Isaiah 13–23

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13A prophecy^f against Babylon^g that Isaiah son of Amoz^h saw:ⁱ

²Raise a banner^j on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gates^k of the nobles.

³I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriors^l to carry out my wrath^m—

those who rejoiceⁿ in my triumph.

⁴Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!^o

Listen, an uproar^p among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty^q is mustering^r

an army for war.

⁵They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavens^s—

the Lord and the weapons^t of his wrath^u—

to destroy^v the whole country.

⁶Wail,^w for the day^x of the Lord is near;

it will come like destruction^y from the Almighty.^az

⁷Because of this, all hands will go limp,^a

every heart will melt with fear.^b

⁸Terror^c will seize them,

pain and anguish will grip^d them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.^e

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.^f

⁹See, the day^g of the Lord is coming

—a cruel^h day, with wrathⁱ and fierce anger^j—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

¹⁰The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.^k

The rising sun^l will be darkened^m

and the moon will not give its light.ⁿ

¹¹I will punish^o the world for its evil,

the wicked^p for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty^q

and will humble^r the pride of the ruthless.^s

¹²I will make people^t scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.^u

¹³Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;^v

and the earth will shake^w from its place

at the wrath^x of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.^y

¹⁴Like a hunted^z gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,^a

they will all return to their own people,

they will flee^b to their native land.^c

¹⁵Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will fall^d by the sword.^e

¹⁶Their infants^f will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.^g

¹⁷See, I will stir up^h against them the Medes,ⁱ

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.^j

¹⁸Their bows^k will strike down the young men;^l

they will have no mercy^m on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.ⁿ

¹⁹Babylon,^o the jewel of kingdoms,^p

the pride and glory^q of the Babylonians,^b

will be overthrown^r by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.^s

²⁰She will never be inhabited^t

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads^u will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

²¹But desert creatures^v will lie there,

jackals^w will fill her houses;

there the owls^x will dwell,

and there the wild goats^y will leap about.

²²Hyenas^z will inhabit her strongholds,^a

jackals^b her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,^c

and her days will not be prolonged.^d

14The Lord will have compassion^e on Jacob;

once again he will choose^f Israel

and will settle them in their own land.^g

Foreigners^h will join them

and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

²Nations will take them

and bringⁱ them to their own place.

And Israel will take possession of the nations^j

and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.

They will make captives^k of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.^l

³On the day the Lord gives you relief^m from your suffering and turmoilⁿ and from the harsh labor forced on you,^{o 4}you will take up this taunt^p against the king of Babylon:^q

How the oppressor^r has come to an end!

How his fury^a has ended!

⁵The Lord has broken the rod^s of the wicked,^t

the scepter^u of the rulers,

⁶which in anger struck down peoples^v

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued^w nations

with relentless aggression.^x

⁷All the lands are at rest and at peace;^y

they break into singing.^z

⁸Even the junipers^a and the cedars of Lebanon

gloat over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”^b

⁹The realm of the dead^c below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departed^d to greet you—

all those who were leaders^e in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.^f

¹⁰They will all respond,

they will say to you,

“You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us.”^g

¹¹All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,^h

along with the noise of your harps;ⁱ

maggots are spread out beneath you

and worms^j cover you.^k

¹²How you have fallen^l from heaven,

morning star,^m son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!ⁿ

¹³You said in your heart,

“I will ascend^o to the heavens;

I will raise my throne^p

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,^q

on the utmost heights^r of Mount Zaphon.^b

¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;^s

I will make myself like the Most High.”^t

¹⁵But you are brought down^u to the realm of the dead,^v

to the depths^w of the pit.^x

¹⁶Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:^y

“Is this the man who shook^z the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

¹⁷the man who made the world a wilderness,^a

who overthrew^b its cities

and would not let his captives go home?”^c

¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in state,

each in his own tomb.^d

¹⁹But you are cast out^e of your tomb

like a rejected branch;

you are covered with the slain,^f

with those pierced by the sword,^g

those who descend to the stones of the pit.^h

Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

²⁰you will not join them in burial,ⁱ

for you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

Let the offspring^j of the wicked^k

never be mentioned^l again.

²¹Prepare a place to slaughter his children^m

for the sins of their ancestors;ⁿ

they are not to rise to inherit the land

and cover the earth with their cities.

²²“I will rise up^o against them,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will wipe out Babylon’s name^p and survivors,

her offspring and descendants,^q”

declares the Lord.

²³“I will turn her into a place for owls^r

and into swampland;

I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^s”

declares the Lord Almighty.^t

²⁴The Lord Almighty has sworn,^u

“Surely, as I have planned,^v so it will be,

and as I have purposed, so it will happen.^w

²⁵I will crush the Assyrian^x in my land;

on my mountains I will trample him down.

His yoke^y will be taken from my people,

and his burden removed from their shoulders.^z”

²⁶This is the plan^a determined for the whole world;

this is the hand^b stretched out over all nations.

²⁷For the Lord Almighty has purposed,^c and who can thwart him?

His hand^d is stretched out, and who can turn it back?^e

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

²⁸This prophecy^f came in the year^g King Ahaz^h died:

²⁹Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,ⁱ

that the rod that struck you is broken;

from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,^j

its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.^k

³⁰The poorest of the poor will find pasture,

and the needy^l will lie down in safety.^m

But your root I will destroy by famine;ⁿ

it will slay^o your survivors.^p

³¹Wail,^q you gate!^r Howl, you city!

Melt away, all you Philistines!^s

A cloud of smoke comes from the north,^t

and there is not a straggler in its ranks.^u

³²What answer shall be given

to the envoys^v of that nation?

“The Lord has established Zion,^w

and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.^x”

A Prophecy Against Moab

16:6–12pp—Jer 48:29–36

15A prophecy^y against Moab:^z

Ar^a in Moab is ruined,^b

destroyed in a night!

Kir^c in Moab is ruined,

destroyed in a night!

²Dibon^d goes up to its temple,

to its high places^e to weep;

Moab wails^f over Nebo^g and Medeba.

Every head is shaved^h

and every beard cut off.ⁱ

³In the streets they wear sackcloth;^j

on the roofs^k and in the public squares^l

they all wail,^m

prostrate with weeping.ⁿ

⁴Heshbon^o and Elealeh^p cry out,

their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.^q

Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,

and their hearts are faint.

⁵My heart cries out^r over Moab;^s

her fugitives^t flee as far as Zoar,^u

as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.

They go up the hill to Luhith,

weeping as they go;

on the road to Horonaim^v

they lament their destruction.^w

⁶The waters of Nimrim are dried up^x

and the grass is withered;^y

the vegetation is gone^z

and nothing green is left.^a

⁷So the wealth they have acquired^b and stored up

they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

⁸Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;

their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,

their lamentation as far as Beer^c Elim.

⁹The waters of Dimon^a are full of blood,

but I will bring still more upon Dimon^b—

a lion^d upon the fugitives of Moab^e

and upon those who remain in the land.

16Send lambs^f as tribute^g

to the ruler of the land,

from Sela,^h across the desert,

to the mount of Daughter Zion.ⁱ

²Like fluttering birds

pushed from the nest,^j

so are the women of Moab^k

at the fords^l of the Arnon.^m

³“Make up your mind,” Moab says.

“Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—

at high noon.

Hide the fugitives,ⁿ

do not betray the refugees.

⁴Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

be their shelter^o from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^p will come to an end,

and destruction will cease;^q

the aggressor will vanish from the land.

⁵In love a throne^r will be established;^s

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house^a of David^t—

one who in judging seeks justice^u

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

⁶We have heard of Moab’s^v pride^w—

how great is her arrogance!—

of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;

but her boasts are empty.

⁷Therefore the Moabites wail,^x

they wail together for Moab.

Lament and grieve

for the raisin cakes^y of Kir Hareseth.^z

⁸The fields of Heshbon^a wither,^b

the vines of Sibmah^c also.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled down the choicest vines,^d

which once reached Jazer^e

and spread toward the desert.

Their shoots spread out^f

and went as far as the sea.^bg

⁹So I weep,^h as Jazer weeps,

for the vines of Sibmah.

Heshbon and Elealeh,ⁱ

I drench you with tears!^j

The shouts of joy^k over your ripened fruit

and over your harvests^l have been…