Isaiah 13-17; Psalms 112

A Message about Babylon

13Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon.H4853H894H3470H1121H531H2372 2“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.H5375H5251H8192H2022H7311H6963H5130H3027H935H6607H5081 3I, 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.”H6680H6942H7121H1368H639H5947H1346 4Hear 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.H6963H1995H2022H1823H7227H5971H7588H6963H4467H1471H622H3068H6635H6485H6635H4421 5They 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.H935H4801H776H7097H8064H3068H3627H2195H2254H776 6Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—the time for the Almighty to destroy.H3213H3117H3068H7138H935H7701H7706 7Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts,H3027H7503H582H3824H4549 8and 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.H926H6735H2256H270H2342H3205H8539H376H7453H6440H3851 9For 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.H3117H3068H935H394H5678H2740H639H7760H776H8047H8045H2400 10The 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.H3556H8064H3685H1984H216H8121H2821H3318H3394H216H5050 11“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.H6485H8398H7451H7563H5771H1347H2086H7673H8213H1346H6184 12I will make people scarcer than gold—more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.H582H3365H6337H120H3800H211 13For 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.”H7264H8064H776H7493H4725H5678H3068H6635H3117H2740H639 14Everyone 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.H5080H6643H6629H6908H376H6437H5971H5127H376H776 15Anyone who is captured will be cut down—run through with a sword.H4672H1856H5595H5307H2719 16Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.H5768H7376H5869H1004H8155H802H7901H7693 17“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.H5782H4074H2803H3701H2091H2654 18The 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.”H7198H7376H5288H7376H7355H6529H990H5869H2347H1121 19Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.H894H6643H4467H8597H3778H1347H430H4114H5467H6017 20Babylon 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.H5331H3427H7931H1755H1755H6163H167H7462H7257 21Desert 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.H6728H7257H1004H4390H255H1323H3284H7931H8163H7540 22Hyenas 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

A Taunt for Babylon’s King

14But the Lord will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and unite with the people of Israel

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2The nations of the world will help the Lord’s people to return, and those who come to live in their land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will themselves be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies.H5971H3947H935H4725H1004H3478H5157H127H3068H5650H8198H7617H7617H7287H5065

3In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,H3117H3068H5117H6090H7267H7186H5656H5647

4you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, “The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence

is ended.H5375H4912H4428H894H559H5065H7673H4062H7673

5For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule.H3068H7665H4294H7563H7626H4910

6You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny.H5221H5971H5678H1115H5627H4347H7287H1471H639H4783H1097H2820

7But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again!H776H5117H8252H6476H7440

8Even the trees of the forest—the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—sing out this joyous song. ‘Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!’H1265H8055H730H3844H7901H3772H5927

9“In the place of the dead

there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you.H7585H7264H7125H935H5782H7496H6260H776H6965H3678H4428H1471

10With one voice they all cry out, ‘Now you are as weak as we are!H6030H559H2470H4911

11Your might and power were buried with you

. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.’H1347H3381H7585H1998H5035H7415H3331H8438H4374

12“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.H5307H8064H1966H1121H7837H3213H1438H776H2522H1471

13For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north

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14I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’H5927H1116H5645H1819H5945

15Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.H3381H7585H3411H953

16Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?H7200H7688H995H376H776H7264H7493H4467

17Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’H7760H8398H4057H2040H5892H6605H1004H615

18“The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb,H4428H1471H7901H3519H376H1004

19but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit.H7993H6913H8581H5342H3830H2026H2944H2719H3381H68H953H6297H947

20You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. The descendants of such an evil person will never again receive honor.H3161H6900H7843H776H2026H5971H2233H7489H5769H7121

21Kill this man’s children! Let them die because of their father’s sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities.”H3559H4293H1121H5771H1H1077H6965H3423H776H4390H6440H8398H6145H5892

22This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. “I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children’s children,” says the Lord.H6965H5002H3068H6635H3772H894H8034H7605H5209H5220H5002H3068

23“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”H7760H4180H7090H98H4325H2894H4292H8045H5002H3068H6635

A Message about Assyria

24The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath. “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.H3068H6635H7650H559H1819H3289H6965

25I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel; I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be their slaves nor bow down under their heavy loads.H7665H804H776H2022H947H5923H5493H5448H5493H7926

26I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations.H6098H3289H776H3027H5186H1471

27The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”H3068H6635H3289H6565H3027H5186H7725

A Message about Philistia

28This message came to me the year King Ahaz died.

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29Do not rejoice, you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken—that the king who attacked you is dead. For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born, a fiery serpent to destroy you!H8055H6429H7626H5221H7665H5175H8328H3318H6848H6529H8314H5774H8314

30I will feed the poor in my pasture; the needy will lie down in peace. But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine and destroy the few who remain.H1060H1800H7462H34H7257H983H4191H8328H7458H2026H7611

31Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities! Melt with fear, you Philistines! A powerful army comes like smoke from the north. Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.H3213H8179H2199H5892H6429H4127H935H6828H6227H909H4151

32What should we tell the Philistine messengers? Tell them, “The Lord has built Jerusalem

; its walls will give refuge to his oppressed people.”H6030H4397H1471H3068H3245H6726H6041H5971H2620

A Message about Moab

15This message came to me concerning Moab. In one night the town of Ar will be leveled, and the city of Kir will be destroyed.H4853H4124H3915H6144H4124H7703H1820H3915H7024H4124H7703H1820 2Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.H5927H1006H1769H1116H1065H4124H3213H5015H4311H7218H7144H2206H1438 3They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.H2351H2296H8242H1406H7339H3213H1065H3381 4The people of Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out; their voices will be heard as far away as Jahaz! The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror. They will be helpless with fear.H2809H2199H500H6963H8085H3096H2502H4124H7321H5315H3415 5My heart weeps for Moab. Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith. Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim.H3820H2199H4124H1280H6820H5697H7992H4608H3872H1065H5927H1870H2773H5782H2201H7667 6Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains.H4325H5249H4923H2682H3001H1877H3615H3418 7The people grab their possessions and carry them across the Ravine of Willows.H3502H6213H6486H5375H5158H6155 8A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab from one end to the other—from Eglaim to Beer-elim.H2201H5362H1366H4124H3215H97H3215H879 9The stream near Dibon

runs red with blood, but I am still not finished with Dibon! Lions will hunt down the survivors—both those who try to escape and those who remain behind.H4325H1775H4390H1818H7896H3254H1775H738H6413H4124H7611H127

16Send lambs from Sela as tribute to the ruler of the land. Send them through the desert to the mountain of beautiful Zion.H7971H3733H4910H776H5554H4057H2022H1323H6726

2The women of Moab are left like homeless birds at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.H5074H5775H7971H7064H1323H4124H4569H769

3“Help us,” they cry. “Defend us against our enemies. Protect us from their relentless attack. Do not betray us now that we have escaped.H935H6098H6213H6415H7896H6738H3915H8432H6672H5641H5080H1540H5074

4Let our refugees stay among you. Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past.” When oppression and destruction have ended and enemy raiders have disappeared,H5080H1481H4124H1933H5643H6440H7703H4160H656H7701H3615H7429H8552H776

5then God will establish one of David’s descendants as king. He will rule with mercy and truth. He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right.H2617H3678H3559H3427H571H168H1732H8199H1875H4941H4106H6664

6We have heard about proud Moab—about its pride and arrogance and rage. But all that boasting has disappeared.H8085H1347H4124H3966H1341H1346H1347H5678H907

7The entire land of Moab weeps. Yes, everyone in Moab mourns for the cakes of raisins from Kir-hareseth. They are all gone now.H4124H3213H4124H3213H808H7025H1897H5218

8The farms of Heshbon are abandoned; the vineyards at Sibmah are deserted. The rulers of the nations have broken down Moab—that beautiful grapevine. Its tendrils spread north as far as the town of Jazer and trailed eastward into the wilderness. Its shoots reached so far west that they crossed over the Dead Sea

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9So now I weep for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah; my tears will flow for Heshbon and Elealeh. There are no more shouts of joy over your summer fruits and harvest.H1058H1065H3270H1612H7643H7301H1832H2809H500H1959H7019H7105H5307

10Gone now is the gladness, gone the joy of harvest. There will be no singing in the vineyards, no more happy shouts, no treading of grapes in the winepresses. I have ended all their harvest joys.H8057H622H1524H3759H3754H7442H7321H1869H1869H3196H3342H1959H7673

11My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth

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12The people of Moab will worship at their pagan shrines, but it will do them no good. They will cry to the gods in their temples, but no one will be able to save them.H7200H4124H3811H1116H935H4720H6419H3201

13The Lord has already said these things about Moab in the past.H1697H3068H1696H4124H227

14But now the Lord says, “Within three years, counting each day

, the glory of Moab will be ended. From its great population, only a few of its people will be left alive.”H3068H1696H559H7969H8141H8141H7916H3519H4124H7034H7227H1995H7605H4592H4213H3808H3524

A Message about Damascus and Israel

17This message came to me concerning Damascus: “Look, the city of Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins.H4853H1834H1834H5493H5892H4654H4596 2The towns of Aroer will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away.H5892H6177H5800H5739H7257H2729 3The fortified towns of Israel

will also be destroyed, and the royal power of Damascus will end. All that remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,” declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H4013H7673H669H4467H1834H7605H758H3519H1121H3478H5002H3068H6635 4“In that day Israel’s

glory will grow dim; its robust body will waste away.H3117H3519H3290H1809H4924H1320H7329 5The whole land will look like a grainfield after the harvesters have gathered the grain. It will be desolate, like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.H7105H622H7054H7114H7641H2220H3950H7641H6010H7497 6Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.H5955H7604H5363H2132H8147H7969H1620H7218H534H702H2568H6509H5585H5002H3068H430H3478 7Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.H3117H120H8159H6213H5869H7200H6918H3478 8They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.H8159H4196H4639H3027H7200H676H6213H842H2553 9Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned

when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.H3117H4581H5892H5800H2793H534H5800H6440H1121H3478H8077 10Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you. So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings.H7911H430H3468H2142H6697H4581H5193H5282H5194H2232H2114H2156 11They may sprout on the day you set them out; yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.H3117H5194H7735H1242H2233H6524H7105H5067H3117H2470H605H3511 12Listen! The armies of many nations roar like the roaring of the sea. Hear the thunder of the mighty forces as they rush forward like thundering waves.H1945H1995H7227H5971H1993H1993H3220H7588H3816H7582H3524H4325 13But though they thunder like breakers on a beach, God will silence them, and they will run away. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind, like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.H3816H7582H7588H7227H4325H1605H5127H4801H7291H4671H2022H6440H7307H1534H6440H5492 14In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder us, a fitting end for those who destroy us.H6256H6153H1091H1242H2506H8154H1486H962