accomplished

what He has threatened

against those who live in Babylon.

13 You who reside by many waters,

rich in treasures,

your end has come,

your life thread is cut.

14 The Lord of Hosts has sworn by Himself:

I will fill you up with men as with locusts,

and they will sing the victory song over you.

11 Sharpen the arrows!

Fill the quivers!

The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his temple.

12 Raise a standard against the walls of Babylon;

make the watch strong;

post sentinels;

prepare the ambushes,

for the Lord has both planned and done

what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 You who live by mighty waters,

rich in treasures,

your end has come;

the thread of your life is cut.

14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:

Surely I will fill you with troops like a swarm of locusts,

and they shall raise a shout of victory over you.

11 “I have stirred up you kings of the Medes.

So sharpen your arrows!

Get your shields!

I plan to destroy Babylon.

I will pay the Babylonians back.

They have destroyed my temple.

12 Lift up a banner! Attack Babylon’s walls!

Put more guards on duty!

Station more of them to watch over you!

Hide and wait to attack them!

I will do what I have planned.

I will do what I have decided to do

against the people of Babylon.

13 You who live by the rivers of Babylon,

your end has come.

You who are rich in treasures,

it is time for you to be destroyed.

14 I am the Lord who rules over all.

I have made a promise with an oath in my own name.

I have said, ‘I will certainly fill your land with soldiers.

They will be as many as a huge number of locusts.

They will win the battle over you.

They will shout for joy.’

11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!

The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,

Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;

For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.

12 Lift up a signal against the walls of Babylon;

Post a strong guard,

Station sentries,

Place men in ambush!

For the Lord has both purposed and performed

What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O you who dwell by many waters,

Abundant in treasures,

Your end has come,

The measure of your end.

14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself:

“Surely I will fill you with a population like locusts,

And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”