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Isaiah 31-35
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Isaiah 31-35
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Alliance with Egypt Is Futile
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster,
he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers,
and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are men, and not God;
and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
4 For thus the Lord said to me,
As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
and when a band of shepherds is called forth against him
is not terrified by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
so the Lord of hosts will come down
to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.
5 Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts
will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it,
he will spare and rescue it.
6 Turn to him from whom you[a] have deeply revolted, O people of Israel. 7 For in that day every one shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be put to forced labor.
9 His rock shall pass away in terror,
and his officers desert the standard in panic,”
says the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,
and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Government with Justice Predicted
32 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.
2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will hearken.
4 The mind of the rash will have good judgment,
and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.
5 The fool will no more be called noble,
nor the knave said to be honorable.
6 For the fool speaks folly,
and his mind plots iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
7 The knaveries of the knave are evil;
he devises wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
8 But he who is noble devises noble things,
and by noble things he stands.
Complacent Women Warned of Disaster
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;
you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.
10 In little more than a year
you will shudder, you complacent women;
for the vintage will fail,
the fruit harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease,
shudder, you complacent ones;
strip, and make yourselves bare,
and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 Beat upon your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine,
13 for the soil of my people
growing up in thorns and briers;
yea, for all the joyous houses
in the joyful city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens for ever,
a joy of wild asses,
a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
19 And the forest will utterly go down,[b]
and the city will be utterly laid low.
20 Happy are you who sow beside all waters,
who let the feet of the ox and the ass range free.
A Prophecy of Deliverance from Foes
33 Woe to you, destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed;
you treacherous one,
with whom none has dealt treacherously!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have made an end of dealing treacherously,
you will be dealt with treacherously.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for thee.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the thunderous noise peoples flee,
at the lifting up of thyself nations are scattered;
4 and spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, men leap upon it.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness;
6 and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7 Behold, the valiant ones[c] cry without;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste,
the wayfaring man ceases.
Covenants are broken,
witnesses[d] are despised,
there is no regard for man.
9 The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert;
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil,
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches afar.
18 Your mind will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
19 You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech which you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue which you cannot understand.
20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor stately ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23 Your tackle hangs loose;
it cannot hold the mast firm in its place,
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Judgment on the Nations
34 Draw near, O nations, to hear,
and hearken, O peoples!
Let the earth listen, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes from it.
2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host,
he has doomed them, has given them over for slaughter.
3 Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
the mountains shall flow with their blood.
4 All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have doomed.
6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood,
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty bulls.
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
and their soil made rich with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 And the streams of Edom[e] shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into brimstone;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up for ever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plummet of chaos over[f] its nobles.
12 They shall name it No Kingdom There,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
an abode for ostriches.
14 And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas,
the satyr shall cry to his fellow;
yea, there shall the night hag alight,
and find for herself a resting place.
15 There shall the owl nest and lay
and hatch and gather her young in her shadow;
yea, there shall the kites be gathered,
each one with her mate.
16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it for ever,
from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
The Return of the Redeemed to Zion
35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a hart,
and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,[g]
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not pass over it,[h]
and fools shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 31:6 Heb they
- Isaiah 32:19 Cn: Heb And it will hail when the forest comes down
- Isaiah 33:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Isaiah 33:8 One ancient Ms: Heb cities
- Isaiah 34:9 Heb her streams
- Isaiah 34:11 Heb lacks over
- Isaiah 35:7 Cn: Heb in the haunt of jackals is her resting place
- Isaiah 35:8 Heb it and he is for them a wayfarer
Isaiah 31-35
New International Version
Isaiah 31-35
New International Version
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
31 Woe(A) to those who go down to Egypt(B) for help,
who rely on horses,(C)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(D)
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(E) of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.(F)
2 Yet he too is wise(G) and can bring disaster;(H)
he does not take back his words.(I)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(J)
against those who help evildoers.
3 But the Egyptians(K) are mere mortals and not God;(L)
their horses(M) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(N)
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped(O) will fall;
all will perish together.(P)
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion(Q) growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds(R)
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor(S)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down(T)
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5 Like birds hovering(U) overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield(V) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver(W) it,
he will ‘pass over’(X) it and will rescue it.”
6 Return,(Y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted(Z) against. 7 For in that day(AA) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold(AB) your sinful hands have made.(AC)
8 “Assyria(AD) will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour(AE) them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labor.(AF)
9 Their stronghold(AG) will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard(AH) their commanders will panic,(AI)”
declares the Lord,
whose fire(AJ) is in Zion,
whose furnace(AK) is in Jerusalem.
The Kingdom of Righteousness
32 See, a king(AL) will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.(AM)
2 Each one will be like a shelter(AN) from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,(AO)
like streams of water(AP) in the desert(AQ)
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,(AR)
and the ears(AS) of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,(AT)
and the stammering tongue(AU) will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool(AV) be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,(AW)
their hearts are bent on evil:(AX)
They practice ungodliness(AY)
and spread error(AZ) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(BA)
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,(BB)
they make up evil schemes(BC)
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy(BD) is just.(BE)
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds(BF) they stand.(BG)
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women(BH) who are so complacent,
rise up and listen(BI) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(BJ)
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year(BK)
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,(BL)
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,(BM) you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!(BN)
Strip off your fine clothes(BO)
and wrap yourselves in rags.(BP)
12 Beat your breasts(BQ) for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines(BR)
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briers(BS)—
yes, mourn(BT) for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.(BU)
14 The fortress(BV) will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;(BW)
citadel and watchtower(BX) will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys,(BY) a pasture for flocks,(BZ)
15 till the Spirit(CA) is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,(CB)
and the fertile field seems like a forest.(CC)
16 The Lord’s justice(CD) will dwell in the desert,(CE)
his righteousness(CF) live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness(CG) will be peace;(CH)
its effect will be quietness and confidence(CI) forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful(CJ) dwelling places,
in secure homes,(CK)
in undisturbed places of rest.(CL)
19 Though hail(CM) flattens the forest(CN)
and the city is leveled(CO) completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
sowing(CP) your seed by every stream,(CQ)
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.(CR)
Distress and Help
33 Woe(CS) to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;(CT)
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.(CU)
2 Lord, be gracious(CV) to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength(CW) every morning,
our salvation(CX) in time of distress.(CY)
3 At the uproar of your army,(CZ) the peoples flee;(DA)
when you rise up,(DB) the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder,(DC) O nations, is harvested(DD) as by young locusts;(DE)
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted,(DF) for he dwells on high;(DG)
he will fill Zion with his justice(DH) and righteousness.(DI)
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation(DJ) and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear(DK) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a](DL)
7 Look, their brave men(DM) cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys(DN) of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers(DO) are on the roads.(DP)
The treaty is broken,(DQ)
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up(DR) and wastes away,
Lebanon(DS) is ashamed and withers;(DT)
Sharon(DU) is like the Arabah,
and Bashan(DV) and Carmel(DW) drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,(DX)” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;(DY)
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(DZ) chaff,
you give birth(EA) to straw;
your breath is a fire(EB) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(EC)
like cut thornbushes(ED) they will be set ablaze.(EE)”
13 You who are far away,(EF) hear(EG) what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(EH) in Zion are terrified;
trembling(EI) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(EJ)
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously(EK)
and speak what is right,(EL)
who reject gain from extortion(EM)
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(EN)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes(EO) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(EP)
whose refuge(EQ) will be the mountain fortress.(ER)
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail(ES) them.
17 Your eyes will see the king(ET) in his beauty(EU)
and view a land that stretches afar.(EV)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(EW)
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(EX)”
19 You will see those arrogant people(EY) no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(EZ)
20 Look on Zion,(FA) the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode,(FB) a tent(FC) that will not be moved;(FD)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty(FE) One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(FF)
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship(FG) will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,(FH)
the Lord is our lawgiver,(FI)
the Lord is our king;(FJ)
it is he who will save(FK) us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame(FL) will carry off plunder.(FM)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;(FN)
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(FO)
Judgment Against the Nations
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(FP)
pay attention, you peoples!(FQ)
Let the earth(FR) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(FS)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(FT) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[c](FU) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(FV)
3 Their slain(FW) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(FX) will stink;(FY)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(FZ)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(GA)
and the heavens rolled up(GB) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(GC)
like withered(GD) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(GE) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(GF)
the people I have totally destroyed.(GG)
6 The sword(GH) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(GI) in Bozrah(GJ)
and a great slaughter(GK) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(GL) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(GM)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(GN)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(GO) of vengeance,(GP)
a year of retribution,(GQ) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(GR)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(GS) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(GT)
From generation to generation(GU) it will lie desolate;(GV)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[d](GW) and screech owl[e] will possess it;
the great owl[f] and the raven(GX) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(GY)
the measuring line of chaos(GZ)
and the plumb line(HA) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(HB) will vanish(HC) away.
13 Thorns(HD) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(HE)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(HF)
a home for owls.(HG)
14 Desert creatures(HH) will meet with hyenas,(HI)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(HJ) will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;(HK)
there also the falcons(HL) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(HM) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(HN)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(HO) that has given the order,(HP)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(HQ)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(HR)
Joy of the Redeemed
35 The desert(HS) and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.(HT)
Like the crocus,(HU) 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.(HV)
The glory of Lebanon(HW) will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel(HX) and Sharon;(HY)
they will see the glory(HZ) of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.(IA)
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees(IB) that give way;
4 say(IC) to those with fearful hearts,(ID)
“Be strong, do not fear;(IE)
your God will come,(IF)
he will come with vengeance;(IG)
with divine retribution
he will come to save(IH) you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened(II)
and the ears of the deaf(IJ) unstopped.
6 Then will the lame(IK) leap like a deer,(IL)
and the mute tongue(IM) shout for joy.(IN)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams(IO) in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground(IP) bubbling springs.(IQ)
In the haunts where jackals(IR) once lay,
grass and reeds(IS) and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway(IT) will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;(IU)
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean(IV) will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion(IW) will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;(IX)
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed(IY) will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued(IZ) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(JA)
everlasting joy(JB) will crown their heads.
Gladness(JC) and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(JD)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
- Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities
- Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
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