Isaiah 13 (New American Standard Bible)

Isaiah 13

Prophecies about Babylon

 ¹The ^(A)oracle concerning ^(B)Babylon which ^(C)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
    ^2(D)Lift up a standard 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.
    ³I have commanded My consecrated ones,
         I have even called My ^(H)mighty warriors,
         My proudly exulting ones,
         To execute My anger.
    ⁴A ^(I)sound of tumult on the mountains,
         Like that of many people!
         A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
         Of nations gathered together!
         The LORD of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
    ⁵They are coming from a far country,
         From the ^(J)farthest horizons,
         The LORD and His instruments of ^(K)indignation,
         To ^(L)destroy the whole land.

Judgment on the Day of the LORD

    ⁶Wail, for the ^(M)day of the LORD is near!
         It will come as ^(N)destruction from the Almighty.
    ⁷Therefore ^(O)all hands will fall limp,
         And every man's ^(P)heart will melt.
    ⁸They 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.
    ⁹Behold, ^(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.
    ¹⁰For the ^(T)stars of heaven and their constellations
         Will not flash forth their light;
         The ^(U)sun will be dark when it rises
         And the moon will not shed its light.
    ¹¹Thus I will ^(V)punish the world for its evil
         And the ^(W)wicked for their iniquity;
         I will also put an end to the ^(X)arrogance of the proud
         And abase the ^(Y)haughtiness of the ^(Z)ruthless.
    ¹²I will make mortal man ^(AA)scarcer than pure gold
         And mankind than the ^(AB)gold of Ophir.
    ¹³Therefore I will make the ^(AC)heavens tremble,
         And ^(AD)the earth will be shaken from its place
         At the fury of the LORD of hosts
         In ^(AE)the day of His burning anger.
    ¹⁴And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,
         Or like ^(AF)sheep with none to gather them,
         They will each turn to his own people,
         And each one flee to his own land.
    ¹⁵Anyone who is found will be ^(AG)thrust through,
         And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
    ¹⁶Their ^(AH)little ones also will be dashed to pieces
         Before their eyes;
         Their houses will be plundered
         And their wives ravished.

Babylon Will Fall to the Medes

    ¹⁷Behold, I am going to ^(AI)stir up the Medes against them,
         Who will not value silver or ^(AJ)take pleasure in gold.
    ¹⁸And their bows will mow down the ^(AK)young men,
         They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
         Nor will their ^(AL)eye pity children.
    ¹⁹And ^(AM)Babylon, the ^(AN)beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride,
         Will be as when God ^(AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
    ²⁰It will ^(AP)never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
         Nor will the ^(AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
         Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
    ²¹But ^(AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
         And their houses will be full of owls;
         Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.
    ²²Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
         And jackals in their luxurious ^(AS)palaces.
         Her fateful time also will soon come
         And her days will not be prolonged.