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13 The burden of Babylon, which burden Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.

Raise ye [up] a sign on a misty hill, and enhance ye [the] voice; raise ye the hand, and [the] dukes enter by the gates. (Raise ye up a sign on a misty hill, and lift ye up the voice; raise ye up the hand, and let the leaders enter in by the gates.)

I have commanded to mine hallowed men, and I (have) called my strong men in my wrath, that make full out joy in my glory.

The voice of [the] multitude in hills, as of many peoples; the voice of [the] sound of kings, of heathen men gathered together. The Lord of hosts commanded to the chivalry of [the] battle, (The sound of a multitude in the hills, yea, that of many people; the sound of kings, and of the heathen gathered together. The Lord of hosts commanded to the cavalry, or to the army, preparing for battle,)

to men coming from a far land. The Lord cometh from the highness of heaven, and (with him) the vessels of his strong vengeance, that he destroy all the land.

Yell ye, for the day of the Lord is nigh; as wasting, either destroying, it shall come of the Lord. (Yell ye, for the day of the Lord is near, or is soon; it shall come as wasting, or as destruction, from the Lord.)

For this thing all hands shall be unmighty, and each heart of man shall fail, and shall be all-broken.

Gnawings and sorrows shall hold Babylonians; they shall have sorrow, as they that travail of child. Each man shall wonder at his neighbour; their cheers shall be burnt faces. (Gnawings and sorrows shall hold the Babylonians; they shall have sorrow, like she who laboureth with child. Each man shall wonder at his neighbour; their faces shall burn with shame.)

Lo! the day of the Lord shall come, cruel, and full of indignation, and of wrath, and of strong vengeance; to set the land into wilderness, and to all-break the sinners thereof from that land.

10 For why the stars of heaven and the shining of them shall not spread abroad their light; the sun is made dark in his rising, and the moon shall not shine in her light. (And the stars of the heavens and their shining shall not spread abroad their light; the sun shall be made dark at its rising, and the moon shall not shine with its light.)

11 And I shall visit on the evils of the world, and I shall visit against wicked men the wickedness of them; and I shall make the pride of unfaithful men for to rest, and I shall make low the boast of strong men. (And I shall punish the world for its evil/And I shall bring disaster upon the world, and I shall punish the wicked for their wickedness; and I shall make the pride of the unfaithful to cease, and I shall make low the boast of the strong.)

12 A man of full age shall be preciouser than gold, and a man shall be preciouser than pure gold and shining. (A person of great age, or maturity, shall be more precious, or more rare, than gold, yea, such a person shall be more precious than the pure gold of Ophir.)

13 On this thing I shall trouble (the) heaven(s), and the earth shall be moved from his place (and the earth shall be moved from its place); for the indignation of the Lord of hosts, and for the day of wrath of his strong vengeance.

14 And it shall be as a doe fleeing, and as a sheep, and none shall be that shall gather together; each man shall turn to his people, and all by themselves shall flee to their land. (And they shall be like a fleeing doe, or like sheep, and there shall be no one who shall gather them up; each man shall return to his own people, yea, everyone shall flee to their own land.)

15 Each man that is found, shall be slain; and each man that cometh above, shall fall down by sword. (Each person who is found, shall be killed; and each person who is taken captive, shall fall down by the sword.)

16 The young children of them shall be hurtled down before the eyes of them; their houses shall be ravished, and their wives shall be defouled. (Their young children shall be hurtled down before their eyes; their houses shall be robbed, and their wives shall be defiled.)

17 Lo! I shall raise on them Medes, that seek not silver, neither will gold; (Lo! I shall raise up the Medes against them, who seek not silver, nor desire gold;)

18 but they shall slay little children with arrows, and they shall not have mercy on wombs giving milk, and the eye of them shall not spare on sons. (but they shall kill little children with arrows, and they shall not have mercy upon wombs, or upon mothers, giving milk, and they shall not spare even one of the sons or daughters.)

19 And Babylon, that glorious city in realms, noble in the pride of Chaldees, shall be destroyed, as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. (And Babylon, that most glorious city of all kingdoms, noble in the pride of the Chaldeans, shall be destroyed, like God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

20 It shall not be inhabited till into the end (It shall never be inhabited again), and it shall not be founded till to generation and generation; a man of Arabia shall not set tents there, and shepherds shall not rest there.

21 But wild beasts shall rest there, and the houses of them shall be filled with dragons; and ostriches shall dwell there (and owls shall nest there), and hairy beasts shall skip there.

22 And bitterns shall answer there in the houses thereof, and flying serpents in the temples of lust. It is nigh that the time thereof come, and the days thereof shall not be made far; (And bitterns shall cry there in its houses, and flying serpents in its beautiful palaces. It is near, or very soon, when that time shall come, and its days shall not be prolonged;)

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)

Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
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.

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.
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.

Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
    every heart will melt with fear.(W)
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)

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

  1. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
  2. Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans

13 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:

And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.

16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.