Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Babylon » Predictions respecting » Destruction of
You will mock the king of Babylon with this saying: How the tyrant has come to an end! How his attacks have come to an end! Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers. They struck the people with fury, with blows that did not stop. They ruled nations in anger, persecuting them without restraint. read more.
The whole earth rests and is quiet. It breaks out into shouts of joy. Even the cypress trees rejoice over you. The cedars of Lebanon say: 'Since you have fallen, no lumberjack has come to attack us.' The grave below wakes up to meet you when you come. It wakes up those who are dead, all who were leaders on earth. It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones. All of them will greet you: 'You also have become weak like us! You have become like one of us! Your pride has been brought down to the grave along with the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out like a bed under you, and worms cover you.' O how you have fallen from heaven, you morning star (shining one), and son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the ground, you who conquered nations! You thought: 'I will go up to heaven (Mount Zion) and set up my throne above God's stars (messengers). I will sit on the mountain of meeting far away in the north where the gods assemble. I will go above the top of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.' But you have been brought down to the grave, to the deepest part of the pit. Those who see you stare at you. They look at you closely and say: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and tore down its cities and did not let his prisoners go home?' All the kings of the nations, all of them, have been buried with honor, each in his own tomb. However you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones (bottom) of the pit like a trampled corpse. You ruined your country and killed your own people. For that reason, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive. Prepare a slaughtering place! 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. Jehovah of Hosts declares: I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing! There will be no children, no survivors at all. I, Jehovah, have spoken.
The whole earth rests and is quiet. It breaks out into shouts of joy. Even the cypress trees rejoice over you. The cedars of Lebanon say: 'Since you have fallen, no lumberjack has come to attack us.' The grave below wakes up to meet you when you come. It wakes up those who are dead, all who were leaders on earth. It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones. All of them will greet you: 'You also have become weak like us! You have become like one of us! Your pride has been brought down to the grave along with the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out like a bed under you, and worms cover you.' O how you have fallen from heaven, you morning star (shining one), and son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the ground, you who conquered nations! You thought: 'I will go up to heaven (Mount Zion) and set up my throne above God's stars (messengers). I will sit on the mountain of meeting far away in the north where the gods assemble. I will go above the top of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.' But you have been brought down to the grave, to the deepest part of the pit. Those who see you stare at you. They look at you closely and say: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and tore down its cities and did not let his prisoners go home?' All the kings of the nations, all of them, have been buried with honor, each in his own tomb. However you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones (bottom) of the pit like a trampled corpse. You ruined your country and killed your own people. For that reason, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive. Prepare a slaughtering place! 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. Jehovah of Hosts declares: I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing! There will be no children, no survivors at all. I, Jehovah, have spoken.
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
When the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their crimes,' declares Jehovah. 'I will turn Babylon into a permanent wasteland.
Verse Concepts
Birth » Pangs in giving
Panic seized them there, Anguish, like a woman in childbirth.
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They will be terrified! Pains and anguish will possess them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in amazement with their faces reddened with excitement (aflame).
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What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor.
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I hear a woman in labor. I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child. My people Zion gasp for breath. They stretch out their hands and say: How horrible it is for us! My life is exhausted by the presence of murderers!
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We have heard the report! Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us! We have pain like a woman in childbirth.
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Ask now and see: Can a man give birth to a child? Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain like a woman giving birth to a child? Why has every face turned pale?
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I am bringing them from the North Country. I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth. Among them are the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child. As a great company they will return here.
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Distress » Trouble, borrowing » Pain
On the other hand a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones.
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God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There will be no more pain! The former things have passed away.
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What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor.
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Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness. And they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
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For we know that the whole creation groans and is in pain together until now.
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He feels but the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.
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The night racks my bones, and the pain that eats at me takes no rest.
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Isaiah » Prophecies, reproofs, and exhortations of » Denunciations against babylon
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
Persia » Prophecies concerning
PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Verse Concepts
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
I stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius the Mede in his first year. Now I will tell you the truth. Look, there will be three more kings in Persia. Then the fourth will be richer than the others. When he is strong because of his riches he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. A mighty king will stand up and rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. read more.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
You, O king, saw a large statue. This statue was in fact very large. It was very bright as it stood before you. Its appearance was awesome. The statue had a head of pure gold, chest and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass. It had legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. read more.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
I will also bring out Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
Verse Concepts
I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
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Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Jehovah spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: 'I am going to break the bows of Elam's archers, the most important weapon of their strength. I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction. There will not be a nation where Elam's refugees will not go. read more.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
Jehovah has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylon. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command: Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready! Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush! Jehovah has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. That country has many rivers and rich treasures. Yet its time is up, and its thread of life is cut. read more.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Elam is there with all its soldiers. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They went down below the earth as godless people. They once terrified people in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. The soldiers were godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. They suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead.