Her gates will mourn and lament; deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. ¹ 

“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin ¹  daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

“Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, ¹  O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’

They sit among the tombs ¹  and keep watch all night long. ²  They eat pork, ³  and broth ⁴  from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; ¹  its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. ²  He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, ³  and spreads it out ⁴  like a pitched tent. ⁵ 

But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ¹  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” ² 

For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ¹  Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ² 

to open blind eyes, ¹  to release prisoners ²  from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons.

He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions, and strength to those who defend the city from attackers. ¹ 

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ¹  I saw the sovereign master ²  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. ¹ 

Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat ¹  of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. ² 

Egypt is totally incapable of helping. ¹  For this reason I call her ‘Proud one ²  who is silenced.’” ³ 

Shake off the dirt! ¹  Get up, captive ²  Jerusalem! Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

You said to yourself, ¹  “I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El ²  I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ³ 

Then a trustworthy king will be established; he will rule in a reliable manner, this one from David’s family. ¹  He will be sure to make just decisions and will be experienced in executing justice. ² 

So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, ¹  who lives securely, who says to herself, ²  ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ³  I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’ ⁴ 

So listen to this, oppressed one, who is drunk, but not from wine!

Arrange the table, lay out ¹  the carpet, eat and drink! ²  Get up, you officers, smear oil on the shields! ³ 

“I will rise up against them,” says the Lord who commands armies. “I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, ¹  including the offspring she produces,” ²  says the Lord.