Isaiah 13
1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
This is the message Isaiah, son of Amoz, received about Babylon.
2 Raise a banner on a barren hilltop; call aloud to them. Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
Set up a banner on a bare hilltop; shout out to them; wave your hand to encourage them to enter the palaces of princes.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
I have ordered the ones I have chosen to attack; I have called my warriors to execute my furious judgment and to celebrate my triumph.
4 Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.
A noise comes from the mountains, sounding like that of a huge crowd! It's the roaring sound from the kingdoms, from nations gathering together! The Lord Almighty is calling up an army for war.
5 They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens— the LORD and the weapons of His wrath— to destroy the whole country.
They are coming from distant lands, from beyond the far horizons—the Lord and the weapons of his fury—coming to destroy the whole country.
6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Howl in fear, for the day of the Lord is approaching—the time when the Almighty destroys.
7 Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.
Everyone's hands will fall limp, and everyone will lose their minds in panic.
8 Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
They will be terrified; pain and anguish will seize them; they will suffer like a woman giving birth. They will look in shock at each other, their faces burning in fear.
9 Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming— cruel, with fury and burning anger— to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.
Look! The day of the Lord is coming—cruel, with fury and fierce anger—to devastate the land and to wipe out its sinners.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
The stars in the constellations of heaven above will not shine. When the sun rises it will stay dark. The moon will give no light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their sin, says the Lord. I will put an end to the conceit of the arrogant, and I will humiliate tyrants and their pride.
12 I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.
I will make people scarcer than pure gold, rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.
So I will shake the heavens and make the earth jump out of its place because of the fury of the Lord Almighty, at the time when his anger burns.
14 Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
Like a gazelle being hunted, or like sheep without a shepherd, the Babylonians will return to their own people, they will run away to their own land.
15 Whoever is caught will be stabbed, and whoever is captured will die by the sword.
Anyone who is captured will be stabbed to death; anyone who is caught will be killed by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
Their little children will be dashed to pieces as they watch, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be raped.
17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.
I'm going to get the Medes to attack them, people who don't care about silver or gold.
18 Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.
Their bows will slaughter their young men; they will show no mercy to babies; they will have no pity on children.
19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Babylon, the most marvelous city of any kingdom, the greatest pride of the Babylonian people, will be demolished by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
No one will ever live in Babylon again. It will be deserted—no desert nomad will set up a tent there, no shepherd will bring a flock to rest there.
21 But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
Only desert animals will make their homes there, and the ruined houses will be inhabited by wild dogs. Owls will live there, and wild goats will leap around.
22 Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her lavish palaces. Babylon's time is coming soon—they will not last much longer.
