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Isaiah 20-23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 20-23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah Dramatizes the Conquest of Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it(A)— 2 at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet,” and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.(B) 3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,(C) 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Cushites as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.(D) 5 And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast.(E) 6 On that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’ ”(F)
Oracles concerning Babylon, Edom, and Arabia
21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.(G)
2 A stern vision is told to me;
the betrayer betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.(H)
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
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.(I)
4 My mind reels; horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.(J)
5 They prepare the table;
they spread the rugs;
they eat; they drink.
Rise up, commanders;
oil the shield!(K)
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, post a lookout;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him watch closely,
very closely.”(L)
8 Then the watcher[a] called out:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
throughout the night.(M)
9 Look, there they come, riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
Then he responded,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”(N)
10 O my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.(O)
11 The oracle concerning Dumah.
One is calling to me from Seir,
“Sentinel, what of the night?
Sentinel, what of the night?”(P)
12 The sentinel says:
“Morning comes and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”
13 The oracle concerning the desert plain.
In the scrub of the desert plain you will lodge,
O caravans of Dedanites.(Q)
14 Bring water to the thirsty,
O inhabitants of the land of Tema;
meet the fugitive with bread.(R)
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the stress of battle.(S)
16 For thus the Lord said to me: “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end,(T) 17 and the remaining bows of Kedar’s warriors will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”(U)
A Warning of Destruction of Jerusalem
22 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.
What has happened that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,(V)
2 city full of shouting,
tumultuous city, panic-stricken town?
Your slain are not slain by the sword,
nor are they dead in battle.(W)
3 Your rulers have all fled together;
they were captured without the use of a bow.[b]
All of your people who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.[c](X)
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
let me weep bitter tears;
do not try to comfort me
for the destruction of my beloved people.”(Y)
5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a cry for help to the mountains.(Z)
6 Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and cavalry,[d]
and Kir uncovered the shield.(AA)
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the cavalry took their stand at the gates.(AB)
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah.
On that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,(AC) 9 and you saw that there were many breaches in the city of David, and you collected the waters of the lower pool.(AD) 10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it or have regard for him who planned it long ago.(AE)
12 On that day the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and putting on sackcloth,(AF)
13 but instead there was joy and festivity,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating meat and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”(AG)
14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.(AH)
Denunciation of Self-Seeking Officials
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts: “Go to the steward Shebna, who is master of the household, and say to him:(AI) 16 What right do you have here? Who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb here for yourself, cutting a tomb[e] on the height and carving a habitation for yourself[f] in the rock?(AJ) 17 The Lord is about to hurl you away violently, my fellow. He will seize firm hold on you, 18 whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there your splendid chariots shall lie, O you disgrace to your master’s house!(AK) 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post.
20 “On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah(AL) 21 and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.(AM) 23 I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.(AN) 24 And they will hang on him the whole weight of his ancestral house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way; it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will perish, for the Lord has spoken.”(AO)
An Oracle concerning Tyre
23 The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.[g]
When they came in from Cyprus
they learned of it.(AP)
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
O merchants of Sidon;
your messengers crossed over the sea[h](AQ)
3 and were on the mighty waters;
your revenue[i] was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.(AR)
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the fortress of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth;
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”(AS)
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish—
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?(AT)
8 Who has planned 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 planned it—
to defile the pride of all glory,
to shame all the honored of the earth.(AU)
10 Cross over to your own land,
O ships of[j] Tarshish;
this is a harbor[k] no more.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan,
to destroy its fortresses.(AV)
12 He said:
“You will exult no longer,
O oppressed virgin daughter Sidon;
rise, cross over to Cyprus—
even there you will have no rest.”(AW)
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined it for wild animals.[l] They erected their siege towers; they tore down her palaces; they made her a ruin.(AX)
14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.(AY)
15 From that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song about the prostitute:(AZ)
16 Take a harp;
go about the city,
you forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.(BA) 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to the Lord; her profits[m] will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of the Lord.(BB)
Footnotes
- 21.8 Q ms Syr Vg: MT a lion
- 22.3 Or without their bows
- 22.3 Gk Syr Vg: Heb fled from far away
- 22.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 22.16 Gk Vg: Heb his tomb
- 22.16 Gk Vg: Heb himself
- 23.1 Cn: Heb for it is destroyed, without houses
- 23.2 Q ms: MT crossing over the sea, they replenished you
- 23.3 Heb its
- 23.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the Nile, daughter
- 23.10 Cn: Heb restraint
- 23.13 Or This is the people that was not. Assyria founded it for its fleet.
- 23.18 Heb it
Isaiah 20-23
New International Version
Isaiah 20-23
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander,(A) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod(B) and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.(C) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth(D) from your body and the sandals(E) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped(F) and barefoot.(G)
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant(H) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,(I) as a sign(J) and portent(K) against Egypt(L) and Cush,[a](M) 4 so the king(N) of Assyria will lead away stripped(O) and barefoot the Egyptian captives(P) and Cushite(Q) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared(R)—to Egypt’s shame.(S) 5 Those who trusted(T) in Cush(U) and boasted in Egypt(V) will be dismayed and put to shame.(W) 6 In that day(X) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened(Y) to those we relied on,(Z) those we fled to for help(AA) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?(AB)’”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(AC) against the Desert(AD) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(AE) sweeping through the southland,(AF)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(AG) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(AH) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(AI) attack! Media,(AJ) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(AK)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(AL)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(AM) by what I see.
4 My heart(AN) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(AO)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(AP) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(AQ)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(AR)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(AS)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(AT)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(AU)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[b](AV) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(AW)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(AX) has fallen,(AY) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(AZ)
lie shattered(BA) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(BB)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[c]:(BC)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(BD)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(BE) against Arabia:(BF)
You caravans of Dedanites,(BG)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(BH)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(BI) from the sword,(BJ)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(BK) would count it, all the splendor(BL) of Kedar(BM) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(BN)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(BO)
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
22 A prophecy(BP) against the Valley(BQ) of Vision:(BR)
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,(BS)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult(BT) and revelry?(BU)
Your slain(BV) were not killed by the sword,(BW)
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled(BX) together;
they have been captured(BY) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weep(BZ) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”(CA)
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(CB)
of tumult and trampling(CC) and terror(CD)
in the Valley of Vision,(CE)
a day of battering down walls(CF)
and of crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam(CG) takes up the quiver,(CH)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir(CI) uncovers the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys(CJ) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(CK)
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day(CL)
to the weapons(CM) in the Palace of the Forest.(CN)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through(CO) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.(CP)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses(CQ) to strengthen the wall.(CR)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(CS)
for the water of the Old Pool,(CT)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard(CU) for the One who planned(CV) it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day(CW)
to weep(CX) and to wail,
to tear out your hair(CY) and put on sackcloth.(CZ)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(DA)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!(DB)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”(DC)
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(DD) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(DE) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna(DF) the palace(DG) administrator:(DH)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave(DI) for yourself(DJ) here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl(DK) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw(DL) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots(DM) you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
and you will be ousted(DN) from your position.(DO)
20 “In that day(DP) I will summon my servant,(DQ) Eliakim(DR) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(DS) around him and hand your authority(DT) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(DU) the key(DV) to the house of David;(DW) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(DX) 23 I will drive him like a peg(DY) into a firm place;(DZ) he will become a seat[d] of honor(EA) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25 “In that day,(EB)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(EC) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(ED)
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(EE)
Wail,(EF) you ships(EG) of Tarshish!(EH)
For Tyre is destroyed(EI)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(EJ) you people of the island
and you merchants(EK) of Sidon,(EL)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(EM)
the harvest of the Nile[e](EN) was the revenue of Tyre,(EO)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(EP) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(EQ)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(ER) at the report from Tyre.(ES)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(ET)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(EU)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(EV) are princes,
whose traders(EW) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(EX) it,
to bring down(EY) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(EZ) all who are renowned(FA) on the earth.
10 Till[f] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(FB) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(FC)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(FD)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(FE)
Virgin Daughter(FF) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(FG)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[g](FH)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(FI) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(FJ)
they raised up their siege towers,(FK)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(FL)
15 At that time Tyre(FP) will be forgotten for seventy years,(FQ) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(FR)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(FS) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(FT) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(FU) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(FV) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(FW) for abundant food and fine clothes.(FX)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
- Isaiah 22:23 Or throne
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
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