1. This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz:
2. On a bare hill raise a signal flag,shout to them,wave your hand,so they might enter the gates of the princes!
3. I have given orders to my chosen soldiers;I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones.
4. There is a loud noise on the mountains – it sounds like a large army!There is great commotion among the kingdoms – nations are being assembled!The Lord who commands armies is musteringforces for battle.
5. They come from a distant land,from the horizon.It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment,coming to destroy the whole earth.
6. Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near;it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge.
7. For this reason all hands hang limp,every human heart loses its courage.
8. They panic – cramps and pain seize hold of themlike those of a woman who is straining to give birth.They look at one another in astonishment;their faces are flushed red.