An Oracle Concerning Damascus
ISAIAH 17 An s oracle concerning t Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of u Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and v none will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from w Ephraim,
and the kingdom from w Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like x the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the LORD of hosts.
4 And in that day x the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and y the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be z as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in a the Valley of Rephaim.
6 b Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the LORD God of Israel.
7 c In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 d He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the e Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 f In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For g you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the h Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow [1] on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away [2]
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, i the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 j The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
k but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased l like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and m whirling dust before the storm.
14 n At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.
An Oracle Concerning Cush
ISAIAH 18 Ah, land of o whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of p Cush, [1]
2 which q sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation r tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation s mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when t a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
4 For thus the LORD said to me:
“I will quietly look u from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 v For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
6 v They shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 w At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts
from a people x tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to y Mount Zion, the place of the z name of the LORD of hosts.
An Oracle Concerning Egypt
ISAIAH 19 An a oracle concerning b Egypt.
Behold, the LORD c is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and d the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will e melt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
f and they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound [1] their g counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and h the mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of i a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The j fishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
9 The workers in k combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the l pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who m work for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of n Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your o wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of n Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of p Memphis are deluded;
those who are the q cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The LORD has mingled within her r a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
s as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that t head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed
16In that day the Egyptians will be u like women, and v tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them.
18 w In that day there will be x five cities in the land of Egypt that y speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction. [2]
19In that day there will be an z altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 a It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, b he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 c And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day d and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 e And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
23 f In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, g and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, h a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt i my people, and Assyria j the work of my hands, and k Israel my inheritance.”
A Sign Against Egypt and Cush
ISAIAH 20 In the year that l the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to m Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking n naked and barefoot.
3Then the LORD said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years o as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, [1] 4so shall the p king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 q Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6And the inhabitants of r this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and s to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”
Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
ISAIAH 21 The t oracle concerning the wilderness of u the sea.
v As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
w the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O x Elam;
lay siege, O y Media;
all the z sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
a pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
b the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5 c They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs, [1]
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
d oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out: [2]
e “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
f And he answered,
g “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
h and all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10 O i my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11The j oracle concerning k Dumah.
One is calling to me from l Seir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12 The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also m the night.
If you will inquire, n inquire;
come back again.”
13The o oracle concerning p Arabia.
In the thickets in p Arabia you will lodge,
14 To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of r Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, s according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of t Kedar will come to an end. 17And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of t Kedar will be few, u for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
ISAIAH 22 The v oracle concerning w the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, x exultant town?
Your slain are y not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 z All your leaders have fled together;
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
a let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 b For the Lord GOD of hosts has c a day
of tumult and d trampling and e confusion
in w the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And f Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and g Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away h the covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to i the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9and you saw that j the breaches of the city of David were many. k You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 k You made a reservoir between l the two walls for the water of m the old pool. But n you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day o the Lord GOD of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for p baldness and q wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
r “Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
14 The LORD of hosts s has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely t this iniquity will not be atoned for you u until you die,”
says the Lord GOD of hosts.
15Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to v Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16What have you to do here, and whom have you here, w that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you x who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. y He will seize firm hold on you 18and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be z your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 a I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20In that day I will call my servant b Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21and b I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be c a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22And I will place d on his shoulder e the key of the house of David. f He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23And I will fasten him g like a peg in a secure place, and he will become h a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, g the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
ISAIAH 23 The i oracle concerning j Tyre.
Wail, O k ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, l without house or harbor!
it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of n Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were o the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O n Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish [2] over the report about Tyre.
6 p Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
q whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
r to defile the pompous pride of all glory, [3]
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10 Cross over your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint anymore.
11 s He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the LORD has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of t Sidon;
arise, u cross over to v Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
13Behold the land of w the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; [4] Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected x their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
14 y Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
15In that day Tyre will be forgotten for z seventy years, like the days [5] of one king. At the end of z seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
17At the end of a seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and b will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
ISAIAH 24 Behold, c the LORD will empty the earth [1] and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 d And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
e as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
f as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 g The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
h for the LORD has spoken this word.
4 i The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies j defiled
under its inhabitants;
for k they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore l a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants m suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 n The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 o The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine p with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 q The wasted city is broken down;
r every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 s There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
t all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
u as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west. [2]
15 v Therefore in the east [3] give glory to the LORD;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 w From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to x the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For y the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 z Terror and the pit and the snare [4]
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 z He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For a the windows of heaven are opened,
and b the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth c staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
d its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the LORD will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and e the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 f They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days g they will be punished.
23 h Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for i the LORD of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
ISAIAH 25 O LORD, j you are my God;
k I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
l plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city m a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners’ palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 n Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 o For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
p a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
q for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 r like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.
6 s On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
t of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up s on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
u the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 v He will swallow up death forever;
and w the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and x the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
y for the LORD has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; z we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
a let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the LORD will rest s on this mountain,
and b Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
as straw is trampled down in a dunghill. [1]
11 c And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
but the LORD d will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill [2] of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.
You Keep Him in Perfect Peace
ISAIAH 26 In that day e this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up f salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
2 g Open the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 h You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
5 i For he has humbled
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
6 The foot tramples it,
the feet of j the poor,
the steps of j the needy.”
7 The path of the righteous is level;
k you make level the way of the righteous.
8 In the path of your judgments,
O LORD, we wait for you;
are the desire of our soul.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
m For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 n If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the LORD.
11 O LORD, o your hand is lifted up,
but p they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
Let q the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12 O LORD, you will ordain r peace for us,
for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13 O LORD our God,
s other lords besides you have ruled over us,
t but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15 u But you have increased the nation, O LORD,
you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
v you have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16 O LORD, w in distress they sought you;
they poured out a whispered prayer
when your discipline was upon them.
17 x Like a pregnant woman
who writhes and cries out in her pangs
when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O LORD;
18 x we were pregnant, we writhed,
but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 y Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For z your dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves a for a little while
until the fury has passed by.
21 b For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place
to punish the inhabitants of c the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
and will no more cover its slain.
The Redemption of Israel
ISAIAH 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong d sword will punish e Leviathan the fleeing serpent, e Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay f the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day,
g “A pleasant vineyard, [1] h sing of it!
3 I, the LORD, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
4 I have no wrath.
i Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together.
5 Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
6 j In days to come [2] Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 k Has he struck them l as he struck those who struck them?
Or have they been slain m as their slayers were slain?
8 n Measure by measure, [3] by exile you contended with them;
o he removed them with his fierce breath [4] in the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this p the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: [5]
q when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no r Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
10 s For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes;
there it lies down and strips its branches.
11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
t For this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;
he who formed them will show them no favor.
12In that day u from the river Euphrates [6] to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13And in that day v a great trumpet will be blown, w and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt x will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem
ISAIAH 28 Ah, the proud crown of y the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has z one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 b The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 c and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like d a first-ripe fig before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 e In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, [1]
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 and f a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and g strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 h These also reel with wine
and i stagger with strong drink;
the priest and j the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by [2] wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 k “To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 l For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the LORD will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
m “This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13 And the word of the LORD will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
n that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you o scoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the p overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made q lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
r “Behold, I am the one who has laid [3] as a foundation s in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17 And I will make justice t the line,
and righteousness t the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18 Then u your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it passes through it will take you;
v for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be w sheer terror to understand the message.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For the LORD will rise up x as on Mount Perazim;
y as in the Valley of z Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22 Now therefore do not a scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard b a decree of destruction
from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 c When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer [4] as the border?
26 d For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever; [5]
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts;
he is e wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
The Siege of Jerusalem
ISAIAH 29 Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
the city f where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the feasts run their round.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
and she shall be to me like an Ariel. [1]
3 g And I will encamp against you all around,
and will besiege you h with towers
and I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 i And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,
and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;
your voice shall come from the ground like j the voice of a ghost,
and from the dust your speech shall whisper.
5 But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like k small dust,
and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
l And in an instant, suddenly,
6 m you will be visited by the LORD of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And n the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
shall be o like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 p As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating
and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking
and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.
9 Astonish yourselves [2] and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
r stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 s For the LORD has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
11And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is t sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 And the Lord said:
“Because u this people v draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, w I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and x the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
15 Ah, y you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel,
whose deeds are z in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 a You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
17 Is it not yet a very little while
b until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In that day c the deaf shall hear
d the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
e the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 f The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nothing
and g the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
and h lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and with an empty plea i turn aside him who is in the right.
22Therefore thus says the LORD, j who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
k the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
l they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those m who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”
Do Not Go Down to Egypt
ISAIAH 30 “Ah, n stubborn children,” declares the LORD,
o “who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make p an alliance, [1] but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2 q who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 r Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
4 For though his officials are at s Zoan
and t his envoys reach u Hanes,
5 everyone comes to shame
through v a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
but shame and disgrace.”
6An w oracle on x the beasts of y the Negeb.
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
from where come the lioness and the lion,
the adder and the z flying fiery serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people that cannot profit them.
7 Egypt’s a help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her
b “Rahab who sits still.”
A Rebellious People
8 And now, go, c write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever. [2]
9 d For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the LORD;
10 e who say to f the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us g smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
and trust in h oppression and perverseness
and rely on them,
13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you
i like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse,
whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 and its breaking is j like that of a potter’s vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
with which to take fire from the hearth,
or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,
“In k returning [3] and l rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16and you said,
“No! We will flee upon m horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 n A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
The LORD Will Be Gracious
18 Therefore the LORD o waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he p exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
q blessed are all those who wait for him.
19For a people shall dwell r in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20And though the Lord give you the s bread of adversity and the s water of affliction, t yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 u And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is v the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 22Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. w You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!”
23 x And he will give y rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. z In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, 24and a the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25And b on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, c when the towers fall. 26 d Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when e the LORD binds up f the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; [4]
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28 g his breath is h like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck;
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
and to place on the jaws of the peoples i a bridle that leads astray.
29You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, j as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to k the mountain of the LORD, to l the Rock of Israel. 30And the LORD m will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger n and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst o and storm and hailstones. 31The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, p when he strikes with his rod. 32And every stroke of the appointed staff that the LORD lays on them q will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. r Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33For s a burning place [5] has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, t its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; u the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt
ISAIAH 31 Woe to v those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who w trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but x do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the LORD!
2 And y yet he is wise and brings disaster;
z he does not call back his words,
but a will arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the helpers of b those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses c are flesh, and not spirit.
When the LORD stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
4 For thus the LORD said to me,
d “As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
and when a band of shepherds is called out against him
he is not terrified by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
e so the LORD of hosts will come down
to fight [1] on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 f Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts
will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it;
he will spare and rescue it.”
6 g Turn to him from whom people [2] have h deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7For in that day i everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 j “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be k put to forced labor.
9 l His rock shall pass away in terror,
and his officers desert the standard in panic,”
declares the LORD, whose m fire is in Zion,
and whose n furnace is in Jerusalem.
A King Will Reign in Righteousness
ISAIAH 32 Behold, o a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.
2 p Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a shelter from the storm,
q like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 r Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will give attention.
4 The heart of the hasty will understand and know,
s and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.
5 t The fool will no more be called noble,
nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.
6 For u the fool speaks folly,
and his heart is busy with iniquity,
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the LORD,
v to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
7 As for the scoundrel— w his devices are evil;
he plans wicked schemes
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
8 But he who is noble plans noble things,
and on noble things he stands.
Complacent Women Warned of Disaster
9 x Rise up, you women y who are at ease, hear my voice;
you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.
10 In little more than a year
you will shudder, you complacent women;
for the grape harvest fails,
the fruit harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you women y who are at ease,
shudder, you complacent ones;
z strip, and make yourselves bare,
a and tie sackcloth around your waist.
12 b Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine,
13 c for the soil of my people
growing up in thorns and briers,
d yes, for all the joyous houses
in the exultant city.
14 For the palace is forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
e a joy of wild donkeys,
a pasture of flocks;
15 until f the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and g the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 h And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust [1] forever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
19 i And it will hail when the forest falls down,
j and the city will be utterly laid low.
20 k Happy are you who sow beside all waters,
who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.
O LORD, Be Gracious to Us
ISAIAH 33 l Ah, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.
2 O LORD, be gracious to us; m we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 n At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
4 and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
o as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
5 p The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 q and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is Zion’s [1] treasure.
7 Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
r the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 s The highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
t Covenants are broken;
cities [2] are despised;
there is no regard for man.
9 u The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 v “Now I will arise,” says the LORD,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11 w You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is x a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
x like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
y “Who among us can dwell z with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 a He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
b and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
c his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
17 d Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
e they will see a land that stretches afar.
18 f Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is g he who weighed the tribute?
Where is h he who counted the towers?”
19 i You will see no more the insolent people,
the people j of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
k Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an l immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the LORD in majesty will be for us
a place of m broad rivers and streams,
n where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22 For the LORD is our o judge; the LORD is our p lawgiver;
the LORD is our q king; he will save us.
23 Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
r Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even s the lame will take the prey.
24 And no inhabitant will say, t “I am sick”;
u the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.