51 Yahweh says this:

Listen, I’m about to stir up a destructive wind against Bavel (Babylon)

and against the Babylonian people.

2 ≈ I’ll send foreigners into Bavel, and they’ll shake it down and devastate its land,

because they’ll come against it from all sides on that disastrous day.

3 Don’t let the archers shoot their arrows

≈ Don’t let their soldiers put on their armour.

Don’t spare their young men—

≈ Destroy their army completely.

4 Their wounded will fall in the land of the Kasdim (Chaldeans).

≈ Those who’re stabbed will fall in its streets,

5 because Yisrael (Israel) and Yehudah (Judah) haven’t been abandoned by their god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh,

even though their[fn] own land is filled with offenses committed against Yisrael’s holy one.

6 Escape quickly from out of Bavel (Babylon)—each person must save themself.

Don’t die there because of their wickedness

because now is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance.

He’ll repay Bavel for everything they’ve done.

7 Bavel was like a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand that made all the world drunk—

nations drank its wine and went mad.[ref]

8 Suddenly Bavel will fall and be destroyed.

Wail for it—give it medicine for its pain—perhaps it can be healed?

9 We tried to heal Bavel, but it never recovered,

so leave it and let everyone go back to their own region,

because its guilt has reached up to the heavens—

it’s piled up to the clouds.[ref]

10 Yahweh has now decided that we’ve served our time.

Let’s go and tell everyone in Tsiyon (Zion) what our god Yahweh has done.

11 Sharpen your arrows and strap on your shields.

Yahweh is stirring up the spirit of the kings of the Madim (Medes) in his plan to destroy Bavel

because of Yahweh’s vengeance—revenge for their destruction of his temple.

12 Lift up your banner over Bavel’s walls.

Reinforce the guards. Assign watchmen.

Prepare your ambushes because Yahweh will do what he has said concerning Bavel’s inhabitants.

13 You people who live by many water supplies[ref] and who are rich with treasures, your end has come.

The thread of your life is now cut short. 14 Commander-in-chief Yahweh has made an oath by his own life:

‘I’ll fill you with men, like a swarm of locusts,

and they’ll shout out against you.’