“I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come. He will call on my name from the east. He will attack rulers as if they were mud, as if he were treading on clay like a potter.
I will call a bird of prey from the east. I will call someone for my plan from a faraway land. I have spoken, and I will bring it about. I have planned it, and I will do it.
But evil will happen to you. You won’t know how to keep it away. Disaster will strike you. You won’t be able to stop it. Destruction will overtake you suddenly. You won’t expect it.
Sharpen the arrows; fill the quivers. The Lord will stir up the spirit of the kings of the Medes because his plan is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will avenge his temple.
I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up,” declares the king, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape.