Jeremiah 51:1-14

1This is what the Lord says: “See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. 2I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. 3Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. 4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets. 5For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. 6“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. 7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. 8Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. 9“ ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’ 10“ ‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’ 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. 12Lift 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. 13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed. 14The 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.