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Isaiah 21-24
Complete Jewish Bible
Isaiah 21-24
Complete Jewish Bible
21 A prophecy about the coastal desert:
Like whirlwinds sweeping over the Negev,
it comes from the desert, from a fearsome land.
2 A dire vision has been shown to me:
the betrayer betrays, and the spoiler spoils.
‘Eilam, advance! Madai, lay siege!
I will end all groaning.
3 This is why my insides are racked with pain;
I am seized by pangs, like a woman in labor;
wrenched by what I hear,
aghast at what I see.
4 My mind reels, shuddering assails me.
The twilight I longed for terrifies me.
5 They set the table, light the lamps,
eat and drink —
“Get going, princes! Oil the shields!”
6 For this is what Adonai said to me:
“Go, post a watchman to report what he sees!
7 If he sees the cavalry, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
he must be on alert, on full alert!”
8 He calls out like a lion: “My lord,
I stand on the watchtower all day long,
I stay at my post all night.”
9 Then, as they appeared — the cavalry,
horsemen in pairs — he spoke these words:
“She has fallen! She has fallen — Bavel!
All the carved images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”
10 My people, who have been threshed,
grain trodden down on my threshing-floor:
I am telling you what I have heard
from Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el.
11 A prophecy about Dumah:
Someone is calling to me from Se‘ir:
“Watchman, how much longer is it night?
Watchman, how much longer is it night?”
12 The watchman answers:
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you want to ask, ask! Come back again!”
13 A prophecy about Arabia:
You caravans of D’danim will camp
in the desert growth of Arabia.
14 Bring water to the thirsty, you who live in Teima,
greet the fugitives with food;
15 because they are fleeing the sword, the drawn sword,
the bent bow and the press of battle.
16 For this is what Adonai has told me: “Within a year [and not a day more], as if a hired worker were keeping track of the time, the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Few of Kedar’s valiant archers will be left. ” Adonai the God of Isra’el has spoken.
22 A prophecy about the Valley of Vision:
Tell me what is wrong with you,
that you have all gone up on the roofs.
2 You city full of noise, confusion
and boisterous excitement,
your slain did not fall to the sword,
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders fled together
and were captured without the use of a bow;
all from you who were found were captured,
even though they had fled far away.
4 This is why I said, “Don’t look at me,
leave me alone to weep bitterly,
don’t try to comfort me
over the destruction of my people.”
5 For it is a day of panic,
trampling and confusion
from Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot
in the Valley of Vision.
With walls crashing down,
they cry for help to the mountains.
6 ‘Eilam picks up the quivers,
with cavalry and horsemen,
and Kir uncovers the shields.
7 In time, your choicest valleys
are overrun by chariots,
and the cavalry take their posts by the gate;
8 thus is Y’hudah’s protection removed.
That day you looked for the armor
in the House of the Forest.
9 You saw how many breaches there were
in the City of David,
you collected water from the lower pool,
10 you surveyed the houses in Yerushalayim,
tearing some down to fortify the wall.
11 You also built a reservoir between the two walls
for the water from the Old Pool;
but you didn’t look to Him who made these things;
you had no respect for Him who fashioned them long ago.
12 That day Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot
called on you to weep and mourn,
to shave your heads and wear sackcloth;
13 but instead, one sees joy and celebrating,
killing of oxen, slaughtering of sheep,
eating of meat, drinking of wine —
“Let’s eat and drink now,
because tomorrow we’ll be dead!”
14 Then Adonai-Tzva’ot revealed himself in my ears: “You will not atone for this iniquity until you die.” This is what Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot says.
15 Thus says Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot: “Go and find that steward, Shevna, administrator of the palace, and ask him:
16 ‘What do you own here,
and who gave you the right
to cut yourself a tomb here?
Why do you get such an eminent tomb?
Why are you carving a resting-place
for yourself in the rock?’”
17 Look, strong man! Adonai is about
to throw you out! He will grab you,
18 roll you up, and toss you around
like a ball in the open country.
There you will die, with your fancy chariots,
you disgrace to your master’s palace!
19 “I will remove you from your office,
I will snatch you from your post.
20 When that day comes, I will summon
my servant Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu.
21 I will dress him in your robe,
gird him with your sash of office,
and invest him with your authority.
He will be a father to the people
living in Yerushalayim
and to the house of Y’hudah.
22 I will place the key of David’s house
on his shoulder;
no one will shut what he opens;
no one will open what he shuts.
23 “I will fasten him firmly in place like a peg, so that he will become a seat of honor for his clan. 24 They will hang on him all the weight of his clan, descendants and offspring, as well as all the vessels of small capacity, from pitchers to cups. 25 When that day comes, the peg fastened firmly in place will give way; it will be cut down and fall, and the weight that was on it will be cut off.” For Adonai has said it.
23 A prophecy about Tzor:
Howl, you “Tarshish” ships,
because the harbor is destroyed!
On returning from Kittim,
they discover they cannot enter it.
2 Silence, you who live on the coast,
you who have been enriched
by the merchants of Tzidon crossing the sea.
3 By the great water the grain of Shichor,
the harvest of the Nile, brought you profits.
She was marketplace for the nations.
4 Shame, Tzidon, for the sea speaks;
the fortress of the sea says,
“I no longer have labor pains or bear children,
yet I have raised neither boys nor girls.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the fate of Tzor.
6 Cross over to Tarshish!
Howl, you who live on the coast!
7 Is this your boisterous city,
whose feet long ago in antiquity
carried her off to found distant colonies?
8 Who planned this against Tzor,
the city that once bestowed crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are honored throughout the earth?
9 Adonai-Tzva’ot planned it
to break the pride of all the arrogant,
to humiliate all those who are honored
everywhere on earth.
10 People of Tarshish!
Nothing restricts you now.
You can flow freely over your land
just like the Nile River.
11 He has stretched out his hand against the sea,
he has shaken kingdoms;
Adonai has ordered that Kena‘an’s
fortresses be destroyed.
12 He has said, “Exult no more,
oppressed virgin daughter of Tzidon.
Arise, cross to Kittim;
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Kasdim!
This was the people who did not exist
when Ashur destined it for desert creatures.
They erected their siege towers
and tore down her palaces,
so that it has been made a ruin.
14 Howl, you “Tarshish” ships,
because your fortress is destroyed.
15 When that day comes, Tzor will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of a king. After seventy years, its fate will be the same as that of the prostitute in this song:
16 “Take a lyre, walk the city,
you poor, forgotten whore!
Play sweetly, sing all your songs,
so that they will remember you!”
17 After seventy years are over Adonai will remember Tzor. She will receive her wages again and prostitute herself to all the world’s kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 But her merchandise and profits will be dedicated to Adonai; they will not be stored up or hoarded, because her profits will be for those living in Adonai’s presence, so that they can eat their fill and wear fine clothing.
24 Look! Adonai is stripping
and destroying the land,
turning it upside down
and scattering its inhabitants —
2 cohen and commoner, slave and master,
maid and mistress, buyer and seller,
lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
3 The land will be completely stripped,
completely plundered,
for Adonai has spoken this word.
4 The land fades and withers,
the world wilts and withers,
the exalted of the land languish.
5 The land lies defiled under its inhabitants;
because they have transgressed the teachings,
changed the law
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse is devouring the land,
and its inhabitants are punished for their guilt.
It is why those living there waste away,
and the people left are few.
7 The new wine fails, the vines wilt,
all the revelers sigh,
8 the happy sound of tambourines ceases,
the shouts of merrymakers are stilled,
the joy of the lyre ends.
9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine,
strong liquor tastes bitter to those drinking it.
10 The city of chaos is shattered,
every house closed up; no one can enter.
11 In the streets they are crying over the wine;
all joy has faded, cheer has left the land.
12 In the city, only desolation,
its gates are battered beyond repair.
13 Around the earth, among the peoples,
it will be as when beating an olive tree,
as when gleaning the grapes at the end of the harvest.
14 They lift their voices, singing for joy,
shouting from the west to honor Adonai.
15 So in the east, honor Adonai ;
in the coastlands, honor the name of Adonai,
the God of Isra’el.
16 From the farthest part of the earth
we have heard them sing,
“Glory to the Righteous One!”
But, I say, I’m wasting away,
I am wasting away!
Woe to me! Traitors betray!
Oh, how the traitors betray and betray!
17 Terror, pit and trap are upon you,
you who are living on earth.
18 He who flees at the sound of terror
will fall into the pit.
He who climbs up out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
For the windows above have been opened,
and the earth’s foundations shake.
19 The earth cracks and breaks open,
the earth crumbles to pieces,
the earth trembles and totters.
20 The earth staggers to and fro like a drunk,
sways back and forth like a watchman’s shelter;
its transgression weighs heavy upon it;
it will fall and not rise again.
21 When that day comes, Adonai will punish
the armies of the high heaven on high,
and the kings of the earth here on earth.
22 They will be assembled like prisoners in a dungeon
and shut up in prison to be punished many years.
23 Then the moon will be confused and the sun ashamed,
for Adonai-Tzva’ot will rule on Mount Tziyon
and in Yerushalayim,
with his glory manifest to the rulers of his people.
Isaiah 21-24
New International Version
Isaiah 21-24
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)
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
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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