Isaiah 13
1 The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz has seen:
[I], Isaiah, the son of Amoz, received [from Yahweh] this message about Babylon [city]:
2 “Lift up an ensign on a high mountain, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go into the openings of nobles.
Lift up a flag on the bare [top of a] hill, to signal [that an army should come to attack Babylon]. Shout to them and wave your hand [to signal to them] that they should march through the city gates into the palaces of the proud [rulers of Babylon]!
3 I have given charge to My sanctified ones, Also I have called My mighty ones for My anger, Those rejoicing at My excellence.”
[Yahweh says], “I have commanded those soldiers to do that; I have summoned the warriors whom I have chosen to punish [the people of Babylon] because of my being very angry with them, and those soldiers will be very proud [when they do that].”
4 A voice of a multitude in the mountains, A likeness of a numerous people, A voice of noise from the kingdoms of nations who are gathered, YHWH of Hosts inspecting a host of battle!
Listen to the noise on the mountains, which is the noise of a huge army marching! It is the noise made by people of many people-groups shouting. The Commander of the armies of angels has summoned this army to gather together.
5 They are coming in from a far-off land, From the end of the heavens, YHWH and the instruments of His indignation, To destroy all the land.
They come from countries that are far away, from the most remote places [IDM] on the earth. They are [like] [SIM] weapons that Yahweh will use [to punish the people with whom] he is very angry, and to destroy the entire country [of Babylonia].
6 Howl, for the Day of YHWH [is] near, It comes as destruction from the Mighty.
[You people of Babylon] will scream because you will be terrified, because it will be the time that Yahweh [has determined/chosen], the time for the all-powerful [God] to destroy [your city].
7 Therefore, all hands fail, And every heart of man melts.
All of your people will be very afraid [DOU], with the result that they will be unable even to lift their arms.
8 And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs take them, They are pained as a travailing woman, A man marvels at his friend, The appearance of flames—their faces!
All of you will be terrified. You will have [PRS] severe pains like [SIM] a woman has when she is giving birth to a baby. You will look at each other helplessly, and it will show on your faces that you feel horror.
9 Behold, the Day of YHWH comes, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Indeed, He destroys its sinning ones from it.
Listen to this: The day that Yahweh has appointed/chosen is near, the day that he will furiously and fiercely [punish you] because he is very angry [with you]. He will cause your land [of Babylonia] to be desolate/barren, and he will destroy [all] the sinners in it.
10 For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Do not cause their light to shine, The sun has been darkened in its going out, And the moon does not cause its light to come forth.
[When that happens], none of the stars will shine. When the sun rises, it will be dark, and there will be no light from the moon [at night].
11 “And I have appointed evil on the world, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused the excellence of the proud to cease, And I make the excellence of the terrible low.
[Yahweh says], “I will punish [everyone in] the world for the evil things that they do; I will punish the wicked people for the sins that they have committed. I will stop arrogant/proud people from being proud, and I will stop ruthless people from acting cruelly.
12 I make man more rare than fine gold, And a common man than pure gold of Ophir.
[And because I will cause most people to die], people will be harder to find than gold, harder to find than fine gold from Ophir [in Arabia].
13 Therefore I cause the heavens to tremble, And the earth shakes from its place, In the wrath of YHWH of Hosts, And in a day of the heat of His anger.
I will shake the sky, and the earth will [also] move out of its place. That will happen when [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, punish [wicked people], when [I show them that] I am extremely angry [with them].
14 And it has been, as a roe driven away, And as a flock that has no gatherer, Each to his people—they turn, And each to his land—they flee.
And all [the foreigners in Babylon will run around] like [SIM] deer that are being hunted, like sheep that do not have a shepherd. They will try to find other people from their countries, and [then] they will escape [from Babylon] and return to their own countries.
15 Everyone who is found is thrust through, And everyone who is added falls by sword.
Anyone who is captured [in Babylon] will be killed by [their enemies’] swords [DOU].
16 And their sucklings are dashed to pieces before their eyes, Their houses are spoiled, and their wives lain with.
Their little children will be dashed to pieces on the rocks while [their parents] watch; [their enemies] will steal everything valuable from their houses and will rape their wives.
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, Who do not esteem silver, And gold—they do not delight in it.
Look! I am going to incite the people of Media to attack Babylon. The [army of Media] will attack Babylon, even if they are offered [DOU] silver or gold [if they promise to not attack it].
18 And bows dash young men to pieces, And they do not pity the fruit of the womb, Their eye has no pity on sons.
[With] their arrows, the [soldiers of Media] will shoot the young men [of Babylon]; they will not [even] act mercifully [DOU] toward infants or children!”
19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory, the excellence of the Chaldeans, Has been as overthrown by God, With Sodom and with Gomorrah.
Babylon has been a very beautiful [MTY] city; [all] the people of Babylonia have been very proud of Babylon, [their capital city]; [but] God will destroy Babylon, like [SIM] he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 She does not sit forever, Nor continue to many generations, Nor does Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds do not lie down there.
No one will ever live in Babylon again. It will be deserted forever. (Nomads/People who travel from place to place to live) will refuse to set up their tents there; shepherds will not bring their flocks of sheep to rest there.
21 And desert-dwellers have lain down there, And their houses have been full of howlers, And daughters of an ostrich have dwelt there, And goats skip there.
Instead, animals that live in the desert will be there; jackals/wolves will live in [the ruins of] the houses. Owls (OR, Ostriches) will live in [the ruins], and wild goats will romp/jump around [there].
22 And howlers—he has responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And her time [is] near to come, And her days are not drawn out!”
Hyenas will howl in the [ruined] towers, and jackals/wolves will make their dens in [the ruins of] the palaces that [were previously] very beautiful. The time when [Babylon will be destroyed] is very near; Babylon will not exist much longer.
