Isaiah 13
1 The oracle on Babylon, —of which Isaiah, son of Amoz had vision: —
This is the message Isaiah, son of Amoz, received about Babylon.
2 Upon a bare mountain, lift ye up a standard, Raise high the voice to them, Wave the hand, That they may enter the doors of 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 myself, have given charge to my hallowed ones, —Yea I have called My heroes in showing mine anger, My proudly exulting ones.
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 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, A resemblance of many people, —The noise of a tumult of kingdoms Nations gathered together, Yahweh of hosts, mustering a host for battle!
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 in From a land far away. From the utmost bound of the heavens, —Yahweh—with his weapons of indignation, To destroy the land.
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 Howl ye! for at hand is the day of Yahweh, —As a veritable destruction from the Almighty, shall it come.
Howl in fear, for the day of the Lord is approaching—the time when the Almighty destroys.
7 For this cause—All hands, shall hang down, —and Every mortal heart, melt.
Everyone's hands will fall limp, and everyone will lose their minds in panic.
8 And they shall be in distress—Writhings and pains, shall lay hold, As a woman in childbirth, shall they be in pangs, —Everyone, at his neighbour, shall look in amazement, Faces of flames, their faces!
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 Lo! the day of Yahweh, coming in, Fierce and overflowing, and burning with anger, —To devote the earth to desolation, And her sinners, will he destroy out of 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 the heavens and their constellations, shall not flash forth their light, —Obscured shall be the sun in his going forth, And the moon, shall not shed her 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 And I will visit, upon the inhabited earth, calamity!, And upon the lawless, their punishment, And will quiet the arrogance of the proud, And the loftiness of tyrants, will I lay low.
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 cause, a man, to be more precious than fine gold, —Even a son of earth than, the finest gold of Ophir.
I will make people scarcer than pure gold, rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13 For this cause, the heavens, will I disturb, And, the earth, shall tremble out of her place, —In the wrath of Yahweh of hosts, And in the day of the glow of his 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 And it shall be—Like a gazelle that is chased, And like a sheep with none to lift it up, —Each, to his own people, will they turn, And, each, to his own land, will they flee:
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 Every one found, shall be thrust through, —And, every one taken, shall fall by the sword;
Anyone who is captured will be stabbed to death; anyone who is caught will be killed by the sword.
16 And, their infants, shall be dashed to the ground, before their eyes, —Plundered shall be, their houses, and their wives 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 me! stirring up against them the Medes, —Who of silver, shall take no account, And as for gold, they shall not delight in it;
I'm going to get the Medes to attack them, people who don't care about silver or gold.
18 And, bows, shall dash the young to pieces, —And on the fruit of the womb, will they have no pity, Over children, will their eye throw no shield.
Their bows will slaughter their young men; they will show no mercy to babies; they will have no pity on children.
19 Thus shall Babylon—The most lovely of kingdoms, The majestic beauty of the Chaldees—Become as in the divine overthrow of 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 It shall not be dwelt in for ever, Neither shall it be inhabited from generation to generation, —Neither shall encamp there, an Arab, Nor, shepherds, fold their flocks 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 Then shall lie down there, wild beasts, And filled shall be their houses with owls, —Then shall inhabit there, the ostrich, And shaggy creatures, shall dance there.
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 And jackals shall answer, in their citadels, And wild dogs, in their voluptuous palaces, —And near to come is her time, And, her days, shall not be delayed.
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her lavish palaces. Babylon's time is coming soon—they will not last much longer.
