“How the hammer

Of the whole earth

Is cut down!

It is broken!

How Babylon has become

A horror

Among the nations!

You set a snare

For yourself!

You were caught!

O Babylon!

But you did not know it.

You were discovered.

You were seized

Because you challenged

Yahweh.

Yahweh has opened

His armory.

He has brought out

The weapons

Of his wrath.

Yahweh,

God of hosts,

Has a task to do

In the land

Of the Chaldeans.”

Babylon has become a broken hammer, a horror to all the countries. They had set a trap, but they themselves fell into it. The other countries found the trapped Babylon and seized it, because the Babylonians had challenged Yahweh by burning down his Temple. Thus Yahweh used all the weapons in his great armory of anger against Babylon. He had a task to do in the land of the Chaldeans. Why did Yahweh not do this sooner?