Isaiah 13

A Message about Babylon

13Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon.H4853H894H3470H1121H531H23722“Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.H5375H5251H8192H2022H7311H6963H5130H3027H935H6607H50813I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”H6680H6942H7121H1368H639H5947H13464Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.H6963H1995H2022H1823H7227H5971H7588H6963H4467H1471H622H3068H6635H6485H6635H44215They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land.H935H4801H776H7097H8064H3068H3627H2195H2254H7766Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—the time for the Almighty to destroy.H3213H3117H3068H7138H935H7701H77067Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts,H3027H7503H582H3824H45498and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear.H926H6735H2256H270H2342H3205H8539H376H7453H6440H38519For see, the day of the Lord is coming—the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it.H3117H3068H935H394H5678H2740H639H7760H776H8047H8045H240010The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.H3556H8064H3685H1984H216H8121H2821H3318H3394H216H505011“I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.H6485H8398H7451H7563H5771H1347H2086H7673H8213H1346H618412I will make people scarcer than gold—more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.H582H3365H6337H120H3800H21113For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger.”H7264H8064H776H7493H4725H5678H3068H6635H3117H2740H63914Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land.H5080H6643H6629H6908H376H6437H5971H5127H376H77615Anyone who is captured will be cut down—run through with a sword.H4672H1856H5595H5307H271916Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.H5768H7376H5869H1004H8155H802H7901H769317“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.H5782H4074H2803H3701H2091H265418The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.”H7198H7376H5288H7376H7355H6529H990H5869H2347H112119Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.H894H6643H4467H8597H3778H1347H430H4114H5467H601720Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.H5331H3427H7931H1755H1755H6163H167H7462H725721Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance.H6728H7257H1004H4390H255H1323H3284H7931H8163H754022Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.H338H6030H490H8577H6027H1964H6256H7138H935H3117H4900