26 He lifts up a banner(A) for the distant nations,
    he whistles(B) for those at the ends of the earth.(C)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(D) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(E) is loosened at the waist,(F)
    not a sandal strap is broken.(G)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(H)
    all their bows(I) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(J) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(K)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(L)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(M) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.(N)
30 In that day(O) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.(P)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness(Q) and distress;(R)
    even the sun will be darkened(S) by clouds.

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26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

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26 He lifts up a banner(A) for the distant nations,
    he whistles(B) for those at the ends of the earth.(C)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!

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26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

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Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day(A) the Lord will whistle(B) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.(C) 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices(D) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes(E) and at all the water holes. 20 In that day(F) the Lord will use(G) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River(H)—the king of Assyria(I)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard(J) also.(K)

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18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

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Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,(A)” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

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Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.

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16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(A)
    raising a war cry(B) against the cities of Judah.(C)

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16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

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15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation(A) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language(B) you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.

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15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

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22 This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;(A)
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.(B)

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22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

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32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster(A) is spreading
    from nation to nation;(B)
a mighty storm(C) is rising
    from the ends of the earth.”(D)

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32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

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See, I will bring them from the land of the north(A)
    and gather(B) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind(C) and the lame,(D)
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    a great throng will return.

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Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

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I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](A)
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(B)
    to seize dwellings not their own.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.

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