Further Judgment on Babylonia
1 The Lord says, “I am bringing a destructive wind against Babylonia and its people. 2 I will send foreigners to destroy Babylonia like a wind that blows straw away. When that day of destruction comes, they will attack from every side and leave the land bare. 3 Don't give its soldiers time to shoot their arrows or to put on their armor. Do not spare the young men! Destroy the whole army! 4 They will be wounded and die in the streets of their cities. 5 I, the Lord God Almighty, have not abandoned Israel and Judah, even though they have sinned against me, the Holy One of Israel. 6 Run away from Babylonia! Run for your lives! Do not be killed because of Babylonia's sin. I am now taking my revenge and punishing it as it deserves. 7 Babylonia was like a gold cup in my hand, making the whole world drunk. The nations drank its wine and went out of their minds. 8 Babylonia has suddenly fallen and is destroyed! Mourn over it! Get medicine for its wounds, and maybe it can be healed. 9 Foreigners living there said, ‘We tried to help Babylonia, but it was too late. Let's leave now and go back home. God has punished Babylonia with all his might and has destroyed it completely.’”
10 The Lord says, “My people shout, ‘The Lord has shown that we are in the right. Let's go and tell the people in Jerusalem what the Lord our God has done.’”
11 The Lord has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylonia. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple.
The attacking officers command, “Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready! 12 Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush!”
The Lord has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylonia. 13 That country has many rivers and rich treasures, but its time is up, and its thread of life is cut. 14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by his own life that he will bring many men to attack Babylonia like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory.
A Hymn of Praise to God
15 The Lord made the earth by his power;
by his wisdom he created the world
and stretched out the heavens.
16 At his command the waters above the sky roar;
he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning flash in the rain
and sends the wind from his storeroom.
17 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;
those who make idols are disillusioned
because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
18 They are worthless and should be despised;
they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.
19 The God of Jacob is not like them;
he is the one who made everything,
and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people.
The Lord Almighty is his name.
The Lord's Hammer
20 The Lord says,
“Babylonia, you are my hammer, my weapon of war.
I used you to crush nations and kingdoms,
21 to shatter horses and riders,
to shatter chariots and their drivers,
22 to kill men and women,
to slay old and young,
to kill boys and girls,
23 to slaughter shepherds and their flocks,
to slaughter farmers and their plow horses,
to crush rulers and high officials.”
Babylonia's Punishment
24 The Lord says, “You will see me repay Babylonia and its people for all the evil they did to Jerusalem. 25 Babylonia, you are like a mountain that destroys the whole world, but I, the Lord, am your enemy. I will take hold of you, level you to the ground, and leave you in ashes. 26 None of the stones from your ruins will ever be used again for building. You will be like a desert forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.
27 “Give the signal to attack! Blow the trumpet so that the nations can hear! Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia! Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack. Appoint an officer to lead the attack. Bring up the horses like a swarm of locusts. 28 Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia. Send for the kings of Media, their leaders and officials, and the armies of all the countries they control. 29 The earth trembles and shakes because the Lord is carrying out his plan to make Babylonia a desert, where no one lives. 30 The Babylonian soldiers have stopped fighting and remain in their forts. They have lost their courage and have become helpless. The city gates are broken down, and the houses are on fire. 31 Messenger after messenger runs to tell the king of Babylonia that his city has been broken into from every side. 32 The enemy have captured the river crossing and have set the fortresses on fire. The Babylonian soldiers have panicked. 33 Soon the enemy will cut them down and trample them like grain on a threshing place. I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, have spoken.”
34 The king of Babylonia cut Jerusalem up
and ate it.
He emptied the city like a jar;
like a monster he swallowed it.
He took what he wanted
and threw the rest away.
35 Let the people of Zion say,
“May Babylonia be held responsible
for the violence done to us!”
Let the people of Jerusalem say,
“May Babylonia be held responsible
for what we have suffered!”
The Lord Will Help Israel
36 And so the Lord said to the people of Jerusalem, “I will take up your cause and will make your enemies pay for what they did to you. I will dry up the source of Babylonia's water and make its rivers go dry. 37 That country will become a pile of ruins where wild animals live. It will be a horrible sight; no one will live there, and all who see it will be terrified. 38 The Babylonians all roar like lions and growl like lion cubs. 39 Are they greedy? I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk and happy. They will go to sleep and never wake up. 40 I will take them to be slaughtered, like lambs, goats, and rams. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Babylon's Fate
41 The Lord says about Babylon: “The city that the whole world praised has been captured! What a horrifying sight Babylon has become to the nations! 42 The sea has rolled over Babylon and covered it with roaring waves. 43 The towns have become a horrifying sight and are like a waterless desert, where no one lives or even travels. 44 I will punish Bel, the god of Babylonia, and make him give up his stolen goods; the nations will not worship him any more.
“Babylon's walls have fallen. 45 People of Israel, run away from there! Run for your life from my fierce anger. 46 Do not lose courage or be afraid because of the rumors you hear. Every year a different rumor spreads—rumors of violence in the land and of one king fighting another. 47 And so the time is coming when I will deal with Babylonia's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its people will be killed. 48 Everything on earth and in the sky will shout for joy when Babylonia falls to the people who come from the north to destroy it. 49 Babylonia caused the death of people all over the world, and now Babylonia will fall because it caused the death of so many Israelites. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
God's Message to the Israelites in Babylonia
50 The Lord says to his people in Babylonia: “You have escaped death! Now go! Don't wait! Though you are far from home, think about me, your Lord, and remember Jerusalem. 51 You say, ‘We've been disgraced and made ashamed; we feel completely helpless because foreigners have taken over the holy places in the Temple.’ 52 So then, I say that the time is coming when I will deal with Babylon's idols, and the wounded will groan throughout the country. 53 Even if Babylon could climb to the sky and build a strong fortress there, I would still send people to destroy it. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Further Destruction on Babylon
54 The Lord says,
“Listen to the sound of crying in Babylon,
of mourning for the destruction in the land.
55 I am destroying Babylon
and putting it to silence.
The armies rush in like roaring waves
and attack with noisy shouts.
56 They have come to destroy Babylon;
its soldiers are captured,
and their bows are broken.
I am a God who punishes evil,
and I will treat Babylon as it deserves.
57 I will make its rulers drunk—
men of wisdom, leaders, and soldiers.
They will go to sleep and never wake up.
I, the king, have spoken;
I am the Lord Almighty.
58 The walls of mighty Babylon will be thrown to the ground,
and its towering gates burned down.
The work of the nations is all for nothing;
their efforts go up in flames.
I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
Jeremiah's Message Is Sent to Babylonia
59 King Zedekiah's personal attendant was Seraiah, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. In the fourth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, Seraiah was going to Babylonia with him, and I gave him some instructions. 60 I wrote in a book an account of all the destruction that would come on Babylonia, as well as all these other things about Babylonia. 61 I told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, be sure to read aloud to the people everything that is written here. 62 Then pray, ‘Lord, you have said that you would destroy this place, so that there would be no living creatures in it, neither people nor animals, and it would be like a desert forever.’ 63 Seraiah, when you finish reading this book to the people, then tie it to a rock and throw it into the Euphrates River 64 and say, ‘This is what will happen to Babylonia—it will sink and never rise again because of the destruction that the Lord is going to bring on it.’”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
Babilon tashi ka teywa po
1 Omwene ota ti ngaha: Ame ohandi ka pendulila Babilon noonakukalamo muLeeb-Kaamai omhepo yomuhanauni. 2 Ndele handi ka tumina Babilon ovayeli tave shi yele. Noshilongo shasho otave shi pupula, osheshi tave ke shi totela noku shi dingilila keembinga adishe mefiku lomupya. 3 Omulukili wouta na lukilile outa waye omulukili, naau ta tuwalala moshikutu shaye shoshivela. Inamu xupifa ovamati vavo. Oita yavo aishe i maneni po sheke.
4 Eendjashe tadi ka wila moshilongo shOvakaldea naava va tuwa omomapandavanda asho. 5 Osheshi Israel naJuda inava efiwa kuKalunga, Omwene womatanga ovakwaita, ndelenee oshilongo shavo shi yadi omatimba koshipala shOmuyapuki waIsrael.
6 Djeni mo onhapo muBabilon! Keshe umwe na xupife omwenyo waye, muha nyonauninwe oulunde washo. Osheshi efimbo eli olo efimbo longhone yOmwene, ote shi alulile pailonga yasho. 7 Babilon osha li eholo loshingoldo meke lOmwene, olo la kolwifa edu alishe. Oiwana aishe ya nwa omaviinyu asho, onghee hano oiwana aishe ya pwiduka. 8 Ohaluka Babilon osha teka po nosha hanauka po. Shi lilileni! Ouyehame washo u kongeleni omuti womaadi abalsam. Kashiimba tashi veluka. 9 Fye otwa hetekela okuvelula Babilon, ndelenee inashi veluka. Shi efeni, tu yeni, keshe umwe koshilongo shavo. Osheshi epangulo lasho tali fiki fiyo okeulu notali hange fiyo okoilemo. 10 Ouyuki wetu Omwene e u eta poluhaela. Ileni, tu ka udifile muSion oilonga yOmwene, Kalunga ketu!
11 Upikeni oikuti! Kwateni oikelelifo! Omwene okwa pendula omhepo yeehamba domuMedia. Osheshi Ye okwa diladila a hanaune po Babilon. Osheshi eshi onghone yOmwene, e shi handukilila otembeli yaye. 12 Eehotekuma daBabilon di dikileni epandela! Hapupalifeni ovanangeli. Pamekeni ovanangeli, longekideni oikulo! Osheshi eshi Omwene e shi diladila ote shi ningi yo, ashishe osho e shi tongela oonakukala muBabilon, ote shi wanifa. 13 Woo oove, u li pomeva manene, oshipuna shomamona, exulilo loye ola fika. Okunyeka kwoye kwa xula po. 14 Omwene womatanga ovakwaita okwa ana muye mwene: Oshili, Ame onda hala oku ku yadifa ovanhu vahapu ve fike poshipaxu. Vo otave ke ku yelulila eingido lehafo.
15 Oye ou a shita edu neenghono daye nokwa pameka ounyuni nounongo waye, eulu e li valela nomayele aye. 16 Nge ta ndunduma, oshihomo shomeva otashi udika keulu, ndele Ye ota menifa oilemo yokominghulo dedu, ta shelifa omaluvadi, ndele ta eta po odula, ndele ta pepifa mo omhepo momalimba ayo. 17 Keshe omunhu a ninga elai ke neshiivo. Keshe omuhambwidi woshingoldo ta lengaifwa molwoshitelekwafano shaye. Oshitelekwafano shaye oipupulu ndele shihe nomwenyo. 18 Ovo oikalunga yongaho, oihongwanima yoiyolifa mefimbo lokuhandukilwa kwavo otai pepuka po. 19 Ndelenee oshitukulwa shaJakob inashi fa ei. Osheshi Omwene Oye Omushiti waaishe, naIsrael oye epata lefyuululifwa laye, Omwene womatanga ovakwaita olo edina laye.
20 Oove ohamala yange noshilwifo shange.
Ohandi ku nyanyaulifa oiwana,
ohandi ku tokekifa omauhamba.
21 Ndele ohandi ku nyanyaulifa eenghambe novalondi vado
ndele ohandi ku nyanyaulifa etemba loita nomushingi walo.
22 Ndele ohandi ku nyanyaulifa omulumenhu nomukainhu.
Ohandi ku nyanyaulifa omukulupe nomunyasha.
Ohandi ku nyanyaulifa omumati nokakadona.
23 Ndele ohandi ku nyanyaulifa omufita noimuna yaye.
Ohandi ku nyanyaulifa omunamapya neenani daye mbali.
Ohandi ku nyanyaulifa ovapangeli novakulunhu.
24 Ndelenee omoipafi yeni ohandi ka alulila Babilon noonakukalamo aveshe muKaldea owii oo aushe ve u longa muSion, Omwene osho ta ti.
25 Tala, Ame ohandi ku totele, oove omhunda ohanauni, Omwene osho ta ti, ove ou ho hanauna edu alishe. Ndele Ame ohandi ke ku yelulila eke lange, ndele handi ku undula ko komhunda, ndele handi ku ningi omhunda ya lungwina po. 26 Ndele mwoove itamu ka kufwa nande emanya lomutwe wokolonela ile emanya lekanghameno. Osheshi ove oto ka kala ofuka fiyo alushe, Omwene osho ta ti. 27 Yeluleni epandela medu! Shikeni enghuma mokati koiwana! Oiwana nai yapulwe oku shi kondjifa. Ifaneni omauhamba aArarat naMinni naAskenas. Hoololeni ondjai oku shi kondjifa. Eenghambe nadi fikame ngaashi oshipaxu shomalududi! 28 Shiveni oiwana, eehamba domuMedia, omalenga novakulunhu aveshe vomusho, nedu alishe li nepangelo alishe noku shi kondjifa. 29 Opo nee edu otali ka kakama ndele tali linyenge kouyehame, osheshi omadiladilo Omwene, e a diladilila Babilon taa wanifwa, Babilon opo te shi ningi ofuka, shihe novanhu. 30 Ovaladi vaBabilon ova efa okulwa va fyaala meehotemanya. Eenghono davo da pwa po, va ninga ovakainhu. Eengulu dasho ve di xwika po noiyedelifo yasho ya teywa po. 31 Omutondoki ota shakeneke omutondoki mukwao. Omutumwa ota shakeneke omutumwa mukwao. Vo va ka shiivifile ohamba yaBabilon, oshilando shaye ashishe sha teywa po keembinga adishe. 32 Oiyau ya nangalwa, omadiva a xwikwa po, ovakwaita va haluka ashike.
33 Osheshi Omwene womatanga ovakwaita, Kalunga kaIsrael ta ti: Omona okakadona Babilon okwa foshipale mefiku olo tashi palwa. Okafimbo kongaho natango, efimbo leteyo laye otali fiki kuye. 34 Oonakukala muSion osho nava tye: “Nebukadnesar, ohamba yaBabilon, okwa lya nge po, okwa hanauna nge po, okwa efa nge ngaashi oshiyuma shihe nasha. Ye okwa pona nge ngaashi ongadu, nokwa kutifa edimo laye neendja dange dinyenye nokwa kandula nge po. 35 Okuhepekwa kwange nonhumba yange ya tosholwa, nai kale kombada yaBabilon.” Jerusalem ta ti: “Nohonde yange nai uye kombada yaava ve li muKaldea.”
36 Onghee nee Omwene ta popi ngaha: Tala, Ame ohandi ku yukifile eendjovo doye, ndele handi va handukile ponhele yoye. Omulonga waye ohandi u pwininike nofifiya yaye ohandi i kukutike. 37 Ndele Babilon otashi ka ninga onduba yomamanya, onhele youvandje noshinima shoixuna yongaho noshodino shihe noonakukalamo.
38 Aveshe kumwe ohava kumbu ngaashi onghoshi yonyasha, tava ono ngaashi eenghoshona. 39 Eshi va duka molwisho lwavo, ohandi va telekele oitendele nohandi va kolwifa, opo va hafe ndele tava ka kofelela, itava penduka vali fiyofiyo, Omwene osho ta ti. 40 Ame ohandi ke va undulila koshidipaelo ngaashi eedjona, ngaashi eedi pamwe noikombo. 41 Sesak, oshifimanekwa shounyuni aushe osha teywa ngahelipi! Babilon osha ninga ngahelipi oshinima oshikumwifa mokati koiwana aishe! 42 Efuta le litumba kombada yaBabilon, omakufikufi alo e shi tuvika. 43 Oilando yasho ya ninga ofuka, ya ninga edu la kukuta, ya ninga omuulu, edu omu muhe novanhu, ndele itapa endwa komona womunhu nande umwe. 44 Bel yomuBabilon ohandi mu handukile ndele handi ka shila mokanya kaye osho e shi pona, ndele oiwana itai ka tondokela vali kuye. Neehotekuma daBabilon tadi ngumauka po yo. 45 Djeni mo musho, onye ovanhu vange! Keshe umwe na xupife omwenyo waye kehanyo lehandu lOmwene. 46 Ndelenee omitima deni inadi kala da tyololoka, nye muha tilifwe komutoto tau ka udika moshilongo, eshi momudo umwe omutoto ou tau uya, ndele momudo mukwao taku uya vali umwe, ndele oukolokoshi u li moshilongo, nondubo pokati kovapangeli. 47 Onghee hano tala, omafiku otae uya, eshi ohandi ka handukila oihongwafano yomuBabilon nedu lasho alishe tali ka fifwa ohoni novadipawa valo tava ka wila mokati kalo. 48 Opo nee eulu nedu naashishe eshi shi li mo otashi ka hafela osho tashi hange Babilon, osheshi koumbangalanhu taku di ovanyonauni vasho, Omwene osho ta ti. 49 Ndele Babilon yo oshi nokuteka po, onye ovadipawa vaIsrael, ngaashi ovo va dipawa omolwaBabilon va wila nedu alishe. 50 Onye ava mwa xupa keongamukonda, djeni po, inamu kanghama! Dimbulukweni Omwene medu lokokule! Kaleni nokudiladila Jerusalem momitima deni. 51 Fye otwa fifwa shili ohoni, osheshi otwa li tu nokupwilikina omasheko; ohoni ya tuvika oshipala shetu, osheshi ovanailongo ova nangala eenhele diyapuki dongulu yOmwene.
52 Onghee hano, omafiku tae uya, Omwene osho ta ti, oihongwafano yasho ohandi ke i handukila. Ndele oshilongo shasho tashi ka yada okukema kweendjashe. 53 Babilon nande na londe keulu, nonande na lepeke nokupameka ohotengulu yaye, mwaame otamu di ovahanauni vasho, Omwene osho ta ti. 54 Pwilikina, onghuwo tai kuu muBabilon! Eweelelo linene lomahanauno moshilongo shOvakaldea! 55 Osheshi Omwene ota hanauna po Babilon, ndele ta pupula mo eweelelo linene. Omakufikufi avo taa ngungumana ngaashi omeva manene, oshihomo sheendaka davo oshinene unene. 56 Osheshi omuhanauni ote shi totele, ota totele Babilon. Novaladi vasho otava ningi eenghwate, omauta avo otaa teyaulwa po, osheshi Omwene Oye Kalunga kehandu. Heeno oshili, Oye ota ka handuka nokuhandukilila. 57 Ndele omalenga novanongo novapangeli novakulunhu novakwanyati vasho ohandi ke va kolwifa, ndele otava ka kofelela fiyofiyo, itava penduka vali, ohamba osho tai ti, edina layo Omwene womatanga ovakwaita.
58 Omwene womatanga ovakwaita ota ti ngaha: Ohotekuma inene yaBabilon otai ngumunwa po fiyo okomakanghameno, omivelo dasho dile otadi ka xwikwa po nomundilo. Osho ovanhu tava longo oshimha noiwana tai longele omundilo, ndele tai lilolola.
59 Ondjovo oyo tuu ei omuxunganeki Jeremia e i lombwela Seraja yaNeria yaMaasea, ou a dja po pamwe naSedekia, ohamba yaJuda, momudo omutine wepangelo laye a ya kuBabilon. Seraja okwa li omwene weenhanda. 60 Ndele Jeremia okwa shanga momushangwatonywa oiponga aishe tai ka hanga Babilon, eendjovo adishe odo da shangelwa Babilon. 61 Ndele Jeremia okwa lombwela Seraja ndele ta ti: “Ove ngeenge to fiki kuBabilon, kala u shi shii kutya, eendjovo odo adishe ou noku di lesha, 62 ove u tye: ‘Omwene, Ove wa popya onhele ei, u i nyone po, muha kale nande onakukalamo, omunhu ile oshimuna, ndelenee shi nokukala ombuwa yongaho fiyo alushe.’ 63 Ndele eshi wa mana okulesha omushangwatonywa ou, u mangela emanya ndele to u ekele momulonga waEufrat, 64 ove u tye: ‘Osho ngaha naBabilon yo tashi ka ningina mo, ndele itashi ka djuuka mo vali moshiponga omo Ame ohandi ke shi undulila.’ ”
Eendjovo daJeremia opo da xulila opo.
