74 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
74 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 13
|
||
1 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.
|
||
21 Desert animals will move into the ruined city,
|
||
and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.
|
||
Owls will live among the ruins,
|
||
and wild goats will go there to dance.
|
||
22 Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,
|
||
and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.
|
||
Babylon’s days are numbered;
|
||
its time of destruction will soon arrive. |