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Isaiah 13
Living Bible
Isaiah 13
Living Bible
13 This is the vision God showed Isaiah (son of Amoz) concerning Babylon’s doom.
2 See the flags waving as their enemy attacks. Shout to them, O Israel, and wave them on as they march against Babylon to destroy the palaces of the rich and mighty. 3 I, the Lord, have set apart these armies for this task; I have called those rejoicing in their strength to do this work, to satisfy my anger. 4 Hear the tumult on the mountains! Listen as the armies march! It is the tumult and the shout of many nations. The Lord Almighty has brought them here, 5 from countries far away. They are his weapons against you, O Babylon. They carry his anger with them and will destroy your whole land.
6 Scream in terror, for the Lord’s time has come, the time for the Almighty to crush you. 7 Your arms lie paralyzed with fear; the strongest hearts melt 8 and are afraid. Fear grips you with terrible pangs, like those of a woman in labor. You look at one another, helpless, as the flames of the burning city reflect upon your pallid faces. 9 For see, the day of the Lord is coming, the terrible day of his wrath and fierce anger. The land shall be destroyed and all the sinners with it. 10 The heavens will be black above them. No light will shine from stars or sun or moon.
11 And I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sin; I will crush the arrogance of the proud man and the haughtiness of the rich. 12 Few will live when I have finished up my work.
Men will be as scarce as gold—of greater value than the gold of Ophir. 13 For I will shake the heavens in my wrath and fierce anger, and the earth will move from its place in the skies.
14 The armies of Babylon will run until exhausted, fleeing back to their own land like deer chased by dogs, wandering like sheep deserted by their shepherd. 15 Those who don’t run will be butchered. 16 Their little children will be dashed to death against the pavement right before their eyes; their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes. 17 For I will stir up the Medes against Babylon, and no amount of silver or gold will buy them off. 18 The attacking armies will have no mercy on the young people of Babylon or the babies or the children.
19 And so Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be as utterly destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah were when God sent fire from heaven; 20 Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in.[a] The nomads will not even camp there. The shepherds won’t let their sheep stay overnight. 21 The wild animals of the desert will make it their home. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live there, and the demons will come there to dance. 22 Hyenas and jackals will den within the palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; her time of doom will soon be here.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:20 the land will never again be lived in. Babylon, in Iraq, still lies in utter ruin today.
Isaiah 13
New International Version
Isaiah 13
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)
2 Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)—
those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens(N)—
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)—
to destroy(Q) the whole country.
6 Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
every heart will melt with fear.(W)
8 Terror(X) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(AA)
9 See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.(AT)
14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)
17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
Isaiah 13
King James Version
Isaiah 13
King James Version
13 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
6 Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It shall never 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 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 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.