The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger.
Is this the way you repay the Lord for all he has done for you? You are stupid, foolish people. He is your Father and your Creator. He made you, and he supports you.
But I did not destroy them. The other nations saw me bring Israel out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people.
Lord, be sure to punish the Edomites for what they did when Jerusalem was captured. They shouted, “Destroy its buildings! Pull them down to the ground!”
But I know what their enemies would say. The enemy would not understand. They would brag and say, “The Lord did not destroy Israel. We won by our own power!”’
The commander’s master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to say bad things about the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear all those things and answer them. Maybe the Lord your God will show how wrong the enemy is! So pray for the people who are still left alive.”
Then they insulted the God of Jerusalem just as they had insulted all the gods of the people from other nations—even though those gods are only things people made with their hands.