16. When I thunder, the waters in the heavens roar. I make clouds rise from one end of the earth to the other. I send lightning with the rain. I bring out the wind from my storerooms.
17. "No one has any sense. No one knows anything. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his wooden gods. His metal gods are fakes. They can't even breathe.
18. They are worthless. People make fun of them. When I judge them, they will be destroyed.
19. I am not like them. I am the God of Jacob. I give my people everything they need. I can do it because I made everything, including Israel. It is the nation that belongs to me. My name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.
20. "Babylonia, you are my war club. You are my weapon for battle. I use you to destroy nations. I use you to wipe out kingdoms.
21. I use you to destroy horses and their riders. I use you to destroy chariots and their drivers.
22. I use you to destroy men and women. I use you to destroy old people and young people. I use you to destroy young men and young women.
23. I use you to destroy shepherds and their flocks. I use you to destroy farmers and their oxen. I use you to destroy governors and officials.
24. "Judah, I will pay Babylon back. You will see it with your own eyes. I will pay back all those who live in Babylonia. I will pay them back for all of the wrong things they have done in Zion," announces the Lord.
25. "Babylonia, I am against you. Your kingdom is like a destroying mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth," announces the Lord. "I will reach out my hand against you. I will roll you off the cliffs. I will make you like a mountain that has been burned up.
26. No rock will be taken from you to be used as the most important stone for a building. No stones will be taken from you to be used for a foundation. Your land will be empty forever," announces the Lord.
27. "Nations, lift up a banner in the land of Babylonia! Blow a trumpet among yourselves! Prepare yourselves for battle against Babylonia. Send the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz against it. Appoint a commander against it. Send many horses against it. Let them be as many as a huge number of locusts.
28. Prepare yourselves for battle against Babylonia. Prepare the kings of the Medes. Prepare their governors and all of their officials. Prepare all of the countries they rule over.
29. The Babylonians tremble and shake with fear. My plans against them stand firm. I plan to destroy their land completely. Then no one will live there.
30. Babylon 's soldiers have stopped fighting. They remain in their forts. Their strength is all gone. They have become like weak women. Their buildings are set on fire. The heavy metal bars on their gates are broken.
31. One messenger after another comes to the king of Babylonia. All of them announce that his entire city is captured.
32. The places where people go across the Euphrates River have been captured. The swamps have been set on fire. And the soldiers are terrified."
33. The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "The city of Babylon is like a threshing floor when cattle are walking on it. The time to destroy it will soon come."