Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.

But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the entire city went up in smoke to heaven.

He will lift up a flag to [call] the distant nations [to bring His judgment on Judah],And will whistle for them from the ends of the earth;And indeed, they will come with great speed swiftly.

Then in that dayThe nations will make supplications to the Root of JesseWho will stand as a signal for the peoples;And His resting place will be glorious.

And He will lift up a signal for the nationsAnd assemble the outcasts of Israel,And will gather the dispersed of JudahFrom the four corners of the earth.

Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth,When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it!When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!

A thousand of you will flee at the threat of one man;You will flee at the threat of five,Until you are left like a flag on the top of a mountain,And like a signal on a hill.

This is what the Lord God says,“Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nationsAnd set up My banner to the peoples;And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments,And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin,Out of the midst of Jerusalem!And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah]And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem];For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north,And great destruction.

“Declare among the nations.Lift up a signal [to spread the news]—publish and proclaim it,Do not conceal it; say,‘Babylon has been taken,Bel [the patron god] has been shamed, Marduk (Bel) has been shattered.Babylon’s images have been shamed, her [worthless] idols have been thrown down.’

Set up a signal on the walls of Babylon [to spread the news];Post a strong blockade,Station the guards,Prepare the men for ambush!For the Lord has both purposed and doneThat which He spoke against the people of Babylon.

Lift up a signal in the land [to spread the news]!Blow the trumpet among the nations!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 bristly locusts [with their wings not yet released from their cases].

Now the betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away safely [under guard].”