Isaiah 13–14

¹The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz hath seen: ²‘On a high mountain lift ye up an ensign, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go in to the openings of nobles. ³I have given charge to My sanctified ones, Also I have called My mighty ones for Mine anger, Those rejoicing at Mine excellency.’ ⁴A voice of a multitude in the mountains, A likeness of a numerous people, A voice of noise from the kingdoms of nations who are gathered, Jehovah of Hosts inspecting a host of battle! ⁵They are coming in from a land afar off, From the end of the heavens, Jehovah and the instruments of His indignation, To destroy all the land.

⁶Howl ye, for near is the day of Jehovah, As destruction from the Mighty it cometh. ⁷Therefore, all hands do fail, And every heart of man doth melt. ⁸And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs they take, As a travailing woman they are pained, A man at his friend they marvel, The appearance of flames—their faces! ⁹Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it. ¹⁰For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth. ¹¹And I have appointed on the world evil, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused to cease the excellency of the proud, And the excellency of the terrible I make low. ¹²I make man more rare than fine gold, And a common man than pure gold of Ophir. ¹³Therefore the heavens I cause to tremble, And the earth doth shake from its place, In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts, And in a day of the heat of his anger. ¹⁴And it hath been, as a roe driven away, And as a flock that hath no gatherer, Each unto his people—they turn, And each unto his land—they flee. ¹⁵Every one who is found is thrust through, And every one who is added falleth by sword. ¹⁶And their sucklings are dashed to pieces before their eyes, Spoiled are their houses, and their wives lain with. ¹⁷Lo, I am stirring up against them the Medes, Who silver esteem not, And gold—they delight not in it. ¹⁸And bows dash young men to pieces, And the fruit of the womb they pity not, On sons their eye hath no pity.

¹⁹And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory, the excellency of the Chaldeans, Hath been as overthrown by God, With Sodom and with Gomorrah. ²⁰She doth not sit for ever, Nor continueth unto many generations, Nor doth Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds lie not down there. ²¹And Ziim have lain down there, And full have been their houses of howlings, And dwelt there have daughters of an ostrich, And goats do skip there. ²²And Aiim have responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And near to come is her time, And her days are not drawn out!

Chapter 14

¹Because Jehovah loveth Jacob, And hath fixed again on Israel, And given them rest on their own land, And joined hath been the sojourner to them, And they have been admitted to the house of Jacob. ²And peoples have taken them, And have brought them in unto their place, And the house of Israel have inherited them, On the land of Jehovah, For men-servants and for maid-servants, And they have been captors of their captors, And have ruled over their exactors. ³And it hath come to pass, In the day of Jehovah’s giving rest to thee, From thy grief, and from thy trouble, And from the sharp bondage, That hath been served upon thee,

⁴That thou hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor ceased, ⁵Ceased hath the golden one. Broken hath Jehovah the staff of the wicked, The sceptre of rulers. ⁶He who is smiting peoples in wrath, A smiting without intermission, He who is ruling in anger nations, Pursuing without restraint! ⁷At rest—quiet hath been all the earth, They have broken forth into singing. ⁸Even firs have rejoiced over thee, Cedars of Lebanon—saying: Since thou hast lain down, The hewer cometh not up against us. ⁹Sheol beneath hath been troubled at thee, To meet thy coming in, It is waking up for thee Rephaim, All chiefs ones of earth, It hath raised up from their thrones All kings of nations. ¹⁰All of them answer and say unto thee, Even thou hast become weak like us! Unto us thou hast become like! ¹¹Brought down to Sheol hath been thine excellency, The noise of thy psaltery, Under thee spread out hath been the worm, Yea, covering thee is the worm. ¹²How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations. ¹³And thou saidst in thy heart: the heavens I go up, Above stars of God I raise my throne, And I sit in the mount of meeting in the sides of the north. ¹⁴I go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to the Most High. ¹⁵Only—unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit. ¹⁶Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking kingdoms? ¹⁷He hath made the world as a wilderness, And his cities he hath broken down, Of his bound ones he opened not the house. ¹⁸All kings of nations—all of them, Have lain down in honour, each in his house, ¹⁹And—thou hast been cast out of thy grave, As an abominable branch, raiment of the slain, Thrust through ones of the sword, Going down unto the sons of the pit, As a carcase trodden down. ²⁰Thou art not united with them in burial, For thy land thou hast destroyed, Thy people thou hast slain, Not named to the age is the seed of evil doers. ²¹Prepare ye for his sons slaughter; Because of the iniquity of their fathers, They rise not, nor have possessed the land, Nor filled the face of the world with cities. ²²And I have risen up against them, (The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts,) And have cut off, in reference to Babylon, Name and remnant, and continuator and successor, The affirmation of Jehovah. ²³And have made it for a possession of a bittern, And ponds of waters, And daubed it with the mire of destruction, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!

²⁴Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts, saying, ‘As I thought—so hath it not been? And as I counselled—it standeth; ²⁵To break Asshur in My land, And on My mountains I tread him down, And turned from off them hath his yoke, Yea, his burden from off their shoulder turneth aside. ²⁶This is the counsel that is counselled for all the earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out for all the nations. ²⁷For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, And who doth make void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who doth turn it back?’ ²⁸In the year of the death of king Ahaz was this burden: ²⁹Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit is a flying saraph. ³⁰And delighted have the first-born of the poor, And the needy in confidence lie down, And I have put to death with famine thy root, And thy remnant it slayeth. ³¹Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places. ³²And what doth one answer the messengers of a nation? ‘That Jehovah hath founded Zion, And in it do the poor of His people trust!’

Chapter 15