Genesis 1
English Standard Version
The Creation of the World
1 In the (A)beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was (B)without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, (C)“Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, (D)“Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[b] the expanse and (E)separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were (F)above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, (G)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth,[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, (H)“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for (I)signs and for (J)seasons,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God (K)made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to (L)rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So (M)God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, (N)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, (O)“Let us make man[h] in our image, (P)after our likeness. And (Q)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
(R)male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, (S)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. (T)You shall have them for food. 30 And (U)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 (V)And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:6 Or a canopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20
- Genesis 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16
- Genesis 1:8 Or Sky; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:10 Or Land; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:11 Or small plants; also verses 12, 29
- Genesis 1:14 Or appointed times
- Genesis 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20
- Genesis 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam
Psalm 104
English Standard Version
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are (B)very great!
(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
(D)stretching out the heavens (E)like a tent.
3 He (F)lays the beams of his (G)chambers on the waters;
he makes (H)the clouds his chariot;
he rides on (I)the wings of the wind;
4 he (J)makes his messengers winds,
his (K)ministers (L)a flaming fire.
5 He (M)set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You (N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At (O)your rebuke they fled;
at (P)the sound of your thunder they (Q)took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you (R)appointed for them.
9 You set (S)a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they (T)might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they (U)give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 (V)From your lofty abode you (W)water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause (X)the grass to grow for the livestock
and (Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth (Z)food from the earth
15 and (AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
(AB)oil to make his face shine
and bread to (AC)strengthen man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
(AD)the cedars of Lebanon (AE)that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for (AF)the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for (AG)the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the (AH)seasons;[a]
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 (AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their (AK)dens.
23 (AL)Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In (AM)wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
(AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and (AO)Leviathan, which you formed to (AP)play in it.[b]
27 These (AQ)all look to you,
to (AR)give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you (AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you (AT)hide your face, they are (AU)dismayed;
when you (AV)take away their breath, they die
and (AW)return to their dust.
30 When you (AX)send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created,
and you (AY)renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord (AZ)endure forever;
may the Lord (BA)rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it (BB)trembles,
who (BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord (BD)as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my (BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let (BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(BH)Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
- Psalm 104:26 Or you formed to play with
- Psalm 104:30 Or breath
Isaiah 65
English Standard Version
Judgment and Salvation
65 (A)I was ready to be sought by (B)those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by[a] my name.
2 (C)I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
(D)sacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4 who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
(E)who eat pig's flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
(F)These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, (G)it is written before me:
(H)“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
(I)I will indeed repay into their lap
7 both your iniquities (J)and your fathers' iniquities together,
says the Lord;
(K)because they made offerings on the mountains
(L)and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
payment for their former deeds.”[b]
8 Thus says the Lord:
(M)“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants' sake,
(N)and not destroy them all.
9 (O)I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
10 (P)Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and (Q)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people (R)who have sought me.
11 But (S)you who forsake the Lord,
who forget (T)my holy mountain,
who (U)set a table for Fortune
and (V)fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
(W)because, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
(X)but you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, (Y)my servants shall eat,
but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be put to shame;
14 behold, (Z)my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name to (AA)my chosen (AB)for a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death,
but his servants (AC)he will call by another name,
16 so that he who (AD)blesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by (AE)the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by (AF)the God of truth;
(AG)because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “For behold, (AH)I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, (AI)I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19 (AJ)I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
(AK)no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for (AL)the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and (AM)the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (AN)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 (AO)They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
(AP)for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy[c] the work of their hands.
23 (AQ)They shall not labor in vain
(AR)or bear children for calamity,[d]
for (AS)they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
24 (AT)Before they call I will answer;
(AU)while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 (AV)The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and (AW)dust shall be the serpent's food.
(AX)They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:1 Or that did not call upon
- Isaiah 65:7 Or I will first measure their payment into their lap
- Isaiah 65:22 Hebrew shall wear out
- Isaiah 65:23 Or for sudden terror
Isaiah 17-25
English Standard Version
An Oracle Concerning Damascus
17 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of (C)Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and (D)none will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from (E)Ephraim,
and the kingdom from (F)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like (G)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.
4 And in that day (H)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and (I)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be (J)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in (K)the Valley of Rephaim.
6 (L)Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 (M)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 (N)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the (O)Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 (P)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For (Q)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the (R)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[a] on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[b]
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, (S)the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 (T)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
(U)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (V)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and (W)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (X)At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.
An Oracle Concerning Cush
18 Ah, land of (Y)whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of (Z)Cush,[c]
2 which (AA)sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation (AB)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation (AC)mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when (AD)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
4 For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (AE)from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 (AF)For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
6 (AG)They shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 (AH)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts
from a people (AI)tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to (AJ)Mount Zion, the place of the (AK)name of the Lord of hosts.
An Oracle Concerning Egypt
19 An (AL)oracle concerning (AM)Egypt.
Behold, the Lord (AN)is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and (AO)the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will (AP)melt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
(AQ)and they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound[d] their (AR)counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and (AS)the mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of (AT)a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The (AU)fishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
9 The workers in (AV)combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the (AW)pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who (AX)work for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of (AY)Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your (AZ)wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of (BA)Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of (BB)Memphis are deluded;
those who are the (BC)cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her (BD)a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
(BE)as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that (BF)head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed
16 In that day the Egyptians will be (BG)like women, and (BH)tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.
18 (BI)In that day there will be (BJ)five cities in the land of Egypt that (BK)speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.[e]
19 In that day there will be an (BL)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a (BM)pillar to the Lord at its border. 20 (BN)It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, (BO)he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 (BP)And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day (BQ)and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 (BR)And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
23 (BS)In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, (BT)and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, (BU)a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt (BV)my people, and Assyria (BW)the work of my hands, and (BX)Israel my inheritance.”
A Sign Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that (BY)the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to (BZ)Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking (CA)naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years (CB)as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,[f] 4 so shall the (CC)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 (CD)Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of (CE)this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and (CF)to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”
Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
21 The (CG)oracle concerning the wilderness of (CH)the sea.
(CI)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
(CJ)the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O (CK)Elam;
lay siege, O (CL)Media;
all the (CM)sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
(CN)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.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
(CO)the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5 (CP)They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,[g]
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
(CQ)oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out:[h]
(CR)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
(CS)And he answered,
(CT)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
(CU)and all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10 O (CV)my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The (CW)oracle concerning (CX)Dumah.
One is calling to me from (CY)Seir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12 The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also (CZ)the night.
If you will inquire, (DA)inquire;
come back again.”
13 The (DB)oracle concerning (DC)Arabia.
In the thickets in (DD)Arabia you will lodge,
O (DE)caravans of (DF)Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of (DG)Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, (DH)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of (DI)Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of (DJ)Kedar will be few, (DK)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
22 The (DL)oracle concerning (DM)the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, (DN)exultant town?
Your slain are (DO)not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 (DP)All your leaders have fled together;
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
(DQ)let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 (DR)For the Lord God of hosts has (DS)a day
of tumult and (DT)trampling and (DU)confusion
in (DV)the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And (DW)Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and (DX)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away (DY)the covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to (DZ)the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that (EA)the breaches of the city of David were many. (EB)You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 (EC)You made a reservoir between (ED)the two walls for the water of (EE)the old pool. But (EF)you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day (EG)the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for (EH)baldness and (EI)wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
(EJ)“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts (EK)has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely (EL)this iniquity will not be atoned for you (EM)until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to (EN)Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, (EO)that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you (EP)who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. (EQ)He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be (ER)your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 (ES)I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant (ET)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and (EU)I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be (EV)a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place (EW)on his shoulder (EX)the key of the house of David. (EY)He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him (EZ)like a peg in a secure place, and he will become (FA)a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, (FB)the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
23 The (FC)oracle concerning (FD)Tyre.
Wail, O (FE)ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, (FF)without house or harbor!
From (FG)the land of Cyprus[i]
it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of (FH)Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were (FI)the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O (FJ)Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish[j] over the report about Tyre.
6 (FK)Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
(FL)whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed 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 purposed it,
(FM)to defile the pompous pride of all glory,[k]
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10 Cross over your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint anymore.
11 (FN)He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of (FO)Sidon;
arise, (FP)cross over to (FQ)Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
13 Behold the land of (FR)the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;[l] Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected (FS)their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
14 (FT)Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for (FU)seventy years, like the days[m] of one king. At the end of (FV)seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
17 At the end of (FW)seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and (FX)will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
24 Behold, (FY)the Lord will empty the earth[n] and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 (FZ)And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
(GA)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
(GB)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 (GC)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
(GD)for the Lord has spoken this word.
4 (GE)The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies (GF)defiled
under its inhabitants;
for (GG)they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore (GH)a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants (GI)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 (GJ)The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 (GK)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine (GL)with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 (GM)The wasted city is broken down;
(GN)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 (GO)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
(GP)all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
(GQ)as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.[o]
15 (GR)Therefore in the east[p] give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 (GS)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to (GT)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For (GU)the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 (GV)Terror and the pit and the snare[q]
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 (GW)He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For (GX)the windows of heaven are opened,
and (GY)the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth (GZ)staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
(HA)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and (HB)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 (HC)They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days (HD)they will be punished.
23 (HE)Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for (HF)the Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
25 O Lord, (HG)you are my God;
(HH)I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
(HI)plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city (HJ)a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 (HK)Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 (HL)For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
(HM)a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
(HN)for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 (HO)like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.
6 (HP)On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
(HQ)of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up (HR)on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
(HS)the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 (HT)He will swallow up death forever;
and (HU)the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and (HV)the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
(HW)for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; (HX)we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
(HY)let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest (HZ)on this mountain,
and (IA)Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.[r]
11 (IB)And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
but the Lord (IC)will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill[s] of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
- Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
- Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia
- Isaiah 19:3 Or I will swallow up
- Isaiah 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun
- Isaiah 20:3 Probably Nubia
- Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion
- Isaiah 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also verse 12
- Isaiah 23:5 Hebrew they will have labor pains
- Isaiah 23:9 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike
- Isaiah 23:13 Or that has become nothing
- Isaiah 23:15 Or lifetime
- Isaiah 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter
- Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew from the sea
- Isaiah 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires
- Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike
- Isaiah 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike
- Isaiah 25:11 Or in spite of the skill
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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