Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Persia » Prophecies concerning
‘peres’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
Verse Concepts
The mournful, inspired prediction (a burden to be lifted up) concerning the Desert of the Sea [which was Babylon after great dams were raised to control the waters of the Euphrates River which overflowed it like a sea -- "and would do so again]: As whirlwinds in the South (the Negeb) sweep through, so it [the judgment of God by hostile armies] comes from the desert, from a terrible land. A hard and grievous vision is declared to me: the treacherous dealer deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All the sighing [caused by Babylon's ruthless oppressions] I will cause to cease [says the Lord]. Therefore are my [Isaiah's] loins filled with anguish, pangs have seized me like the pangs of a woman in childbirth; I am bent and pained so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that I cannot see. read more.
My mind reels and wanders, horror terrifies me. [In my mind's eye I am at the feast of Belshazzar. I see the defilement of the golden vessels taken from God's temple, I watch the handwriting appear on the wall -- "I know that Babylon's great king is to be slain.] The twilight I looked forward to with pleasure has been turned into fear and trembling for me. They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, [and having] set the watchers [the revelers take no other precaution], they eat, they drink. Arise, you princes, and oil your shields [for your deadly foe is at the gates]! For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set [yourself as] a watchman, let him declare what he sees. And when he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, and a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently, very diligently. And [the watchman] cried like a lion, O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my station every night. And see! Here comes a troop of men and chariots, horsemen in pairs! And he [the watchman] tells [what it foretells]: Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And all the graven images of her gods lie shattered on the ground [in my vision]! O you my threshed and winnowed ones [my own people the Jews, who must be trodden down by Babylon], that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [Babylon is to fall]!
My mind reels and wanders, horror terrifies me. [In my mind's eye I am at the feast of Belshazzar. I see the defilement of the golden vessels taken from God's temple, I watch the handwriting appear on the wall -- "I know that Babylon's great king is to be slain.] The twilight I looked forward to with pleasure has been turned into fear and trembling for me. They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, [and having] set the watchers [the revelers take no other precaution], they eat, they drink. Arise, you princes, and oil your shields [for your deadly foe is at the gates]! For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set [yourself as] a watchman, let him declare what he sees. And when he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, and a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently, very diligently. And [the watchman] cried like a lion, O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my station every night. And see! Here comes a troop of men and chariots, horsemen in pairs! And he [the watchman] tells [what it foretells]: Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And all the graven images of her gods lie shattered on the ground [in my vision]! O you my threshed and winnowed ones [my own people the Jews, who must be trodden down by Babylon], that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [Babylon is to fall]!
Also I [the angel], in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood up to confirm and to strengthen him [Michael, the angelic prince]. And now I will show you the truth. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than they all. And when he has become strong through his riches he shall stir up and stake all against the realm of Greece. Then a mighty [warlike, threatening] king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his [own] will. read more.
And as soon as he has fully arisen, his [Alexander the Great's] kingdom shall be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds [the east, west, north, and south] of the heavens, but not to his posterity, nor according to the [Grecian] dominion which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be torn out and uprooted and go to others [to his four generals] to the exclusion of these.
And as soon as he has fully arisen, his [Alexander the Great's] kingdom shall be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds [the east, west, north, and south] of the heavens, but not to his posterity, nor according to the [Grecian] dominion which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be torn out and uprooted and go to others [to his four generals] to the exclusion of these.
You, O king, saw, and behold, [there was] a great image. This image which was mighty and of exceedingly great brightness stood before you, and the appearance of it was frightening and terrible. As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, Its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay [the baked clay of the potter]. read more.
As you looked, a Stone was cut out without human hands, which smote the image on its feet of iron and [baked] clay [of the potter] and broke them to pieces. Then the iron, the [baked] clay [of the potter], the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken and crushed together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. And the Stone that smote the image became a great mountain or rock and filled the whole earth. This was the dream, and we will tell the interpretation of it to the king. You, O king, are king of the [earthly] kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory. And wherever the children of men dwell, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens -- "He has given them into your hand and has made you to rule over them all. You [king of Babylon] are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom [the Medo-Persian], inferior to you, and still a third kingdom of bronze [Greece under Alexander the Great] which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom [Rome] shall be strong as iron, since iron breaks to pieces and subdues all things; and like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of [baked] clay [of the potter] and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it some of the firmness and strength of iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with miry [earthen] clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of [baked] clay [of the potter], so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle and broken. And as you saw the iron mixed with miry and earthen clay, so they shall mingle themselves in the seed of men [in marriage bonds]; but they will not hold together [for two such elements or ideologies can never harmonize], even as iron does not mingle itself with clay. And in the days of these [final ten] kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break and crush and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that the Stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. The dream is certain and the interpretation of it is sure.
As you looked, a Stone was cut out without human hands, which smote the image on its feet of iron and [baked] clay [of the potter] and broke them to pieces. Then the iron, the [baked] clay [of the potter], the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken and crushed together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. And the Stone that smote the image became a great mountain or rock and filled the whole earth. This was the dream, and we will tell the interpretation of it to the king. You, O king, are king of the [earthly] kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory. And wherever the children of men dwell, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens -- "He has given them into your hand and has made you to rule over them all. You [king of Babylon] are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom [the Medo-Persian], inferior to you, and still a third kingdom of bronze [Greece under Alexander the Great] which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom [Rome] shall be strong as iron, since iron breaks to pieces and subdues all things; and like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of [baked] clay [of the potter] and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it some of the firmness and strength of iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with miry [earthen] clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of [baked] clay [of the potter], so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle and broken. And as you saw the iron mixed with miry and earthen clay, so they shall mingle themselves in the seed of men [in marriage bonds]; but they will not hold together [for two such elements or ideologies can never harmonize], even as iron does not mingle itself with clay. And in the days of these [final ten] kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break and crush and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that the Stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. The dream is certain and the interpretation of it is sure.
Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), and Put (Libya, N. Africa) with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
Verse Concepts
Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,
Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning and against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief [weapon and part] of their strength. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven; and I will scatter them toward all those winds, and there will be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not come. read more.
And I will cause Elam to be dismayed and terrified before their enemies and before those who seek and demand their lives; and I will bring evil and disaster upon them, even My fierce anger, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. And I will set My throne [of judgment] in Elam [whose capital city was Shushan, from which God wrought wonders through Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel]; and I will destroy from their king and princes, says the Lord. But it shall be in the latter days (the end of days) that I will reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.
And I will cause Elam to be dismayed and terrified before their enemies and before those who seek and demand their lives; and I will bring evil and disaster upon them, even My fierce anger, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. And I will set My throne [of judgment] in Elam [whose capital city was Shushan, from which God wrought wonders through Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel]; and I will destroy from their king and princes, says the Lord. But it shall be in the latter days (the end of days) that I will reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.
Make clean and sharp the arrows, take up the shields or coats of armor [and cover your bodies with them]! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes [who with the Persians will destroy the Babylonian Empire], for His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it; for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance [upon Babylon for the plundering and destruction] of His temple. Set up a standard or signal [to spread the news] upon the walls of Babylon! Make the watch and blockade strong, set the guards, prepare the ambushes! For the Lord has both purposed and done that which He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. O [Babylon] you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, and the line measuring your life is cut. read more.
The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with [a swarm of] locusts [who strip a land clean], and they will lift up a song and shout [of victory] over you. He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from His treasuries. Every man has become stupid and brutelike, without knowledge [of God]; every goldsmith is put to shame by the images he has made; for his molten idols are a lie, and there is no breath [of life] in them. They are worthless (emptiness, falsity, futility), a work of delusion and worthy of derision; in the time of their inspection and punishment they shall [helplessly] perish. Not like these [gods] is He Who is the Portion of Jacob [the true God on Whom Israel has a claim], for He is the One Who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance -- "the Lord of hosts is His name. You [Cyrus of Persia, soon to conquer Babylon] are My battle-ax or maul and weapon of war -- "for with you I break nations in pieces, with you I destroy kingdoms, With you I break in pieces the horse and his rider, with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer, With you I break in pieces man and woman, with you I break in pieces old man and youth, with you I break in pieces young man and maiden, With you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, with you I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen, and with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. And I will [completely] repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they have done in Zion -- "before your very eyes [I will do it], says the Lord. Behold, I am against you, says the Lord, O destroying mountain [which is burning out, you who will be as barren and desolate as an extinct volcano], you who [would] destroy the whole earth. I will stretch out My hand over and against you and roll you down from the [burnt] crags and will make you a burnt-out mountain [of combustive fires]. And [O Babylon] they shall not take your cracked stones for a cornerstone, or any stone for foundations, but you shall be waste and desolate forever, says the Lord. Set up a standard or signal in the land [to spread the news]! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her; call against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up like [a swarm of] locusts [when their wings are not yet released from their horny cases]. Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her -- "the kings of Media, with their governors and commanders (deputies), and every land of their dominion. [I foresee this:] The land trembles and writhes in pain and sorrow, for the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand -- "to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. The mighty warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight; they have remained in their holds. Their might has failed; they have become [weak and helpless] like women. Her dwelling places are burned up; her bars [and defenses generally] are broken. One post shall run to meet another and one messenger to meet another to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side and to its farthest end, And that the passages [or ferries across the Euphrates] are stopped, and the great marshes they [the Medes] have burned with fire, and the men of war are frightened. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is [being prepared]; yet a little while and the time of harvest shall come to her. [The inhabitants of Zion say] Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has crushed us, he has made us an empty vessel. Like a monster he has swallowed us up, he has filled his belly with our delicacies; he has rinsed us out and cast us away. May the violence done to me and to my flesh and blood be upon Babylon, will the inhabitant of Zion say; and, May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, will Jerusalem say. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her lake or great reservoir and make her fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps [of ruins], a dwelling place of jackals, a horror (an astonishing desolation) and a hissing [of amazement], without inhabitant. They [the Chaldean lords] shall be roaring together [before their sudden capture] like young lions [over their prey], they [the princes] shall be growling like lions' whelps. When the revelers are inflamed [with wine and lust during their drinking bouts], I will prepare them a feast [of My wrath] and make them drunk, that they may rejoice and fall asleep to a perpetual sleep and not waken, says the Lord. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with he-goats. How Sheshach [Babylon] is taken! And the praise of the whole earth is surprised and seized! How Babylon has become an astonishing desolation and a horror among the nations! The sea has come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the tumult and multitude of its waves. Her cities have become a desolation and a horror, a land of drought and a wilderness, a land in which no one lives, nor does any son of man pass through it. And I will punish and execute judgment upon Bel [the god] in Babylon and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the sacred vessels and the people of Judah and elsewhere who were taken captive]. The nations will not flow any more to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen! My people, come out of the midst of her! And let every man save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! And beware, lest your heart faint and you be afraid at the report (rumor) heard in the land; for in one year shall one report come and in another year another report, and violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore behold, the days will come when I will execute judgment and punishment upon the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be confounded and put to shame, and all her slain will fall in the midst of her. Then heaven and earth and all that is in them shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the [Median] destroyers shall come against her from the north, says the Lord. As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all [her] land. You who have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still! [Seriously and earnestly] remember the Lord from afar [Babylon], and let [desolate] Jerusalem come into your mind. We are confounded and ashamed, for we have heard reproach; confusion and shame have covered our faces, for strangers have come into the [most] sacred parts of the sanctuary of the Lord [even those forbidden for entrance by all but the high priest or the appointed priests]. Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon [Babylon's] idols and images, and throughout all her land the wounded will groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height (her lofty stronghold), yet destroyers will come upon her from Me, says the Lord. The sound of a cry [comes] from Babylon, and [the sound of] great destruction and ruin from the land of the Chaldeans! For the Lord is destroying Babylon and laying her waste and stilling her great voice [the hum of the city's life]. And the waves [of her conquerors] roar like great waters, the noise of their voices is raised up [like the tramping of an army]. For the destroyer is coming upon her, upon Babylon; and her mighty warriors are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for the Lord is a God of recompense; He will surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her commanders (deputies) and her mighty warriors; and they will sleep a perpetual sleep and not waken, says the King -- "the Lord of hosts is His name. Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown and [the foundations] made bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; the peoples shall labor in vain, and the nations [only] to satisfy the fire, and they shall be weary. The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now this Seraiah was chief chamberlain or quartermaster [and brother of Baruch]. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon -- "even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see to it that you read all these words. Then say, O Lord, You have spoken concerning this place that it shall be cut off, so that nothing shall remain and dwell in it, neither man nor beast; but it shall be desolate forever. And it shall be that when you have finished reading this book, you shall bind a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates. Then say, Thus will Babylon sink and not rise because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and [the Babylonians] will be weary (hopelessly exhausted). Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with [a swarm of] locusts [who strip a land clean], and they will lift up a song and shout [of victory] over you. He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from His treasuries. Every man has become stupid and brutelike, without knowledge [of God]; every goldsmith is put to shame by the images he has made; for his molten idols are a lie, and there is no breath [of life] in them. They are worthless (emptiness, falsity, futility), a work of delusion and worthy of derision; in the time of their inspection and punishment they shall [helplessly] perish. Not like these [gods] is He Who is the Portion of Jacob [the true God on Whom Israel has a claim], for He is the One Who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance -- "the Lord of hosts is His name. You [Cyrus of Persia, soon to conquer Babylon] are My battle-ax or maul and weapon of war -- "for with you I break nations in pieces, with you I destroy kingdoms, With you I break in pieces the horse and his rider, with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer, With you I break in pieces man and woman, with you I break in pieces old man and youth, with you I break in pieces young man and maiden, With you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, with you I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen, and with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. And I will [completely] repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they have done in Zion -- "before your very eyes [I will do it], says the Lord. Behold, I am against you, says the Lord, O destroying mountain [which is burning out, you who will be as barren and desolate as an extinct volcano], you who [would] destroy the whole earth. I will stretch out My hand over and against you and roll you down from the [burnt] crags and will make you a burnt-out mountain [of combustive fires]. And [O Babylon] they shall not take your cracked stones for a cornerstone, or any stone for foundations, but you shall be waste and desolate forever, says the Lord. Set up a standard or signal in the land [to spread the news]! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her; call against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up like [a swarm of] locusts [when their wings are not yet released from their horny cases]. Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her -- "the kings of Media, with their governors and commanders (deputies), and every land of their dominion. [I foresee this:] The land trembles and writhes in pain and sorrow, for the purposes of the Lord against Babylon stand -- "to make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. The mighty warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight; they have remained in their holds. Their might has failed; they have become [weak and helpless] like women. Her dwelling places are burned up; her bars [and defenses generally] are broken. One post shall run to meet another and one messenger to meet another to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side and to its farthest end, And that the passages [or ferries across the Euphrates] are stopped, and the great marshes they [the Medes] have burned with fire, and the men of war are frightened. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is [being prepared]; yet a little while and the time of harvest shall come to her. [The inhabitants of Zion say] Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has crushed us, he has made us an empty vessel. Like a monster he has swallowed us up, he has filled his belly with our delicacies; he has rinsed us out and cast us away. May the violence done to me and to my flesh and blood be upon Babylon, will the inhabitant of Zion say; and, May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, will Jerusalem say. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her lake or great reservoir and make her fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps [of ruins], a dwelling place of jackals, a horror (an astonishing desolation) and a hissing [of amazement], without inhabitant. They [the Chaldean lords] shall be roaring together [before their sudden capture] like young lions [over their prey], they [the princes] shall be growling like lions' whelps. When the revelers are inflamed [with wine and lust during their drinking bouts], I will prepare them a feast [of My wrath] and make them drunk, that they may rejoice and fall asleep to a perpetual sleep and not waken, says the Lord. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with he-goats. How Sheshach [Babylon] is taken! And the praise of the whole earth is surprised and seized! How Babylon has become an astonishing desolation and a horror among the nations! The sea has come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the tumult and multitude of its waves. Her cities have become a desolation and a horror, a land of drought and a wilderness, a land in which no one lives, nor does any son of man pass through it. And I will punish and execute judgment upon Bel [the god] in Babylon and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the sacred vessels and the people of Judah and elsewhere who were taken captive]. The nations will not flow any more to him. Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen! My people, come out of the midst of her! And let every man save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! And beware, lest your heart faint and you be afraid at the report (rumor) heard in the land; for in one year shall one report come and in another year another report, and violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore behold, the days will come when I will execute judgment and punishment upon the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be confounded and put to shame, and all her slain will fall in the midst of her. Then heaven and earth and all that is in them shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the [Median] destroyers shall come against her from the north, says the Lord. As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all [her] land. You who have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still! [Seriously and earnestly] remember the Lord from afar [Babylon], and let [desolate] Jerusalem come into your mind. We are confounded and ashamed, for we have heard reproach; confusion and shame have covered our faces, for strangers have come into the [most] sacred parts of the sanctuary of the Lord [even those forbidden for entrance by all but the high priest or the appointed priests]. Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon [Babylon's] idols and images, and throughout all her land the wounded will groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height (her lofty stronghold), yet destroyers will come upon her from Me, says the Lord. The sound of a cry [comes] from Babylon, and [the sound of] great destruction and ruin from the land of the Chaldeans! For the Lord is destroying Babylon and laying her waste and stilling her great voice [the hum of the city's life]. And the waves [of her conquerors] roar like great waters, the noise of their voices is raised up [like the tramping of an army]. For the destroyer is coming upon her, upon Babylon; and her mighty warriors are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for the Lord is a God of recompense; He will surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her commanders (deputies) and her mighty warriors; and they will sleep a perpetual sleep and not waken, says the King -- "the Lord of hosts is His name. Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown and [the foundations] made bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; the peoples shall labor in vain, and the nations [only] to satisfy the fire, and they shall be weary. The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now this Seraiah was chief chamberlain or quartermaster [and brother of Baruch]. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon -- "even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see to it that you read all these words. Then say, O Lord, You have spoken concerning this place that it shall be cut off, so that nothing shall remain and dwell in it, neither man nor beast; but it shall be desolate forever. And it shall be that when you have finished reading this book, you shall bind a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates. Then say, Thus will Babylon sink and not rise because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and [the Babylonians] will be weary (hopelessly exhausted). Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Elam [an auxiliary of Assyria] is there and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the netherworld, who caused their terror to spread in the land of the living and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. They have set her a bed (a sepulcher) among the slain with all her multitude -- "their graves round about her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living, and they henceforth bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid in the midst of the slain.
Reed » A water plant
And the rivers shall become foul, the streams and canals of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up, the reeds and the rushes shall wither and rot away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile shall become dry, be blown away, and be no more.
And the burning sand (mirage) will become a pool [of water]
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals,
Grass becomes reeds and
And that the fords [across the Euphrates] have been blocked and [the ferries] seized,
And they have set the [great] marshes on fire,
And the men of war are terrified.