바빌론의 폐허 가운데서 듣는 위안
고난이 끝이 아니니, 하나님의 공의가 폭정을 무너뜨릴 때 억눌렸던 영혼은 마침내 숨을 쉴 수 있다.
Thus said GOD:See, I am rousing a destructive windAgainst Babylon and the inhabitants of Leb-kamai. “Chaldea.” I will send strangers against Babylon, and they shall winnow her.And they shall strip her land bare;They shall beset her on all sidesOn the day of disaster. Let the archer draw his bow,And let him stand ready in his coat of mail!Show no pity to her young men,Wipe out all her host! Let them fall slain in the land of Chaldea,Pierced through in her streets. For Israel and Judah were not bereft Of their God— GOD of Hosts,But their land was filled with guiltBefore the Holy One of Israel. Flee from the midst of BabylonAnd save your lives, each of you!Do not perish for her iniquity;For this is a time of vengeance for GOD,Who will deal retribution to her. Babylon was a golden cup in GOD’s hand,It made the whole earth drunk;The nations drank of her wine—That is why the nations are mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is shattered;Howl over her!Get balm for her wounds:Perhaps she can be healed. We tried to cure BabylonBut she was incurable.Let us leave her and go,Each to our own land;For her punishment reaches to heaven,It is as high as the sky. GOD has proclaimed our vindication;Come, let us recount in ZionThe deeds of the ETERNAL our God. Polish the arrows,Fill the quivers! GOD has roused the spirit of the kings of Media,For the divine plan against Babylon is to destroy her.This is GOD’s vengeance,Vengeance for the holy temple. Raise a standard against the walls of Babylon!Set up a blockade; station watchmen;Prepare those in ambush.For GOD has both planned and performedWhat was decreed against the inhabitants of Babylon. O you who dwell by great waters,With vast storehouses,Your time is come, the hour of your end. GOD of Hosts has wholeheartedly sworn:I will fill you with enemies like a locust swarm,They will raise a shout against you. [God] made the earth by might,Established the world by wisdom,And with understanding stretched out the skies. When [God] bellows, There is a rumbling of waters in the skies;Vapors rise from the end of the earth,Lightning accompanies the rain,And wind is brought forth from God’s treasuries. Every mortal is proved dull, without knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame because of the idol,For their molten images are a deceit—There is no breath in them. They are delusion, a work of mockery;In their hour of doom, they shall perish. Not like these is the Portion of Jacob—The One who formed all things,With Israel as a permanent possession—Whose name is GOD of Hosts. You are My war club, [My] weapons of battle;With you I clubbed nations,With you I destroyed kingdoms; With you I clubbed horse and rider,With you I clubbed chariot and driver, With you I clubbed man and woman,With you I clubbed graybeard and boy,With you I clubbed youth and maiden; With you I clubbed shepherd and flock,With you I clubbed plower and team,With you I clubbed governors and prefects. But I will requite Babylon and all the inhabitants of ChaldeaFor all the wicked things they did to Zion before your eyes—declares GOD. See, I will deal with you, O mountain of the destroyer—declares GOD—Destroyer of the whole earth!I will stretch out My hand against youAnd roll you down from the crags,And make you a burnt-out mountain. They shall never take from youA cornerstone or foundation stone;You shall be a desolation for all time—declares GOD. Raise a standard on earth,Sound a horn among the nations,Appoint nations against her,Assemble kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz—Designate a marshal against her,Bring up horses like swarming locusts! Appoint nations for war against her—The kings of Media,Her governors and all her prefects,And all the lands they rule! Then the earth quakes and writhes,For GOD’s purpose is fulfilled against Babylon,To make the land of BabylonA waste without inhabitant. The warriors of Babylon stop fighting,They sit in the strongholds,Their might is dried up,They become women.Her dwellings are set afire,Her bars are broken. Runner dashes to meet runner,Messenger to meet messenger,To report to the king of BabylonThat his city is captured, from end to end. The fords are captured,And the swamp thickets are consumed in fire;And the warriors are in panic. For thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel:Fair Babylon is like a threshing floorReady to be trodden;In a little while her harvesttime will come. “Nebuchadrezzar king of BabylonDevoured me and discomfited me;He swallowed me like a dragon,He filled his belly with my dainties,And set me down like an empty dish;Then he rinsed me out. Let the violence done me and my kindredBe upon Babylon,”Says the inhabitant of Zion;“And let my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”Says Jerusalem. Assuredly, thus said GOD:I am going to uphold your causeAnd take vengeance for you;I will dry up her seaAnd make her fountain run dry. Babylon shall become rubble,A den for jackals,An object of horror and hissing, Without inhabitant. Like lions, they roar
Jeremiah 51 is a taunt-song over Babylon. It speaks both of unsparing judgment (arrows, locust swarms, shattered walls) and of surprising comfort: 'Flee from the midst of Babylon and save your lives' (v. 6). The cup that intoxicated the nations is itself broken, and the people of God are invited to 'recount in Zion the deeds of the Eternal.' Suffering and comfort meet at the cross of divine justice.