^22–23“I will confront them”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren.” God’s Decree. “I’ll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I’ll bulldoze it out of existence.” Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Who Could Ever Cancel Such Plans?

^24–27God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:

“Exactly as I planned,

it will happen.

Following my blueprints,

it will take shape.

I will shatter the Assyrian who trespasses my land

and stomp him into the dirt on my mountains.

I will ban his taking and making of slaves

and lift the weight of oppression from all shoulders.”

This is the plan,

planned for the whole earth,

And this is the hand that will do it,

reaching into every nation.

God-of-the-Angel-Armies has planned it.

Who could ever cancel such plans?

His is the hand that’s reached out.

Who could brush it aside?

^28–31In the year King Ahaz died, this Message came:

Hold it, Philistines! It’s too soon to celebrate

the defeat of your cruel oppressor.

From the death throes of that snake a worse snake will come,

and from that, one even worse.

The poor won’t have to worry.

The needy will escape the terror.

But you Philistines will be plunged into famine,

and those who don’t starve, God will kill.

Wail and howl, proud city!

Fall prostrate in fear, Philistia!

On the northern horizon, smoke from burned cities,

the wake of a brutal, disciplined destroyer.

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