25:6, 7 Because . . . therefore. The punishment fits the crime: rejoicing at the harm done to Jerusalem, the Ammonites themselves become prey to a foreign power. Though many of the small states in the area escaped the destruction during the Babylonian invasion of 587–586 b.c., sources outside the Bible indicate that Nebuchadnezzar decimated Ammon and Moab in 582 b.c. The prophet makes the same point in 21:28–32.