In the place where you used to meet with us, your enemies have shouted,“ We’ve won the battle!” They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.
The Lord deserted his altar. He left his temple. He gave the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces into the hands of her enemies. They shouted loudly in the house of the Lord. You would have thought it was the day of an appointed feast.
“ The prophet Daniel spoke about‘ the hated thing that destroys.’( Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this.
“ The Israelites must camp around the tent of meeting. But they must not camp too close to it. All of them must camp under their flags and under the banners of their families.”
The beast opened its mouth to speak evil things against God. It told lies about God and about the place where God lives. And it told lies about those who live in heaven with him.
He sets people free and saves them. He does miraculous signs and wonders. He does them in the heavens and on the earth. He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
The Lord says,“ People of Benjamin, run for safety! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow trumpets in the city of Tekoa! Warn everyone in Beth Hakkerem! Horrible trouble is coming from the north. The Babylonians will destroy everything with awful power.I will destroy the city of Zion, even though it is very beautiful.Shepherds will come against it with their flocks. They will set up their tents around it. All of them will take care of their own sheep.”The Babylonians say,“ Prepare for battle against Judah! Get up! Let’s attack them at noon! But the daylight is fading. The shadows of evening are getting longer.So get up! Let’s attack them at night! Let’s destroy their strongest forts!”
The Lord brought the king of the Babylonians against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn’t spare young men or young women. They didn’t spare the old people or weak people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.