Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it {is} a mighty nation, it {is} an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint {battering} rams against the gates, to cast a mount, {and} to build a fort. {captains: or, battering rams: Heb. rams}

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, {even} from Babylon.

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. {all that...: Heb. the fulness thereof}

Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, {and} a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, {and} their backslidings are increased. {evenings: or, deserts} {are increased: Heb. are strong}

Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall {men} lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare {it} in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd {doth} his flock.

The young lions roared upon him, {and} yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. {yelled: Heb. gave out their voice}

Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what {is} among them.

The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, {as swift} as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; {understand: Heb. hear}

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, {and} conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. {set up: Heb. lift up}

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it {is} a mighty nation, it {is} an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch {their} tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.

Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: {Is} not the LORD in Zion? {is} not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, {and} with strange vanities? {them...: Heb. the country of them that are far off}

Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused {him} to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. {the mother...: or, the mother city a young man spoiling, etc, or, the mother and the young men}

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, {and} conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. {set up: Heb. lift up}