预言审判巴比伦

13 以下是亚摩斯的儿子以赛亚得到有关巴比伦的预言:

要在光秃的山顶上竖立旗帜,
向战士高呼,
挥手示意他们进攻贵族居住的城。
我已向我拣选的士兵发出命令,
我已号召我的勇士去倾倒我的烈怒,
他们因我的胜利而欢喜。

听啊,山上人声鼎沸,
像是大军的声音。
那是列邦列国聚集呐喊的声音。
万军之耶和华正在召集军队,
准备作战。
他们从地极,从天边而来。
那是耶和华及倾倒祂烈怒的兵器,
要来毁灭大地。

哀号吧!
耶和华的日子近了,
全能者施行毁灭的时候到了。
人们都必双手发软,胆战心惊,
惊恐万状,
痛苦不堪如同分娩的妇人。
他们必面面相觑,
羞愧得面如火烧。

看啊,耶和华的日子来临了,
是充满愤恨和烈怒的残酷之日,
要使大地荒凉,
毁灭地上的罪人。
10 天上的星辰不再发光,
太阳刚出来就变黑,
月亮也暗淡无光。
11 我必惩罚这罪恶的世界,
惩治邪恶的世人,
制止骄横之人的狂妄,
压下残暴之徒的骄傲。
12 我必使人比精炼的金子还稀少,
比俄斐的纯金更罕见。
13 我万军之耶和华发烈怒的日子,
必震动诸天,
摇撼大地。
14 人们都投奔亲族,
逃回故乡,
好像被追赶的鹿,
又如走散的羊。
15 被捉住的人都会被刺死,
被逮住的人都会丧身刀下。
16 他们的婴孩将被摔死在他们眼前,
家园遭劫掠,
妻子被蹂躏。

17 看啊,我要驱使玛代人来攻击他们。
玛代人不在乎金子,
也不看重银子,
18 他们必用弓箭射死青年,
不怜悯婴儿,
也不顾惜孩童。
19 巴比伦在列国中辉煌无比,
是迦勒底人的荣耀,
但上帝必毁灭她,
好像毁灭所多玛和蛾摩拉一样。
20 那里必人烟绝迹,
世世代代无人居住,
没有阿拉伯人在那里支搭帐篷,
也无人牧放羊群。
21 那里躺卧着旷野的走兽,
咆哮的猛兽占满房屋;
鸵鸟住在那里,
野山羊在那里跳跃嬉戏。
22 豺狼在城楼上嚎叫,
野狗在宫殿里狂吠。
巴比伦的结局近了,
它的时候不多了!

Prophecies about Babylon

13 The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([a]a burden to be carried) concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw [in a prophetic vision]:


Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,
Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,
Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

I [the Lord] have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have even called My great warriors,
My proudly exulting ones [the Medes and the Persians who triumph for My honor]—
To execute My anger.

A sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of the kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering an army for battle.

They are coming from a distant country,
From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—
The Lord and the weapons of His indignation—
To destroy the whole land.(A)

Judgment on the Day of the Lord


Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!
It will come as [b]destruction from the [c]Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)!(B)

Therefore [d]all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s heart will melt.

They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified,
Pains and anguish will grip them;
They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth.
They will stare aghast and horrified at one another,
Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].

Listen carefully, the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with wrath and raging anger,
To make the land a horror [of devastation];
And He shall exterminate its sinners from it.(C)
10 
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash with their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises,
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 
In this way I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud
And will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.
12 
I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold,
And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir.
13 
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
And the earth will be shaken from its place
At the wrath of the Lord of hosts
In the day of His burning anger.
14 
And like the hunted gazelle,
Or like sheep that no man gathers,
Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people,
And each one flee to his own land.
15 
Anyone who is found will be pierced through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 
Their children also will be smashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be looted
And their wives ravished.

Babylon Will Fall to the Medes

17 
Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,
Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].
18 
Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon];
They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb,
Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.
19 
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the [e]Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
20 
Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there.
21 
But desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of owls;
Ostriches also will live there, and [f]wild goats will dance there.
22 
[g]Hyenas will howl in their castles,
And jackals in their luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time has nearly come,
And her days will not be prolonged.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 13:1 I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.
  2. Isaiah 13:6 Shod in Hebrew, forming a word play with Shaddai.
  3. Isaiah 13:6 Heb Shaddai.
  4. Isaiah 13:7 Babylon was taken by surprise on the night of Belshazzar’s sacrilegious feast when Belshazzar was killed, and Darius the Mede was made king over Babylonia, the realm of the Chaldeans (Dan 5:30). The Chaldeans became the dominant people in Babylonia when Merodach-baladan declared himself king of Babylon. The words “Chaldean” and “Babylonian” are used interchangeably.
  5. Isaiah 13:19 The Chaldeans dominated and ruled Babylonia from 625 b.c., until their empire fell in 539 b.c., but they were known as early as 1000 b.c. as an aggressive, tribal people in the southern region of Babylonia. They were highly skilled in both the science of astronomy and the pseudo-science of astrology. They kept meticulous records of celestial motion and correctly calculated the length of a year to within just a few minutes. Babylon, their capital city, was the center of trade and learning in the western part of Asia. The classical literature of the Chaldeans was written in cuneiform, but the common language, both written and spoken in Babylon, was Akkadian that was increasingly influenced by Aramaic.
  6. Isaiah 13:21 Another possibility is goat demons.
  7. Isaiah 13:22 This prophecy was written well over a century before Babylon’s downfall in 539 b.c.

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