14The LORD will once again be merciful to his people Israel and choose them as his own. He will let them live in their own land again, and foreigners will come and live there with them.H3068H7355H3290H977H3478H3240H127H1616H3867H5596H1004H32902Many nations will help the people of Israel return to the land which the LORD gave them, and there the nations will serve Israel as slaves. Those who once captured Israel will now be captured by Israel, and the people of Israel will rule over those who once oppressed them.H5971H3947H935H4725H1004H3478H5157H127H3068H5650H8198H7617H7617H7287H5065
The King of Babylon in the World of the Dead
3The LORD will give the people of Israel relief from their pain and suffering and from the hard work they were forced to do.H3117H3068H5117H6090H7267H7186H5656H56474When he does this, they are to mock the king of Babylon and say: "The cruel king has fallen! He will never oppress anyone again!H5375H4912H4428H894H559H5065H7673H4062H76735The LORD has ended the power of the evil rulersH3068H7665H4294H7563H7626H49106who angrily oppressed the peoples and never stopped persecuting the nations they had conquered.H5221H5971H5678H1115H5627H4347H7287H1471H639H4783H1097H28207Now at last the whole world enjoys rest and peace, and everyone sings for joy.H776H5117H8252H6476H74408The cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king, because there is no one to cut them down, now that he is gone!H1265H8055H730H3844H7901H3772H59279"The world of the dead is getting ready to welcome the king of Babylon. The ghosts of those who were powerful on earth are stirring about. The ghosts of kings are rising from their thrones.H7585H7264H7125H935H5782H7496H6260H776H6965H3678H4428H147110They all call out to him, 'Now you are as weak as we are! You are one of us!H6030H559H2470H491111You used to be honored with the music of harps, but now here you are in the world of the dead. You lie on a bed of maggots and are covered with a blanket of worms.' "H1347H3381H7585H1998H5035H7415H3331H8438H437412King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground.H5307H8064H1966H1121H7837H3213H1438H776H2522H147113You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble.H559H3824H5927H8064H7311H3678H4605H3556H410H3427H2022H4150H3411H682814You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty.H5927H1116H5645H1819H594515But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.H3381H7585H3411H95316The dead will stare and gape at you. They will ask, "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble?H7200H7688H995H376H776H7264H7493H446717Is this the man who destroyed cities and turned the world into a desert? Is this the man who never freed his prisoners or let them go home?"H7760H8398H4057H2040H5892H6605H1004H61518All the kings of the earth lie in their magnificent tombs,H4428H1471H7901H3519H376H100419but you have no tomb, and your corpse is thrown out to rot. It is covered by the bodies of soldiers killed in battle, thrown with them into a rocky pit, and trampled down.H7993H6913H8581H5342H3830H2026H2944H2719H3381H68H953H6297H94720Because you ruined your country and killed your own people, you will not be buried like other kings. None of your evil family will survive.H3161H6900H7843H776H2026H5971H2233H7489H5769H712121Let the slaughter begin! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.H3559H4293H1121H5771H1H1077H6965H3423H776H4390H6440H8398H6145H5892
God Will Destroy Babylon
22The LORD Almighty says, "I will attack Babylon and bring it to ruin. I will leave nothing - no children, no survivors at all. I, the LORD, have spoken.H6965H5002H3068H6635H3772H894H8034H7605H5209H5220H5002H306823I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken."H7760H4180H7090H98H4325H2894H4292H8045H5002H3068H6635
God Will Destroy the Assyrians
24The LORD Almighty has sworn an oath: "What I have planned will happen. What I have determined to do will be done.H3068H6635H7650H559H1819H3289H696525I will destroy the Assyrians in my land of Israel and trample them on my mountains. I will free my people from the Assyrian yoke and from the burdens they have had to bear.H7665H804H776H2022H947H5923H5493H5448H5493H792626This is my plan for the world, and my arm is stretched out to punish the nations."H6098H3289H776H3027H5186H147127The LORD Almighty is determined to do this; he has stretched out his arm to punish, and no one can stop him.H3068H6635H3289H6565H3027H5186H7725
God Will Destroy the Philistines
28This is a message that was proclaimed in the year that King Ahaz died.H8141H4428H271H4194H485329People of Philistia, the rod that beat you is broken, but you have no reason to be glad. When one snake dies, a worse one comes in its place. A snake's egg hatches a flying dragon.H8055H6429H7626H5221H7665H5175H8328H3318H6848H6529H8314H5774H831430The LORD will be a shepherd to the poor of his people and will let them live in safety. But he will send a terrible famine on you Philistines, and it will not leave any of you alive.H1060H1800H7462H34H7257H983H4191H8328H7458H2026H761131Howl and cry for help, all you Philistine cities! Be terrified, all of you! A cloud of dust is coming from the north - it is an army with no cowards in its ranks.H3213H8179H2199H5892H6429H4127H935H6828H6227H909H415132How shall we answer the messengers that come to us from Philistia? We will tell them that the LORD has established Zion and that his suffering people will find safety there.H6030H4397H1471H3068H3245H6726H6041H5971H2620
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