He will take their gods and their metal idols and their expensive things made from silver and gold. He will take those things away to Egypt. Then he will not bother the northern king for a few years.
Nebuchadnezzar’s men will take away your riches. They will take the things you wanted to sell. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. They will throw the wood and stones into the sea like garbage.
The army will come and destroy Babylon. Its soldiers will be captured, and their bows will be broken, This will happen because the Lord punishes people for the bad things they do. He gives them the full punishment they deserve.
Shepherds, you should be leading the sheep. Start crying, you great leaders! Roll around on the ground in pain, you leaders of the sheep. It is now time for your slaughter. You will be scattered everywhere, like pieces flying from a broken jar.
You people stole things in war. Those things will be taken from you. Many will come and take your wealth. It will be like the times when locusts come and eat all your crops.
In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They brought Jehoiachin and some valuable treasures from the Lord’s Temple to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one of Jehoiachin’s relatives.
Look at you. You attack others when you have not been attacked. You turn against others when no one has turned against you. So when you stop your attacks, you will be attacked. When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.
gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen cloth, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth, all kinds of citron wood, and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble.
They will say, ‘Terrible! How terrible for the great city! She was dressed in fine linen; she wore purple and scarlet cloth. She was shining with gold, jewels, and pearls!
What do I see? That army is afraid. The soldiers are running away. Their brave soldiers are defeated. They run away in a hurry. They don’t look back. There is danger all around.” This is what the Lord said.
And your government officials are also like locusts that settle on a stone wall on a cold day. But when the sun comes up, the rocks become warm, and the locusts all fly away. And no one knows where.