An Oracle Concerning Philistia

28 In the year that (A)King Ahaz died came this (B)oracle:

29 Rejoice not, (C)O Philistia, all of you,
    that (D)the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,
    and its fruit will be a (E)flying fiery serpent.
30 And the firstborn of (F)the poor will graze,
    and (G)the needy lie down in safety;
but I will kill your root with famine,
    and your remnant it will slay.
31 (H)Wail, O (I)gate; cry out, O city;
    melt in fear, (J)O Philistia, all of you!
(K)For smoke comes out of the north,
    and there is no straggler in his ranks.

32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
(L)“The Lord has founded Zion,
    and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”

An Oracle Concerning Moab

15 An (M)oracle concerning (N)Moab.

Because (O)Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
    Moab is undone;
because (P)Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
    Moab is undone.
He has gone up to the temple,[a] and to (Q)Dibon,
    to the high places[b] to weep;
over (R)Nebo and over (S)Medeba
    Moab (T)wails.
On every head is (U)baldness;
    every beard is shorn;
in the streets they wear sackcloth;
    on the housetops and in the squares
    everyone wails and melts in tears.
(V)Heshbon and (W)Elealeh cry out;
    their voice is heard as far as (X)Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
    his soul trembles.
My heart cries out for Moab;
    her fugitives flee to Zoar,
    to (Y)Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the (Z)ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;
on the road to (AA)Horonaim
    they raise a cry of destruction;
the waters of (AB)Nimrim
    are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
    the greenery is no more.
(AC)Therefore the abundance they have gained
    and what they have laid up
they carry away
    over the Brook of the Willows.
For a cry has gone
    around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
    her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
For the waters of (AD)Dibon[c] are full of blood;
    for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
(AE)a lion for those of Moab who escape,
    for the remnant of the land.
16 (AF)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (AG)Sela, by way of the desert,
    to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Like fleeing birds,
    like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
    at (AH)the fords of the Arnon.

“Give counsel;
    grant justice;
(AI)make your shade like night
    at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
    do not reveal the fugitive;
let (AJ)the outcasts of Moab
    sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[d]
    from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
    and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
(AK)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
    and on it will sit in faithfulness
    in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
    and is swift to do righteousness.”

(AL)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
    how proud he is!—
(AM)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
    in his idle boasting he is not right.
Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
    (AN)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
    for the (AO)raisin cakes of (AP)Kir-hareseth.

For the fields of Heshbon languish,
    and (AQ)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
    have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
    and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
    and passed over the sea.
Therefore (AR)I weep with (AS)the weeping of Jazer
    for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
    O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (AT)your summer fruit and your harvest
    the shout has ceased.
10 (AU)And joy and gladness are taken away from (AV)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (AW)songs are sung,
    no cheers are raised;
no (AX)treader treads out wine (AY)in the presses;
    I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (AZ)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
    and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

12 And when Moab presents himself, when (BA)he wearies himself on (BB)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (BC)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (BD)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (BE)very few and feeble.”

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

17 An (BF)oracle concerning (BG)Damascus.

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
    and will become a heap of ruins.
The cities of (BH)Aroer are deserted;
    they will be for flocks,
    which will lie down, and (BI)none will make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear from (BJ)Ephraim,
    and the kingdom from (BK)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
    like (BL)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.

And in that day (BM)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
    and (BN)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
And it shall be (BO)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
    and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
    in (BP)the Valley of Rephaim.
(BQ)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.

(BR)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. (BS)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 (BT)Asherim or the altars of incense.

(BU)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 (BV)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
    and have not remembered the (BW)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
    and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[e] on the day that you plant them,
    and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[f]
    in a day of grief and incurable pain.

12 Ah, (BX)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 (BY)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
    (BZ)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (CA)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
    and (CB)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (CC)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

18 Ah, land of (CD)whirring wings
    that is beyond the rivers of (CE)Cush,[g]
which (CF)sends ambassadors by the sea,
    in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
    to a nation (CG)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
    a nation (CH)mighty and conquering,
    whose land the rivers divide.

All you inhabitants of the world,
    you who dwell on the earth,
when (CI)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
    When a trumpet is blown, hear!
For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (CJ)from my dwelling
    like clear heat in sunshine,
    like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
(CK)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.
(CL)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.

(CM)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts

from a people (CN)tall and smooth,
    from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
    whose land the rivers divide,

to (CO)Mount Zion, the place of the (CP)name of the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
  3. Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse
  4. Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
  5. Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
  6. Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
  7. Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(A) came in the year(B) King Ahaz(C) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(D)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(E)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(F)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(G) will lie down in safety.(H)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(I)
    it will slay(J) your survivors.(K)

31 Wail,(L) you gate!(M) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(N)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(O)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(P)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(Q) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(R)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(S)

A Prophecy Against Moab(T)

15 A prophecy(U) against Moab:(V)

Ar(W) in Moab is ruined,(X)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(Y) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(Z) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(AA) to weep;
    Moab wails(AB) over Nebo(AC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(AD)
    and every beard cut off.(AE)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(AF)
    on the roofs(AG) and in the public squares(AH)
they all wail,(AI)
    prostrate with weeping.(AJ)
Heshbon(AK) and Elealeh(AL) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(AM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(AN) over Moab;(AO)
    her fugitives(AP) flee as far as Zoar,(AQ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(AR)
    they lament their destruction.(AS)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(AT)
    and the grass is withered;(AU)
the vegetation is gone(AV)
    and nothing green is left.(AW)
So the wealth they have acquired(AX) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(AY) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]
a lion(AZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(BA)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs(BB) as tribute(BC)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(BD) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(BE)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(BF)
so are the women of Moab(BG)
    at the fords(BH) of the Arnon.(BI)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(BJ)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(BK) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(BL) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(BM)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(BN) will be established;(BO)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[c] of David(BP)
one who in judging seeks justice(BQ)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(BR) pride(BS)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(BT)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(BU) of Kir Hareseth.(BV)
The fields of Heshbon(BW) wither,(BX)
    the vines of Sibmah(BY) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(BZ)
which once reached Jazer(CA)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(CB)
    and went as far as the sea.[d](CC)
So I weep,(CD) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(CE)
    I drench you with tears!(CF)
The shouts of joy(CG) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(CH) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(CI)
    no one sings or shouts(CJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(CK) out wine at the presses,(CL)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(CM) like a harp,(CN)
    my inmost being(CO) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(CP)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(CQ) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(CR)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(CS) as a servant bound by contract(CT) would count them,(CU) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(CV) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(CW)

A Prophecy Against Damascus

17 A prophecy(CX) against Damascus:(CY)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.(CZ)
The cities of Aroer(DA) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,(DB) which will lie down,(DC)
    with no one to make them afraid.(DD)
The fortified(DE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory(DF) of the Israelites,”(DG)
declares the Lord Almighty.

“In that day(DH) the glory(DI) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste(DJ) away.
It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering(DK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(DL)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.(DM)
Yet some gleanings will remain,(DN)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,(DO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

In that day(DP) people will look(DQ) to their Maker(DR)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One(DS) of Israel.
They will not look to the altars,(DT)
    the work of their hands,(DU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[e](DV)
    and the incense altars their fingers(DW) have made.

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(DX) And all will be desolation.

10 You have forgotten(DY) God your Savior;(DZ)
    you have not remembered the Rock,(EA) your fortress.(EB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,(EC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning(ED) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(EE) will be as nothing(EF)
    in the day of disease and incurable(EG) pain.(EH)

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(EI)
    they rage like the raging sea!(EJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar(EK)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(EL)
13 Although the peoples roar(EM) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(EN) them they flee(EO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(EP) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(EQ)
14 In the evening, sudden(ER) terror!(ES)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(ET)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

A Prophecy Against Cush

18 Woe(EU) to the land of whirring wings[f]
    along the rivers of Cush,[g](EV)
which sends envoys(EW) by sea
    in papyrus(EX) boats over the water.

Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(EY)
    to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(EZ) nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers.(FA)

All you people of the world,(FB)
    you who live on the earth,
when a banner(FC) is raised on the mountains,
    you will see it,
and when a trumpet(FD) sounds,
    you will hear it.
This is what the Lord says to me:
    “I will remain quiet(FE) and will look on from my dwelling place,(FF)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(FG)
    like a cloud of dew(FH) in the heat of harvest.”
For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off(FI) the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(FJ)
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(FK)
    and to the wild animals;(FL)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter.

At that time gifts(FM) will be brought to the Lord Almighty

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(FN)
    from a people feared(FO) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers(FP)

the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(FQ)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  2. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  3. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  4. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
  5. Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  6. Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
  7. Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region