51 Thus says the Lord:

I am going to stir up a destructive winda

against Babylon

and against the inhabitants of Leb-qamai;b

2 and I will send winnowers to Babylon,

and they shall winnow her.

They shall empty her land

when they come against her from every side

on the day of trouble.

3 Let not the archer bend his bow,

and let him not array himself in his coat of mail.

Do not spare her young men;

utterly destroy her entire army.

4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,

and wounded in her streets.

5 Israel and Judah have not been forsaken

by their God, the Lord of hosts,

though their land is full of guilt

before the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee from the midst of Babylon,

save your lives, each of you!

Do not perish because of her guilt,

for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance;

he is repaying her what is due.

7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,

making all the earth drunken;

the nations drank of her wine,

and so the nations went mad.

8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is shattered;

wail for her!

Bring balm for her wound;

perhaps she may be healed.

9 We tried to heal Babylon,

but she could not be healed.

Forsake her, and let each of us go

to our own country;

for her judgment has reached up to heaven

and has been lifted up even to the skies.

10 The Lord has brought forth our vindication;

come, let us declare in Zion

the work of the Lord our God.

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.

15 It is he who made the earth by his power,

who established the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightnings for the rain,

and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;

goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols;

for their images are false,

and there is no breath in them.

18 They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

19 Not like these is the Lord,c the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

the Lord of hosts is his name.