1 An oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: |
2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles. |
3 I have commanded my holy ones;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath-
those who rejoice in my triumph. |
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The LORD Almighty is mustering
an army for war. |
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens-
the LORD and the weapons of his wrath-
to destroy the whole country. |
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.1 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai |
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every man's heart will melt. |
8 Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame. |
9 See, the day of the LORD is coming
-a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it. |
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light. |
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless. |
12 I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir. |
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the LORD Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger. |
14 Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
each will return to his own people,
each will flee to his native land. |
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword. |
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives ravished. |
17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold. |
18 Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants
nor will they look with compassion on children. |
19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the glory of the Babylonians'2 13:19 Or Chaldeans' pride,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah. |
20 She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there,
no shepherd will rest his flocks there. |
21 But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about. |
22 Hyenas will howl in her strongholds,
jackals in her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged. |
