33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylonc is like a threshing floord

at the time it is trampled;

the time to harveste her will soon come.f”

34 “Nebuchadnezzarg king of Babylon has devouredh us,i

he has thrown us into confusion,

he has made us an empty jar.

Like a serpent he has swallowed us

and filled his stomach with our delicacies,

and then has spewedj us out.

35 May the violencek done to our fleshf be on Babylon,”

say the inhabitants of Zion.

“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”

says Jerusalem.l

36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your causem

and avengen you;

I will dry upo her sea

and make her springs dry.

37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,

a hauntp of jackals,

an object of horror and scorn,q

a place where no one lives.r

38 Her people all roar like young lions,s

they growl like lion cubs.

39 But while they are aroused,

I will set out a feast for them

and make them drunk,t

so that they shout with laughter—

then sleep foreveru and not awake,”

declares the Lord.v

40 “I will bring them down

like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams and goats.w

41 “How Sheshakg x will be captured,y

the boast of the whole earth seized!

How desolatez Babylon will be

among the nations!

42 The sea will rise over Babylon;

its roaring wavesa will cover her.

43 Her towns will be desolate,

a dry and desertb land,

a land where no one lives,

through which no one travels.c

44 I will punish Beld in Babylon

and make him spew oute what he has swallowed.

The nations will no longer stream to him.

And the wallf of Babylon will fall.

45 “Come outg of her, my people!

Runh for your lives!

Run from the fierce angeri of the Lord.

46 Do not lose heartj or be afraidk

when rumorsl are heard in the land;

one rumor comes this year, another the next,

rumors of violence in the land

and of ruler against ruler.

47 For the time will surely come

when I will punish the idolsm of Babylon;

her whole land will be disgracedn

and her slain will all lie fallen within her.o

48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them

will shoutp for joy over Babylon,

for out of the northq

destroyersr will attack her,”

declares the Lord.

49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,

just as the slain in all the earth

have fallen because of Babylon.s

50 You who have escaped the sword,

leavet and do not linger!

Rememberu the Lord in a distant land,v

and call to mind Jerusalem.”

51 “We are disgraced,w

for we have been insulted

and shame covers our faces,

because foreigners have entered

the holy places of the Lord’s house.”x

52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will punish her idols,y

and throughout her land

the wounded will groan.z

53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavensa

and fortifies her lofty stronghold,

I will send destroyersb against her,”

declares the Lord.

54 “The sound of a cryc comes from Babylon,

the sound of great destructiond

from the land of the Babylonians.h

55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;

he will silencee her noisy din.

Wavesf of enemies will rage like great waters;

the roar of their voices will resound.

56 A destroyerg will come against Babylon;

her warriors will be captured,

and their bows will be broken.h

For the Lord is a God of retribution;

he will repayi in full.

57 I will make her officialsj and wisek men drunk,l

her governors, officers and warriors as well;

they will sleepm forever and not awake,”

declares the King,n whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wallo will be leveled

and her high gatesp set on fire;

the peoplesq exhaustr themselves for nothing,

the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”s