Isaiah 10-14

Contemporary English Version

10 You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws ²that let you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans. ³But what will you do when you are fiercely attacked and punished by foreigners? Where will you run for help? Where will you hide your valuables? ⁴How will you escape being captured^[a] or killed? The Lord is still angry, and he isn't through with you yet!^[b]

The Lord's Purpose and the King of Assyria

⁵^(A) The Lord says:

I am furious! And I will use the king of Assyria^[c] as a club ⁶to beat down you godless people. I am angry with you, and I will send him to attack you. He will take what he wants and walk on you like mud in the streets. ⁷He has even bigger plans in mind, because he wants to destroy many nations.

⁸The king of Assyria says:

My army commanders are kings! ⁹They have already captured^[d] the cities of Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus. ^10-11^(B) The gods of Jerusalem and Samaria are weaker than the gods of those powerful nations. And I will destroy Jerusalem, together with its gods and idols, just as I did Samaria.

¹²The Lord will do what he has planned against Jerusalem and Mount Zion. Then he will punish the proud and boastful king of Assyria, ¹³who says:

I did these things by my own power because I am smart and clever. I attacked kings like a wild bull, and I took the land and the treasures of their nations. ¹⁴I have conquered the whole world! And it was easier than taking eggs from an unguarded nest. No one even flapped a wing or made a peep.

¹⁵King of Assyria, can an ax or a saw overpower the one who uses it? Can a wooden pole lift whoever holds it? ¹⁶The mighty Lord All-Powerful will send a terrible disease to strike down your army, and you will burn with fever under your royal robes. ¹⁷The holy God, who is the light of Israel, will turn into a fire, and in one day you will go up in flames, just like a thornbush. ¹⁸The Lord will make your beautiful forests and fertile fields slowly rot. ¹⁹There will be so few trees that even a young child can count them.

Only a Few Will Come Back

²⁰A time is coming when the survivors from Israel and Judah will completely depend on the holy Lord of Israel, instead of the nation^[e] that defeated them. ^21-22^(C) There were as many people as there are grains of sand along the seashore, but only a few will survive to come back to Israel's mighty God. This is because he has threatened to destroy their nation, just as they deserve. ²³The Lord All-Powerful has promised that everyone on this earth^[f] will be punished.

²⁴Now the Lord God All-Powerful says to his people in Jerusalem:

The Assyrians will beat you with sticks and abuse you, just as the Egyptians did. But don't be afraid of them. ²⁵Soon I will stop being angry with you, and I will punish them for their crimes.^[g] ²⁶I will beat the Assyrians with a whip, as I did the people of Midian near the rock at Oreb. And I will show the same mighty power that I used when I made a path through the sea in Egypt. ²⁷Then they will no longer rule your nation. All will go well for you,^[h] and your burden will be lifted.

²⁸Enemy troops have reached the town of Aiath.^[i] They have gone through Migron, and they stored their supplies at Michmash, ²⁹before crossing the valley and spending the night at Geba.^[j] The people of Ramah are terrified; everyone in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, has run away. ³⁰Loud crying can be heard in the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and sorrowful Anathoth. ³¹No one is left in Madmenah or Gebim. ³²Today the enemy will camp at Nob^[k] and shake a threatening fist at Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

³³But the Lord All-Powerful
    will use his fearsome might
to bring down the tallest trees
    and chop off every branch.
³⁴With an ax, the glorious Lord
will destroy every tree
    in the forests of Lebanon.^[l]

Peace at Last

11 ^(D) Like a branch that sprouts
    from a stump,
someone from David's family^[m]
    will someday be king.
²The Spirit of the Lord
    will be with him
to give him understanding,
    wisdom, and insight.
He will be powerful,
and he will know
    and honor the Lord.
³His greatest joy will be
    to obey the Lord.

This king won't judge
by appearances
    or listen to rumors.
⁴The poor and the needy
will be treated with fairness
    and with justice.
His word will be law
    everywhere in the land,
and criminals
    will be put to death.
⁵^(E) Honesty and fairness
    will be his royal robes.

⁶^(F) Leopards will lie down
    with young goats,
and wolves will rest
    with lambs.
Calves and lions
    will eat together
and be cared for
    by little children.
⁷Cows and bears will share
    the same pasture;
their young will rest
    side by side.
Lions and oxen
    will both eat straw.

⁸Little children will play
near snake holes.
They will stick their hands
into dens of poisonous snakes
and never be hurt.

⁹^(G) Nothing harmful will take place
    on the Lord's holy mountain.
Just as water fills the sea,
    the land will be filled
with people who know
    and honor the Lord.

God's People Will Come Back Home

¹⁰^(H) The time is coming when one of David's descendants^[n] will be the signal for the people of all nations to come together. They will follow his advice, and his own nation will become famous.

¹¹When that day comes, the Lord will again reach out his mighty arm and bring home his people who have survived in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia,^[o] Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the land along the coast.^[p] ¹²He will give a signal to the nations, and he will bring together the refugees from Judah and Israel, who have been scattered all over the earth. ¹³Israel will stop being jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be the enemy of Israel. ¹⁴Instead, they will get together and attack the Philistines in the west. Then they will defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites in the east. They will rule those people and take from them whatever they want.

¹⁵^(I) The Lord will dry up the arm of the Red Sea near Egypt,^[q] and he will send a scorching wind to divide the Euphrates River into seven streams that anyone can step across. ¹⁶Then for his people who survive, there will be a good road from Assyria, just as there was a good road for their ancestors when they left Egypt.

A Song of Praise

12 At that time you will say,
“I thank you, Lord!
    You were angry with me,
but you stopped being angry
    and gave me comfort.
²^(J) I trust you to save me,
Lord God,
    and I won't be afraid.
My power and my strength^[r]
come from you,
    and you have saved me.”

³With great joy, you people
will get water
    from the well of victory.
⁴At that time you will say,
“Our Lord, we are thankful,
    and we worship only you.
We will tell the nations
how glorious you are
    and what you have done.
⁵Because of your wonderful deeds
we will sing your praises
    everywhere on earth.”

⁶Sing, people of Zion!
Celebrate the greatness
of the holy Lord of Israel.
God is here to help you.

Babylon Will Be Punished

13 ^(K) This is the message^[s] that I was given about Babylon:

²From high on a barren hill
give a signal, shout the orders,
    and point the way
to enter the gates
    of Babylon's proud rulers.
³The Lord has commanded
    his very best warriors
and his proud heroes
    to show how angry he is.

⁴Listen to the noisy crowds
    on the mountains!
Kingdoms and nations
    are joining forces.
The Lord All-Powerful
is bringing together
    an army for battle.
⁵From a distant land
the Lord is coming
    fierce and furious—
he brings his weapons
    to destroy the whole earth.

⁶^(L) Cry and weep!
    The day is coming
when the mighty Lord
    will bring destruction.
* ⁷All people will be terrified.
Hands will grow limp;
    courage will melt away.
⁸Everyone will tremble with pain
    like a woman giving birth;
they will stare at each other
    with horror on their faces.

There Will Be No Mercy

⁹I, the Lord,
will show no mercy or pity
    when that time comes.
In my anger I will destroy
the earth and every sinner
    who lives on it.
¹⁰^(M) Light will disappear
    from the stars in the sky;
the dawning sun will turn dark,
and the moon
    will lose its brightness.

¹¹I will punish this evil world
and its people
    because of their sins.
I will crush the horrible pride
    of those who are cruel.
¹²Survivors will be harder to find
    than the purest gold.
¹³I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    am terribly angry—
I will make the sky tremble
    and the earth shake loose.

¹⁴Everyone will run
    to their homelands,
just as hunted deer run,
and sheep scatter
    when they have no shepherd.
¹⁵Those men who are captured
    will be killed by a sword.
¹⁶They will see their children
    beaten against rocks,
their homes robbed,
    and their wives abused.

¹⁷The Medes^[t] can't be bought off
    with silver or gold,
and I'm sending them
    to attack Babylonia.
¹⁸Their arrows will slaughter
    the young men;
no pity will be shown
    to babies and children.

The Lord Will Destroy Babylon

¹⁹^(N) The city of Babylon
is glorious and powerful,
    the pride of the nation.
But it will be like the cities
    of Sodom and Gomorrah
after I, the Lord,
    destroyed them.
²⁰No one will live in Babylon.
Even nomads won't camp nearby,
    and shepherds won't let
    their sheep rest there.
²¹^(O) Only desert creatures,
    hoot owls, and ostriches
will live in its ruins,
    and goats^[u] will leap about.
²²Hyenas and wolves will howl
from Babylon's fortresses
    and beautiful palaces.
Its time is almost up!

The Lord's People Will Come Home

14 The Lord will have mercy on Israel and will let them be his chosen people once again. He will bring them back to their own land, and foreigners will join them as part of Israel. ²Other nations will lead them home, and Israel will make slaves of them in the land that belongs to the Lord. Israel will rule over those who once governed and mistreated them.

Death to the King of Babylonia!

³The Lord will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery. ⁴Then you will make fun of the King of Babylonia by singing this song:

That cruel monster is done for!
    He won't attack us again.^[v]
⁵The Lord has crushed the power
    of those evil kings,
⁶who were furious
and never stopped abusing
    the people of other nations.

⁷Now all the world is at peace;
its people are celebrating
    with joyful songs.
⁸King of Babylonia,
    even the cypress trees
and the cedars of Lebanon
    celebrate and say,
“Since you were put down,
no one comes along
    to chop us down.”

⁹The world of the dead
    eagerly waits for you.
With great excitement,
the spirits of ancient rulers
    hear about your coming.
¹⁰Each one of them will say,
“Now you are just as weak
    as any of us!
¹¹Your pride and your music
have ended here
    in the world of the dead.
Worms are your blanket,
    maggots are your bed.”

¹²^(P) You, the bright morning star,
    have fallen from the sky!
You brought down other nations;
    now you are brought down.
¹³^(Q) You said to yourself,
    “I'll climb to heaven
and place my throne
    above the highest stars.
I'll sit there with the gods
    far away in the north.
¹⁴I'll be above the clouds,
    just like God Most High.”

¹⁵But now you are deep
    in the world of the dead.
¹⁶Those who see you will stare
    and wonder, “Is this the man
who made the world tremble
    and shook up kingdoms?
¹⁷Did he capture every city
    and make earth a desert?
Is he the one who refused
    to let prisoners go home?”

¹⁸When kings die, they are buried
    in glorious tombs.
¹⁹But you will be left unburied,
just another dead body
    lying underfoot
    like a broken branch.
You will be one of many
killed in battle and gone down
    to the deep rocky pit.^[w]
²⁰You won't be buried with kings;
you ruined your country
    and murdered your people.

You evil monster!
We hope that your family
    will be forgotten forever.
²¹We will slaughter your sons
to make them pay for the crimes
    of their ancestors.
They won't take over the world
or build cities
    anywhere on this earth.

²²The Lord All-Powerful has promised to attack Babylonia and destroy everyone there, so that none of them will ever be remembered again. ²³The Lord will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.

Assyria Will Be Punished

²⁴^(R) The Lord All-Powerful
    has made this promise:
Everything I have planned
    will happen just as I said.
²⁵I will wipe out every Assyrian
    in my country,
and I will crush those
    on my mountains.
I will free my people
from slavery
    to the Assyrians.
²⁶I have planned this
    for the whole world,
and my mighty arm
    controls every nation.
²⁷I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have made these plans.
    No one can stop me now!

The Philistines Will Be Punished

²⁸^(S) This message came from the Lord in the year King Ahaz died:^[x]

²⁹^(T) Philistines, don't be happy
    just because the rod
that punished you
    is broken.
That rod will become
a poisonous snake, and then
    a flying fiery dragon.

³⁰The poor and needy will find
pastures for their sheep
and will live in safety.
But I will starve some of you,
and others will be killed.

³¹Cry and weep in the gates
of your towns,
    you Philistines!
Smoke blows in from the north,^[y]
    and every soldier is ready.
³²If a messenger comes
from a distant nation,
    you must say:
“The Lord built Zion.
Even the poorest of his people
    will find safety there.”

Notas al pie

10.4 escape being captured: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10.4 and he … yet: Or “but he hasn't given up on you yet!”
10.5 king of Assyria: Probably King Sennacherib who invaded Israel in 701 b.c.
10.9 already captured: Calno (in northern Syria), Carchemish (on the Euphrates River), Hamath (on the Orontes River), Arpad (near Aleppo in northern Syria), Samaria, and Damascus had already been captured by Assyrian kings (738–717 b.c.).
10.20 nation: That is, Assyria.
10.23 on this earth: Or “in this land.”
10.25 punish … crimes: Or “completely destroy them.”
10.27 All … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10.28 Aiath: Probably Ai (Joshua 7.2).
10.29 Geba: Only nine kilometers from Jerusalem.
10.32 Nob: Perhaps within three kilometers of Jerusalem.
10.34 Lebanon: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 34.
11.1 David's family: Hebrew “Jesse's family.” Jesse was the father of King David.
11.10 David's descendants: Hebrew “Jesse's descendants” (see the note at 11.1).
11.11 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
11.11 land along the coast: Or “islands.”
11.15 arm of the Red Sea near Egypt: Gulf of Suez.
12.2 strength: Or “song.”
13.1 message: See the note at 1.1.
13.17 Medes: People of a nation northeast of Babylonia, which became part of the Persian Empire.
13.21 goats: Or “demons.”
14.4 He … again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
14.19 deep rocky pit: The world of the dead.
14.28 King Ahaz died: 715 b.c.
14.31 north: The Assyrian and Babylonian attacks came from the north.