396 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
396 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
A Message about Babylon
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# Chapter 50
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1. The LORD gave Jeremiah the prophet this message concerning Babylon
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and the land of the Babylonians.
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2. This is what the LORD says:
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"Tell the whole world,
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and keep nothing back.
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Raise a signal flag
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to tell everyone that Babylon will fall!
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Her images and idols will be shattered.
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Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.
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3. For a nation will attack her from the north
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and bring such destruction that no one will live there again.
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Everything will be gone;
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both people and animals will flee.
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Hope for Israel and Judah
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4. "In those coming days,"
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says the LORD,
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"the people of Israel will return home
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together with the people of Judah.
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They will come weeping
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and seeking the LORD their God.
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5. They will ask the way to Jerusalem
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and will start back home again.
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They will bind themselves to the LORD
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with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.
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6. "My people have been lost sheep.
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Their shepherds have led them astray
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and turned them loose in the mountains.
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They have lost their way
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and can't remember how to get back to the sheepfold.
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7. All who found them devoured them.
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Their enemies said,
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'We did nothing wrong in attacking them,
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for they sinned against the LORD,
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their true place of rest,
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and the hope of their ancestors.'
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8. "But now, flee from Babylon!
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Leave the land of the Babylonians.
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Like male goats at the head of the flock,
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lead my people home again.
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9. For I am raising up an army
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of great nations from the north.
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They will join forces to attack Babylon,
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and she will be captured.
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The enemies' arrows will go straight to the mark;
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they will not miss!
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10. Babylonia will be looted
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until the attackers are glutted with loot.
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I, the LORD, have spoken!
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Babylon's Sure Fall
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11. "You rejoice and are glad,
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you who plundered my chosen people.
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You frisk about like a calf in a meadow
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and neigh like a stallion.
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12. But your homeland will be overwhelmed
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with shame and disgrace.
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You will become the least of nations--
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a wilderness, a dry and desolate land.
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13. Because of the LORD's anger,
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Babylon will become a deserted wasteland.
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All who pass by will be horrified
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and will gasp at the destruction they see there.
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14. "Yes, prepare to attack Babylon,
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all you surrounding nations.
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Let your archers shoot at her; spare no arrows.
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For she has sinned against the LORD.
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15. Shout war cries against her from every side.
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Look! She surrenders!
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Her walls have fallen.
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It is the LORD's vengeance,
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so take vengeance on her.
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Do to her as she has done to others!
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16. Take from Babylon all those who plant crops;
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send all the harvesters away.
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Because of the sword of the enemy,
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everyone will run away and rush back to their own lands.
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Hope for God's People
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17. "The Israelites are like sheep
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that have been scattered by lions.
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First the king of Assyria ate them up.
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Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones."
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18. Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies,
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the God of Israel, says:
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"Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
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just as I punished the king of Assyria.
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19. And I will bring Israel home again to its own land,
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to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan,
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and to be satisfied once more
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in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.
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20. In those days," says the LORD,
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"no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah,
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for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.The LORD's Judgment on Babylon
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21. "Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim
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and against the people of Pekod.
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Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them,
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as I have commanded you," says the LORD.
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22. "Let the battle cry be heard in the land,
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a shout of great destruction.
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23. Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth,
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lies broken and shattered.
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Babylon is desolate among the nations!
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24. Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you.
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You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD.
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25. The LORD has opened his armory
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and brought out weapons to vent his fury.
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The terror that falls upon the Babylonians
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will be the work of the Sovereign LORD of Heaven's Armies.
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26. Yes, come against her from distant lands.
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Break open her granaries.
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Crush her walls and houses into heaps of rubble.
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Destroy her completely, and leave nothing!
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27. Destroy even her young bulls--
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it will be terrible for them, too!
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Slaughter them all!
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For Babylon's day of reckoning has come.
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28. Listen to the people who have escaped from Babylon,
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as they tell in Jerusalem
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how the LORD our God has taken vengeance
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against those who destroyed his Temple.
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29. "Send out a call for archers to come to Babylon.
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Surround the city so none can escape.
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Do to her as she has done to others,
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for she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
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30. Her young men will fall in the streets and die.
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Her soldiers will all be killed,"
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says the LORD.
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31. "See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people,"
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says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven's Armies.
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"Your day of reckoning has arrived--
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the day when I will punish you.
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32. O land of arrogance, you will stumble and fall,
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and no one will raise you up.
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For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon
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that will burn up everything around them."
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33. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says:
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"The people of Israel and Judah have been wronged.
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Their captors hold them and refuse to let them go.
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34. But the one who redeems them is strong.
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His name is the LORD of Heaven's Armies.
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He will defend them
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and give them rest again in Israel.
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But for the people of Babylon
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there will be no rest!
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35. "The sword of destruction will strike the Babylonians,"
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says the LORD.
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"It will strike the people of Babylon--
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her officials and wise men, too.
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36. The sword will strike her wise counselors,
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and they will become fools.
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The sword will strike her mightiest warriors,
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and panic will seize them.
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37. The sword will strike her horses and chariots
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and her allies from other lands,
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and they will all become like women.
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The sword will strike her treasures,
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and they all will be plundered.
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38. A drought will strike her water supply,
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causing it to dry up.
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And why? Because the whole land is filled with idols,
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and the people are madly in love with them.
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39. "Soon Babylon will be inhabited by desert animals and hyenas.
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It will be a home for owls.
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Never again will people live there;
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it will lie desolate forever.
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40. I will destroy it as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
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and their neighboring towns," says the LORD.
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"No one will live there;
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no one will inhabit it.
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41. "Look! A great army is coming from the north.
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A great nation and many kings
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are rising against you from far-off lands.
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42. They are armed with bows and spears.
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They are cruel and show no mercy.
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As they ride forward on horses,
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they sound like a roaring sea.
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They are coming in battle formation,
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planning to destroy you, Babylon.
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43. The king of Babylon has heard reports about the enemy,
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and he is weak with fright.
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Pangs of anguish have gripped him,
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like those of a woman in labor.
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44. "I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,
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leaping on the sheep in the pasture.
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I will chase Babylon from its land,
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and I will appoint the leader of my choice.
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For who is like me, and who can challenge me?
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What ruler can oppose my will?"
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45. Listen to the LORD's plans against Babylon
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and the land of the Babylonians.
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Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep,
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and their homes will be destroyed.
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46. The earth will shake with the shout, "Babylon has been taken!"
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and its cry of despair will be heard around the world.
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