Online Bible

An Oracle Concerning Babylon

The ¹^aoracle concerning ^bBabylon which ^cIsaiah the son of Amoz beheld.

2 ^aLift up a standard on the ¹^bbare hill,Heighten your voice at them,^cWave the hand that they may ^denter the doors of the nobles.3 I have commanded My set apart ones,I have even called My ^amighty warriors,My ¹proudly exulting ones,To execute My anger.4 A ^asound of tumult on the mountains,Like that of many people!A sound of the rumbling of kingdoms,Of nations gathered together!Yahweh of hosts is mustering the host for battle.5 They are coming from a far country,From the ^aend of the sky,Yahweh and His instruments of ^bindignation,To ^cwreak destruction on the whole land.6 Wail, for the ^aday of Yahweh is near!It will come as ^bdestruction from ¹the Almighty.7 Therefore ^aall hands will fall limp,And every man’s ^bheart will melt.8 They will be ^aterrified,Pains and labor pangs will take hold of them;They will ^bwrithe like a woman in labor,They will look at one another in astonishment,Their faces aflame.9 Behold, ^athe day of Yahweh is coming,Cruel, with fury and burning anger,To make the land a desolation;And He will exterminate its sinners from it.10 For the ^astars of heaven and their constellationsWill not flash forth their light;The ^bsun will be dark when it risesAnd the moon will not shed its light.11 Thus I will ^apunish the world for its evilAnd the ^bwicked for their iniquity;I will also put an end to the ^cpride of the arrogantAnd bring low the ^dlofty pride of the ¹^eruthless.12 I will make mortal man ¹^ascarcer than fine goldAnd mankind than the ^bgold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the ^aheavens tremble,And ^bthe earth will be shaken from its placeAt the fury of Yahweh of hostsIn ^cthe day of His burning anger.14 And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,Or like ^asheep with none to gather them,They will each turn to his own people,And each one flee to his own land.15 Anyone who is found will be ^apierced through,And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.16 Their ^ainfants also will be dashed to piecesBefore their eyes;Their houses will be plunderedAnd their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I am going to ^aawaken the Medes against them,Who will not think about silver or ^btake pleasure in gold.18 And their bows will dash the ^ayoung men to pieces,They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,Nor will their ^beye pity ¹children.19 And it will be that ^aBabylon, the ^bbeauty of kingdoms, the ¹honor of the Chaldeans’ pride,Will be as when God ^coverthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.20 It will ^anever be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation;Nor will the ¹^bArab pitch his tent there,Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.21 But ^adesert creatures will lie down there,And their houses will be full of ¹owls;Ostriches also will dwell there, and ²shaggy goats will leap there.22 ¹And hyenas will howl in their fortified towersAnd jackals in their luxurious ^apalaces.Her fateful time also ²will soon comeAnd her days will not be prolonged.