This is a message about Babylon, which Isaiah son of Amoz received from God.

The LORD said, "Damascus will not be a city any longer; it will be only a pile of ruins.

No one will ever live there again. No wandering Arab will ever pitch a tent there, and no shepherd will ever pasture a flock there.

The towers and palaces will echo with the cries of hyenas and jackals. Babylon's time has come! Her days are almost over."

I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken."

The sea has rolled over Babylon and covered it with roaring waves.

The storm winds come from the south, and the biting cold from the north.

"When the king of Syria's final hour has almost come, the king of Egypt will attack him, and the king of Syria will fight back with all his power, using chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade many countries, like the waters of a flood.

The LORD will appear above his people; he will shoot his arrows like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms from the south.

Listen to the noise on the mountains---the sound of a great crowd of people, the sound of nations and kingdoms gathering. The LORD of Armies is preparing his troops for battle.

They are coming from far-off countries at the ends of the earth. In his anger the LORD is coming to devastate the whole country.

The LORD says, "I am stirring up the Medes to attack Babylon. They care nothing for silver and are not tempted by gold.

With their bows and arrows they will kill the young men. They will show no mercy to babies and take no pity on children.

He and his ruthless army will come to devastate the land. They will attack Egypt with swords, and the land will be full of corpses.

Ruthless foreigners will cut it down and leave it. Its branches and broken limbs will fall on every mountain and valley in the country. All the nations that have been living in its shade will go away.