Isaiah 20-22

New International Version

A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the supreme commander,^(A) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod^(B) and attacked and captured it— ²at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.^(C) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth^(D) from your body and the sandals^(E) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped^(F) and barefoot.^(G)

³Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant^(H) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,^(I) as a sign^(J) and portent^(K) against Egypt^(L) and Cush,^[a]^(M) ⁴so the king^(N) of Assyria will lead away stripped^(O) and barefoot the Egyptian captives^(P) and Cushite^(Q) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared^(R)—to Egypt’s shame.^(S) ⁵Those who trusted^(T) in Cush^(U) and boasted in Egypt^(V) will be dismayed and put to shame.^(W) ⁶In that day^(X) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened^(Y) to those we relied on,^(Z) those we fled to for help^(AA) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?^(AB)’”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy^(AC) against the Desert^(AD) by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds^(AE) sweeping through the southland,^(AF)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.

²A dire^(AG) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,^(AH) the looter takes loot.
Elam,^(AI) attack! Media,^(AJ) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³At this my body is racked with pain,^(AK)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(AL)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered^(AM) by what I see.
⁴My heart^(AN) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;^(AO)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror^(AP) to me.

⁵They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!^(AQ)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!^(AR)

⁶This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout^(AS)
    and have him report what he sees.
⁷When he sees chariots^(AT)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,^(AU)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

⁸And the lookout^[b]^(AV) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
⁹Look, here comes a man in a chariot^(AW)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon^(AX) has fallen,^(AY) has fallen!
All the images of its gods^(AZ)
    lie shattered^(BA) on the ground!’”

¹⁰My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(BB)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

¹¹A prophecy against Dumah^[c]:^(BC)

Someone calls to me from Seir,^(BD)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
¹²The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

¹³A prophecy^(BE) against Arabia:^(BF)

You caravans of Dedanites,^(BG)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
¹⁴    bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,^(BH)
    bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵They flee^(BI) from the sword,^(BJ)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract^(BK) would count it, all the splendor^(BL) of Kedar^(BM) will come to an end. ¹⁷The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.^(BN)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.^(BO)

A Prophecy About Jerusalem

22 A prophecy^(BP) against the Valley^(BQ) of Vision:^(BR)

What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the roofs,^(BS)
²you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult^(BT) and revelry?^(BU)
Your slain^(BV) were not killed by the sword,^(BW)
    nor did they die in battle.
³All your leaders have fled^(BX) together;
    they have been captured^(BY) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
    having fled while the enemy was still far away.
⁴Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
    let me weep^(BZ) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
    over the destruction of my people.”^(CA)

⁵The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day^(CB)
    of tumult and trampling^(CC) and terror^(CD)
    in the Valley of Vision,^(CE)
a day of battering down walls^(CF)
    and of crying out to the mountains.
⁶Elam^(CG) takes up the quiver,^(CH)
    with her charioteers and horses;
    Kir^(CI) uncovers the shield.
⁷Your choicest valleys^(CJ) are full of chariots,
    and horsemen are posted at the city gates.^(CK)

⁸The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day^(CL)
    to the weapons^(CM) in the Palace of the Forest.^(CN)
⁹You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through^(CO) in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.^(CP)
¹⁰You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses^(CQ) to strengthen the wall.^(CR)
¹¹You built a reservoir between the two walls^(CS)
    for the water of the Old Pool,^(CT)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard^(CU) for the One who planned^(CV) it long ago.

¹²The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day^(CW)
to weep^(CX) and to wail,
    to tear out your hair^(CY) and put on sackcloth.^(CZ)
¹³But see, there is joy and revelry,^(DA)
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!^(DB)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”^(DC)

¹⁴The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:^(DD) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned^(DE) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

¹⁵This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna^(DF) the palace^(DG) administrator:^(DH)
¹⁶What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave^(DI) for yourself^(DJ) here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

¹⁷“Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl^(DK) you away, you mighty man.
¹⁸He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw^(DL) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots^(DM) you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
¹⁹I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted^(DN) from your position.^(DO)

²⁰“In that day^(DP) I will summon my servant,^(DQ) Eliakim^(DR) son of Hilkiah. ²¹I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash^(DS) around him and hand your authority^(DT) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. ²²I will place on his shoulder^(DU) the key^(DV) to the house of David;^(DW) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.^(DX) ²³I will drive him like a peg^(DY) into a firm place;^(DZ) he will become a seat^[d] of honor^(EA) for the house of his father. ²⁴All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

²⁵“In that day,^(EB)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg^(EC) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.^(ED)

Footnotes

Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
Isaiah 22:23 Or throne

1 Peter 1

New International Version

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,^(A)

To God’s elect,^(B) exiles^(C) scattered^(D) throughout the provinces of Pontus,^(E) Galatia,^(F) Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,^(G) ²who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge^(H) of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,^(I) to be obedient^(J) to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:^(K)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.^(L)

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!^(M) In his great mercy^(N) he has given us new birth^(O) into a living hope^(P) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^(Q) ⁴and into an inheritance^(R) that can never perish, spoil or fade.^(S) This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,^(T) ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power^(U) until the coming of the salvation^(V) that is ready to be revealed^(W) in the last time. ⁶In all this you greatly rejoice,^(X) though now for a little while^(Y) you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.^(Z) ⁷These have come so that the proven genuineness^(AA) of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire^(AB)—may result in praise, glory and honor^(AC) when Jesus Christ is revealed.^(AD) ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him^(AE) and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.^(AF)

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke^(AG) of the grace that was to come to you,^(AH) searched intently and with the greatest care,^(AI) ¹¹trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ^(AJ) in them was pointing when he predicted^(AK) the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you,^(AL) when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you^(AM) by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.^(AN) Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

¹³Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober,^(AO) set your hope^(AP) on the grace to be brought to you^(AQ) when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.^(AR) ¹⁴As obedient^(AS) children, do not conform^(AT) to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.^(AU) ¹⁵But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;^(AV) ¹⁶for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”^[a]^(AW)

¹⁷Since you call on a Father^(AX) who judges each person’s work^(AY) impartially,^(AZ) live out your time as foreigners^(BA) here in reverent fear.^(BB) ¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed^(BC) from the empty way of life^(BD) handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹but with the precious blood^(BE) of Christ, a lamb^(BF) without blemish or defect.^(BG) ²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world,^(BH) but was revealed in these last times^(BI) for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God,^(BJ) who raised him from the dead^(BK) and glorified him,^(BL) and so your faith and hope^(BM) are in God.

²²Now that you have purified^(BN) yourselves by obeying^(BO) the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,^(BP) from the heart.^[b] ²³For you have been born again,^(BQ) not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,^(BR) through the living and enduring word of God.^(BS) ²⁴For,

“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever.”^[c]^(BT)

And this is the word that was preached to you.