“And they will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons and a gathering of peoples. They will set themselves against you with buckler and shield and helmet on every side (‘round about'), and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their judgments.”
The meaning of the word translated here ‘weapons' is unknown. LXX translates ‘from the north'. It is probably based on an Akkadian term and weapons is a reasonable possibility. ‘Wagons' is literally ‘rolling things'. But the meaning of the overall verse is clear, they are to be surrounded with instruments and messengers of destruction, subjected to every instrument of death. They will be judged by Babylonian standards, for God will hand their judgment over to them. It was David who earlier said that this was the worst of all fates, to be handed over to the tender mercies of men (2 Samuel 24:14).