The Proverb against the King of Babylon

141 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make Israel his special people, and will put them in their land; and the man from a strange country will take his place among them and be joined to the family of Jacob. 2 And the people will take them with them to their place: and the children of Israel will give them a heritage in the Lord's land as men-servants and women-servants, making them prisoners whose prisoners they were; and they will be rulers over their masters. 3 And it will be, in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your trouble, and from the hard yoke which they had put on you,

4 That you will take up this bitter song against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the cruel overseer come to an end! He who was lifted up in pride is cut off; 5 The stick of the evil-doers, the rod of the rulers, is broken by the Lord; 6 He whose rod was on the peoples with an unending wrath, ruling the nations in passion, with an uncontrolled rule. 7 All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song. 8 Even the trees of the wood are glad over you, the trees of Lebanon, saying, From the time of your fall no wood-cutter has come up against us with an axe. 9 The underworld is moved at your coming: the shades of the dead are awake before you, even the strong ones of the earth; all the kings of the world have got up from their seats. 10 They all make answer and say to you, Have you become feeble like us? have you been made even as we are? 11 Your pride has gone down into the underworld, and the noise of your instruments of music; the worms are under you, and your body is covered with them. 12 How great is your fall from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the earth, low among the dead bodies! 13 For you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will make my seat higher than the stars of God; I will take my place on the mountain of the meeting-place of the gods, in the inmost parts of the north. 14 I will go higher than the clouds; I will be like the Most High. 15 But you will come down to the underworld, even to its inmost parts. 16 Those who see you will be looking on you with care, they will be in deep thought, saying, Is this the troubler of the earth, the shaker of kingdoms? 17 Who made the world a waste, overturning its towns; who did not let his prisoners loose from the prison-house. 18 All the kings of the earth are at rest in glory, every man in his house, 19 But you, like a birth before its time, are stretched out with no resting-place in the earth; clothed with the bodies of the dead who have been put to the sword, who go down to the lowest parts of the underworld; a dead body, crushed under foot. 20 As for your fathers, you will not be united with them in their resting-place, because you have been the cause of destruction to your land, and of death to your people; the seed of the evil-doer will have no place in the memory of man. 21 Make ready a place of death for his children, because of the evil-doing of their father; so that they may not come up and take the earth for their heritage, covering the face of the world with waste places. 22 For I will come up against them, says the Lord of armies, cutting off from Babylon name and offspring, son and son's son, says the Lord. 23 And I will make you a heritage for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will go through it with the brush of destruction, says the Lord of armies.

Assyria to Be Destroyed

24 The Lord has taken an oath, saying, My design will certainly come about, and my purpose will be effected: 25 To let the Assyrian be broken in my land, and crushed under foot on my mountains: there will his yoke be taken away from them, and his rule over them come to an end. 26 This is the purpose for all the earth: and this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For it is the purpose of the Lord of armies, and who will make it of no effect? when his hand is stretched out, by whom may it be turned back?

The Oracle concerning Philistia

28 In the year of the death of King Ahaz this word came to the prophet: 29 Be not glad, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod which was on you is broken: for out of the snake's root will come a poison-snake, and its fruit will be a winged poison-snake. 30 And the poorest of the land will have food, and those in need will be given a safe resting-place: but your seed will come to an end for need of food, and the rest of you will be put to the sword. 31 Send out a cry, O door! Make sounds of sorrow, O town! All your land has come to nothing, O Philistia; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and everyone keeps his place in the line. 32 What answer, then, will my people give to the representatives of the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and she will be a safe place for the poor of his people.

The LORD's Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

31 For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water; 2 The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years; 3 The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers. 4 And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them. 5 And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble. 6 When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition: 7 Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath.

9 Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full. 10 Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways. 11 Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him. 12 As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way. 13 The Lord is ready to take up his cause against his people, and is about to come forward as their judge. 14 The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force. 15 By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies.

Judgment on the Daughters of Zion

16 Again, the Lord has said, Because the daughters of Zion are full of pride, and go with outstretched necks and wandering eyes, with their foot-chains sounding when they go: 17 The Lord will send disease on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will let their secret parts be seen. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments, 19 The ear-rings, and the chains, and the delicate clothing, 20 The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers, 21 The rings, and the nose-jewels, 22 The feast-day dresses, and the robes, and the wide skirts, and the handbags, 23 The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils. 24 And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free. 25 Your men will be put to the sword, and your men of war will come to destruction in the fight. 26 And in the public places of her towns will be sorrow and weeping; and she will be seated on the earth, waste and uncovered.