Isaiah 19-21

New King James Version

Proclamation Against Egypt

19 The ^(A)burden^[a] against Egypt.

Behold, the Lord ^(B)rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
^(C)The idols of Egypt will ^[b]totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

²“I will ^(D)set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
³The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
And they will ^(E)consult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.
⁴And the Egyptians I will give
^(F)Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

⁵^(G)The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.
⁶The rivers will turn foul;
The brooks ^(H)of defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.
⁷The papyrus reeds by ^[c]the River, by the mouth of the River,
And everything sown by the River,
Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
⁸The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
⁹Moreover those who work in ^(I)fine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
¹⁰And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

¹¹Surely the princes of ^(J)Zoan are fools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.
^(K)How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?”
¹²^(L)Where are they?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
And let them know what the Lord of hosts has ^(M)purposed against Egypt.
¹³The princes of Zoan have become fools;
^(N)The princes of ^[d]Noph are deceived;
They have also ^[e]deluded Egypt,
Those who are the ^[f]mainstay of its tribes.
¹⁴The Lord has mingled ^(O)a perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
¹⁵Neither will there be any work for Egypt,
Which ^(P)the head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.

¹⁶In that day Egypt will ^(Q)be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, ^(R)which He waves over it. ¹⁷And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has ^(S)determined against it.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

¹⁸In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will ^(T)speak the language of Canaan and ^(U)swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of ^[g]Destruction.

¹⁹In that day ^(V)there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the ^(W)Lord at its border. ²⁰And ^(X)it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a ^(Y)Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. ²¹Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will ^(Z)know the Lord in that day, and ^(AA)will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. ²²And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and ^(AB)heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.

²³In that day ^(AC)there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will ^(AD)serve with the Assyrians.

²⁴In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria ^(AE)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia

20 In the year that ^(AF)Tartan^[h] came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, ²at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove ^(AG)the sackcloth from your ^[i]body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, ^(AH)walking naked and barefoot.

³Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years ^(AI)for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, ⁴so shall the ^(AJ)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, ^(AK)with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. ⁵^(AL)Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. ⁶And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for ^(AM)help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”

The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed

21 The ^[j]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As ^(AN)whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
²A distressing vision is declared to me;
^(AO)The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
^(AP)Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.

³Therefore ^(AQ)my loins are filled with pain;
^(AR)Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was ^[k]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
⁴My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
^(AS)The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
⁵^(AT)Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!

⁶For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
⁷And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
⁸^[l]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the ^(AU)watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
⁹And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
^(AV)“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And ^(AW)all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”

¹⁰^(AX)Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.

Proclamation Against Edom

¹¹^(AY)The ^[m]burden against Dumah.

He calls to me out of ^(AZ)Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
¹²The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”

Proclamation Against Arabia

¹³^(BA)The ^[n]burden against Arabia.

In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies ^(BB)of Dedanites.
¹⁴O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
¹⁵For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.

¹⁶For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, ^(BC)according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of ^(BD)Kedar will fail; ¹⁷and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 19:1 oracle, prophecy
Isaiah 19:1 Lit. shake
Isaiah 19:7 The Nile
Isaiah 19:13 Ancient Memphis
Isaiah 19:13 Lit. caused to stagger
Isaiah 19:13 cornerstone
Isaiah 19:18 Some Heb. mss., Arab., DSS, Tg., Vg. Sun; LXX Asedek, lit. Righteousness
Isaiah 20:1 Or the Commander in Chief
Isaiah 20:2 Lit. loins
Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy

Hebrews 11

New King James Version

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the ^[a]substance of things hoped for, the ^[b]evidence ^(A)of things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³By faith we understand that ^(B)the ^[c]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History^(C)

⁴By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still ^(E)speaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ^(F)“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

⁷By faith ^(G)Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, ^(H)prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^(I)the righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham^(J)

⁸By faith ^(K)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^(L)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(M)the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰for he waited for ^(N)the city which has foundations, ^(O)whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹By faith ^(P)Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^(Q)she^[d] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^(R)faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^(S)dead, were born as many as the ^(T)stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³These all died in faith, ^(U)not having received the ^(V)promises, but ^(W)having seen them afar off ^[e]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(X)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things ^(Y)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And truly if they had called to mind ^(Z)that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AA)to be called their God, for He has ^(AB)prepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs^(AC)

¹⁷By faith Abraham, ^(AD)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸^[f]of whom it was said, ^(AE)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹concluding that God ^(AF)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰By faith ^(AG)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^(AH)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith ^(AI)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses^(AJ)

²³By faith ^(AK)Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s ^(AL)command.

²⁴By faith ^(AM)Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the ^[g]passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming ^(AN)the ^[h]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ^[i]in Egypt; for he looked to the ^(AO)reward.

²⁷By faith ^(AP)he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith ^(AQ)he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹By faith ^(AR)they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰By faith ^(AS)the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith ^(AT)the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ^[j]did not believe, when ^(AU)she had received the spies with peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^(AV)Gideon and ^(AW)Barak and ^(AX)Samson and ^(AY)Jephthah, also of ^(AZ)David and ^(BA)Samuel and the prophets: ³³who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^(BB)stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴^(BC)quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵^(BD)Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were ^(BE)tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and ^(BF)of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷^(BG)They were stoned, they were sawn in two, ^[k]were tempted, were slain with the sword. ^(BH)They wandered about ^(BI)in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, ^(BJ)in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, ^(BK)having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us, that they should not be ^(BL)made perfect apart from us.