Study Desk

Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught,but you did not even know it.You were found and capturedbecause you pitted yourself against the Lord.

There is a voice of fugitives and refugeesfrom the land of Babylon.The voice announces in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,the vengeance for his temple.

Summon the archers to Babylon,all who string the bow;camp all around her; let none escape.Repay her according to her deeds;just as she has done, do the same to her,for she has acted arrogantly against the Lord,against the Holy One of Israel.

“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?”

I will send strangers to Babylonwho will scatter her and strip her land bare,for they will come against herfrom every side in the day of disaster.

For Israel and Judah are not left widowedby their God, the Lord of Armies,though their land is full of guiltagainst the Holy One of Israel.

Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered.Wail for her;get balm for her wound—perhaps she can be healed.

We tried to heal Babylon,but she could not be healed.Abandon her!Let each of us go to his own land,for her judgment extends to the skyand reaches as far as the clouds.

Sharpen the arrows!Fill the quivers!The Lord has roused the spiritof the kings of the Medesbecause his plan is aimed at Babylonto destroy her,for it is the Lord’s vengeance,vengeance for his temple.

When he thunders,the waters in the heavens are tumultuous,and he causes the cloudsto rise from the ends of the earth.He makes lightning for the rainand brings the wind from his storehouses.

Everyone is stupid and ignorant.Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image,for his cast images are a lie;there is no breath in them.

“Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.”

Set apart the nations for battle against her—the kings of Media,her governors and all her officials,and all the lands they rule.

For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:

May you not become cowardly and fearfulwhen the report is proclaimed in the land,for the report will come one year,and then another the next year.There will be violence in the landwith ruler against ruler.

Heaven and earth and everything in themwill shout for joy over Babylonbecause the destroyers from the northwill come against her.

For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon;he will silence her mighty voice.Their waves roar like a huge torrent;the tumult of their voice resounds,

for a destroyer is coming against her,against Babylon.Her warriors will be captured,their bows shattered,for the Lord is a God of retribution;he will certainly repay.

Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord’s temple and the water carts and the bronze basin that were in the Lord’s temple, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.

As for the two pillars, the one basin, with the twelve bronze oxen under it, and the water carts that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.