| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1An oracle against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: | 1A message that Amoz's son Isaiah received about Babylon: |
| 2Lift up a banner on a barren mountain. Call out to them. Wave your hand, and they will go through the gates of the nobles. | 2"Raise a banner on a bare hilltop! Cry out loud to them! Give a wave of the hand, signaling for them to enter the gates of the nobles. |
| 3I have commanded My chosen ones; I have also called My warriors, who exult in My triumph, to execute My wrath. | 3I myself have commanded my consecrated ones; I have also summoned my warriors, those who rejoice in my triumph, to carry out my angry judgments. |
| 4Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a mighty people! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations being gathered together! The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war. | 4"Listen! There's a noise on the mountains like that of a great multitude! Listen! There's an uproar among the kingdoms, like that of nations massing together! The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is mustering an army for battle. |
| 5They are coming from a far land, from the distant horizon-- the LORD and the weapons of His wrath-- to destroy the whole country. | 5They're coming from a faraway land, from the distant horizon— the LORD and the weapons of his anger— to destroy the entire land." |
| 6Wail! For the day of the LORD is near. It will come like destruction from the Almighty. | 6Wail out loud, because the Day of the LORD is near. It will come like destruction from the Almighty! |
| 7Therefore everyone's hands will become weak, and every man's heart will melt. | 7Because of this, every hand will go limp, and every man's courage will melt. |
| 8They will be horrified; pain and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look at each other, their faces flushed with fear. | 8They will be terrified; pain and anguish will seize them; they'll writhe like a woman in labor. They'll look aghast at one another; and their faces will be ablaze with fear. |
| 9Look, the day of the LORD is coming-- cruel, with rage and burning anger-- to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it. | 9Watch out! The Day of the LORD is coming— cruel, with wrath and fierce anger— to turn the entire inhabited earth into a desolation and to annihilate sinners from it. |
| 10Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine. | 10For the stars of the heavens and their constellations won't shine their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon won't shine its light. |
| 11I will bring disaster on the world, and their own iniquity, on the wicked. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and humiliate the insolence of tyrants. | 11I'll punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I'll put an end to the pomposity of the arrogant, and overthrow the insolence of tyrants. |
| 12I will make man scarcer than gold, and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir. | 12I'll make people scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than gold from Ophir. |
| 13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its foundations at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts, on the day of His burning anger. | 13Therefore I'll make the heavens tremble. The earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, at the time of his burning anger. |
| 14Like wandering gazelles and like sheep without a shepherd, each one will turn to his own people, each one will flee to his own land. | 14They will be like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with no one to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. |
| 15Whoever is found will be stabbed, and whoever is caught will die by the sword. | 15Whoever is captured will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall dead, killed by the sword. |
| 16Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes; their houses will be looted, and their wives raped. | 16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, and their houses will be looted, and their wives slept with. |
| 17Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold. | 17Watch out! I'm stirring up the Medes against them, who care nothing for silver and take no delight in gold. |
| 18Their bows will cut young men to pieces. They will have no compassion on little ones; they will not look with pity on children. | 18Their bows will dash the young men to pieces; they'll show no pity on those not yet born, and their eyes will not spare children. |
| 19And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. | 19Babylon, that jewel of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, when God overthrew them— |
| 20It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; a nomad will not pitch his tent there, and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there. | 20It will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Bedouin will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. |
| 21But desert creatures will lie down there, and owls will fill the houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. | 21But desert beasts will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there owls will dwell, and goat-demons will dance there. |
| 22Hyenas will howl in the fortresses, and jackals, in the luxurious palaces. Babylon's time is almost up; her days are almost over. | 22Hyenas will howl in its strongholds, and jackals will make their dens in its citadels. Its time is close at hand, and its days will not be extended any further. |
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