Isaiah 13
1 This is the message Isaiah, son of Amoz, received about Babylon.
A prophecy concerning Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.
2 Set up a banner on a bare hilltop; shout out to them; wave your hand to encourage them to enter the palaces of princes.
Upon the bare mountain lift up a banner; Cry aloud to them, wave the hand, That they may enter the gates of the tyrants!
3 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.
I have given orders to my consecrated ones, Yea, I have called upon my mighty ones to execute mine anger, My proud exulters!
4 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.
The noise of a multitude upon the mountains, like that of a great people! The tumultuous noise of kingdoms, of nations gathered together! Jehovah of hosts mustereth his army for battle.
5 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.
They come from a distant country, From the end of Heaven, Jehovah and the instruments of his indignation. To lay waste the whole land.
6 Howl in fear, for the day of the Lord is approaching—the time when the Almighty destroys.
Howl ye, for the day of Jehovah is at hand! Like a destruction from the Almighty, it cometh;
7 Everyone's hands will fall limp, and everyone will lose their minds in panic.
Therefore shall all hands hang down, And every heart of man shall melt.
8 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.
They shall be in consternation; Distress and anguish shall lay hold of them; As a woman in travail shall they writhe; They shall look upon one another with amazement: Their faces shall glow like flames.
9 Look! The day of the Lord is coming—cruel, with fury and fierce anger—to devastate the land and to wipe out its sinners.
Behold! the day of Jehovah cometh, Terrible, full of wrath and burning indignation, To make the land a waste, And to destroy the sinners out of it.
10 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.
For the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, Shall not give their light; The sun shall be darkened at his going forth, And the moon shall withhold her light.
11 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.
For I will punish the world for its guilt, And the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, And I will bring down the haughtiness of the tyrants.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, rarer than the gold of Ophir.
I will make men scarcer than gold; Yea, men than the gold of Ophir.
13 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.
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth shall be shaken out of her place, In the anger of Jehovah of hosts, In the day of his burning indignation.
14 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.
Then shall they be like a chased doe; Like a flock, which no one gathereth together; Every one shall turn to his own people, And every one flee to his own land.
15 Anyone who is captured will be stabbed to death; anyone who is caught will be killed by the sword.
Every one that is overtaken shall be thrust through, And every one that is caught shall fall by the sword.
16 Their little children will be dashed to pieces as they watch, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be raped.
Their children shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.
17 I'm going to get the Medes to attack them, people who don't care about silver or gold.
Behold, I stir up against them the Medes, Who make no account of silver, And as to gold, they do not regard it.
18 Their bows will slaughter their young men; they will show no mercy to babies; they will have no pity on children.
Their bows shall strike down the young men, And on the fruit of the womb they shall have no compassion; Their eye shall not pity the children.
19 Babylon, the most marvelous city of any kingdom, the greatest pride of the Babylonian people, will be demolished by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
So shall Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The proud ornament of the Chaldeans, Be like Sodom and Gomorrah, which God overthrew,
20 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.
It shall never more be inhabited; Nor shall it be dwelt in through all generations. Nor shall the Arabian pitch his tent there, Nor shall shepherds make their folds there.
21 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.
But there shall the wild beasts of the desert lodge, And owls shall fill their houses; And ostriches shall dwell there, And satyrs shall dance there.
22 Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her lavish palaces. Babylon's time is coming soon—they will not last much longer.
Wolves shall howl in their palaces, And jackals in their pleasant edifices. Her time is near, And her days shall not be prolonged.
