40. The same thing will happen to Babylon as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when I destroyed them and the nearby towns. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord, have spoken.
41. “People are coming from a country in the north,a mighty nation far away;many kings are preparing for war.
42. They have taken their bows and swords;they are cruel and merciless.They sound like the roaring sea,as they ride their horses.They are ready for battle against Babylonia.
43. The king of Babylonia hears the news,and his hands hang limp.He is seized by anguish,by pain like a woman in labour.
44. “Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan up to the green pasture land, I, the Lord, will come and make the Babylonians run away suddenly from their city. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?
45. So listen to the plan that I have made against the city of Babylon and to what I intend to do to its people. Even their children will be dragged off, and everyone will be horrified.
46. When Babylon falls, there will be such a noise that the entire earth will shake, and the cries of alarm will be heard by the other nations.”