Isaiah 13:12-22

Isaiah 13:9-22 The Message (MSG)

“Watch now. GOD’s Judgment Day comes. Cruel it is, a day of wrath and anger, A day to waste the earth and clean out all the sinners. The stars in the sky, the great parade of constellations, will be nothing but black holes. The sun will come up as a black disk, and the moon a blank nothing. I’ll put a full stop to the evil on earth, terminate the dark acts of the wicked. I’ll gag all braggarts and boasters—not a peep anymore from them— and trip strutting tyrants, leave them flat on their faces. Proud humanity will disappear from the earth. I’ll make mortals rarer than hens’ teeth. And yes, I’ll even make the sky shake, and the earth quake to its roots Under the wrath of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the Judgment Day of his raging anger. Like a hunted white-tailed deer, like lost sheep with no shepherd, People will huddle with a few of their own kind, run off to some makeshift shelter. But tough luck to stragglers—they’ll be killed on the spot, throats cut, bellies ripped open, Babies smashed on the rocks while mothers and fathers watch, Houses looted, wives raped. “And now watch this: Against Babylon, I’m inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt. They massacre the young, wantonly kick and kill even babies. And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth. But strange and wild animals will like it just fine, filling the vacant houses with eerie night sounds. Skunks will make it their home, and unspeakable night hags will haunt it. Hyenas will curdle your blood with their laughing, and the howling of coyotes will give you the shivers.

Isaiah 13:12-22 King James Version (KJV)

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Isaiah 13:12-22 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold. And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 13:12-22 New Century Version (NCV)

People will be harder to find than pure gold; there will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir. I will make the sky shake, and the earth will be moved from its place by the anger of the LORD All-Powerful at the time of his burning anger. “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted deer or like sheep who have no shepherd. Everyone will turn back to his own people; each will run back to his own land. Everyone who is captured will be killed; everyone who is caught will be killed with a sword. Their little children will be beaten to death in front of them. Their houses will be robbed and their wives raped. “Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. They do not care about silver or delight in gold. Their soldiers will shoot the young men with arrows; they will show no mercy on children, nor will they feel sorry for little ones. Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms, and the Babylonians are very proud of it. But God will destroy it like Sodom and Gomorrah. No one will ever live there or settle there again. No Arab will put a tent there; no shepherd will bring sheep there. Only desert animals will live there, and their houses will be full of wild dogs. Owls will live there, and wild goats will leap about in the houses. Wolves will howl within the strong walls, and wild dogs will bark in the beautiful buildings. The end of Babylon is near; its time is almost over.”

Isaiah 13:12-22 American Standard Version (ASV)

I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place, in the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall come to pass, that as the chased roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is taken shall fall by the sword. Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Isaiah 13:12-22 New International Version (NIV)

I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. 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. Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land. Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. 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. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 13:12-22 New King James Version (NKJV)

I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger. It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land. Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there. But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there. The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.”

Isaiah 13:12-22 Amplified Bible (AMP)

I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold, And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; And the earth will be shaken from its place At the wrath of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And like the hunted gazelle, Or like sheep that no man gathers, Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be pierced through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their children also will be smashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be looted And their wives ravished. ¶Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them, Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed]. Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon]; They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb, Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there. Hyenas will howl in their castles, And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time has nearly come, And her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 13:12-22 New Living Translation (NLT)

I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir. For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger.” Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land. Anyone who is captured will be cut down— run through with a sword. Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped. “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.” Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep. Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance. Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.

Isaiah 13:12-22 The Passion Translation (TPT)

I will make a person scarcer than fine gold and people rarer than a wedge of gold from Ophir. Therefore, I will make the heavens shudder and the earth shake from its foundation because of the wrath of the Lord, Commander of Angel Armies, in the day of his fierce anger. Like a hunted gazelle, each will return to his own people, and like sheep with no one to gather them, each will flee to his native land. Captured ones will be slain, and those who are caught will die by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their very eyes. Their houses will be looted and their wives raped. Behold! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who neither value silver nor delight in gold. They will slaughter the young men, and show no pity on infants nor compassion on children.” God will overthrow Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Babylonians, exactly as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Babylon will never rise again, nor will she be inhabited for many generations. Bedouins will not even pitch their tents there, and shepherds will refuse to rest their flocks there. Wild animals will roam there, and their vacant houses will be overrun by eerie creatures — nothing but owls and goat-shaped demons dancing! Hyenas will howl in her houses, and jackals will make their dens in her palaces. Babylon’s time is up, and her days are numbered!

Isaiah 13:12-22 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. 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. 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. Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 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. 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. 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.