The Degenerate City

21 (A)How the faithful city has become a [a]harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now (B)murderers.
22 (C)Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 (D)Your princes are rebellious,
And (E)companions of thieves;
(F)Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They (G)do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
“Ah, (H)I will [b]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And [c]take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And (I)thoroughly[d] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges (J)as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward (K)you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [e]penitents with righteousness.
28 The (L)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [f]they shall be ashamed of the [g]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 (M)The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall (N)quench them.

The Future House of God(O)

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now (P)it shall come to pass (Q)in the latter days
(R)That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say,
(S)“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
(T)For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning [h]hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

The Day of the Lord

O house of Jacob, come and let us (U)walk
In the light of the Lord.

For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled (V)with eastern ways;
They are (W)soothsayers like the Philistines,
(X)And they [i]are pleased with the children of foreigners.
(Y)Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
(Z)Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
People bow down,
And each man humbles himself;
Therefore do not forgive them.

10 (AA)Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
11 The [j]lofty looks of man shall be (AB)humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted (AC)in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low—
13 Upon all (AD)the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 (AE)Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 (AF)Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The [k]loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols [l]He shall utterly abolish.

19 They shall go into the (AG)holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the [m]earth,
(AH)From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises (AI)to shake the earth mightily.

20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

22 (AJ)Sever[n] yourselves from such a man,
Whose (AK)breath is in his nostrils;
For [o]of what account is he?

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
(AL)Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
(AM)The[p] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
(AN)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
The captain of fifty and the [q]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.

“I will give (AO)children[r] to be their princes,
And [s]babes shall rule over them.
The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [t]elder,
And the [u]base toward the honorable.”

When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [v]power,”
In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”

For (AP)Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as (AQ)Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

10 “Say to the righteous (AR)that it shall be well with them,
(AS)For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! (AT)It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [w]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (AU)Those who lead you [x]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”

Oppression and Luxury Condemned

13 The Lord stands up (AV)to [y]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have [z]eaten up (AW)the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (AX)crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

16 Moreover the Lord says:

“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [aa]outstretched necks
And [ab]wanton eyes,
Walking and [ac]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with (AY)a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will (AZ)uncover their secret parts.”

18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [ad]scarves, and the (BA)crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21     and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22     the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23     and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.

24 And so it shall be:

Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, (BB)baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [ae]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [af]mighty in the war.

26 (BC)Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And she being desolate (BD)shall sit on the ground.

Jerusalem’s Glorious Future

And (BE)in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
“We will (BF)eat our own food and wear our own apparel;
Only let us be called by your name,
To take away (BG)our reproach.”

The Renewal of Zion

In that day (BH)the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing
For those of Israel who have escaped.

And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem (BI)will be called holy—everyone who is (BJ)recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When (BK)the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the [ag]blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, (BL)a cloud and smoke by day and (BM)the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a [ah]covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, (BN)for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

God’s Disappointing Vineyard

Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved (BO)regarding His vineyard:

My Well-beloved has a vineyard
[ai]On a very fruitful hill.
He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also [aj]made a winepress in it;
(BP)So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
(BQ)Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in (BR)it?
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes?
And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
(BS)I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
I will lay it (BT)waste;
It shall not be pruned or [ak]dug,
But there shall come up briers and (BU)thorns.
I will also command the clouds
That they rain no rain on it.”

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression;
For righteousness, but behold, [al]a cry for help.

Impending Judgment on Excesses

Woe to those who [am]join (BV)house to house;
They add field to field,
Till there is no place
Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
(BW)In my hearing the Lord of hosts said,
“Truly, many houses shall be desolate,
Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one (BX)bath,[an]
And a homer of seed shall yield one [ao]ephah.”

11 (BY)Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may [ap]follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
12 (BZ)The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But (CA)they do not regard the work of the Lord,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.

13 (CB)Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no (CC)knowledge;
Their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself
And opened its mouth beyond measure;
Their glory and their multitude and their pomp,
And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.
15 People shall be brought down,
(CD)Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be (CE)exalted in judgment,
And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture,
And in the waste places of (CF)the [aq]fat ones strangers shall eat.

18 Woe to those who [ar]draw iniquity with cords of [as]vanity,
And sin as if with a cart rope;
19 (CG)That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work,
That we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
That we may know it.

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are (CH)wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who (CI)justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!

24 Therefore, (CJ)as the [at]fire devours the stubble,
And the flame consumes the chaff,
So (CK)their root will be as rottenness,
And their blossom will ascend like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 (CL)Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people;
He has stretched out His hand against them
And stricken them,
And (CM)the hills trembled.
Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.

(CN)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

26 (CO)He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will (CP)whistle to them from (CQ)the end of the earth;
Surely (CR)they shall come with speed, swiftly.
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them,
No one will slumber or sleep;
Nor (CS)will the belt on their loins be loosed,
Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 (CT)Whose arrows are sharp,
And all their bows bent;
Their horses’ hooves will [au]seem like flint,
And their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion,
They will roar like young lions;
Yes, they will roar
And lay hold of the prey;
They will carry it away safely,
And no one will deliver.
30 In that day they will roar against them
Like the roaring of the sea.
And if one (CU)looks to the land,
Behold, darkness and [av]sorrow;
And the light is darkened by the clouds.

Isaiah Called to Be a Prophet(CV)

In the year that (CW)King Uzziah died, I (CX)saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, (CY)with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:

(CZ)“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
(DA)The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am [aw]undone!
Because I am a man of (DB)unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from (DC)the altar. And he (DD)touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin [ax]purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for (DE)Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

And He said, “Go, and (DF)tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

10 “Make (DG)the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
(DH)Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:

(DI)“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,
12 (DJ)The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 But yet a tenth will be in it,
And will return and be for consuming,
As a terebinth tree or as an oak,
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
So (DK)the holy seed shall be its stump.”

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz(DL)

Now it came to pass in the days of (DM)Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against (DN)it, but could not [ay]prevail against it. And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are [az]deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and [ba]Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, and say to him: [bb]‘Take heed, and [bc]be (DO)quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and [bd]trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— thus says the Lord God:

(DP)“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
(DQ)For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [be]broken,
So that it will not be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
(DR)If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”

The Immanuel Prophecy

10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 (DS)“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [bf]ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: (DT)Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear (DU)a Son, and shall call His name (DV)Immanuel.[bg] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (DW)For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by (DX)both her kings. 17 (DY)The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that (DZ)Ephraim departed from Judah.”

18 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord (EA)will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in (EB)the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.

20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a (EC)hired (ED)razor,
With those from beyond [bh]the River, with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.

21 It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.

23 It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
(EE)It will be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.

25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.

Assyria Will Invade the Land

Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and (EF)write on it with a man’s pen concerning [bi]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, (EG)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; (EH)for before the child [bj]shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ (EI)the riches of Damascus and the [bk]spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:

“Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of (EJ)Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice (EK)in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of [bl]the River, strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will [bm]go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
(EL)He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will [bn]fill the breadth of Your land, O (EM)Immanuel.[bo]

“Be(EN) shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 (EO)Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, (EP)but it will not stand,
(EQ)For [bp]God is with us.”

Fear God, Heed His Word

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with [bq]a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their [br]threats, nor be [bs]troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 (ER)He will be as a [bt]sanctuary,
But (ES)a stone of stumbling and a rock of [bu]offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall (ET)stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and [bv]taken.”

16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who (EU)hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I (EV)will hope in Him.
18 (EW)Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We (EX)are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.

19 And when they say to you, (EY)“Seek those who are mediums and wizards, (EZ)who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they (FA)seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 (FB)To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because (FC)there[bw] is no light in them.

21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and (FD)curse [bx]their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

The Government of the Promised Son(FE)

Nevertheless (FF)the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at (FG)first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And (FH)afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
(FI)The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation
And [by]increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice (FJ)when they divide the spoil.
For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of (FK)Midian.
For every warrior’s [bz]sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
(FL)Will be used for burning and fuel [ca]of fire.

(FM)For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a (FN)Son is given;
And (FO)the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
(FP)Wonderful, Counselor, (FQ)Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, (FR)Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
(FS)There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The (FT)zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Punishment of Samaria

The Lord sent a word against (FU)Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
All the people will know—
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria—
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is [cb]stretched out still.

13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush (FV)in one day.
15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For (FW)the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord (FX)will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks [cc]folly.

(FY)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

18 For wickedness (FZ)burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
(GA)The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
(GB)No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall [cd]snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
(GC)And not be satisfied;
(GD)Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be (GE)against Judah.

(GF)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

Assyria Shall Be Broken

10 “Woe to those who (GG)decree unrighteous decrees,
Who write misfortune,
Which they have prescribed
To rob the needy of justice,
And to take what is right from the poor of My people,
That widows may be their prey,
And that they may rob the fatherless.
(GH)What will you do in (GI)the day of punishment,
And in the desolation which will come from (GJ)afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your glory?
Without Me they shall bow down among the (GK)prisoners,
And they shall fall [ce]among the slain.”

(GL)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

“Woe to Assyria, (GM)the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
I will send him against (GN)an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will (GO)give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
(GP)Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
But it is in his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations.
(GQ)For he says,
Are not my princes altogether kings?
Is not (GR)Calno (GS)like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria (GT)like Damascus?
10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ”

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has [cf]performed all His work (GU)on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, (GV)“I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”

13 (GW)For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;
Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,
And have robbed their treasuries;
So I have put down the inhabitants like a [cg]valiant man.
14 (GX)My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people,
And as one gathers eggs that are left,
I have gathered all the earth;
And there was no one who moved his wing,
Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”

15 Shall (GY)the ax boast itself against him who chops with it?
Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it?
As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up,
Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord, the [ch]Lord of hosts,
Will send leanness among his fat ones;
And under his glory
He will kindle a burning
Like the burning of a fire.
17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire,
And his Holy One for a flame;
(GZ)It will burn and devour
His thorns and his briers in one day.
18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of (HA)his fruitful field,
Both soul and body;
And they will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest
Will be so few in number
That a child may write them.

The Returning Remnant of Israel

20 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
(HB)Will never again depend on him who [ci]defeated them,
But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,
To the (HC)Mighty God.
22 (HD)For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
(HE)A remnant of them will return;
The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 (HF)For the Lord God of hosts
Will make a determined end
In the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, (HG)do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of (HH)Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while (HI)and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” 26 And the Lord of hosts will [cj]stir up (HJ)a scourge for him like the slaughter of (HK)Midian at the rock of Oreb; (HL)as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.

27 It shall come to pass in that day
That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,
And his yoke from your neck,
And the yoke will be destroyed because of (HM)the anointing oil.

28 He has come to Aiath,
He has passed Migron;
At Michmash he has attended to his equipment.
29 They have gone [ck]along (HN)the ridge,
They have taken up lodging at Geba.
Ramah is afraid,
(HO)Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 [cl]Lift up your voice,
O daughter (HP)of Gallim!
Cause it to be heard as far as (HQ)Laish—
[cm]O poor Anathoth!
31 (HR)Madmenah has fled,
The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge.
32 As yet he will remain (HS)at Nob that day;
He will (HT)shake his fist at the mount of (HU)the daughter of Zion,
The hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord,
The Lord of hosts,
Will lop off the bough with terror;
(HV)Those of high stature will be hewn down,
And the haughty will be humbled.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring(HW)

11 There (HX)shall come forth a [cn]Rod from the [co]stem of (HY)Jesse,
And (HZ)a Branch shall [cp]grow out of his roots.
(IA)The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But (IB)with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall (IC)strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

“The(ID) wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
(IE)They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For (IF)the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

10 “And(IG) in that day (IH)there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a (II)banner to the people;
For the (IJ)Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”

11 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
(IK)From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the [cq]islands of the sea.

12 He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will [cr]assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together (IL)the dispersed of Judah
From the four [cs]corners of the earth.
13 Also (IM)the envy of Ephraim shall depart,
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they shall plunder the [ct]people of the East;
(IN)They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;
And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
15 The Lord (IO)will utterly [cu]destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over [cv]the River,
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over [cw]dry-shod.
16 (IP)There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
(IQ)As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

A Hymn of Praise

12 And (IR)in that day you will say:

“O Lord, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
(IS)‘For (IT)Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’ ”

Therefore with joy you will draw (IU)water
From the wells of salvation.

And in that day you will say:

(IV)“Praise the Lord, call upon His name;
(IW)Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His (IX)name is exalted.
(IY)Sing to the Lord,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
(IZ)Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is (JA)the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

Proclamation Against Babylon

13 The (JB)burden[cx] against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

“Lift(JC) up a banner (JD)on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
(JE)Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
I have commanded My [cy]sanctified ones;
I have also called (JF)My mighty ones for My anger—
Those who (JG)rejoice in My exaltation.”

The (JH)noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts musters
The army for battle.
They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven—
The (JI)Lord and His [cz]weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole (JJ)land.

Wail, (JK)for the day of the Lord is at hand!
(JL)It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
And they will be afraid.
(JM)Pangs[da] and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.

Behold, (JN)the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy (JO)its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be (JP)darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

11 “I will (JQ)punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
(JR)I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the [db]terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 (JS)Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the Lord of hosts
And in (JT)the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man [dc]takes up;
(JU)Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be (JV)dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives (JW)ravished.

17 “Behold,(JX) I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not [dd]regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 (JY)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew (JZ)Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 (KA)It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.
21 (KB)But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of [de]owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
(KC)Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged.”

Mercy on Jacob

14 For the Lord (KD)will have mercy on Jacob, and (KE)will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. (KF)The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them (KG)and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, (KH)and rule over their oppressors.

Fall of the King of Babylon

It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you (KI)will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:

“How the oppressor has ceased,
The (KJ)golden[df] city ceased!
The Lord has broken (KK)the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the rulers;
He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
He who ruled the nations in anger,
Is persecuted and no one hinders.
The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
They break forth into singing.
(KL)Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,
And the cedars of Lebanon,
Saying, ‘Since you [dg]were cut down,
No woodsman has come up against us.’

“Hell(KM)[dh] from beneath is excited about you,
To meet you at your coming;
It stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.
10 They all shall (KN)speak and say to you:
‘Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.’

The Fall of Lucifer

12 “How(KO) you are fallen from heaven,
O [di]Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
(KP)‘I will ascend into heaven,
(KQ)I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the (KR)mount of the congregation
(KS)On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
(KT)I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you (KU)shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the [dj]lowest depths of the Pit.

16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who [dk]did not open the house of his prisoners?’

18 “All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave
Like an [dl]abominable branch,
Like the garment of those who are slain,
[dm]Thrust through with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit,
Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land
And slain your people.
(KV)The brood of evildoers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children
(KW)Because of the iniquity of their fathers,
Lest they rise up and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”

Babylon Destroyed

22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts,
“And cut off from Babylon (KX)the name and (KY)remnant,
(KZ)And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord.
23 “I will also make it a possession for the (LA)porcupine,
And marshes of muddy water;
I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the Lord of hosts.

Assyria Destroyed

24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall (LB)stand:
25 That I will break the (LC)Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then (LD)his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the (LE)purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts has (LF)purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?”

Philistia Destroyed

28 This is the [dn]burden which came in the year that (LG)King Ahaz died.

29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
(LH)Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper,
(LI)And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his [do]appointed times.”

32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation?
That (LJ)the Lord has founded Zion,
And (LK)the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.

Proclamation Against Moab

15 The (LL)burden[dp] against Moab.

Because in the night (LM)Ar of (LN)Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
He has gone up to the [dq]temple and Dibon,
To the high places to weep.
Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;
(LO)On all their heads will be baldness,
And every beard cut off.
In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;
On the tops of their houses
And in their streets
Everyone will wail, (LP)weeping bitterly.
Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,
Their voice shall be heard as far as (LQ)Jahaz;
Therefore the [dr]armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;
His life will be burdensome to him.

“My(LR) heart will cry out for Moab;
His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,
Like [ds]a three-year-old heifer.
For (LS)by the Ascent of Luhith
They will go up with weeping;
For in the way of Horonaim
They will raise up a cry of destruction,
For the waters (LT)of Nimrim will be desolate,
For the green grass has withered away;
The grass fails, there is nothing green.
Therefore the abundance they have gained,
And what they have laid up,
They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.
For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,
Its wailing to Eglaim
And its wailing to Beer Elim.
For the waters of [dt]Dimon will be full of blood;
Because I will bring more upon Dimon,
(LU)Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,
And on the remnant of the land.”

Moab Destroyed

16 Send (LV)the lamb to the ruler of the land,
(LW)From [du]Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
For it shall be as a (LX)wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the (LY)Arnon.

“Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the [dv]spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
In mercy (LZ)the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
(MA)Judging and seeking justice and hastening (MB)righteousness.”

We have heard of the (MC)pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
(MD)But his [dw]lies shall not be so.
Therefore Moab shall (ME)wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations (MF)of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.

For (MG)the fields of Heshbon languish,
And (MH)the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the (MI)sea.
Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
(MJ)O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For [dx]battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.

10 (MK)Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore (ML)my [dy]heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for [dz]Kir Heres.

12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on (MM)the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, (MN)as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”

Proclamation Against Syria and Israel

17 The (MO)burden[ea] against Damascus.

“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
[eb]The cities of (MP)Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and (MQ)no one will make them afraid.
(MR)The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.

“In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will [ec]wane,
And (MS)the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
(MT)It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
(MU)Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,”
Says the Lord God of Israel.

In that day a man will (MV)look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his (MW)fingers have made,
Nor the [ed]wooden images nor the incense altars.

In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken [ee]bough
And [ef]an uppermost branch,
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.

10 Because you have forgotten (MX)the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your [eg]stronghold,
Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
And set out foreign seedlings;
11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,
And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

12 Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise (MY)like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will (MZ)rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And (NA)be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.

Proclamation Against Ethiopia

18 Woe (NB)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of [eh]Ethiopia,
Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”

All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
(NC)When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will [ei]look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.

In that time (ND)a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts
[ej]From a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.

Proclamation Against Egypt

19 The (NE)burden[ek] against Egypt.

Behold, the Lord (NF)rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
(NG)The idols of Egypt will [el]totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

“I will (NH)set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
And they will (NI)consult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.
And the Egyptians I will give
(NJ)Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

(NK)The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.
The rivers will turn foul;
The brooks (NL)of defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.
The papyrus reeds by [em]the River, by the mouth of the River,
And everything sown by the River,
Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
Moreover those who work in (NM)fine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
10 And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

11 Surely the princes of (NN)Zoan are fools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.
(NO)How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?”
12 (NP)Where are they?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
And let them know what the Lord of hosts has (NQ)purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools;
(NR)The princes of [en]Noph are deceived;
They have also [eo]deluded Egypt,
Those who are the [ep]mainstay of its tribes.
14 The Lord has mingled (NS)a perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt,
Which (NT)the head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.

16 In that day Egypt will (NU)be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, (NV)which He waves over it. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has (NW)determined against it.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will (NX)speak the language of Canaan and (NY)swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of [eq]Destruction.

19 In that day (NZ)there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the (OA)Lord at its border. 20 And (OB)it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a (OC)Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will (OD)know the Lord in that day, and (OE)will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and (OF)heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.

23 In that day (OG)there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will (OH)serve with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria (OI)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia

20 In the year that (OJ)Tartan[er] came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove (OK)the sackcloth from your [es]body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, (OL)walking naked and barefoot.

Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years (OM)for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the (ON)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, (OO)with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. (OP)Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for (OQ)help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”

The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed

21 The [et]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As (OR)whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
A distressing vision is declared to me;
(OS)The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
(OT)Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.

Therefore (OU)my loins are filled with pain;
(OV)Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was [eu]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
(OW)The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
(OX)Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!

For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
[ev]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the (OY)watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
(OZ)“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And (PA)all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”

10 (PB)Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.

Proclamation Against Edom

11 (PC)The [ew]burden against Dumah.

He calls to me out of (PD)Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
12 The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”

Proclamation Against Arabia

13 (PE)The [ex]burden against Arabia.

In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies (PF)of Dedanites.
14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.

16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, (PG)according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of (PH)Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.

Proclamation Against Jerusalem

22 The [ey]burden against the Valley of Vision.

What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
You who are full of noise,
A [ez]tumultuous city, (PI)a joyous city?
Your slain men are not slain with the sword,
Nor dead in battle.
All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.
Therefore I said, “Look away from me,
(PJ)I will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

(PK)For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
(PL)By the Lord God of hosts
In the Valley of Vision—
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.
(PM)Elam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And (PN)Kir uncovered the shield.
It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

(PO)He removed the [fa]protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor (PP)of the House of the Forest;
(PQ)You also saw the [fb]damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall.
11 (PR)You also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the water of the old (PS)pool.
But you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts
(PT)Called for weeping and for mourning,
(PU)For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
13 But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and (PV)drinking wine:
(PW)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

14 (PX)Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,
“Surely for this iniquity there (PY)will be no atonement for you,
Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.

The Judgment on Shebna

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts:

“Go, proceed to this steward,
To (PZ)Shebna, who is over the house, and say:
16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here,
That you have hewn a sepulcher here,
As he (QA)who hews himself a sepulcher on high,
Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently,
O mighty man,
(QB)And will surely seize you.
18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
Into a large country;
There you shall die, and there (QC)your glorious chariots
Shall be the shame of your master’s house.
19 So I will drive you out of your office,
And from your position [fc]he will pull you down.

20 ‘Then it shall be in that day,
That I will call My servant (QD)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
21 I will clothe him with your robe
And strengthen him with your belt;
I will commit your responsibility into his hand.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
And to the house of Judah.
22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his (QE)shoulder;
So he shall (QF)open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
23 I will fasten him as (QG)a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.’ ”

Proclamation Against Tyre

23 The (QH)burden[fd] against Tyre.

Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of [fe]Cyprus it is revealed to them.

Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
[ff]Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of [fg]the River, is her revenue;
And (QI)she is a marketplace for the nations.

Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
(QJ)When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.

Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
Is this your (QK)joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, (QL)the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
The Lord of hosts has (QM)purposed it,
To [fh]bring to dishonor the (QN)pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.

10 Overflow through your land like [fi]the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [fj]strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a commandment (QO)against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, (QP)cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”

13 Behold, the land of the (QQ)Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for (QR)wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.

14 (QS)Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.

15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16 “Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”

17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and (QT)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay (QU)will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for [fk]fine clothing.

Impending Judgment on the Earth

24 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the (QV)priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
(QW)As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.

The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The (QX)haughty[fl] people of the earth languish.
(QY)The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have (QZ)transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the (RA)everlasting covenant.
Therefore (RB)the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are [fm]desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are (RC)burned,
And few men are left.

(RD)The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth (RE)of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
(RF)It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.

14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the Lord
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore (RG)glorify the Lord in the dawning light,
(RH)The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, [fn]“I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
(RI)The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”

17 (RJ)Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be [fo]caught in the snare;
For (RK)the windows from on high are open,
And (RL)the foundations of the earth are shaken.

19 (RM)The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall (RN)reel[fp] to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.

21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth (RO)the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the [fq]pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the (RP)moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the Lord of hosts will (RQ)reign
On (RR)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.

Praise to God

25 O Lord, You are my God.
(RS)I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
(RT)For You have done wonderful things;
(RU)Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
For You have made (RV)a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore the strong people will (RW)glorify You;
The city of the [fr]terrible nations will fear You.
For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
(RX)A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be [fs]diminished.

And in (RY)this mountain
(RZ)The Lord of hosts will make for (SA)all people
A feast of [ft]choice pieces,
A feast of [fu]wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And (SB)the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will (SC)swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will (SD)wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.

And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
(SE)We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
(SF)We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And (SG)Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their (SH)pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The (SI)fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

A Song of Salvation

26 In (SJ)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
(SK)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
(SL)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [fv]keeps the truth may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect (SM)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
(SN)For in Yah, the Lord, is [fw]everlasting strength.
For He brings [fx]down those who dwell on high,
(SO)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
The foot shall [fy]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”

The way of the just is uprightness;
(SP)O Most Upright,
You [fz]weigh the path of the just.
Yes, (SQ)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (SR)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
(SS)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 (ST)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (SU)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (SV)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [ga]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [gb]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (SW)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to (SX)perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have (SY)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the [gc]borders of the land.

16 Lord, (SZ)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (TA)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [gd]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [ge]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (TB)the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 (TC)Your dead shall live;
Together with [gf]my dead body they shall arise.
(TD)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

20 Come, my people, (TE)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (TF)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (TG)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [gg]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

Israel Will Be Restored

27 In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
(TH)Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay (TI)the reptile that is in the sea.

The Restoration of Israel

In that day (TJ)sing to her,
(TK)“A vineyard of [gh]red wine!
(TL)I, the Lord, keep it,
I water it every moment;
Lest any hurt it,
I keep it night and day.
Fury is not in Me.
Who would set (TM)briers and thorns
Against Me in battle?
I would go through them,
I would burn them together.
Or let him take hold (TN)of My strength,
That he may (TO)make peace with Me;
And he shall make peace with Me.”

Those who come He shall cause (TP)to take root in Jacob;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.

(TQ)Has He struck [gi]Israel as He struck those who struck him?
Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
(TR)In measure, by sending it away,
You contended with it.
(TS)He removes it by His rough wind
In the day of the east wind.
Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;
And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:
When he makes all the stones of the altar
Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,
[gj]Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.

10 Yet the fortified city will be (TT)desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For (TU)it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will (TV)not have mercy on them,
And (TW)He who formed them will show them no favor.

12 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will thresh,
From the channel of [gk]the River to the Brook of Egypt;
And you will be (TX)gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.

13 (TY)So it shall be in that day:
(TZ)The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of (UA)Egypt,
And shall (UB)worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem

28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [gl]verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
(UC)Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [gm]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.

In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

But they also (UD)have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
(UE)The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.

“Whom(UF) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (UG)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”

11 For with (UH)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (UI)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(UJ)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion (UK)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”

20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (UL)Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of (UM)Gibeon—
That He may do His work, (UN)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His [gn]unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
(UO)A [go]destruction determined even upon the whole earth.

Listen to the Teaching of God

23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the [gp]spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.

27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
(UP)Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in [gq]guidance.

Woe to Jerusalem

29 “Woe (UQ)to [gr]Ariel, to Ariel, the city (UR)where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.
Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.
You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, (US)out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

“Moreover the multitude of your (UT)foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like (UU)chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be (UV)in an instant, suddenly.
(UW)You will be punished by the Lord of hosts
With thunder and (UX)earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.
(UY)The multitude of all the nations who fight against [gs]Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be (UZ)as a dream of a night vision.
(VA)It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”

The Blindness of Disobedience

Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
(VB)They are drunk, (VC)but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For (VD)the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has (VE)closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, (VF)the seers.

11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [gt]book (VG)that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”

(VH)And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12 Then the book is delivered to one who [gu]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”

And he says, “I am not literate.”

13 Therefore the Lord said:

(VI)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (VJ)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (VK)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(VL)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

15 (VM)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(VN)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the (VO)thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

Future Recovery of Wisdom

17 Is it not yet a very little while
Till (VP)Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 (VQ)In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 (VR)The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And (VS)the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the [gv]terrible one is brought to nothing,
(VT)The scornful one is consumed,
And all who (VU)watch for iniquity are cut off—
21 Who make a man an offender by a word,
And (VV)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just (VW)by empty words.

22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (VX)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall not now be (VY)ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children,
(VZ)The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.
24 These also (WA)who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”

Futile Confidence in Egypt

30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
(WB)“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who [gw]devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
(WC)That they may add sin to sin;
(WD)Who walk to go down to Egypt,
And (WE)have not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
(WF)Therefore the strength of Pharaoh
Shall be your shame,
And trust in the shadow of Egypt
Shall be your humiliation.
For his princes were at (WG)Zoan,
And his ambassadors came to Hanes.
(WH)They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
Or be help or benefit,
But a shame and also a reproach.”

(WI)The [gx]burden against the beasts of the South.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From which came the lioness and lion,
(WJ)The viper and fiery flying serpent,
They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people who shall not profit;
(WK)For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore I have called her
[gy]Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.

A Rebellious People

Now go, (WL)write it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:
That (WM)this is a rebellious people,
Lying children,
Children who will not hear the law of the Lord;
10 (WN)Who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things;
(WO)Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
11 Get out of the way,
Turn aside from the path,
Cause the Holy One of Israel
To cease from before us.”

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:

“Because you (WP)despise this word,
And trust in oppression and perversity,
And rely on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
(WQ)Like a breach ready to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking (WR)comes suddenly, in an instant.
14 And (WS)He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
[gz]A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”

15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

(WT)“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
(WU)But you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!

17 (WV)One thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
At the threat of five you shall flee,
Till you are left as a [ha]pole on top of a mountain
And as a banner on a hill.

God Will Be Gracious

18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be (WW)gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
(WX)Blessed are all those who (WY)wait for Him.

19 For the people (WZ)shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall (XA)weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will (XB)answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you
(XC)The bread of adversity and the water of [hb]affliction,
Yet (XD)your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you (XE)turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 (XF)You will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
(XG)You will say to them, “Get away!”

23 (XH)Then He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be [hc]fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground
Will eat cured fodder,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be (XI)on every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters,
In the day of the (XJ)great slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover (XK)the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.

Judgment on Assyria

27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
Burning with His anger,
And His burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 (XL)His breath is like an overflowing stream,
(XM)Which reaches up to the neck,
To sift the nations with the sieve of futility;
And there shall be (XN)a bridle in the jaws of the people,
Causing them to err.

29 You shall have a song
As in the night when a holy festival is kept,
And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute,
To come into (XO)the mountain of the Lord,
To [hd]the Mighty One of Israel.
30 (XP)The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard,
And show the descent of His arm,
With the indignation of His anger
And the flame of a devouring fire,
With scattering, tempest, (XQ)and hailstones.
31 For (XR)through the voice of the Lord
Assyria will be [he]beaten down,
As He strikes with the (XS)rod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes,
Which the Lord lays on him,
It will be with tambourines and harps;
And in battles of (XT)brandishing He will fight with it.
33 (XU)For Tophet was established of old,
Yes, for the king it is prepared.
He has made it deep and large;
Its pyre is fire with much wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone,
Kindles it.

The Folly of Not Trusting God

31 Woe to those (XV)who go down to Egypt for help,
And (XW)rely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
(XX)Nor seek the Lord!
Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And (XY)will not [hf]call back His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out His hand,
Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;
They all will perish (XZ)together.

God Will Deliver Jerusalem

For thus the Lord has spoken to me:

(YA)“As a lion roars,
And a young lion over his prey
(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,
He will not be afraid of their voice
Nor be disturbed by their noise),
So the Lord of hosts will come down
To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
(YB)Like birds flying about,
So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.
Defending, He will also deliver it;
Passing over, He will preserve it.

Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have (YC)deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall (YD)throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—(YE)sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.

“Then Assyria shall (YF)fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of mankind shall (YG)devour him.
But he shall flee from the sword,
And his young men shall become forced labor.
(YH)He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,
And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”
Says the Lord,
Whose fire is in Zion
And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:21 Unfaithful
  2. Isaiah 1:24 be relieved of
  3. Isaiah 1:24 avenge Myself
  4. Isaiah 1:25 refine with lye
  5. Isaiah 1:27 Lit. returners
  6. Isaiah 1:29 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you
  7. Isaiah 1:29 Sites of pagan worship
  8. Isaiah 2:4 knives
  9. Isaiah 2:6 Or clap, shake hands to make bargains with the children
  10. Isaiah 2:11 proud
  11. Isaiah 2:17 pride
  12. Isaiah 2:18 Or shall utterly vanish
  13. Isaiah 2:19 Lit. dust
  14. Isaiah 2:22 Lit. Cease yourselves from the man
  15. Isaiah 2:22 Lit. in what is he to be esteemed
  16. Isaiah 3:1 Every support
  17. Isaiah 3:3 Eminent looking men
  18. Isaiah 3:4 boys
  19. Isaiah 3:4 Or capricious ones
  20. Isaiah 3:5 aged
  21. Isaiah 3:5 despised, lightly esteemed
  22. Isaiah 3:6 Lit. hand
  23. Isaiah 3:11 done to him
  24. Isaiah 3:12 lead you astray
  25. Isaiah 3:13 contend, plead His case
  26. Isaiah 3:14 burned
  27. Isaiah 3:16 Head held high
  28. Isaiah 3:16 seductive, ogling
  29. Isaiah 3:16 tripping or skipping
  30. Isaiah 3:18 headbands
  31. Isaiah 3:24 burning scar
  32. Isaiah 3:25 Lit. strength
  33. Isaiah 4:4 bloodshed
  34. Isaiah 4:5 canopy
  35. Isaiah 5:1 Lit. In a horn, the son of fatness
  36. Isaiah 5:2 Lit. hewed out
  37. Isaiah 5:6 hoed
  38. Isaiah 5:7 wailing
  39. Isaiah 5:8 Accumulate houses
  40. Isaiah 5:10 1 bath=1⁄10 homer
  41. Isaiah 5:10 1 ephah=1⁄10 homer
  42. Isaiah 5:11 pursue
  43. Isaiah 5:17 Lit. fatlings, rich ones
  44. Isaiah 5:18 drag
  45. Isaiah 5:18 emptiness or falsehood
  46. Isaiah 5:24 Lit. tongue of fire
  47. Isaiah 5:28 Lit. be regarded as
  48. Isaiah 5:30 distress
  49. Isaiah 6:5 destroyed, cut off
  50. Isaiah 6:7 atoned for
  51. Isaiah 7:1 conquer it
  52. Isaiah 7:2 Lit. settled upon
  53. Isaiah 7:3 Lit. A Remnant Shall Return
  54. Isaiah 7:4 Be careful
  55. Isaiah 7:4 be calm
  56. Isaiah 7:6 cause a sickening dread
  57. Isaiah 7:8 Lit. shattered
  58. Isaiah 7:11 Lit. make the request deep or make it high above
  59. Isaiah 7:14 Lit. God-With-Us
  60. Isaiah 7:20 The Euphrates
  61. Isaiah 8:1 Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty
  62. Isaiah 8:4 knows how
  63. Isaiah 8:4 plunder
  64. Isaiah 8:7 The Euphrates
  65. Isaiah 8:7 Overflow
  66. Isaiah 8:8 Lit. be the fullness of
  67. Isaiah 8:8 Lit. God-With-Us
  68. Isaiah 8:10 Heb. Immanuel
  69. Isaiah 8:11 Mighty power
  70. Isaiah 8:12 Lit. fear or terror
  71. Isaiah 8:12 Lit. in dread
  72. Isaiah 8:14 holy abode
  73. Isaiah 8:14 stumbling over
  74. Isaiah 8:15 captured
  75. Isaiah 8:20 Or they have no dawn
  76. Isaiah 8:21 Or by their king and by their God
  77. Isaiah 9:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., Vg. not increased joy; LXX Most of the people You brought down in Your joy
  78. Isaiah 9:5 boot
  79. Isaiah 9:5 for the fire
  80. Isaiah 9:12 In judgment
  81. Isaiah 9:17 foolishness
  82. Isaiah 9:20 slice off or tear
  83. Isaiah 10:4 Lit. under
  84. Isaiah 10:12 completed
  85. Isaiah 10:13 mighty
  86. Isaiah 10:16 So with Bg.; MT, DSS YHWH (the Lord)
  87. Isaiah 10:20 Lit. struck
  88. Isaiah 10:26 arouse
  89. Isaiah 10:29 Or over the pass
  90. Isaiah 10:30 Or Cry shrilly
  91. Isaiah 10:30 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. Listen to her, O Anathoth
  92. Isaiah 11:1 Shoot
  93. Isaiah 11:1 stock or trunk
  94. Isaiah 11:1 be fruitful
  95. Isaiah 11:11 Or coastlands
  96. Isaiah 11:12 gather
  97. Isaiah 11:12 Lit. wings
  98. Isaiah 11:14 Lit. sons
  99. Isaiah 11:15 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. dry up
  100. Isaiah 11:15 The Euphrates
  101. Isaiah 11:15 Lit. in sandals
  102. Isaiah 13:1 oracle, prophecy
  103. Isaiah 13:3 consecrated or set apart
  104. Isaiah 13:5 Or instruments
  105. Isaiah 13:8 Sharp pains
  106. Isaiah 13:11 Or tyrants
  107. Isaiah 13:14 gathers
  108. Isaiah 13:17 esteem
  109. Isaiah 13:21 Or howling creatures
  110. Isaiah 14:4 Or insolent
  111. Isaiah 14:8 have lain down
  112. Isaiah 14:9 Or Sheol
  113. Isaiah 14:12 Lit. Day Star
  114. Isaiah 14:15 Lit. recesses
  115. Isaiah 14:17 Would not release
  116. Isaiah 14:19 despised
  117. Isaiah 14:19 Pierced
  118. Isaiah 14:28 oracle, prophecy
  119. Isaiah 14:31 Or ranks
  120. Isaiah 15:1 oracle, prophecy
  121. Isaiah 15:2 Heb. bayith, lit. house
  122. Isaiah 15:4 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. loins
  123. Isaiah 15:5 Or The Third Eglath, an unknown city, Jer. 48:34
  124. Isaiah 15:9 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Vg. Dibon; LXX Rimon
  125. Isaiah 16:1 Lit. Rock
  126. Isaiah 16:4 devastator
  127. Isaiah 16:6 Lit. vain talk
  128. Isaiah 16:9 Or shouting has
  129. Isaiah 16:11 Lit. belly
  130. Isaiah 16:11 Kir Hareseth, v. 7
  131. Isaiah 17:1 oracle, prophecy
  132. Isaiah 17:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX It shall be forsaken forever; Tg. Its cities shall be forsaken and desolate
  133. Isaiah 17:4 fade
  134. Isaiah 17:8 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
  135. Isaiah 17:9 LXX Hivites; Tg. laid waste; Vg. as the plows
  136. Isaiah 17:9 LXX Amorites; Tg. in ruins; Vg. corn
  137. Isaiah 17:10 refuge
  138. Isaiah 18:1 Heb. Cush
  139. Isaiah 18:4 watch
  140. Isaiah 18:7 So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT omits From; Tg. To
  141. Isaiah 19:1 oracle, prophecy
  142. Isaiah 19:1 Lit. shake
  143. Isaiah 19:7 The Nile
  144. Isaiah 19:13 Ancient Memphis
  145. Isaiah 19:13 Lit. caused to stagger
  146. Isaiah 19:13 cornerstone
  147. Isaiah 19:18 Some Heb. mss., Arab., DSS, Tg., Vg. Sun; LXX Asedek, lit. Righteousness
  148. Isaiah 20:1 Or the Commander in Chief
  149. Isaiah 20:2 Lit. loins
  150. Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
  151. Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
  152. Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
  153. Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
  154. Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy
  155. Isaiah 22:1 oracle, prophecy
  156. Isaiah 22:2 boisterous
  157. Isaiah 22:8 Lit. covering
  158. Isaiah 22:9 Lit. breaches in the city walls
  159. Isaiah 22:19 LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down
  160. Isaiah 23:1 oracle, prophecy
  161. Isaiah 23:1 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
  162. Isaiah 23:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. Passing over the water; DSS Your messengers passing over the sea
  163. Isaiah 23:3 The Nile
  164. Isaiah 23:9 pollute
  165. Isaiah 23:10 The Nile
  166. Isaiah 23:10 restraint, lit. belt
  167. Isaiah 23:18 choice
  168. Isaiah 24:4 proud
  169. Isaiah 24:6 Or held guilty
  170. Isaiah 24:16 Lit. Leanness to me, leanness to me
  171. Isaiah 24:18 Lit. taken
  172. Isaiah 24:20 stagger
  173. Isaiah 24:22 dungeon
  174. Isaiah 25:3 terrifying
  175. Isaiah 25:5 humbled
  176. Isaiah 25:6 Lit. fat things
  177. Isaiah 25:6 wines matured on the sediment
  178. Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
  179. Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
  180. Isaiah 26:5 low
  181. Isaiah 26:6 trample
  182. Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
  183. Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
  184. Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
  185. Isaiah 26:15 Or ends
  186. Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
  187. Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
  188. Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs
  189. Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed
  190. Isaiah 27:2 So with MT (Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica), Bg., Vg.; MT (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia), some Heb. mss., LXX delight; Tg. choice vineyard
  191. Isaiah 27:7 Lit. him
  192. Isaiah 27:9 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
  193. Isaiah 27:12 The Euphrates
  194. Isaiah 28:1 Lit. valleys of fatness
  195. Isaiah 28:4 Lit. valley of fatness
  196. Isaiah 28:21 Lit. foreign
  197. Isaiah 28:22 Lit. complete end
  198. Isaiah 28:25 rye
  199. Isaiah 28:29 sound wisdom
  200. Isaiah 29:1 Jerusalem, lit. Lion of God
  201. Isaiah 29:7 Jerusalem
  202. Isaiah 29:11 scroll
  203. Isaiah 29:12 Lit. does not know books
  204. Isaiah 29:20 terrifying
  205. Isaiah 30:1 Lit. weave a web
  206. Isaiah 30:6 oracle, prophecy
  207. Isaiah 30:7 Lit. Rahab Sits Idle
  208. Isaiah 30:14 A piece of broken pottery
  209. Isaiah 30:17 A tree stripped of branches
  210. Isaiah 30:20 oppression
  211. Isaiah 30:23 rich
  212. Isaiah 30:29 Lit. the Rock
  213. Isaiah 30:31 Lit. shattered
  214. Isaiah 31:2 retract

21 See how the faithful city
    has become a prostitute!(A)
She once was full of justice;
    righteousness(B) used to dwell in her—
    but now murderers!(C)
22 Your silver has become dross,(D)
    your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(E)
    partners with thieves;(F)
they all love bribes(G)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.(H)

24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One(I) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge(J) myself on my enemies.(K)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[a](L)
    I will thoroughly purge(M) away your dross(N)
    and remove all your impurities.(O)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(P)
    your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(Q)
    the City of Righteousness,(R)
    the Faithful City.(S)

27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
    her penitent(T) ones with righteousness.(U)
28 But rebels and sinners(V) will both be broken,
    and those who forsake(W) the Lord will perish.(X)

29 “You will be ashamed(Y) because of the sacred oaks(Z)
    in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(AA)
    that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(AB)
    like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
    and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
    with no one to quench the fire.(AC)

The Mountain of the Lord(AD)

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(AE)

In the last days(AF)

the mountain(AG) of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;(AH)
it will be exalted(AI) above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.(AJ)

Many peoples(AK) will come and say,

“Come, let us go(AL) up to the mountain(AM) of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(AN) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(AO)
He will judge(AP) between the nations
    and will settle disputes(AQ) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.(AR)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,(AS)
    nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, descendants of Jacob,(AT)
    let us walk in the light(AU) of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

You, Lord, have abandoned(AV) your people,
    the descendants of Jacob.(AW)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
    they practice divination(AX) like the Philistines(AY)
    and embrace(AZ) pagan customs.(BA)
Their land is full of silver and gold;(BB)
    there is no end to their treasures.(BC)
Their land is full of horses;(BD)
    there is no end to their chariots.(BE)
Their land is full of idols;(BF)
    they bow down(BG) to the work of their hands,(BH)
    to what their fingers(BI) have made.
So people will be brought low(BJ)
    and everyone humbled(BK)
    do not forgive them.[b](BL)

10 Go into the rocks, hide(BM) in the ground
    from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty!(BN)
11 The eyes of the arrogant(BO) will be humbled(BP)
    and human pride(BQ) brought low;(BR)
the Lord alone will be exalted(BS) in that day.(BT)

12 The Lord Almighty has a day(BU) in store
    for all the proud(BV) and lofty,(BW)
for all that is exalted(BX)
    (and they will be humbled),(BY)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,(BZ) tall and lofty,(CA)
    and all the oaks of Bashan,(CB)
14 for all the towering mountains
    and all the high hills,(CC)
15 for every lofty tower(CD)
    and every fortified wall,(CE)
16 for every trading ship[c](CF)
    and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low(CG)
    and human pride humbled;(CH)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,(CI)
18     and the idols(CJ) will totally disappear.(CK)

19 People will flee to caves(CL) in the rocks
    and to holes in the ground(CM)
from the fearful presence(CN) of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,(CO)
    when he rises to shake the earth.(CP)
20 In that day(CQ) people will throw away
    to the moles and bats(CR)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(CS)
    which they made to worship.(CT)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(CU)
    and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,(CV)
    when he rises(CW) to shake the earth.(CX)

22 Stop trusting in mere humans,(CY)
    who have but a breath(CZ) in their nostrils.
    Why hold them in esteem?(DA)

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

See now, the Lord,
    the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
    both supply and support:(DB)
all supplies of food(DC) and all supplies of water,(DD)
    the hero and the warrior,(DE)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner(DF) and the elder,(DG)
the captain of fifty(DH) and the man of rank,(DI)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman(DJ) and clever enchanter.(DK)

“I will make mere youths their officials;
    children will rule over them.”(DL)

People will oppress each other—
    man against man, neighbor against neighbor.(DM)
The young will rise up against the old,
    the nobody against the honored.

A man will seize one of his brothers
    in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
    take charge of this heap of ruins!”
But in that day(DN) he will cry out,
    “I have no remedy.(DO)
I have no food(DP) or clothing in my house;
    do not make me the leader of the people.”(DQ)

Jerusalem staggers,
    Judah is falling;(DR)
their words(DS) and deeds(DT) are against the Lord,
    defying(DU) his glorious presence.
The look on their faces testifies(DV) against them;
    they parade their sin like Sodom;(DW)
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
    They have brought disaster(DX) upon themselves.

10 Tell the righteous it will be well(DY) with them,
    for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.(DZ)
11 Woe to the wicked!(EA)
    Disaster(EB) is upon them!
They will be paid back(EC)
    for what their hands have done.(ED)

12 Youths(EE) oppress my people,
    women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;(EF)
    they turn you from the path.

13 The Lord takes his place in court;(EG)
    he rises to judge(EH) the people.
14 The Lord enters into judgment(EI)
    against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
    the plunder(EJ) from the poor(EK) is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people(EL)
    and grinding(EM) the faces of the poor?”(EN)
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.(EO)

16 The Lord says,
    “The women of Zion(EP) are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,(EQ)
    flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
    with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
    the Lord will make their scalps bald.(ER)

18 In that day(ES) the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,(ET) 19 the earrings and bracelets(EU) and veils,(EV) 20 the headdresses(EW) and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings,(EX) 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,(EY) the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments(EZ) and tiaras(FA) and shawls.

24 Instead of fragrance(FB) there will be a stench;(FC)
    instead of a sash,(FD) a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;(FE)
    instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;(FF)
    instead of beauty,(FG) branding.(FH)
25 Your men will fall by the sword,(FI)
    your warriors in battle.(FJ)
26 The gates(FK) of Zion will lament and mourn;(FL)
    destitute,(FM) she will sit on the ground.(FN)

In that day(FO) seven women
    will take hold of one man(FP)
and say, “We will eat our own food(FQ)
    and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
    Take away our disgrace!”(FR)

The Branch of the Lord

In that day(FS) the Branch of the Lord(FT) will be beautiful(FU) and glorious, and the fruit(FV) of the land will be the pride and glory(FW) of the survivors(FX) in Israel. Those who are left in Zion,(FY) who remain(FZ) in Jerusalem, will be called holy,(GA) all who are recorded(GB) among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth(GC) of the women of Zion;(GD) he will cleanse(GE) the bloodstains(GF) from Jerusalem by a spirit[d] of judgment(GG) and a spirit[e] of fire.(GH) Then the Lord will create(GI) over all of Mount Zion(GJ) and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;(GK) over everything the glory[f](GL) will be a canopy.(GM) It will be a shelter(GN) and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge(GO) and hiding place from the storm(GP) and rain.

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(GQ)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(GR)
He built a watchtower(GS) in it
    and cut out a winepress(GT) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(GU)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(GV)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(GW)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(GX)
Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(GY)
I will break down its wall,(GZ)
    and it will be trampled.(HA)
I will make it a wasteland,(HB)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(HC) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(HD) on it.”

The vineyard(HE) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(HF) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(HG) but heard cries of distress.(HH)

Woes and Judgments

Woe(HI) to you who add house to house
    and join field to field(HJ)
till no space is left
    and you live alone in the land.

The Lord Almighty(HK) has declared in my hearing:(HL)

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(HM)
    the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[g] of wine;
    a homer[h] of seed will yield only an ephah[i] of grain.”(HN)

11 Woe(HO) to those who rise early in the morning
    to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
    till they are inflamed with wine.(HP)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes(HQ) and timbrels(HR) and wine,
but they have no regard(HS) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.(HT)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(HU)
    for lack of understanding;(HV)
those of high rank(HW) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.(HX)
14 Therefore Death(HY) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;(HZ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.(IA)
15 So people will be brought low(IB)
    and everyone humbled,(IC)
    the eyes of the arrogant(ID) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(IE) by his justice,(IF)
    and the holy God will be proved holy(IG) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(IH)
    lambs will feed[j] among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe(II) to those who draw sin along with cords(IJ) of deceit,
    and wickedness(IK) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
    let him hasten(IL) his work
    so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(IM) of Israel—
    let it approach, let it come into view,
    so we may know it.”(IN)

20 Woe(IO) to those who call evil good(IP)
    and good evil,(IQ)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,(IR)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.(IS)

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(IT)
    and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(IU)
    and champions at mixing drinks,(IV)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(IW)
    but deny justice(IX) to the innocent.(IY)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(IZ) lick up straw(JA)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(JB)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;(JC)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word(JD) of the Holy One(JE) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(JF) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(JG)
    and the dead bodies(JH) are like refuse(JI) in the streets.(JJ)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(JK)
    his hand is still upraised.(JL)

26 He lifts up a banner(JM) for the distant nations,
    he whistles(JN) for those at the ends of the earth.(JO)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(JP) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(JQ) is loosened at the waist,(JR)
    not a sandal strap is broken.(JS)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(JT)
    all their bows(JU) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(JV) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(JW)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(JX)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(JY) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.(JZ)
30 In that day(KA) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.(KB)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness(KC) and distress;(KD)
    even the sun will be darkened(KE) by clouds.

Isaiah’s Commission

In the year that King Uzziah(KF) died,(KG) I saw the Lord,(KH) high and exalted,(KI) seated on a throne;(KJ) and the train of his robe(KK) filled the temple. Above him were seraphim,(KL) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,(KM) and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy(KN), holy is the Lord Almighty;(KO)
    the whole earth(KP) is full of his glory.”(KQ)

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.(KR)

“Woe(KS) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!(KT) For I am a man of unclean lips,(KU) and I live among a people of unclean lips,(KV) and my eyes have seen(KW) the King,(KX) the Lord Almighty.”(KY)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal(KZ) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;(LA) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.(LB)

Then I heard the voice(LC) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?(LD) And who will go for us?(LE)

And I said, “Here am I.(LF) Send me!”

He said, “Go(LG) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’(LH)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(LI)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.[k](LJ)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,(LK)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”(LL)

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”(LM)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined(LN)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(LO)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,(LP)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(LQ)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.(LR)
13 And though a tenth remains(LS) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.(LT)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps(LU) when they are cut down,
    so the holy(LV) seed will be the stump in the land.”(LW)

The Sign of Immanuel

When Ahaz(LX) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin(LY) of Aram(LZ) and Pekah(MA) son of Remaliah(MB) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

Now the house of David(MC) was told, “Aram has allied itself with[l] Ephraim(MD)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,(ME) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[m](MF) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.(MG) Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm(MH) and don’t be afraid.(MI) Do not lose heart(MJ) because of these two smoldering stubs(MK) of firewood—because of the fierce anger(ML) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.(MM) Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s(MN) son have plotted(MO) your ruin, saying, “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:(MP)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,(MQ)
for the head of Aram is Damascus,(MR)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.(MS)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered(MT) to be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,(MU)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand(MV) firm in your faith,(MW)
    you will not stand at all.’”(MX)

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,(MY) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.(MZ)

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.(NA)

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!(NB) Is it not enough(NC) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience(ND) of my God(NE) also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[n] a sign:(NF) The virgin[o](NG) will conceive and give birth to a son,(NH) and[p] will call him Immanuel.[q](NI) 15 He will be eating curds(NJ) and honey(NK) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows(NL) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,(NM) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.(NN) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away(NO) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.(NP)

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day(NQ) the Lord will whistle(NR) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.(NS) 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices(NT) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes(NU) and at all the water holes. 20 In that day(NV) the Lord will use(NW) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River(NX)—the king of Assyria(NY)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard(NZ) also.(OA) 21 In that day,(OB) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.(OC) 22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds(OD) and honey.(OE) 23 In that day,(OF) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[r](OG) there will be only briers and thorns.(OH) 24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers(OI) and thorns. 25 As for all the hills(OJ) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;(OK) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.(OL)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(OM) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[s](ON) So I called in Uriah(OO) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(OP) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(OQ) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(OR) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(OS) For before the boy knows(OT) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(OU) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(OV)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(OW)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(OX)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(OY)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(OZ) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(PA) with all his pomp.(PB)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(PC)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(PD)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(PE) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[t]!”(PF)

Raise the war cry,[u](PG) you nations, and be shattered!(PH)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(PI) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(PJ)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(PK)
    for God is with us.[v](PL)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(PM) warning me not to follow(PN) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(PO)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(PP)
    and do not dread it.(PQ)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(PR)
    he is the one you are to fear,(PS)
    he is the one you are to dread.(PT)
14 He will be a holy place;(PU)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(PV) that causes people to stumble(PW)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(PX)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(PY)
15 Many of them will stumble;(PZ)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(QA)
    and seal(QB) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(QC) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(QD) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(QE)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(QF) We are signs(QG) and symbols(QH) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(QI)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(QJ) mediums and spiritists,(QK) who whisper and mutter,(QL) should not a people inquire(QM) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(QN) and the testimony of warning.(QO) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(QP) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(QQ) they will roam through the land;(QR) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(QS) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(QT) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(QU)

[w]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(QV) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(QW) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness(QX)
    have seen a great light;(QY)
on those living in the land of deep darkness(QZ)
    a light has dawned.(RA)
You have enlarged the nation(RB)
    and increased their joy;(RC)
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.(RD)
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,(RE)
    you have shattered(RF)
the yoke(RG) that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,(RH)
    the rod of their oppressor.(RI)
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,(RJ)
    will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,(RK)
    to us a son is given,(RL)
    and the government(RM) will be on his shoulders.(RN)
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor,(RO) Mighty God,(RP)
    Everlasting(RQ) Father,(RR) Prince of Peace.(RS)
Of the greatness of his government(RT) and peace(RU)
    there will be no end.(RV)
He will reign(RW) on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice(RX) and righteousness(RY)
    from that time on and forever.(RZ)
The zeal(SA) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

The Lord has sent a message(SB) against Jacob;
    it will fall on Israel.
All the people will know it—
    Ephraim(SC) and the inhabitants of Samaria(SD)
who say with pride
    and arrogance(SE) of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;(SF)
the fig(SG) trees have been felled,
    but we will replace them with cedars.(SH)
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s(SI) foes against them
    and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans(SJ) from the east and Philistines(SK) from the west
    have devoured(SL) Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger(SM) is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(SN)

13 But the people have not returned(SO) to him who struck(SP) them,
    nor have they sought(SQ) the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
    both palm branch and reed(SR) in a single day;(SS)
15 the elders(ST) and dignitaries(SU) are the head,
    the prophets(SV) who teach lies(SW) are the tail.
16 Those who guide(SX) this people mislead them,
    and those who are guided are led astray.(SY)
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,(SZ)
    nor will he pity(TA) the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly(TB) and wicked,(TC)
    every mouth speaks folly.(TD)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(TE)

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(TF)
    it consumes briers and thorns,(TG)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(TH)
    so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(TI) of the Lord Almighty
    the land will be scorched(TJ)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(TK)
    they will not spare one another.(TL)
20 On the right they will devour,
    but still be hungry;(TM)
on the left they will eat,(TN)
    but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[x]:
21     Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(TO)
    together they will turn against Judah.(TP)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
    his hand is still upraised.(TQ)

10 Woe(TR) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(TS)
to deprive(TT) the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(TU)
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.(TV)
What will you do on the day of reckoning,(TW)
    when disaster(TX) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(TY)
    Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(TZ)
    or fall among the slain.(UA)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(UB)
    his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

“Woe(UC) to the Assyrian,(UD) the rod(UE) of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club(UF) of my wrath!(UG)
I send him against a godless(UH) nation,
    I dispatch(UI) him against a people who anger me,(UJ)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(UK)
    and to trample(UL) them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he intends,(UM)
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations.
‘Are not my commanders(UN) all kings?’ he says.
    ‘Has not Kalno(UO) fared like Carchemish?(UP)
Is not Hamath(UQ) like Arpad,(UR)
    and Samaria(US) like Damascus?(UT)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(UU)
    kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
    as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(UV)’”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work(UW) against Mount Zion(UX) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(UY) for the willful pride(UZ) of his heart and the haughty look(VA) in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand(VB) I have done this,(VC)
    and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
    I plundered their treasures;(VD)
    like a mighty one I subdued[y] their kings.(VE)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(VF)
    so my hand reached for the wealth(VG) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
    so I gathered all the countries;(VH)
not one flapped a wing,
    or opened its mouth to chirp.(VI)’”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(VJ)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(VK) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will send a wasting disease(VL) upon his sturdy warriors;(VM)
under his pomp(VN) a fire(VO) will be kindled
    like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(VP)
    their Holy One(VQ) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
    his thorns(VR) and his briers.(VS)
18 The splendor of his forests(VT) and fertile fields
    it will completely destroy,(VU)
    as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(VV) will be so few(VW)
    that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day(VX) the remnant of Israel,
    the survivors(VY) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(VZ) on him
    who struck them down(WA)
but will truly rely(WB) on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.(WC)
21 A remnant(WD) will return,[z](WE) a remnant of Jacob
    will return to the Mighty God.(WF)
22 Though your people be like the sand(WG) by the sea, Israel,
    only a remnant will return.(WH)
Destruction has been decreed,(WI)
    overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
    the destruction decreed(WJ) upon the whole land.(WK)

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,(WL)
    do not be afraid(WM) of the Assyrians,
who beat(WN) you with a rod(WO)
    and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(WP) my anger against you will end
    and my wrath(WQ) will be directed to their destruction.(WR)

26 The Lord Almighty will lash(WS) them with a whip,
    as when he struck down Midian(WT) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(WU) over the waters,(WV)
    as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(WW) their burden(WX) will be lifted from your shoulders,
    their yoke(WY) from your neck;(WZ)
the yoke(XA) will be broken
    because you have grown so fat.[aa]

28 They enter Aiath;
    they pass through Migron;(XB)
    they store supplies(XC) at Mikmash.(XD)
29 They go over the pass, and say,
    “We will camp overnight at Geba.(XE)
Ramah(XF) trembles;
    Gibeah(XG) of Saul flees.(XH)
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!(XI)
    Listen, Laishah!
    Poor Anathoth!(XJ)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
    the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;(XK)
    they will shake their fist(XL)
at the mount of Daughter Zion,(XM)
    at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(XN) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(XO)
    the tall(XP) ones will be brought low.(XQ)
34 He will cut down(XR) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(XS) will fall before the Mighty One.(XT)

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot(XU) will come up from the stump(XV) of Jesse;(XW)
    from his roots a Branch(XX) will bear fruit.(XY)
The Spirit(XZ) of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom(YA) and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,(YB)
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear(YC) of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(YD)
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;(YE)
but with righteousness(YF) he will judge the needy,(YG)
    with justice(YH) he will give decisions for the poor(YI) of the earth.
He will strike(YJ) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(YK)
    with the breath(YL) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(YM)
Righteousness will be his belt(YN)
    and faithfulness(YO) the sash around his waist.(YP)

The wolf will live with the lamb,(YQ)
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[ab] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(YR)
The infant(YS) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(YT) nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy(YU)
    on all my holy mountain,(YV)
for the earth(YW) will be filled with the knowledge(YX) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(YY) the Root of Jesse(YZ) will stand as a banner(ZA) for the peoples; the nations(ZB) will rally to him,(ZC) and his resting place(ZD) will be glorious.(ZE) 11 In that day(ZF) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(ZG) of his people from Assyria,(ZH) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(ZI) from Cush,[ac](ZJ) from Elam,(ZK) from Babylonia,[ad] from Hamath(ZL) and from the islands(ZM) of the Mediterranean.(ZN)

12 He will raise a banner(ZO) for the nations
    and gather(ZP) the exiles of Israel;(ZQ)
he will assemble the scattered people(ZR) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(ZS)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[ae] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(ZT)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(ZU) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(ZV)
They will subdue Edom(ZW) and Moab,(ZX)
    and the Ammonites(ZY) will be subject to them.(ZZ)
15 The Lord will dry up(AAA)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(AAB) he will sweep his hand(AAC)
    over the Euphrates River.(AAD)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(AAE)
16 There will be a highway(AAF) for the remnant(AAG) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(AAH)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(AAI)

Songs of Praise

12 In that day(AAJ) you will say:

“I will praise(AAK) you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(AAL)
    and you have comforted(AAM) me.
Surely God is my salvation;(AAN)
    I will trust(AAO) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,(AAP) is my strength(AAQ) and my defense[af];
    he has become my salvation.(AAR)
With joy you will draw water(AAS)
    from the wells(AAT) of salvation.

In that day(AAU) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(AAV)
    make known among the nations(AAW) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(AAX)
Sing(AAY) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;(AAZ)
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,(ABA) people of Zion,
    for great(ABB) is the Holy One of Israel(ABC) among you.(ABD)

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(ABE) against Babylon(ABF) that Isaiah son of Amoz(ABG) saw:(ABH)

Raise a banner(ABI) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(ABJ) of the nobles.
I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors(ABK) to carry out my wrath(ABL)
    those who rejoice(ABM) in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!(ABN)
Listen, an uproar(ABO) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(ABP) is mustering(ABQ)
    an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens(ABR)
the Lord and the weapons(ABS) of his wrath(ABT)
    to destroy(ABU) the whole country.

Wail,(ABV) for the day(ABW) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(ABX) from the Almighty.[ag](ABY)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(ABZ)
    every heart will melt with fear.(ACA)
Terror(ACB) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip(ACC) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.(ACD)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.(ACE)

See, the day(ACF) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel(ACG) day, with wrath(ACH) and fierce anger(ACI)
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.(ACJ)
The rising sun(ACK) will be darkened(ACL)
    and the moon will not give its light.(ACM)
11 I will punish(ACN) the world for its evil,
    the wicked(ACO) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(ACP)
    and will humble(ACQ) the pride of the ruthless.(ACR)
12 I will make people(ACS) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.(ACT)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(ACU)
    and the earth will shake(ACV) from its place
at the wrath(ACW) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.(ACX)

14 Like a hunted(ACY) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,(ACZ)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee(ADA) to their native land.(ADB)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall(ADC) by the sword.(ADD)
16 Their infants(ADE) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(ADF)

17 See, I will stir up(ADG) against them the Medes,(ADH)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.(ADI)
18 Their bows(ADJ) will strike down the young men;(ADK)
    they will have no mercy(ADL) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.(ADM)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem
  2. Isaiah 2:9 Or not raise them up
  3. Isaiah 2:16 Hebrew every ship of Tarshish
  4. Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
  5. Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
  6. Isaiah 4:5 Or over all the glory there
  7. Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
  8. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
  9. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  10. Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
  11. Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
  12. Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
  13. Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
  14. Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
  15. Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
  16. Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
  17. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
  18. Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
  19. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  20. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  21. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  22. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel
  23. Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
  24. Isaiah 9:20 Or arm
  25. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
  26. Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
  27. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders
  28. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed
  29. Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region
  30. Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar
  31. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
  32. Isaiah 12:2 Or song
  33. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai