13:1  The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

13:2   Lift up a standard on the bare hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.

13:3  I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger.

13:4  A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts musters the army for battle.

13:5  They come from a far country, From the farthest horizons, The LORD and His instruments of indignation, To destroy the whole land.

13:6  Wail, for the day of the LORD has drawn near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

13:7  Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man's heart will melt.

13:8  They will become terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.

13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

13:10  For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will look dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.

13:11  Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.

13:12  I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.

13:13  Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will shake from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger.

13:14  And it will resemble a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land.

13:15  Anyone who remains you will thrust through, And anyone who falls into captivity will fall by the sword.

13:16  Their little ones the enemies will dash to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will suffer plunder And their wives ravished.

13:17  Behold, I intend to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

13:18  And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children.

13:19  And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride, Will occur as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

13:20  It will never become inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.

13:21  But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will fill with owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.

13:22  Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not prolong.