The Lord responds to the call for Babylon to face the consequences of her actions. He will plead the cause of his people and take vengeance for them. The Hebrew word rib
translated as cause
speaks of a legal court case.1 The Lord will be both advocate and judge in Judah’s case against Babylon. He will make sure that their case is heard and that justice is done.
Punishment comes to Babylon as the Lord dries up her sea and makes her fountain dry. This focuses again on Babylon’s heavy reliance on her sources of water. These will be destroyed thereby bringing the city to its knees. But there is probably a deeper significance intended as well. The Lord’s victory over Babylon’s sea and fountains recalls his power to control the sea at creation and in the Exodus (Exodus 15:8; Psalm 74:13–14; Psalm 89:9–10; Isaiah 27:1).2 The Lord overcomes the chaos and evil that threatens his people and his world. Once again there are eschatological themes present. The destruction of Babylon by the Lord will ultimately mean the avenging of the blood of his servants (Revelation 6:10;Revelation 16:4–6; Revelation 19:2).3
36 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry,