27 “Lift up the war flag in the land! Blow the trumpet in all the nations! Prepare the nations for war against Babylon. Call these kingdoms to come fight against Babylon: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Choose a commander to lead the army against her. Send so many horses that they are like a swarm of locusts.
28 Get the nations ready for battle against her. Get the kings of the Medes ready. Get their governors and all their important officials ready. Get all the countries they rule ready for battle against Babylon.
29 The land shakes and moves as if it is in pain. It will shake when the Lord does to Babylon what he plans— to make the land of Babylon an empty desert, a place where no one will live.
30 Babylon’s soldiers have stopped fighting. They stay in their forts. Their strength is gone. They have become like frightened women. Babylon’s houses are burning. The bars of her gates are broken.
31 One messenger follows another. Messenger follows messenger. They announce to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.
32 The places where people cross the rivers have been captured. The swamplands are burning. All of Babylon’s soldiers are afraid.”
33 This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: “Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people beat the grain at harvest time. And the time to beat Babylon is coming soon.