Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing. ¹ 

You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold,

He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold,

Will ¹  it ²  go down to the barred gates ³  of death? Will ⁴  we descend ⁵  together into the dust?”

It eats away parts of his skin; ¹  the most terrible death ²  devours his limbs.

You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze.

At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’ And from a distance it catches the scent of battle, the thunderous shouting of commanders, and the battle cries.

The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed ¹  and strangled prey to provide food ²  for his lionesses; he filled ³  his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹  says, “Babylon’s thick wall ²  will be completely demolished. ³  Her high gates will be set on fire. The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ⁴  The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ⁵