32. Proud Babylon will stumble and fall,and no one will help her get up.I will start a fire in her towns,and it will burn up everything around her.”
33. This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:“The people of Israeland Judah are slaves.The enemy took them as prisonersand won’t let them go.
34. But God is strong and will buy them back.His name is the Lord All-Powerful.He will surely defend them with powerso he can give rest to their land.But he will not give rest to those living in Babylon.”
35. The Lord says,“Let a sword kill the people living in Babylonand her officers and wise men!
36. Let a sword kill her false prophets,and they will become fools.Let a sword kill her warriors,and they will be full of terror.
37. Let a sword kill her horses and chariotsand all the soldiers hired from other countries!Then they will be like frightened women.Let a sword attack her treasures,so they will be taken away.
38. Let a sword attack her watersso they will be dried up.She is a land of idols,and the people go crazy with fear over them.
39. “Desert animals and hyenas will live there,and owls will live there,but no people will ever live there again.She will never be filled with people again.
40. God completely destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrahand the towns around them,” says the Lord.“In the same way no people will live in Babylon,and no human being will stay there.
41. “Look! An army is coming from the north.A powerful nation and many kingsare coming together from all around the world.
42. Their armies have bows and spears.The soldiers are cruel and have no mercy.As the soldiers come riding on their horses,the sound is loud like the roaring sea.They stand in their places, ready for battle.They are ready to attack you, city of Babylon.
43. The king of Babylon heard about those armies,and he became helpless with fear.Distress has gripped him.His pain is like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.