Good News Translation GNT
New International Version NIV
4 When he does this, they are to mock the king of Babylon and say: "The cruel king has fallen! He will never oppress anyone again!
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you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!
5 The Lord has ended the power of the evil rulers
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The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
6 who angrily oppressed the peoples and never stopped persecuting the nations they had conquered.
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which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.
7 Now at last the whole world enjoys rest and peace, and everyone sings for joy.
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All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.
8 The cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king, because there is no one to cut them down, now that he is gone!
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Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”
9 "The world of the dead is getting ready to welcome the king of Babylon. The ghosts of those who were powerful on earth are stirring about. The ghosts of kings are rising from their thrones.
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The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations.
10 They all call out to him, "Now you are as weak as we are! You are one of us!
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They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”
11 You used to be honored with the music of harps, but now here you are in the world of the dead. You lie on a bed of maggots and are covered with a blanket of worms.' "
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All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.
12 King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground.
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How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble.
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You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14 You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.
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I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.
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But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.
16 The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?
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Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,
17 Is this the man who destroyed cities and turned the world into a desert? Is this the man who never freed his prisoners or let them go home?"
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the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”
18 All the kings of the earth lie in their magnificent tombs,
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All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.
19 but you have no tomb, and your corpse is thrown out to rot. It is covered by the bodies of soldiers killed in battle, thrown with them into a rocky pit, and trampled down.
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But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20 Because you ruined your country and killed your own people, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive.
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you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again.
21 Let the slaughter begin! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.
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Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.
22 The Lord Almighty says, "I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing - no children, no survivors at all. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the LORD.
23 I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken."
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“I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD Almighty.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.