Isaiah Chapter 13
1 Oracle About Babylon That Isaiah Ben-Amoz Saw
2 “Hoist a signal flag on a bare hilltop; call out an army
and signal them to attack the mansions of the nobles.
3 I’ve commanded my consecrated ones
and strong men to carry out my anger.”
Is 13:1-3
4 There’s noise in the mountains like a large army,
the uproar of gathered kingdoms!
Yahveh of Hosts is mustering an army for war.
5 He and his instruments of indignation
are coming from distant countries, from far-off horizons,
to destroy the whole region.
6 Cry out, because the day of Yahveh has come,
destruction from the Almighty.
7 Everybody’s hands will fall limp;
everyone’s heart will melt.
8 They’ll panic;
pain and anguish will seize them;
they’ll writhe like a woman in labor
and look aghast at one another;
their faces will be hot.
Is 13:4-8
9 The day of Yahveh is coming—
cruel, with fury and burning anger—
to desolate the land
and destroy its sinners.
10 The stars and constellations won’t glimmer;
the sun will be dark at dawn,
and the moon won’t shine.
11 “That’s how I’ll punish the world for its sin,
put an end to its arrogance,
and humble the pride of ruthless people.
12 I’ll make people rarer than gold,
rarer than gold from Ophir.
13 I’ll make the sky shake and the earth quake
at my fury when my burning anger comes.”
Is 13:9-13
14 Like hunted gazelles or sheep with no shepherd,
everyone in Babylon will try to get back to their own people,
to escape to their own country.
15 Anybody that’s found will be thrust through;
anybody that’s captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their little ones will be dashed to pieces while they watch;
their houses will be plundered and their wives raped.
17 “I’m going to stir up the Medes against them,
who don’t care about silver or delight in gold.
18 Their bows will slaughter the young men;
they won’t show mercy to babies
or pity children.”
Is 13:14-18
19 Babylon—the glory of the kingdoms, the Babylonians’ pride—
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
20 Nobody will ever live there;
no nomad will pitch his tent inside it;
no shepherd will bed down his flock in it.
21 Desert animals will rest there;
howling creatures will shelter in its abandoned houses;
owls will nest in it;
shaggy goats will frolic there.
22 Hyenas will howl in its fortified towers,
and jackals in its luxurious palaces;
its fate is soon to come.
Is 13:19-22