296 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
296 lines
7.8 KiB
Markdown
Prophecies against Babylon
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# Chapter 50
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1. This is the word
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the Lord spoke about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:
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2. Announce to the nations;
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proclaim and raise up a signal flag;
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proclaim, and hide nothing.
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Say, "Babylon is captured;
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Bel is put to shame;
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Marduk is terrified."
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Her idols are put to shame;
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her false gods, devastated.
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3. For a nation from the north will attack her;
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it will make her land desolate.
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No one will be living in it--
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both people and animals will escape.
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4. In those days and at that time--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
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weeping as they come,
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and will seek
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the Lord their God.
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5. They will ask about Zion,
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turning their faces to this road.
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They will come and join themselves to
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the Lord
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in a permanent covenant that will never be forgotten.
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6. My people were lost sheep;
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their shepherds led them astray,
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guiding them the wrong way in the mountains.
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They wandered from mountain to hill;
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they forgot their resting place.
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7. Whoever found them devoured them.
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Their adversaries said, "We're not guilty;
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instead, they have sinned against
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the Lord,
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their righteous grazing land,
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the hope of their ancestors,
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the Lord."
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8. Escape from Babylon;
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depart from the Chaldeans' land.
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Be like the rams that lead the flock.
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9. For I will soon stir up and bring against Babylon
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an assembly of great nations from the north country.
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They will line up in battle formation against her;
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from there she will be captured.
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Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior
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who does not return empty-handed.
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10. The Chaldeans will become plunder;
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all Babylon's plunderers will be fully satisfied.
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This is
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the Lord's declaration.
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11. Because you rejoice,
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because you celebrate--
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you who plundered my inheritance--
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because you frolic like a young cow treading grain
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and neigh like stallions,
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12. your mother will be utterly humiliated;
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she who bore you will be put to shame.
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Look! She will lag behind all the nations--
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an arid wilderness, a desert.
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13. Because of
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the Lord's wrath,
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she will not be inhabited;
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she will become a desolation, every bit of her.
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Everyone who passes through Babylon
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will be appalled
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and scoff because of all her wounds.
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14. Line up in battle formation around Babylon,
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all you archers!
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Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow,
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for she has sinned against
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the Lord.
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15. Raise a war cry against her on every side!
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She has thrown up her hands in surrender;
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her defense towers have fallen;
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her walls are demolished.
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Since
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this is
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the Lord's vengeance,
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take your vengeance on her;
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as she has done, do the same to her.
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16. Cut off the sower from Babylon
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as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
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Because of the oppressor's sword,
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each will turn to his own people,
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each will flee to his own land.
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The Return of God's People
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17. Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions.
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The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria;
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the last who crushed his bones
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was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
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18. Therefore, this is what
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the Lord of Armies,
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the God of Israel, says: I am about to 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. I will return Israel to his grazing land,
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and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan;
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he will be satisfied
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in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.
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20. In those days and at that time--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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one will search for Israel's iniquity,
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but there will be none,
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and for Judah's sins,
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but they will not be found,
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for I will forgive those I leave as a remnant.
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The Invasion of Babylon
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21. Attack the land of Merathaim,
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and those living in Pekod.
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Put them to the sword;
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completely destroy them--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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do everything I have commanded you.
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22. The sound of war is in the land--
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a crushing blow!
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23. How the hammer of the whole earth
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is cut down and smashed!
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What a horror Babylon has become
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among the nations!
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24. Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught,
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but you did not even know it.
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You were found and captured
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because you pitted yourself against
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the Lord.
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25. The Lord opened his armory
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and brought out his weapons of wrath,
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because it is a task of
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the Lord God of Armies
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in the land of the Chaldeans.
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26. Come against her from the most distant places.
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Open her granaries;
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pile her up like mounds of grain
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and completely destroy her.
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Leave her no survivors.
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27. Put all her young bulls to the sword;
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let them go down to the slaughter.
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Woe to them because their day has come,
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the time of their punishment.
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The Humiliation of Babylon
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28. There is a voice of fugitives and refugees
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from the land of Babylon.
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The voice announces in Zion the vengeance of
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the Lord our God,
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the vengeance for his temple.
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29. Summon the archers to Babylon,
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all who string the bow;
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camp all around her; let none escape.
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Repay her according to her deeds;
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just as she has done, do the same to her,
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for she has acted arrogantly against
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the Lord,
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against the Holy One of Israel.
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30. Therefore, her young men will fall
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in her public squares;
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all the warriors will perish in that day.
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This is
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the Lord's declaration.
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31. Look, I am against you, you arrogant one--
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this is the declaration of
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the Lord God of Armies--
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for your day has come,
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the time when I will punish you.
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32. The arrogant will stumble and fall
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with no one to pick him up.
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I will set fire to his cities,
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and it will consume everything around him.
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The Desolation of Babylon
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33. This is what
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the Lord of Armies says:
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Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed.
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All their captors hold them fast;
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they refuse to release them.
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34. Their Redeemer is strong;
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the Lord of Armies is his name.
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He will fervently champion their cause
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so that he might bring rest to the earth
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but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
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35. A sword is over the Chaldeans--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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against those who live in Babylon,
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against her officials, and against her sages.
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36. A sword is against the diviners,
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and they will act foolishly.
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A sword is against her heroic warriors,
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and they will be terrified.
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37. A sword is against his horses and chariots
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and against all the foreigners among them,
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and they will be like women.
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A sword is against her treasuries,
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and they will be plundered.
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38. A drought will come on her waters,
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and they will be dried up.
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For it is a land of carved images,
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and they go mad because of terrifying things.
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39. Therefore, desert creatures will live with hyenas,
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and ostriches will also live in her.
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It will never again be inhabited
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or lived in through all generations.
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40. Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah
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and their neighboring towns--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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so no one will live there;
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no human being will stay in it even temporarily
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as a temporary resident.
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The Conquest of Babylon
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41. Look! A people comes from the north.
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A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
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from the remote regions of the earth.
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42. They grasp bow and javelin.
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They are cruel and show no mercy.
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Their voice roars like the sea,
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and they ride on horses,
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lined up like men in battle formation
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against you, Daughter Babylon.
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43. The king of Babylon has heard about them;
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his hands have become weak.
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Distress has seized him--
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pain, like a woman in labor.
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44. "Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Babylon away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?"
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45. Therefore, hear the plans that
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the Lord has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock's little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them.
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46. At the sound of Babylon's conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
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