Isaiah 13
13
Babylon falls
1An oracle about Babylon, which Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw.
2On a bare mountain raise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave a hand;
let them enter the officials’ gates.
3I have commanded my holy ones;
I have called my warriors,
my proud, jubilant ones,
to execute my wrath.
4Listen!#13.4 Heb lacks Listen! A roar on the mountains like that of a great crowd.
Listen! An uproar of kingdoms,
of nations coming together.
The LORD of heavenly forces is mustering an army for battle.
5They are coming from a distant land,
from the faraway heavens,
the LORD and the instruments of his fury, to destroy the whole land.
6Wail, for the day of the LORD is near.
Like destruction from the Almighty#13.6 Heb Shaddai or Mountain One it will come.
7Then all hands will fall limp;
every human heart will melt,
8and they will be terrified.
Like a woman writhing in labor,
they will be seized by spasms and agony.
They will look at each other aghast,
their faces blazing.
9Look, the day of the LORD is coming with cruel rage and burning anger,
making the earth a ruin,
and wiping out its sinners.
10Heaven’s stars and constellations won’t show their light.
The sun will be dark when it rises;
the moon will no longer shine.
11I will bring disaster upon the world for its evil,
and bring their own sin upon the wicked.
I will end the pride of the insolent,
and the conceit of tyrants I will lay low.
12I will make humans scarcer than fine gold;
people rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13I will rattle the heavens;
the earth will shake loose from its place—because of the rage
of the LORD of heavenly forces
on the day his anger burns.
14They will be like hunted gazelles, like sheep without a shepherd;
all will turn to their own people
and flee to their own lands.
15Whoever is found will be stabbed;
whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16Their infants will be crushed before their eyes;
their houses plundered, their women raped.
17Look! I’m rousing the Medes against them;
the Medes pay no mind to silver, no desire for gold.
18Their bows will smash youths;
they will be merciless to newborns, pitiless to children.
19So Babylon, a jewel among kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ splendor and pride,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah,
destroyed by God.
20No one will ever resettle
or live there for generations.
No Arab will camp there;
no shepherds will rest flocks there.
21Wildcats will rest there;
houses will be filled with owls.
Ostriches will live there,
and goat demons will dance there.
22Hyenas will howl in its strongholds,
and jackals in its luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s#13.22 Heb Its time is coming soon;
its days won’t drag on.
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 13
13
A Pronouncement against Babylon
1A pronouncement#Is 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1,11,13; 22:1; 23:1; 30:6 concerning Babylon#Is 13:19; 14:4; 47:1–15; Jr 24:1; 50:1–51:64; Mt 1:11; Rv 14:8 that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2Lift up a banner on a barren mountain.#Is 5:26; Jr 50:2
Call out to them.
Signal with your hand, and they will go
through the gates of the nobles.
3I have commanded my consecrated ones;
yes, I have called my warriors,
who celebrate my triumph,
to execute my wrath.#Ps 78:21,50; Ezk 5:15; 20:8
4Listen, a commotion on the mountains,
like that of a mighty people!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations being gathered together!
The Lord of Armies is mobilizing an army for war.
5They are coming from a distant land,
from the farthest horizon —
the Lord and the weapons of his wrath —
to destroy the whole country.#13:5 Or earth
6Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.#Is 2:12; 10:3; 13:9; 34:2,8; 61:2; Ezk 30:3; Am 5:18; Zph 1:7
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.#Is 10:25; 14:23; Jl 1:15
7Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak,
and every man will lose heart.
8They will be horrified;
pain and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.#Is 26:17; Jr 4:31; Jn 16:21
They will look at each other,
their faces flushed with fear.
9Look, the day#Mt 25:13 of the Lord is coming —
cruel, with fury and burning anger —
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy its sinners.#Dt 32:43
10Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations#13:10 Or Orions
will not give their light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon will not shine.#Is 34:4; Mt 24:29; Mk 13:24–25; Lk 21:26; Rv 8:12
11I will punish the world for its evil,#Jr 23:2; 36:31; 44:29
and wicked people for their iniquities.
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant#Is 2:11; 23:9; Dn 5:22–23
and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.
12I will make a human more scarce than fine gold,
and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.#1Kg 9:28; Jb 28:16; Ps 45:9
13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will shake from its foundations#Ps 18:7; Is 2:19; 24:1,19–20; Hg 2:6
at the wrath of the Lord of Armies,
on the day of his burning anger.
14Like wandering gazelles
and like sheep without a shepherd,#1Kg 22:17; Mt 9:36; Mk 6:34; 1Pt 2:25
each one will turn to his own people,
each one will flee to his own land.
15Whoever is found will be stabbed,
and whoever is caught will die by the sword.
16Their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;#Ps 137:8–9; Is 13:18; 14:21; Hs 10:14; Nah 3:10
their houses will be looted,
and their wives raped.
17Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them,#Jr 51:11; Dn 5:28
who cannot be bought off with#13:17 Lit who have no regard for silver
and who have no desire for gold.
18Their bows will cut young men to pieces.
They will have no compassion on offspring;
they will not look with pity on children.
19And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.#Gn 19:24; Jr 14:18; 50:40; Am 4:11
20It will never be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation;#Is 14:23; 34:10–15; Jr 51:37–43
a nomad will not pitch his tent there,
and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.
21But desert creatures will lie down there,
and owls will fill the houses.
Ostriches will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.#Is 34:11–15; Zph 2:14; Rv 18:2
22Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time is almost up;
her days are almost over.
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