23 The soldiers carry bows and spears.\par They are cruel.\par They have no mercy.\par They are so powerful.\par They sound like the roaring ocean\par as they ride their horses.\par That army is coming ready for battle.\par That army is coming to attack you,\par Daughter of Zion.” {\cf2\super [46]} \par
23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel (ruthless and inhuman) and have no mercy. Their voice sounds like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, every one set in array as a man for battle against you, O Daughter of Zion!
23 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion.
23 Equipped with bow and spear, they are cruel; they show no mercy. Their horsemen sound like the roaring sea, arrayed in battle formation against you, Daughter Zion.
23 They will take hold of arrow and shield. They are cruel, and they will not take pity. Their voice will roar like the ocean. And they will climb upon horses, for they have been prepared like men for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion.
The soldiers will attack and kill the young men of Babylon. The soldiers will not show mercy to the babies. The soldiers will not be kind to the children. Babylon will be destroyed—it will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. {\cf2\super [143]} God will cause this destruction, and there will be nothing left.
Their armies have bows and spears.\par The soldiers are cruel.\par They have no mercy.\par The soldiers come riding on their horses,\par and the sound is loud like the roaring sea.\par They stand in their places, ready for battle.\par They are ready to attack you,\par city of Babylon.\par
You became friends with many nations.\par But those nations don’t care about you.\par Your ‘friends’ have forgotten you.\par I hurt you like an enemy.\par I punished you very hard.\par I did this because of your great guilt.\par I did this because of your many sins.\par
The people of Judah will hear the sound\par of the horse soldiers and the archers, {\cf2\super [30]} \par and the people will run away!\par Some of the people will hide in caves, {\cf2\super [31]} \par some people will hide in the bushes,\par some people will climb up into the rocks.\par All of the cities of Judah will be empty.\par No person will live in them.\par
Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud.\par His chariots {\cf2\super [25]} look like a wind storm.\par His horses are faster than eagles.\par It will be very bad for us!\par We are ruined!\par
“The Lord will bring a nation from far away to fight you. You will not understand their language. They will come quickly, like an eagle coming down from the sky.
Listen to the many, many people!\par They are crying loud like the noise\par from the sea.\par Listen to the noise.\par It is like the crashing\par and crashing of waves in the sea.\par
“Get ready to fight against Jerusalem.\par Get up! We will attack the city at noon.\par But it is already getting late.\par The evening shadows are growing long.\par
So I will soon send for all the family groups of the north. {\cf2\super [202]} ” This message is from the Lord. “I will soon send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my servant. I will bring those people against the land of Judah and against the people of Judah. I will bring them against all the nations around you too. I will destroy all of those countries. I will make those lands like an empty desert forever. People will see those countries, and whistle at how badly they were destroyed.
I will pour out my anger against you. My anger will burn you like a hot wind. I will hand you over to cruel men. {\cf2\super [168]} Those men are skilled at killing people.
“Report it to this nation. {\cf2\super [28]} \par Spread the news to the people in Jerusalem.\par Enemies are coming from a faraway country.\par Those enemies are shouting words of war\par against the cities of Judah.\par
From the land of the family group of Dan,\par we hear the snorting {\cf2\super [71]} \par of the enemy’s horses.\par The ground shakes from the pounding\par of their hooves. {\cf2\super [72]} \par They have come to destroy the land\par and everything in it.\par They have come to destroy the city\par and all the people that live there.\par
This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:\par “Disasters will soon spread\par from country to country.\par They will come like a powerful storm\par to all the faraway places on earth!”\par
“Look!\par There are people coming from the north.\par They come from a powerful nation.\par Many kings are coming together\par from all around the world.\par