2Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gates of the nobles.

3I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—

those who rejoice in my triumph.

4Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!

Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty is mustering

an army for war.

5They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavens—

the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—

to destroy the whole country.

6Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty. ^a

7Because of this, all hands will go limp,

every heart will melt with fear.

8Terror will seize them,

pain and anguish will grip them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.

9See, the day of the Lord is coming

—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

10The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.

The rising sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light.

11I will punish the world for its evil,

the wicked for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty

and will humble the pride of the ruthless.

12I will make people scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.

13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;

and the earth will shake from its place

at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.

14Like a hunted gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,

they will all return to their own people,

they will flee to their native land.

15Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will fall by the sword.

16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.

17See, I will stir up against them the Medes,

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.

18Their bows will strike down the young men;

they will have no mercy on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.

19Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,

the pride and glory of the Babylonians, ^b

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20She will never be inhabited

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21But desert creatures will lie there,

jackals will fill her houses;

there the owls will dwell,

and there the wild goats will leap about.

22Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,

jackals her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,

and her days will not be prolonged.