Isaiah 13
Legacy Standard Bible
An Oracle Concerning Babylon
13 The [a](A)oracle concerning (B)Babylon which (C)Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld.
2 (D)Lift up a standard on the [b](E)bare hill,
Heighten your voice at them,
(F)Wave the hand that they may (G)enter the doors of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My set apart ones,
I have even called My (H)mighty warriors,
My [c]proudly exulting ones,
To execute My anger.
4 A (I)sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the rumbling of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
Yahweh of hosts is mustering the host for battle.
5 They are coming from a far country,
From the (J)end of the sky,
Yahweh and His instruments of (K)indignation,
To (L)wreak destruction on the whole land.
6 Wail, for the (M)day of Yahweh is near!
It will come as (N)destruction from [d]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (O)all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s (P)heart will melt.
8 They will be (Q)terrified,
Pains and labor pangs 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 Yahweh 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 forth their light;
The (U)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus 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)pride of the arrogant
And bring low the (Y)lofty pride of the [e](Z)ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man [f](AA)scarcer than fine 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 Yahweh of hosts
In (AE)the day of His burning anger.
14 And 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.
15 Anyone who is found will be (AG)pierced through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their (AH)infants also will be dashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I am going to (AI)awaken the Medes against them,
Who will not think about silver or (AJ)take pleasure in gold.
18 And their bows will dash the (AK)young men to pieces,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their (AL)eye pity [g]children.
19 And it will be that (AM)Babylon, the (AN)beauty of kingdoms, the [h]honor of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God (AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will (AP)never be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation;
Nor will the [i](AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of [j]owls;
Ostriches also will dwell there, and [k]shaggy goats will leap there.
22 [l]And hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
And jackals in their luxurious (AS)palaces.
Her fateful time also [m]will soon come
And her days will not be prolonged.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:1 Or burden of
- Isaiah 13:2 Or wind-swept mountain
- Isaiah 13:3 Lit lofty pride, cf. 13:11
- Isaiah 13:6 Heb Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:11 Or tyrants, despots
- Isaiah 13:12 Lit more precious
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit sons
- Isaiah 13:19 Lit beautiful glory
- Isaiah 13:20 Or nomad
- 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
Common English Bible
Babylon falls
13 An oracle about Babylon, which Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw.
2 On a bare mountain raise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave a hand;
let them enter the officials’ gates.
3 I have commanded my holy ones;
I have called my warriors,
my proud, jubilant ones,
to execute my wrath.
4 Listen![a] A roar on the mountains like that of a great crowd.
Listen! An uproar of kingdoms,
of nations coming together.
The Lord of heavenly forces is mustering an army for battle.
5 They are coming from a distant land,
from the faraway heavens,
the Lord and the instruments of his fury, to destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near.
Like destruction from the Almighty[b] it will come.
7 Then all hands will fall limp;
every human heart will melt,
8 and they will be terrified.
Like a woman writhing in labor,
they will be seized by spasms and agony.
They will look at each other aghast,
their faces blazing.
9 Look, the day of the Lord is coming with cruel rage and burning anger,
making the earth a ruin,
and wiping out its sinners.
10 Heaven’s stars and constellations won’t show their light.
The sun will be dark when it rises;
the moon will no longer shine.
11 I will bring disaster upon the world for its evil,
and bring their own sin upon the wicked.
I will end the pride of the insolent,
and the conceit of tyrants I will lay low.
12 I will make humans scarcer than fine gold;
people rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13 I will rattle the heavens;
the earth will shake loose from its place—because of the rage
of the Lord of heavenly forces
on the day his anger burns.
14 They will be like hunted gazelles, like sheep without a shepherd;
all will turn to their own people
and flee to their own lands.
15 Whoever is found will be stabbed;
whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be crushed before their eyes;
their houses plundered, their women raped.
17 Look! I’m rousing the Medes against them;
the Medes pay no mind to silver, no desire for gold.
18 Their bows will smash youths;
they will be merciless to newborns, pitiless to children.
19 So Babylon, a jewel among kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ splendor and pride,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah,
destroyed by God.
20 No one will ever resettle
or live there for generations.
No Arab will camp there;
no shepherds will rest flocks there.
21 Wildcats will rest there;
houses will be filled with owls.
Ostriches will live there,
and goat demons will dance there.
22 Hyenas will howl in its strongholds,
and jackals in its luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s[c] time is coming soon;
its days won’t drag on.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:4 Heb lacks Listen!
- Isaiah 13:6 Heb Shaddai or Mountain One
- Isaiah 13:22 Heb Its
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible