⁸ “Now, then, hear this, you ^(T)luxuriant one,
Who ^(U)lives securely,
Who says in her heart,
‘^(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will ^(W)not sit as a widow,
Nor know the loss of children.’
⁹ But these ^(X)two things will come on you ^(Y)suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many ^(Z)sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
¹⁰ You felt ^(AA)secure in your wickedness and said,
‘^(AB)No one sees me,’
Your ^(AC)wisdom and your knowledge, ^[b]they have led you astray;
For you have said in your heart,
‘^(AD)I am, and there is no one besides me.’
¹¹ But ^(AE)evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And ^(AF)destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you ^(AG)suddenly.

¹² “Persist now in your ^(AH)spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to benefit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
¹³ You are ^(AI)wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the ^(AJ)astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and ^(AK)save you from what will come upon you.
¹⁴ Behold, they have become ^(AL)like stubble,
^(AM)Fire burns them;
They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be ^(AN)no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
¹⁵ So have those become to you with whom you have labored,
Those who have ^(AO)done business with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own ^[c]way;
There is ^(AP)no one to save you.

⁸ “Wander away from the ^(V)midst of Babylon
And ^[f]go out from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like male goats ^[g]at the head of the flock.
⁹ For behold, I am going to ^(W)rouse and bring up against Babylon
A contingent of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like ^[h]an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
^10 [i](X)Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.

¹¹ “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
You who ^(Y)pillage My heritage,
Because you skip about ^[j]like a threshing ^(Z)heifer
And neigh like ^[k]stallions,
¹² Your ^(AA)mother ^[l]will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth ^[m]will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A ^(AB)wilderness, a dry land and a desert.
¹³ Because of the wrath of the Lord she will ^(AC)not be inhabited,
But she will be ^(AD)completely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon ^(AE)will be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
¹⁴ Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All of you who ^[n]bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not spare your arrows,
For she has ^(AF)sinned against the Lord.
¹⁵ Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has ^(AG)given ^[o]herself up, her towers have fallen,
Her ^(AH)walls have been torn down.
For this is the ^(AI)vengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
^(AJ)As she has done to others, so do to her.
¹⁶ Eliminate the ^(AK)sower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From ^[p]the ^(AL)sword of the oppressor
^(AM)Each of them will turn back to his own people
And each of them will flee to his own land.

²⁸ There is a ^(BJ)sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the ^(BK)vengeance of the Lord our God,
Vengeance for His ^(BL)temple.

²⁹ “Summon ^[y]many against Babylon,
All those who ^[z]bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape^[aa].
Repay her according to her work;
^(BM)According to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become ^(BN)arrogant against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
³⁰ Therefore her ^(BO)young men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will ^(BP)perish on that day,” declares the Lord.
³¹ “Behold, ^(BQ)I am against you, ^[ab]arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord ^[ac]God of armies,
“For your day has come,
The time ^[ad]when I will punish you.
³² The ^[ae](BR)arrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will ^(BS)set fire to his cities,
And it will devour all his surroundings.”

³³ This is what the Lord of armies says:
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And ^(BT)all who took them captive have held them firmly,
They have refused to let them go.
³⁴ Their ^(BU)Redeemer is strong, ^(BV)the Lord of armies is His name;
He will vigorously ^(BW)plead their case
So that He may ^(BX)bring rest to their land,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
³⁵ A ^(BY)sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her ^(BZ)leaders and her ^(CA)wise men!
³⁶ A sword against the ^(CB)oracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her ^(CC)warriors, and they will be ^[af](CD)shattered!
³⁷ A sword against ^[ag]their ^(CE)horses, against ^[ah]their chariots,
And against all the ^[ai](CF)foreigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become ^(CG)women!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
³⁸ A ^[aj](CH)drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of ^(CI)idols,
And they go insane at frightful images.

³⁹ “Therefore the ^(CJ)desert creatures will live there with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it.
It will ^(CK)never again be inhabited
Nor lived in from generation to generation.
⁴⁰ As when God overthrew ^(CL)Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No one will live there,
Nor will ^[ak]anyone of mankind reside in it.

⁴¹ “Behold, a people is coming ^(CM)from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth.
⁴² They ^(CN)seize their bow and javelin;
They are ^(CO)cruel and have no mercy.
Their ^(CP)voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on ^(CQ)horses,
^(CR)Drawn up like a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Babylon.
⁴³ The ^(CS)king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
^(CT)Distress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.

⁵ For ^(DH)neither Israel nor Judah has been ^[at]forsaken
By his God, the Lord of armies,
Although their land is ^(DI)full of guilt
^[au]Before the Holy One of Israel.
^6 (DJ)Flee from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not ^(DK)perish in her ^[av]punishment,
For this is the ^(DL)Lord’s time of vengeance;
He is going to ^(DM)repay to her what she deserves.
⁷ Babylon has been a golden ^(DN)cup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The ^(DO)nations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are ^(DP)going insane.
⁸ Suddenly ^(DQ)Babylon has fallen and been broken;
^(DR)Wail over her!
^(DS)Bring ^[aw]balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
⁹ We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Abandon her and ^(DT)let’s each go to his own country,
For her judgment has ^(DU)reached to heaven
And it rises to the clouds.
¹⁰ The Lord has ^(DV)brought ^[ax]about our vindication;
Come and let’s ^(DW)recount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!

^11 (DX)Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the ^(DY)vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
^12 (DZ)Lift up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station ^[ay]sentries,
Set up an ambush!
For the Lord has both ^(EA)planned and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
¹³ You who ^(EB)live by many waters,
Abundant in ^(EC)treasures,
Your end has come,
The ^[az]measure of your ^[ba](ED)end.
¹⁴ The ^(EE)Lord of armies has sworn by Himself:
“I will certainly fill you with a ^[bb]population like ^(EF)locusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”

¹⁵ It is ^(EG)He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He ^(EH)stretched out the heavens.
¹⁶ When He utters His ^(EI)voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the ^(EJ)clouds ascend from the end of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings out ^(EK)wind from His storehouses.
^17 (EL)Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his ^[bc]idols,
For his cast metal images are ^(EM)deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
¹⁸ They are ^(EN)worthless, a work of mockery;
At the time of their punishment they will perish.
¹⁹ The ^(EO)portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the ^[bd]Maker of everything,
And of the ^[be]tribe of His inheritance;
The ^(EP)Lord of armies is His name.
²⁰ He says, “You are My ^[bf](EQ)war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I ^(ER)shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
²¹ With you I ^(ES)shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the ^(ET)chariot and its rider,
²² And with you I shatter ^(EU)man and woman,
And with you I shatter the old man and ^(EV)youth,
And with you I shatter the young man and virgin,
²³ And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and officials.

^27 (FC)Lift up a signal flag in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the ^(FD)kingdoms of ^(FE)Ararat, Minni, and ^(FF)Ashkenaz;
Appoint an officer against her,
Bring up the ^(FG)horses like bristly locusts.
²⁸ Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
^[bg]Their governors and all ^[bh]their officials,
And every land ^[bi]under their control.
²⁹ So the ^(FH)land quakes and writhes,
For the plans of the Lord against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
^[bj]A ^(FI)desolation without inhabitants.
³⁰ The ^(FJ)warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
^(FK)Their strength is ^[bk]exhausted,
They are becoming ^(FL)like women;
Their homes are set on fire,
The ^(FM)bars of her gates are broken.
³¹ One ^[bl](FN)courier runs to meet ^[bm]another,
And one ^[bn](FO)messenger to meet ^[bo]another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
³² The river crossing places have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.

³³ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a ^(FP)threshing floor
At the time that ^[bp]it is tread down;
In just a little while the time of ^(FQ)harvest will come for her.”

³⁴ “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has ^(FR)devoured me, he has crushed me,
He has set me down like an ^(FS)empty vessel;
He has ^(FT)swallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
³⁵ May the ^(FU)violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The ^[bq]inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.

⁴¹ “How ^[bt](GE)Sheshak has been captured,
And ^(GF)the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
⁴² The ^[bu](GG)sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed by its roaring waves.
⁴³ Her cities have become an ^(GH)object of horror,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which ^(GI)no one lives
And through which no ^[bv]one of mankind passes.
^44 (GJ)I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed ^(GK)come out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer ^(GL)stream toward him.
Even the ^(GM)wall of Babylon has fallen down!

⁴⁵ “^(GN)Come out from her midst, My people,
And each of you ^(GO)save yourselves
From the fierce anger of the Lord.
⁴⁶ Now, ^(GP)so that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the ^(GQ)report that will be heard in the land—
For the report will come in ^[bw]one year,
And after that ^[bx]another report in ^[by]another year,
And violence will be in the land
With ^(GR)ruler against ruler—
⁴⁷ Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the ^(GS)idols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be ^(GT)put to shame.
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
⁴⁸ Then ^(GU)heaven and earth and everything that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
Because ^(GV)the destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.

^49 (GW)Indeed, Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As ^(GX)the slain of all the earth have also fallen for Babylon.
⁵⁰ You ^(GY)who have escaped the sword,
Go! Do not stay!
^(GZ)Remember the Lord from far away,
And let Jerusalem ^[bz]come to your mind.
^51 (HA)We are ashamed because we have heard rebuke;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
Because ^(HB)strangers have entered
The holy places of the Lord’s house.

⁵² “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will punish her ^(HC)idols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
⁵³ Though Babylon ^(HD)ascends to the heavens,
And though she fortifies ^[ca]her lofty stronghold,
Destroyers will come from ^(HE)Me to her,” declares the Lord.

⁵⁴ The ^(HF)sound of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
⁵⁵ For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud ^[cb]noise vanish from her.
And their ^(HG)waves will roar like many waters;
The clamor of their voices ^[cc]sounds forth.
⁵⁶ For the ^(HH)destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her warriors will be captured,
Their ^(HI)bows shattered;
For the Lord is a God of ^(HJ)retribution,
He will fully repay.
⁵⁷ “I will ^(HK)make her leaders and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her officials, and her warriors,
So that they will sleep a ^(HL)perpetual sleep and not wake up,”
^(HM)Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.