20. The Lord says, “Babylon, you are my club. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms.
21. I used you to smash horse and rider. I used you to smash chariot and driver.
22. I used you to smash men and women. I used you to smash men, old and young. I used you to smash young men and young women.
23. I used you to smash shepherds and flocks. I used you to smash farmers and oxen. I used you to smash governors and important officials.
24. But I will repay Babylonia and all the Babylonians for all the evil things they did to Zion. I will pay them back so that you can see it, Judah.” This is what the Lord said.
25. The Lord says, “Babylon, you are like a volcano that destroys the whole country. But I have turned against you, and I will turn you into a burned-out mountain.
26. People will not take stones from Babylon to use as the foundation of a building. That is because they will not find any stones big enough for cornerstones. Your city will be a pile of broken rocks forever.” This is what the Lord said.
27. “Lift up the war flag in the land! Blow the trumpet in all the nations! Prepare the nations for war against Babylon. Call these kingdoms to come fight against Babylon: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander to lead the army against her. Send so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts.
28. Get the nations ready for battle against her. Get the kings of the Medes ready. Get their governors and all their important officials ready. Get all the countries they rule ready for battle against Babylon.
29. The land shakes and moves as if it is in pain. It will shake when the Lord does to Babylon what he plans— to make the land of Babylon an empty desert, a place where no one will live.
30. Babylon’s soldiers have stopped fighting. They stay in their forts. Their strength is gone. They have become like frightened women. Babylon’s houses are burning. The bars of her gates are broken.
31. One messenger follows another. Messenger follows messenger. They announce to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.
32. The places where people cross the rivers have been captured. The swamplands are burning. All of Babylon’s soldiers are afraid.”
33. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: “Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people beat the grain at harvest time. And the time to beat Babylon is coming soon.
34. “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed us in the past. In the past he hurt us. In the past he took our people away, and we became like an empty jar. He took the best we had. He was like a giant monster that ate everything until it was full. He took the best we had and then threw us away.
35. Babylon did terrible things to hurt us. Now I want those things to happen to Babylon.” The people living in Zion said, “The people of Babylon are guilty of killing our people. Now they are being punished for the bad things they did.” The city of Jerusalem said those things.