6. Lost sheep were my people,their shepherds misled them,leading them astray on the mountains;From mountain to hill they wandered,forgetting their fold.
7. Whoever happened upon them devoured them;their enemies said, “We are not guilty,Because they sinned against the Lord,the abode of justice, the hope of their ancestors.”
8. Flee from the midst of Babylon,leave the land of the Chaldeans,be like rams at the head of the flock.
9. See, I am stirring up against Babylona band of great nations from the land of the north;They are arrayed against her,from there she shall be taken.Their arrows are like the arrows of a skilled warriorwho never returns empty-handed.
10. Chaldea shall become plunder;all its plunderers shall be enriched—oracle of the Lord.
11. Yes, rejoice and exult,you that plunder my heritage;Frisk like calves on the grass,neigh like stallions!
12. Your mother will indeed be put to shame,she that bore you shall be abashed;See, the last of the nations,a wilderness, a dry wasteland.
13. Because of the Lord’s wrath it shall be uninhabited,become an utter wasteland;Everyone who passes by Babylon will be appalledand hiss at all its wounds.
14. Take your posts encircling Babylon,you who bend the bow;Shoot at it, do not spare your arrows,
15. raise the war cry against it on every side.It surrenders, its bastions fall,its walls are torn down:This is retribution from the Lord! Take retribution on her,as she has done, do to her;for she sinned against the Lord.
16. Cut off the sower from Babylonand those who wield sickles at harvest time!Before the destroying sword,all of them turn back to their own people,all flee to their own land.
17. Israel was a stray sheepthat lions pursued;The king of Assyria once devoured him;now Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnaws his bones.
18. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,as I once punished the king of Assyria;
19. But I will bring Israel back to its pasture,to feed on Carmel and Bashan,And on Mount Ephraim and Gilead,until they have their fill.
20. In those days, at that time—oracle of the Lord:The guilt of Israel may be sought, but it no longer exists,the sin of Judah, but it can no longer be found;for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.
21. Attack the land of Merathaim,and those who live in Pekod;Slaughter and put them under the ban—oracle of the Lord—do all I have commanded you.
22. Battle alarm in the land,great destruction!
23. How the hammer of the whole earthhas been cut off and broken!What an object of horrorBabylon has become among the nations!
24. You ensnared yourself and were caught,Babylon, before you knew it!You were discovered and seized,because you challenged the Lord.
25. The Lord opens his armory,brings out the weapons of his wrath;The Lord God of hosts has work to doin the land of the Chaldeans.