Isaiah 2-35

New Living Translation

² In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
    will be the highest of all—
    the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
    and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
³ People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
    and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
    his word will go out from Jerusalem.
⁴ The Lord will mediate between nations
    and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
    nor train for war anymore.

¹² For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty
    and bring down everything that is exalted.
¹³ He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon
    and all the mighty oaks of Bashan.
¹⁴ He will level all the high mountains
    and all the lofty hills.
¹⁵ He will break down every high tower
    and every fortified wall.
¹⁶ He will destroy all the great trading ships^[a]
    and every magnificent vessel.
¹⁷ Human pride will be humbled,
    and human arrogance will be brought down.
Only the Lord will be exalted
    on that day of judgment.

¹⁸ Idols will completely disappear.
¹⁹ When the Lord rises to shake the earth,
    his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground.
They will hide in caves in the rocks
    from the terror of the Lord
    and the glory of his majesty.
²⁰ On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols
    they made for themselves to worship.
They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,
²¹     while they crawl away into caverns
    and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
They will try to escape the terror of the Lord
    and the glory of his majesty
    as he rises to shake the earth.
²² Don’t put your trust in mere humans.
    They are as frail as breath.
    What good are they?

⁴ I will make boys their leaders,
    and toddlers their rulers.
⁵ People will oppress each other—
    man against man,
    neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
    and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

⁶ In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
    Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
⁷ But he will reply,
    “No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
    Don’t put me in charge!”

⁸ For Jerusalem will stumble,
    and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him.
    They provoke him to his face.
⁹ The very look on their faces gives them away.
    They display their sin like the people of Sodom
    and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
    They have brought destruction upon themselves.

¹⁰ Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
    They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
¹¹ But the wicked are doomed,
    for they will get exactly what they deserve.

¹² Childish leaders oppress my people,
    and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you;
    they send you down the wrong road.

¹³ The Lord takes his place in court
    and presents his case against his people.^[b]
14 The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment
    on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined Israel, my vineyard.
    Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
¹⁵ How dare you crush my people,
    grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?”
    demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁸ On that day of judgment
    the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful:
ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,
¹⁹     earrings, bracelets, and veils;
²⁰ scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes,
    perfumes, and charms;
²¹ rings, jewels,
²²     party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;
²³ mirrors, fine linen garments,
    head ornaments, and shawls.

²⁴ Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink.
    She will wear a rope for a sash,
    and her elegant hair will fall out.
She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes.
    Shame will replace her beauty.^[d]
25 The men of the city will be killed with the sword,
    and her warriors will die in battle.
²⁶ The gates of Zion will weep and mourn.
    The city will be like a ravaged woman,
    huddled on the ground.

³ Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
    you judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ What more could I have done for my vineyard
    that I have not already done?
When I expected sweet grapes,
    why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

⁵ Now let me tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard:
I will tear down its hedges
    and let it be destroyed.
I will break down its walls
    and let the animals trample it.
⁶ I will make it a wild place
    where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed,
    a place overgrown with briers and thorns.
I will command the clouds
    to drop no rain on it.

⁷ The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
    The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
He expected a crop of justice,
    but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find righteousness,
    but instead he heard cries of violence.

¹¹ What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning
    looking for a drink of alcohol
and spend long evenings drinking wine
    to make themselves flaming drunk.
¹² They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties—
    lyre and harp, tambourine and flute—
but they never think about the Lord
    or notice what he is doing.

¹³ So my people will go into exile far away
    because they do not know me.
Those who are great and honored will starve,
    and the common people will die of thirst.
¹⁴ The grave^[j] is licking its lips in anticipation,
    opening its mouth wide.
The great and the lowly
    and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up.
¹⁵ Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down;
    even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.
¹⁶ But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice.
    The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness.
¹⁷ In that day lambs will find good pastures,
    and fattened sheep and young goats^[k] will feed among the ruins.

¹⁸ What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them
    with ropes made of lies,
    who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
¹⁹ They even mock God and say,
    “Hurry up and do something!
    We want to see what you can do.
Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,
    for we want to know what it is.”

²⁰ What sorrow for those who say
    that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
    that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
²¹ What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
    and think themselves so clever.
²² What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine
    and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
²³ They take bribes to let the wicked go free,
    and they punish the innocent.

²⁴ Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble
    and dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will rot
    and their flowers wither.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;
    they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵ That is why the Lord’s anger burns against his people,
    and why he has raised his fist to crush them.
The mountains tremble,
    and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage.
But even then the Lord’s anger is not satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike!

²⁶ He will send a signal to distant nations far away
    and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
    They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
²⁷ They will not get tired or stumble.
    They will not stop for rest or sleep.
Not a belt will be loose,
    not a sandal strap broken.
²⁸ Their arrows will be sharp
    and their bows ready for battle.
Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves,
    and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
²⁹ They will roar like lions,
    like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
    and no one will be there to rescue them.
³⁰ They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
    like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
    only darkness and distress will be seen;
    even the light will be darkened by clouds.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
    Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
¹⁰ Harden the hearts of these people.
    Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
    nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
    and turn to me for healing.”^[m]

“Until their towns are empty,
    their houses are deserted,
    and the whole country is a wasteland;
¹² until the Lord has sent everyone away,
    and the entire land of Israel lies deserted.
¹³ If even a tenth—a remnant—survive,
    it will be invaded again and burned.
But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down,
    so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

“This invasion will never happen;
    it will never take place;
⁸ for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus,
    and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin.
As for Israel, within sixty-five years
    it will be crushed and completely destroyed.
⁹ Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria,
    and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.
Unless your faith is firm,
    I cannot make you stand firm.”

⁹ “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
    Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
¹⁰ Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.
    Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.
    For God is with us!^[ab]”

¹² “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
    and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
¹³ Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
    He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
¹⁴     He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
    he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
    a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
    he will be a trap and a snare.
¹⁵ Many will stumble and fall,
    never to rise again.
    They will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶ Preserve the teaching of God;
    entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord,
    who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
    I will put my hope in him.

^2 [ad]The people who walk in darkness
    will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,^[ae]
    a light will shine.
³ You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
    and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest
    and like warriors dividing the plunder.
⁴ For you will break the yoke of their slavery
    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
    just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
⁵ The boots of the warrior
    and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
    They will be fuel for the fire.

⁶ For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,^[af] Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ His government and its peace
    will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
    for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will make this happen!

¹¹ But the Lord will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel
    and stir up all their foes.
¹² The Syrians^[ah] from the east and the Philistines from the west
    will bare their fangs and devour Israel.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

¹³ For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.
    They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
¹⁴ Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail,
    the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
¹⁵ The leaders of Israel are the head,
    and the lying prophets are the tail.
¹⁶ For the leaders of the people have misled them.
    They have led them down the path of destruction.
¹⁷ That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men
    and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans.
For they are all wicked hypocrites,
    and they all speak foolishness.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

¹⁸ This wickedness is like a brushfire.
    It burns not only briers and thorns
but also sets the forests ablaze.
    Its burning sends up clouds of smoke.
¹⁹ The land will be blackened
    by the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The people will be fuel for the fire,
    and no one will spare even his own brother.
²⁰ They will attack their neighbor on the right
    but will still be hungry.
They will devour their neighbor on the left
    but will not be satisfied.
In the end they will even eat their own children.^[ai]
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim,
    Ephraim will feed on Manasseh,
    and both will devour Judah.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

10 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
    and those who issue unfair laws.
² They deprive the poor of justice
    and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
    and take advantage of orphans.
³ What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?
⁴ You will stumble along as prisoners
    or lie among the dead.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

“By my own powerful arm I have done this.
    With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it.
I have broken down the defenses of nations
    and carried off their treasures.
    I have knocked down their kings like a bull.
¹⁴ I have robbed their nests of riches
    and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs.
No one can even flap a wing against me
    or utter a peep of protest.”

¹⁵ But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?
    Is the saw greater than the person who saws?
Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?
    Can a wooden cane walk by itself?
¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops,
    and a flaming fire will consume its glory.
¹⁷ The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire;
    the Holy One will be a flame.
He will devour the thorns and briers with fire,
    burning up the enemy in a single night.
¹⁸ The Lord will consume Assyria’s glory
    like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land;
    it will waste away like sick people in a plague.
¹⁹ Of all that glorious forest, only a few trees will survive—
    so few that a child could count them!

²⁷ In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people.
    He will break the yoke of slavery
    and lift it from their shoulders.^[al]

²⁸ Look, the Assyrians are now at Aiath.
    They are passing through Migron
    and are storing their equipment at Micmash.
²⁹ They are crossing the pass
    and are camping at Geba.
Fear strikes the town of Ramah.
    All the people of Gibeah, the hometown of Saul,
    are running for their lives.
³⁰ Scream in terror,
    you people of Gallim!
Shout out a warning to Laishah.
    Oh, poor Anathoth!
³¹ There go the people of Madmenah, all fleeing.
    The citizens of Gebim are trying to hide.
³² The enemy stops at Nob for the rest of that day.
    He shakes his fist at beautiful Mount Zion, the mountain of Jerusalem.

³³ But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power!
He will cut down the proud.
    That lofty tree will be brought down.
³⁴ He will cut down the forest trees with an ax.
    Lebanon will fall to the Mighty One.^[am]

⁶ In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
    the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
    and a little child will lead them all.
⁷ The cow will graze near the bear.
    The cub and the calf will lie down together.
    The lion will eat hay like a cow.
⁸ The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
    Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
⁹ Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
    for as the waters fill the sea,
    so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

¹⁰ In that day the heir to David’s throne^[ao]
    will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
    and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.^[ap]
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
    to bring back the remnant of his people—
those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;
    in southern Egypt, Ethiopia,^[aq] and Elam;
    in Babylonia,^[ar] Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
¹² He will raise a flag among the nations
    and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
    from the ends of the earth.

¹³ Then at last the jealousy between Israel^[as] and Judah will end.
    They will not be rivals anymore.
¹⁴ They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west.
    Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east.
They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab,
    and Ammon will obey them.
¹⁵ The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea.^[at]
    He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River,^[au]
sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams
    so it can easily be crossed on foot.
¹⁶ He will make a highway for the remnant of his people,
    the remnant coming from Assyria,
just as he did for Israel long ago
    when they returned from Egypt.

³ With joy you will drink deeply
    from the fountain of salvation!
⁴ In that wonderful day you will sing:
    “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
    Let them know how mighty he is!
⁵ Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.
    Make known his praise around the world.
⁶ Let all the people of Jerusalem^[av] shout his praise with joy!
    For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

² “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop.
    Call up an army against Babylon.
Wave your hand to encourage them
    as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.
³ I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task.
    Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger,
    and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”

⁴ Hear the noise on the mountains!
    Listen, as the vast armies march!
It is the noise and shouting of many nations.
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.
⁵ They come from distant countries,
    from beyond the farthest horizons.
They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger.
    With them he will destroy the whole land.

⁶ Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—
    the time for the Almighty to destroy.
⁷ Every arm is paralyzed with fear.
    Every heart melts,
⁸     and people are terrified.
Pangs of anguish grip them,
    like those of a woman in labor.
They look helplessly at one another,
    their faces aflame with fear.

⁹ For see, the day of the Lord is coming—
    the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.
The land will be made desolate,
    and all the sinners destroyed with it.
¹⁰ The heavens will be black above them;
    the stars will give no light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
    and the moon will provide no light.

¹¹ “I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil
    and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
    and humble the pride of the mighty.
¹² I will make people scarcer than gold—
    more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
¹³ For I will shake the heavens.
    The earth will move from its place
when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath
    in the day of his fierce anger.”

¹⁴ Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd.
They will try to find their own people
    and flee to their own land.
¹⁵ Anyone who is captured will be cut down—
    run through with a sword.
¹⁶ Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes.
    Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.

¹⁷ “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon.
    They cannot be tempted by silver
    or bribed with gold.
¹⁸ The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.
    They will have no mercy on helpless babies
    and will show no compassion for children.”

¹⁹ Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms,
    the flower of Chaldean pride,
will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah
    when God destroyed them.
²⁰ Babylon will never be inhabited again.
    It will remain empty for generation after generation.
Nomads will refuse to camp there,
    and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.
²¹ Desert animals will move into the ruined city,
    and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.
Owls will live among the ruins,
    and wild goats will go there to dance.
²² Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,
    and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s days are numbered;
    its time of destruction will soon arrive.

“The mighty man has been destroyed.
    Yes, your insolence^[ax] is ended.
⁵ For the Lord has crushed your wicked power
    and broken your evil rule.
⁶ You struck the people with endless blows of rage
    and held the nations in your angry grip
    with unrelenting tyranny.
⁷ But finally the earth is at rest and quiet.
    Now it can sing again!
⁸ Even the trees of the forest—
    the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—
    sing out this joyous song:
‘Since you have been cut down,
    no one will come now to cut us down!’

⁹ “In the place of the dead^[ay] there is excitement
    over your arrival.
The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead
    stand up to see you.
¹⁰ With one voice they all cry out,
    ‘Now you are as weak as we are!
¹¹ Your might and power were buried with you.^[az]
    The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased.
Now maggots are your sheet,
    and worms your blanket.’

¹² “How you are fallen from heaven,
    O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
    you who destroyed the nations of the world.
¹³ For you said to yourself,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
    far away in the north.^[ba]
14 I will climb to the highest heavens
    and be like the Most High.’
¹⁵ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
    down to its lowest depths.
¹⁶ Everyone there will stare at you and ask,
‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
    and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
¹⁷ Is this the one who destroyed the world
    and made it into a wasteland?
Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities
    and had no mercy on his prisoners?’

¹⁸ “The kings of the nations lie in stately glory,
    each in his own tomb,
¹⁹ but you will be thrown out of your grave
    like a worthless branch.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
    you will be dumped into a mass grave
    with those killed in battle.
You will descend to the pit.
²⁰     You will not be given a proper burial,
for you have destroyed your nation
    and slaughtered your people.
The descendants of such an evil person
    will never again receive honor.
²¹ Kill this man’s children!
    Let them die because of their father’s sins!
They must not rise and conquer the earth,
    filling the world with their cities.”

²² This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
    “I, myself, have risen against Babylon!
I will destroy its children and its children’s children,”
    says the Lord.
²³ “I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls,
    filled with swamps and marshes.
I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction.
    I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

“It will all happen as I have planned.
    It will be as I have decided.
²⁵ I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel;
    I will trample them on my mountains.
My people will no longer be their slaves
    nor bow down under their heavy loads.
²⁶ I have a plan for the whole earth,
    a hand of judgment upon all the nations.
²⁷ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—
    who can change his plans?
When his hand is raised,
    who can stop him?”

²⁹ Do not rejoice, you Philistines,
    that the rod that struck you is broken—
    that the king who attacked you is dead.
For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born,
    a fiery serpent to destroy you!
³⁰ I will feed the poor in my pasture;
    the needy will lie down in peace.
But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine
    and destroy the few who remain.
³¹ Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities!
    Melt with fear, you Philistines!
A powerful army comes like smoke from the north.
    Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.

“The Lord has built Jerusalem^[bc];
    its walls will give refuge to his oppressed people.”

In one night the town of Ar will be leveled,
    and the city of Kir will be destroyed.
² Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn.
    They will go to their sacred shrines to weep.
They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba,
    shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.
³ They will wear burlap as they wander the streets.
    From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.
⁴ The people of Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out;
    their voices will be heard as far away as Jahaz!
The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror.
    They will be helpless with fear.

⁵ My heart weeps for Moab.
    Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah.
Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith.
    Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim.
⁶ Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up!
    The grassy banks are scorched.
The tender plants are gone;
    nothing green remains.
⁷ The people grab their possessions
    and carry them across the Ravine of Willows.
⁸ A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab
    from one end to the other—
    from Eglaim to Beer-elim.
⁹ The stream near Dibon^[bd] runs red with blood,
    but I am still not finished with Dibon!
Lions will hunt down the survivors—
    both those who try to escape
    and those who remain behind.

16 Send lambs from Sela as tribute
    to the ruler of the land.
Send them through the desert
    to the mountain of beautiful Zion.
² The women of Moab are left like homeless birds
    at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.
³ “Help us,” they cry.
    “Defend us against our enemies.
Protect us from their relentless attack.
    Do not betray us now that we have escaped.
⁴ Let our refugees stay among you.
    Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past.”

When oppression and destruction have ended
    and enemy raiders have disappeared,
⁵ then God will establish one of David’s descendants as king.
    He will rule with mercy and truth.
He will always do what is just
    and be eager to do what is right.

⁶ We have heard about proud Moab—
    about its pride and arrogance and rage.
    But all that boasting has disappeared.
⁷ The entire land of Moab weeps.
    Yes, everyone in Moab mourns
for the cakes of raisins from Kir-hareseth.
    They are all gone now.
⁸ The farms of Heshbon are abandoned;
    the vineyards at Sibmah are deserted.
The rulers of the nations have broken down Moab—
    that beautiful grapevine.
Its tendrils spread north as far as the town of Jazer
    and trailed eastward into the wilderness.
Its shoots reached so far west
    that they crossed over the Dead Sea.^[be]

⁹ So now I weep for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah;
    my tears will flow for Heshbon and Elealeh.
There are no more shouts of joy
    over your summer fruits and harvest.
¹⁰ Gone now is the gladness,
    gone the joy of harvest.
There will be no singing in the vineyards,
    no more happy shouts,
no treading of grapes in the winepresses.
    I have ended all their harvest joys.
¹¹ My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp.
    I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.^[bf]
12 The people of Moab will worship at their pagan shrines,
    but it will do them no good.
They will cry to the gods in their temples,
    but no one will be able to save them.

“Look, the city of Damascus will disappear!
    It will become a heap of ruins.
² The towns of Aroer will be deserted.
    Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed,
    with no one to chase them away.
³ The fortified towns of Israel^[bh] will also be destroyed,
    and the royal power of Damascus will end.
All that remains of Syria^[bi]
    will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,”
    declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

⁴ “In that day Israel’s^[bj] glory will grow dim;
    its robust body will waste away.
⁵ The whole land will look like a grainfield
    after the harvesters have gathered the grain.
It will be desolate,
    like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.
⁶ Only a few of its people will be left,
    like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest.
Only two or three remain in the highest branches,
    four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,”
    declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁷ Then at last the people will look to their Creator
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
⁸ They will no longer look to their idols for help
    or worship what their own hands have made.
They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles
    or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.
⁹ Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest,
    like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned^[bk]
when the Israelites came here so long ago.
    It will be utterly desolate.
¹⁰ Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you.
    You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you.
So you may plant the finest grapevines
    and import the most expensive seedlings.
¹¹ They may sprout on the day you set them out;
    yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them,
but you will never pick any grapes from them.
    Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.

¹² Listen! The armies of many nations
    roar like the roaring of the sea.
Hear the thunder of the mighty forces
    as they rush forward like thundering waves.
¹³ But though they thunder like breakers on a beach,
    God will silence them, and they will run away.
They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind,
    like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.
¹⁴ In the evening Israel waits in terror,
    but by dawn its enemies are dead.
This is the just reward of those who plunder us,
    a fitting end for those who destroy us.

Go, swift messengers!
Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people,
    who are feared far and wide
for their conquests and destruction,
    and whose land is divided by rivers.

³ All you people of the world,
    everyone who lives on the earth—
when I raise my battle flag on the mountain, look!
    When I blow the ram’s horn, listen!
⁴ For the Lord has told me this:
“I will watch quietly from my dwelling place—
    as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day,
    or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”
⁵ Even before you begin your attack,
    while your plans are ripening like grapes,
the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears.
    He will snip off and discard your spreading branches.
⁶ Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields
    for the mountain vultures and wild animals.
The vultures will tear at the corpses all summer.
    The wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter.

⁷ At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts
    from this land divided by rivers,
from this tall, smooth-skinned people,
    who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction.
They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem,^[bn]
    where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.

Look! The Lord is advancing against Egypt,
    riding on a swift cloud.
The idols of Egypt tremble.
    The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.

² “I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian—
    brother against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    province against province.
³ The Egyptians will lose heart,
    and I will confuse their plans.
They will plead with their idols for wisdom
    and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
⁴ I will hand Egypt over
    to a hard, cruel master.
A fierce king will rule them,”
    says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

⁵ The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields.
    The riverbed will be parched and dry.
⁶ The canals of the Nile will dry up,
    and the streams of Egypt will stink
    with rotting reeds and rushes.
⁷ All the greenery along the riverbank
    and all the crops along the river
    will dry up and blow away.
⁸ The fishermen will lament for lack of work.
    Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan,
    and those who use nets will lose heart.
⁹ There will be no flax for the harvesters,
    no thread for the weavers.
¹⁰ They will be in despair,
    and all the workers will be sick at heart.

¹¹ What fools are the officials of Zoan!
    Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong.
Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom?
    Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?
¹² Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh?
    Let them tell you what God plans,
    what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.
¹³ The officials of Zoan are fools,
    and the officials of Memphis^[bo] are deluded.
The leaders of the people
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them,
    so all their suggestions are wrong.
They cause Egypt to stagger
    like a drunk in his vomit.
¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do.
    All are helpless—
the head and the tail,
    the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.

Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
    like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
² I see a terrifying vision:
    I see the betrayer betraying,
    the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
    attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
    to all the groaning Babylon caused.
³ My stomach aches and burns with pain.
    Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
    like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is planning;
    I am too afraid to look.
⁴ My mind reels and my heart races.
    I longed for evening to come,
    but now I am terrified of the dark.

⁵ Look! They are preparing a great feast.
    They are spreading rugs for people to sit on.
    Everyone is eating and drinking.
But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle.
    You are being attacked!

⁶ Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
    Let him shout out what he sees.
⁷ He should look for chariots
    drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
    Let the watchman be fully alert.”

⁸ Then the watchman^[bu] called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
    Night after night I have remained at my post.
⁹ Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
    with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
    “Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
    lie broken on the ground!”
¹⁰ O my people, threshed and winnowed,
    I have told you everything the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said,
    everything the God of Israel has told me.

Someone from Edom^[bw] keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until morning?
    When will the night be over?”
¹² The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon return.
    If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”

O caravans from Dedan,
    hide in the deserts of Arabia.
¹⁴ O people of Tema,
    bring water to these thirsty people,
    food to these weary refugees.
¹⁵ They have fled from the sword,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and the terrors of battle.

What is happening?
    Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
² The whole city is in a terrible uproar.
    What do I see in this reveling city?
Bodies are lying everywhere,
    killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
³ All your leaders have fled.
    They surrendered without resistance.
The people tried to slip away,
    but they were captured, too.
⁴ That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;
    do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
    as I watch them being destroyed.”

⁵ Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!
    What a day of confusion and terror
brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    upon the Valley of Vision!
The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,
    and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
⁶ Elamites are the archers,
    with their chariots and charioteers.
    The men of Kir hold up the shields.
⁷ Chariots fill your beautiful valleys,
    and charioteers storm your gates.
⁸ Judah’s defenses have been stripped away.
    You run to the armory^[bz] for your weapons.
⁹ You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.^[ca]
    You store up water in the lower pool.
¹⁰ You survey the houses and tear some down
    for stone to strengthen the walls.
¹¹ Between the city walls, you build a reservoir
    for water from the old pool.
But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.
    You never considered the One who planned this long ago.

¹² At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins
    and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
¹³ But instead, you dance and play;
    you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.
    You feast on meat and drink wine.
You say, “Let’s feast and drink,
    for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁶ “Who do you think you are,
    and what are you doing here,
building a beautiful tomb for yourself—
    a monument high up in the rock?
¹⁷ For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man.
    He is going to grab you,
¹⁸ crumple you into a ball,
    and toss you away into a distant, barren land.
There you will die,
    and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless.
    You are a disgrace to your master!

Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish,
    for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone!
The rumors you heard in Cyprus^[cc]
    are all true.
² Mourn in silence, you people of the coast
    and you merchants of Sidon.
Your traders crossed the sea,^[cd]
3     sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt^[ce]
    and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.

⁴ But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon,
    for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says,^[cf]
“Now I am childless;
    I have no sons or daughters.”
⁵ When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
    there will be great sorrow.
⁶ Send word now to Tarshish!
    Wail, you people who live in distant lands!
⁷ Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city?
    What a long history was yours!
    Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.

⁸ Who has brought this disaster on Tyre,
    that great creator of kingdoms?
Her traders were all princes,
    her merchants were nobles.
⁹ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it
    to destroy your pride
    and bring low all earth’s nobility.
¹⁰ Come, people of Tarshish,
    sweep over the land like the flooding Nile,
    for Tyre is defenseless.^[cg]
11 The Lord held out his hand over the sea
    and shook the kingdoms of the earth.
He has spoken out against Phoenicia,^[ch]
    ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.
¹² He says, “Never again will you rejoice,
    O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed.
Even if you flee to Cyprus,
    you will find no rest.”

¹³ Look at the land of Babylonia^[ci]—
    the people of that land are gone!
The Assyrians have handed Babylon over
    to the wild animals of the desert.
They have built siege ramps against its walls,
    torn down its palaces,
    and turned it to a heap of rubble.

¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
    for your harbor is destroyed!

¹⁶ Take a harp and walk the streets,
    you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
    so you will be remembered again.

⁴ The earth mourns and dries up,
    and the land wastes away and withers.
    Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
⁵ The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
    for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
    and broken his everlasting covenant.
⁶ Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
    Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
    and only a few are left alive.
⁷ The grapevines waste away,
    and there is no new wine.
    All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
⁸ The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
    the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
    The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
⁹ Gone are the joys of wine and song;
    alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
¹⁰ The city writhes in chaos;
    every home is locked to keep out intruders.
¹¹ Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
    Joy has turned to gloom.
    Gladness has been banished from the land.
¹² The city is left in ruins,
    its gates battered down.
¹³ Throughout the earth the story is the same—
    only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
    or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

¹⁴ But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
    Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵ In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
    In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶ We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
    songs that give glory to the Righteous One!

But my heart is heavy with grief.
    Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
    and treachery is everywhere.
¹⁷ Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
    you people of the earth.
¹⁸ Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
    and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.

Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
    the foundations of the earth shake.
¹⁹ The earth has broken up.
    It has utterly collapsed;
    it is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth staggers like a drunk.
    It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
    for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.

²¹ In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
    and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
²² They will be rounded up and put in prison.
    They will be shut up in prison
    and will finally be punished.
²³ Then the glory of the moon will wane,
    and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
    He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
    in the sight of all the leaders of his people.

⁴ But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
    a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
    and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
    are like a storm beating against a wall,
⁵     or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
    As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
    so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.

⁶ In Jerusalem,^[cj] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will spread a wonderful feast
    for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
    with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
⁷ There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
    the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever!
    The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
    against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

⁹ In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
    We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
    Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
¹⁰ For the Lord’s hand of blessing will rest on Jerusalem.
    But Moab will be crushed.
    It will be like straw trampled down and left to rot.
¹¹ God will push down Moab’s people
    as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands.
He will end their pride
    and all their evil works.
¹² The high walls of Moab will be demolished.
    They will be brought down to the ground,
    down into the dust.

Our city is strong!
    We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation.
² Open the gates to all who are righteous;
    allow the faithful to enter.
³ You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in you,
    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
⁴ Trust in the Lord always,
    for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
⁵ He humbles the proud
    and brings down the arrogant city.
    He brings it down to the dust.
⁶ The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot,
    and the needy walk all over it.

⁷ But for those who are righteous,
    the way is not steep and rough.
You are a God who does what is right,
    and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
⁸ Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws;
    our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.
⁹ In the night I search for you;
    in the morning^[ck] I earnestly seek you.
For only when you come to judge the earth
    will people learn what is right.
¹⁰ Your kindness to the wicked
    does not make them do good.
Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong
    and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.
¹¹ O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist.
    Show them your eagerness to defend your people.
Then they will be ashamed.
    Let your fire consume your enemies.

¹² Lord, you will grant us peace;
    all we have accomplished is really from you.
¹³ O Lord our God, others have ruled us,
    but you alone are the one we worship.
¹⁴ Those we served before are dead and gone.
    Their departed spirits will never return!
You attacked them and destroyed them,
    and they are long forgotten.
¹⁵ O Lord, you have made our nation great;
    yes, you have made us great.
You have extended our borders,
    and we give you the glory!

¹⁶ Lord, in distress we searched for you.
    We prayed beneath the burden of your discipline.
¹⁷ Just as a pregnant woman
    writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸ We, too, writhe in agony,
    but nothing comes of our suffering.
We have not given salvation to the earth,
    nor brought life into the world.
¹⁹ But those who die in the Lord will live;
    their bodies will rise again!
Those who sleep in the earth
    will rise up and sing for joy!
For your life-giving light will fall like dew
    on your people in the place of the dead!

² “In that day,
    sing about the fruitful vineyard.
³ I, the Lord, will watch over it,
    watering it carefully.
Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.
⁴     My anger will be gone.
If I find briers and thorns growing,
    I will attack them;
I will burn them up—
⁵     unless they turn to me for help.
Let them make peace with me;
    yes, let them make peace with me.”
⁶ The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill the whole earth with fruit!

⁷ Has the Lord struck Israel
    as he struck her enemies?
Has he punished her
    as he punished them?
⁸ No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account.
    She was exiled from her land
    as though blown away in a storm from the east.
⁹ The Lord did this to purge Israel’s^[cm] wickedness,
    to take away all her sin.
As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust.
    No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified towns will be silent and empty,
    the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds.
Calves will graze there,
    chewing on twigs and branches.
¹¹ The people are like the dead branches of a tree,
    broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots.
Israel is a foolish and stupid nation,
    for its people have turned away from God.
Therefore, the one who made them
    will show them no pity or mercy.

⁵ Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will himself be Israel’s glorious crown.
He will be the pride and joy
    of the remnant of his people.
⁶ He will give a longing for justice
    to their judges.
He will give great courage
    to their warriors who stand at the gates.

⁷ Now, however, Israel is led by drunks
    who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol
    and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions
    and stagger as they render decisions.
⁸ Their tables are covered with vomit;
    filth is everywhere.
⁹ “Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask.
    “Why does he speak to us like this?
Are we little children,
    just recently weaned?
¹⁰ He tells us everything over and over—
one line at a time,
    one line at a time,
a little here,
    and a little there!”

¹¹ So now God will have to speak to his people
    through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
¹² God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
    let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
    But they would not listen.
¹³ So the Lord will spell out his message for them again,
one line at a time,
    one line at a time,
a little here,
    and a little there,
so that they will stumble and fall.
    They will be injured, trapped, and captured.

¹⁴ Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
    you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
    and have made a deal to dodge the grave.^[cq]
The coming destruction can never touch us,
    for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”

¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,^[cr]
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.^[cs]
17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice
    and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
    a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
    a flood will sweep it away.
¹⁸ I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
    and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
    you will be trampled into the ground.
¹⁹ Again and again that flood will come,
    morning after morning,
day and night,
    until you are carried away.”

This message will bring terror to your people.
²⁰ The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
    The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
²¹ The Lord will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
    and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
    he will come to do an unusual deed:
²² For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
    or your punishment will be even greater.

²³ Listen to me;
    listen, and pay close attention.
²⁴ Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
    Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
²⁵ Does he not finally plant his seeds—
    black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—
each in its proper way,
    and each in its proper place?
²⁶ The farmer knows just what to do,
    for God has given him understanding.
²⁷ A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin;
    rather, it is beaten with a light stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin;
    instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.
²⁸ Grain for bread is easily crushed,
    so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
He threshes it under the wheels of a cart,
    but he doesn’t pulverize it.
²⁹ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
    and he gives the farmer great wisdom.

⁵ “But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed
    like the finest of dust.
Your many attackers will be driven away
    like chaff before the wind.
Suddenly, in an instant,
⁶     I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you
with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
    with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.
⁷ All the nations fighting against Jerusalem^[cu]
    will vanish like a dream!
Those who are attacking her walls
    will vanish like a vision in the night.
⁸ A hungry person dreams of eating
    but wakes up still hungry.
A thirsty person dreams of drinking
    but is still faint from thirst when morning comes.
So it will be with your enemies,
    with those who attack Mount Zion.”

⁹ Are you amazed and incredulous?
    Don’t you believe it?
Then go ahead and be blind.
    You are stupid, but not from wine!
    You stagger, but not from liquor!
¹⁰ For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
    He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.

¹³ And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.^[cv]
14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
    with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

¹⁵ What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord,
    who do their evil deeds in the dark!
“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.
    “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”
¹⁶ How foolish can you be?
    He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
    “He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
    “The potter who made me is stupid”?

¹⁷ Soon—and it will not be very long—
    the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field,
    and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.
¹⁸ In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book,
    and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.
¹⁹ The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord.
    The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰ The scoffer will be gone,
    the arrogant will disappear,
    and those who plot evil will be killed.
²¹ Those who convict the innocent
    by their false testimony will disappear.
A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice
    and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.

“My people will no longer be ashamed
    or turn pale with fear.
²³ For when they see their many children
    and all the blessings I have given them,
they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob.
    They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ Then the wayward will gain understanding,
    and complainers will accept instruction.

The caravan moves slowly
    across the terrible desert to Egypt—
donkeys weighed down with riches
    and camels loaded with treasure—
    all to pay for Egypt’s protection.
They travel through the wilderness,
    a place of lionesses and lions,
    a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live.
All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.
⁷     Egypt’s promises are worthless!
Therefore, I call her Rahab—
    the Harmless Dragon.^[cx]

“Because you despise what I tell you
    and trust instead in oppression and lies,
¹³ calamity will come upon you suddenly—
    like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.
In an instant it will collapse
    and come crashing down.
¹⁴ You will be smashed like a piece of pottery—
    shattered so completely that
there won’t be a piece big enough
    to carry coals from a fireplace
    or a little water from the well.”

¹⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
    and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
    But you would have none of it.
¹⁶ You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt.
    They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’
But the only swiftness you are going to see
    is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!
¹⁷ One of them will chase a thousand of you.
    Five of them will make all of you flee.
You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill
    or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”

¹⁹ O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,
    you will weep no more.
He will be gracious if you ask for help.
    He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
²⁰ Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
    and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
    You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
²¹ Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left.
²² Then you will destroy all your silver idols
    and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like filthy rags,
    saying to them, “Good riddance!”

²⁷ Look! The Lord is coming from far away,
    burning with anger,
    surrounded by thick, rising smoke.
His lips are filled with fury;
    his words consume like fire.
²⁸ His hot breath pours out like a flood
    up to the neck of his enemies.
He will sift out the proud nations for destruction.
    He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin.

²⁹ But the people of God will sing a song of joy,
    like the songs at the holy festivals.
You will be filled with joy,
    as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims
to Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord—
    to the Rock of Israel.
³⁰ And the Lord will make his majestic voice heard.
    He will display the strength of his mighty arm.
It will descend with devouring flames,
    with cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and huge hailstones.
³¹ At the Lord’s command, the Assyrians will be shattered.
    He will strike them down with his royal scepter.
³² And as the Lord strikes them with his rod of punishment,^[cy]
    his people will celebrate with tambourines and harps.
    Lifting his mighty arm, he will fight the Assyrians.
³³ Topheth—the place of burning—
    has long been ready for the Assyrian king;
    the pyre is piled high with wood.
The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano,
    will set it ablaze.

“When a strong young lion
    stands growling over a sheep it has killed,
it is not frightened by the shouts and noise
    of a whole crowd of shepherds.
In the same way, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will come down and fight on Mount Zion.
⁵ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem
    and protect it like a bird protecting its nest.
He will defend and save the city;
    he will pass over it and rescue it.”

⁸ “The Assyrians will be destroyed,
    but not by the swords of men.
The sword of God will strike them,
    and they will panic and flee.
The strong young Assyrians
    will be taken away as captives.
⁹ Even the strongest will quake with terror,
    and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,”
says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion,
    whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.

³ Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,
    and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.
⁴ Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.
    Those who stammer will speak out plainly.
⁵ In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.
    Scoundrels will not be respected.
⁶ For fools speak foolishness
    and make evil plans.
They practice ungodliness
    and spread false teachings about the Lord.
They deprive the hungry of food
    and give no water to the thirsty.
⁷ The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.
    They plot crooked schemes.
They lie to convict the poor,
    even when the cause of the poor is just.
⁸ But generous people plan to do what is generous,
    and they stand firm in their generosity.

⁹ Listen, you women who lie around in ease.
    Listen to me, you who are so smug.
¹⁰ In a short time—just a little more than a year—
    you careless ones will suddenly begin to care.
For your fruit crops will fail,
    and the harvest will never take place.
¹¹ Tremble, you women of ease;
    throw off your complacency.
Strip off your pretty clothes,
    and put on burlap to show your grief.
¹² Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms
    and your fruitful grapevines.
¹³ For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers.
    Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.
¹⁴ The palace and the city will be deserted,
    and busy towns will be empty.
Wild donkeys will frolic and flocks will graze
    in the empty forts^[cz] and watchtowers
¹⁵ until at last the Spirit is poured out
    on us from heaven.
Then the wilderness will become a fertile field,
    and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.

¹⁶ Justice will rule in the wilderness
    and righteousness in the fertile field.
¹⁷ And this righteousness will bring peace.
    Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.
¹⁸ My people will live in safety, quietly at home.
    They will be at rest.
¹⁹ Even if the forest should be destroyed
    and the city torn down,
²⁰ the Lord will greatly bless his people.
    Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up.
    Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.

⁵ Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven,
    he will make Jerusalem^[db] his home of justice and righteousness.
⁶ In that day he will be your sure foundation,
    providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
    The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.

⁷ But now your brave warriors weep in public.
    Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
⁸ Your roads are deserted;
    no one travels them anymore.
The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty
    and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses.^[dc]
    They have no respect for anyone.
⁹ The land of Israel wilts in mourning.
    Lebanon withers with shame.
The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness.
    Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.

¹⁰ But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
    Now I will show my power and might.
¹¹ You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
    Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
¹² Your people will be burned up completely,
    like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
¹³ Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
    And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”

¹⁴ The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
    Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
    “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
¹⁵ Those who are honest and fair,
    who refuse to profit by fraud,
    who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
    who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
¹⁶ these are the ones who will dwell on high.
    The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
    and they will have water in abundance.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor,
    and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
¹⁸ You will think back to this time of terror, asking,
“Where are the Assyrian officers
    who counted our towers?
Where are the bookkeepers
    who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
¹⁹ You will no longer see these fierce, violent people
    with their strange, unknown language.

²⁰ Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals.
    You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure.
It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut
    and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
²¹ The Lord will be our Mighty One.
    He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
    that no enemy ship can sail upon.
²² For the Lord is our judge,
    our lawgiver, and our king.
    He will care for us and save us.
²³ The enemies’ sails hang loose
    on broken masts with useless tackle.
Their treasure will be divided by the people of God.
    Even the lame will take their share!
²⁴ The people of Israel will no longer say,
    “We are sick and helpless,”
    for the Lord will forgive their sins.

⁵ And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens,
    it will fall upon Edom,
    the nation I have marked for destruction.
⁶ The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood
    and covered with fat—
with the blood of lambs and goats,
    with the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice.
Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah.
    He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom.
⁷ Even men as strong as wild oxen will die—
    the young men alongside the veterans.
The land will be soaked with blood
    and the soil enriched with fat.

⁸ For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge,
    the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel.^[de]
9 The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch,
    and the ground will be covered with fire.
¹⁰ This judgment on Edom will never end;
    the smoke of its burning will rise forever.
The land will lie deserted from generation to generation.
    No one will live there anymore.
¹¹ It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl,
    the great owl and the raven.^[df]
For God will measure that land carefully;
    he will measure it for chaos and destruction.
¹² It will be called the Land of Nothing,
    and all its nobles will soon be gone.^[dg]
13 Thorns will overrun its palaces;
    nettles and thistles will grow in its forts.
The ruins will become a haunt for jackals
    and a home for owls.
¹⁴ Desert animals will mingle there with hyenas,
    their howls filling the night.
Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins,
    and night creatures^[dh] will come there to rest.
¹⁵ There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs.
    She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings.
And the buzzards will come,
    each one with its mate.