Isaiah 13
New American Standard Bible
Prophecies about Babylon
13 The (A)pronouncement concerning (B)Babylon which (C)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:
2 (D)Lift up a flag on the [a](E)bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
(F)Wave the hand that they may (G)enter the doors of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have also called for My (H)warriors
Who boast in My eminence,
To execute My anger.
4 A (I)sound 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.
5 They are coming from a distant country,
From the [b](J)farthest horizons,
The Lord and the weapons of His (K)indignation,
To (L)destroy the whole land.
Judgment on the Day of the Lord
6 Wail, for the (M)day of the Lord is near!
It will come as (N)destruction from [c]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (O)all hands will fall limp,
And every human (P)heart will melt.
8 They will be (Q)terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will (R)writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, (S)the 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.
10 For the (T)stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash their light;
The (U)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 So I will (V)punish the world for its evil
And the (W)wicked for their wrongdoing;
I will also put an end to the (X)audacity of the proud
And humiliate the (Y)arrogance of the [d](Z)tyrants.
12 I will make mortal man (AA)scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the (AB)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the (AC)heavens tremble,
And (AD)the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the Lord of armies
In (AE)the day of His burning anger.
14 And it will be that, like a hunted gazelle,
Or like (AF)sheep 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.
15 Anyone who is found will be (AG)thrust through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their (AH)little 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
17 Behold, I am going to (AI)stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not value silver or (AJ)take pleasure in gold.
18 And their bows will [e]mow down the (AK)young men,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their (AL)eye pity [f]children.
19 And (AM)Babylon, the (AN)beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God (AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will (AP)never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the (AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds allow their flocks to lie down there.
21 But (AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of [g]owls;
Ostriches also will live there, and [h]shaggy goats will frolic there.
22 [i]Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
And jackals in their luxurious (AS)palaces.
Her fateful time also [j]will soon come,
And her days will not be prolonged.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:2 Or wind-swept mountain
- Isaiah 13:5 Lit end of heaven
- Isaiah 13:6 Heb Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:11 Or violent
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit dash in pieces
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit sons
- Isaiah 13:21 Or howling creatures
- Isaiah 13:21 Or goat demons
- Isaiah 13:22 Or howling creatures
- Isaiah 13:22 Lit is near to come
Isaiah 13
Young's Literal Translation
13 The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz hath seen:
2 `On a high mountain lift ye up an ensign, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go in to the openings of nobles.
3 I have given charge to My sanctified ones, Also I have called My mighty ones for Mine anger, Those rejoicing at Mine excellency.'
4 A voice of a multitude in the mountains, A likeness of a numerous people, A voice of noise from the kingdoms of nations who are gathered, Jehovah of Hosts inspecting a host of battle!
5 They are coming in from a land afar off, From the end of the heavens, Jehovah and the instruments of His indignation, To destroy all the land.
6 Howl ye, for near [is] the day of Jehovah, As destruction from the Mighty it cometh.
7 Therefore, all hands do fail, And every heart of man doth melt.
8 And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs they take, As a travailing woman they are pained, A man at his friend they marvel, The appearance of flames -- their faces!
9 Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
11 And I have appointed on the world evil, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused to cease the excellency of the proud, And the excellency of the terrible I make low.
12 I make man more rare than fine gold, And a common man than pure gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore the heavens I cause to tremble, And the earth doth shake from its place, In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts, And in a day of the heat of his anger.
14 And it hath been, as a roe driven away, And as a flock that hath no gatherer, Each unto his people -- they turn, And each unto his land -- they flee.
15 Every one who is found is thrust through, And every one who is added falleth by sword.
16 And their sucklings are dashed to pieces before their eyes, Spoiled are their houses, and their wives lain with.
17 Lo, I am stirring up against them the Medes, Who silver esteem not, And gold -- they delight not in it.
18 And bows dash young men to pieces, And the fruit of the womb they pity not, On sons their eye hath no pity.
19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory, the excellency of the Chaldeans, Hath been as overthrown by God, With Sodom and with Gomorrah.
20 She doth not sit for ever, Nor continueth unto many generations, Nor doth Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds lie not down there.
21 And Ziim have lain down there, And full have been their houses of howlings, And dwelt there have daughters of an ostrich, And goats do skip there.
22 And Aiim have responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And near to come [is] her time, And her days are not drawn out!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
