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.
A Prophecy Against Babylon
1Here is the prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.
2Lift up a banner on the top of a bare hill.
Shout to the enemy soldiers.
Wave for them to enter the gates
that are used by the nobles of Babylon.
3The Lord has commanded the soldiers he prepared for battle.
He has sent for them to carry out his anger against Babylon.
They will be happy when he wins the battle for them.
4Listen! I hear a noise in the mountains.
It sounds like a huge crowd.
Listen! I hear a loud noise among the kingdoms.
It sounds like nations gathering together.
The Lord who rules over all is bringing
an army together for war.
5They come from lands far away.
They come from the farthest places on earth.
The Lord and those weapons of his anger
are coming to destroy the whole country of Babylon.
6Cry out! The day of the Lord is near.
The Mighty One is coming to destroy the Babylonians.
7Their hands won’t be able to help them.
Everyone’s heart will melt away in fear.
8The people will be filled with terror.
Pain and suffering will grab hold of them.
They will groan with pain like a woman having a baby.
They’ll look at one another in terror.
Their faces will burn with shame.
9The day of the Lord is coming.
It will be a terrible day.
The Lord’s burning anger will blaze out.
He will make the land dry and empty.
He’ll destroy the sinners in it.
10All the stars in the sky
will stop giving their light.
The sun will be darkened as soon as it rises.
The moon will not shine.
11The Lord will punish the world because it is so evil.
He will punish evil people for their sins.
He’ll put an end to the bragging of those who are proud.
He’ll bring down the pride of those who don’t show any pity.
12He’ll make people harder to find than pure gold.
They will be harder to find than gold from Ophir.
13He will make the heavens tremble.
He’ll shake the earth out of its place.
The Lord who rules over all will show how angry he is.
At that time his burning anger will blaze out.
14Outsiders who live in Babylon will scatter
like antelope that are chased by a hunter.
They are like sheep that don’t have a shepherd.
All of them will return to their own people.
They will run back to their own countries.
15Those who are captured will have spears stuck through them.
Those who are caught will be killed by swords.
16Their babies will be smashed to pieces
right in front of their eyes.
Their houses will be robbed.
Their wives will be raped.
17The Lord will stir up the Medes to attack the Babylonians.
They aren’t interested in getting silver.
They don’t want gold.
18Instead, they will use their bows and arrows
to strike down the young men.
They won’t even show any mercy to babies.
They won’t take pity on children.
19The city of Babylon is the jewel of kingdoms.
It is the pride and glory of the Babylonians.
But God will destroy it
just as he did Sodom and Gomorrah.
20No one will ever live in Babylon again.
No one will live there for all time to come.
Those who wander in the desert will never set up their tents there.
Shepherds will never rest their flocks there.
21But desert creatures will lie down there.
Wild dogs will fill its houses.
Owls will live there.
Wild goats will jump around in it.
22Hyenas will live in its forts.
Wild dogs will live in its beautiful palaces.
The time for Babylon to be punished is near.
Its days are numbered.
