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(A) I am sending the Babylonians.
They are fierce and cruel—
    marching across the land,
    conquering cities and towns.

How fearsome and frightening.
Their only laws and rules
    are the ones they make up.
Their cavalry troops are faster
    than leopards,
more ferocious than wolves
    hunting at sunset,
and swifter than hungry eagles
    suddenly swooping down.

They are eager to destroy,[a]
and they gather captives
    like handfuls of sand.
10 They make fun of rulers
    and laugh at fortresses,
while building dirt mounds
    so they can capture cities.[b]
11 Then suddenly they disappear
    like a gust of wind—
those sinful people who worship
    their own strength.

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Footnotes

  1. 1.9 eager to destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 1.10 dirt mounds … cities: Attacking armies often build dirt mounds against city walls to make it easier for them to climb the wall and capture the city.

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