he hills of
Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days, and in that time,' saith the
Lord, 'the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be
none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will
pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

"'Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against
the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them,' saith
the Lord, 'and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound
of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer
of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a
desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou
art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found,
and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.'

"The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons
of his indignation: for the Lord, the Lord of hosts, hath a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the utmost border,
open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly:
let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to
the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their
visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of
Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the
vengeance of his temple.

"Call together the archers against Babylon, all them {335} that bend
the bow; camp against her round about; let none thereof escape:
recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath
done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against
the Holy One of Israel. 'Therefore shall her young men fall in her
streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that
day,' saith he Lord. "Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one,'
saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: 'for thy day is come, the time that
I will visit thee. And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none
shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it
shall devour all that are round about him.'

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'The children of Israel and the
children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them
captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. Their redeemer is
strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their
cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the
inhabitants