| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. | 1Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: |
| 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. | 2“Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. |
| 3I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. | 3I, the LORD, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.” |
| 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. | 4Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together. |
| 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. | 5They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the LORD’s weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land. |
| 6Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. | 6Scream in terror, for the day of the LORD has arrived— the time for the Almighty to destroy. |
| 7Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: | 7Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts, |
| 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. | 8and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear. |
| 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. | 9For see, the day of the LORD is coming— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with 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. | 10The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light. |
| 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. | 11“I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. |
| 12I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. | 12I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold 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. | 13For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath 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. | 14Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land. |
| 15Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. | 15Anyone who is captured will be cut down— run through with a sword. |
| 16Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. | 16Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped. |
| 17Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. | 17“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. |
| 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. | 18The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.” |
| 19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. | 19Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. |
| 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. | 20Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep. |
| 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. | 21Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance. |
| 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. | 22Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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