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There is a sound of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,To declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,Vengeance for His temple.

The arrogant one will stumble and fallWith no one to raise him up;And I will set fire to his cities,And it will devour him on every side."

Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts is His name;He will vigorously plead their caseSo that He may bring relief to the earth,But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,And his hands hang limp;Distress has taken hold of him,Agony like a woman in childbirth.

Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh which He has counseled against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them.

Let not him who bends his bow bend it,Nor let him rise up in his scale‑armor;So do not spare her young men;Devote all her army to destruction.

For neither Israel nor Judah has been widowedBy his God, by Yahweh of hosts,Although their land is full of guiltBefore the Holy One of Israel.

Flee from the midst of Babylon,And each of you escape with his life!Do not be silenced in her iniquity,For this is Yahweh's time of vengeance;He is going to render recompense to her.

We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;Forsake her and let us each go to his own country,For her judgment has touched heavenAnd lifts up to the very skies.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!Yahweh has aroused the spirit of the kings of the MedesBecause His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;For it is the vengeance of Yahweh, vengeance for His temple.

It is He who made the earth by His power,Who established the world by His wisdom,And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.

When He gives forth His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;He makes lightning for the rainAnd brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

All mankind is senseless, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image,For his molten images are a lie,And there is no breath in them.

The portion of Jacob is not like these;For the Maker of all is He,And of the tribe of His inheritance;Yahweh of hosts is His name.

With you I shatter the horse and his rider,And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,

And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,And with you I shatter the farmer and his pair of oxen,And with you I shatter governors and prefects.

One runner runs to meet another,And one messenger to meet another,To give a message to the king of BabylonThat his city has been captured from end to end;

"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me and brought me into confusion;He has set me down like an empty vessel;He has swallowed me like a sea monster;He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;He has rinsed me away.

I will punish Bel in Babylon,And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth;And the nations will no longer stream to him.Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

"Come forth from her midst, My people,And each of you escape with his lifeFrom the burning anger of Yahweh.