Isaiah 13–23

A Prophecy Against Babylon

A prophecy^a concerning Babylon^b that Isaiah son of Amoz^c saw:^d

Raise a banner^e on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gates^f of the nobles.

I have commanded my holy ones;

I have summoned my warriors^g to carry out my wrath^h—

those who rejoiceⁱ in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!^j

Listen, an uproar^k among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty^l is mustering^m

an army for war.

They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavensⁿ—

the Lord and the weapons^o of his wrath^p—

to destroy^q the whole country.

Wail,^r for the day^s of the Lord is near;

it will come like destruction^t from the Almighty.^u

Because of this, all hands will go limp,^v

every man’s heart will melt.^w

Terror^x will seize them,

pain and anguish will grip^y them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.^z

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.^a

See, the day^b of the Lord is coming

—a cruel^c day, with wrath^d and fierce anger^e—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.^f

The rising sun^g will be darkened^h

and the moon will not give its light.ⁱ

I will punish^j the world for its evil,

the wicked^k for their sins.

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

and will humble^m the pride of the ruthless.ⁿ

I will make people^o scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.^p

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;^q

and the earth will shake^r from its place

at the wrath^s of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.^t

Like a hunted^u gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,^v

they will all return to their own people,

they will flee^w to their native land.^x

Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will fall^y by the sword.^z

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

their houses will be looted and their wives ravished.^b

See, I will stir up^c against them the Medes,^d

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.^e

Their bows^f will strike down the young men;^g

they will have no mercy^h on infants

nor will they look with compassion on children.ⁱ

Babylon,^j the jewel of kingdoms,^k

the pride and glory^l of the Babylonians,

will be overthrown^m by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.ⁿ

She will never be inhabited^o

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads^p will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

But desert creatures^q will lie there,

jackals^r will fill her houses;

there the owls^s will dwell,

and there the wild goats^t will leap about.

Hyenas^u will inhabit her strongholds,^v

jackals^w her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,^x

and her days will not be prolonged.^y

The Lord will have compassion^z on Jacob;

once again he will choose^a Israel

and will settle them in their own land.^b

Foreigners^c will join them

and unite with the house of Jacob.

Nations will take them

and bring^d them to their own place.

And the house of Israel will take possession of the nations^e

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

They will make captives^f of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.^g

On the day the Lord gives you relief^h from your suffering and turmoilⁱ and from the harsh labor forced on you,^j you will take up this taunt^k against the king of Babylon:^l

How the oppressor^m has come to an end!

How his fury has ended!

The Lord has broken the rodⁿ of the wicked,^o

the scepter^p of the rulers,

which in anger struck down peoples^q

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued^r nations

with relentless aggression.^s

All the lands are at rest and at peace;^t

they break into singing.^u

Even the junipers^v and the cedars of Lebanon

exult over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”^w

The realm of the dead^x below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

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

all those who were leaders^z in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.^a

They will all respond,

they will say to you,

“You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us.”^b

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

along with the noise of your harps;^d

maggots are spread out beneath you

and worms^e cover you.^f

How you have fallen^g from heaven,

morning star,^h son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!ⁱ

You said in your heart,

“I will ascend^j to heaven;

I will raise my throne^k

above the stars of God;

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

on the utmost heights^m of Mount Zaphon.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;ⁿ

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

But you are brought down^p to the realm of the dead,^q

to the depths^r of the pit.^s

Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:^t

“Is this the man who shook^u the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

the man who made the world a wilderness,^v

who overthrew^w its cities

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

All the kings of the nations lie in state,

each in his own tomb.^y

But you are cast out^z of your tomb

like a rejected branch;

you are covered with the slain,^a

with those pierced by the sword,^b

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

Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

you will not join them in burial,^d

for you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

Let the offspring^e of the wicked^f

never be mentioned^g again.

Prepare a place to slaughter his children^h

for the sins of their ancestors;ⁱ

they are not to rise to inherit the land

and cover the earth with their cities.

“I will rise up^j against them,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

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

her offspring and descendants,^l”

declares the Lord.

“I will turn her into a place for owls^m

and into swampland;

I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,ⁿ”

declares the Lord Almighty.^o

The Lord Almighty has sworn,^p

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

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

I will crush the Assyrian^s in my land;

on my mountains I will trample him down.

His yoke^t will be taken from my people,

and his burden removed from their shoulders.^u”

This is the plan^v determined for the whole world;

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

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

His hand^y is stretched out, and who can turn it back?^z

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

This prophecy^a came in the year^b King Ahaz^c died:

Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,^d

that the rod that struck you is broken;

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

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

The poorest of the poor will find pasture,

and the needy^g will lie down in safety.^h

But your root I will destroy by famine;ⁱ

it will slay^j your survivors.^k

Wail,^l you gate!^m Howl, you city!

Melt away, all you Philistines!ⁿ

A cloud of smoke comes from the north,^o

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

What answer shall be given

to the envoys^q of that nation?

“The Lord has established Zion,^r

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

A Prophecy Against Moab

16:6-12^pp — Jer 48:29–36

A prophecy^a concerning Moab:^b

Ar^c in Moab is ruined,^d

destroyed in a night!

Kir^e in Moab is ruined,

destroyed in a night!

Dibon^f goes up to its temple,

to its high places^g to weep;

Moab wails^h over Neboⁱ and Medeba.

Every head is shaved^j

and every beard cut off.^k

In the streets they wear sackcloth;^l

on the roofs^m and in the public squaresⁿ

they all wail,^o

prostrate with weeping.^p

Heshbon^q and Elealeh^r cry out,

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

Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,

and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out^t over Moab;^u

her fugitives^v flee as far as Zoar,^w

as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.

They go up the hill to Luhith,

weeping as they go;

on the road to Horonaim^x

they lament their destruction.^y

The waters of Nimrim are dried up^z

and the grass is withered;^a

the vegetation is gone^b

and nothing green is left.^c

So the wealth they have acquired^d and stored up

they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;

their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,

their lamentation as far as Beer^e Elim.

The waters of Dimon are full of blood,

but I will bring still more upon Dimon—

a lion^f upon the fugitives of Moab^g

and upon those who remain in the land.

Send lambs^h as tributeⁱ

to the ruler of the land,

from Sela,^j across the desert,

to the mount of Daughter Zion.^k

Like fluttering birds

pushed from the nest,^l

so are the women of Moab^m

at the fordsⁿ of the Arnon.^o

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.

“Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—

at high noon.

Hide the fugitives,^p

do not betray the refugees.

Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;

be their shelter^q from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^r will come to an end,

and destruction will cease;^s

the aggressor will vanish from the land.

In love a throne^t will be established;^u

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house of David^v—

one who in judging seeks justice^w

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s^x pride^y—

her overweening pride and conceit,

her pride and her insolence—

but her boasts are empty.

Therefore the Moabites wail,^z

they wail together for Moab.

Lament and grieve

for the raisin cakes^a of Kir Hareseth.^b

The fields of Heshbon^c wither,^d

the vines of Sibmah^e also.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled down the choicest vines,^f

which once reached Jazer^g

and spread toward the desert.

Their shoots spread out^h

and went as far as the sea.ⁱ

So I weep,^j as Jazer weeps,

for the vines of Sibmah.

Heshbon and Elealeh,^k

I drench you with tears!^l

The shouts of joy^m over your ripened fruit

and over your harvestsⁿ have been stilled.

Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^o

no one sings or shouts^p in the vineyards;

no one treads^q out wine at the presses,^r

for I have put an end to the shouting.

My heart laments for Moab^s like a harp,^t

my inmost being^u for Kir Hareseth.

When Moab appears at her high place,^v

she only wears herself out;

when she goes to her shrine^w to pray,

it is to no avail.^x

This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. But now the Lord says: “Within three years,^y as a…