"Come, Babylon, unconquered one, sit in the dust. For your days of glory, pomp, and honor have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Take heavy millstones and grind the corn. Remove your veil and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view.
You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you and will not negotiate."
Our Redeemer, whose name is the LORD Almighty, is the Holy One of Israel.
"O daughter of Babylonia, sit now in darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.
For I was angry with my chosen people and began their punishment by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You have forced even the elderly to carry heavy burdens.
You thought, `I will reign forever as queen of the world!' You did not care at all about my people or think about the consequences of your actions.
"You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure, bragging as if you were the greatest in the world! You say, `I'm self-sufficient and not accountable to anyone! I will never be a widow or lose my children.'
Well, those two things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
"You felt secure in all your wickedness. `No one sees me,' you said. Your `wisdom' and `knowledge' have caused you to turn away from me and claim, `I am self-sufficient and not accountable to anyone!'
So disaster will overtake you suddenly, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will arise so fast that you won't know what hit you.
"Call out the demon hordes you have worshiped all these years. Ask them to help you strike terror into the hearts of people once again.
You have more than enough advisers, astrologers, and stargazers. Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
But they are as useless as dried grass burning in a fire. They cannot even save themselves! You will get no help from them at all. Their hearth is not a place to sit for warmth.
And all your friends, those with whom you have done business since childhood, will slip away and disappear, unable to help.