| New International Version | English Standard Version |
| 1A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: | 1The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. |
| 2Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. | 2On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles. |
| 3I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath-- those who rejoice in my triumph. | 3I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones. |
| 4Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. | 4The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle. |
| 5They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens-- the LORD and the weapons of his wrath-- to destroy the whole country. | 5They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. |
| 6Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. | 6Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! |
| 7Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. | 7Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. |
| 8Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. | 8They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. |
| 9See, the day of the LORD is coming --a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. | 9Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. |
| 10The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. | 10For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. |
| 11I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. | 11I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. |
| 12I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. | 12I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. |
| 13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. | 13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. |
| 14Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land. | 14And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. |
| 15Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. | 15Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. |
| 16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. | 16Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. |
| 17See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. | 17Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. |
| 18Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. | 18Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. |
| 19Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. | 19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. |
| 20She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks. | 20It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. |
| 21But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. | 21But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance. |
| 22Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged. | 22Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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