⁶ 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)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;^(D)
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
⁸ Their horses are swifter^(E) than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves^(F) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
⁹     they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes^[b] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners^(G) like sand.
¹⁰ They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.^(H)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps^(I) they capture them.