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 American Standard Bible
Prophecies about Babylon
13 The (A)pronouncement concerning (B)Babylon which (C)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:
2 (D)Lift up a flag on the [a](E)bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
(F)Wave the hand that they may (G)enter the doors of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have also called for My (H)warriors
Who boast in My eminence,
To execute My anger.
4 A (I)sound of a roar on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of armies is mustering the army for battle.
5 They are coming from a distant country,
From the [b](J)farthest horizons,
The Lord and the weapons of His (K)indignation,
To (L)destroy the whole land.
Judgment on the Day of the Lord
6 Wail, for the (M)day of the Lord is near!
It will come as (N)destruction from [c]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (O)all hands will fall limp,
And every human (P)heart will melt.
8 They will be (Q)terrified,
Pains and anguish 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 the Lord 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 their light;
The (U)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 So I will (V)punish the world for its evil
And the (W)wicked for their wrongdoing;
I will also put an end to the (X)audacity of the proud
And humiliate the (Y)arrogance of the [d](Z)tyrants.
12 I will make mortal man (AA)scarcer than pure 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 the Lord of armies
In (AE)the day of His burning anger.
14 And it will be that, like a hunted gazelle,
Or like (AF)sheep with no one to gather them,
Each of them will turn to his own people,
And each of them will flee to his own land.
15 Anyone who is found will be (AG)thrust through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their (AH)little ones also will be dashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives raped.
Babylon Will Fall to the Medes
17 Behold, I am going to (AI)stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not value silver or (AJ)take pleasure in gold.
18 And their bows will [e]mow down the (AK)young men,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their (AL)eye pity [f]children.
19 And (AM)Babylon, the (AN)beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God (AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will (AP)never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the (AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds allow their flocks to lie down there.
21 But (AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of [g]owls;
Ostriches also will live there, and [h]shaggy goats will frolic there.
22 [i]Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
And jackals in their luxurious (AS)palaces.
Her fateful time also [j]will soon come,
And her days will not be prolonged.
Notas al pie
- Isaiah 13:2 Or wind-swept mountain
- Isaiah 13:5 Lit end of heaven
- Isaiah 13:6 Heb Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:11 Or violent
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit dash in pieces
- Isaiah 13:18 Lit sons
- 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
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
