Those you owe money to will suddenly rise up. They will wake up and make you tremble with fear. Then they will take away everything you have.

咬伤你的岂不忽然起来，扰害你的岂不兴起，你就作他们的掳物吗？

咬伤你的岂不忽然兴起，扰害你的岂不突然崛起，你就成为他们的掳物吗？

咬伤你的岂不忽然兴起，扰害你的岂不突然崛起，你就成为他们的掳物吗？

向你们借债的人必突然攻击你们，使你们战战兢兢，成为俘虏。

你的债主（“你的债主”或译：“咬你的”）岂不忽然起来？扰乱你的岂不醒起？你就成了他们的掳物。

咬傷你的豈不忽然起來，擾害你的豈不興起，你就作他們的擄物嗎？

咬傷你的豈不忽然興起，擾害你的豈不突然崛起，你就成為他們的擄物嗎？

咬傷你的豈不忽然興起，擾害你的豈不突然崛起，你就成為他們的擄物嗎？

向你們借債的人必突然攻擊你們，使你們戰戰兢兢，成為俘虜。

你的債主（“你的債主”或譯：“咬你的”）豈不忽然起來？擾亂你的豈不醒起？你就成了他們的擄物。

那被你索取利息的、豈不忽然起來？那要大大攪動你的、豈不醒起？那你就做他們的擄物了！

剝削爾者、豈不勃興乎、窘迫爾者、豈不亟起乎、爾必為其所虜之物、

困爾者勃興、撼爾者亟起、攘奪爾之所有、

困困原文作噬爾者突起、逐逐或作撼爾者忽醒、攘奪爾之所有、

Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey.

Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them.

Suddenly, your debtors will take action. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless.

Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them.

Will your creditors not rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.

Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them?

Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them.

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

Your creditors will suddenly attack; those who terrify you will spring into action, and they will rob you.

Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?

Whoever still won’t obey after being warned many times will suddenly be destroyed. Nothing can save them.

“ 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.”

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!’ ”

The Lord will put an end to anything they plan against him. He won’t allow Assyria to win the battle over his people a second time.His enemies will be tangled up among thorns. Their wine will make them drunk. They’ll be burned up like dry straw.

“ Nations, lift up a banner in the land of Babylon! Blow a trumpet among yourselves! Prepare yourselves for battle against Babylon. Send the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz against it. Appoint a commander against it. Send many horses against it. Let them be as many as a huge number of locusts.Prepare yourselves for battle against Babylon. Prepare the kings of the Medes. Prepare their governors and all their officials. Prepare all the countries they rule over.

“ I have stirred up you kings of the Medes. So sharpen your arrows! Get your shields! I plan to destroy Babylon. I will pay the Babylonians back. They have destroyed my temple.

I will make Babylon’s officials and wise men drunk. I will do the same thing to its governors, officers and soldiers. They will lie down and die. They will never wake up,” announces the King. His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.

People will be saying that everything is peaceful and safe. Then suddenly they will be destroyed. It will happen like birth pains coming on a pregnant woman. None of the people will escape.

“ People of Judah, I will send poisonous snakes among you. No one will be able to charm them. And they will bite you,” announces the Lord.

“ Here is what was written. mene, mene, tekel, parsin“ 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.“ The word Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.“ The word Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was killed.His kingdom was given to Darius the Mede. Darius was 62 years old.

Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it. Anyone who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.

“ Cyrus is my anointed king. I take hold of his right hand. I give him the power to bring nations under his control. I help him strip kings of their power to go to war against him. I break city gates open so he can go through them. I say to him,‘ I will march out ahead of you. I will make the mountains level. I will break down bronze gates. I will cut through their heavy iron bars.I will give you treasures that are hidden away. I will give you riches that are stored up in secret places. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I am the God of Israel. I am sending for you by name.

Their babies will be smashed to pieces right in front of their eyes. Their houses will be robbed. Their wives will be raped.The Lord will stir up the Medes to attack the Babylonians. They aren’t interested in getting silver. They don’t want gold.Instead, they will use their bows and arrows to strike down the young men. They won’t even show any mercy to babies. They won’t take pity on children.

I will send for a man from the east to carry out my plan. From a land far away, he will come like a bird that kills its food. I will bring about what I have said. I will do what I have planned.

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.

“ I have stirred up a king who will come from the north. He lives in the east. He will bring honor to me. He walks all over rulers as if they were mud. He steps on them just as a potter stomps on clay.

“ People of Israel, come together and listen to me. What other god has said ahead of time that certain things would happen? I have chosen Cyrus. He will carry out my plans against Babylon. He will use his power against the Babylonians.I myself have spoken. I have chosen him to carry out my purpose. I will bring him to Babylon. He will succeed in what I tell him to do.

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.