¹² Set up a flag on the walls of Babylon,
    fortify the guards,
    post watchmen,
    prepare an ambush,
        because the Lord has a plan
        against the inhabitants of Babylon.
He will accomplish it,
    just as he said he would.
¹³ You live beside a great river,
    and you are rich in treasures.
But your time has come;
    your cruelty has caught up with you.^[a]
14 The Lord of heavenly forces has sworn by his own name:
    I’m going to fill your cities^[b]
        with soldiers like a swarm of locusts;
    they will celebrate their victory over you.