A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

I have laid a trap for you, and you have also been caught, O Babylon, and you did not even know it. You have been found and also captured, because you have fought against Jehovah.

Come against her from the border; open her storehouses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her completely. Let nothing of her be left.

The voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of His temple.

Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be silenced in that day, says Jehovah.

And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and no one shall raise him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall consume everything all around him.

Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of Hosts, is His name. He shall thoroughly plead their case, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

A sword is upon the liars, and they shall become fools. A sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up. For it is the land of graven images, and they act madly and are in dread.

As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, says Jehovah, so no man shall remain there, nor shall any son of man live in it.

They lay hold on the bow and spear; they are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride on horses, set in array like a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon.

Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the Jordan against the dwelling of the strong. But I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is a chosen one whom I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? And who will set My appointments? And who is that shepherd who will face Me?

At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth quakes, and a cry is heard among the nations.

And with you I will shatter the horse and his rider; and with you I will shatter the chariot and his rider.

I will also shatter the shepherd and his flock with you. And with you I will shatter the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you I will shatter governors and rulers.

These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

Then he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Jehovah the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.

And whoever remains in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

and all those who were around them, encouraged their hands with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.

thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a second kind, and one thousand other articles.

And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid out of the king's house.

Now therefore, Tatnai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your associates the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.

Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the king's riches from the tribute of the region beyond the River be diligently given to these men for their expenses, so that they are not hindered.

that they may offer sacrifices of soothing aroma unto the God of Heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the sons of the captivity, carried out the dedication of this house of God with joy.

They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

For the priests and the Levites were purified together; all of them were pure. And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the sons of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem;

now therefore, be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently,

Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of Heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the Laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them.

Let the exaltation of the Mighty God be in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand,

to bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with bonds of iron;

For her sins have reached to Heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

By however much she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, by the same amount give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall by no means be found anymore.

And the light of a lamp shall not ever shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not ever be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were led astray.

For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her sexual perversities; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and did homage to God sitting on the throne, saying, Amen! Alleluia!

And I heard, as it were, the sound of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!