The oracle on Babylon, - of which Isaiah, son of Amoz had vision: -

They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified,
Pains and anguish will grip them;
They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth.
They will stare aghast and horrified at one another,
Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].

Moreover, I will so shake the heaven, that the earth shall remove out of her place. Thus shall it go with Babylon in the wrath of the LORD of Hosts in the day of his fearful indignation.

And Babylon shall be as a hunted or chased doe, and as a flock without a shepherd. Every man shall turn to his own people, and flee each one into his own land.

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.

Thus shall Babylon - The most lovely of kingdoms, The majestic beauty of the Chaldees - Become as in the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.

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.

the little owls shall cry in the palaces, one after another, and Dragons shall be in their pleasant parlors. And as for Babylon's time, it is at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged.

For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob (the captives in Babylon) and will again choose Israel, and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners (Gentiles) will join them [as proselytes] and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob (Israel).

that thou shalt take up this taunt over the king of Babylon, and shalt say: - How hath ceased the oppressor! Ceased the exactress!

“Even the cypress trees rejoice over you [kings of Babylon], even the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’

“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!

I will rise. Then. against them, Declareth Yahweh of hosts, - And will cut off from Babylon Record and remnant And scion and seed, Declareth Yahweh.

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):

As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,
So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.

A harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!
All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end.

My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been turned into fear and trembling for me.

When lo! here was a train of men coming. With horsemen in double rank, - And one began and said, Fallen! fallen! is Babylon, And all the images of her gods, are smashed to the ground!

O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor.
What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].

At that time, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, - for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick, and had recovered.

Then came Isaiah the prophet, unto King Hezekiah, - and said unto him - What said these men? and whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, From a land far away, came they unto me, from Babylon!

Lo! days are coming, when all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have treasured up until this day, shall be carried away unto Babylon, - nothing, shall be left, Saith Yahweh.

And of thy sons who shall issue from thee whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away, - and they shall become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

This is what the Lord says, your protector, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I send to Babylon and make them all fugitives, turning the Babylonians' joyful shouts into mourning songs.

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their idols are on the beasts [of burden] and on the cattle.
Your burdens [of idols] are loaded [on them],
Burdens on the weary animals.

"Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

“I was angry with My people,
I profaned [Judah] My inheritance
And gave them into your hand [Babylon].
You showed them no mercy;
You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

“For you [Babylon] have trusted and felt confident in your wickedness; you have said,
‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray,
And you have said in your heart (mind),
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

“Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantments
And your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them],
Perhaps you may prevail and cause trembling.

“You are wearied by your many counsels.
Just let the astrologers,
The stargazers,
Those who predict by the new moons [each month]
Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon].

All of you, gather together and listen! Who among them announced these things? The Lord's ally will carry out his desire against Babylon; he will exert his power against the Babylonians.

Leave Babylon! Flee from the Babylonians! Announce it with a shout of joy! Make this known! Proclaim it throughout the earth! Say, 'The Lord protects his servant Jacob.

For the Lord God says this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

Depart, depart, go out from there (the lands of exile),
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out of the midst of her (Babylon), purify yourselves,
You who carry the articles of the Lord [on your journey from there].