Isaiah 13

Prophecies about Babylon

1The 1pronouncement concerning 2Babylon which 3Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:24Lift up a flag on the 56bare hill, Raise your voice to them, 7Wave the hand that they may 8enter the doors of the nobles.3I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have also called for My 9warriors Who boast in My eminence, To execute My anger.4A 10sound of a roar on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of an uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The Lord of armies is mustering the army for battle.5They are coming from a distant country, From the 1112farthest horizons, The Lord and the weapons of His 13indignation, To 14destroy the whole land.

Judgment on the Day of the Lord

6Wail, for the 15day of the Lord is near! It will come as 16destruction from 17the Almighty.7Therefore 18all hands will fall limp, And every human 19heart will melt.8They will be 20terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will 21writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.9Behold, 22the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.10For the 23stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash their light; The 24sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.11So I will 25punish the world for its evil And the 26wicked for their wrongdoing; I will also put an end to the 27audacity of the proud And humiliate the 28arrogance of the 2930tyrants.12I will make mortal man 31scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the 32gold of Ophir.13Therefore I will make the 33heavens tremble, And 34the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the Lord of armies In 35the day of His burning anger.14And it will be that, like a hunted gazelle, Or like 36sheep with no one to gather them, Each of them will turn to his own people, And each of them will flee to his own land.15Anyone who is found will be 37thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.16Their 38little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives raped.

Babylon Will Fall to the Medes

17Behold, I am going to 39stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or 40take pleasure in gold.18And their bows will 41mow down the 42young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their 43eye pity 44children.19And 45Babylon, the 46beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God 47overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.20It will 48never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the 49Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds allow their flocks to lie down there.21But 50desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of 51owls; Ostriches also will live there, and 52shaggy goats will frolic there.2253Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious 54palaces. Her fateful time also 55will soon come, And her days will not be prolonged.