Isaiah 13–14

A Message About Babylonia

13Here is the vision about Babylonia that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.

²Lift up a banner on the top of a bare hill.

Shout to the enemy soldiers.

Wave for them to enter the gates

that are used by the nobles of Babylon.

³The Lord has set those soldiers apart to fight for him.

He has sent for them to carry out his anger against Babylon.

They will be happy when he wins the battle for them.

⁴Listen! I hear a noise in the mountains.

It sounds like a huge crowd.

Listen! I hear a loud noise among the kingdoms.

It sounds like nations gathering together.

The Lord who rules over all is bringing

an army together for war.

⁵They come from lands far away.

They come from the farthest places on earth.

The Lord and those weapons of his anger

are coming to destroy the whole country of Babylonia.

⁶Cry out! The day of the Lord is near.

The Mighty One is coming to destroy them.

⁷Their hands won’t be able to help them.

Everyone’s heart will melt away in fear.

⁸The people will be filled with terror.

Pain and suffering will grab hold of them.

They will groan with pain like a woman having a baby.

They’ll look at one another in terror.

Their faces will burn with shame.

⁹The day of the Lord is coming.

It will be a terrible day.

The Lord’s burning anger will blaze out.

He will make the land dry and empty.

He’ll destroy the sinners in it.

¹⁰All of the stars in the sky

will stop giving their light.

The sun will be darkened as soon as it rises.

The moon will not shine.

¹¹The Lord will punish the world because it is so evil.

He will punish evil people for their sins.

He’ll put an end to the bragging of those who are proud.

He’ll bring down the pride of those who don’t show any pity.

¹²He’ll make men harder to find than pure gold.

They will be harder to find than gold from Ophir.

¹³He will make the heavens tremble.

He’ll shake the earth out of its place.

The Lord who rules over all will show how angry he is.

At that time his burning anger will blaze out.

¹⁴Outsiders who live in Babylonia will scatter

like antelope that are chased by a hunter.

They are like sheep that don’t have a shepherd.

All of them will return to their own people.

They will run back to their own countries.

¹⁵Those who are captured will have spears stuck through them.

Those who are caught will be killed with swords.

¹⁶Their babies will be smashed to pieces

right in front of their eyes.

Their houses will be robbed.

Their wives will be raped.

¹⁷The Lord will stir up the Medes to attack the Babylonians.

They aren’t interested in getting silver.

They don’t delight in gold.

¹⁸Instead, they will use their bows and arrows

to strike the young men down.

They won’t even show any mercy to babies.

They won’t take pity on children.

¹⁹The city of Babylon is the jewel of kingdoms.

It is the glory and pride of the Babylonians.

But God will destroy it

just as he did Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁰No one will ever live in Babylon again.

No one will live there for all time to come.

Arabs will never set up their tents there.

Shepherds will never rest their flocks there.

²¹But desert creatures will lie down there.

Wild dogs will fill its houses.

Owls will live there.

Wild goats will jump around in it.

²²Hyenas will cry out in its forts.

Wild dogs will bark in its beautiful palaces.

The time for Babylon to be punished is near.

Its days are numbered.

14The Lord will show tender love toward Jacob’s people.

Once again he will choose Israel.

He’ll settle them in their own land.

Outsiders will join them.

They and the people of Jacob will become one people.

²Nations will help Israel

return to their own land.

People from other nations will belong to Israel.

They will serve them as male and female servants in the Lord’s land.

The Israelites will make prisoners of those who had held them as prisoners.

They will rule over those who had crushed them.

³The Lord will put an end to Israel’s suffering and trouble. They won’t be slaves anymore. ⁴They will make fun of the king of Babylonia. They will say,

“See how the one who crushed others has fallen!

See how his anger has come to an end!

⁵The Lord has taken away the authority of evil people.

He has broken the power of rulers.

⁶When they became angry, they struck nations down.

Their blows never stopped.

In their anger they brought nations under their control.

They attacked them again and again.

⁷All of the lands now enjoy peace and rest.

They break out into singing.

⁸Even the pine trees are glad.

The cedar trees of Lebanon are happy too.

They say, ‘Babylon, you have fallen.

Now no one comes and cuts us down.’

⁹“King of Babylonia, many people in the grave are really excited

about meeting you when you go down there.

The spirits of the dead get up to welcome you.

At one time all of them were leaders in the world.

They were kings over the nations.

They get up from their thrones.

¹⁰All of them call out to you.

They say,

‘You have become weak, just as we are.

You have become like us.’

¹¹Your grand show of power has been brought down to the grave.

The noise of your harps has come down here along with your power.

Maggots are spread out under you.

Worms cover you.

¹²“King of Babylonia, you thought you were the bright morning star.

But now you have fallen from heaven!

You once brought nations down.

But now you have been thrown down to the earth!

¹³You said in your heart,

‘I will go up to heaven.

I’ll raise my throne

above the stars of God.

I’ll sit as king on the mountain where the gods meet.

I’ll set up my throne on the highest slopes of the sacred mountain.

¹⁴I will rise above the tops of the clouds.

I’ll make myself like the Most High God.’

¹⁵But now you have been brought down to the grave.

You have been thrown into the deepest part of the pit.

¹⁶“Those who see you stare at you.

They think about what has happened to you.

They say to themselves,

‘Is this the man who shook the earth?

Is he the one who made kingdoms tremble with fear?

¹⁷Did he turn the world into a desert?

Did he destroy its cities?

Did he refuse to let his prisoners go home?’

¹⁸“All of the kings of the nations are buried with honor.

Each of them lies in his own tomb.

¹⁹But you have been thrown out of your tomb.

You are like a branch that is cut off and thrown away.

You are covered with the bodies

of those who have been killed with swords.

You have been tossed into a stony pit along with them.

You are like a dead body that people have walked on.

²⁰You won’t be buried like other kings.

That’s because you have destroyed your land.

You have killed your people.

“The children of that evil man will be killed.

None of them will be left to carry on the family name.

²¹So prepare a place to kill his children.

Kill them because of the sins of the rulers

who lived before them.

They must not rise to power.

They must not rule over the world.

They must not cover the earth with their cities.”

²²“I will rise up against them,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

“I will destroy Babylon.

It will not be remembered anymore.

No one will be left alive there.

I will destroy its people and their children after them,”

announces the Lord.

²³“I will turn it into a place where nothing but owls can live.

I will turn it into a swamp.

I will sweep through it like a broom and destroy everything,”

announces the Lord who rules over all.

A Message About Assyria

²⁴The Lord who rules over all has taken an oath. He has said,

“You can be sure that what I have planned will happen.

What I have decided will take place.

²⁵I will crush the Assyrians in my land.

On my mountains I will walk all over them.

The yokes they put on my people will be removed.

The heavy load they put on their shoulders will be taken away.”

²⁶That’s how the Lord carries out his plan all over the world.

That’s how he reaches out his powerful hand to punish all of the nations.

²⁷The Lord who rules over all has planned it.

Who can stop him?

He has reached out his powerful hand.

Who can keep him from using it?

A Message About the Philistines

²⁸A message came to me from the Lord in the year King Ahaz died. The Lord said,

²⁹“The rod of Assyria has struck all of you Philistines.

But do not be glad that it is broken.

That rod is like a snake that will produce an even more poisonous snake.

It will produce a darting, poisonous serpent.

³⁰Even the poorest people in Israel will have plenty to eat.

Those who are in need will lie down in safety.

But I will destroy your families.

They will die of hunger.

I will kill any of them who are still left alive.

³¹“Cities of Philistia, cry out for help! Scream in pain!

All of you Philistines, melt away in fear!

An army is coming from the north in a cloud of dust.

No one in its ranks is falling behind.

³²What answer should be given

to the messengers from that nation?

Tell them, ‘The Lord has made Zion secure.

His suffering people will find safety there.’ ”