29. Send the archers against Babylon,all who draw the bow!Surround herand let no one escape.Pay her back for her deeds;do to her what she’s done to others.She has acted arrogantlytoward the Lord, the holy one of Israel!
30. Therefore, her soldiers will fallin the streets;all her warriors will be silencedon that day,declares the Lord.
31. I’m against you, you arrogant one!declares the Lord Godof heavenly forces.Your day has come,your time of reckoning.
32. The arrogant one will stumble and fall,and no one will help her up.I’ll set your cities on fire,and it will consume all that’s around her.
33. The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:The people of Israel were oppressed,together with the people of Judah.Their captors held themand refused to let them go.
34. Yet their redeemer is strong;the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.He will surely defend their causeand give them rest in the land.But he will unsettlethe people of Babylon.
35. A sword against Babylon and its people,declares the Lord, along with its officials and sages.
36. A sword against its divinersso that they become fools.A sword against its warriorsso that they are terrified.
37. A sword against its horsesand chariots,and the mercenaries in its midstso that they lose courage.A sword against its treasuresso that they are looted.
38. A sword against the water suppliesso that they dry up.It is truly the land of idols,idols about which they have gone utterly mad!
39. Therefore, Babylonwill become a ghost town,a place for desert animals,hyenas, and ravenous birds.No one will live there again;no one will make it their home.
40. Just as God destroyed Sodomand Gomorrah and their neighbors,declares the Lord, so no one will live in Babylonor settle there again.
41. Look! An army is on the movefrom the northern regions.A powerful nationand many kings are comingfrom the ends of the earth.
42. Equipped with bow and spear,they are crueland show no mercy.Their horsemen soundlike the roaring sea,arrayed in battle formation against you,Daughter Babylon.
43. The king of Babylon has heardreports of themand is panic-stricken;distress overwhelms him,pain like that of a woman in labor.
44. Like a lion coming up fromthe jungle of the Jordanto a well-watered meadow,so I will suddenly chase down Babylonand single out its choicest of rams.Who is like me?Who can direct me?What shepherd can withstand me?
45. Therefore, listen to the counselthat the Lord has for Babylonand the plans he’s devisedagainst the land of Babylon:The little ones of the flockwill be dragged off,as their pasture watchesin utter disbelief.
46. The earth quakesat the sound of Babylon’s capture;its screams echothroughout the world.