Isaiah 13:11-14:16
English Standard Version
11 I will punish (A)the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will (B)put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
(C)and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make (D)people more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the (E)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore (F)I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
14 And like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with none to gather them,
(G)each will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 (H)Their infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, (I)I am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 (J)Their bows will slaughter[a] the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, (K)the glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be (L)like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20 (M)It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no (N)Arab will pitch his tent there;
no (O)shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (P)wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there (Q)ostriches[b] will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas[c] will cry in its towers,
and (R)jackals in (S)the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.
The Restoration of Jacob
14 (T)For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and (U)will set them in their own land, and (V)sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And (W)the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord's land (X)as male and female slaves.[d] (Y)They will take captive those who were their captors, (Z)and rule over those who oppressed them.
Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon
3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this (AA)taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
(AB)the insolent fury[e] ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the (AC)staff of the wicked,
the (AD)scepter of rulers,
6 (AE)that struck the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
(AF)they break forth into singing.
8 (AG)(AH)The cypresses rejoice at you,
(AI)the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low,
no woodcutter comes up against us.’
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.
10 (AJ)All of them will answer
and say to you:
‘You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!’
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
the sound of your harps;
maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,
and worms are your covers.
12 “How (AK)you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, (AL)son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
(AM)‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
(AN)I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;[f]
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 (AO)But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
‘Is this (AP)the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces
- Isaiah 13:21 Or owls
- Isaiah 13:22 Or foxes
- Isaiah 14:2 Or servants
- Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain
- Isaiah 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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