⁸ Then the seer^[a] called out:
“Upon a watchtower, Lord,
        I’m standing all day;
    and upon my observation post
        I’m stationed throughout the night.
⁹ Here they come:
    charioteers, pairs of horsemen!”
One spoke up and said,
    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
        and all the images of her gods
        are shattered on the ground!”

³⁸ A sword^[a] against the water supplies
    so that they dry up.
It is truly the land of idols,
    idols about which they have gone utterly mad!
³⁹ Therefore, Babylon will become a ghost town,
    a place for desert animals,
        hyenas, and ravenous birds.^[b]
No one will live there again;
    no one will make it their home.

⁸ But suddenly Babylon fell
    and shattered into pieces.
Wail for her!
    Bring medicine for her pain;
        perhaps she will recover.
⁹ We tried to cure Babylon,
    but she was beyond help.
Let’s depart from her
    and return to your own country, each of you.
Her punishment reaches to heaven
    and extends to the clouds.