1 This is the divine revelation which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Babylon.
2 Raise a banner on the bare mountaintop.
3 I’ve commanded my holy ones.
4 Listen to the noise on the mountains.
5 His army is coming from a distant land,
6 Cry loudly, for the day of the Lord is near.
7 That is why every hand will hang limp,
8 They’ll be terrified.
9 The day of the Lord is going to come.
10 The stars in the sky and their constellations
11 I will punish the world for its evil
12 I will make people harder to find than pure gold
13 I will make heaven tremble,
14 They’ll be like hunted gazelle
15 Whoever is found will be stabbed to death.
16 Their little children will be smashed to death right before their eyes.
17 I’m going to stir up the Medes against them.
18 But their bows will smash the youth.
19 Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
20 It will never be inhabited again,
21 Desert animals will lie down there.
22 Hyenas will howl in Babylon’s strongholds,