Isaiah 13
1 This is the message Isaiah, son of Amoz, received about Babylon.
The birthun of Babiloyne, which birthun Ysaie, the sone of Amos, siy.
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.
Reise ye a signe on a myisti hil, and enhaunse ye vois; reise ye the hond, and duykis entre bi the yatis.
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.
Y haue comaundid to myn halewid men, and Y clepid my stronge men in my wraththe, that maken ful out ioie in my glorie.
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 vois of multitude in hillis, as of many puplis; the vois of sown of kyngis, of hethene men gaderit togidere. The Lord of oostis comaundide to the chyualry of batel,
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.
to men comynge fro a fer lond. The Lord cometh fro the hiynesse of heuene, and the vessels of his strong veniaunce, that he distrie al the lond.
6 Howl in fear, for the day of the Lord is approaching—the time when the Almighty destroys.
Yelle ye, for the dai of the Lord is niy; as wastyng it schal come of the Lord.
7 Everyone's hands will fall limp, and everyone will lose their minds in panic.
For this thing alle hondis schulen be vnmyyti, and eche herte of man schal faile,
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.
and schal be al to-brokun. Gnawyngis and sorewis schulen holde Babiloyns; thei schulen haue sorewe, as they that trauelen of child. Ech man schal wondre at his neiybore; her cheris schulen be brent faces.
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.
Lo! the dai of the Lord schal come, cruel, and ful of indignacioun, and of wraththe, and of woodnesse; to sette the lond into wildirnesse, and to al to-breke the synneris therof fro that lond.
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 whi the sterris of heuene and the schynyng of tho schulen not sprede abrood her liyt; the sunne is maade derk in his risyng, and the moone schal not schine in hir liyt.
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.
And Y schal visite on the yuels of the world, and Y schal visite ayens wickid men the wickidnesse of hem; and Y schal make the pride of vnfeithful men for to reste, and Y schal make low the boost of stronge men.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, rarer than the gold of Ophir.
A man of ful age schal be preciousere than gold, and a man schal be preciousere than pure gold and schynyng.
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.
On this thing I schal disturble heuene, and the erthe schal be moued fro his place; for the indignacioun of the Lord of oostis, and for the dai of wraththe of his strong veniaunce.
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.
And it schal be as a doo fleynge, and as a scheep, and noon schal be that schal gadere togidere; ech man schal turne to his puple, and alle bi hem silf schulen fle to her lond.
15 Anyone who is captured will be stabbed to death; anyone who is caught will be killed by the sword.
Ech man that is foundun, schal be slayn; and ech man that cometh aboue, schal falle doun bi swerd.
16 Their little children will be dashed to pieces as they watch, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be raped.
The yonge children of them schulen be hurtlid doun bifore the iyen of them; her housis schulen be rauischid, and her wyues schulen be defoulid.
17 I'm going to get the Medes to attack them, people who don't care about silver or gold.
Lo! Y schal reise on them Medeis, that seken not siluer, nethir wolen gold;
18 Their bows will slaughter their young men; they will show no mercy to babies; they will have no pity on children.
but thei shulen sle litle children bi arowis, and thei schulen not haue merci on wombis yyuynge mylk, and the iye of them schal not spare on sones.
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.
And Babiloyne, thilke gloriouse citee in rewmes, noble in the pride of Caldeis, schal be destried, as God destried Sodom and Gomore.
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 not be enhabitid til in to the ende, and it schal not be foundid til to generacioun and generacioun; a man of Arabie schal not sette tentis there, and scheepherdis schulen not reste 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 wielde beestis schulen reste there, and the housis of hem schulen be fillid with dragouns; and ostrichis schulen dwelle there, and heeri beestis schulen skippe 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.
And bitouris schulen answere there in the housis therof, and fliynge serpentis in the templis of lust.
