Jerome : And in testimony of the fact that Babylon was captured during a banquet, Isaiah clearly exhorts her to battle when he writes: "Babylon, my beloved, has become a strange spectacle unto me: set thou the table and behold in the mirrors those who eat and drink; rise up, ye princes, and snatch up your shields!" — Commentary on Daniel Jerome : (Verse 5.) Set the table, observe those who are eating and drinking: arise, leaders, take up the shield. This place is understood in two ways: o Medes and Elamites, of whom I spoke above: ascend, O Elam, besiege the Medes, take food, prepare yourselves for the coming battle, lest weariness hold you back once the time of conflict has arrived. And when you have eaten and drunk, arise, seize your weapons, wage war against Babylon. And what he says, observe those who are eating and drinking, is read in this sense: look carefully at what is to come. It can also be understood like this: O Babylon, prepare a feast for your son Belshazzar, the grandson of your son Evil-Merodach and the descendant of your grandson Nebuchadnezzar. See what happens after the meal, in which you will drink from the vessels of the Lord with prostitutes and concubines. O princes, who sit with the king, but signify the Medes and Persians, rise up and seize weapons to kill the king. We learn more about this in the book of Daniel (Chapter 5). — Commentary on Isaiah