“Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted deer or like sheep who have no shepherd. Everyone will turn back to his own people; each will run back to his own land.
So Micaiah answered, “I saw the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leaders. They should go home and not fight.’ ”
The people roar like the waves, but when God speaks harshly to them, they will run away. They will be like chaff on the hills being blown by the wind, or like tumbleweeds blown away by a storm.
You have worked with these people, and they have been with you since you were young, but they will not be able to help you. Everyone will go his own way, and there will be no one left to save you.”
“But when the seventy years have passed, I will punish the king of Babylon and his entire nation for their evil,” says the Lord. “I will make that land a desert forever.
Don’t let the people from Babylon plant their crops or gather the harvest. The soldiers treated their captives cruelly. Now, let everyone go back home. Let everyone run to his own country.
“Foreigners in Babylon say, ‘We tried to heal Babylon, but she cannot be healed. So let us leave her and each go to his own country. Babylon’s punishment is as high as the sky; it reaches to the clouds.’
King of Assyria, your rulers are asleep; your important men lie down to rest. Your people have been scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to bring them back.
When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.