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23 Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth,
    lies broken and shattered.
    Babylon is desolate among the nations!

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23 How broken and shattered
    is the hammer(A) of the whole earth!(B)
How desolate(C) is Babylon
    among the nations!

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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.

24 “I will repay Babylon
    and the people of Babylonia[b]
for all the wrong they have done
    to my people in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:20 Possibly Cyrus, whom God used to conquer Babylon. Compare Isa 44:28; 45:1.
  2. 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in 51:35.

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)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(H) Babylon(I) and all who live in Babylonia[a] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35

16 “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
    She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
    decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!

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16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(A)
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!(B)

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12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
    O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
    you who destroyed the nations of the world.
13 For you said to yourself,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
    far away in the north.[a]
14 I will climb to the highest heavens
    and be like the Most High.’
15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
    down to its lowest depths.
16 Everyone there will stare at you and ask,
‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
    and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
17 Is this the one who destroyed the world
    and made it into a wasteland?
Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities
    and had no mercy on his prisoners?’

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Footnotes

  1. 14:13 Or on the heights of Zaphon.

12 How you have fallen(A) from heaven,
    morning star,(B) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(C)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(D) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(E)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(F)
    on the utmost heights(G) of Mount Zaphon.[a]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(H)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(I)
15 But you are brought down(J) to the realm of the dead,(K)
    to the depths(L) of the pit.(M)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(N)
“Is this the man who shook(O) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(P)
    who overthrew(Q) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.

you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,

“The mighty man has been destroyed.
    Yes, your insolence[a] is ended.
For the Lord has crushed your wicked power
    and broken your evil rule.
You struck the people with endless blows of rage
    and held the nations in your angry grip
    with unrelenting tyranny.

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Footnotes

  1. 14:4 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; the meaning of the Masoretic Text is uncertain.

you will take up this taunt(A) against the king of Babylon:(B)

How the oppressor(C) has come to an end!
    How his fury[a] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(D) of the wicked,(E)
    the scepter(F) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(G)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(H) nations
    with relentless aggression.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.