Isaiah 13:14-18

13:14 Like a frightened gazelle ¹ 

or a sheep with no shepherd,

each will turn toward home, ² 

each will run to his homeland.

13:15 Everyone who is caught will be stabbed;

everyone who is seized ³  will die ⁴  by the sword.

13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;

their houses will be looted

and their wives raped.

13:17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; ⁵ 

they are not concerned about silver,

nor are they interested in gold. ⁶ 

13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; ⁷ 

they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, ⁸ 

they will not ⁹  look with pity on children.

[13:14]  ¹ tn Or “like a gazelle being chased.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[13:14]  ² tn Heb “his people” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “his nation” (cf. TEV “their own countries”).

[13:15]  ³ tn Heb “carried off,” i.e., grabbed from the fleeing crowd. See HALOT 764 s.v. ספה.

[13:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “will fall” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NLT “will be run through with a sword.”

[13:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “against them”; NLT “against Babylon.”

[13:17]  ⁶ sn They cannot be bought off, for they have a lust for bloodshed.

[13:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and bows cut to bits young men.” “Bows” stands by metonymy for arrows.

[13:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “the fruit of the womb.”

[13:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “their eye does not.” Here “eye” is a metonymy for the whole person.