“ But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying,‘ What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’

这些国的民岂不都要提起诗歌并俗语讥刺他说：“祸哉！迦勒底人，你增添不属自己的财物，多多取人的当头，要到几时为止呢？”

这些人岂不都要提起诗歌和俗语，嘲讽他说：祸哉！你增添不属自己的财物，靠押金发财，要到几时呢？

这些人岂不都要提起诗歌和俗语，嘲讽他说：祸哉！你增添不属自己的财物，靠押金发财，要到几时呢？

“但那些被掳的人必用诗歌和俗语嘲讽他们，说，‘你们有祸了！你们吞没别人的财产，靠剥削别人囤积财富，要到何时呢？’

这些国民岂不都用譬喻、讽刺、暗语指着他们说：“那些滥得他人财物的，满载别人抵押品的，有祸了！他们这样要到几时呢？”

這些國的民豈不都要提起詩歌並俗語譏刺他說：禍哉！迦勒底人，你增添不屬自己的財物，多多取人的當頭，要到幾時為止呢？

這些人豈不都要提起詩歌和俗語，嘲諷他說：禍哉！你增添不屬自己的財物，靠押金發財，要到幾時呢？

這些人豈不都要提起詩歌和俗語，嘲諷他說：禍哉！你增添不屬自己的財物，靠押金發財，要到幾時呢？

「但那些被擄的人必用詩歌和俗語嘲諷他們，說，『你們有禍了！你們吞沒別人的財產，靠剝削別人囤積財富，要到何時呢？』

這些國民豈不都用譬喻、諷刺、暗語指著他們說：“那些濫得他人財物的，滿載別人抵押品的，有禍了！他們這樣要到幾時呢？”

這些國的人豈不都要唱起象徵歌和諷刺謎語來嘲弄他說：『那增加不屬自己之利息物的、有禍啊！——要到幾時為止呢？——那多多取人的當頭以肥己的、有禍啊！』

斯眾豈不以譬詞諷之、以隱語嘲之曰、禍哉其人、聚斂非己之財、擔負典質之重、伊於胡底、

斯眾必作歌以譏刺、曰、他人之財、充積爾家、質當之物、盡歸爾身、久而不償、禍必不遠、

斯眾必作嘲笑之歌以譏之、出諷刺之言以誚之、曰、禍哉爾歟、聚斂不屬己之財、何時為止、誠為己積累重大之孽債、

“ Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,“‘ Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’

“ Won’t those people laugh at the Babylonians? Won’t they make fun of them? They will say to them,“‘ How terrible it will be for you who pile up stolen goods! You get rich by cheating others. How long will this go on?’

Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,“ Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!”

Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say,“ Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer?— and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.”

“ Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him, Even a saying and insinuations against him And say,‘ Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with debts!’

“ Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say,‘ Woe to him who increases What is not his— how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges!

Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say: Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer?— and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth[ that which is] not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

“ But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:‘ The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead( How long will this go on?)– he who gets rich by extortion!’

Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say,‘ Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’

In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you:“ We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.”

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

Because of the Lord’s anger, Babylon will become a deserted wasteland. All who pass by will be horrified and will gasp at the destruction they see there.

They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down.They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them.They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy.For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.“ In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them.When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze tipped arrow will pierce them.The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them.Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left.The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them.A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say,“ The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended.For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule.You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny.But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again!Even the trees of the forest— the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon— sing out this joyous song:‘ Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!’“ In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you.With one voice they all cry out,‘ Now you are as weak as we are!Your might and power were buried with you. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.’“ How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.For you said to yourself,‘ I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.Everyone there will stare at you and ask,‘ Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’“ The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb,but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit.

This was the message Balaam delivered:“ Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills.‘ Come,’ he said,‘ curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’

“ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has eaten and crushed us and drained us of strength. He has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches. He has thrown us out of our own country.Make Babylon suffer as she made us suffer,” say the people of Zion.“ Make the people of Babylonia pay for spilling our blood,” says Jerusalem.

This was the message Balaam delivered:“ Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.

Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying,‘ May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’

“ For example, you must have lent money to your friend and demanded clothing as security. Yes, you stripped him to the bone.You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry.You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it!You must have sent widows away empty handed and crushed the hopes of orphans.That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears.

How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat?

Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth eaten rags.Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,“ Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.

“ On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them!

Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?

“ But God said to him,‘ You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage.Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions.Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.

Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!

Down in the grave mighty leaders will mockingly welcome Egypt and its allies, saying,‘ They have come down; they lie among the outcasts, hordes slaughtered by the sword.’