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 man 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,

each will return to his own people,

each will flee to his 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 ravished.

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 glory of the Babylonians’^b pride,

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20She will never be inhabited

or lived in through all generations;

no Arab will pitch his tent there,

no shepherd will rest his flocks there.

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 howl in her strongholds,

jackals in her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,

and her days will not be prolonged.