Study Desk

But I can be trusted to care for your orphans and widows.

I have sent a messenger to command the nations to prepare for war against you people of Edom.

Listen to my plans for you, people of Edom. Your children will be dragged off and your country destroyed.

Run and hide, you people of the desert who live in villages! Nebuchadnezzar has big plans for you.

Escape from Babylonia, my people. Get out of that country! Don't wait for anyone else.

There is no one in Babylonia to plant or harvest crops. Even foreigners who lived there have left for their homelands, afraid of the enemy armies.

Kill the soldiers of Babylonia, because the time has come for them to be punished.

The Lord said: Far to the north, a nation and its allies have been awakened. They are powerful and ready for war.

Bows and arrows and swords are in their hands. The soldiers are cruel and show no pity. The hoofbeats of their horses echo like ocean waves crashing against the shore. The army has lined up for battle and is coming to attack you, people of Babylonia!

Listen to my plans for you, people of Babylonia. Your children will be dragged off, and your country destroyed.

Get out of Babylon! Run for your lives! If you stay, you will be killed when I take revenge on the city and punish it for its sins.

But suddenly, Babylon will fall and be destroyed. I, the Lord , told the foreigners who lived there, "Weep for the city! Get medicine for its wounds; maybe they will heal."

The people of Israel said, "Tell everyone in Zion! The Lord has taken revenge for what Babylon did to us."

People of Babylon, you live along the Euphrates River and are surrounded by canals. You are rich, but now the time has come for you to die.

But now, my people will watch, while I repay you for what you did to Zion.

Your stone blocks won't be reused for cornerstones or foundations, and I promise that forever you will be a desert. I, the Lord , have spoken.

The Lord said: Signal the nations to get ready to attack. Raise a flag and blow a trumpet. Send for the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander; let the cavalry attack like a swarm of locusts.

Tell the kings and governors, the leaders and the people of the kingdoms of the Medes to prepare for war!

Get out of Babylon, my people, and run for your lives, before I strike the city in my anger!

Don't be afraid or lose hope, though year after year there are rumors of leaders fighting for control in the city of Babylon.