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Isaiah 21-31
English Standard Version
Isaiah 21-31
English Standard Version
Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon
21 The (A)oracle concerning the wilderness of (B)the sea.
(C)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
(D)the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O (E)Elam;
lay siege, O (F)Media;
all the (G)sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
(H)pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
(I)the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5 (J)They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,[a]
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
(K)oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out:[b]
(L)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
(M)And he answered,
(N)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
(O)and all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10 O (P)my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The (Q)oracle concerning (R)Dumah.
One is calling to me from (S)Seir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12 The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also (T)the night.
If you will inquire, (U)inquire;
come back again.”
13 The (V)oracle concerning (W)Arabia.
In the thickets in (X)Arabia you will lodge,
O (Y)caravans of (Z)Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of (AA)Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, (AB)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of (AC)Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of (AD)Kedar will be few, (AE)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
22 The (AF)oracle concerning (AG)the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, (AH)exultant town?
Your slain are (AI)not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 (AJ)All your leaders have fled together;
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
(AK)let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 (AL)For the Lord God of hosts has (AM)a day
of tumult and (AN)trampling and (AO)confusion
in (AP)the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And (AQ)Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and (AR)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away (AS)the covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to (AT)the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that (AU)the breaches of the city of David were many. (AV)You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 (AW)You made a reservoir between (AX)the two walls for the water of (AY)the old pool. But (AZ)you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day (BA)the Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for (BB)baldness and (BC)wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
(BD)“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts (BE)has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely (BF)this iniquity will not be atoned for you (BG)until you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to (BH)Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, (BI)that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you (BJ)who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. (BK)He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be (BL)your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 (BM)I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant (BN)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and (BO)I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be (BP)a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place (BQ)on his shoulder (BR)the key of the house of David. (BS)He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him (BT)like a peg in a secure place, and he will become (BU)a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, (BV)the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
23 The (BW)oracle concerning (BX)Tyre.
Wail, O (BY)ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, (BZ)without house or harbor!
From (CA)the land of Cyprus[c]
it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of (CB)Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were (CC)the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O (CD)Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish[d] over the report about Tyre.
6 (CE)Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
(CF)whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it,
(CG)to defile the pompous pride of all glory,[e]
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10 Cross over your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint anymore.
11 (CH)He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of (CI)Sidon;
arise, (CJ)cross over to (CK)Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
13 Behold the land of (CL)the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;[f] Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected (CM)their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
14 (CN)Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for (CO)seventy years, like the days[g] of one king. At the end of (CP)seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
17 At the end of (CQ)seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and (CR)will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
24 Behold, (CS)the Lord will empty the earth[h] and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 (CT)And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
(CU)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
(CV)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 (CW)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
(CX)for the Lord has spoken this word.
4 (CY)The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies (CZ)defiled
under its inhabitants;
for (DA)they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore (DB)a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants (DC)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 (DD)The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 (DE)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine (DF)with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 (DG)The wasted city is broken down;
(DH)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 (DI)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
(DJ)all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
(DK)as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.[i]
15 (DL)Therefore in the east[j] give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 (DM)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to (DN)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For (DO)the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 (DP)Terror and the pit and the snare[k]
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 (DQ)He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For (DR)the windows of heaven are opened,
and (DS)the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth (DT)staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
(DU)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and (DV)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 (DW)They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days (DX)they will be punished.
23 (DY)Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for (DZ)the Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
25 O Lord, (EA)you are my God;
(EB)I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
(EC)plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city (ED)a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 (EE)Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 (EF)For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
(EG)a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
(EH)for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 (EI)like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.
6 (EJ)On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
(EK)of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up (EL)on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
(EM)the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 (EN)He will swallow up death forever;
and (EO)the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and (EP)the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
(EQ)for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; (ER)we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
(ES)let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest (ET)on this mountain,
and (EU)Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.[l]
11 (EV)And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
but the Lord (EW)will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill[m] of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.
You Keep Him in Perfect Peace
26 In that day (EX)this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up (EY)salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
2 (EZ)Open the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 (FA)You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
5 (FB)For he has humbled
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
6 The foot tramples it,
the feet of (FC)the poor,
the steps of (FD)the needy.”
7 The path of the righteous is level;
(FE)you make level the way of the righteous.
8 In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
(FF)your name and (FG)remembrance
are the desire of our soul.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
(FH)For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 (FI)If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11 O Lord, (FJ)your hand is lifted up,
but (FK)they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
Let (FL)the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12 O Lord, you will ordain (FM)peace for us,
for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13 O Lord our God,
(FN)other lords besides you have ruled over us,
(FO)but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15 (FP)But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
(FQ)you have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16 O Lord, (FR)in distress they sought you;
they poured out a whispered prayer
when your discipline was upon them.
17 (FS)Like a pregnant woman
who writhes and cries out in her pangs
when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
18 (FT)we were pregnant, we writhed,
but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 (FU)Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For (FV)your dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves (FW)for a little while
until the fury has passed by.
21 (FX)For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
to punish the inhabitants of (FY)the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
and will no more cover its slain.
The Redemption of Israel
27 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong (FZ)sword will punish (GA)Leviathan the fleeing serpent, (GB)Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay (GC)the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day,
(GD)“A pleasant vineyard,[n] (GE)sing of it!
3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
4 I have no wrath.
(GF)Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together.
5 Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
6 (GG)In days to come[o] Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 (GH)Has he struck them (GI)as he struck those who struck them?
Or have they been slain (GJ)as their slayers were slain?
8 (GK)Measure by measure,[p] by exile you contended with them;
(GL)he removed them with his fierce breath[q] in the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this (GM)the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:[r]
(GN)when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no (GO)Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
10 (GP)For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes;
there it lies down and strips its branches.
11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
(GQ)For this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;
he who formed them will show them no favor.
12 In that day (GR)from the river Euphrates[s] to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day (GS)a great trumpet will be blown, (GT)and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt (GU)will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem
28 Ah, the proud crown of (GV)the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has (GW)one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like (GX)a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 (GY)The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 (GZ)and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like (HA)a first-ripe fig[t] before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 (HB)In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,[u]
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 and (HC)a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and (HD)strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 (HE)These also reel with wine
and (HF)stagger with strong drink;
the priest and (HG)the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by[v] wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 (HH)“To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 (HI)For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
(HJ)“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13 And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
(HK)that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you (HL)scoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the (HM)overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made (HN)lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
(HO)“Behold, I am the one who has laid[w] as a foundation (HP)in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17 And I will make justice (HQ)the line,
and righteousness (HR)the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18 Then (HS)your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it passes through it will take you;
(HT)for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be (HU)sheer terror to understand the message.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up (HV)as on Mount Perazim;
(HW)as in the Valley of (HX)Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22 Now therefore do not (HY)scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard (HZ)a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 (IA)When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer[x] as the border?
26 (IB)For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;[y]
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is (IC)wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
The Siege of Jerusalem
29 Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
the city (ID)where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the feasts run their round.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
and she shall be to me like an Ariel.[z]
3 (IE)And I will encamp against you all around,
and will besiege you (IF)with towers
and I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 (IG)And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,
and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;
your voice shall come from the ground like (IH)the voice of a ghost,
and from the dust your speech shall whisper.
5 But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like (II)small dust,
and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
(IJ)And in an instant, suddenly,
6 (IK)you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And (IL)the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
shall be (IM)like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 (IN)As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,
and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking,
and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.
9 Astonish yourselves[aa] and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk,[ab] but not with wine;
(IO)stagger,[ac] but not with strong drink!
10 (IP)For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is (IQ)sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 And the Lord said:
“Because (IR)this people (IS)draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, (IT)I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and (IU)the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
15 Ah, (IV)you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are (IW)in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 (IX)You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
17 Is it not yet a very little while
(IY)until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In that day (IZ)the deaf shall hear
(JA)the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
(JB)the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 (JC)The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nothing
and (JD)the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
and (JE)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and with an empty plea (JF)turn aside him who is in the right.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (JG)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
(JH)the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
(JI)they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those (JJ)who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”
Do Not Go Down to Egypt
30 “Ah, (JK)stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
(JL)“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make (JM)an alliance,[ad] but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2 (JN)who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 (JO)Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
4 For though his officials are at (JP)Zoan
and (JQ)his envoys reach (JR)Hanes,
5 everyone comes to shame
through (JS)a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
but shame and disgrace.”
6 An (JT)oracle on (JU)the beasts of (JV)the Negeb.
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
from where come the lioness and the lion,
the adder and the (JW)flying fiery serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people that cannot profit them.
7 Egypt's (JX)help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her
(JY)“Rahab who sits still.”
A Rebellious People
8 And now, go, (JZ)write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.[ae]
9 (KA)For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the Lord;
10 (KB)who say to (KC)the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us (KD)smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
and trust in (KE)oppression and perverseness
and rely on them,
13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you
(KF)like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 and its breaking is (KG)like that of a potter's vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
with which to take fire from the hearth,
or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In (KH)returning[af] and (KI)rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,
“No! We will flee upon (KJ)horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 (KK)A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
The Lord Will Be Gracious
18 Therefore the Lord (KL)waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he (KM)exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
(KN)blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For a people shall dwell (KO)in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20 And though the Lord give you the (KP)bread of adversity and the (KQ)water of affliction, (KR)yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 (KS)And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is (KT)the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. (KU)You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!”
23 (KV)And he will give (KW)rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. (KX)In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, 24 and (KY)the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25 And (KZ)on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, (LA)when the towers fall. 26 (LB)Moreover, 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 when (LC)the Lord binds up (LD)the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;[ag]
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28 (LE)his breath is (LF)like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck;
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
and to place on the jaws of the peoples (LG)a bridle that leads astray.
29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, (LH)as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to (LI)the mountain of the Lord, to (LJ)the Rock of Israel. 30 And the Lord (LK)will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger (LL)and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst (LM)and storm and hailstones. 31 The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord, (LN)when he strikes with his rod. 32 And every stroke of the appointed staff that the Lord lays on them (LO)will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. (LP)Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33 For (LQ)a burning place[ah] has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, (LR)its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; (LS)the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt
31 Woe[ai] to (LT)those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who (LU)trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but (LV)do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
2 And (LW)yet he is wise and brings disaster;
(LX)he does not call back his words,
but (LY)will arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the helpers of (LZ)those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses (MA)are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
4 For thus the Lord said to me,
(MB)“As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
and when a band of shepherds is called out against him
he is not terrified by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
(MC)so the Lord of hosts will come down
to fight[aj] on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 (MD)Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts
will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it;
he will spare and rescue it.”
6 (ME)Turn to him from whom people[ak] have (MF)deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7 For in that day (MG)everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 (MH)“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be (MI)put to forced labor.
9 (MJ)His rock shall pass away in terror,
and his officers desert the standard in panic,”
declares the Lord, whose (MK)fire is in Zion,
and whose (ML)furnace is in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion
- Isaiah 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also verse 12
- Isaiah 23:5 Hebrew they will have labor pains
- Isaiah 23:9 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike
- Isaiah 23:13 Or that has become nothing
- Isaiah 23:15 Or lifetime
- Isaiah 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter
- Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew from the sea
- Isaiah 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires
- Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike
- Isaiah 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike
- Isaiah 25:11 Or in spite of the skill
- Isaiah 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine
- Isaiah 27:6 Hebrew In those to come
- Isaiah 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Isaiah 27:8 Or wind
- Isaiah 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin
- Isaiah 27:12 Hebrew from the River
- Isaiah 28:4 Or fruit
- Isaiah 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike
- Isaiah 28:7 Or confused by
- Isaiah 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying
- Isaiah 28:25 A type of wheat
- Isaiah 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever
- Isaiah 29:2 Ariel could mean lion of God, or hero (2 Samuel 23:20), or altar hearth (Ezekiel 43:15–16)
- Isaiah 29:9 Or Linger awhile
- Isaiah 29:9 Or They are drunk
- Isaiah 29:9 Or they stagger
- Isaiah 30:1 Hebrew who weave a web
- Isaiah 30:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate, and Greek versions; Masoretic Text forever and ever
- Isaiah 30:15 Or repentance
- Isaiah 30:27 Hebrew in weight of uplifted clouds
- Isaiah 30:33 Or For Topheth
- Isaiah 31:1 Or Ah,
- Isaiah 31:4 The Hebrew words for hosts and to fight sound alike
- Isaiah 31:6 Hebrew they
Isaiah 21-31
New International Version
Isaiah 21-31
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(A) against the Desert(B) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(C) sweeping through the southland,(D)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(E) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(G) attack! Media,(H) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(I)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(K) by what I see.
4 My heart(L) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(M)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(N) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(O)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(P)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(Q)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(R)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(S)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[a](T) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(U)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(V) has fallen,(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(X)
lie shattered(Y) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(Z)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[b]:(AA)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(AB)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(AC) against Arabia:(AD)
You caravans of Dedanites,(AE)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(AF)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(AG) from the sword,(AH)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(AI) would count it, all the splendor(AJ) of Kedar(AK) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(AM)
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
22 A prophecy(AN) against the Valley(AO) of Vision:(AP)
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,(AQ)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult(AR) and revelry?(AS)
Your slain(AT) were not killed by the sword,(AU)
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled(AV) together;
they have been captured(AW) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weep(AX) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”(AY)
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(AZ)
of tumult and trampling(BA) and terror(BB)
in the Valley of Vision,(BC)
a day of battering down walls(BD)
and of crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam(BE) takes up the quiver,(BF)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir(BG) uncovers the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys(BH) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(BI)
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day(BJ)
to the weapons(BK) in the Palace of the Forest.(BL)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through(BM) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.(BN)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses(BO) to strengthen the wall.(BP)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(BQ)
for the water of the Old Pool,(BR)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard(BS) for the One who planned(BT) it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day(BU)
to weep(BV) and to wail,
to tear out your hair(BW) and put on sackcloth.(BX)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(BY)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!(BZ)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”(CA)
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(CB) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(CC) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna(CD) the palace(CE) administrator:(CF)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave(CG) for yourself(CH) here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl(CI) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw(CJ) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots(CK) you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
and you will be ousted(CL) from your position.(CM)
20 “In that day(CN) I will summon my servant,(CO) Eliakim(CP) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(CQ) around him and hand your authority(CR) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(CS) the key(CT) to the house of David;(CU) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(CV) 23 I will drive him like a peg(CW) into a firm place;(CX) he will become a seat[c] of honor(CY) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25 “In that day,(CZ)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(DA) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(DB)
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(DC)
Wail,(DD) you ships(DE) of Tarshish!(DF)
For Tyre is destroyed(DG)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(DH) you people of the island
and you merchants(DI) of Sidon,(DJ)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(DK)
the harvest of the Nile[d](DL) was the revenue of Tyre,(DM)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(DN) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(DO)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(DP) at the report from Tyre.(DQ)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(DR)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(DS)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(DT) are princes,
whose traders(DU) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(DV) it,
to bring down(DW) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(DX) all who are renowned(DY) on the earth.
10 Till[e] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(DZ) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(EA)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(EB)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(EC)
Virgin Daughter(ED) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(EE)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[f](EF)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(EG) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(EH)
they raised up their siege towers,(EI)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(EJ)
15 At that time Tyre(EN) will be forgotten for seventy years,(EO) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(EP)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(EQ) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(ER) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(ES) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(ET) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(EU) for abundant food and fine clothes.(EV)
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(EW)
and devastate(EX) it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter(EY) its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,(EZ)
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,(FA)
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.(FB)
3 The earth will be completely laid waste(FC)
and totally plundered.(FD)
The Lord has spoken(FE) this word.
4 The earth dries up(FF) and withers,(FG)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens(FH) languish with the earth.(FI)
5 The earth is defiled(FJ) by its people;
they have disobeyed(FK) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.(FL)
6 Therefore a curse(FM) consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(FN)
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up(FO) and the vine withers;(FP)
all the merrymakers groan.(FQ)
8 The joyful timbrels(FR) are stilled,
the noise(FS) of the revelers(FT) has stopped,
the joyful harp(FU) is silent.(FV)
9 No longer do they drink wine(FW) with a song;
the beer is bitter(FX) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(FY) lies desolate;(FZ)
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(GA) for wine;(GB)
all joy turns to gloom,(GC)
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(GD)
its gate(GE) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(GF)
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(GG)
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(GH)
from the west(GI) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(GJ) give glory(GK) to the Lord;
exalt(GL) the name(GM) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands(GN) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(GO) we hear singing:(GP)
“Glory(GQ) to the Righteous One.”(GR)
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(GS)
Woe(GT) to me!
The treacherous(GU) betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!(GV)”
17 Terror(GW) and pit and snare(GX) await you,
people of the earth.(GY)
18 Whoever flees(GZ) at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;(HA)
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.(HB)
The floodgates of the heavens(HC) are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.(HD)
19 The earth is broken up,(HE)
the earth is split asunder,(HF)
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(HG)
it sways like a hut(HH) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(HI)
that it falls(HJ)—never to rise again.(HK)
21 In that day(HL) the Lord will punish(HM)
the powers(HN) in the heavens above
and the kings(HO) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners(HP) bound in a dungeon;(HQ)
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished[g] after many days.(HR)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun(HS) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(HT)
on Mount Zion(HU) and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.(HV)
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;(HW)
I will exalt you and praise your name,(HX)
for in perfect faithfulness(HY)
you have done wonderful things,(HZ)
things planned(IA) long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,(IB)
the fortified(IC) town a ruin,(ID)
the foreigners’ stronghold(IE) a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.(IF)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(IG)
cities of ruthless(IH) nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge(II) for the poor,(IJ)
a refuge for the needy(IK) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(IL)
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(IM)
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(IN) the uproar of foreigners;(IO)
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless(IP) is stilled.
6 On this mountain(IQ) the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast(IR) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.(IS)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(IT) that enfolds all peoples,(IU)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death(IV) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(IW)
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(IX)
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(IY)
9 In that day(IZ) they will say,
“Surely this is our God;(JA)
we trusted(JB) in him, and he saved(JC) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice(JD) and be glad in his salvation.”(JE)
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(JF)
but Moab(JG) will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(JH) their pride(JI)
despite the cleverness[h] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(JJ)
and lay them low;(JK)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(JL) this song will be sung(JM) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(JN)
God makes salvation
its walls(JO) and ramparts.(JP)
2 Open the gates(JQ)
that the righteous(JR) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(JS)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(JT) in you.
4 Trust(JU) in the Lord forever,(JV)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(JW) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(JX)
and casts it down to the dust.(JY)
6 Feet trample(JZ) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(KA)
the footsteps of the poor.(KB)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(KC)
you, the Upright One,(KD) make the way of the righteous smooth.(KE)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[i](KF)
we wait(KG) for you;
your name(KH) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(KI)
in the morning my spirit longs(KJ) for you.
When your judgments(KK) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(KL)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(KM)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(KN)
and do not regard(KO) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(KP)
but they do not see(KQ) it.
Let them see your zeal(KR) for your people and be put to shame;(KS)
let the fire(KT) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(KU) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(KV) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(KW) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(KX) alone do we honor.(KY)
14 They are now dead,(KZ) they live no more;
their spirits(LA) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(LB)
you wiped out all memory of them.(LC)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(LD)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(LE) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(LF)
when you disciplined(LG) them,
they could barely whisper(LH) a prayer.[j]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(LI)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(LJ) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(LK) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(LL)
19 But your dead(LM) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(LN)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(LO) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(LP)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(LQ) behind you;
hide(LR) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(LS) has passed by.(LT)
21 See, the Lord is coming(LU) out of his dwelling(LV)
to punish(LW) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(LX) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(LY)
the Lord will punish with his sword(LZ)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(MA) the gliding serpent,(MB)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(MC) of the sea.
2 In that day(MD)—
“Sing(ME) about a fruitful vineyard:(MF)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(MG) it continually.
I guard(MH) it day and night
so that no one may harm(MI) it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(MJ)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(MK)
let them make peace(ML) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(MM)
Israel will bud and blossom(MN)
and fill all the world with fruit.(MO)
7 Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(MP) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[k] and exile(MQ) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(MR) blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(MS) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(MT)
When he makes all the altar stones(MU)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[l](MV) or incense altars(MW)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(MX)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(MY) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(MZ)
there they lie down;(NA)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(NB)
and women come and make fires(NC) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(ND)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(NE) shows them no favor.(NF)
12 In that day the Lord will thresh(NG) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(NH) and you, Israel, will be gathered(NI) up one by one. 13 And in that day(NJ) a great trumpet(NK) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(NL) in Egypt(NM) will come and worship(NN) the Lord on the holy mountain(NO) in Jerusalem.
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woe(NP) to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(NQ) drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley(NR)—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!(NS)
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful(NT) and strong.
Like a hailstorm(NU) and a destructive wind,(NV)
like a driving rain and a flooding(NW) downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(NX) drunkards,
will be trampled(NY) underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,(NZ)
will be like figs(OA) ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5 In that day(OB) the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious(OC) crown,(OD)
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant(OE) of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice(OF)
to the one who sits in judgment,(OG)
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle(OH) at the gate.
7 And these also stagger(OI) from wine(OJ)
and reel(OK) from beer:
Priests(OL) and prophets(OM) stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,(ON)
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit(OO)
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?(OP)
To whom is he explaining his message?(OQ)
To children weaned(OR) from their milk,(OS)
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that[m];
a little here, a little there.(OT)”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(OU)
God will speak to this people,(OV)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(OW)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(OX)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(OY) and snared and captured.(OZ)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(PA) you scoffers(PB)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(PC)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(PD)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(PE) our refuge
and falsehood[n] our hiding place.(PF)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(PG) a tested stone,(PH)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(PI)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(PJ)
17 I will make justice(PK) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(PL)
hail(PM) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(PN) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(PO)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(PP)
you will be beaten down(PQ) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(PR)
morning after morning,(PS) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(PT)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(PU)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(PV)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(PW)—
to do his work,(PX) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(PY)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(PZ) against the whole land.(QA)
23 Listen(QB) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(QC) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(QD)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[o]
barley(QE) in its plot,[p]
and spelt(QF) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(QG) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(QH) with a sledge,(QI)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(QJ)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(QK) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(QL)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(QM)
Woe to David’s City
29 Woe(QN) to you, Ariel, Ariel,(QO)
the city(QP) where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivals(QQ) go on.
2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;(QR)
she will mourn and lament,(QS)
she will be to me like an altar hearth.[q](QT)
3 I will encamp against you on all sides;
I will encircle(QU) you with towers
and set up my siege works(QV) against you.
4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
your speech will mumble(QW) out of the dust.(QX)
Your voice will come ghostlike(QY) from the earth;
out of the dust your speech will whisper.(QZ)
5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust,(RA)
the ruthless(RB) hordes like blown chaff.(RC)
Suddenly,(RD) in an instant,
6 the Lord Almighty will come(RE)
with thunder(RF) and earthquake(RG) and great noise,
with windstorm and tempest(RH) and flames of a devouring fire.(RI)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations(RJ) that fight against Ariel,(RK)
that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,(RL)
with a vision in the night—
8 as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but awakens(RM) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but awakens faint and thirsty still.(RN)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.(RO)
9 Be stunned and amazed,(RP)
blind yourselves and be sightless;(RQ)
be drunk,(RR) but not from wine,(RS)
stagger,(RT) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(RU)
He has sealed your eyes(RV) (the prophets);(RW)
he has covered your heads (the seers).(RX)
11 For you this whole vision(RY) is nothing but words sealed(RZ) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
13 The Lord says:
“These people(SA) come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,(SB)
but their hearts are far from me.(SC)
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[r](SD)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;(SE)
the wisdom of the wise(SF) will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(SG)”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide(SH) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?(SI) Who will know?”(SJ)
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(SK)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(SL) it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(SM)
“You know nothing”?(SN)
17 In a very short time,(SO) will not Lebanon(SP) be turned into a fertile field(SQ)
and the fertile field seem like a forest?(SR)
18 In that day(SS) the deaf(ST) will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness(SU)
the eyes of the blind will see.(SV)
19 Once more the humble(SW) will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy(SX) will rejoice in the Holy One(SY) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(SZ) will vanish,(TA)
the mockers(TB) will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil(TC) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court(TD)
and with false testimony(TE) deprive the innocent of justice.(TF)
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(TG) Abraham,(TH) says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(TI)
no longer will their faces grow pale.(TJ)
23 When they see among them their children,(TK)
the work of my hands,(TL)
they will keep my name holy;(TM)
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(TN) of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(TO) in spirit will gain understanding;(TP)
those who complain will accept instruction.”(TQ)
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 “Woe(TR) to the obstinate children,”(TS)
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,(TT) but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt(TU)
without consulting(TV) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(TW)
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(TX)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade(TY) will bring you disgrace.(TZ)
4 Though they have officials in Zoan(UA)
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people(UB) useless(UC) to them,
who bring neither help(UD) nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.(UE)”
6 A prophecy(UF) concerning the animals of the Negev:(UG)
Through a land of hardship and distress,(UH)
of lions(UI) and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,(UJ)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(UK) backs,
their treasures(UL) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(UM)
Therefore I call her
Rahab(UN) the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet(UO) for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,(UP)
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.(UQ)
9 For these are rebellious(UR) people, deceitful(US) children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(UT)
10 They say to the seers,(UU)
“See no more visions(UV)!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(UW)
prophesy illusions.(UX)
11 Leave this way,(UY)
get off this path,
and stop confronting(UZ) us
with the Holy One(VA) of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One(VB) of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,(VC)
relied on oppression(VD)
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,(VE) cracked and bulging,
that collapses(VF) suddenly,(VG) in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,(VH)
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereign(VI) Lord, the Holy One(VJ) of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest(VK) is your salvation,
in quietness and trust(VL) is your strength,
but you would have none of it.(VM)
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee(VN) on horses.’(VO)
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five(VP)
you will all flee(VQ) away,
till you are left(VR)
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner(VS) on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longs(VT) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.(VU)
For the Lord is a God of justice.(VV)
Blessed are all who wait for him!(VW)
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.(VX) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!(VY) As soon as he hears, he will answer(VZ) you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread(WA) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers(WB) will be hidden(WC) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(WD) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(WE) walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols(WF) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;(WG) you will throw them away like a menstrual(WH) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!(WI)”
23 He will also send you rain(WJ) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich(WK) and plentiful.(WL) In that day(WM) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.(WN) 24 The oxen(WO) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder(WP) and mash, spread out with fork(WQ) and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter,(WR) when the towers(WS) fall, streams of water will flow(WT) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun,(WU) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals(WV) the wounds he inflicted.
27 See, the Name(WW) of the Lord comes from afar,
with burning anger(WX) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(WY)
and his tongue is a consuming fire.(WZ)
28 His breath(XA) is like a rushing torrent,(XB)
rising up to the neck.(XC)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(XD) of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit(XE) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(XF)
your hearts will rejoice(XG)
as when people playing pipes(XH) go up
to the mountain(XI) of the Lord,
to the Rock(XJ) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(XK)
and will make them see his arm(XL) coming down
with raging anger(XM) and consuming fire,(XN)
with cloudburst, thunderstorm(XO) and hail.(XP)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(XQ)
with his rod he will strike(XR) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
with his punishing club(XS)
will be to the music of timbrels(XT) and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(XU)
33 Topheth(XV) has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(XW) of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,(XX)
sets it ablaze.(XY)
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
31 Woe(XZ) to those who go down to Egypt(YA) for help,
who rely on horses,(YB)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(YC)
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(YD) of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.(YE)
2 Yet he too is wise(YF) and can bring disaster;(YG)
he does not take back his words.(YH)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(YI)
against those who help evildoers.
3 But the Egyptians(YJ) are mere mortals and not God;(YK)
their horses(YL) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(YM)
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped(YN) will fall;
all will perish together.(YO)
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion(YP) growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds(YQ)
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor(YR)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down(YS)
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5 Like birds hovering(YT) overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield(YU) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver(YV) it,
he will ‘pass over’(YW) it and will rescue it.”
6 Return,(YX) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted(YY) against. 7 For in that day(YZ) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold(ZA) your sinful hands have made.(ZB)
8 “Assyria(ZC) will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour(ZD) them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labor.(ZE)
9 Their stronghold(ZF) will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard(ZG) their commanders will panic,(ZH)”
declares the Lord,
whose fire(ZI) is in Zion,
whose furnace(ZJ) is in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
- Isaiah 22:23 Or throne
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 24:22 Or released
- Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
- Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 29:2 The Hebrew for altar hearth sounds like the Hebrew for Ariel.
- Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.