On that day they will roar over their prey as the sea roars. If they look at the land, they will see only darkness and distress. Even the light will be darkened by thick clouds.
“What do I see in them? They are terrified. They are retreating. Their warriors are defeated. They flee without looking back. Terror is all around them,” declares the Lord.
Wear sackcloth, and roll around in ashes, my people. Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly. The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan. The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it, the city and its people.
The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: “Isn’t the Lord in Zion? Isn’t Zion’s king still there?” They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.
I will turn your festivals into funerals and all your songs into funeral songs. I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist and shave everyone’s head. I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child, and its end will be bitter.
I am going to send the Babylonians, that fierce and reckless nation. They will march throughout the earth to take possession of lands that don’t belong to them.