12 Against the walls of Babylon raise a banner;

⌊post a strong watch⌋,b post watchmen, prepare the ambushes,

for Yahweh has both planned as well as performed

what he has spoken concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O you who live by mighty waters, rich in treasures,

your end has come, ⌊the measure of your life⌋.c

14 Yahweh of hosts has sworn by himself,

“Surely I will fill you with troops like the creeping locusts,d

and they will sing over you a war cry.”

15 He is the one who made the earth by his power,

the one who created the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

16 At the giving of his voice

there is a roar of waters in the heavens,

and he causes the patches of mist

to go up from the end of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain,

and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 All humankind turns out to be stupid,

without knowledge.

Every goldsmith is put to shame

by the divine image.

For his cast image is a lie,

and there is no breath in them.

18 They are worthless,

a work of mockery.

At the time of their punishment,

they will perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these,

for he is the creator of ⌊everything⌋,e

and the tribe of his inheritance.

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

20 He says, “You are a war club for me,

a weapon of battle,

and I smash nations with you,

and I destroy kingdoms with you.

21 And I smash the horse with you,

and its rider,

and I smash the chariot with you,

and its rider.

22 And I smash man and woman with you,

and I smash the old man and the boy with you,

and I smash the young man and the young woman with you.

23 And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you,

and I smash the farmer and his team with you,

and I smash the governors and the officials with you.

24 And I will repay Babylon,

and all the inhabitants of Chaldea,

all their wickedness that they have done in Zion

before your eyes,” ⌊declares⌋f Yahweh.

25 “Look, I am against you,

O mountain of the destruction,” ⌊declares⌋g Yahweh,

“the one that destroys the whole earth.

And I will stretch out my hand against you,

and I will roll you down from the cliffs,

and I will make you as a mountain burned away.

26 They will not take from you

a stone for a corner,

and a stone for a foundation,

for you will be ⌊an everlasting desolation⌋,”h ⌊declares⌋i Yahweh.

27 Raise a banner in the land;

blow a horn among the nations;

prepare for holy war against her;

summon the nations against her,

the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;

summon against her an official;

bring up horsesj like bristling creeping locusts.k

28 Prepare the nations for holy war against her,

the kings of the Medes,

with their governors and all their officials,

and every land of their dominion.

29 And the land quakes and writhes,

for the plans of Yahweh against Babylon stand,

to make the land of Babylon as a horror,

⌊without⌋l inhabitant.

30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight,

they remain in the strongholds,

their power has dried up,

they have become as women.

Her dwelling places are set on fire,

her bars are broken.

31 one runner runs to meet another runner,

and one messenger to meet another messenger,

to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured,

⌊from end to end⌋.m

32 And the fords have been seized,

and the reed marshes have been burned with fire,

and ⌊the soldiers⌋n are horrified.

33 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel,

“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor

at the time it is trodden down,

⌊just a little while⌋o

and the time of the harvest will come for her.”