Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 314
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
50:45–51:9
and he is weak with fright.
Pangs of anguish have gripped him,
like those of a woman in labor.
“I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan,
leaping on the sheep in the pasture.
I will chase Babylon from its land,
and I will appoint the leader of my choice.
For who is like me, and who can challenge me?
What ruler can oppose my will?”
Listen to the Lord’s plans against Babylon
and the land of the Babylonians.
Even the little children will be dragged off like sheep,
and their homes will be destroyed.
The earth will shake with the shout, “Babylon has been taken!”
and its cry of despair will be heard around the world.
This is what the Lord says:
“I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon
and the people of Babylonia.
Foreigners will come and winnow her,
blowing her away as chaff.
They will come from every side
to rise against her in her day of trouble.
Don’t let the archers put on their armor
or draw their bows.
Don’t spare even her best soldiers!
Let her army be completely destroyed.
They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians,
slashed to death in her streets.
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has not abandoned Israel and Judah.
He is still their God,
even though their land was filled with sin
against the Holy One of Israel.”
Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves!
Don’t get trapped in her punishment!
It is the Lord’s time for vengeance;
he will repay her in full.
Babylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hands,
a cup that made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank Babylon’s wine,
