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13 The [a]burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

Set ye up an ensign upon the bare mountain, lift up the voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my consecrated ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, even [b]my proudly exulting ones. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people! the noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah of hosts is mustering the host for the battle. They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Wail ye; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; as destruction from [c]the Almighty shall it come. Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt: and they shall be dismayed; [d]pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame. Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. 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. 12 I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place, in the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And it shall come to pass, that as the chased [e]roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is [f]taken shall fall by the sword. 16 Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 18 And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 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 shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. 22 And [g]wolves shall [h]cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

14 For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the [i]golden city ceased! Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; [j]that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up [k]the dead for thee, even all the [l]chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home? 18 All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, [m]clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.

21 Prepare ye [n]slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities. 22 And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son’s son, saith Jehovah. 23 I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.

24 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this [o]burden.

29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 30 And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain. 31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and [p]there is no straggler in his ranks.

32 What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.

15 The [q]burden of Moab.

For [r]in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nought; for [s]in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nought. [t]They are gone up to [u]Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab waileth [v]over Nebo, and [w]over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off. In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one waileth, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembleth within him. My heart crieth out for Moab; her [x]nobles flee unto Zoar, [y]to Eglath-shelishi-yah: for by the ascent of Luhith with weeping they go up; for in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be [z]desolate; for the grass is withered away, the tender grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away over the brook of the willows. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the wailing thereof unto Eglaim, and the wailing thereof unto Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; for I will bring yet more upon Dimon, a lion upon them of Moab that escape, and upon the remnant of the land.

16 Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land from [aa]Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon. Give counsel, execute justice; make thy shade as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; betray not the fugitive. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee; as for Moab, be thou a covert to him from the face of the destroyer. For [ab]the extortioner is brought to nought, destruction ceaseth, [ac]the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness; and one shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of David, judging, and seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.

We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought. Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail: for the [ad]raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; [ae]the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen. 10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease. 11 Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres. 12 And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.

13 This is the word that Jehovah spake concerning Moab in time past. 14 But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 13:1 Or, oracle concerning
  2. Isaiah 13:3 Or, them that exult in my majesty
  3. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai. See Gen. 17:1.
  4. Isaiah 13:8 Or, they shall take hold of pangs and sorrows.
  5. Isaiah 13:14 Or, gazelle
  6. Isaiah 13:15 Or, joined thereunto
  7. Isaiah 13:22 Hebrew howling creatures.
  8. Isaiah 13:22 Or, answer
  9. Isaiah 14:4 Or, exactress
  10. Isaiah 14:6 Or, he that smote . . . is persecuted, and none hindereth
  11. Isaiah 14:9 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
  12. Isaiah 14:9 Hebrew he-goats.
  13. Isaiah 14:19 Or, as the raiment of those that are slain
  14. Isaiah 14:21 Or, a place of slaughter
  15. Isaiah 14:28 Or, oracle
  16. Isaiah 14:31 Or, none standeth aloof at his appointed times
  17. Isaiah 15:1 Or, oracle concerning
  18. Isaiah 15:1 Or, in the night
  19. Isaiah 15:1 Or, in the night
  20. Isaiah 15:2 Or, Bayith and Dibon are gone up to the high places
  21. Isaiah 15:2 Or, the temple
  22. Isaiah 15:2 Or, upon
  23. Isaiah 15:2 Or, upon
  24. Isaiah 15:5 Or, as otherwise read, fugitives
  25. Isaiah 15:5 Or, as a heifer three years old
  26. Isaiah 15:6 Hebrew desolations.
  27. Isaiah 16:1 Or, Petra
  28. Isaiah 16:4 Or, extortion
  29. Isaiah 16:4 Hebrew the treaders down.
  30. Isaiah 16:7 Or, foundations
  31. Isaiah 16:8 Or, its choice plants did break down the lords of nations