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42 Bows and arrows and swords
    are in their hands.
The soldiers are cruel
    and show no pity.
The hoofbeats of their horses echo
    like ocean waves
    crashing against the shore.
The army has lined up for battle
and is coming to attack you,
    people of Babylonia!

43 Ever since your king heard
    about this army,
he has been weak with fear;
he twists and turns in pain
    like a woman giving birth.
44 Babylonia, I will attack you
    like a lion from the forest,
attacking sheep in a meadow
    along the Jordan.
In a moment the flock runs,
    and the land is empty.
Who will I choose to attack you?
    I will do it myself!
No one can force me to fight
    or chase me away.

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42 They are armed with bows(A) and spears;
    they are cruel(B) and without mercy.(C)
They sound like the roaring sea(D)
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Babylon.(E)
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
    and his hands hang limp.(F)
Anguish has gripped him,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(G)
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets(H)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen(I) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?(J)
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”

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