The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ¹  and all the kings of the earth will respect ²  his splendor,

It ¹  furiously struck down nations with unceasing blows. ²  It angrily ruled over nations, oppressing them without restraint. ³ 

Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! ¹  You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror ²  of the nations! ³ 

the deep waters! ¹  Grain from the Shihor region, ²  crops grown near the Nile ³  she receives; ⁴  she is the trade center ⁵  of the nations.

So a strong nation will extol you; the towns of ¹  powerful nations will fear you.

Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. ¹ 

Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts ¹  the coastlands ²  as if they were dust.

“I, the Lord, officially commission you; ¹  I take hold of your hand. I protect you ²  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ³  and a light ⁴  to the nations, ⁵ 

For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your children will conquer ¹  nations and will resettle desolate cities.

You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ¹  If you do, ²  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.” ³ 

But Babylonia will be put to great shame. The land where you were born ¹  will be disgraced. Indeed, ²  Babylonia will become the least important of all nations. It will become a dry and barren desert.

“Babylon, ¹  you are my war club, ²  my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. ³  I used you to destroy kingdoms.

I will bring the most wicked of the nations and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries ¹  will be desecrated.

The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit. They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. ¹ 

The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him. They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

I will do these things to you ¹  because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols.

For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of storm clouds, ¹  it will be a time of judgment ²  for the nations.

I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, ¹  as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.

I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

Many nations have now assembled against you. They say, “Jerusalem must be desecrated, ¹  so we can gloat over Zion!” ²