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A Prophecy Against Babylon
An oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
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Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates of the nobles.
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I have commanded my holy ones;
I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—
those who rejoice in my triumph.
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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.
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They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens—
the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—
to destroy the whole country.
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Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
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Because of this, all hands will go limp,
every man’s heart will melt.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
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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.
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Like a hunted gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,
each will return to his own people,
each will flee to his native land.