The Lord will punish Babylon
1The Lord says: ‘City of Babylon,
you were like a girl who did not work
and who always got what she wanted.
But now you must get off your chair
and sit on the ground.
2You must take a grinding-stone
and start grinding wheat until it is flour.
You must take off your veil
and pull up your dress and walk
through the rivers with naked legs.
3The people will see that you are naked,
and they will look at you and laugh at you.
I, the Lord, will punish you.
I punish everyone who does wrong.’
4Our Saviour is the Lord who makes us free.
His name is the Lord who rules over all,
and He is the holy God of Israel.
5‘Babylon, the people said you
would rule over all of the lands,
but they will not say that again.
You must keep quiet now and sit in darkness.
6I was angry with my people.
I said my people were not good enough
to serve Me and I gave them to you
so that you could defeat them.
But you did not feel sorry for them,
and you made even the old people suffer a lot.
7You thought that you would be
important forever,
and you did not think that anything bad
could happen to you.
8You took what you wanted
and you thought that you were safe.
Babylon, you think that your people
will always live in you and you
will not be like a widow
who has lost her children.
But now you must listen.
9There are 2 things that will happen to you,
and they will happen suddenly.
In one day you will become alone like a widow
and you will lose all your people.
You thought that your magic could help you,
but bad things will happen to you now.
10You thought that all would be well
if you did bad things,
you thought that there was no one
who saw you,
and you thought that you were very clever.
You said to yourself:
“No one is as good as I am.”
11But trouble will come to you.
It will be like a storm that no one can stop
and it will not help to try and use magic.
12You always tried to use magic
and you thought that you could do miracles.
Maybe you must try again.
Maybe it will help. No, it will not help.
13You have always asked your advisors
what you should do.
You ask the people who look at the sky and stars
and tell you what will happen each month.
Ask them again to help you.
14No, they are like chaff that burns,
and they can not save themselves.
When the chaff has finished burning,
there are not even coals left over.
There are no coals that can warm you
if you sit next to them.
15That is what will happen to your advisors.
You have always asked them what to do,
but now they can not help you.
They don't know where to go,
and they can not save you.’
