A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecyf against Babylong that Isaiah son of Amozh saw:i

2 Raise a bannerj on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gatesk of the nobles.

3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriorsl to carry out my wrathm—

those who rejoicen in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!o

Listen, an uproarp among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almightyq is musteringr

an army for war.

5 They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavenss—

the Lord and the weaponst of his wrathu—

to destroyv the whole country.

6 Wail,w for the dayx of the Lord is near;

it will come like destructiony from the Almighty.a z

7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,a

every heart will melt with fear.b

8 Terrorc will seize them,

pain and anguish will gripd them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.e

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.f

9 See, the dayg of the Lord is coming

—a cruelh day, with wrathi and fierce angerj—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.k

The rising sunl will be darkenedm

and the moon will not give its light.n

11 I will punisho the world for its evil,

the wickedp for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughtyq

and will humbler the pride of the ruthless.s

12 I will make peoplet scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.u

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;v

and the earth will shakew from its place

at the wrathx of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.y

14 Like a huntedz gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,a

they will all return to their own people,

they will fleeb to their native land.c

15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will falld by the sword.e

16 Their infantsf will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.g

17 See, I will stir uph against them the Medes,i

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.j

18 Their bowsk will strike down the young men;l

they will have no mercym on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.n

19 Babylon,o the jewel of kingdoms,p

the pride and gloryq of the Babylonians,b

will be overthrownr by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.s

20 She will never be inhabitedt

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomadsu will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21 But desert creaturesv will lie there,

jackalsw will fill her houses;

there the owlsx will dwell,

and there the wild goatsy will leap about.

22 Hyenasz will inhabit her strongholds,a

jackalsb her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,c

and her days will not be prolonged.d

14 The Lord will have compassione on Jacob;

once again he will choosef Israel

and will settle them in their own land.g

Foreignersh will join them

and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

2 Nations will take them

and bringi them to their own place.

And Israel will take possession of the nationsj

and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.

They will make captivesk of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.l

3 On the day the Lord gives you reliefm from your suffering and turmoiln and from the harsh labor forced on you,o 4 you will take up this tauntp against the king of Babylon:q

How the oppressorr has come to an end!

How his furya has ended!

5 The Lord has broken the rods of the wicked,t

the scepteru of the rulers,

6 which in anger struck down peoplesv

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subduedw nations

with relentless aggression.x

7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;y

they break into singing.z

8 Even the junipersa and the cedars of Lebanon

gloat over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”b

9 The realm of the deadc below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departedd to greet you—

all those who were leaderse in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.f

10 They will all respond,

they will say to you,

“You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us.”g

11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,h

along with the noise of your harps;i

maggots are spread out beneath you

and wormsj cover you.k

12 How you have fallenl from heaven,

morning star,m son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!n

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascendo to the heavens;

I will raise my thronep

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,q

on the utmost heightsr of Mount Zaphon.b

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;s

I will make myself like the Most High.”t

15 But you are brought downu to the realm of the dead,v

to the depthsw of the pit.x

16 Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:y

“Is this the man who shookz the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

17 the man who made the world a wilderness,a

who overthrewb its cities

and would not let his captives go home?”c

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,

each in his own tomb.d

19 But you are cast oute of your tomb

like a rejected branch;

you are covered with the slain,f

with those pierced by the sword,g

those who descend to the stones of the pit.h

Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

20 you will not join them in burial,i

for you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

Let the offspringj of the wickedk

never be mentionedl again.

21 Prepare a place to slaughter his childrenm

for the sins of their ancestors;n

they are not to rise to inherit the land

and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise upo against them,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will wipe out Babylon’s namep and survivors,

her offspring and descendants,q”

declares the Lord.

23 “I will turn her into a place for owlsr

and into swampland;

I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,s”

declares the Lord Almighty.t

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,u

“Surely, as I have planned,v so it will be,

and as I have purposed, so it will happen.w

25 I will crush the Assyrianx in my land;

on my mountains I will trample him down.

His yokey will be taken from my people,

and his burden removed from their shoulders.z”

26 This is the plana determined for the whole world;

this is the handb stretched out over all nations.

27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,c and who can thwart him?

His handd is stretched out, and who can turn it back?e

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecyf came in the yearg King Ahazh died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,i

that the rod that struck you is broken;

from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,j

its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.k

30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,

and the needyl will lie down in safety.m

But your root I will destroy by famine;n

it will slayo your survivors.p

31 Wail,q you gate!r Howl, you city!

Melt away, all you Philistines!s

A cloud of smoke comes from the north,t

and there is not a straggler in its ranks.u

32 What answer shall be given

to the envoysv of that nation?

“The Lord has established Zion,w

and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.x”

A Prophecy Against Moab

16:6–12pp—Jer 48:29–36

15 A prophecyy against Moab:z

Ara in Moab is ruined,b

destroyed in a night!

Kirc in Moab is ruined,

destroyed in a night!

2 Dibond goes up to its temple,

to its high placese to weep;

Moab wailsf over Nebog and Medeba.

Every head is shavedh

and every beard cut off.i

3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;j

on the roofsk and in the public squaresl

they all wail,m

prostrate with weeping.n

4 Heshbono and Elealehp cry out,

their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.q

Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,

and their hearts are faint.

5 My heart cries outr over Moab;s

her fugitivest flee as far as Zoar,u

as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.

They go up the hill to Luhith,

weeping as they go;

on the road to Horonaimv

they lament their destruction.w

6 The waters of Nimrim are dried upx

and the grass is withered;y

the vegetation is gonez

and nothing green is left.a

7 So the wealth they have acquiredb and stored up

they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.

8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;

their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,

their lamentation as far as Beerc Elim.

9 The waters of Dimona are full of blood,

but I will bring still more upon Dimonb—

a liond upon the fugitives of Moabe

and upon those who remain in the land.