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Isaiah 13-16
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 13-16
Holman Christian Standard Bible
An Oracle against Babylon
13 An oracle(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2 Lift up a banner on a barren mountain.(C)
Call out to them.
Wave your hand, and they will go
through the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My chosen ones;
I have also called My warriors,
who exult in My triumph,
to execute My wrath.(D)
4 Listen, a tumult on the mountains,
like that of a mighty people!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations being gathered together!
The Lord of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.
5 They are coming from a far land,
from the distant horizon—
the Lord and the weapons of His wrath—
to destroy the whole country.[a]
6 Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.(E)
It will come like destruction from the Almighty.(F)
7 Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak,
and every man’s heart will melt.
8 They will be horrified;
pain and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.(G)
They will look at each other,
their faces flushed with fear.
9 Look, the day(H) of the Lord is coming—
cruel, with rage and burning anger—
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy the sinners on it.(I)
10 Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations[b]
will not give their light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon will not shine.(J)
11 I will bring disaster on the world,
and their own iniquity,(K) on the wicked.
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant(L)
and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.
12 I will make man scarcer than gold,
and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.(M)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will shake from its foundations(N)
at the wrath of the Lord of Hosts,
on the day of His burning anger.
14 Like wandering gazelles
and like sheep without a shepherd,(O)
each one will turn to his own people,
each one will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be stabbed,
and whoever is caught will die by the sword.
16 Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes;(P)
their houses will be looted,
and their wives raped.
17 Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them,(Q)
who cannot be bought off with[c] silver
and who have no desire for gold.
18 Their bows will cut young men to pieces.
They will have no compassion on little ones;
they will not look with pity on children.
19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.(R)
20 It will never be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation;(S)
a nomad will not pitch his tent there,
and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.
21 But desert creatures will lie down there,
and owls will fill the houses.
Ostriches will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.(T)
22 Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time is almost up;
her days are almost over.
Israel’s Return
14 For the Lord will have compassion(U) on Jacob and will choose Israel again.(V) He will settle them on their own land.(W) The foreigner will join them and be united with the house of Jacob.(X) 2 The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land.(Y) They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.
Downfall of the King of Babylon
3 When the Lord gives you rest from your pain,(Z) torment, and the hard labor(AA) you were forced to do, 4 you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon(AB) and say:
How the oppressor has quieted down,
and how the raging[d] has become quiet!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers.
6 It struck the peoples in anger
with unceasing blows.
It subdued the nations in rage
with relentless persecution.
7 All the earth is calm and at rest;
people shout with a ringing cry.
8 Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon
rejoice over you:(AC)
“Since you have been laid low,
no woodcutter has come against us.”
9 Sheol below is eager to greet your coming.
He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you—
all the rulers[e] of the earth.
He makes all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
10 They all respond to you, saying:
“You too have become as weak as we are;
you have become like us!
11 Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol,
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are spread out under you,
and worms cover you.”
12 Shining morning star,[f](AD)
how you have fallen from the heavens!(AE)
You destroyer of nations,
you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself:
“I will ascend to the heavens;(AF)
I will set up my throne
above the stars of God.(AG)
I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly,
in the remotest parts of the North.[g](AH)
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you will be brought down to Sheol
into the deepest regions of the Pit.(AI)
16 Those who see you will stare at you;
they will look closely at you:
“Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble,
who shook the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a wilderness,(AJ)
who destroyed its cities
and would not release the prisoners to return home?”
18 All the kings of the nations
lie in splendor, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are thrown out without a grave,
like a worthless branch,
covered by those slain with the sword
and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse.
20 You will not join them in burial,
because you destroyed your land
and slaughtered your own people.
The offspring of evildoers
will never be remembered.(AK)
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons,
because of the iniquity(AL) of their fathers.
They will never rise up to possess a land
or fill the surface of the earth with cities.
22 “I will rise up against them”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 23 “I will make her a swampland and a region for screech owls,[h] and I will sweep her away with a broom of destruction.”
This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
Assyria Will Be Destroyed
24 The Lord of Hosts has sworn:
As I have purposed, so it will be;
as I have planned it, so it will happen.(AM)
25 I will break Assyria(AN) in My land;
I will tread him down on My mountain.
Then his yoke will be taken from them,
and his burden will be removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the plan(AO) prepared
for the whole earth,
and this is the hand stretched out
against all the nations.
27 The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it;
therefore, who can stand in its way?
It is His hand that is outstretched,
so who can turn it back?
An Oracle against Philistia
28 In the year that King Ahaz died,(AP) this oracle came:(AQ)
29 Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you(AR) is broken.
For a viper will come from the root[i] of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.(AS)
30 Then the firstborn(AT) of the poor will be well fed,
and the impoverished will lie down in safety,
but I will kill your root with hunger,
and your remnant will be slain.[j]
31 Wail, you gates!(AU) Cry out, city!
Tremble with fear,(AV) all Philistia!
For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,(AW)
and there is no one missing from the invader’s ranks.
32 What answer will be given to the messengers from that nation?
The Lord has founded Zion,(AX)
and His afflicted people find refuge in her.
An Oracle against Moab
15 An oracle against Moab:(AY)
Ar in Moab is devastated,(AZ)
destroyed in a night.
Kir in Moab is devastated,
destroyed in a night.
2 Dibon went up to its temple
to weep at its high places.
Moab wails on Nebo and at[k] Medeba.
Every head is shaved;
every beard is cut off.
3 In its streets they wear sackcloth;
on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,
falling down and weeping.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.(BA)
Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out,
and they tremble.[l]
5 My heart cries out over Moab,
whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,(BB)
to Eglath-shelishiyah;
they go up the slope of Luhith weeping;
they raise a cry of destruction
on the road to Horonaim.
6 The waters of Nimrim(BC) are desolate;
the grass is withered, the foliage is gone,
and the vegetation has vanished.
7 So they carry their wealth and belongings
over the Wadi of the Willows.(BD)
8 For their cry echoes
throughout the territory of Moab.
Their wailing reaches Eglaim;
their wailing reaches Beer-elim.
9 The waters of Dibon[m] are full of blood,(BE)
but I will bring on Dibon[n] even more than this—
a lion for those who escape from Moab,
and for the survivors in the land.(BF)
16 Send lambs to the ruler of the land,(BG)
from Sela in the desert(BH)
to the mountain of Daughter Zion.
2 Like a bird fleeing,
forced from the nest,
the daughters of Moab
will be at the fords of the Arnon.
3 Give us counsel and make a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade that is as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;(BI)
do not betray the one who flees.
4 Let my refugees stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab[o] from the aggressor.
When the oppressor has gone,
destruction has ended,
and marauders have vanished from the land.
5 Then in the tent of David
a throne will be established by faithful love.(BJ)
A judge who seeks what is right
and is quick to execute justice
will sit on the throne forever.
6 We have heard of Moab’s pride(BK)—
how very proud he is—
his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance,
and his empty boasting.
7 Therefore let Moab wail;
let every one of them wail for Moab.
Mourn, you who are completely devastated,
for the raisin cakes(BL) of Kir-hareseth.(BM)
8 For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards
and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled its choice vines
that reached as far as Jazer(BN)
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out
and reached the Dead Sea.(BO)
9 So I join with Jazer
to weep for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears.
Triumphant shouts have fallen silent[p]
over your summer fruit and your harvest.
10 Joy and rejoicing(BP) have been removed from the orchard;
no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.(BQ)
No one tramples grapes[q] in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore I moan like the sound of a lyre for Moab,(BR)
as does my innermost being for Kir-heres.
12 When Moab appears on the high place,
when he tires[r] himself out(BS)
and comes to his sanctuary to pray,
it will do him no good.(BT)
13 This is the message that the Lord previously announced about Moab. 14 And now the Lord says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts years,(BU) Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:5 Or earth
- Isaiah 13:10 Or Orions
- Isaiah 13:17 Lit who have no regard for
- Isaiah 14:4 DSS; Hb uncertain
- Isaiah 14:9 Lit rams
- Isaiah 14:12 Or Day Star, son of the dawn
- Isaiah 14:13 Or of Zaphon
- Isaiah 14:23 Or hedgehogs
- Isaiah 14:29 Or stock
- Isaiah 14:30 DSS, Syr, Tg; MT reads and he will kill
- Isaiah 15:2 Or wails over Nebo and over
- Isaiah 15:4 Lit out, he trembles within himself
- Isaiah 15:9 DSS, some LXX mss, Vg; MT reads Dimon
- Isaiah 15:9 DSS, some LXX mss, Vg; MT reads Dimon
- Isaiah 16:4 Or you; Moab—be a refuge for him
- Isaiah 16:9 Or Battle cries have fallen
- Isaiah 16:10 Lit wine
- Isaiah 16:12 DSS read place, he will tire
Isaiah 13-16
New International Version
Isaiah 13-16
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)
2 Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)—
those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens(N)—
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)—
to destroy(Q) the whole country.
6 Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
every heart will melt with fear.(W)
8 Terror(X) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(AA)
9 See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.(AT)
14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)
17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)
14 The Lord will have compassion(BZ) on Jacob;
once again he will choose(CA) Israel
and will settle them in their own land.(CB)
Foreigners(CC) will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(CE)
and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(CF) of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.(CG)
3 On the day the Lord gives you relief(CH) from your suffering and turmoil(CI) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(CJ) 4 you will take up this taunt(CK) against the king of Babylon:(CL)
How the oppressor(CM) has come to an end!
How his fury[c] has ended!
5 The Lord has broken the rod(CN) of the wicked,(CO)
the scepter(CP) of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples(CQ)
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(CR) nations
with relentless aggression.(CS)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;(CT)
they break into singing.(CU)
8 Even the junipers(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”(CW)
9 The realm of the dead(CX) below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(CY) to greet you—
all those who were leaders(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.(DA)
10 They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(DC)
along with the noise of your harps;(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms(DE) cover you.(DF)
12 How you have fallen(DG) from heaven,
morning star,(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(DK)
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(DL)
on the utmost heights(DM) of Mount Zaphon.[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(DN)
I will make myself like the Most High.”(DO)
15 But you are brought down(DP) to the realm of the dead,(DQ)
to the depths(DR) of the pit.(DS)
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:(DT)
“Is this the man who shook(DU) the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(DV)
who overthrew(DW) its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”(DX)
18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.(DY)
19 But you are cast out(DZ) of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(EA)
with those pierced by the sword,(EB)
those who descend to the stones of the pit.(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20 you will not join them in burial,(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspring(EE) of the wicked(EF)
never be mentioned(EG) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(EH)
for the sins of their ancestors;(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.
22 “I will rise up(EJ) against them,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(EK) and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,(EL)”
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(EM)
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(EN)”
declares the Lord Almighty.(EO)
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(EP)
“Surely, as I have planned,(EQ) so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(ES) in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(ET) will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.(EU)”
26 This is the plan(EV) determined for the whole world;
this is the hand(EW) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(EX) and who can thwart him?
His hand(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(EZ)
A Prophecy Against the Philistines
28 This prophecy(FA) came in the year(FB) King Ahaz(FC) died:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(FD)
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(FE)
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy(FG) will lie down in safety.(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(FI)
it will slay(FJ) your survivors.(FK)
31 Wail,(FL) you gate!(FM) Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(FO)
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
to the envoys(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(FR)
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(FS)”
A Prophecy Against Moab(FT)
15 A prophecy(FU) against Moab:(FV)
Ar(FW) in Moab is ruined,(FX)
destroyed in a night!
Kir(FY) in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon(FZ) goes up to its temple,
to its high places(GA) to weep;
Moab wails(GB) over Nebo(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(GD)
and every beard cut off.(GE)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;(GF)
on the roofs(GG) and in the public squares(GH)
they all wail,(GI)
prostrate with weeping.(GJ)
4 Heshbon(GK) and Elealeh(GL) cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5 My heart cries out(GN) over Moab;(GO)
her fugitives(GP) flee as far as Zoar,(GQ)
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(GR)
they lament their destruction.(GS)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up(GT)
and the grass is withered;(GU)
the vegetation is gone(GV)
and nothing green is left.(GW)
7 So the wealth they have acquired(GX) 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 Beer(GY) Elim.
9 The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]—
a lion(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(HA)
and upon those who remain in the land.
16 Send lambs(HB) as tribute(HC)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(HD) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(HE)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(HF)
so are the women of Moab(HG)
at the fords(HH) of the Arnon.(HI)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(HJ)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(HK) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(HL) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(HM)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(HN) will be established;(HO)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[g] of David(HP)—
one who in judging seeks justice(HQ)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(HR) pride(HS)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(HT)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(HU) of Kir Hareseth.(HV)
8 The fields of Heshbon(HW) wither,(HX)
the vines of Sibmah(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(HZ)
which once reached Jazer(IA)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(IB)
and went as far as the sea.[h](IC)
9 So I weep,(ID) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(IE)
I drench you with tears!(IF)
The shouts of joy(IG) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(IH) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(II)
no one sings or shouts(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(IK) out wine at the presses,(IL)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(IM) like a harp,(IN)
my inmost being(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(IP)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(IQ) to pray,
it is to no avail.(IR)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(IS) as a servant bound by contract(IT) would count them,(IU) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(IV) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(IW)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
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