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22 Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away.
    The invading army marches in;
    they come against her with axes like woodsmen.

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22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
    as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
    like men who cut down trees.(A)

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Then deep from the earth you will speak;
    from low in the dust your words will come.
Your voice will whisper from the ground
    like a ghost conjured up from the grave.

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Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
    your speech will mumble(A) out of the dust.(B)
Your voice will come ghostlike(C) from the earth;
    out of the dust your speech will whisper.(D)

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Even the trees of the forest—
    the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—
    sing out this joyous song:
‘Since you have been cut down,
    no one will come now to cut us down!’

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Even the junipers(A) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(B)

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Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars;
    the most majestic ones have fallen.
Weep, you oaks of Bashan,
    for the thick forests have been cut down.

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Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(A) of Bashan;
    the dense forest(B) has been cut down!(C)

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16 All the nations of the world will stand amazed
    at what the Lord will do for you.
They will be embarrassed
    at their feeble power.
They will cover their mouths in silent awe,
    deaf to everything around them.

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16 Nations will see and be ashamed,(A)
    deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths(B)
    and their ears will become deaf.

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Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
    I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.

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Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(A) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(B) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.

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Babylon’s Great Punishment

20 “You[a] are my battle-ax and sword,”
    says the Lord.
“With you I will shatter nations
    and destroy many kingdoms.
21 With you I will shatter armies—
    destroying the horse and rider,
    the chariot and charioteer.
22 With you I will shatter men and women,
    old people and children,
    young men and young women.
23 With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,
    farmers and oxen,
    captains and officers.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:20 Possibly Cyrus, whom God used to conquer Babylon. Compare Isa 44:28; 45:1.

20 “You are my war club,(A)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(B) nations,(C)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(D)
    with you I shatter chariot(E) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(F)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(G)

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24 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
    You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
    yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
    and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest heights
    and explored its deepest forests.

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24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(A)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(B) of Lebanon.(C)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(D)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.

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33 But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power!
He will cut down the proud.
    That lofty tree will be brought down.
34 He will cut down the forest trees with an ax.
    Lebanon will fall to the Mighty One.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 10:34 Or with an ax / as even the mighty trees of Lebanon fall.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(A) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(B)
    the tall(C) ones will be brought low.(D)
34 He will cut down(E) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(F) will fall before the Mighty One.(G)

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15 But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?
    Is the saw greater than the person who saws?
Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?
    Can a wooden cane walk by itself?

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15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(A)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(B) brandish the one who is not wood!

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