Isaiah 31-33

New American Standard Bible

Help Not in Egypt but in God

31 Woe to those who go down to ^(A)Egypt for help
And ^(B)rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not ^(C)look to the ^(D)Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
²Yet He also is ^(E)wise and will ^(F)bring disaster,
And does ^(G)not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of ^(H)evildoers,
And against the help of the ^(I)workers of injustice.
³Now the Egyptians are ^(J)human and not God,
And their ^(K)horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will ^(L)stretch out His hand,
And any ^(M)helper will stumble,
And one who is helped will fall.
And all of them will come to an end together.

⁴For this is what the Lord says to me:
“As the ^(N)lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
Against which a band of shepherds is called out,
And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise,
So will the Lord of armies come down to wage ^(O)war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
⁵Like ^[a]flying ^(P)birds so the Lord of armies will protect Jerusalem.
He will ^(Q)protect and save it;
He will pass over and rescue it.

⁶^(R)Return to Him against whom ^[b]you have been ^(S)profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel. ⁷For on that day every person will ^(T)reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as ^(U)a sin.

⁸And the ^(V)Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man,
And a ^(W)sword not of man will devour him.
So he will ^[c]^(X)not escape the sword,
And his young men will become ^(Y)forced laborers.
⁹“His ^(Z)rock will pass away because of panic,
And his officers will be terrified by the ^(AA)flag,”
Declares the Lord, whose ^(AB)fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The Glorious Future

32 Behold, a ^(AC)king will reign righteously,
And officials will rule justly.
²Each will be like a ^(AD)refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like ^[d]^(AE)streams of water in a dry country,
Like the ^(AF)shade of a ^[e]huge rock in an exhausted land.
³Then ^(AG)the eyes of those who see will not be ^[f]blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
⁴The ^[g]mind of the ^(AH)rash will discern the ^[h]truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.
⁵No longer will the ^(AI)fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
⁶For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart ^[i]^(AJ)inclines toward wickedness:
To practice ^(AK)ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,
To ^[j]^(AL)keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And ^[k]to withhold drink from the thirsty.
⁷As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He ^(AM)devises wicked schemes
To ^(AN)destroy the poor with ^[l]slander,
^(AO)Even though the needy one speaks ^[m]what is right.
⁸But ^(AP)the noble person devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.

⁹Rise up, you ^(AQ)women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
^(AR)Listen to my word,
You complacent daughters.
¹⁰Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, you complacent daughters;
^(AS)For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease;
^(AT)Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
^(AU)Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
¹²^(AV)Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
¹³^(AW)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up;
Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the ^(AX)jubilant city.
¹⁴For ^(AY)the palace has been neglected, the ^[n]populated ^(AZ)city abandoned.
^[o]Hill and watch-tower have become ^(BA)caves forever,
A delight for ^(BB)wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
¹⁵Until the ^(BC)Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a ^(BD)fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
¹⁶Then ^(BE)justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.
¹⁷And the ^(BF)work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, ^(BG)quietness and ^[p]confidence forever.
¹⁸Then my people will live in a ^(BH)peaceful settlement,
In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed ^(BI)resting places;
¹⁹And it will ^(BJ)hail when the ^(BK)forest comes down,
And ^(BL)the city will be utterly laid low.
²⁰How ^(BM)blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who ^[q]let the ox and the donkey out freely.

The Judgment of God

33 Woe ^(BN)to you, destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he ^(BO)who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, ^(BP)you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^(BQ)deal treacherously with you.
²Lord, ^(BR)be gracious to us; we have ^(BS)waited for You.
Be ^[r]their ^[s]^(BT)strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the ^(BU)time of distress.
³At the sound of a roar, ^(BV)peoples flee;
At the ^(BW)lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse.
⁴Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.
⁵The Lord is ^(BX)exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has ^(BY)filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
⁶And He will be the ^[t]^(BZ)stability of your times,
A ^(CA)wealth of salvation, wisdom, and ^(CB)knowledge;
The ^(CC)fear of the Lord is his treasure.
⁷Behold, their brave men cry out ^[u]in the streets,
The ^[v]^(CD)ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
⁸The highways are desolate, ^[w]the ^(CE)traveler has ceased,
He has ^(CF)broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
He has no regard for mankind.
⁹^(CG)The land mourns and wastes away,
^(CH)Lebanon is shamed and withers;
^(CI)Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel ^[x]lose their foliage.
¹⁰“Now ^(CJ)I will arise,” says the Lord,
“Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.
¹¹You have ^(CK)conceived ^[y]chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
^[z]My ^(CL)breath will consume you like a fire.
¹²The peoples will be burned to lime,
^(CM)Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

¹³“You who are far away, ^(CN)hear what I have done;
And you who are near, ^[aa]acknowledge My might.”
¹⁴^(CO)Sinners in Zion are terrified;
^(CP)Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with ^(CQ)the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting ^(CR)burning?”
¹⁵One who ^(CS)walks righteously and speaks with integrity,
One who rejects ^[ab]unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And ^(CT)shuts his eyes from looking at evil;
¹⁶He will dwell on the heights,
^(CU)His refuge will be the ^[ac]impregnable rock;
^(CV)His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

¹⁷Your eyes will see ^(CW)the King in His beauty;
They will see ^(CX)a distant land.
¹⁸Your heart will meditate on ^(CY)terror:
“Where is ^(CZ)one who counts?
Where is one who weighs?
Where is one who counts the towers?”
¹⁹You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of ^[ad]^(DA)unintelligible speech ^[ae]which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue ^[af]which no one understands.
²⁰^(DB)Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^(DC)undisturbed settlement,
^(DD)A tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.
²¹But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us
A place of ^(DE)rivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass—
²²For the Lord is our ^(DF)judge,
The Lord is ^(DG)our lawgiver,
The Lord is ^(DH)our king;
^(DI)He will save us—
²³Your ship’s tackle hangs slack;
It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the ^(DJ)prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
^(DK)Those who limp will take the plunder.
²⁴And no resident will say, “I am ^(DL)sick”;
The people who live ^[ag]there will be ^(DM)forgiven their wrongdoing.