Jeremiah 51:17-32

Idolaters are senseless and know so little. Idol-makers are shamed by what they make since their idols are nothing but lifeless lies. They are worthless—nothing but a joke! When YAHWEH comes to punish them, they will perish. YAHWEH, the Riches of Jacob, you are nothing like these. He created the universe and has chosen Israel to be his inheritance. YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, is his name! YAHWEH “You were my war club, my battle club. I used you to crush nations and overthrow kingdoms. With you I defeated horses and riders, and with you I broke chariots and their riders in pieces. With you I shattered men and women, with you I conquered old and young, and with you I triumphed over young men and girls. With you I overpowered shepherds and flocks, with you I devastated plowmen and animals that pull the plow, and with you I crushed governors and officials.” “But now,” YAHWEH says, “you will see with your own eyes how I repay you, Babylon and the Chaldeans, for all the wrongs you have done to Zion. I have become your enemy,” says YAHWEH, “O mountain of destruction, destroyer of the whole world! I will unleash my power against you, send you tumbling to the ground, and turn you into a mountain of soot and ashes. I, YAHWEH, declare: After I am through with you, people will not be able to find any among you to rebuild you, not one foundation stone or cornerstone. You will lie desolate forever.” “Raise up a signal flag throughout the world; sound the war trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations to attack her! Assemble the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, Ashkenaz to make war against her. Appoint a commanding officer to lead her enemies in battle; send multitudes of horsemen like swarms of locusts. Prepare the kings of Media, her governors, all her officials, and all the lands they rule to come make war against Babylon.” Then, when YAHWEH executed his plan against Babylon, the earth trembled and convulsed. He determined to make Babylon an uninhabited desert. Babylon’s warriors had enough of fighting, so they stayed inside their forts. With their courage melted away, they have been left like ordinary civilians. Their city gates have been broken through, and her houses are on fire. Courier after courier, messenger after messenger, runs to inform the king of Babylon: One says, “Your city has been taken from every side.” Another says, “The river crossings have been overrun.” And another, “The thickets and reed marshes have all been burned.” And yet another one says, “All your fighting men are gripped with panic.”