_Fall of Babel, the Capital of the Empire of the World._
1. Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin-daughter Babel; sit on
the ground without a throne,[1] O Chaldean's daughter! For men no
longer call thee delicate and voluptuous. 2. Take the mill, and grind
meal; throw back thy train, uncover thy thigh, wade through streams.
3. Let thy nakedness be uncovered, even let thy shame be seen; I
shall take vengeance, and[2] not spare men. 4. Our Redeemer, Jehovah
of hosts is His name, Holy One of Israel.
5. Sit silent, and creep into the darkness, O Chaldean's daughter!
for men no longer call thee lady of kingdoms. 6. I was wroth with My
people; I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand:
thou hast shown them no mercy; upon old men thou laidst thy yoke very
heavily. 7. And thou saidst, I shall be lady for ever; so that thou
didst not take these things to heart; thou didst not consider the
latter end thereof.
8. And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, she who sitteth so
securely, who sayeth in her heart, I am it, and none else; I shall
not sit a widow, nor experience bereavement of children. 9. And these
two come upon thee suddenly in one day: bereavement of children and
widowhood; they come upon thee in fullest measure, in spite of the
multitude of thy sorceries, in spite of the great abundance of thy
witchcrafts. 10. Thou trustedst in thy wickedness, and saidst, No one
seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, they led thee astray; so that
thou saidst in thy heart, I am it, and none else. 11. And misfortune
cometh upon thee, which[3] thou understandest not how to charm away:
and destruction will fall upon thee, which thou canst not atone for;
for there will come suddenly upon thee ruin which thou suspectest not.
12. Come near, then, with thy enchantments, and with the multitude of
thy witchcrafts, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth: perhaps
thou canst profit, perhaps thou canst inspire terror. 13. Thou art
wearied through the multitude of thy consultations;[4] let the
dissectors of the heavens come near, then, and save thee, the
star-gazers, they who with every new moon bring things to light that
will come upon thee. 14. Behold, they have become like stubble: fire
has consumed them; there is not a red-hot coal to warm themselves, a
hearth-fire to sit before. 15. So[5] it is with thy people, for whom
thou hast laboured: thy partners in trade from thy youth, they wander
away every one in his own direction; no one who brings salvation to
thee.