rsv Isaiah:13:1-21 SEEK
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The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw .
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On a bare hill raise a signal ,
cry aloud to them ;
wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles .
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I myself have commanded my consecrated ones ,
have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger ,
my proudly exulting ones .
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Hark ,
a tumult on the mountains as of a great multitude !
Hark ,
an uproar of kingdoms ,
of nations gathering together !
The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle .
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They come from a distant land ,
from the end of the heavens ,
the LORD and the weapons of his indignation ,
to destroy the whole earth .
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Wail ,
for the day of the LORD is near ;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come !
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Therefore all hands will be feeble ,
and every man '
s heart will melt ,
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and they will be dismayed .
Pangs and agony will seize them ;
they will be in anguish like a woman in travail .
They will look aghast at one another ;
their faces will be aflame .
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Behold ,
the day of the LORD comes ,
cruel ,
with wrath and fierce anger ,
to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it .
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For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light ;
the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light .
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I will punish the world for its evil ,
and the wicked for their iniquity ;
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant ,
and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless .
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I will make men more rare than fine gold ,
and mankind than the gold of Ophir .
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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 .
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And like a hunted gazelle ,
or like sheep with none to gather them ,
every man will turn to his own people ,
and every man will flee to his own land .
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Whoever is found will be thrust through ,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword .
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Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes ;
their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished .
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Behold ,
I am stirring up the Medes against them ,
who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold .
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Their bows will slaughter the young men ;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb ;
their eyes will not pity children .
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And Babylon ,
the glory of kingdoms ,
the splendor and pride of the Chalde '
ans ,
will be like Sodom and Gomor '
rah when God overthrew them .
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It will never be inhabited or dwelt in for all generations ;
no Arab will pitch his tent there ,
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there .
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But wild beasts will lie down there ,
and its houses will be full of howling creatures ;
there ostriches will dwell ,
and there satyrs will dance .