The LORD has called out his proud and confident soldiers to fight a holy war and punish those he is angry with.

I say to Cyrus, 'You are the one who will rule for me; you will do what I want you to do: you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.' "

The LORD said, "Return to the wilderness near Damascus, then enter the city and anoint Hazael as king of Syria;

I am the one who has placed all these nations under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and I have made even the wild animals serve him.

I am the LORD your God; I strengthen you and tell you, 'Do not be afraid; I will help you.' "

"I, the LORD, have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations.

Yet I always stay close to you, and you hold me by the hand.

"Mortal man," he said, "I have broken the arm of the king of Egypt. No one has bandaged it or put it in a sling so that it could heal and be strong enough to hold a sword again.

I am going to scatter the Egyptians throughout the world.

"Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east and makes him triumphant wherever he goes? Who gives him victory over kings and nations? His sword strikes them down as if they were dust. His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.

"I have chosen a man who lives in the east; I will bring him to attack from the north. He tramples on rulers as if they were mud, like a potter trampling clay.

In the first year that Cyrus of Persia was emperor, the LORD made what he had said through the prophet Jeremiah come true. He prompted Cyrus to issue the following command and send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his empire:

"A nation from the north has come to attack Babylonia and will make it a desert. People and animals will run away, and no one will live there."

The LORD says, "Death to Babylonia! Death to its people, to its rulers, to its people of wisdom.

The LORD has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylonia. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command, "Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready!

The LORD says, "Babylonia, you are my hammer, my weapon of war. I used you to crush nations and kingdoms,

to kill men and women, to slay old and young, to kill boys and girls,

The LORD says, "You will see me repay Babylonia and its people for all the evil they did to Jerusalem.

He turned pale and was so frightened that his knees began to shake.

divisions, your kingdom is divided up and given to the Medes and Persians."

That same night Belshazzar, the king of Babylonia, was killed;

The second beast looked like a bear standing on its hind legs. It was holding three ribs between its teeth, and a voice said to it, "Go on, eat as much meat as you can!"

and there beside the river I saw a ram that had two long horns, one of which was longer and newer than the other.

The gates by the river burst open; the palace is filled with terror.