1The visiona concerning Judah and Jerusalemb that Isaiah son of Amoz sawc during the reigns of Uzziah,d Jotham,e Ahazf and Hezekiah,g kings of Judah. The Historical Background of Isaiah
A Rebellious Nation
2Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!h
For the LORD has spoken:i
“I reared childrenj and brought them up,
but they have rebelledk against me.
the donkey its owner’s manger,m
but Israel does not know,n
my people do not understand.o”
4Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,p
a brood of evildoers,q
children given to corruption!r
They have forsakens the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy Onet of Israel
and turned their backsu on him.
5Why should you be beatenv anymore?
Why do you persistw in rebellion?x
Your whole head is injured,
6From the sole of your foot to the top of your heada
there is no soundnessb—
only wounds and weltsc
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandagedd
or soothed with olive oil.e
your cities burned with fire;g
your fields are being stripped by foreignersh
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.i
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hutl in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9Unless the LORD Almighty
had left us some survivors,m
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.n
10Hear the word of the LORD,o
you rulers of Sodom;p
listen to the instructionq of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!r
11“The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;s
I have no pleasuret
in the blood of bullsu and lambs and goats.v
12When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,w
this trampling of my courts?
13Stop bringing meaningless offerings!x
Your incensey is detestablez to me.
New Moons,a Sabbaths and convocationsb—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14Your New Moonc feasts and your appointed festivalsd
I hate with all my being.e
They have become a burden to me;f
I am wearyg of bearing them.
15When you spread out your handsh in prayer,
I hidei my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.j
Your handsk are full of blood!l
16Washm and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;n
stop doing wrong.o
17Learn to do right;p seek justice.q
Take up the cause of the fatherless;s
plead the case of the widow.t
18“Come now, let us settle the matter,”u
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;v
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.w Prophets and Prophecy
19If you are willing and obedient,x
you will eat the good things of the land;y
20but if you resist and rebel,z
you will be devoured by the sword.”a
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.b
21See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!c
She once was full of justice;
righteousnessd used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!e
22Your silver has become dross,f
your choice wine is diluted with water.
partners with thieves;h
they all love bribesi
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.j
24Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty Onek of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avengel myself on my enemies.m
25I will turn my hand against you;2,n
I will thoroughly purgeo away your drossp
and remove all your impurities.q
26I will restore your leaders as in days of old,r
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be calleds
the City of Righteousness,t
the Faithful City.u”
27Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitentv ones with righteousness.w
28But rebels and sinnersx will both be broken,
and those who forsakey the LORD will perish.z
29“You will be ashameda because of the sacred oaksb
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardensc
that you have chosen.
30You will be like an oak with fading leaves,d
like a garden without water.
31The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.e”
The Mountain of the LORD
2:1-4pp — Mic 4:1–3
1This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:a
the mountainc of the LORD’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;d
it will be exaltede above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.f
3Many peoplesg will come and say,
“Come, let us goh up to the mountaini of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The lawj will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.k
4He will judgel between the nations
and will settle disputesm for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.n
Nation will not take up sword against nation,o
nor will they train for war anymore.
5Come, descendants of Jacob,p
let us walk in the lightq of the LORD.
The Day of the LORD
6You, LORD, have abandonedr your people,
the descendants of Jacob.s
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divinationt like the Philistinesu
7Their land is full of silver and gold;x
there is no end to their treasures.y
Their land is full of horses;z
there is no end to their chariots.a
8Their land is full of idols;b
they bow downc to the work of their hands,d
to what their fingerse have made.
9So people will be brought lowf
and everyone humbledg—
10Go into the rocks, hidei in the ground
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty!j
11The eyes of the arrogantk will be humbledl
and human pridem brought low;n
the LORD alone will be exaltedo in that day.p
12The LORD Almighty has a dayq in store
for all the proudr and lofty,s
for all that is exaltedt
(and they will be humbled),u
13for all the cedars of Lebanon,v tall and lofty,w
and all the oaks of Bashan,x
14for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,y
and every fortified wall,a
and every stately vessel.
17The arrogance of man will be brought lowc
and human pride humbled;d
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,e
18and the idolsf will totally disappear.g
19People will flee to cavesh in the rocks
and to holes in the groundi
from the fearful presencej of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,k
when he rises to shake the earth.l
20In that daym people will throw away
to the moles and batsn
their idols of silver and idols of gold,o
which they made to worship.p
21They will flee to caverns in the rocksq
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,r
when he risess to shake the earth.t
22Stop trusting in mere humans,u
who have but a breathv in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?w
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
1See now, the Lord,
the LORD Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:a
all supplies of foodb and all supplies of water,c
the judge and the prophet,
3the captain of fiftyg and the man of rank,h
the counselor, skilled craftsmani and clever enchanter.j
4“I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.”k
5People will oppress each other—
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.l
The young will rise up against the old,
the nobody against the honored.
6A man will seize one of his brothers
in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
take charge of this heap of ruins!” Image
7But in that daym he will cry out,
“I have no remedy.n
I have no foodo or clothing in my house;
do not make me the leader of the people.”p
8Jerusalem staggers,
Judah is falling;q
their wordsr and deedss are against the LORD,
defyingt his glorious presence.
9The look on their faces testifiesu against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;v
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They have brought disasterw upon themselves.
10Tell the righteous it will be wellx with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.y
11Woe to the wicked!z
Disastera is upon them!
They will be paid backb
for what their hands have done.c
12Youthsd oppress my people,
women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;e
they turn you from the path.
13The LORD takes his place in court;f
he rises to judgeg the people.
14The LORD enters into judgmenth
against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
the plunderi from the poorj is in your houses.
15What do you mean by crushing my peoplek
and grindingl the faces of the poor?”m
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.n
16The LORD says,
“The women of Ziono are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,p
flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
17Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
the LORD will make their scalps bald.q”
18In that dayr the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,s 19the earrings and braceletst and veils,u 20the headdressesv and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21the signet rings and nose rings,w 22the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,x the purses 23and mirrors, and the linen garmentsy and tiarasz and shawls.
will take hold of one manb
and say, “We will eat our own foodc
and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
Take away our disgrace!”d
The Branch of the LORD
2In that daye the Branch of the LORDf will be beautifulg and glorious, and the fruith of the land will be the pride and gloryi of the survivorsj in Israel. 3Those who are left in Zion,k who remainl in Jerusalem, will be called holy,m all who are recordedn among the living in Jerusalem. 4The Lord will wash away the filtho of the women of Zion;p he will cleanseq the bloodstainsr from Jerusalem by a spirit1 of judgments and a spirit2 of fire.t 5Then the LORD will createu over all of Mount Zionv and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;w over everything the glory3,x will be a canopy.y 6It will be a shelterz and shade from the heat of the day, and a refugea and hiding place from the stormb and rain.
The Song of the Vineyard
1I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:a
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside. Allegory
2He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.b
He built a watchtowerc in it
and cut out a winepressd as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.e
3“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.f
4What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?g
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?h
5Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;i
I will break down its wall,j
and it will be trampled.k
6I will make it a wasteland,l
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thornsm will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rainn on it.”
7The vineyardo of the LORD Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,p but saw bloodshed;
Woes and Judgments
8Woes to you who add house to house
and join field to fieldt
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9The LORD Almightyu has declared in my hearing:v
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,w
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath1 of wine;
a homer2 of seed will yield only an ephah3 of grain.”x
11Woey to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.z
12They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipesa and timbrelsb and wine,
but they have no regardc for the deeds of the LORD,
no respect for the work of his hands.d
13Therefore my people will go into exilee
for lack of understanding;f
those of high rankg will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.h
14Therefore Deathi expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;j
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.k
15So people will be brought lowl
and everyone humbled,m
the eyes of the arrogantn humbled.
16But the LORD Almighty will be exaltedo by his justice,p
and the holy God will be proved holyq by his righteous acts.
17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;r
lambs will feed4 among the ruins of the rich.
18Woes to those who draw sin along with cordst of deceit,
and wickednessu as with cart ropes,
19to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hastenv his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy Onew of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”x
20Woey to those who call evil goodz
and good evil,a
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,b
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.c
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyesd
and clever in their own sight.
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking winee
and champions at mixing drinks,f
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,g
but deny justiceh to the innocent.i
24Therefore, as tongues of firej lick up strawk
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decayl
and their flowers blow away like dust;m
for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty
and spurned the wordn of the Holy Oneo of Israel.
25Therefore the LORD’s angerp burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,q
and the dead bodiesr are like refuses in the streets.t
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,u
his hand is still upraised.v
26He lifts up a bannerw for the distant nations,
he whistlesx for those at the ends of the earth.y
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27Not one of them grows tiredz or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belta is loosened at the waist,b
not a sandal strap is broken.c
all their bowse are strung;
their horses’ hoovesf seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.g
29Their roar is like that of the lion,h
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seizei their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.j
30In that dayk they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.l
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darknessm and distress;n
even the sun will be darkenedo by clouds.
Isaiah’s Commission
1In the year that King Uzziaha died,b I saw the Lord,c high and exalted,d seated on a throne;e and the train of his robef filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphim,g each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,h and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another: Kings of Judah Dating Methods Image
4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.m
5“Woen to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!o For I am a man of unclean lips,p and I live among a people of unclean lips,q and my eyes have seenr the King,s the LORD Almighty.”t
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coalu in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;v your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.w”
8Then I heard the voicex of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?y And who will go for us?z”
And I said, “Here am I.a Send me!”
9He said, “Gob and tell this people:
“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’c
10Make the heart of this people calloused;d
make their ears dull
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,f
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”g
11Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”h
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruinedi
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left desertedj
and the fields ruined and ravaged,k
12until the LORD has sent everyone far awayl
and the land is utterly forsaken.m
13And though a tenth remainsn in the land,
it will again be laid waste.o
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumpsp when they are cut down,
The Sign of Immanuel
1When Ahaza son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezinb of Aramc and Pekahd son of Remaliahe king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. Syro-Ephraimite War
2Now the house of Davidf was told, “Aram has allied itself with1 Ephraimg”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,h as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,2,i to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.j 4Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calmk and don’t be afraid.l Do not lose heartm because of these two smoldering stubsn of firewood—because of the fierce angero of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.p 5Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’sq son have plottedr your ruin, saying, 6“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” 7Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says:s
“ ‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,t
8for the head of Aram is Damascus,u
and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.v
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shatteredw to be a people.
9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,x
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not standy firm in your faith,z
you will not stand at all.’ ”a
10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11“Ask the LORD your God for a sign,b whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.c”
12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.d”
13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!e Is it not enoughf to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patienceg of my Godh also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you3 a sign:i The virgin4,j will conceive and give birth to a son,k and5 will call him Immanuel.6,l 15He will be eating curdsm and honeyn when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16for before the boy knowso enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,p the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.q 17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke awayr from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.s” Israel and Aram Destroyed
Assyria, the LORD’s Instrument
18In that dayt the LORD will whistleu for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.v 19They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevicesw in the rocks, on all the thornbushesx and at all the water holes. 20In that dayy the Lord will usez a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates Rivera—the king of Assyriab—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beardc also.d 21In that day,e a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.f 22And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curdsg and honey.h 23In that day,i in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,7,j there will be only briers and thorns.k 24Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briersl and thorns. 25As for all the hillsm once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;n they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.o
Isaiah and His Children as Signs
1The LORD said to me, “Take a large scrolla and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”1,b 2So I called in Uriahc the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnessesd for me. 3Then I made love to the prophetess,e and she conceived and gave birth to a son.f And the LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.g 4For before the boy knowsh how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascusi and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.j”
5The LORD spoke to me again:
6“Because this people has rejectedk
the gently flowing waters of Shiloahl
and rejoices over Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,m
7therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
the mighty floodwatersn of the Euphrates—
the king of Assyriao with all his pomp.p
It will overflow all its channels,
run over all its banksq
8and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,r
passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wingss will cover the breadth of your land,
9Raise the war cry,3,u you nations, and be shattered!v
Listen, all you distant lands.
Preparew for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;x
propose your plan, but it will not stand,y
11This is what the LORD says to me with his strong hand upon me,a warning me not to followb the way of this people:
12“Do not call conspiracyc
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,d
and do not dread it.e
13The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,f
he is the one you are to fear,g
he is the one you are to dread.h
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stonej that causes people to stumblek
and a rock that makes them fall.l
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.m
15Many of them will stumble;n
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
16Bind up this testimony of warningo
and sealp up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17I will waitq for the LORD,
who is hidingr his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.s
18Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me.t We are signsu and symbolsv in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.w
The Darkness Turns to Light
19When someone tells you to consultx mediums and spiritists,y who whisper and mutter,z should not a people inquirea of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20Consult God’s instructionb and the testimony of warning.c If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no lightd of dawn. 21Distressed and hungry,e they will roam through the land;f when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curseg their king and their God. 22Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,h and they will be thrust into utter darkness.i
1Nevertheless, there will be no more glooma for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,b but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2The people walking in darknessc
have seen a great light;d
on those living in the land of deep darknesse
a light has dawned.f
3You have enlarged the nationg
and increased their joy;h
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.i
4For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,j
you have shatteredk
the yokel that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,m
the rod of their oppressor.n
5Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,o
will be fuel for the fire.
to us a son is given,q
and the governmentr will be on his shoulders.s
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,t Mighty God,u
Everlastingv Father,w Prince of Peace.x Names in the Old Testament Period
7Of the greatness of his governmenty and peacez
there will be no end.a
He will reignb on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justicec and righteousnessd
from that time on and forever.e
The zealf of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
The LORD’s Anger Against Israel
8The Lord has sent a messageg against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9All the people will know it—
Ephraimh and the inhabitants of Samariai—
who say with pride
and arrogancej of heart,
10“The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;k
the figl trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.m”
11But the LORD has strengthened Rezin’sn foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12Arameanso from the east and Philistinesp from the west
have devouredq Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all this, his angerr is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.s
13But the people have not returnedt to him who strucku them,
nor have they soughtv the LORD Almighty.
14So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reedw in a single day;x
15the eldersy and dignitariesz are the head,
the prophetsa who teach liesb are the tail.
16Those who guidec this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.d
17Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,e
nor will he pityf the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodlyg and wicked,h
every mouth speaks folly.i
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.j
18Surely wickedness burns like a fire;k
it consumes briers and thorns,l
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,m
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19By the wrathn of the LORD Almighty
the land will be scorchedo
and the people will be fuel for the fire;p
they will not spare one another.q
20On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;r
on the left they will eat,s
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring2:
21Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;t
together they will turn against Judah.u
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.v
1Woea to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,b
2to deprivec the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,d
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.e
3What will you do on the day of reckoning,f
when disasterg comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?h
Where will you leave your riches?
4Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captivesi
or fall among the slain.j
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,k
his hand is still upraised.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
5“Woel to the Assyrian,m the rodn of my anger,
in whose hand is the clubo of my wrath!p
6I send him against a godlessq nation,
I dispatchr him against a people who anger me,s
to seize loot and snatch plunder,t
and to trampleu them down like mud in the streets.
7But this is not what he intends,v
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8‘Are not my commandersw all kings?’ he says.
9‘Has not Kalnox fared like Carchemish?y
10As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,d
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?e’ ”
12When the Lord has finished all his workf against Mount Ziong and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyriah for the willful pridei of his heart and the haughty lookj in his eyes. 13For he says:
“ ‘By the strength of my handk I have done this,l
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;m
like a mighty one I subdued1 their kings.n
14As one reaches into a nest,o
so my hand reached for the wealthp of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;q
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.r’ ”
15Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it?s
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a clubt brandish the one who is not wood!
16Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
will send a wasting diseaseu upon his sturdy warriors;v
under his pompw a firex will be kindled
like a blazing flame.
17The Light of Israel will become a fire,y
their Holy Onez a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
18The splendor of his forestsc and fertile fields
it will completely destroy,d
as when a sick person wastes away.
19And the remaining trees of his forestse will be so fewf
that a child could write them down.
The Remnant of Israel
20In that dayg the remnant of Israel,
the survivorsh of Jacob,
will no longer relyi on him
who struck them downj
but will truly relyk on the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel.l
21A remnantm will return,2,n a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.o
22Though your people be like the sandp by the sea, Israel,
only a remnant will return.q
Destruction has been decreed,r
overwhelming and righteous.
23The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out
24Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion,u
do not be afraidv of the Assyrians,
and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25Very soony my anger against you will end
and my wrathz will be directed to their destruction.a”
26The LORD Almighty will lashb them with a whip,
as when he struck down Midianc at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staffd over the waters,e
as he did in Egypt.
27In that dayf their burdeng will be lifted from your shoulders,
the yokej will be broken
because you have grown so fat.3
28They enter Aiath;
they pass through Migron;k
they store suppliesl at Mikmash.m
29They go over the pass, and say,
“We will camp overnight at Geba.n”
Ramaho trembles;
Listen, Laishah!
Poor Anathoth!s
31Madmenah is in flight;
the people of Gebim take cover.
32This day they will halt at Nob;t
they will shake their fistu
at the mount of Daughter Zion,v
at the hill of Jerusalem.
33See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
will lop offw the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,x
the tally ones will be brought low.z
34He will cut downa the forest thickets with an ax;
The Branch From Jesse
1A shoota will come up from the stumpb of Jesse;c
from his roots a Branchd will bear fruit.e
2The Spiritf of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdomg and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,h
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
3and he will delight in the feari of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,j
or decide by what he hears with his ears;k
4but with righteousnessl he will judge the needy,m
with justicen he will give decisions for the pooro of the earth.
He will strikep the earth with the rod of his mouth;q
with the breathr of his lips he will slay the wicked.s
5Righteousness will be his beltt
and faithfulnessu the sash around his waist.v
6The wolf will live with the lamb,w
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling1 together;
and a little child will lead them.
7The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.x
8The infanty will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’sz nest.
9They will neither harm nor destroya
on all my holy mountain,b
for the earthc will be filled with the knowledged of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10In that daye the Root of Jessef will stand as a bannerg for the peoples; the nationsh will rally to him,i and his resting placej will be glorious.k 11In that dayl the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnantm of his people from Assyria,n from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,o from Cush,2,p from Elam,q from Babylonia,3 from Hamathr and from the islandss of the Mediterranean.t
12He will raise a banneru for the nations
and gatherv the exiles of Israel;w
he will assemble the scattered peoplex of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.y
13Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies4 will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.z
14They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistiaa to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.b
They will subdue Edomc and Moab,d
and the Ammonitese will be subject to them.f
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching windh he will sweep his handi
over the Euphrates River.j
He will break it up into seven streams
so that anyone can cross over in sandals.k
16There will be a highwayl for the remnantm of his people
that is left from Assyria,n
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.o
Songs of Praise
1In that daya you will say:
“I will praiseb you, LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned awayc
and you have comfortedd me.
2Surely God is my salvation;e
I will trustf and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD himself,g is my strengthh and my defense1;
he has become my salvation.i”
3With joy you will draw waterj
from the wellsk of salvation.
4In that dayl you will say:
A Prophecy Against Babylon
1A prophecya against Babylonb that Isaiah son of Amozc saw:d Nations Targeted in Isaiah’s Prophecies
2Raise a bannere on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gatesf of the nobles.
3I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriorsg to carry out my wrathh—
those who rejoicei in my triumph.
4Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!j
Listen, an uproark among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The LORD Almightyl is musteringm
an army for war.
5They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavensn—
the LORD and the weaponso of his wrathp—
to destroyq the whole country.
6Wail,r for the days of the LORD is near;
it will come like destructiont from the Almighty.1,u
7Because of this, all hands will go limp,v
every heart will melt with fear.w
8Terrorx will seize them,
pain and anguish will gripy them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.z
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.a
9See, the dayb of the LORD is coming
—a cruelc day, with wrathd and fierce angere—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.f
The rising sung will be darkenedh
and the moon will not give its light.i
11I will punishj the world for its evil,
the wickedk for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughtyl
and will humblem the pride of the ruthless.n
12I will make peopleo scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.p
13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;q
and the earth will shaker from its place
at the wraths of the LORD Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.t
like sheep without a shepherd,v
they will all return to their own people,
they will fleew to their native land.x
15Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fally by the sword.z
16Their infantsa will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.b
17See, I will stir upc against them the Medes,d
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.e
18Their bowsf will strike down the young men;g
they will have no mercyh on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.i
19Babylon,j the jewel of kingdoms,k
the pride and gloryl of the Babylonians,2
will be overthrownm by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.n
20She will never be inhabitedo
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomadsp will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21But desert creaturesq will lie there,
jackalsr will fill her houses;
there the owlss will dwell,
and there the wild goatst will leap about.
22Hyenasu will inhabit her strongholds,v
jackalsw her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,x
and her days will not be prolonged.y
1The LORD will have compassiona on Jacob;
once again he will chooseb Israel
and will settle them in their own land.c
Foreignersd will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob. Prophecies Against Foreign Nations
2Nations will take them
and bringe them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nationsf
and make them male and female servants in the LORD’s land.
They will make captivesg of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.h
3On the day the LORD gives you reliefi from your suffering and turmoilj and from the harsh labor forced on you,k 4you will take up this tauntl against the king of Babylon:m
How the oppressorn has come to an end!
How his fury1 has ended!
5The LORD has broken the rodo of the wicked,p
the scepterq of the rulers,
6which in anger struck down peoplesr
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdueds nations
with relentless aggression.t
7All the lands are at rest and at peace;u
they break into singing.v
8Even the junipersw and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”x
9The realm of the deady below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departedz to greet you—
all those who were leadersa in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.b
10They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”c
11All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,d
along with the noise of your harps;e
maggots are spread out beneath you
12How you have fallenh from heaven,
morning star,i son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!j
13You said in your heart,
“I will ascendk to the heavens;
I will raise my thronel
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,m
on the utmost heightsn of Mount Zaphon.2
14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;o
I will make myself like the Most High.”p
15But you are brought downq to the realm of the dead,r
16Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:u
“Is this the man who shookv the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17the man who made the world a wilderness,w
who overthrewx its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”y
18All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.z
19But you are cast outa of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,b
with those pierced by the sword,c
those who descend to the stones of the pit.d
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20you will not join them in burial,e
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspringf of the wickedg
never be mentionedh again.
21Prepare a place to slaughter his childreni
for the sins of their ancestors;j
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.
22“I will rise upk against them,”
declares the LORD Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s namel and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,m”
declares the LORD.
23“I will turn her into a place for owlsn
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,o”
declares the LORD Almighty.p
24The LORD Almighty has sworn,q
“Surely, as I have planned,r so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.s
25I will crush the Assyriant in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yokeu will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.v”
26This is the planw determined for the whole world;
this is the handx stretched out over all nations.
27For the LORD Almighty has purposed,y and who can thwart him?
A Prophecy Against the Philistines
28This prophecyb came in the yearc King Ahazd died:
29Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,e
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,f
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.g
30The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needyh will lie down in safety.i
But your root I will destroy by famine;j
it will slayk your survivors.l
31Wail,m you gate!n Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!o
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,p
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.q
32What answer shall be given
to the envoysr of that nation?
“The LORD has established Zion,s
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.t”
A Prophecy Against Moab
16:6-12pp — Jer 48:29–36
destroyed in a night!
Kire in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2Dibonf goes up to its temple,
to its high placesg to weep;
Moab wailsh over Neboi and Medeba.
Every head is shavedj
and every beard cut off.k
3In the streets they wear sackcloth;l
on the roofsm and in the public squaresn
they all wail,o
prostrate with weeping.p
4Heshbonq and Elealehr cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.s
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5My heart cries outt over Moab;u
her fugitivesv flee as far as Zoar,w
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaimx
they lament their destruction.y
6The waters of Nimrim are dried upz
and the grass is withered;a
the vegetation is goneb
and nothing green is left.c
7So the wealth they have acquiredd and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beere Elim.
9The waters of Dimon1 are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon2—
a lionf upon the fugitives of Moabg
and upon those who remain in the land.
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,c across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.d
2Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,e
so are the women of Moabf
3“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,i
do not betray the refugees.
4Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelterj from the destroyer.”
The oppressork will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;l
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5In love a thronem will be established;n
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house1 of Davido—
one who in judging seeks justicep
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6We have heard of Moab’sq prider—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7Therefore the Moabites wail,s
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakest of Kir Hareseth.u
8The fields of Heshbonv wither,w
the vines of Sibmahx also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,y
which once reached Jazerz
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread outa
and went as far as the sea.2,b
9So I weep,c as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,d
I drench you with tears!e
The shouts of joyf over your ripened fruit
and over your harvestsg have been stilled.
10Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;h
no one sings or shoutsi in the vineyards;
no one treadsj out wine at the presses,k
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11My heart laments for Moabl like a harp,m
my inmost beingn for Kir Hareseth.
12When Moab appears at her high place,o
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrinep to pray,
it is to no avail.q
13This is the word the LORD has already spoken concerning Moab. 14But now the LORD says: “Within three years,r as a servant bound by contracts would count them,t Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,u and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”v
A Prophecy Against Damascus
1A prophecya against Damascus:b
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.c
2The cities of Aroerd will be deserted
and left to flocks,e which will lie down,f
with no one to make them afraid.g
3The fortifiedh city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the gloryi of the Israelites,”j
declares the LORD Almighty.
4“In that dayk the gloryl of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will wastem away.
5It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gatheringn the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of graino
in the Valley of Rephaim.p Image
6Yet some gleanings will remain,q
as when an olive tree is beaten,r
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the LORD, the God of Israel.
7In that days people will lookt to their Makeru
and turn their eyes to the Holy Onev of Israel.
8They will not look to the altars,w
the work of their hands,x
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles1,y
and the incense altars their fingersz have made.
9In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.a And all will be desolation.
10You have forgottenb God your Savior;c
you have not remembered the Rock,d your fortress.e
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,f
11though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morningg when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvesth will be as nothingi
in the day of disease and incurablej pain.k
12Woe to the many nations that ragel—
they rage like the raging sea!m
Woe to the peoples who roarn—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!o
13Although the peoples roarp like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukesq them they fleer far away,
driven before the wind like chaffs on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.t
14In the evening, suddenu terror!v
Before the morning, they are gone!w
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
A Prophecy Against Cush
1Woea to the land of whirring wings1
along the rivers of Cush,2,b Nations and Cities Mentioned in Isaiah
in papyrusd boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,e
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressivef nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.g
3All you people of the world,h
you who live on the earth,
when a banneri is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpetj sounds,
you will hear it.
4This is what the LORD says to me:
“I will remain quietk and will look on from my dwelling place,l
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,m
like a cloud of dewn in the heat of harvest.”
5For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut offo the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.p
6They will all be left to the mountain birds of preyq
and to the wild animals;r
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7At that time giftss will be brought to the LORD Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,t
from a people fearedu far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by riversv—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.w
A Prophecy Against Egypt
See, the LORD rides on a swift cloudc
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians meltd with fear.
2“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,e
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.f
3The Egyptians will lose heart,g
and I will bring their plansh to nothing;i
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.j
4I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce kingk will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
5The waters of the river will dry up,l
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.m
6The canals will stink;n
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.o
The reedsp and rushes will wither,q
7also the plantsr along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown fields along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.t
8The fishermenu will groan and lament,
all who cast hooksv into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9Those who work with combed flaxw will despair,
the weavers of fine linenx will lose hope.
10The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11The officials of Zoany are nothing but fools;
the wise counselorsz of Pharaoh give senseless advice.a
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,b
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12Where are your wise menc now?
Let them show you and make known
what the LORD Almighty
has plannedd against Egypt.
13The officials of Zoane have become fools,
the leaders of Memphisf are deceived;
the cornerstonesg of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14The LORD has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;h
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggersi around in his vomit.
15There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.j
16In that dayk the Egyptians will become weaklings.l They will shudder with fearm at the uplifted handn that the LORD Almighty raises against them. 17And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,o because of what the LORD Almighty is planningp against them.
18In that dayq five citiesr in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiances to the LORD Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.1,t
19In that dayu there will be an altarv to the LORD in the heart of Egypt,w and a monumentx to the LORD at its border. 20It will be a sign and witnessy to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a saviorz and defender, and he will rescuea them. 21So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledgeb the LORD. They will worshipc with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.d 22The LORD will strikee Egypt with a plague;f he will strike them and heal them. They will turng to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and healh them.
23In that dayi there will be a highwayj from Egypt to Assyria.k The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worshipl together. 24In that daym Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,n a blessing2,o on the earth. 25The LORD Almighty will blessp them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,q Assyria my handiwork,r and Israel my inheritance.s”
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
1In the year that the supreme commander,a sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdodb and attacked and captured it— 2at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.c He said to him, “Take off the sackclothd from your body and the sandalse from your feet.” And he did so, going around strippedf and barefoot.g
3Then the LORD said, “Just as my servanth Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,i as a signj and portentk against Egyptl and Cush,1,m 4so the kingn of Assyria will lead away strippedo and barefoot the Egyptian captivesp and Cushiteq exiles, young and old, with buttocks baredr—to Egypt’s shame.s 5Those who trustedt in Cushu and boasted in Egyptv will be dismayed and put to shame.w 6In that dayx the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happenedy to those we relied on,z those we fled to for helpa and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?b’ ”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
1A prophecya against the Desertb by the Sea:
Like whirlwindsc sweeping through the southland,d
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2A diree vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,f the looter takes loot.
Elam,g attack! Media,h lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3At this my body is racked with pain,i
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;j
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewilderedk by what I see.
fear makes me tremble;m
the twilight I longed for
has become a horrorn to me.
5They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!o
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!p
6This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookoutq
and have him report what he sees.
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,s
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9Look, here comes a man in a chariotu
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylonv has fallen,w has fallen!
All the images of its godsx
lie shatteredy on the ground!’ ”
10My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,z
I tell you what I have heard
from the LORD Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
Someone calls to me from Seir,b
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13A prophecyc against Arabia:d
You caravans of Dedanites,e
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,f
bring food for the fugitives.
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contracti would count it, all the splendorj of Kedark will come to an end. 17The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.l” The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.m
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
1A prophecya against the Valleyb of Vision:c
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,d
2you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumulte and revelry?f
Your slaing were not killed by the sword,h
nor did they die in battle.
3All your leaders have fledi together;
they have been capturedj without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weepk bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”l
5The Lord, the LORD Almighty, has a daym
of tumult and tramplingn and terroro
in the Valley of Vision,p
a day of battering down wallsq
and of crying out to the mountains.
with her charioteers and horses;
Kirt uncovers the shield.
7Your choicest valleysu are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.v
8The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that dayw
to the weaponsx in the Palace of the Forest.y
9You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken throughz in many places;
you stored up water
10You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down housesb to strengthen the wall.c
11You built a reservoir between the two wallsd
for the water of the Old Pool,e
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regardf for the One who plannedg it long ago.
12The Lord, the LORD Almighty,
called you on that dayh
to weepi and to wail,
to tear out your hairj and put on sackcloth.k
13But see, there is joy and revelry,l
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!m
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”n
14The LORD Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:o “Till your dying day this sin will not be atonedp for,” says the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
15This is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebnaq the palacer administrator:s
16What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a gravet for yourselfu here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17“Beware, the LORD is about to take firm hold of you
and hurlv you away, you mighty man.
18He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throww you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariotsx you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19I will depose you from your office,
20“In that daya I will summon my servant,b Eliakimc son of Hilkiah. 21I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sashd around him and hand your authoritye over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22I will place on his shoulderf the keyg to the house of David;h what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.i 23I will drive him like a pegj into a firm place;k he will become a seat1 of honorl for the house of his father. 24All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25“In that day,m” declares the LORD Almighty, “the pegn driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The LORD has spoken.o
A Prophecy Against Tyre
Wail,b you shipsc of Tarshish!d
For Tyre is destroyede
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2Be silent,f you people of the island
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;i
the harvest of the Nile1,j was the revenue of Tyre,k
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4Be ashamed, Sidon,l and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;m
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguishn at the report from Tyre.o
wail, you people of the island.
7Is this your city of revelry,q
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchantsr are princes,
whose traderss are renowned in the earth?
9The LORD Almighty plannedt it,
to bring downu her pride in all her splendor
and to humblev all who are renownedw on the earth.
10Till2 your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11The LORD has stretched out his handx over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.y
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.z
12He said, “No more of your reveling,a
Virgin Daughterb Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;c
even there you will find no rest.”
13Look at the land of the Babylonians,3,d
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrianse have made it
a place for desert creatures;f
they raised up their siege towers,g
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.h Siege Warfare
14Wail, you shipsi of Tarshish;j
your fortress is destroyed!k
15At that time Tyrel will be forgotten for seventy years,m the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16“Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;n
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17At the end of seventy years,o the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitutionp and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.q 18Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the LORD;r they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the LORD,s for abundant food and fine clothes.t
The LORD’s Devastation of the Earth
1See, the LORD is going to lay waste the eartha
and devastateb it;
he will ruin its face
and scatterc its inhabitants—
2it will be the same
for priest as for people,d
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,e
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.f
3The earth will be completely laid wasteg
and totally plundered.h
The LORD has spokeni this word.
4The earth dries upj and withers,k
the world languishes and withers,
the heavensl languish with the earth.m
5The earth is defiledn by its people;
they have disobeyedo the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.p
6Therefore a curseq consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,r
and very few are left.
7The new wine dries ups and the vine withers;t
all the merrymakers groan.u
8The joyful timbrelsv are stilled,
the noisew of the revelersx has stopped,
9No longer do they drink winea with a song;
the beer is bitterb to its drinkers.
10The ruined cityc lies desolate;d
the entrance to every house is barred.
11In the streets they cry oute for wine;f
all joy turns to gloom,g
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12The city is left in ruins,h
its gatei is battered to pieces.
13So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,j
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.k
14They raise their voices, they shout for joy;l
from the westm they acclaim the LORD’s majesty.
15Therefore in the eastn give gloryo to the LORD;
exaltp the nameq of the LORD, the God of Israel,
in the islandsr of the sea.
16From the ends of the earths we hear singing:t
“Gloryu to the Righteous One.”v
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!w
Woex to me!
The treacherousy betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!z”
17Terrora and pit and snareb await you,
people of the earth.c
18Whoever fleesd at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;e
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.f
The floodgates of the heavensg are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.h
19The earth is broken up,i
the earth is split asunder,j
the earth is violently shaken.
20The earth reels like a drunkard,k
it sways like a hutl in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellionm
that it fallsn—never to rise again.o
21In that dayp the LORD will punishq
the powersr in the heavens above
and the kingss on the earth below.
22They will be herded together
like prisonerst bound in a dungeon;u
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished1 after many days.v
23The moon will be dismayed,
the sunw ashamed;
for the LORD Almighty will reignx
on Mount Ziony and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.z
Praise to the LORD
1LORD, you are my God;a
I will exalt you and praise your name,b
for in perfect faithfulnessc
you have done wonderful things,d
things plannede long ago.
2You have made the city a heap of rubble,f
the foreigners’ strongholdi a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.j
3Therefore strong peoples will honor you;k
cities of ruthlessl nations will revere you.
4You have been a refugem for the poor,n
a refuge for the needyo in their distress,
a shelter from the stormp
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthlessq
is like a storm driving against a wall
5and like the heat of the desert.
You silencer the uproar of foreigners;s
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthlesst is stilled.
6On this mountainu the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feastv of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.w
7On this mountain he will destroy
the shroudx that enfolds all peoples,y
the sheet that covers all nations;
8he will swallow up deathz forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tearsa
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgraceb
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.c
9In that dayd they will say,
“Surely this is our God;e
we trustedf in him, and he savedg us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoiceh and be glad in his salvation.”i
10The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain;j
but Moabk will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring downl their pridem
despite the cleverness1 of their hands.
12He will bring down your high fortified wallsn
and lay them low;o
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
A Song of Praise
1In that daya this song will be sungb in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;c
God makes salvation
2Open the gatesf
that the righteousg nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3You will keep in perfect peaceh
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trusti in you.
for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rockl eternal.
5He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the groundm
and casts it down to the dust.n
6Feet trampleo it down—
the feet of the oppressed,p
the footsteps of the poor.q
7The path of the righteous is level;r
you, the Upright One,s make the way of the righteous smooth.t
8Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,1,u
we waitv for you;
your namew and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9My soul yearns for you in the night;x
in the morning my spirit longsy for you.
When your judgmentsz come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.a
10But when grace is shown to the wicked,b
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evilc
and do not regardd the majesty of the LORD.
11LORD, your hand is lifted high,e
but they do not seef it.
Let them see your zealg for your people and be put to shame;h
let the firei reserved for your enemies consume them.
12LORD, you establish peacej for us;
all that we have accomplished you have donek for us.
13LORD our God, other lordsl besides you have ruled over us,
but your namem alone do we honor.n
14They are now dead,o they live no more;
their spiritsp do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;q
you wiped out all memory of them.r
15You have enlarged the nation, LORD;
you have enlarged the nation.s
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borderst of the land.
16LORD, they came to you in their distress;u
when you disciplinedv them,
they could barely whisperw a prayer.2
17As a pregnant woman about to give birthx
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, LORD.
18We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birthy to wind.
We have not brought salvationz to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.a
19But your deadb will live, LORD;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dustc
wake up and shout for joy—
your dewd is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.e The Old Testament Concept of Resurrection
20Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doorsf behind you;
hideg yourselves for a little while
until his wrathh has passed by.i
21See, the LORD is comingj out of his dwellingk
to punishl the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the bloodm shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.