1 The aoracle concerning bBabylon which cIsaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 aLift up a standard on the bbare hill, Raise your voice to them, cWave the hand that they may denter the doors of the nobles. 3 I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My amighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger. 4 A asound 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 is mustering the army for battle. 5 They are coming from a far country, From the afarthest horizons, The Lord and His instruments of bindignation, To cdestroy the whole land. 6 Wail, for the aday of the Lord is near! It will come as bdestruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore aall hands will fall limp, And every man's bheart will melt. 8 They will be aterrified, Pains and anguish 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 the Lord 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 constellations Will not flash forth their light; The bsun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will apunish the world for its evil And the bwicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the carrogance of the proud And abase the dhaughtiness of the eruthless. 12 I will make mortal man ascarcer than pure gold And mankind than the bgold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the aheavens tremble, And bthe earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the Lord of hosts In 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 athrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 16 Their alittle ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am going to astir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or btake pleasure in gold. 18 And their bows will mow down the ayoung men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their beye pity children. 19 And aBabylon, the bbeauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God coverthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It will anever be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the 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 owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. 22 Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious apalaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.