“They all come for violence; Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward, They gather prisoners like sand.

“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”

The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, And drag them away with a net, And gather them together in their fishing net; So they rejoice and are glad.

“Moreover, wine is treacherous and betrays the arrogant man, So that he does not stay at home. His appetite is large like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples [as if he owned them].

“Will all these [victims of his greed] not take up a taunting song against him, And in mocking derision against him Say, ‘Woe (judgment is coming) to him who increases that which is not his— How long [will he possess it]? And [woe to him who] makes himself wealthy with loans.’

“Because you [king of Babylon] have looted many nations, All peoples who are left will loot you— Because of human bloodshed and for the violence done to the land, To the city and all its inhabitants.

“For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you; The destruction of the animals will terrify you On account of human bloodshed and the violence done to the land, To the city and all its inhabitants.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to the wooden image, ‘Awake!’ And to the speechless stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.

“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth hush and be silent before Him.”