THE DAY OF THE LORD
Isaiah 13:1-22 / Keywords 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil, the
wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and
will humble the pride of the ruthless.
13:1 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty is mustering
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[a]
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every heart will melt with fear.
8 Terror will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.
9 See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
14 Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee to their native land.
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.
17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.
18 Their bows will strike down the young men;
they will have no mercy on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.
19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 She will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures will lie there,
jackals will fill her houses;
there the owls will dwell,
and there the wild goats will leap about.
22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,
jackals her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
Footnotes
a. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
b Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
1.
I will punish the world for its evil (1-13)
In chapters 13-23 the Lord spoke
judgment against the nations. The first oracle Isaiah spoke concerned Babylon.
God used the Babylonians to carry out his judgment on the people of Judah, but
he rebuked their arrogance, pride and cruelty. The prophecy against Babylon
looks forward to the day of the Lord—the day of God’s righteous judgment. On that day God promised to
judge the sin of the world. The day of the Lord will be a great day for those
who rejoice in God’s triumph (3), but a time of terror and anguish for
those who are enemies of God.
2. Babylon will be overthrown by
God (14-22)
Babylon was once the jewel of
kingdoms, but God would raise up the Medes to overthrow them. All of their
earthly glory would pass away in an instant when the Lord overthrew them like
Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s judgment is complete. Babylon took pride in their
glory, but would end up as a desert wasteland.
Prayer Lord, heal my heart of human pride.
Help me to rejoice in your triumph over the power of sin and death.
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