"I will punishBelin Babylon,And I will make whathe has swallowedcomeout of his mouth;And the nationswill nolongerstreamto him. Eventhe wallof Babylonhas fallendown!
Nebuchadnezzaralso brought[some] of the articlesof the houseof the LORDto Babylonand putthem in his templeat Babylon.
"He swallowsriches,But will vomitthem up; Godwill expelthem from his belly.
Now it will comeabout that In the lastdaysThe mountainof the houseof the LORDWill be establishedas the chiefof the mountains,And will be raisedabovethe hills;And allthe nationswill streamto it.
"Now behold,herecomesa troopof riders,horsemenin pairs."And one said,"Fallen,fallenis Babylon;And allthe imagesof her godsare shatteredon the ground."
"Thenyou will seeand be radiant,And your heartwill thrilland rejoice;Becausethe abundanceof the seawill be turnedto you, The wealthof the nationswill cometo you.
"Raiseyour battlecryagainsther on everyside!She has givenherselfup, her pillarshave fallen,Her wallshave been torndown.For thisis the vengeanceof the LORD:Takevengeanceon her; As she has done[to others, so] doto her.
"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.'
They are worthless,a workof mockery;In the timeof their punishmentthey will perish.
"Nebuchadnezzarkingof Babylonhas devouredme [and] crushedme, He has setme down[like] an emptyvessel;He has swallowedme like a monster,He has filledhis stomachwith my delicacies;He has washedme away.
Thereforebehold,daysare comingWhen I will punishthe idolsof Babylon;And her wholelandwill be putto shameAnd allher slainwill fallin her midst.
"ThoughBabylonshould ascendto the heavens,And thoughshe should fortifyher loftystronghold,From Me destroyerswill cometo her," declaresthe LORD.
Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,"The broadwallof Babylonwill be completelyrazedAnd her highgateswill be seton fire;So the peopleswill toilfor nothing,And the nationsbecomeexhausted[only] for fire."
The LordgaveJehoiakimkingof Judahinto his hand,along with someof the vesselsof the houseof God;and he broughtthem to the landof Shinar,to the houseof his god,and he broughtthe vesselsinto the treasuryof his god.
"Therefore I makea decreethat anypeople,nationor tonguethat speaksanything offensiveagainstthe Godof Shadrach,Meshachand Abed-negoshall be tornlimbfrom limb and their housesreducedto a rubbishheap,inasmuchas thereis noothergodwhois ableto deliverin thisway."
Nebuchadnezzarthe kingto allthe peoples,nations,and [men of every] languagethat livein allthe earth:"May your peaceabound!
it is you, O king;for you have becomegreatand grownstrong,and your majestyhas becomegreatand reachedto the skyand your dominionto the endof the earth.
"Becauseof the grandeurwhichHe bestowedon him, allthe peoples,nationsand [men of every] languagefearedand trembledbeforehim; whomeverhe wishedhe killedand whomeverhe wishedhe sparedalive;and whomeverhe wishedhe elevatedand whomeverhe wishedhe humbled.
"Thisis the interpretationof the message:'MENE--Godhas numberedyour kingdomand putan endto it.
So Dariusthe Medereceivedthe kingdomat about the ageof sixty-two.
