⁴ A sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
⁵ They are coming from a far country,
From the ^[a]farthest horizons,
The Lord and His instruments of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.

¹⁷ Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
¹⁸ And their bows will ^[a]mow down the young men,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their eye pity ^[b]children.
¹⁹ And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

²¹ “Against the land of ^[a]Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of ^[b]Pekod.
Slay and ^[c]utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
²² “The noise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
²³ “How the hammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
²⁴ “I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord.”
²⁵ The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the weapons of His indignation,
For it is a work of the Lord ^[d]God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
²⁶ Come to her from the ^[e]farthest border;
Open up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And ^[f]utterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
²⁷ Put all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their day has come,
The time of their punishment.