Jeremiah 51:53–64

53 “Though Babylon should aascend to the heavens,

And though she should fortify 1her lofty stronghold,

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

54 The asound 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 1noise vanish from her.

And their awaves will roar like many waters;

The tumult of their voices 2sounds forth.

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

And her mighty men will be captured,

Their bbows are shattered;

For the Lord is a God of crecompense,

He will fully repay.

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

Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,

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

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

58 Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“The broad awall of Babylon will be completely razed

And her high bgates will be set on fire;

So the peoples will ctoil for nothing,

And the nations become dexhausted only for fire.”

59 The 1message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of aNeriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with bZedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.)

60 So Jeremiah awrote in a single 1scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon.

61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud,

62 and say, ‘You, O Lord, have 1promised concerning this place to acut it off, so that there will be bnothing dwelling in it, 2whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.’

63 “And as soon as you finish reading this 1scroll, you will tie a stone to it and athrow it into the middle of the Euphrates,

64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and anot rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become bexhausted.’ ” cThus far are the words of Jeremiah.