Isaiah 13

¹The burden of Babylon which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.

²Over the foggy mountain lift up a sign! Raise the voice, lift up the hand, and let the rulers enter through the gates!

³In my wrath, I commanded my sanctified ones, and I called my strong ones, those who exult in my glory.

⁴On the mountains, there is the voice of a multitude, as if of a numerous people, a voice with the sound of kings, of nations gathered together. For the Lord of hosts has given orders to soldiers of war,

⁵to those who are arriving from a far off land, from the heights of the heavens. It is the Lord and the instruments of his fury, so that he may bring ruin to all the earth.

⁶Wail aloud! For the day of the Lord draws near! It will arrive like a devastation from the Lord.

⁷Because of it, every hand will fail, and every heart of man will waste away and be crushed.

⁸Writhing and pain will seize them. They will be in pain, like a woman in labor. Each one will appear stupefied to his neighbor. Their countenances will be like faces which have been burned up.

⁹Behold, the day of the Lord approaches: a cruel day, full of indignation and wrath and fury, which will place the earth in solitude and crush the sinners from it.

¹⁰For the stars of the heavens, in their splendor, will not display their light. The sun will be obscured at its rising, and the moon will not shine in her brightness.

¹¹And I will act against the evils of the world, and against the impious for their iniquity. And I will cause the pride of the unfaithful to cease, and I will bring down the arrogance of the strong.

¹²A man will be more precious than gold, and mankind will become like pure refined gold.

¹³For this purpose, I will stir up heaven, and the earth will be moved from its place, because of the indignation of the Lord of hosts, because of the day of his furious wrath.

¹⁴And they will be like a doe fleeing away, or like sheep; and there will be no one who may gather them together. Each one will turn to his own people, and every one will flee to his own land.

¹⁵All who are found will be killed, and all who are caught unaware will fall by the sword.

¹⁶Their infants will be thrown down violently before their eyes. Their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be violated.

¹⁷Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not seek silver, nor desire gold.

¹⁸Instead, with their arrows, they will put the little children to death, and they will take no pity on breastfeeding women, and their eye will not spare their children.

¹⁹And then Babylon, the glorious one among kingdoms, that famous pride of the Chaldeans, will be destroyed, even as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁰It will not be inhabited, even unto the end, and it will not be reestablished, even from generation to generation. The Arab will not pitch his tents there, nor will the shepherds take rest there.

²¹Instead, the wild beasts will rest there, and their houses will be filled with serpents, and ostriches will live there, and the hairy ones will leap about there.

²²And the tawny owls will answer one another there, in its buildings, and the Sirens in its shrines of pleasure.

Isaiah 13

¹The burden of Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos saw.

²Upon the dark mountain lift ye up a banner, exalt the voice, lift up the hand, and let the rulers go into the gates.

³I have commanded my sanctified ones, and have called my strong ones in my wrath, them that rejoice in my glory.

⁴The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as it were of many people, the noise of the sound of kings, of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts hath given charge to the troops of war.

⁵To them that come from a country afar off, from the end of heaven: the Lord and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the whole land.

⁶Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is near: it shall come as a destruction from the Lord.

⁷Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every heart of man shall melt,

⁸And shall be broken. Gripings and pains, shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman in labour. Every one shall be amazed at his neighbour, their countenances shall be as faces burnt.

⁹Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of indignation, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

¹⁰For the stars of heaven, and their brightness shall not display their light: the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not shine with her light.

¹¹And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wicked for their iniquity: and I will make the pride of infidels to cease, and will bring down the arrogancy of the mighty.

¹²A man shall be more precious than gold, yea a man than the finest of gold.

¹³For this I will trouble the heaven: and the earth shall be moved out of her place, for the indignation of the Lord of hosts, and for the day of his fierce wrath.

¹⁴And they shall be as a doe fleeing away, and as a sheep: and there shall be none to gather them together: every man shall turn to his own people, and every one shall flee to his own land.

¹⁵Every one that shall be found, shall be slain: and every one that shall come to their aid, shall fall by the sword.

¹⁶Their inhabitants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes: their houses shall be pillaged, and their wives shall be ravished.

¹⁷Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not seek silver, nor desire gold:

¹⁸But with their arrows they shall kill the children, and shall have no pity upon the sucklings of the womb, and their eye shall not spare their sons.

¹⁹And that Babylon, glorious among kingdoms, the famous pride of the Chaldeans, shall be even as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha.

²⁰It shall no more be inhabited for ever, and it shall not be founded unto generation and generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch his tents there, nor shall shepherds rest there.

²¹But wild beasts shall rest there, and their houses shall be filled with serpents, and ostriches shall dwell there, and the hairy ones shall dance there:

²²And owls shall answer one another there, in the houses thereof, and sirens in the temples of pleasure.