Isaiah 13
English Standard Version Anglicised
The Judgement of Babylon
13 The oracle concerning (A)Babylon which (B)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 On a bare hill (C)raise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for (D)them to enter
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones.[a]
4 The sound (E)of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
(F)The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 (G)They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land.[b]
6 (H)Wail, for (I)the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty[c] it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart (J)will melt.
8 They will be dismayed:
(K)pangs and agony will seize them;
(L)they will be in anguish like a woman in labour.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, (M)the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and (N)to destroy its sinners from it.
10 (O)For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
(P)the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish (Q)the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will (R)put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
(S)and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make (T)people more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the (U)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore (V)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,
(W)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 (X)Their infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, (Y)I am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 (Z)Their bows will slaughter[d] the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, (AA)the glory of kingdoms,
the splendour and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be (AB)like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20 (AC)It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no (AD)Arab will pitch his tent there;
no (AE)shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (AF)wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there (AG)ostriches[e] will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas[f] will cry in its towers,
and (AH)jackals in (AI)the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty
- Isaiah 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9
- Isaiah 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike
- Isaiah 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces
- Isaiah 13:21 Or owls
- Isaiah 13:22 Or foxes
Isaiah 13
Expanded Bible
God’s Message to Babylon
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this ·message [oracle; T burden] about Babylon:
2 Raise a ·flag [banner; signal flag] on the bare mountain.
·Call out [Shout] to them.
·Raise [Wave] your hand to signal them
to enter through the gates ·for important people [of the nobles/princes].
3 I myself have commanded those people
·whom I have separated as mine [or my holy/sanctified/chosen ones].
I have ·called [summoned] those warriors to carry out my anger.
They rejoice ·and are glad to do my will [or in my triumph/exaltation].
4 Listen to the loud ·noise [tumult] in the mountains,
the sound of ·many people [a great crowd/army].
Listen to the ·noise [uproar; commotion] among the kingdoms,
the sound of nations gathering together.
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is ·calling together [summoning; mustering] his army for battle.
5 They are coming from a faraway land,
from the ·edge of the horizon [or end of the heavens].
·In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon [L The Lord and his weapons of wrath/indignation]
to destroy the whole ·country [land; or earth].
6 ·Cry [Wail], because the Lord’s day of judging is near;
the Almighty is sending destruction.
7 ·People will be weak with fear [L All hands will go limp/fail],
and ·their courage [L every human heart] will melt away.
8 Everyone will be ·afraid [terrified; dismayed].
Pain and ·hurt [anguish] will ·grab [grip; seize] them;
they will ·hurt [writhe in pain] like a woman giving birth.
They will look at each other ·in fear [aghast; or in shock/amazement],
with their faces ·red [aflame] like fire.
God’s Judgment Against Babylon
9 ·Look [T Behold], the Lord’s day of judging is coming—
a ·terrible [cruel] day, a day of ·God’s anger [L wrath and rage of anger].
He will ·destroy [desolate] the ·land [or earth]
and the sinners who live in it.
10 [L For] The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
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 [the arrogant] to lose their pride,
and I will ·destroy [humble; lay low] the pride of ·those who are cruel to others [the ruthless/tyrants].
12 People will be ·harder to find [scarcer] than pure gold;
there will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir [C perhaps a region in southern Arabia].
13 I will make the ·sky [or heavens] shake,
and the earth will be ·moved [shaken] from its place
by the ·anger [wrath; fury] of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
·at the time [L in the day] of his burning anger.
14 “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted ·deer [gazelle]
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 [stabbed; thrust through];
everyone who is caught will ·be killed with a [L fall by the] sword.
16 Their little children will be ·beaten to death [dashed to pieces] in front of them.
Their houses will be ·robbed [looted; plundered]
and their wives raped.
17 “·Look [T Behold], I will ·cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon [L stir up the Medes against them; C fulfilled by Cyrus the Great in 539 bc].
They do not care about silver
or delight in gold.
18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with ·arrows [L bows];
they will show no mercy on ·children [L the fruit of the womb],
nor will they feel ·sorry [pity; compassion] for ·little ones [children; sons].
19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms,
·and the Babylonians are very proud of it [L the glory and pride of the Chaldeans].
But God will destroy it
like Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen. 19:23–29].
20 No one will ever live there
or settle there ·again [from generation to generation].
No ·Arab [or bedouin; nomad] will put a tent there;
no shepherd will ·bring [bed down their] sheep there.
21 Only desert animals will live there,
and their houses will be full of ·wild dogs [or jackals; hyenas; howling creatures; or owls].
Owls will live there,
and wild goats will ·leap [skip] about in the houses.
22 ·Wolves [or Hyenas] will howl within the ·strong walls [citadels; towers],
and ·wild dogs [jackals] will bark in the ·beautiful [delightful] ·buildings [palaces].
·The end of Babylon is near [L Her time has nearly come];
·its time is almost over [L and her days will not be extended].”
Isaiah 13
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Babylon
13 The (A)burden[a] against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 “Lift(B) up a banner (C)on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
(D)Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My [b]sanctified ones;
I have also called (E)My mighty ones for My anger—
Those who (F)rejoice in My exaltation.”
4 The (G)noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven—
The (H)Lord and His [c]weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole (I)land.
6 Wail, (J)for the day of the Lord is at hand!
(K)It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
8 And they will be afraid.
(L)Pangs[d] and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
9 Behold, (M)the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy (N)its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be (O)darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 “I will (P)punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
(Q)I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the [e]terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 (R)Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the Lord of hosts
And in (S)the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man [f]takes up;
(T)Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be (U)dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives (V)ravished.
17 “Behold,(W) I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not [g]regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 (X)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 (Z)It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.
21 (AA)But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of [h]owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
(AB)Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 13:3 consecrated or set apart
- Isaiah 13:5 Or instruments
- Isaiah 13:8 Sharp pains
- Isaiah 13:11 Or tyrants
- Isaiah 13:14 gathers
- Isaiah 13:17 esteem
- Isaiah 13:21 Or howling creatures
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
