I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones.

我吩咐我所挑出来的人；我招呼我的勇士，就是那矜夸高傲之辈，为要成就我怒中所定的。

我吩咐我所分别为圣的人，召唤我的勇士，就是我那狂喜高傲的人，为要执行我的怒气。

我吩咐我所分别为圣的人，召唤我的勇士，就是我那狂喜高傲的人，为要执行我的怒气。

我已向我拣选的士兵发出命令，我已号召我的勇士去倾倒我的烈怒，他们因我的胜利而欢喜。

我向我特选的军兵下了命令；我也呼召了我的勇士，就是我那些骄傲自夸的人，去执行我在怒气中所要作的。

为了成就我的怒气，我已吩咐我所分别出来的人，我已召唤我的勇士，就是那些为我威荣欢腾的人。

我吩咐我所挑出來的人；我招呼我的勇士－就是那矜誇高傲之輩，為要成就我怒中所定的。

我吩咐我所分別為聖的人，召喚我的勇士，就是我那狂喜高傲的人，為要執行我的怒氣。

我吩咐我所分別為聖的人，召喚我的勇士，就是我那狂喜高傲的人，為要執行我的怒氣。

我已向我揀選的士兵發出命令，我已號召我的勇士去傾倒我的烈怒，他們因我的勝利而歡喜。

我向我特選的軍兵下了命令；我也呼召了我的勇士，就是我那些驕傲自誇的人，去執行我在怒氣中所要作的。

我吩咐我那些獻身軍人；我呼召了我的勇士，我那些耀武揚威的高傲者，來執行我忿怒中所要作的。

為了成就我的怒氣，我已吩咐我所分別出來的人，我已召喚我的勇士，就是那些為我威榮歡騰的人。

我已命我所區別者、召我驕樂之傑士、以洩我忿、

主有傑士、召為執事、以洩其憤、莫不踴躍、樂奏其能。

我命我所備之人至、召我勇士、即樂我威嚴者來、代我行刑以洩我怒、

I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath— those who rejoice in my triumph.

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.

I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.

I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”

I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my warriors, who celebrate my triumph, to execute my wrath.

I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have also called for My warriors Who boast in My eminence, To execute My anger.

I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger— Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”

I have commanded my consecrated ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, even my proudly exulting ones.

I have commanded My chosen ones; I have also called My warriors, who exult in My triumph, to execute My wrath.

I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger,[ even] them that rejoice in my highness.

I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones.

Lend your aid and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves to that place.” Bring down, O LORD, your warriors!

“ Babylon, you are my war club, my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms.I used you to smash horses and their riders. I used you to smash chariots and their drivers.I used you to smash men and women. I used you to smash old men and young men. I used you to smash young men and young women.I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks. I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen. I used you to smash governors and leaders.”“ But I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wicked things they did in Zion right before the eyes of you Judeans,” says the LORD.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,“ Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her.As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself,‘ I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon.A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:“ Memorandum:In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:‘ Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury.Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’“ Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates– all of you stay far away from there!Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.“ I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.Whatever is needed– whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by the priests who are in Jerusalem– must be given to them daily without any neglect,so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family.“ I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled on it, and his house is to be reduced to a rubbish heap for this indiscretion.May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly– with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.The people of Israel– the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles– observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy.For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with the book of Moses.The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves.The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the LORD God of Israel.They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

who says to the deep sea,‘ Be dry! I will dry up your sea currents,’who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem,‘ She will be rebuilt,’ and concerning the temple,‘ It will be reconstructed.’”

The LORD says,“ Attack the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them! Do just as I have commanded you!The noise of battle can be heard in the land of Babylonia. There is the sound of great destruction.Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces. But see how that‘ hammer’ has been broken and shattered! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!I set a trap for you, Babylon; you were caught before you knew it. You fought against me. So you were found and captured.I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored. I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath. For I, the Lord GOD who rules over all, have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia.Come from far away and attack Babylonia! Open up the places where she stores her grain! Pile her up in ruins! Destroy her completely! Do not leave anyone alive!Kill all her soldiers! Let them be slaughtered! They are doomed, for their day of reckoning has come, the time for them to be punished.”Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon. They are coming to Zion to declare there how the LORD our God is getting revenge, getting revenge for what they have done to his temple.“ Call for archers to come against Babylon! Summon against her all who draw the bow! Set up camp all around the city! Do not allow anyone to escape! Pay her back for what she has done. Do to her what she has done to others. For she has proudly defied me, the Holy One of Israel.So her young men will fall in her city squares. All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,” says the LORD.“ Listen! I am opposed to you, you proud city,” says the Lord GOD who rules over all.“ Indeed, your day of reckoning has come, the time when I will punish you.You will stumble and fall, you proud city; no one will help you get up. I will set fire to your towns; it will burn up everything that surrounds you.”The LORD who rules over all says,“ The people of Israel are oppressed. So too are the people of Judah. All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners. They refuse to set them free.But the one who will rescue them is strong. He is known as the LORD who rules over all. He will strongly champion their cause. As a result he will bring peace and rest to the earth, but trouble and turmoil to the people who inhabit Babylonia.“ Destructive forces will come against the Babylonians,” says the LORD.“ They will come against the people who inhabit Babylonia, against her leaders and her men of wisdom.Destructive forces will come against her false prophets; they will be shown to be fools! Destructive forces will come against her soldiers; they will be filled with terror!Destructive forces will come against her horses and her chariots. Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; they will be as frightened as women! Destructive forces will come against her treasures; they will be taken away as plunder!A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. Her people act like madmen because of those idols they fear.Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there. Ostriches will dwell in it too. But no people will ever live there again. No one will dwell there for all time to come.I will destroy Babylonia just like I did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it,” says the LORD.“ Look! An army is about to come from the north. A mighty nation and many kings are stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle, they are coming against you, fair Babylon!The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.“ A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.So listen to what I, the LORD, have planned against Babylon, what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia. Their little ones will be dragged off. I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.The people of the earth will quake when they hear Babylon has been captured. Her cries of anguish will be heard by the other nations.”

“ Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel– even the priests and Levites– who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem.You are authorized by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem,along with all the silver and gold that you may collect throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem.With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God.Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God.The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, you may do so from the royal treasury.“ I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you–up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, and unlimited salt.Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the empire of the king and his sons?Furthermore, be aware of the fact that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.“ Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, appoint judges and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison.”

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the LORD’S message spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the mind of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict the following:“ Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:“‘ The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.Anyone from his people among you( may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the LORD God of Israel– he is the God who is in Jerusalem.Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites– all those whose mind God had stirred– got ready to go up in order to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.All their neighbors assisted them with silver utensils, gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention all the voluntary offerings.Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the LORD’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.King Cyrus of Persia entrusted them to Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the leader of the Judahite exiles.The inventory of these items was as follows: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 silver utensils,30 gold bowls, 410 other silver bowls, and 1,000 other vessels.All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour.These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”Then the angel said to me,“ The waters you saw( where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.The ten horns that you saw, and the beast– these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire.For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.As for the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”

Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! Let them shout for joy upon their beds!May they praise God while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand,in order to take revenge on the nations, and punish foreigners.They bind their kings in chains, and their nobles in iron shackles,and execute the judgment to which their enemies have been sentenced. All his loyal followers will be vindicated. Praise the LORD!

( Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment against her on your behalf!)Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,“ With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again!And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again.Even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again! The voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells!The blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, along with the blood of all those who had been killed on the earth.”After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,“ Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”Then a second time the crowd shouted,“ Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever.The twenty- four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying:“ Amen! Hallelujah!”Then a voice came from the throne, saying:“ Praise our God all you his servants, and all you who fear him, both the small and the great!”Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting:“ Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the All- Powerful, reigns!Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one, I call you by name and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize me.I am the LORD, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.

The LORD stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook kingdoms; he gave the order to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.

Let Israel rejoice in their Creator! Let the people of Zion delight in their king!