Belhas boweddown,Nebostoopsover;Their imagesare [consigned] to the beastsand the cattle.The thingsthat you carryare burdensome,A loadfor the weary[beast].
"Will you trusthim becausehis strengthis greatAnd leaveyour laborto him?
For I will gothroughthe landof Egypton that night,and will strikedownallthe firstbornin the landof Egypt,bothmanand beast;and against allthe godsof EgyptI will executejudgments--I am the LORD.
But the idolswill completelyvanish.
In that daymenwill castawayto the molesand the batsTheir idolsof silverand their idolsof gold,Whichthey madefor themselves to worship,
"Now behold,herecomesa troopof riders,horsemenin pairs."And one said,"Fallen,fallenis Babylon;And allthe imagesof her godsare shatteredon the ground."
The oracleconcerning the beastsof the Negev.Through a landof distressand anguish,From where[come] lionessand lion,viperand flyingserpent,They carrytheir richeson the backsof youngdonkeysAnd their treasureson camels'humps,To a peoplewho cannotprofit[them];
"Gatheryourselves and come;Drawneartogether,you fugitivesof the nations;They havenoknowledge,Who carryabout their woodenidolAnd prayto a godwho cannotsave.
"They liftit upon the shoulder[and] carryit; They setit in its placeand it stands[there]. It does not movefrom its place.Thoughone may cryto it, it cannotanswer;It cannotdeliverhim from his distress.
"Like a scarecrowin a cucumberfieldare they, And they cannotspeak;They mustbe carried,Becausethey cannotwalk!Do not fearthem, For they can donoharm,Norcan they doanygood."
"Declareand proclaimamong the nations.Proclaimit and liftup a standard.Do not conceal[it but] say,Babylonhas been captured,Belhas beenputto shame,Mardukhas beenshattered;Her imageshave beenputto shame,her idolshave beenshattered.'
"A droughton her waters,and they will be driedup! For it is a landof idols,And they are madover fearsomeidols.
"I will punishBelin Babylon,And I will make whathe has swallowedcomeout of his mouth;And the nationswill nolongerstreamto him. Eventhe wallof Babylonhas fallendown!
Thereforebehold,daysare comingWhen I will punishthe idolsof Babylon;And her wholelandwill be putto shameAnd allher slainwill fallin her midst.
"Thereforebehold,the daysare coming,"declaresthe LORD,"When I will punishher idols,And the mortallywoundedwill groanthroughouther land.
"Alsotheir godswith their metalimages[and] their preciousvesselsof silverand goldhe will takeinto captivityto Egypt,and he on his partwill refrainfrom [attacking] the kingof the Northfor [some] years.
Nebuchadnezzarrespondedand saidto them, "Is it true,Shadrach,Meshachand Abed-nego,that you donot servemy godsor worshipthe goldenimagethat I have setup?
The LORDhas issueda commandconcerningyou: "Your namewill nolongerbe perpetuated.I will cutoffidoland imageFrom the houseof your gods.I will prepareyour grave,For you are contemptible."
and Neboand Baal-meon--[their] namesbeing changed--and Sibmah,and they gave[other] namesto the citieswhichthey built.
"They tieup heavyburdensand laythem on men'sshoulders,but they themselvesare unwillingto movethem with [so much as] a finger.
When the Ashdoditesaroseearlythe nextmorning,behold,Dagonhad fallenon his faceto the groundbeforethe arkof the LORD.So they tookDagonand sethim in his placeagain.
