English Standard Version ESV
Common English Bible CEB
1 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
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An oracle about Babylon, which Isaiah, Amoz's son, saw.
2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.
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On a bare mountain raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave a hand; let them enter the officials' gates.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.
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I have commanded my holy ones; I have called my warriors, my proud, jubilant ones, to execute my wrath.
4 The 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.
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Listen! A roar on the mountains like that of a great crowd. Listen! An uproar of kingdoms, of nations coming together. The LORD of heavenly forces is mustering an army for battle.
5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
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They are coming from a distant land, from the faraway heavens, the LORD and the instruments of his fury, to destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
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Wail, for the day of the LORD is near. Like destruction from the Almighty it will come.
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.
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Then all hands will fall limp; every human heart will melt,
8 They 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.
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and they will be terrified. Like a woman writhing in labor, they will be seized by spasms and agony. They will look at each other aghast, their faces blazing.
9 Behold, 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.
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Look, the day of the LORD is coming with cruel rage and burning anger, making the earth a ruin, and wiping out its sinners.
10 For 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.
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Heaven's stars and constellations won't show their light. The sun will be dark when it rises; the moon will no longer shine.
11 I 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.
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I will bring disaster upon the world for its evil, and bring their own sin upon the wicked. I will end the pride of the insolent, and the conceit of tyrants I will lay low.
12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
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I will make humans scarcer than fine gold; people rarer than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore 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.
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I will rattle the heavens; the earth will shake loose from its place—because of the rage of the LORD of heavenly forces on the day his anger burns.
14 And 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.
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They will be like hunted gazelles, like sheep without a shepherd; all will turn to their own people and flee to their own lands.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
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Whoever is found will be stabbed; whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished.
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Their infants will be crushed before their eyes; their houses plundered, their women raped.
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.
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Look! I'm rousing the Medes against them; the Medes pay no mind to silver, no desire for gold.
18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.
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Their bows will smash youths; they will be merciless to newborns, pitiless to children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
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So Babylon, a jewel among kingdoms, the Chaldeans' splendor and pride, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by God.
20 It 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.
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No one will ever resettle or live there for generations. No Arab will camp there; no shepherds will rest flocks there.
21 But 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.
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Wildcats will rest there; houses will be filled with owls. Ostriches will live there, and goat demons will dance there.
22 Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.
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Hyenas will howl in its strongholds, and jackals in its luxurious palaces. Babylon's time is coming soon; its days won't drag on.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible