Chapter 21

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
2  A stern vision is told to me;
    the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
    lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
3  Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    pangs have seized me,
    like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4  My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
5  They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs, ^{1 21:5 Or they set the watchman}
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    oil the shield!
6  For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
7  When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
8  Then he who saw cried out: ^{2 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion}
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
9  And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
And he answered,
    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
10  O my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

11 The oracle concerning Dumah.

One is calling to me from Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
12  The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also the night.
    If you will inquire, inquire;
    come back again.”

13 The oracle concerning Arabia.

In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,
    O caravans of Dedanites.
14  To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
15  For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Chapter 22

An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,
    all of you, to the housetops,
2  you who are full of shoutings,
    tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword
    or dead in battle.
3  All your leaders have fled together;
    without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
    though they had fled far away.
4  Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
    let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

5  For the Lord God of hosts has a day
    of tumult and trampling and confusion
    in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
6  And Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and Kir uncovered the shield.
7  Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8  He has taken away the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12  In that day the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13  and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
14  The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts.

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”

Chapter 23

An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon

1 The oracle concerning Tyre.

Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!
From the land of Cyprus ^{3 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also verse 12}
    it is revealed to them.
2  Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3  And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
    the harvest of the Nile;
    you were the merchant of the nations.
4  Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
    the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
    I have neither reared young men
    nor brought up young women.”
5  When the report comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish ^{4 23:5 Hebrew they will have labor pains} over the report about Tyre.
6  Cross over to Tarshish;
    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7  Is this your exultant city
    whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
    to settle far away?
8  Who has purposed this
    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
    whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9  The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
    to defile the pompous pride of all glory, ^{5 23:9 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike}
    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10  Cross over your land like the Nile,
    O daughter of Tarshish;
    there is no restraint anymore.
11  He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
    he has shaken the kingdoms;
the LORD has given command concerning Canaan
    to destroy its strongholds.
12  And he said:
“You will no more exult,
    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, cross over to Cyprus,
    even there you will have no rest.”

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; ^{6 23:13 Or that has become nothing} Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.

14  Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
    for your stronghold is laid waste.

15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days ^{7 23:15 Or lifetime} of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16  “Take a harp;
    go about the city,
    O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
    sing many songs,
    that you may be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.

Chapter 24

Judgment on the Whole Earth

1  Behold, the LORD will empty the earth ^{8 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter} and make it desolate,
    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2  And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
    as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3  The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    for the LORD has spoken this word.

4  The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
5  The earth lies defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
6  Therefore a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
7  The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
8  The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9  No more do they drink wine with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10  The wasted city is broken down;
    every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11  There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
12  Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
13  For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
    among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

14  They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
    over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west. ^{9 24:14 Hebrew from the sea}
15  Therefore in the east ^{10 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires} give glory to the LORD;
    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16  From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
    of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
    I waste away. Woe is me!
For the traitors have betrayed,
    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

17  Terror and the pit and the snare ^{11 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike}
    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18  He who flees at the sound of the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
    and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19  The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
20  The earth staggers like a drunken man;
    it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
    and it falls, and will not rise again.

21  On that day the LORD will punish
    the host of heaven, in heaven,
    and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22  They will be gathered together
    as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
    and after many days they will be punished.
23  Then the moon will be confounded
    and the sun ashamed,
for the LORD of hosts reigns
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.

Chapter 25

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

1  O LORD, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2  For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3  Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4  For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5      like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

6  On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7  And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
8      He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the LORD has spoken.
9  It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10  For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,
    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill. ^{12 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike}
11  And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill ^{13 25:11 Or in spite of the skill} of his hands.
12  And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

Chapter 26

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
    he sets up salvation
    as walls and bulwarks.
2  Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3  You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
4  Trust in the LORD forever,
    for the LORD God is an everlasting rock.
5  For he has humbled
    the inhabitants of the height,
    the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
    casts it to the dust.
6  The foot tramples it,
    the feet of the poor,
    the steps of the needy.”

7  The path of the righteous is level;
    you make level the way of the righteous.
8  In the path of your judgments,
    O LORD, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
    are the desire of our soul.
9  My soul yearns for you in the night;
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10  If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.
11  O LORD, your hand is lifted up,
    but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12  O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,
    for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13  O LORD our God,
    other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14  They are dead, they will not live;
    they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
    and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15  But you have increased the nation, O LORD,
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

16  O LORD, in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a whispered prayer
    when your discipline was upon them.
17  Like a pregnant woman
    who writhes and cries out in her pangs
    when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O LORD;
18      we were pregnant, we writhed,
    but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19  Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead.

20  Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.
21  For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
    and will no more cover its slain.