6 I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands.
7 They spread fear and terror, and in their pride they are a law to themselves.
8 “Their horses are faster than leopards, fiercer than hungry wolves. Their horsemen come riding from distant lands; their horses paw the ground. They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.
9 “Their armies advance in violent conquest, and everyone is terrified as they approach. Their captives are as numerous as grains of sand.
10 They treat kings with contempt and laugh at high officials. No fortress can stop them — they pile up earth against it and capture it.
11 Then they sweep on like the wind and are gone, these men whose power is their god.”
12 Lord, from the very beginning you are God. You are my God, holy and eternal. Lord, my God and protector, you have chosen the Babylonians and made them strong so that they can punish us.