“ ‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard. Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things. Long ago I designed them, and now I have made them happen. I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities into piles of rocks.
You have taught children and babies to sing praises to you because of your enemies. And so you silence your enemies and destroy those who try to get even.
Terror and horror will fall on them. When they see your strength, they will be as still as a rock. They will be still until your people pass by, Lord. They will be still until the people you have taken as your own pass by.
“ ‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard. Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things. Long ago I designed them, and now I have made them happen. I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities into piles of rocks.
The Lord says, “Babylon, you are a destroying mountain, and I am against you. You have destroyed the whole land. I will put my hand out against you. I will roll you off the cliffs, and I will make you a burned-out mountain.
Then my enemies will see this, and they will be ashamed, those who said to me, ‘Where is the Lord your God?’ I will look down on them. They will get walked on, like mud in the street.”
On the third day, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, he found that the Amalekites had raided southern Judah and Ziklag, attacking Ziklag and burning it.
When the Israelites who lived across the Jezreel Valley and those who lived across the Jordan River saw how the Israelite army had run away, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived there.