31. “Look, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares Lord Yahweh of hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
32. And the arrogant one will stumble and fall, and there is no one who raises him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him.”
33. Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah likewise, for all their captors have seized them, they refuse to let them go free.
34. Their redeemer is strong, his name is Yahweh of hosts. Surely he will plead their case, in order to make peace for the earth, but to cause unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35. A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares Yahweh, “and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials, and against her wise men.
36. A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become foolish. A sword against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.
37. A sword against his horses, and against his chariots, and against all the foreign troops who are in the midst of her, so that they may become as women. A sword against her treasures, so that they may be plundered.
38. A drought will come against her waters, and they will dry up, for it is a land of images, and because of the frightful objects, they act like madmen.
39. Therefore desert creatures will live there with jackals, and daughters of ostriches will inhabit her. And she will not be inhabited again forever, and she will not be dwelt in for all generations.
40. As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors,” declares Yahweh, “no one will live there, and the son of humankind will not dwell as an alien in her.
41. Look, a people is about to come from the north, and a great nation and many kings are woken up from the remotest part of the earth.
42. They keep hold of bow and short sword. They are cruel and they have no mercy. Their sound is like the sea, it roars, and upon horses they ride. Drawn up for battle as a man for the battle, against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43. The king of Babylon heard their report and his hands grew slack. Anxiety has seized him, fear and pain like the woman who gives birth.