Jeremiah 50:21-23

Contemporary English Version

The Lord's Commands to the Enemies of Babylonia

²¹The Lord said:

I have told
    the enemies of Babylonia,
“Attack the people of Merathaim
    and Pekod.^[a]
Kill them all!
    Destroy their possessions!”

²²Sounds of war
and the noise of destruction
    can be heard.
²³Babylonia was a hammer
pounding every country,
    but now it lies broken.
What a shock to the nations
    of the world!

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Footnotes

50.21 Merathaim … Pekod: Hebrew forms of two Babylonian names that refer to the land of Babylonia. Merathaim probably referred to lagoons near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers or to the Persian Gulf, but in Hebrew it means “Twice as Rebellious.” Pekod referred to a tribe of southeastern Babylonia, but in Hebrew it means “Punishment.”