A Prophecy Against Babylon
1A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
3I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
4Listen, 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.
5They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
6Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
7Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
8Terror 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.
9See, 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.
10The 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.
11I 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.
12I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13Therefore 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.
14Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee to their native land.
15Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.
16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.
17See, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.
18Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.
19Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Babylonians,13:19 Or Chaldeans
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about.
22Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,
jackals her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
預言審判巴比倫
1以下是亞摩斯的兒子以賽亞得到有關巴比倫的預言：
2要在光禿的山頂上豎立旗幟，
向戰士高呼，
揮手示意他們進攻貴族居住的城。
3我已向我揀選的士兵發出命令，
我已號召我的勇士去傾倒我的烈怒，
他們因我的勝利而歡喜。
4聽啊，山上人聲鼎沸，
像是大軍的聲音。
那是列邦列國聚集呐喊的聲音。
萬軍之耶和華正在召集軍隊，
準備作戰。
5他們從地極，從天邊而來。
那是耶和華及傾倒祂烈怒的兵器，
要來毀滅大地。
6哀號吧！
耶和華的日子近了，
全能者施行毀滅的時候到了。
7人們都必雙手發軟，膽戰心驚，
8驚恐萬狀，
痛苦不堪如同分娩的婦人。
他們必面面相覷，
羞愧得面如火燒。
9看啊，耶和華的日子來臨了，
是充滿憤恨和烈怒的殘酷之日，
要使大地荒涼，
毀滅地上的罪人。
10天上的星辰不再發光，
太陽剛出來就變黑，
月亮也暗淡無光。
11我必懲罰這罪惡的世界，
懲治邪惡的世人，
制止驕橫之人的狂妄，
壓下殘暴之徒的驕傲。
12我必使人比精煉的金子還稀少，
比俄斐的純金更罕見。
13我萬軍之耶和華發烈怒的日子，
必震動諸天，
搖撼大地。
14人們都投奔親族，
逃回故鄉，
好像被追趕的鹿，
又如走散的羊。
15被捉住的人都會被刺死，
被逮住的人都會喪身刀下。
16他們的嬰孩將被摔死在他們眼前，
家園遭劫掠，
妻子被蹂躪。
17看啊，我要驅使瑪代人來攻擊他們。
瑪代人不在乎金子，
也不看重銀子，
18他們必用弓箭射死青年，
不憐憫嬰兒，
也不顧惜孩童。
19巴比倫在列國中輝煌無比，
是迦勒底人的榮耀，
但上帝必毀滅她，
好像毀滅所多瑪和蛾摩拉一樣。
20那裡必人煙絕跡，
世世代代無人居住，
沒有阿拉伯人在那裡支搭帳篷，
也無人牧放羊群。
21那裡躺臥著曠野的走獸，
咆哮的猛獸佔滿房屋；
鴕鳥住在那裡，
野山羊在那裡跳躍嬉戲。
22豺狼在城樓上嚎叫，
野狗在宮殿裡狂吠。
巴比倫的結局近了，
它的時候不多了！
