Isaiah 13
International Standard Version
The Destruction of Babylon
13 A message[a] that Amoz’s son Isaiah received[b] about Babylon:
2 “Raise a banner on a bare hilltop!
Cry out loud to them!
Give a wave of the hand,
signaling[c] for them to enter[d]
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones;
I have also summoned my warriors,
those who rejoice in my triumph,
to carry out my angry judgments.[e]
4 “Listen! There’s a noise on the mountains
like that of a great multitude!
Listen! There’s an uproar among the kingdoms,
like that of nations massing together!
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is mustering
an army for battle.
5 They’re coming from a faraway land,
from the distant horizon—[f]
the Lord and the weapons of his anger—
to destroy the entire land.”[g]
The Day of the Lord
6 Wail out loud, because the Day of the Lord is near.
It will come like destruction from the Almighty!
7 Because of this, every hand[h] will go limp,
and every man’s courage[i] will melt.
8 They will be terrified;
pain and anguish will seize them;
they’ll writhe like a woman in labor.
They’ll look aghast at one another;
and[j] their faces will be ablaze with fear.[k]
9 Watch out! The Day of the Lord is coming—
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger—
to turn the entire inhabited[l] earth[m] into a desolation
and to annihilate sinners[n] from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
won’t shine[o] their light;
the sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon won’t shine its light.
11 I’ll punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I’ll put an end to the pomposity of the arrogant,
and overthrow the insolence of tyrants.
12 I’ll make people scarcer[p] than pure gold,
and mankind rarer[q] than gold from Ophir.
13 Therefore I’ll make the heavens tremble.
The earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
at the time[r] of his burning anger.[s]
14 They[t] will be like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with no one to gather them,[u]
each will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall dead, killed[v] by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes,
and[w] their houses will be looted,
and their wives slept with.[x]
Babylon Falls
17 Watch out! I’m stirring up the Medes against them,
who care nothing for silver
and take no delight in gold.
18 Their bows will dash the young men to pieces;
they’ll show no pity on those not yet born,[y]
and[z] their eyes will not spare children.
19 Babylon, that jewel of kingdoms,
the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah,
when God overthrew them—
20 It will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
no Bedouin[aa] will pitch his tent there;
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But desert beasts will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there owls[ab] will dwell,
and goat-demons[ac] will dance there.
22 Hyenas will howl in its strongholds,[ad]
and jackals will make their dens in its citadels.[ae]
Its[af] time is close at hand,
and its days will not be extended any further.[ag]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:1 Lit. An oracle
- Isaiah 13:1 Lit. saw
- Isaiah 13:2 The Heb. lacks signaling
- Isaiah 13:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads for them to enter; LXX lacks to enter
- Isaiah 13:3 Lit. my anger
- Isaiah 13:5 Lit. end of the heavens
- Isaiah 13:5 Or earth
- Isaiah 13:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads all hands
- Isaiah 13:7 Lit. heart
- Isaiah 13:8 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; 4QIsaa 4QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 13:8 DSS MT lack with fear
- Isaiah 13:9 So LXX; 1QIsaa lacks the entire inhabited; the Heb. lacks entire inhabited
- Isaiah 13:9 LXX lacks earth
- Isaiah 13:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsaa 4QIsab MT read its sinners
- Isaiah 13:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads beam
- Isaiah 13:12 Lit. people more precious
- Isaiah 13:12 1QIsaa MT lack rarer
- Isaiah 13:13 Lit. in the day
- Isaiah 13:13 Lit. nostrils
- Isaiah 13:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads it
- Isaiah 13:14 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsaa reads banished
- Isaiah 13:15 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks dead, killed
- Isaiah 13:16 So 1QIsaa Syr; cf. LXX; 4QIsaa MT lack and
- Isaiah 13:16 So 1QIsaa MTqere; 4QIsaa MT read raped; LXX reads they will take; cf. Deut 28:30
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit. on the fruit of the womb
- Isaiah 13:18 So 1QIsaa MTmss LXX; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 13:20 I.e. Middle Eastern nomadic herders; or Arab
- Isaiah 13:21 Or ostriches
- Isaiah 13:21 Or satyrs; or wild goats
- Isaiah 13:22 Lit. desolate places
- Isaiah 13:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads in the citadels of luxury
- Isaiah 13:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads And its
- Isaiah 13:22 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack any further
Isaiah 13
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)
2 Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)—
those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens(N)—
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)—
to destroy(Q) the whole country.
6 Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
every heart will melt with fear.(W)
8 Terror(X) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(AA)
9 See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.(AT)
14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)
17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
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