A Judgment against Babylon
1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
2Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.
4The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
5They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
6Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11And 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.
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
15Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
16Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
17Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
18Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Burden against Babylon
1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:
2 Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones.
4 The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle.
5 They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
6 Wail; for the day of Yahweh is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and everyone’s heart will melt.
8 They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame.
9 Behold, the day of Yahweh comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it.
10 For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will humble the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place in the wrath of Yahweh of Armies, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14 It will happen that like a hunted gazelle, and like sheep that no one gathers, they will each turn to their own people, and will each flee to their own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through. Everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be ransacked, and their wives raped.
17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Their bows will dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children.
19 Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there.
22 Wolves will cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
The Burden against Babylon
1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
2 Raise a banner on a barren hilltop;
call aloud to them.
Wave your hand,
that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have even summoned My warriors
to execute My wrath
and exult in My triumph.
4 Listen, a tumult on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations gathered together!
The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing
an army for war.
5 They are coming from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near;
it will come as destruction from the Almighty. a
7 Therefore all hands will fall limp,
and every man’s heart will melt.
8 Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look at one another,
their faces flushed with fear.
9 Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming—
cruel, with fury and burning anger—
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy the sinners within it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
will not give their light.
The rising sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their iniquity.
I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant
and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken from its place
at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts
on the day of His burning anger.
14 Like a hunted gazelle,
like a sheep without a shepherd,
each will return to his own people,
each will flee to his native land.
15 Whoever is caught will be stabbed,
and whoever is captured will die by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes,
their houses will be looted,
and their wives will be ravished.
17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who have no regard for silver
and no desire for gold.
18 Their bows will dash young men to pieces;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
they will not look with pity on the children.
19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 She will never be inhabited
or settled from generation to generation;
no nomad will pitch his tent there,
no shepherd will rest his flock there.
21 But desert creatures will lie down there,
and howling creatures will fill her houses.
Ostriches b will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.
22 Hyenas will howl in her fortresses
and jackals c in her luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
Footnotes:
6 a Hebrew Shaddai
21 b Literally Daughters of an ostrich  or Daughters of an owl
22 c Or serpents  or dragons
A Judgment against Babylon
1The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz hath seen:
2'On a high mountain lift ye up an ensign, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go in to the openings of nobles.
3I have given charge to My sanctified ones, Also I have called My mighty ones for Mine anger, Those rejoicing at Mine excellency.'
4A voice of a multitude in the mountains, A likeness of a numerous people, A voice of noise from the kingdoms of nations who are gathered, Jehovah of Hosts inspecting a host of battle!
5They are coming in from a land afar off, From the end of the heavens, Jehovah and the instruments of His indignation, To destroy all the land.
6Howl ye, for near is the day of Jehovah, As destruction from the Mighty it cometh.
7Therefore, all hands do fail, And every heart of man doth melt.
8And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs they take, As a travailing woman they are pained, A man at his friend they marvel, The appearance of flames -- their faces!
9Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it.
10For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
11And I have appointed on the world evil, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused to cease the excellency of the proud, And the excellency of the terrible I make low.
12I make man more rare than fine gold, And a common man than pure gold of Ophir.
13Therefore the heavens I cause to tremble, And the earth doth shake from its place, In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts, And in a day of the heat of his anger.
14And it hath been, as a roe driven away, And as a flock that hath no gatherer, Each unto his people -- they turn, And each unto his land -- they flee.
15Every one who is found is thrust through, And every one who is added falleth by sword.
16And their sucklings are dashed to pieces before their eyes, Spoiled are their houses, and their wives lain with.
17Lo, I am stirring up against them the Medes, Who silver esteem not, And gold -- they delight not in it.
18And bows dash young men to pieces, And the fruit of the womb they pity not, On sons their eye hath no pity.
19And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory, the excellency of the Chaldeans, Hath been as overthrown by God, With Sodom and with Gomorrah.
20She doth not sit for ever, Nor continueth unto many generations, Nor doth Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds lie not down there.
21And Ziim have lain down there, And full have been their houses of howlings, And dwelt there have daughters of an ostrich, And goats do skip there.
22And Aiim have responded in his forsaken habitations, And dragons in palaces of delight, And near to come is her time, And her days are not drawn out!
