Isaiah 20:1-22:14

New American Standard Bible

As ^(Q)windstorms in the ^[e]Negev come in turns,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
² A ^(R)harsh vision has been shown to me;
The ^(S)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, ^(T)Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have put an end to all ^[f]the groaning she has caused.
³ For this reason my ^(U)loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a ^(V)woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
⁴ My ^[g]mind reels, ^[h]horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been ^(W)turned into trembling for me.
⁵ They ^(X)set the table, they ^[i]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”

“Go, station the lookout, have him ^(Y)report what he sees.
⁷ When he sees ^[j]a ^(Z)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”

“^(AA)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
⁹ Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “^(AB)Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the ^(AC)images of her gods ^[l]are shattered on the ground.”
¹⁰ My ^(AD)downtrodden people, and my ^[m]afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.

One keeps calling to me from ^(AF)Seir,
“Watchman, ^[o]how far gone is the night?
Watchman, ^[p]how far gone is the night?”
¹² The watchman says,
“Morning comes but also night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
Come back again.”

In the thickets of Arabia you ^[q]must spend the night,
You caravans of ^(AH)Dedanites.
¹⁴ Bring water ^[r]for the thirsty,
You inhabitants of the land of ^(AI)Tema;
Meet the fugitive with bread.
¹⁵ For they have ^(AJ)fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,
And from the press of battle.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the ^(AP)housetops?
² You who were full of noise,
You tumultuous town, you ^(AQ)jubilant city;
Your dead were ^(AR)not killed with the sword,
Nor ^[t]did they die in battle.
^3 (AS)All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured ^[u]without the bow;
All of you who were found were taken captive together,
^[v]Though they had fled far away.
⁴ Therefore I say, “Look away from me,
Let me ^(AT)weep bitterly,
Do not ^[w]try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
^5 (AU)For the Lord ^[x]God of armies has a ^(AV)day of panic, ^(AW)subjugation, and confusion
^(AX)In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying ^[y]to the mountain.
^6 (AY)Elam picked up the quiver,
With the chariots, ^[z]infantry, and horsemen;
And ^(AZ)Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷ Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took positions at the gate.
⁸ And He removed the ^[aa]defense of Judah.
On that day you ^[ab]depended on the weapons of the ^(BA)house of the forest,
⁹ And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you ^(BB)collected the waters of the lower pool.
¹⁰ Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.
¹¹ And you made a reservoir ^(BC)between the two walls
For the waters of the ^(BD)old pool.
But you did not ^[ac]depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you ^[ad]take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.