Isaiah 13
Isaiah pronounces the burden against Babylon. The LORD musters an army for the day of His wrath, which will come as destruction from the Almighty. Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, will be overthrown as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and will never be inhabited again.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. | The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. |
| 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. | Lift up an ensign on the bare mountain; call out to them. Wave the hand so they may enter 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. | I have commanded My consecrated ones. I have summoned My warriors to carry out My anger — those who exult in My majesty. |
| 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. | A noise of a crowd on the mountains — like that of a great people! A tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathering! The LORD of hosts is mustering an army for 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. | They come from a far country, from the end of the heavens — 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. | Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. |
| 7 | Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: | Therefore all hands shall grow faint and every man's heart 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. | They shall be terrified. Pangs and agony shall seize them. They shall writhe like a woman in labor. They shall look at one another in shock; their faces shall be ablaze. |
| 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. | The day of the LORD comes — cruel, with fury and burning anger — to make the land a desolation. He will destroy its sinners from 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. | For the stars of heaven and their constellations shall not give their light. The sun shall be dark at its rising, and the moon shall not shine its light. |
| 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. | I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless. |
| 12 | I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. | I will make men scarcer than fine gold — rarer than the gold 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. | Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of its place, at 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. | Like a hunted gazelle or a flock with no one to gather them, everyone shall turn to his own people and flee to 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. | Everyone who is found will be stabbed through; everyone who is caught will 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. | Their infants shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be plundered and their wives violated. |
| 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. | I am stirring up the Medes against them — they have no regard for silver and no delight in gold. |
| 18 | Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. | Their bows shall cut down young men. They shall have no compassion on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not pity children. |
| 19 | And Babylon, that glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. | Babylon — the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans — shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. |
| 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. | It shall never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. No Arab shall pitch a tent there; no shepherd shall rest his flock 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. | But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures. 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. | The wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. |