“An oracle concerning Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw in vision: Raise the ensign on a barren mountain; sound the voice among them! Beckon them with the hand to advance into the precincts of the elite. I have charged my holy ones, called out my valiant ones: my anger is not upon those who take pride in me.
“Hark! A tumult on the mountains, as of a vast multitude. Hark! An uproar among kingdoms, as of nations assembling: The Lord of Hosts is marshaling an army for war. They come from a distant land beyond the horizon—the Lord and the instruments of his wrath—to cause destruction throughout the earth.
“Lament, for the Day of the Lord is near; it shall come as a violent blow from the Almighty. Then shall every hand grow weak and the hearts of all men melt. They shall be terrified, in throes of agony, seized with trembling like a woman in labor. Men will look at one another aghast, their faces set aflame.
“The Day of the Lord shall come as a cruel outburst of anger and wrath to make the earth a desolation, that sinners may be annihilated from it. The stars and constellations of the heavens will not shine. When the sun rises, it shall be obscured; nor will the moon give its light.
“I have decreed calamity for the world, punishment for the wicked; I will put an end to the arrogance of insolent men and humble the pride of tyrants. I will make mankind scarcer than fine gold, men [more rare] than gold of Ophir. I will cause disturbance in the heavens when the earth is jolted out of place by the anger of the Lord of Hosts in the day of his blazing wrath.
“And Babylon, the most splendid of kingdoms, the glory and pride of Chaldeans, shall be thrown down] as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 13:1–13, 19)
“In that day men will throw away to the moles and to the bats their idols of silver and gods of gold which they have made for themselves to adore. Men will go into crevices in the rocks and fissures in the cliffs, from the awesome presence of the Lord and from the brightness of his glory, when he arises and strikes terror on earth.” (Isaiah 2:20–21)
“I have been standing on the watchtower day in and day out, my Lord; night after night I have stood guard. Now they come: cavalry and teams of horses! And he gave the reply, She has fallen; Babylon has fallen. All her idol gods he has razed to the ground. To you who know me, who are of my fold, I have reported what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.” (Isaiah 21:8–10)
“Go forth out of Babylon, flee from Chaldea! Make this announcement with resounding voice; broadcast it to the end of the earth. Say, the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They thirsted not when he led them through arid places: he caused water to flow for them from the rock; he cleaved the rock and water gushed out. But there is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:20–22)
“Turn away, depart; touch nothing defiled as you leave there. Come out of her and be pure, you who bear the Lord’s vessels. But you shall not leave in haste or go in flight: the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel behind you.” (Isaiah 52:11–12)
