Yahweh used Babylon to punish Judah and the nation. It is either the people of Judah or the people of the nations who are speaking the words in this quotation.
# Babylon ... she is not healed ... leave her ... her guilt
The name of the city is a metonym for the people who live there, and the city is spoken of as if it were a woman. AT: "the people of Babylon ... they are not healed ... leave them ... their guilt" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# she is not healed
This can be translated in active form. AT: "we have not been able to heal her" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])
# For her guilt reaches up to the heavens; it is piled up to the clouds
Guilt is spoken of as if it were an object that could be made into a pile. The words "to the heavens" and "to the clouds" are an exaggeration for something that is very high. AT: "For Babylon is so very guilty" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole]])
See in Reader
