Isaiah 13

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Proclamation about Babylon, seen by Isaiah son of Amoz.	1 The burden of Babylon which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.
2 On a bare hill hoist a signal, shout for them, beckon them to come to the Nobles' Gate.	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 issued orders to my sacred warriors, I have summoned my heroes to serve my anger, my proudchampions.	3 In my wrath, I commanded my sanctified ones, and I called my strong ones, those who exult in my glory.
4 The noise of a great crowd in the mountains, like an immense people, the tumultuous sound ofkingdoms, of nations mustering: it is Yahweh Sabaoth marshal ing the troops for battle.	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 distant country, from the far horizons, Yahweh and the instruments of his fury to laythe whole country waste.	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! For the Day of Yahweh is near, coming like devastation from Shaddai.	6 Wail aloud! For the day of the Lord draws near! It will arrive like a devastation from the Lord.
7 This is why al hands fal limp, why al the men are losing heart;	7 Because of it, every hand will fail, and every heart of man will waste away and be crushed.
8 they are panic-stricken, seized with pains and convulsions; they writhe like a woman in labour, theylook at one another appal ed, with feverish faces.	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 Look, the Day of Yahweh is coming, merciless, with wrath and burning anger, to reduce the country toa desert and root out the sinners from 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 in the sky the stars and Orion wil shed their light no longer, the sun wil be dark when it rises, andthe moon will no longer give its light.	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 I am going to punish the world for its wickedness and the wicked for their guilt, and put an end to thepride of the arrogant and humble the haughtiness of despots.	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 shal make people scarcer than pure gold, human life scarcer than the gold of Ophir.	12 A man will be more precious than gold, and mankind will become like pure refined gold.
13 This is why I am going to shake the heavens, why the earth wil reel on its foundations, under thewrath of Yahweh Sabaoth, the day when his anger ignites.	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 Then like a hunted gazel e, like sheep that nobody gathers in, everyone will head back to his people,everyone wil flee to his native 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 Al those who are found wil be stabbed, al those captured wil fal by the sword,	15 All who are found will be killed, and all who are caught unaware will fall by the sword.
16 their babies dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses plundered, their wives raped.	16 Their infants will be thrown down violently before their eyes. Their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be violated.
17 Look, against them I am stirring up the Medes who care nothing for silver, who set no value by gold.	17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not seek silver, nor desire gold.
18 Bows wil annihilate the young men, they wil have no pity for the fruit of the womb, or mercy in theireyes for 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, that pearl of kingdoms, that splendid jewel of the Chaldaeans, wil , like Sodom andGomorrah, be overthrown by God.	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 Never again will anyone live there or reside there for al generations to come. Never again wil theArab pitch his tent there, or the shepherds bring their flocks to rest.	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 beasts of the desert wil make their haunt there and owls fill their houses, there ostriches wil settletheir home, there goats will dance.	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 Hyenas wil howl in its towers, jackals in its delightful palaces, for its doom is about to come and itsdays wil not last long.	22 And the tawny owls will answer one another there, in its buildings, and the Sirens in its shrines of pleasure.