A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)

Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
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.

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.
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.

Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
    every heart will melt with fear.(W)
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)

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)

14 The Lord will have compassion(BZ) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose(CA) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.(CB)
Foreigners(CC) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
Nations will take them
    and bring(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(CE)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(CF) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.(CG)

On the day the Lord gives you relief(CH) from your suffering and turmoil(CI) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(CJ) you will take up this taunt(CK) against the king of Babylon:(CL)

How the oppressor(CM) has come to an end!
    How his fury[c] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(CN) of the wicked,(CO)
    the scepter(CP) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(CQ)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(CR) nations
    with relentless aggression.(CS)
All the lands are at rest and at peace;(CT)
    they break into singing.(CU)
Even the junipers(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(CW)

The realm of the dead(CX) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(CY) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.(DA)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(DC)
    along with the noise of your harps;(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms(DE) cover you.(DF)

12 How you have fallen(DG) from heaven,
    morning star,(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(DK)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(DL)
    on the utmost heights(DM) of Mount Zaphon.[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(DN)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(DO)
15 But you are brought down(DP) to the realm of the dead,(DQ)
    to the depths(DR) of the pit.(DS)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(DT)
“Is this the man who shook(DU) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(DV)
    who overthrew(DW) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(DX)

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(DY)
19 But you are cast out(DZ) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(EA)
    with those pierced by the sword,(EB)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20     you will not join them in burial,(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring(EE) of the wicked(EF)
    never be mentioned(EG) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(EH)
    for the sins of their ancestors;(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up(EJ) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(EK) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,(EL)
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(EM)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(EN)
    declares the Lord Almighty.(EO)

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(EP)

“Surely, as I have planned,(EQ) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(ES) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(ET) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(EU)

26 This is the plan(EV) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand(EW) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(EX) and who can thwart him?
    His hand(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(EZ)

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(FA) came in the year(FB) King Ahaz(FC) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(FD)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(FE)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(FG) will lie down in safety.(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(FI)
    it will slay(FJ) your survivors.(FK)

31 Wail,(FL) you gate!(FM) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(FO)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(FR)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(FS)

A Prophecy Against Moab(FT)

15 A prophecy(FU) against Moab:(FV)

Ar(FW) in Moab is ruined,(FX)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(FY) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(FZ) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(GA) to weep;
    Moab wails(GB) over Nebo(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(GD)
    and every beard cut off.(GE)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(GF)
    on the roofs(GG) and in the public squares(GH)
they all wail,(GI)
    prostrate with weeping.(GJ)
Heshbon(GK) and Elealeh(GL) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(GN) over Moab;(GO)
    her fugitives(GP) flee as far as Zoar,(GQ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(GR)
    they lament their destruction.(GS)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(GT)
    and the grass is withered;(GU)
the vegetation is gone(GV)
    and nothing green is left.(GW)
So the wealth they have acquired(GX) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(GY) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]
a lion(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(HA)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs(HB) as tribute(HC)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(HD) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(HE)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(HF)
so are the women of Moab(HG)
    at the fords(HH) of the Arnon.(HI)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(HJ)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(HK) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(HL) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(HM)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(HN) will be established;(HO)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[g] of David(HP)
one who in judging seeks justice(HQ)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(HR) pride(HS)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(HT)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(HU) of Kir Hareseth.(HV)
The fields of Heshbon(HW) wither,(HX)
    the vines of Sibmah(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(HZ)
which once reached Jazer(IA)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(IB)
    and went as far as the sea.[h](IC)
So I weep,(ID) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(IE)
    I drench you with tears!(IF)
The shouts of joy(IG) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(IH) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(II)
    no one sings or shouts(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(IK) out wine at the presses,(IL)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(IM) like a harp,(IN)
    my inmost being(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(IP)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(IQ) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(IR)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(IS) as a servant bound by contract(IT) would count them,(IU) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(IV) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(IW)

A Prophecy Against Damascus

17 A prophecy(IX) against Damascus:(IY)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.(IZ)
The cities of Aroer(JA) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,(JB) which will lie down,(JC)
    with no one to make them afraid.(JD)
The fortified(JE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory(JF) of the Israelites,”(JG)
declares the Lord Almighty.

“In that day(JH) the glory(JI) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste(JJ) away.
It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering(JK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(JL)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.(JM)
Yet some gleanings will remain,(JN)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,(JO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

In that day(JP) people will look(JQ) to their Maker(JR)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One(JS) of Israel.
They will not look to the altars,(JT)
    the work of their hands,(JU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[i](JV)
    and the incense altars their fingers(JW) have made.

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(JX) And all will be desolation.

10 You have forgotten(JY) God your Savior;(JZ)
    you have not remembered the Rock,(KA) your fortress.(KB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,(KC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning(KD) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(KE) will be as nothing(KF)
    in the day of disease and incurable(KG) pain.(KH)

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(KI)
    they rage like the raging sea!(KJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar(KK)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(KL)
13 Although the peoples roar(KM) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(KN) them they flee(KO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(KP) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(KQ)
14 In the evening, sudden(KR) terror!(KS)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(KT)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
  2. Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
  3. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
  5. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  6. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  7. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  8. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
  9. Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

Bible Gateway Recommends