“ And here is what these words mean.“ The word Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.

讲解是这样：弥尼，就是神已经数算你国的年日到此完毕。

解释是这样：弥尼就是上帝数算你国的年日到此完毕。

解释是这样：弥尼就是神数算你国的年日到此完毕。

这些字的意思是这样，弥尼——指上帝已经数算你国度的年日，使之到此为止；

这文字的意思是这样：‘弥尼’就是神已数算了你国度的年日，使国终止；

这句话的释义是这样的：‘弥尼’就是神已经数算了你国的年日，使它终结了；

講解是這樣：彌尼，就是神已經數算你國的年日到此完畢。

解釋是這樣：彌尼就是上帝數算你國的年日到此完畢。

解釋是這樣：彌尼就是神數算你國的年日到此完畢。

這些字的意思是這樣，彌尼——指上帝已經數算你國度的年日，使之到此為止；

這文字的意思是這樣：‘彌尼’就是神已數算了你國度的年日，使國終止；

『這話的解析是這樣：「彌尼」即是：「上帝已經數算了你執掌國政的年日，使它終止」；

這句話的釋義是這樣的：『彌尼』就是神已經數算了你國的年日，使它終結了；

其解曰、彌尼者、上帝數爾國祚、使之永終也、

咪呢即數之之義、上帝數爾國祚、使爾永終、

其解如斯、彌尼者、言天主數爾國年、至此乃終、

“ Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end;

This is what these words mean: Mene means‘ numbered’— God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.

This is the interpretation of the message:‘ Mene’ means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

This is the interpretation of the message:‘ Menē’— God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;

This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end.

This is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

This[ is] the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

This is the interpretation of the words: As for mene– God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end.

“ This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE: God has counted your kingdom, and brought it to an end.

All the nations will serve him and his son and grandson. After that, I will judge his land. Then many nations and great kings will make him serve them.

Here is the prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.Lift up a banner on the top of a bare hill. Shout to the enemy soldiers. Wave for them to enter the gates that are used by the nobles of Babylon.The Lord has commanded the soldiers he prepared for battle. He has sent for them to carry out his anger against Babylon. They will be happy when he wins the battle for them.Listen! I hear a noise in the mountains. It sounds like a huge crowd. Listen! I hear a loud noise among the kingdoms. It sounds like nations gathering together. The Lord who rules over all is bringing an army together for war.They come from lands far away. They come from the farthest places on earth. The Lord and those weapons of his anger are coming to destroy the whole country of Babylon.Cry out! The day of the Lord is near. The Mighty One is coming to destroy the Babylonians.Their hands won’t be able to help them. Everyone’s heart will melt away in fear.The people will be filled with terror. Pain and suffering will grab hold of them. They will groan with pain like a woman having a baby. They’ll look at one another in terror. Their faces will burn with shame.The day of the Lord is coming. It will be a terrible day. The Lord’ s burning anger will blaze out. He will make the land dry and empty. He’ll destroy the sinners in it.All the stars in the sky will stop giving their light. The sun will be darkened as soon as it rises. The moon will not shine.The Lord will punish the world because it is so evil. He will punish evil people for their sins. He’ll put an end to the bragging of those who are proud. He’ll bring down the pride of those who don’t show any pity.He’ll make people harder to find than pure gold. They will be harder to find than gold from Ophir.He will make the heavens tremble. He’ll shake the earth out of its place. The Lord who rules over all will show how angry he is. At that time his burning anger will blaze out.Outsiders who live in Babylon will scatter like antelope that are chased by a hunter. They are like sheep that don’t have a shepherd. All of them will return to their own people. They will run back to their own countries.

Here is a prophecy against Babylon that the Lord gave me. Babylon is known as the Desert by the Sea. An attack is coming through the desert. It is coming from a land of terror. It’s sweeping along like a windstorm blowing across the Negev Desert.I have seen a vision about something terrible that will happen. People are turning against Babylon. Robbers are taking its goods. Elamites, attack the city! Medes, surround it! The Lord will put an end to all the suffering Babylon has caused.The vision fills my body with pain. Pains take hold of me. They are like the pains of a woman having a baby. I am shaken by what I hear. I’m terrified by what I see.My heart grows weak. Fear makes me tremble. I longed for evening to come. But it brought me horror instead of rest.In my vision the Babylonians set the tables. They spread out the rugs. They eat and drink. Get up, you officers! Rub your shields with oil!The Lord said to me,“ Go. Put a guard on duty on Jerusalem’s walls. Have him report what he sees.Tell him to watch for chariots that are pulled by teams of horses. Tell him to watch for men riding on donkeys or camels. Make sure he stays awake. Make sure he stays wide awake.”“ My master!” the guard shouts back.“ Day after day I stand here on the lookout tower. Every night I stay here on duty.Look! Here comes a man in a chariot! It’s being pulled by a team of horses. He’s calling out the news,‘ Babylon has fallen! It has fallen! All the statues of its gods lie broken in pieces on the ground!’ ”My people, you have been crushed like grain on a threshing floor. But now I’m telling you the good news I’ve heard. It comes from the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel.

In that year I learned from the Scriptures that Jerusalem would remain destroyed for 70 years. That was what the Lord had told Jeremiah the prophet.

If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard work I will wait for the time when you give me new life.

Here is the message the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. It was about the city of Babylon and the land of Babylon. He said,“ Announce this message among the nations. Lift up a banner. Let the nations hear the message. Do not keep anything back. Say,‘ Babylon will be captured. The god named Bel will be put to shame. The god named Marduk will be filled with terror. Babylon’s gods will be put to shame. The gods its people made will be filled with terror.’A nation from the north will attack it. That nation will destroy Babylon. No one will live there. People and animals alike will run away.“ The days are coming,” announces the Lord.“ At that time the people of Israel and Judah will gather together. They will come in tears to me. I am the Lord their God.They will ask how to get to Zion. Then they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to me. They will enter into the covenant I make with them. It will last forever. It will never be forgotten.“ My people have been like lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray. They have caused them to wander in the mountains. They have wandered over mountains and hills. They have forgotten that I am their true resting place.Everyone who found them destroyed them. Their enemies said,‘ We aren’t guilty. They sinned against the Lord. He gave them everything they needed. He has always been Israel’s hope.’“ People of Judah, run away from Babylon. Leave the land of Babylon. Be like the goats that lead the flock.I will stir up great nations that will join forces against Babylon. I will bring them from the land of the north. They will take up their battle positions against Babylon. They will come from the north and capture it. Their arrows will be like skilled soldiers. They will not miss their mark.So the riches of Babylon will be taken away. All those who steal from it will have more than enough,” announces the Lord.“ People of Babylon, you have stolen what belongs to me. That has made you glad and full of joy. You dance around like a young cow on a threshing floor. You neigh like stallions.Because of that, you will bring great shame on your land. Your whole nation will be dishonored. It will become the least important of the nations. It will become a dry and empty desert.Because I am angry with it, no one will live there. It will be completely deserted. All those who pass by Babylon will be shocked. They will make fun of it because of all its wounds.“ All you who shoot arrows, take up your battle positions around Babylon. Shoot at it! Do not spare any arrows! Its people have sinned against me.Shout against them on every side! They are giving up. The towers of the city are falling. Its walls are being pulled down. The Lord is paying back its people. So pay them back yourselves. Do to them what they have done to others.Do not leave anyone in Babylon to plant the fields. Do not leave anyone to harvest the grain. Let each of them return to their own people. Let them run away to their own land. If they don’t, their enemy’s sword will bring them great harm.“ Israel is like a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first lion that ate them up was the king of Assyria. The last one that broke their bones was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.”The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,“ I punished the king of Assyria. In the same way, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land.But I will bring Israel back to their own grasslands. I will feed them on Mount Carmel and in Bashan. I will satisfy their hunger on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.The days are coming,” announces the Lord.“ At that time people will search for Israel’s guilt. But they will not find any. They will search for Judah’s sins. But they will not find any. That is because I will forgive the people I have spared.“ Enemies of Babylon, attack their land of Merathaim. Make war against those who live in Pekod. Chase them and kill them. Destroy them completely,” announces the Lord.“ Do everything I have commanded you to do.The noise of battle is heard in the land. It is the noise of a great city being destroyed!It has been broken to pieces. It was the hammer that broke the whole earth. How empty Babylon is among the nations!Babylon, I set a trap for you. And you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured. That is because you opposed me.I have opened up my storeroom. I have brought out the weapons I use when I am angry. I am the Lord and King who rules over all. I have work to do in the land of the Babylonians.So come against it from far away. Open up its storerooms. Stack everything up like piles of grain. Completely destroy that country. Do not leave anyone alive there.Kill all Babylon’s strongest warriors. Let them die in battle. How terrible it will be for them! Their time to be judged has come. Now they will be punished.Listen to those who have escaped. Listen to those who have returned from Babylon. They are announcing in Zion how I have paid Babylon back. I have paid it back for destroying my temple.“ Send for men armed with bows and arrows. Send them against Babylon. Set up camp all around it. Do not let anyone escape. Pay it back for what its people have done. Do to them what they have done to others. They have dared to disobey me. I am the Holy One of Israel.You can be sure its young men will fall dead in the streets. All its soldiers will be put to death at that time,” announces the Lord.“ Proud Babylonians, I am against you,” announces the Lord. The Lord who rules over all says,“ Your day to be judged has come. It is time for you to be punished.You proud people will trip and fall. No one will help you up. I will start a fire in your towns. It will burn up everyone around you.”The Lord who rules over all says,“ The people of Israel are being treated badly. So are the people of Judah. Those who have captured them are holding them. They refuse to let them go.But I am strong and will save them. My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. I will stand up for them. I will bring peace and rest to their land. But I will bring trouble to those who live in Babylon.“ A sword is coming against the Babylonians!” announces the Lord.“ It is coming against those who live in Babylon. It is coming against their officials and wise men.A sword is coming against their prophets. But they are not really prophets at all! So they will look foolish. A sword is coming against their soldiers! They will be filled with terror.A sword is coming against their horses and chariots! It is coming against all the hired soldiers in their armies. They will become weak. A sword is coming against their treasures! They will be stolen.There will not be any rain for their rivers. So they will dry up. Those things will happen because their land is full of statues of gods. Those gods will go crazy with terror.“ Desert creatures and hyenas will live in Babylon. And so will owls. People will never live there again. It will not be lived in for all time to come.I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. I also destroyed the towns that were near them,” announces the Lord.“ Babylon will be just like them. No one will live there. No human beings will stay there.“ Look! An army is coming from the north. I am stirring up a great nation and many kings. They are coming from a land that is very far away.Their soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are mean. They do not show any mercy at all. They come riding in on their horses. They sound like the roaring ocean. They are lined up for battle. They are coming to attack you, city of Babylon.The king of Babylon has heard reports about them. His hands can’t help him. He is in great pain. It is like the pain of a woman having a baby.I will be like a lion coming up from the bushes by the Jordan River. I will hunt in rich grasslands. I will chase the people of Babylon from their land in an instant. What nation will I choose to do this? Which one will I appoint? Is anyone like me? Who would dare to argue with me? What leader can stand against me?”So listen to what the Lord has planned against Babylon. Hear what he has planned against the land of the Babylonians. Their young people will be dragged away. Their grasslands will be shocked at their fate.At the news of Babylon’s capture, the earth will shake. The people’s cries will be heard among the nations.

The Lord does things that have been known from long ago.

This whole country will become dry and empty. And these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.“‘ But I will punish that king and his nation because they are guilty. I will do this when the 70 years are over,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will make that land a desert forever.

“ City of Babylon, go down and sit in the dust. Leave your throne and sit on the ground. Queen city of the Babylonians, your life will not be comfortable and easy anymore.Get millstones and grind some flour like a female slave. Take off your veil. Lift up your skirts. Make your legs bare. Wade through the streams.Everyone will see your naked body. Everyone will see your shame. I will pay you back for what you did. I will not spare any of your people.”The one who sets us free is the Holy One of Israel. His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.The Lord says,“ Queen city of the Babylonians, go into a dark prison. Sit there quietly. You will not be called the queen of kingdoms anymore.I was angry with my people. I treated them as if they did not belong to me. I handed them over to you. And you did not show them any pity. You even placed heavy loads on their old people.You said,‘ I am queen forever!’ But you did not think about what you were doing. You did not consider how things might turn out.“ So listen, you who love pleasure. You think you are safe and secure. You say to yourself,‘ I am like a god. No one is greater than I am. I’ll never be a widow. And my children will never be taken away from me.’But both of these things will happen to you in a moment. They will take place on a single day. You will lose your children. And you will become a widow. That is what will happen to you. All your evil magic and powerful spells will not save you.You have felt secure in your evil ways. You have said,‘ No one sees what I’m doing.’ Your wisdom and knowledge lead you astray. You say to yourself,‘ I am like a god. No one is greater than I am.’So horrible trouble will come on you. You will not know how to use your evil magic to make it go away. Great trouble will fall on you. No amount of money can keep it away. Something terrible will happen to you all at once. You will not see it coming ahead of time.“ So keep on casting your magic spells. Keep on practicing your evil magic. You have been doing those things ever since you were a child. Perhaps they will help you. Maybe they will scare your enemies away.All the advice you have received has only worn you out! Let those who study the heavens come forward. They claim to know what is going to happen by watching the stars every month. So let them save you from the trouble that is coming on you.They are just like straw. Fire will burn them up. They can’t even save themselves from the powerful flames. These are not like coals that can warm anyone. This is not like a fire to sit by.They can’t do you any good. You have done business with them ever since you were a child. You have always asked them for advice. All of them are bewildered and continue in their own ways. None of them can save you.”