On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps,

Babylonia ¹  will be plundered. Those who plunder it will take all they want,” says the Lord. ² 

“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.

The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat. ¹ 

Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. ¹ 

No one will live there again; no one will ever reside there again. ¹  No bedouin ²  will camp ³  there, no shepherds will rest their flocks ⁴  there.

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! ¹  The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, ²  demolished ³  its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁴ 

I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; ¹  you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. ² 

Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything unclean! Get out of it! Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items! ¹ 

“Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. ¹ 

The Lord says, ¹  “Attack ²  the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod! ³  Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them! ⁴  Do just as I have commanded you! ⁵ 

Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help ¹  him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people.

But those in Jerusalem ¹  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ²  but the king of Babylon ³  will accuse them of violations ⁴  in order to seize them. ⁵ 

You should have reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who is pretending to be a prophet among you! ¹ 

For the Lord says, “Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab. ¹ 

Here is the official record of the number of people ¹  Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year, ²  3,023 Jews;

When she saw them, ¹  she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ² 

On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. ¹ 

The ¹  blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, ²  along with the blood ³  of all those who had been killed on the earth.”

I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ¹  two hundred silver pieces, ²  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”