1. The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2. Lift up a standard on the bare hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
3. I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger.
4. A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
5. They are coming from a far country, From the farthest horizons, The Lord and His instruments of indignation, To destroy the whole land.
6. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man's heart will melt.
8. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.
9. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
11. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
12. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.