16
Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword Everyone shall turn to his own people, And everyone shall flee to his own land.
17
"Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones."
18
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria.
19
But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20
In those days and in that time," says the Lord, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.
21
"Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it, And against the inhabitants of Pekod. Waste and utterly destroy them," says the Lord, "And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22
A sound of battle is in the land, And of great destruction.
23
How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for you;
24
You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon, And you were not aware; You have been found and also caught, Because you have contended against the Lord.
25
The Lord has opened His armory, And has brought out the weapons of His indignation; For this is the work of the Lord God of hosts In the land of the Chaldeans.
26
Come against her from the farthest border; Open her storehouses; Cast her up as heaps of ruins, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left.
27
Slay all her bulls, Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their punishment.
28
The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon Declares in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, The vengeance of His temple.
29
"Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; Let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all she has done, do to her; For she has been proud against the Lord, Against the Holy One of Israel.
30
Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day," says the Lord.
31
"Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!" says the Lord God of hosts; "For your day has come, The time that I will punish you.
32
The most proud shall stumble and fall, And no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him."
33
Thus says the Lord of hosts: "The children of Israel were oppressed, Along with the children of Judah; All who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go.
34
Their Redeemer is strong; The Lord of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, That He may give rest to the land, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35
"A sword is against the Chaldeans," says the Lord, "Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men.
36
A sword is against the soothsayers, and they will be fools. A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed.