Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device {is} against Babylon, to destroy it; because it {is} the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. {bright: Heb. pure}

Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth {any} son of man pass thereby.

The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. {all...: Heb. the fulness thereof}

Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. {as...: Heb. as the overthrowing}

But the LORD {is} the true God, he {is} the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. {true...: Heb. God of truth} {living God: Heb. living Gods} {everlasting...: Heb. king of eternity}

Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as {by} the flood of Egypt.

Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make {their} habitation desolate with them.

Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: {there is} no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast {it} into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, {and} consider thee, {saying, Is} this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell {there}, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. {desolate: Heb. desolations}

Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, {and} pangs as of a woman in travail.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times {the things} that are not {yet} done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

A sword {is} upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword {is} upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. {liars: or, chief stays: Heb. bars}

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to {his} purpose.

It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth {any} son of man pass thereby.

Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. {ambushes: Heb. liers in wait}

And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD. {desolate...: Heb. everlasting desolations}

Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. {desolate: Heb. desolations}

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

But these two {things} shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, {and} for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. {furnish...: Heb. make thee instruments of captivity}

And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

(For {the children} being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)