Isaiah 19-21

English Standard Version

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

19 An ^(A)oracle concerning ^(B)Egypt.

Behold, the Lord ^(C)is riding on a swift cloud
    and comes to Egypt;
and ^(D)the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
    and the heart of the Egyptians will ^(E)melt within them.
²And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
    ^(F)and they will fight, each against another
    and each against his neighbor,
    city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
³and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
    and I will confound^[a] their ^(G)counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
    and ^(H)the mediums and the necromancers;
⁴and I will give over the Egyptians
    into the hand of ^(I)a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
    declares the Lord God of hosts.

⁵And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
    and the river will be dry and parched,
⁶and its canals will become foul,
    and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,
    reeds and rushes will rot away.
⁷There 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.
⁸The ^(J)fishermen will mourn and lament,
    all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
    who spread nets on the water.
⁹The workers in ^(K)combed flax will be in despair,
    and the weavers of white cotton.
¹⁰Those who are the ^(L)pillars of the land will be crushed,
    and all who ^(M)work for pay will be grieved.

¹¹The princes of ^(N)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”?
¹²Where then are your ^(O)wise men?
    Let them tell you
    that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
¹³The princes of ^(P)Zoan have become fools,
    and the princes of ^(Q)Memphis are deluded;
those who are the ^(R)cornerstones of her tribes
    have made Egypt stagger.
¹⁴The Lord has mingled within her ^(S)a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
    ^(T)as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
¹⁵And there will be nothing for Egypt
    that ^(U)head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will be ^(V)like women, and ^(W)tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. ¹⁷And 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^(X)In that day there will be ^(Y)five cities in the land of Egypt that ^(Z)speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.^[b]

¹⁹In that day there will be an ^(AA)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^(AB)pillar to the Lord at its border. ²⁰^(AC)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, ^(AD)he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. ²¹^(AE)And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day ^(AF)and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. ²²^(AG)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^(AH)In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, ^(AI)and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, ^(AJ)a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt ^(AK)my people, and Assyria ^(AL)the work of my hands, and ^(AM)Israel my inheritance.”

A Sign Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that ^(AN)the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to ^(AO)Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— ²at 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 ^(AP)naked and barefoot.

³Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years ^(AQ)as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,^[c] ⁴so shall the ^(AR)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^(AS)Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. ⁶And the inhabitants of ^(AT)this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and ^(AU)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 ^(AV)oracle concerning the wilderness of ^(AW)the sea.

^(AX)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
²A stern vision is told to me;
    ^(AY)the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O ^(AZ)Elam;
    lay siege, O ^(BA)Media;
all the ^(BB)sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
³Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    ^(BC)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.
⁴My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    ^(BD)the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵^(BE)They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs,^[d]
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    ^(BF)oil the shield!
⁶For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
⁷When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
⁸Then he who saw cried out:^[e]
^(BG)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
⁹And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
^(BH)And he answered,
    ^(BI)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
^(BJ)and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
¹⁰O ^(BK)my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

¹¹The ^(BL)oracle concerning ^(BM)Dumah.

One is calling to me from ^(BN)Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
¹²The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also ^(BO)the night.
    If you will inquire, ^(BP)inquire;
    come back again.”

¹³The ^(BQ)oracle concerning ^(BR)Arabia.

In the thickets in ^(BS)Arabia you will lodge,
    O ^(BT)caravans of ^(BU)Dedanites.
¹⁴To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of ^(BV)Tema.
¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

¹⁶For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, ^(BW)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of ^(BX)Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of ^(BY)Kedar will be few, ^(BZ)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Footnotes

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

Hebrews 11

English Standard Version

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^(A)things not seen. ²For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^(B)the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^(C)things that are visible.

⁴By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God ^(E)a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^(F)through his faith, though he died, he ^(G)still speaks. ⁵By faith ^(H)Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God ^(I)must believe that he exists and ^(J)that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith ^(K)Noah, being warned by God concerning ^(L)events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of ^(M)the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith ^(N)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^(O)that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he went to live in ^(P)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(Q)living in tents ^(R)with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to ^(S)the city that has ^(T)foundations, ^(U)whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹By faith ^(V)Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^(W)him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and ^(X)him as good as dead, were born descendants ^(Y)as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³These all died in faith, ^(Z)not having received the things promised, but ^(AA)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(AB)having acknowledged that they were ^(AC)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(AD)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AE)to be called their God, for ^(AF)he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷By faith ^(AG)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸of whom it was said, ^(AH)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹^(AI)He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰By faith ^(AJ)Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. ²¹By faith ^(AK)Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, ^(AL)bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²²By faith ^(AM)Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

²³By faith ^(AN)Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of ^(AO)the king's edict. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown up, ^(AP)refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵^(AQ)choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy ^(AR)the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶^(AS)He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to ^(AT)the reward. ²⁷By faith he ^(AU)left Egypt, ^(AV)not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured ^(AW)as seeing him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith ^(AX)he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹By faith ^(AY)the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. ³⁰By faith ^(AZ)the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith ^(BA)Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she ^(BB)had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

³²And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of ^(BC)Gideon, ^(BD)Barak, ^(BE)Samson, ^(BF)Jephthah, of ^(BG)David and ^(BH)Samuel and the prophets— ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, ^(BI)stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴^(BJ)quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, ^(BK)became mighty in war, ^(BL)put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵^(BM)Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even ^(BN)chains and imprisonment. ³⁷^(BO)They were stoned, they were sawn in two,^[a] ^(BP)they were killed with the sword. ^(BQ)They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy—^(BR)wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, ^(BS)though commended through their faith, ^(BT)did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, ^(BU)that apart from us they should not be made perfect.