36. So this is what the Lord says:“I will soon defend you, Judah,and make sure that Babylon is punished.I will dry up Babylon’s seaand make her springs become dry.
37. Babylon will become a pile of ruins,a home for wild dogs.People will be shocked by what happened there.No one will live there anymore.
38. Babylon’s people roar like young lions;they growl like baby lions.
39. While they are stirred up,I will give a feast for themand make them drunk.They will shout and laugh.And they will sleep forever and never wake up!” says the Lord.
40. “I will take the people of Babylon to be killed.They will be like lambs,like sheep and goats waiting to be killed.
41. “How Babylon has been defeated!The pride of the whole earth has been taken captive.People from other nations are shocked at what happened to Babylon,and the things they see make them afraid.
42. The sea has risen over Babylon;its roaring waves cover her.
43. Babylon’s towns are ruined and empty.It has become a dry, desert land,a land where no one lives.People do not even travel through Babylon.
44. I will punish the god Bel in Babylon.I will make him spit out what he has swallowed.Nations will no longer come to Babylon;even the wall around the city will fall.
45. “Come out of Babylon, my people!Run for your lives!Run from the Lord’s great anger.
46. Don’t lose courage;rumors will spread through the land, but don’t be afraid.One rumor comes this year, and another comes the next year.There will be rumors of terrible fighting in the country,of rulers fighting against rulers.
47. The time will surely comewhen I will punish the idols of Babylon,and the whole land will be disgraced.There will be many dead people lying all around.