3.1 KiB
An Oracle Concerning Babylon
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The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld.
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Lift up a standard on the bare hill, Heighten your voice at them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
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I have commanded My set apart ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger.
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A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the rumbling of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! Yahweh of hosts is mustering the host for battle.
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They are coming from a far country, From the end of the sky, Yahweh and His instruments of indignation, To wreak destruction on the whole land.
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Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
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Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man's heart will melt.
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They will be terrified, Pains and labor pangs will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.
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Behold, the day of Yahweh is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
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For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
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Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the pride of the arrogant And bring low the lofty pride of the ruthless.
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I will make mortal man scarcer than fine gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.
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Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of Yahweh of hosts In the day of His burning anger.
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And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land.
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Anyone who is found will be pierced through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
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Their infants also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.
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Behold, I am going to awaken the Medes against them, Who will not think about silver or take pleasure in gold.
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And their bows will dash the young men to pieces, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children.
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And it will be that Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the honor of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
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It will never be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
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But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will dwell there, and shaggy goats will leap there.
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And hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.