1. The Lord proclaims:I’m stirring up a violent windagainst Babylonand those who live in Leb-qamai.
2. I will send mercenaries to Babylonwho will sift her and clear out her land.They will surround heron the day of disaster.
3. Let the archers draw their bows;let them prepare their armor.Show no mercy to her young men;wipe out her entire company!
4. They will fall woundedin the land of Babylon,struck down in her streets.
5. God, the Lord of heavenly forces,hasn’t abandoned Israel and Judah,even though they livein a land filled with guiltbefore the holy one of Israel.
6. Escape from Babylon;each of you run for your lives!Don’t perish because of her guilt,because this is the timefor the Lord’s retribution,a day of reckoningfor all that Babylon has done.
7. Babylon was a gold cupin the Lord’s hand;it made the whole earth drunk.The nations drank her wineand went mad.
8. But suddenly Babylon felland shattered into pieces.Wail for her!Bring medicine for her pain;perhaps she will recover.
9. We tried to cure Babylon,but she was beyond help.Let’s depart from herand return to your own country,each of you.Her punishment reaches to heavenand extends to the clouds.
10. The Lord has come to our defense,so let’s declare in Zionwhat the Lord our God has done!
11. Sharpen your arrows;prepare your shields.The Lord is stirring upthe spirit of kings from Media.He intends to destroy Babylon;this is the Lord’s retribution,a day of reckoning for his temple.
12. Set up a flag on the walls of Babylon,fortify the guards,post watchmen,prepare an ambush,because the Lord has a planagainst the inhabitants of Babylon.He will accomplish it,just as he said he would.
13. You live beside a great river,and you are rich in treasures.But your time has come;your cruelty has caught up with you.
14. The Lord of heavenly forceshas sworn by his own name:I’m going to fill your citieswith soldiers like a swarm of locusts;they will celebrate their victory over you.
15. God made the earth by his might,shaped the world by his wisdom,and crafted the skies by his knowledge.
16. At the sound of God’s voice,the heavenly waters roar.God raises the cloudsfrom the ends of the earth.He makes lightning for the rainand sends the wind from his treasuries.
17. Everyone is too foolish to understand;every smith is shamed by his idols,for their images are shams;they aren’t alive.
18. They are a delusion, a charade;at the appointed time they will be ruined!
19. But the portion of Jacobis utterly different,for he has formed all things,including his very own tribe;the Lord of heavenly forcesis his name!