“Fall into ranks with your shields ready! ¹  Prepare to march into battle!

His troops ¹  advance together; they throw up ²  a siege ramp against me, and they camp around my tent.

Remember, ¹  I have told you ahead of time.

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ¹  that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: ² 

locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; ¹ 

You will advance; ¹  you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.

Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution ¹  you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift ²  and not as something you feel forced to do. ³ 

Go ahead and ¹  charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia ²  who are armed with the bow. ³ 

The Lord spoke about Kedar ¹  and the kingdoms of Hazor ²  that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered. “Army of Babylon, ³  go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert. ⁴ 

His sons ¹  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ²  fortress. ³ 

For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

Do not take interest or profit from him, ¹  but you must fear your God and your brother must live ²  with you.

And he told ¹  the army, ²  “Move ahead ³  and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

The Lord says, ¹  “Army of Babylon, ²  go and attack a nation that lives in peace and security. They have no gates or walls to protect them. ³  They live all alone.

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for a holy war! Call out the warriors! Let all these fighting men approach and attack! ¹ 

All of them intend ¹  to do violence; every face is determined. ²  They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ³ 

For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know. ¹ 

But when you assemble the community, ¹  you must blow, but you must not sound an alarm. ² 

They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash ¹  they come rolling in. ² 

For ¹  look, the kings assemble; ²  they advance together.