20. “You are my war club,my battle weapon.I use you to smash nations.I use you to destroy kingdoms.
21. I use you to smash horses and riders.I use you to smash chariots and drivers.
22. I use you to smash men and women.I use you to smash old people and young people.I use you to smash young men and young women.
23. I use you to smash shepherds and flocks.I use you to smash farmers and oxen.I use you to smash governors and officers.
24. “But I will pay back Babylon and all the Babylonians for all the evil things they did to Jerusalem in your sight,” says the Lord.
25. The Lord says,“Babylon, you are a destroying mountain,and I am against you.You have destroyed the whole land.I will put my hand out against you.I will roll you off the cliffs,and I will make you a burned-out mountain.
26. People will not find any rocks in Babylon big enough for cornerstones.People will not take any rocks from Babylon to use for the foundation of a building,because your city will be just a pile of ruins forever,” says the Lord.
27. “Lift up a banner in the land!Blow the trumpet among the nations!Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon.Call these kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to fight against her.Choose a commander to lead the army against Babylon.Send so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts.
28. Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon—the kings of the Medes,their governors and all their officers,and all the countries they rule.