1 T he oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

¶ The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2 L ift up a standard on the bare hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.

Lift ye up a banner as an example upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, raise the hand, that they may enter in by gates of princes.

3 I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger.

I have commanded my sanctified ones; I have also called my mighty ones for my anger that they might rejoice with my glory.

4 A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.

The noise of a multitude in the mountains like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of kingdoms, of Gentiles gathered together: the LORD of the hosts orders the host of the battle.

5 T hey are coming from a far country, From the farthest horizons, The Lord and His instruments of indignation, To destroy the whole land. Judgment on the Day of the Lord

They come from a far land, from the end of the heavens, even the LORD, and the instruments of his indignation, to destroy the whole earth.

6 W ail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

¶ Howl; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.

7 T herefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt.

Therefore all hands shall be faint, and every heart of man shall melt:

8 T hey will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.

And they shall be filled with terror; anguish and pain shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travails: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

9 B ehold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel and with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the earth desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10 F or the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.

For this reason the stars of the heavens and the lights thereof shall not shine: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not give forth her light.

11 T hus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.

And I will visit evil upon the world and iniquity upon the wicked, and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the strong.

12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.

I will make the noble man more precious than fine gold and man more than the gold of Ophir.

13 T herefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the Lord of hosts In the day of His burning anger.

Because I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall be moved out of her place, in the indignation of the LORD of the hosts and in the day of his fierce anger.

14 A nd it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land.

And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep without a shepherd: they shall each man look unto his own people, and flee each one unto his own land.

15 A nyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

Every one that is found shall be thrust through, and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.

16 T heir little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. Babylon Will Fall to the Medes

Their children shall also be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

17 B ehold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not look for silver, nor covet gold.

18 A nd their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children.

They shall shoot at the young boys with bows, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare the sons.

19 A nd Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

¶ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 I t will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.

It shall never again be inhabited; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

21 B ut desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.

But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

22 H yenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.

And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their palaces, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.