22
to kill men and women, to slay old and young, to kill boys and girls,
23
to slaughter shepherds and their flocks, to slaughter farmers and their plow horses, to crush rulers and high officials."
24
The Lord says, "You will see me repay Babylonia and its people for all the evil they did to Jerusalem.
25
Babylonia, you are like a mountain that destroys the whole world, but I, the Lord, am your enemy. I will take hold of you, level you to the ground, and leave you in ashes.
26
None of the stones from your ruins will ever be used again for building. You will be like a desert forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.
27
"Give the signal to attack! Blow the trumpet so that the nations can hear! Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia! Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack. Appoint an officer to lead the attack. Bring up the horses like a swarm of locusts.
28
Prepare the nations for war against Babylonia. Send for the kings of Media, their leaders and officials, and the armies of all the countries they control.
29
The earth trembles and shakes because the Lord is carrying out his plan to make Babylonia a desert, where no one lives.
30
The Babylonian soldiers have stopped fighting and remain in their forts. They have lost their courage and have become helpless. The city gates are broken down, and the houses are on fire.
31
Messenger after messenger runs to tell the king of Babylonia that his city has been broken into from every side.
32
The enemy have captured the river crossing and have set the fortresses on fire. The Babylonian soldiers have panicked.
33
Soon the enemy will cut them down and trample them like grain on a threshing place. I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, have spoken."
34
The king of Babylonia cut Jerusalem up and ate it. He emptied the city like a jar; like a monster he swallowed it. He took what he wanted and threw the rest away.
35
Let the people of Zion say, "May Babylonia be held responsible for the violence done to us!" Let the people of Jerusalem say, "May Babylonia be held responsible for what we have suffered!"
36
And so the Lord said to the people of Jerusalem, "I will take up your cause and will make your enemies pay for what they did to you. I will dry up the source of Babylonia's water and make its rivers go dry.
37
That country will become a pile of ruins where wild animals live. It will be a horrible sight; no one will live there, and all who see it will be terrified.
38
The Babylonians all roar like lions and growl like lion cubs.
39
Are they greedy? I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk and happy. They will go to sleep and never wake up.
40
I will take them to be slaughtered, like lambs, goats, and rams. I, the Lord, have spoken."
41
The Lord says about Babylon: "The city that the whole world praised has been captured! What a horrifying sight Babylon has become to the nations!
42
The sea has rolled over Babylon and covered it with roaring waves.