Jeremiah 50

¹ Na the message wey God give me about the city of Babylon and hin people be this:

² “Make you tell the nations the news! Declare am! Make you give the signal and announce the news! Make you no keep am secret! Babylon don fall! Her god Marduk don break! Shame don catch Babylon idols. Her dirty idols don break!

³ “A nation from the north don come attack Babylonia and dem go turn am to desert. People and animals go run away, and nobody go live for there.”

⁴ God talk say, “When that time come, the people of Israel and Judah go come dey cry, dem go dey look for me, their God.

⁵ Dem go ask the way to Zion and then dem go follow the direction. Dem go make covenant wey no dey end with me and dem no go break am.

⁶ “My people be like sheep wey their shepherds don allow them get lost in the mountains. Dem don waka up and down like sheep from one mountain go another, and dem don forget where their home dey.

⁷ Everyone wey find them dey attack them. Their enemies talk say, ‘Dem sin against God, and so wetin we don do no dey wrong. Their ancestor don trust in the LORD, and dem too suppose remain faithful to him.’

⁸ “People of Israel, make una run away from Babylonia! Leave the country! Make una be the first to leave!

⁹ I go bring a group of strong nation from north and I go make them attack Babylonia. Dem go line up in battle against the country and dem go defeat am. Dem be hunter wey get skills, dem dey shoot arrow and dem no dey miss target.

¹⁰ Dem go rob Babylonia, and those wey rob them go take everything wey dem want. I, the LORD, don talk.”

¹¹ God talk say, “People of Babylonia, una rob my nation. Una dey happy and glad, una dey waka about like cow wey dey separate corn or like horse wey dey make happy sound,

¹² But shame and disgrace go catch una great city. Babylonia go be least important among all nations; e go become dry desert wey no get water.

¹³ Because of my anger, nobody go dey live for Babylon; e go perish, and people wey dey pass by go dey shocked and surprised.

¹⁴ “Arrowmen, make una line up for battle against Babylon and surround am. Make una shoot all una arrow at Babylon, because e don sin against me, the LORD.

¹⁵ Make una raise the war cry all round the city! Babylon don surrender now. Dem don break through hin wall and tear am down. I dey take my revenge on top Babylonians. So make una take una revenge on them, and make una treat them as dem don treat others.

¹⁶ Make una no allow them sow seed in that country or allow them gather harvest. Every foreigners wey dey live for there go fear the army wey dey attack them and dem go run back home.”

¹⁷ God talk say, “People of Israel be like sheep, wey lion dey chase and scatter. First, the emperor of Assyria attack them and then king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia tear their bones.

¹⁸ Because of this, I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, I go punish king Nebuchadnezzar and him country, just as I don punish emperor of Assyria.

¹⁹ I go bring the people of Israel back to their land. Dem go chop the food wey grow on top Mount Carmel and for region of Basha, and dem go chop everything wey dem want from the crops wey grow for Ephraim and Gilead territory.

²⁰ When that time come, sin no go dey for Jerusalem and wickedness no go dey for Judah, because I go forgive those people wey I don keep their lives. I, the LORD, don talk.”

²¹ God talk say, “Make una attack the people of Merathaim and Pekod. Kill and destroy them. Make una do everything wey I command una. I, the LORD, don talk.”

²² Dem dey hear the noise of battle in the land, and great destruction dey.

²³ Babylonia don break all the world to pieces with hammer, and now that hammer don break! All nation shock with the thing wey don happen to the country.

²⁴ Babylonia, una don fight against me, and trap wey I set for una don catch una, even though una no know am.

²⁵ I don open the place where I keep my weapons, and I don take them out with my anger, because I, the LORD God Almighty, get work to do in Babylonia.

²⁶ Attack am from all sides and break the place where dem dey keep grains open! Make una pile up wetin una don steal like big pile of grains! Destroy the country! Make una no leave anything at all.

²⁷ Kill all their soldiers! Slaughter them! The people of Babylonia don enter trouble! The time for them to be punished don come!”

²⁸ {People dey escape from Babylonia and come to Jerusalem, and dem tell how the LORD our God, don take revenge for wetin Babylonia don do to him Temple.}

²⁹ “Tell arrowmen make dem attack Babylon. Make una send out everyone wey fit use bow and arrow. Make una surround the city and no let anyone escape. Make una pay am back for everything wey hin don do, and treat am as hin don treat others, because e dey act with pride against me, the Holy one of Israel.

³⁰ Naso hin young men go die for the city streets, and all hin soldiers go perish on that day. I, the LORD, don talk.

³¹ “Babylonia, pride don full una, so I, the LORD God Almighty, dey against una! The time don come for me to punish una.

³² Una wey be pride nation go stagger and fall, and no one go help una up. I go burn una city, and everything wey dey around go destroy.”

³³ The LORD Almighty talk say, “The people of Israel and Judah dey suffer abuse. All people wey capture them dey guard them closely and dem no allow them go.

³⁴ But the one wey go rescue them dey strong - him name na the LORD Almighty. He go take up their case by himself and bring peace to the earth, but he go bring trouble to people of Babylonia.”

³⁵ God talk say, “Death to Babylonia! Death to hin people, to hin rulers, to hin men of wisdom.

³⁶ Death to hin prophet wey dey lie - na fool dem be! Death to hin soldier- dem dey fear!

³⁷ Destroy hin horses and chariots! Kill hin hire soldier- how weak dem be! Destroy hin treasures; rob and steal.

³⁸ No allow rain fall on the land and dry up the river. Babylonia na land of terrible idols, wey don fool people.

³⁹ “And so demon and evil spirits and unclean bird go trouble Babylon. People no go ever live for there again, no be even for all time to come.

⁴⁰ The same thing wey don happen to Sodom and Gomorrah go happen to Babylon, when I destroy them and the town wey dey near. Nobody go live for there again. I, the LORD, don talk.

⁴¹ “People dey come from a country for north, mighty nation far away; plenty kings dey prepare for war.

⁴² Dem don take their bows and swords; dem wicked and dem no get mercy. Dem dey make sound like noise of the sea, as dem ride their horses. Dem don ready for battle against Babylonia.

⁴³ The king of Babylonia con hear the news and him hand dey hang for him waist. Pain catch him, like pain of woman wey dey labour.

⁴⁴ “Like lion wey dey come out of the thick wood along Jordan to the green field land, I the LORD, I go come and I go make Babylonia run away from thier city. Then the leader wey I choose go rule the nation. Who be like me? Who fit try challenge me? Which kind ruler fit stand against me?

⁴⁵ So make una hear the plan wey I don make against the city of Babylon and wetin I don wan do to hin people. Dem go even drag their children commot and everybody go fear.

⁴⁶ When Babylonia fall, the kind noise wey go dey go shake all the earth, and all other nation go hear the cry of alarm.”