Jer. 50:1‑51:64• 1The word that Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet.
2Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a banner; publish, conceal not! Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed: her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: both man and beast are fled; they are gone.
4In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping as they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God.
5They shall inquire concerning Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to Jehovah, in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they turned them away on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place.
7All that found them devoured them, and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.
8Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flock.
9For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon, an assemblage of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her: from thence shall she be taken. Their arrows shall be as those of a mighty expert man: none shall return empty.
10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all the spoilers thereof shall be satiated, saith Jehovah.
11For ye rejoiced, for ye triumphed, ye plunderers of my heritage; for ye have been wanton as the heifer at grass, and neighed as steeds.
12Your mother hath been sorely put to shame; she that bore you hath been covered with reproach: behold, she is become hindmost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13Because of the wrath of Jehovah, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and shall hiss, because of all her plagues.
14Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah.
15Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand; her ramparts are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for this is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest. For fear of the oppressing sword let them turn every one to his people, and let them flee every one to his own land.
17Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, like as I have visited the king of Assyria.
19And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and in Gilead.
20In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon those whom I leave remaining.
21Go up against the land of double rebellion, against it, and against the inhabitants of visitation; waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
22A sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction.
23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou, Babylon, art also taken, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, for thou hast contended with Jehovah.
25Jehovah hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for this is a work for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come ye against her from every quarter, open her storehouses; pile her up like sheaves, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29Call together the archers against Babylon, all those that bend the bow: encamp against her round about; let there be no escaping: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath acted proudly against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets; and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah.
31Behold, I am against thee, proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I visit thee:
32and the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; yea, I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.
33Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah were together oppressed; and all that took them captives held them fast: they refused to let them go.
34Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35The sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men;
36the sword is upon the liars, and they shall become fools; the sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed;
37the sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; the sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed:
38a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad after frightful idols.
39Therefore wild beasts of the desert with jackals shall dwell there, and ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
41Behold, a people cometh from the north, and a great nation. And many kings shall arise from the uttermost parts of the earth.
42They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel, and will not shew mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses--set in array like a man for the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands wax feeble; trouble hath taken hold of him, pangs as of a woman in travail.
44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will make him suddenly run away from it; and who is a chosen man whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? and who will assign me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
45Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which he hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes which he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: The little ones of the flock shall certainly draw them away; he shall certainly make their habitation desolate for them.
46At the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth hath quaked, and the cry is heard among the nations.
1Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;
2and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.
4And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.
7Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.
8Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.
10Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.
11Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.
12Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.
14Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.
15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
20Thou art my maul, my weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
21and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;
22and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers.
24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.
25Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain.
26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
27Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.
28Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.
29And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.
31Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;
32and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
35The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.
37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.
39When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.
44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.
45Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!
46lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that a rumour in another year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.
47Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.
49As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51--We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
52--Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.
53Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.
54The sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;
55for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.
56For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the *God of recompences, will certainly requite.
57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
58Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
59The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.
60And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.
61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;
62and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;
64and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah. (Jer. 50:1‑51:64)
Isa. 13:1‑14:32• 1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2Lift up a banner upon a bare mountain, raise the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3I have commanded my hallowed ones, I have also called my mighty men for mine anger, them that rejoice in my highness.
4The noise of a multitude on the mountains, as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations assembled together: Jehovah of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
5They come from a far country, from the end of the heavens--Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation--to destroy the whole land.
6Howl, for the day of Jehovah is at hand; it cometh as destruction from the Almighty.
7Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt,
8and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.
9Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the earth desolate; and he will destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will make the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will bring low the haughtiness of the violent.
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even man than the gold of Ophir.
13Therefore I will make the heavens to shake, and the earth shall be removed out of her place, at the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14And it shall be as with a chased roe, and as with a flock that no man gathereth together; every one shall turn to his own people, and every one flee into his own land.
15All that are found shall be thrust through; and every one that is in league with them shall fall by the sword.
16And their infants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes, their houses shall be rifled, and their women ravished.
17Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not regard silver, and as for gold, they have no delight in it.
18And their bows shall dash the young men to pieces, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb: their eye shall not spare children.
19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in, even to generation and generation; nor shall Arabian pitch tent there, nor shepherds make fold there.
21But beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of owls; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there.
22And jackals shall cry to one another in their palaces, and wild dogs in the pleasant castles. And her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
1For Jehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in rest in their own land; and the stranger shall be united to them, and they shall be joined to the house of Jacob.
2And the peoples shall take them and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captive whose captives they were, and they shall rule over their oppressors.
3And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy trouble and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
4that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased,--the exactress of gold ceased!
5Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers.
6He that smote the peoples in wrath with a relentless stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted unsparingly.
7The whole earth is at rest, is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8Even the cypresses rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming, stirring up the dead for thee, all the he-goats of the earth; making to rise from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10All of them shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become powerless as we; art thou become like unto us!
11--Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, the noise of thy lyres: the maggot is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.
12How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations!
13And thou that didst say in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of *God, and I will sit upon the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north;
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High:
15none the less art thou brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.
16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee; they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;
17that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that dismissed not his prisoners homewards?
18--All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house;
19but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, covered with the slain--those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit: like a carcase trodden under foot.
20Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial; for thou hast destroyed thy land, hast slain thy people. Of the seed of evildoers no mention shall be made for ever.
21Prepare ye slaughter for his children, because of the iniquity of their fathers; that they may not rise up and possess the earth, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22For I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and scion and descendant, saith Jehovah.
23And I will make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.
24Jehovah of hosts hath sworn saying, Assuredly as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, it shall stand:
25to break the Assyrian in my land; and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot; and his yoke shall depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
26This is the counsel which is purposed concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand which is stretched out upon all the nations.
27For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall frustrate it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
28In the year of the death of king Ahaz was this burden:
29Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a viper, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
30And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; but I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.
31Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.
32And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and the afflicted of his people find refuge in it. (Isa. 13:1‑14:32)
Isa. 46:1‑47:15• 1Bel is bowed down, Nebo bendeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things ye carried are laid on, a burden to the weary beast.
2They bend, they are bowed down together; they could not deliver the burden, and themselves are gone into captivity.
3Hearken unto me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, ye who have been borne from the belly, who have been carried from the womb:
4Even to old age, I am HE, and unto hoary hairs I will carry you: It is I that have made, and I will bear, and I will carry, and will deliver.
5To whom will ye liken me and make me equal, or compare me, that we may be like?
6--They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a *god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
7They bear him on the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place; there he standeth, he doth not remove from his place: yea, one crieth unto him, and he answereth not; he saveth him not out of his trouble.
8Remember this, and shew yourselves men; call it to mind, ye transgressors.
9Remember the former things of old; for I am *God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me;
10declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;
11calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
12Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness:
13I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not delay; and I will give salvation in Zion, and unto Israel my glory.
1Come down and sit in the dust, virgin-daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground,--there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, lift up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers:
3thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will meet none to stay me . …
4Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. …
5Sit silent, and get thee into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called, Mistress of kingdoms.
6I was wroth with my people, I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke;
7and thou saidst, I shall be a mistress for ever; so that thou didst not take these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end thereof.
8And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of children:
9yet these two things shall come upon thee in a moment, in one day, loss of children and widowhood; they shall come upon thee in full measure for the multitude of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
10For thou hast confided in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; and thou hast said in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me.
11But evil shall come upon thee--thou shalt not know from whence it riseth; and mischief shall fall upon thee, which thou shalt not be able to ward off; and desolation that thou suspectest not shall come upon thee suddenly.
12Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to turn them to profit, if so be thou mayest cause terror.
13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee.
14Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
15Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, they that trafficked with thee from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his own quarter; there is none to save thee. (Isa. 46:1‑47:15)
Dan. 5:1‑31• 1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his nobles, and drank wine before the thousand.
2Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink in them.
3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank in them.
4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
7The king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
8Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
9Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his nobles were confounded.
10--The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet-house. The queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever! let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy countenance be changed.
11There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, even the king thy father, made him master of the scribes, magicians, Chaldeans, and astrologers;
12forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and solving of problems, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
13Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
14And I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
15And now the wise men, the magicians, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing.
16But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and solve problems. Now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
17Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet will I read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty;
19and for the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he exalted, and whom he would he humbled.
20But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto presumption, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him;
21and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the Most High God ruleth over the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
22And thou, Belshazzar, his son, hast not humbled thy heart, although thou knewest all this;
23but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
24then from before him was sent the part of the hand, and this writing hath been written.
25And this is the writing that is written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it;
27TEKEL, Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting;
28PERES, Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. (Dan. 5:1‑31)
Rev. 18:1‑24• 1After these things I saw another angel descending out of the heaven, having great authority: and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2And he cried with a strong voice, saying, Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and has become the habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hated bird;
3because all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have been enriched through the might of her luxury.
4And I heard another voice out of the heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye have not fellowship in her sins, and that ye do not receive of her plagues:
5for her sins have been heaped on one another up to the heaven, and God has remembered her unrighteousnesses.
6Recompense her even as she has recompensed; and double to her double, according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mix to her double.
7So much as she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much torment and grief give to her. Because she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am not a widow; and I shall in no wise see grief:
8for this reason in one day shall her plagues come, death and grief and famine, and she shall be burnt with fire; for strong is the Lord God who has judged her.
9And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived luxuriously with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they see the smoke of her burning,
10standing afar off, through fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour thy judgment is come.
11And the merchants of the earth weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their lading any more;
12lading of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearl, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet dye, and all thyine wood, and every article in ivory, and every article in most precious wood, and in brass, and in iron, and in marble,
13and cinnamon, and amomum, and incense, and unguent, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies, and souls of men.
14And the ripe fruits which were the lust of thy soul have departed from thee, and all fair and splendid things have perished from thee, and they shall not find them any more at all.
15The merchants of these things, who had been enriched through her, shall stand afar off through fear of her torment, weeping and grieving,
16saying, Woe, woe, the great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls!
17for in one hour so great riches has been made desolate. And every steersman, and every one who sailed to any place, and sailors, and all who exercise their calling on the sea, stood afar off,
18and cried, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like to the great city?
19and cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and grieving, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were enriched through her costliness! for in one hour she has been made desolate.
20Rejoice over her, heaven, and ye saints and apostles and prophets; for God has judged your judgment upon her.
21And a strong angel took up a stone, as a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall Babylon the great city be cast down, and shall be found no more at all;
22and voice of harp-singers and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters shall not be heard any more at all in thee, and no artificer of any art shall be found any more at all in thee, and voice of millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee,
23and light of lamp shall shine no more at all in thee, and voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great ones of the earth; for by thy sorcery have all the nations been deceived.
24And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all the slain upon the earth. (Rev. 18:1‑24)