“I will go before you, Cyrus,
    and level the mountains.^[a]
I will smash down gates of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.

⁴ Fill in the valleys,
    and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
    and smooth out the rough places.

¹⁶ I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
    guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
    and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
    I will not forsake them.

⁵ The valleys will be filled,
    and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
    and the rough places made smooth.

¹⁶ For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
    he cut apart their bars of iron.

³⁰     Her mightiest warriors no longer fight.
They stay in their barracks, their courage gone.
    They have become like women.
The invaders have burned the houses
    and broken down the city gates.

⁴ Hear the noise on the mountains!
    Listen, as the vast armies march!
It is the noise and shouting of many nations.
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.
⁵ They come from distant countries,
    from beyond the farthest horizons.
They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger.
    With them he will destroy the whole land.

⁶ Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—
    the time for the Almighty to destroy.
⁷ Every arm is paralyzed with fear.
    Every heart melts,
⁸     and people are terrified.
Pangs of anguish grip them,
    like those of a woman in labor.
They look helplessly at one another,
    their faces aflame with fear.

⁹ For see, the day of the Lord is coming—
    the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.
The land will be made desolate,
    and all the sinners destroyed with it.
¹⁰ The heavens will be black above them;
    the stars will give no light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
    and the moon will provide no light.

¹¹ “I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil
    and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
    and humble the pride of the mighty.
¹² I will make people scarcer than gold—
    more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
¹³ For I will shake the heavens.
    The earth will move from its place
when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath
    in the day of his fierce anger.”

¹⁴ Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd.
They will try to find their own people
    and flee to their own land.
¹⁵ Anyone who is captured will be cut down—
    run through with a sword.
¹⁶ Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes.
    Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.

¹⁷ “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon.
    They cannot be tempted by silver
    or bribed with gold.