Isaiah 13:1-20

Other Translations of Isaiah 13:1-20

New International Version

The Oracle concerning Babylon

13¹ A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: ² Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. ³ I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath- those who rejoice in my triumph. ⁴ Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war. ⁵ They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens- the Lord and the weapons of his wrath- to destroy the whole country.

⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.Hebrew "Shaddai" ⁷ Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. ⁸ Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. ⁹ See, the day of the Lord is coming -a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. ¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. ¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. ¹² I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. ¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. ¹⁴ Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land. ¹⁵ Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. ¹⁶ Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. ¹⁷ See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. ¹⁸ Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children.

¹⁹ Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians,Or "Chaldeans"will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁰ She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

English Standard Version

The Oracle concerning Babylon

13¹ The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. ² On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles. ³ I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.Or those who exult in my majesty ⁴ The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering a host for battle. ⁵ They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.Or earth; also verse 9

⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the AlmightyThe Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike it will come! ⁷ Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. ⁸ They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. ⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. ¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. ¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. ¹² I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. ¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. ¹⁴ And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. ¹⁵ Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. ¹⁶ Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. ¹⁷ Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. ¹⁸ Their bows will slaughterHebrew dash in pieces the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.

¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. ²⁰ It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

The Message

The Oracle concerning Babylon

13¹ The Message on Babylon. Isaiah son of Amoz saw it: ² "Run up a flag on an open hill. Yell loud. Get their attention. Wave them into formation. Direct them to the nerve center of power. ³ I've taken charge of my special forces, called up my crack troops. They're bursting with pride and passion to carry out my angry judgment." ⁴ Thunder rolls off the mountains like a mob huge and noisy - Thunder of kingdoms in an uproar, nations assembling for war. God-of-the-Angel-Armies is calling his army into battle formation. ⁵ They come from far-off countries, they pour in across the horizon. It's God on the move with the weapons of his wrath, ready to destroy the whole country.

⁶ Wail! God's Day of Judgment is near - an avalanche crashing down from the Strong God! ⁷ Everyone paralyzed in the panic, ⁸ and unstrung, Doubled up in pain like a woman giving birth to a baby. Horrified - everyone they see is like a face out of a nightmare. ⁹ "Watch now. God's Judgment Day comes. Cruel it is, a day of wrath and anger, A day to waste the earth and clean out all the sinners. ¹⁰ The stars in the sky, the great parade of constellations, will be nothing but black holes. The sun will come up as a black disk, and the moon a blank nothing. ¹¹ I'll put a full stop to the evil on earth, terminate the dark acts of the wicked. I'll gag all braggarts and boasters - not a peep anymore from them - and trip strutting tyrants, leave them flat on their faces. ¹² Proud humanity will disappear from the earth. I'll make mortals rarer than hens' teeth. ¹³ And yes, I'll even make the sky shake, and the earth quake to its roots Under the wrath of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the Judgment Day of his raging anger. ¹⁴ Like a hunted white-tailed deer, like lost sheep with no shepherd, People will huddle with a few of their own kind, run off to some makeshift shelter. ¹⁵ But tough luck to stragglers - they'll be killed on the spot, throats cut, bellies ripped open, ¹⁶ Babies smashed on the rocks while mothers and fathers watch, Houses looted, wives raped. ¹⁷ "And now watch this: Against Babylon, I'm inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt. ¹⁸ They massacre the young, wantonly kick and kill even babies.

¹⁹ And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. ²⁰ No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth.

New King James Version

The Oracle concerning Babylon

13¹ The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. ² "Lift up a banner on the high mountain, Raise your voice to them; Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. ³ I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger-- Those who rejoice in My exaltation." ⁴ The noise of a multitude in the mountains, Like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts musters The army for battle. ⁵ They come from a far country, From the end of heaven-- The Lord and His weapons of indignation, To destroy the whole land.

⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. ⁷ Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man's heart will melt, ⁸ And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. ⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. ¹⁰ For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. ¹¹ "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. ¹² I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. ¹³ Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger. ¹⁴ It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land. ¹⁵ Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. ¹⁶ Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. ¹⁷ "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. ¹⁸ Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children.

¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁰ It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.

New Living Translation

The Oracle concerning Babylon

13¹ Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: ² "Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. ³ I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted." ⁴ Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The Lord of Heaven's Armies has called this army together. ⁵ They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the Lord 's weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land.

⁶ Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived- the time for the Almighty to destroy. ⁷ Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts, ⁸ and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear. ⁹ For see, the day of the Lord is coming- the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. ¹⁰ The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light. ¹¹ "I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. ¹² I will make people scarcer than gold- more rare than the fine gold of Ophir. ¹³ For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the Lord of Heaven's Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger." ¹⁴ Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land. ¹⁵ Anyone who is captured will be cut down- run through with a sword. ¹⁶ Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped. ¹⁷ "Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. ¹⁸ The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children."

¹⁹ Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. ²⁰ Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.