Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon:
"See the flags waving as the enemy attacks. Cheer them on, O Israel! Wave to them as they march against Babylon to destroy the palaces of the high and mighty.
I, the LORD, have assigned this task to these armies, and they will rejoice when I am exalted. I have called them to satisfy my anger."
Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the armies march! It is the noise and the shout of many nations. The LORD Almighty has brought them here to form an army.
They came from countries far away. They are the LORD's weapons; they carry his anger with them and will destroy the whole land.
Scream in terror, for the LORD's time has arrived--the time for the Almighty to destroy.
Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Even the strongest hearts melt
and are afraid. Fear grips them with terrible pangs, like those of a woman about to give birth. They look helplessly at one another as the flames of the burning city reflect on their faces.
For see, the day of the LORD is coming--the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be destroyed and all the sinners with it.
The heavens will be black above them. No light will shine from stars or sun or moon.
"I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and the haughtiness of the mighty.
Few will be left alive when I have finished my work. People will be as scarce as gold--more rare than the gold of Ophir.
For I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move from its place. I, the LORD Almighty, will show my fury and fierce anger."
Everyone will run until exhausted, rushing back to their own lands like hunted deer, wandering like sheep without a shepherd.
Anyone who is captured will be run through with a sword.
Their little children will be dashed to death right before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes.
For I will stir up the Medes against Babylon, and no amount of silver or gold will buy them off.
The attacking armies will shoot down the young people with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for the children.
Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not allow their sheep to stay overnight.
Wild animals of the desert will move into the ruined city. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live among the ruins, and wild goats will come there to dance.
Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make their dens in its palaces. Babylon's days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.