44
I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out what it has swallowed. The nations will not come and worship it anymore. And Babylon's walls will fall down.
45
"Come out of there, my people! Run for your lives! Run away from my burning anger.
46
You will hear about terrible things that are happening in Babylonia. But do not lose hope. Do not be afraid. You will hear one thing this year. And you will hear something else next year. You will hear about awful things in the land. You will hear about one ruler fighting against another.
47
I will punish the gods of Babylon. That time will certainly come. Then the whole land will be full of shame. Its people will lie down and die there.
48
So heaven and earth and everything in them will shout for joy. They will be glad because of what will happen to Babylon. Armies will attack it from the north. And they will destroy it," announces the Lord.
49
"Babylon's people have killed my people Israel. They have also killed people all over the earth. So now Babylon itself must fall.
50
You who have not been killed in the war against Babylon, leave! Do not wait! In a land far away remember me. And think about Jerusalem."
51
The people of Judah reply, "No one honors us anymore. People make fun of us. Our faces are covered with shame. People from other lands have entered the holy places of the LORD's house."
52
"But a new day is coming," announces the Lord. "At that time I will punish the gods of Babylon. And all through its land wounded people will groan.
53
What if Babylon reached all the way to the sky? What if it made its high walls even stronger? I would still send destroyers against it," announces the Lord.
54
"The noise of people screaming comes from Babylon. A terrible sound comes from its land. It is the sound of a mighty city being destroyed.