New Living Translation
Isaiah • Chapter 13
1
Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon:
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“Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop.<br>Call up an army against Babylon.<br>Wave your hand to encourage them<br>as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.<br>
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I, the LORD, have dedicated these soldiers for this task.<br>Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger,<br>and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”<br>
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Hear the noise on the mountains!<br>Listen, as the vast armies march!<br>It is the noise and shouting of many nations.<br>The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.<br>
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They come from distant countries,<br>from beyond the farthest horizons.<br>They are the LORD’s weapons to carry out his anger.<br>With them he will destroy the whole land.<br>
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Scream in terror, for the day of the LORD has arrived —<br>the time for the Almighty to destroy.<br>
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Every arm is paralyzed with fear.<br>Every heart melts,<br>
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and people are terrified.<br>Pangs of anguish grip them,<br>like those of a woman in labor.<br>They look helplessly at one another,<br>their faces aflame with fear.<br>
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For see, the day of the LORD is coming —<br>the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.<br>The land will be made desolate,<br>and all the sinners destroyed with it.<br>
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The heavens will be black above them;<br>the stars will give no light.<br>The sun will be dark when it rises,<br>and the moon will provide no light.<br>
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“I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil<br>and the wicked for their sin.<br>I will crush the arrogance of the proud<br>and humble the pride of the mighty.<br>
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I will make people scarcer than gold —<br>more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.<br>
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For I will shake the heavens.<br>The earth will move from its place<br>when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath<br>in the day of his fierce anger.”<br>
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Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle,<br>like sheep without a shepherd.<br>They will try to find their own people<br>and flee to their own land.<br>
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Anyone who is captured will be cut down —<br>run through with a sword.<br>
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Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes.<br>Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.<br>
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“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon.<br>They cannot be tempted by silver<br>or bribed with gold.<br>
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The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.<br>They will have no mercy on helpless babies<br>and will show no compassion for children.”<br>
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Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms,<br>the flower of Chaldean pride,<br>will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah<br>when God (Elohim) destroyed them.<br>
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Babylon will never be inhabited again.<br>It will remain empty for generation after generation.<br>Nomads will refuse to camp there,<br>and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.<br>
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Desert animals will move into the ruined city,<br>and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.<br>Owls will live among the ruins,<br>and wild goats will go there to dance.<br>
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Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,<br>and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.<br>Babylon’s days are numbered;<br>its time of destruction will soon arrive.<br>