1  The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

1  THE VISION WHICH ESAIAS SON OF AMOS SAW AGAINST BABYLON.

1  THE prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2  Set ye up an ensign upon the high mountain, lift up the voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

2  Lift up a standard on the mountain of the plain, exalt the voice to them, beckon with the hand, open the gates, ye rulers.

2  Over the foggy mountain lift up a sign! Raise the voice, lift up the hand, and let the rulers enter through the gates!

3  I have commanded My consecrated ones, yea, I have called My mighty ones for mine anger, even My proudly exulting ones.

3  I give command, and I bring them: giants are coming to fulfil my wrath, rejoicing at the same time and insulting.

3  In my wrath, I commanded my sanctified ones, and I called my strong ones, those who exult in my glory.

4  Hark, a tumult in the mountains, like as of a great people! Hark, the uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! YHWH of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

4  A voice of many nations on the mountains, even like to that of many nations; a voice of kings and nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts has given command to a war-like nation,

4  On the mountains, there is the voice of a multitude, as if of a numerous people, a voice with the sound of kings, of nations gathered together. For the Lord of hosts has given orders to soldiers of war,

5  They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even YHWH, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole earth.

5  to come from a land afar off, from the utmost foundation of heaven; the Lord and his warriors are coming to destroy all the world.

5  to those who are arriving from a far off land, from the heights of the heavens. It is the Lord and the instruments of his fury, so that he may bring ruin to all the earth.

6  Howl ye; for the day of YHWH is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

6  Wail aloud! For the day of the Lord draws near! It will arrive like a devastation from the Lord.

6  Howl; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a plunder which is made suddenly.

7  Therefore shall all hands be slack, and every heart of man shall melt.

7  Therefore every hand shall become powerless, and every soul of man shall be dismayed.

7  Because of it, every hand will fail, and every heart of man will waste away and be crushed.

8  And they shall be affrighted; pangs and throes shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail; they shall look aghast one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.

8  The elders shall be troubled, and pangs shall seize them, as of a woman in travail: and they shall mourn one to another, and shall be amazed, and shall change their countenance as a flame.

8  Writhing and pain will seize them. They will be in pain, like a woman in labor. Each one will appear stupefied to his neighbor. Their countenances will be like faces which have been burned up.

9  Behold, the day of YHWH cometh, cruel, and full of wrath and fierce anger; to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it,

9  For behold! the day of the Lord is coming which cannot be escaped, a day of wrath and anger, to make the world desolate, and to destroy sinners out of it.

9  Behold, the day of the Lord approaches: a cruel day, full of indignation and wrath and fury, which will place the earth in solitude and crush the sinners from it.

10  For 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.

10  For the stars of the heavens, in their splendor, will not display their light. The sun will be obscured at its rising, and the moon will not shine in her brightness.

11  And I will visit upon the world their evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.

11  And I will command evils for the whole world, and will visit their sins on the ungodly: and I will destroy the pride of transgressors, and will bring low the pride of the haughty.

11  And I will act against the evils of the world, and against the impious for their iniquity. And I will cause the pride of the unfaithful to cease, and I will bring down the arrogance of the strong.

12  I will make man more rare than fine gold, even man than the pure gold of Ophir.

12  And they that are left shall be more precious than gold tried in the fire; and a man shall be more precious than the stone that is in Suphir.

12  A man will be more precious than gold, and mankind will become like pure refined gold.

13  Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place, for the wrath of YHWH of hosts, and for the day of His fierce anger.

13  For the heaven shall be enraged, and the earth shall be shaken from her foundation, because of the fierce anger of the Lord of hosts, in the day in which his wrath shall come on.

13  For this purpose, I will stir up heaven, and the earth will be moved from its place, because of the indignation of the Lord of hosts, because of the day of his furious wrath.

14  And it shall come to pass, that as the chased gazelle, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land.

14  And they will be like a doe fleeing away, or like sheep; and there will be no one who may gather them together. Each one will turn to his own people, and every one will flee to his own land.

15  Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is caught shall fall by the sword.

15  For whosoever shall be taken shall be overcome; and they that are gathered together shall fall by the sword.

15  All who are found will be killed, and all who are caught unaware will fall by the sword.

16  Their babes also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

16  And they shall dash their children before their eyes; and they shall spoil their houses, and shall take their wives.

16  Their infants will be thrown down violently before their eyes. Their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be violated.

17  Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

18  And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

18  They shall break the bows of the young men; and they shall have no mercy on your children; nor shall their eyes spare thy children.

18  Instead, with their arrows, they will put the little children to death, and they will take no pity on breastfeeding women, and their eye will not spare their children.

19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

19  And then Babylon, the glorious one among kingdoms, that famous pride of the Chaldeans, will be destroyed, even as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

20  It 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.

20  It will not be inhabited, even unto the end, and it will not be reestablished, even from generation to generation. The Arab will not pitch his tents there, nor will the shepherds take rest there.

21  But wild-cats shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of ferrets; and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

21  But wild beasts shall rest there; and the houses shall be filled with howling; and monsters shall rest there, and devils shall dance there,

21  Instead, the wild beasts will rest there, and their houses will be filled with serpents, and ostriches will live there, and the hairy ones will leap about there.

22  And jackals shall howl in their castles, and wild-dogs in the pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

22  And the tawny owls will answer one another there, in its buildings, and the Sirens in its shrines of pleasure.

14:1  For YHWH will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

1  And the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and they shall rest on their land: and the stranger shall be added to them, yea, shall be added to the house of Jacob.

1  Her time is drawing near, and her days will not be prolonged. For the Lord will take pity on Jacob, and he will still choose from Israel, and he will cause them to rest upon their own soil. And the new arrival will be joined to them, and he will adhere to the house of Jacob.

14:2  And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of YHWH for servants and for handmaids; and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

2  And the Gentiles shall take them, and bring them into their place: and they shall inherit them, and they shall be multiplied upon the land for servants and handmaidens: and they that took them captives shall become captives to them; and they that had lordship over them shall be under their rule.

2  And the people will take them, and lead them to their place. And the house of Israel will possess them, in the land of the Lord, as men and women servants. And they will take captive those who had taken them captive. And they will subjugate their oppressors.

14:3  And it shall come to pass in the day that YHWH shall give thee rest from thy travail, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,

3  And this shall be in that day: when God will have given you rest from your labor, and from your oppression, and from the difficult servitude under which you served before,

14:4  that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! the exactress of gold ceased!

4  you will accept this parable against the king of Babylon, and you will say: “How is it that the oppressor has ceased, along with his tribute?

14:5  YHWH hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers,

5  The Lord has broken the yoke of sinners, the yoke of princes.

5  The Lord has crushed the staff of the impious, the scepter of despots,

14:6  That smote the peoples in wrath with an incessant stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.

6  Having smitten a nation in wrath, with an incurable plague, smiting a nation with a wrathful plague, which spared them not, he rested in quiet.

6  which struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, which subjugated the nations in fury, which persecuted with cruelty.

14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.

7  All the earth cries aloud with joy

7  All the earth has become quiet and still; it has been gladdened and has rejoiced.

14:8  Yea, the cypresses rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.'

8  the trees also of Libanus rejoice against thee, and the cedar of Libanus, saying, From the time that thou hast been laid low, no one has come up to cut us down.

8  The evergreens, too, have rejoiced over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying: ‘Since you have slept, no one has ascended who would cut us down.’

14:9  The nether-world from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; the shades are stirred up for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; all the kings of the nations are raised up from their thrones.

9  Hell below was stirred up to meet you at your advent; it has awakened the giants for you. All the leaders of the earth have risen from their thrones, all the leaders among the nations.”

9  Sheol beneath is murmuring at your coming; it stirs up against you all the mighty men, even all the rulers of the earth whom you overthrew from their thrones.

14:10  All they do answer and say unto thee: 'Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

10  All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us.

10  Everyone will respond and will say to you: “Now you are wounded, just as we were; you have become like us.

14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the nether-world, and the noise of thy psalteries; the maggot is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.'

11  Your arrogance has been dragged down to Hell. Your body has fallen dead. The moths will be strewn beneath you, and the worms will be your covering.

14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, that didst cast lots over the nations!

12  How is it that you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who used to rise like the sun? How is it that you have fallen to the earth, you who wounded the peoples?

14:13  And thou saidst in thy heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of God will I exalt my throne, and I will sit upon the mount of meeting, in the uttermost parts of the north;

14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.'

14  I will go up above the clouds: I will be like the Most High.

14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

15  But now thou shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth.

14:16  They that saw thee do narrowly look upon thee, they gaze earnestly at thee: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

16  They that see thee shall wonder at thee, and say, This is the man that troubled the earth, that made kings to shake;

16  Those who see you, will lean toward you, and will gaze upon you, saying: ‘Could this be the man who disturbed the earth, who shook kingdoms,

14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?'

17  that made the whole world desolate, and destroyed its cities; he loosed not those who were in captivity.

17  who made the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who would not even open a prison for his prisoners?’ ”

14:18  All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

14:19  But thou art cast forth away from thy grave like an abhorred offshoot, in the raiment of the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the pavement of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot.

19  But thou shalt be cast forth on the mountains, as a loathed carcase, with many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave.

19  But you have been rejected from your grave, like a useless polluted plant, and you have been bound up with those who were slain by the sword, and who descended to the bottom of the pit, like a rotting carcass.

14:20  Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil- doers shall not be named for ever.

20  You will not be associated with them, even in the grave. For you have destroyed your own land; you have slain your own people. The offspring of the wicked ones will not be called upon for eternity.

14:21  Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.

21  Prepare thy children to be slain for the sins of their father; that they arise not, and inherit the earth, nor fill the earth with wars.

21  Prepare his sons for the slaughter, according to the iniquity of their fathers. They will not rise up, nor inherit the earth, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

14:22  And I will rise up against them, saith YHWH of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and offshoot and offspring, saith the YHWH.

22  But I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts. And I will perish the name of Babylon and its remnants: both the plant and its progeny, says the Lord.

22  For I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon the name, its offspring, the family, and its generation, says the LORD.

14:23  I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith YHWH of hosts.

23  And I will make the region of Babylon desert, so that hedgehogs shall dwell there, and it shall come to nothing: and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction.

23  And I will appoint it as a possession for the hedgehog, with swamps of water. And I will sweep it out and wear it away with a brush, says the Lord of hosts.

14:24  YHWH of hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,

24  Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so the matter shall remain

24  The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying: Surely, just as I have considered it, so shall it be, and in the same manner as I have drawn it through my mind,

14:25  That I will break Asshur in My land, and upon My mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder.

25  even to destroy the Assyrians upon my land, and upon my mountains: and they shall be for trampling; and their yoke shall be taken away from them, and their glory shall be taken away from their shoulders.

25  so shall it occur. So shall I crush the Assyrian in my land, and I will trample him upon my mountains, and his yoke will be taken away from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulder.

14:26  This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

26  This is the plan that I have decided, concerning the entire earth, and this is the hand which is extended over all the nations.

26  This is the end that is purposed against all the earth; and this is the land that is stretched out against all the nations.

14:27  For YHWH of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

27  For what the Holy God has purposed, who shall frustrate? and who shall turn back his uplifted hand?

27  For the Lord of hosts has decreed it, and who is able to weaken it? And his hand is extended, so who can avert it?

14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

28  The conquest of Philistia. In the year that King Ahaz died, came this burden.

14:29  Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a flying serpent.

29  Rejoice not, all ye Philistines, because the yoke of him that smote you is broken: for out of the seed of the serpent shall come forth the young asps, and their young shall come forth flying serpents,

29  You should not rejoice, all you of Philistia, that the rod of him who struck you has been crushed. For from the root of the serpent will go forth a king snake, and his offspring will engulf that which flies.

14:30  And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain.

30  And the poor shall be fed by him, and poor men shall rest in peace: but he shall destroy thy seed with hunger, and shall destroy thy remnant.

30  And the firstborn of the poor will be pastured, and the poor will rest in faithfulness. And I will cause your root to pass away by famine, and I will put to death your remnant.

14:31  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; melt away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

31  Howl, ye gates of cities; let the cities be troubled and cry, even all the Philistines: for smoke is coming from the north, and there is no possibility of living.

14:32  What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That YHWH hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of His people take refuge.

32  And what shall the kings of the nations answer? That the Lord has founded Sion, and by him the poor of the people shall be saved.

32  And what will be the response to this news among the nations? It will be that the Lord has established Zion, and that the poor of his people will hope in him.