Isaiah 13
13
A Message about Babylon
1Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon:
2“Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop.
Call up an army against Babylon.
Wave your hand to encourage them
as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.
3I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task.
Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger,
and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”
4Hear the noise on the mountains!
Listen, as the vast armies march!
It is the noise and shouting of many nations.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.
5They come from distant countries,
from beyond the farthest horizons.
They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger.
With them he will destroy the whole land.
6Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—
the time for the Almighty to destroy.
7Every arm is paralyzed with fear.
Every heart melts,
8and people are terrified.
Pangs of anguish grip them,
like those of a woman in labor.
They look helplessly at one another,
their faces aflame with fear.
9For see, the day of the Lord is coming—
the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.
The land will be made desolate,
and all the sinners destroyed with it.
10The heavens will be black above them;
the stars will give no light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon will provide no light.
11“I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
and humble the pride of the mighty.
12I will make people scarcer than gold—
more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
13For I will shake the heavens.
The earth will move from its place
when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath
in the day of his fierce anger.”
14Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd.
They will try to find their own people
and flee to their own land.
15Anyone who is captured will be cut down—
run through with a sword.
16Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes.
Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.
17“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon.
They cannot be tempted by silver
or bribed with gold.
18The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.
They will have no mercy on helpless babies
and will show no compassion for children.”
19Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms,
the flower of Chaldean pride,
will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God destroyed them.
20Babylon will never be inhabited again.
It will remain empty for generation after generation.
Nomads will refuse to camp there,
and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.
21Desert animals will move into the ruined city,
and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.
Owls will live among the ruins,
and wild goats will go there to dance.
22Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,
and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s days are numbered;
its time of destruction will soon arrive.
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Isaiah 13: NLT
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Isaiah 13
13
An Oracle against Babylon
1The oracle of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2Raise a signal on a bare hill,
lift up your voice to them;
wave the hand and may they enter the gateways of the noblemen.
3I myself I have commanded my consecrated ones,
I have also summoned my mighty warriors concerning my anger,
the ones who exalt over#Literally “exultant of” my majesty.
4A sound, a noise is on the mountains,
the likeness of many people!
A sound of the roar of the kingdoms,
of nations gathering!
Yahweh of hosts is mustering an army for battle.
5They are coming from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
Yahweh and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole earth.#Literally “all of the land/earth”
6Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near;
it will come like destruction from Shaddai!#Often translated “the Almighty”
7Therefore all hands will grow slack,
and every human heart will melt,
8and they will be dismayed.
Pangs and labor pains will seize them;
they will tremble like a woman giving birth.
They will stare at one another,#Literally “A man will stare at his neighbor”
their faces flushing.#Literally “faces of flames”
9Look! The day of Yahweh is coming,
cruel and wrath and the burning of anger,
to make the earth a desolation,
and he will destroy its sinners from it.
10For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not flash forth their light;
the sun will keep back when it comes out,
and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11And I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their iniquity.
And I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
and I will bring the haughtiness of tyrants low.
12I will make humanity more rare than gold
and humankind more than the gold of Ophir.
13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will quake from its place
because of the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
and in the day his anger burns.
14And this shall happen:
like a hunted gazelle or sheep with none to gather them,#Literally “and without one who gathers”
they will each turn to his own people,
and they will each flee to his own land.
15Everyone who is found will be pierced through,
and everyone who is carried away will fall by the sword.
16And their children will be dashed into pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be raped.#The reading tradition (Qere) softens this to “slept with”
17Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them,
who do not value silver
and do not delight in gold.
18And their bows will shatter young men.
And they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not look compassionately on children.
19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew#Literally “the overthrow by God of” Sodom and Gomorrah.
20It will not be inhabited forever,
and it will not be dwelled in forever;#Literally “until generation and generation”
and no Arab will pitch a tent there,
and shepherds will not allow their flocks to lie down there.
21But wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures,
and the daughters of ostriches#Hebrew “ostrich” will live there,
and goats will dance there.
22And hyenas will answer in its palaces,
and jackals in the pleasure palaces;
and its time is coming soon,#Literally “close to come”
and its days will not be prolonged.
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