36 Therefore Yahweh says this:

Listen, I’m about to plead your case and bring about vengeance for you

because I’ll dry up Babylon’s river and make its springs run dry.

37 Babylon will become heaps of rubble without any inhabitants—

a den of jackals, a horror, and something to whistle at.

38 The Babylonians will roar together like young lions.

≈ They will growl like lion cubs.

39 When they become hot with greed, I’ll make a feast for them

≈ and I’ll get them drunk so they can celebrate.

→ Then they’ll enter into permanent sleep and not wake up.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

40 I’ll send them down to the slaughter,

like lambs, rams, and male goats.