Isaiah 13
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Proclamation against Babylon
13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 On a bare hill raise a signal,
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for them to enter
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones.
4 Hark, a tumult on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
Hark, an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole earth.
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every man’s heart will melt,
8 and they will be dismayed.
Pangs and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in travail.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless.
12 I will make men more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore 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,
every man will turn to his own people,
and every man will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 Their bows will slaughter the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pride of the Chalde′ans,
will be like Sodom and Gomor′rah
when God overthrew them.
20 It will never be inhabited
or dwelt in for all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there,
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild beasts will lie down there,
and its houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ostriches will dwell,
and there satyrs will dance.
22 Hyenas will cry in its towers,
and jackals in the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13
New Century Version
God’s Message to Babylon
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this message about Babylon:
2 Raise a flag on the bare mountain.
Call out to the men.
Raise your hand to signal them
to enter through the gates for important people.
3 I myself have commanded those people
whom I have separated as mine.
I have called those warriors to carry out my anger.
They rejoice and are glad to do my will.
4 Listen to the loud noise in the mountains,
the sound of many people.
Listen to the noise among the kingdoms,
the sound of nations gathering together.
The Lord All-Powerful is calling
his army together for battle.
5 This army is coming from a faraway land,
from the edge of the horizon.
In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon
to destroy the whole country.
6 Cry, because the Lord’s day of judging is near;
the Almighty is sending destruction.
7 People will be weak with fear,
and their courage will melt away.
8 Everyone will be afraid.
Pain and hurt will grab them;
they will hurt like a woman giving birth to a baby.
They will look at each other in fear,
with their faces red like fire.
God’s Judgment Against Babylon
9 Look, the Lord’s day of judging is coming—
a terrible day, a day of God’s anger.
He will destroy the land
and the sinners who live in it.
10 The stars will not show their light;
the skies will be dark.
The sun will grow dark as it rises,
and the moon will not give its light.
11 The Lord says, “I will punish the world for its evil
and wicked people for their sins.
I will cause proud people to lose their pride,
and I will destroy the pride of those who are cruel to others.
12 People will be harder to find than pure gold;
there will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir.
13 I will make the sky shake,
and the earth will be moved from its place
by the anger of the Lord All-Powerful
at the time of his burning anger.
14 “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted deer
or like sheep who have no shepherd.
Everyone will turn back to his own people;
each will run back to his own land.
15 Everyone who is captured will be killed;
everyone who is caught will be killed with a sword.
16 Their little children will be beaten to death in front of them.
Their houses will be robbed
and their wives raped.
17 “Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon.
They do not care about silver
or delight in gold.
18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with arrows;
they will show no mercy on children,
nor will they feel sorry for little ones.
19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms,
and the Babylonians are very proud of it.
But God will destroy it
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 No one will ever live there
or settle there again.
No Arab will put a tent there;
no shepherd will bring sheep there.
21 Only desert animals will live there,
and their houses will be full of wild dogs.
Owls will live there,
and wild goats will leap about in the houses.
22 Wolves will howl within the strong walls,
and wild dogs will bark in the beautiful buildings.
The end of Babylon is near;
its time is almost over.”
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
