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Isaiah 31-34
GOD’S WORD Translation
Isaiah 31-34
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord, Not the Egyptians, Will Protect His People from Assyria
31 How horrible it will be for those
who go to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who depend on many chariots,
who depend on very strong war horses.
They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel.
They don’t seek the Lord.
2 He is wise and can bring about disaster.
He doesn’t take back his words.
He rises against wicked people
and against those who help troublemakers.
3 The Egyptians are humans, not gods.
Their horses are flesh and blood, not spirit.
When the Lord uses his powerful hand,
the one who gives help will stumble,
and the one who receives help will fall.
Both will die together.
4 This is what the Lord said to me:
A lion, even a young lion, growls over its prey
when a crowd of shepherds is called to fight it.
It isn’t frightened by their voices
or disturbed by the noise they make.
So the Lord of Armies will come to fight for
Mount Zion and its hill.
5 The Lord of Armies will defend Jerusalem like a hovering bird.
He will defend it and rescue it.
He will pass over it and protect it.
6 You people of Israel, return to the one
whom you have so violently rebelled against.
7 When that day comes, all of you will reject
the silver and gold idols
that your sinful hands have made.
8 Then Assyrians will be killed with swords not made by human hands.
Swords not made by human hands will destroy them.
They will flee from battle,
and their young men will be made to do forced labor.
9 In terror they will run to their stronghold,
and their officers will be frightened at ⌞the sight of⌟ the battle flag.
The Lord declares this. His fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem.
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit and Bring Peace
32 A king will rule with fairness,
and officials will rule with justice.
2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind
and a hiding place from the rain.
They will be like streams on parched ground
and the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
3 Then the vision of those who can see won’t be blurred,
and the ears of those who can hear will pay attention.
4 Then those who are reckless will begin to understand,
and those who stutter will speak quickly and clearly.
5 Godless fools will no longer be called nobles,
nor will scoundrels be considered gentlemen.
6 Godless fools speak foolishness,
and their minds plan evil
in order to do ungodly things.
They speak falsely about the Lord.
They let people go hungry
and withhold water from thirsty people.
7 The tricks of scoundrels are evil.
They devise wicked plans in order to ruin poor people with lies,
even when needy people plead for justice.
8 But honorable people act honorably
and stand firm for what is honorable.
9 Get up, and listen to me, you pampered women.
Hear what I say, you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little less than a year
you overconfident women will tremble,
because the grape harvest will fail
and no fruit will be brought in ⌞from the fields⌟.
11 Shudder, you pampered women.
Tremble, you overconfident women.
Take off your clothes, walk around naked,
and wear sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts as you mourn for the fields,
for the vines bearing grapes.
13 Mourn for my people’s land where thorns and briars will grow.
Mourn for all the happy homes in a joyful city.
14 Palaces will be deserted.
Noisy cities will be abandoned.
Fortresses and watchtowers will become permanent caves.
They will be a delight for wild donkeys and pastures for flocks
15 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high.
Then the wilderness will be turned into a fertile field,
and the fertile field will be considered a forest.
16 Then justice will live in the wilderness,
and righteousness will be at home in the fertile field.
17 Then an act of righteousness will bring about peace,
calm, and safety forever.
18 My people will live in a peaceful place,
in safe homes and quiet places of rest.
19 The forest will be flattened because of hail,
and the city will be completely leveled.
20 Blessed are those who plant beside every stream
and those who let oxen and donkeys roam freely.
The Lord Will Rescue Jerusalem from Assyria
33 How horrible it will be for you, you destroyer,
although you haven’t been destroyed.
How horrible it will be for you, you traitor,
although you haven’t been betrayed.
When you’ve finished destroying, you will be destroyed.
When you’ve finished being a traitor, you will be betrayed.
2 O Lord, have pity on us.
We wait with hope for you.
Be our strength in the morning.
Yes, be our savior in times of trouble.
3 People flee from the noise of ⌞your⌟ army.
Nations scatter when you attack.
4 You nations, your loot is gathered as grasshoppers harvest a crop.
Like swarming locusts, people rush for your loot.
5 The Lord is honored because he lives on high.
He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the foundation of your future.
The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is ⌞your⌟ treasure.
7 Heroes cry in the streets.
Messengers of peace cry bitterly.
8 Highways are deserted.
Travelers stop traveling.
Agreements are broken.
Witnesses [a] are rejected.
People are no longer respected.
9 The country grieves and wastes away.
Lebanon is ashamed and is decaying.
Sharon has become like a wilderness.
Bashan and Carmel are shaken.
10 The Lord says, “Now I will arise.
Now I will get up.
Now I will be lifted up.”
11 You will be pregnant with hay.
You will give birth to straw.
Your breath will be a fire which will burn you up.
12 People will be cremated.
They will be set on fire like dry thornbushes.
13 Hear what I have done, you people who are far away!
Acknowledge my might, you people who are near!
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified.
Trembling seizes the ungodly.
Can any of us live through a fire that destroys?
Can any of us live through a fire that burns forever?
15 The person who does what is right and speaks the truth will live.
He rejects getting rich by extortion and refuses to take bribes.
He refuses to listen to those who are plotting murders.
He doesn’t look for evil things to do.
16 This person will live on high.
His stronghold will be a fortress made of rock.
He will have plenty of food
and a dependable supply of water.
17 Your eyes will see how handsome the king is.
You will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18 Your mind will be thinking of the terrors ⌞in the past⌟.
Where are the scribes?
Where are the tax collectors?
Where are those who counted the towers?
19 You will no longer see those savage people,
those people with an unrecognizable language,
with a foreign language that you can’t understand.
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festivals.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a peaceful place.
It is a tent that can’t be moved.
Its tent pegs will never be pulled out,
and none of its ropes will be broken.
21 The Lord will be our mighty defender
in a place surrounded by wide rivers and streams.
Ships with oars won’t travel on them.
Stately ships won’t sail on them.
22 The Lord is our judge.
The Lord is our lawgiver.
The Lord is our king.
The Lord is our savior.
23 Your ropes hang loose,
your mast isn’t secure,
and your sail isn’t spread out.
A large amount of loot will be distributed.
Lame people will carry off your loot.
24 No one who lives ⌞in Zion⌟ will say, “I’m sick.”
The sins of its inhabitants will be forgiven.
The Fall of Edom Is a Glimpse of the Lord’s Judgment
34 Come close, you nations, and listen.
Pay attention, you people.
The earth, everyone in it,
the world, and everything on it will listen.
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations.
He is furious with all their armies.
He has claimed them for destruction.
He has handed them over to be slaughtered.
3 Their dead bodies will be thrown out.
A stench will rise from their corpses.
Mountains will be red with their blood.
4 All the stars in the sky will rot.
The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll.
The stars will fall
like leaves from a grapevine,
like green figs from a fig tree.
5 When my sword is covered ⌞with blood⌟ in the heavens,
it will fall on Edom
and on the people I’ve claimed for destruction.
6 The Lord’s sword is covered with blood.
It is covered with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
The Lord will receive a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a huge slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will be killed with them,
young bulls along with rams.
Their land will be drenched with blood.
Their dust will be covered with fat.
8 The Lord will have a day of vengeance,
a year of revenge in defense of Zion.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned to tar.
Its soil will be turned to burning sulfur.
Its land will become blazing tar.
10 They will not be extinguished day or night,
and smoke will always go up from them.
Edom will lie in ruins for generations.
No one will ever travel through it.
11 Pelicans and herons will take possession of the land.
Owls and crows will live there.
He will stretch the measuring line of chaos
and the plumb line of destruction over it.
12 There are no nobles to rule a kingdom.
All of its princes have disappeared.
13 Its palaces are covered with thorns.
Its fortresses have nettles and thistles.
It will become a home for jackals
and a place for ostriches.
14 Hyenas will meet with jackals.
Male goats will call to their mates.
Screech owls will rest there
and find a resting place for themselves.
15 Owls will make their nests there, lay eggs, and hatch them.
They will gather their young
in the shadow of ⌞their wings⌟.
Vultures also will gather there,
each one with its mate.
16 Search the Lord’s book, and read it.
Not one of these animals will be missing.
Not one will lack a mate,
because the Lord has commanded it,
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He is the one who throws dice for them,
and his hand divides up ⌞the land⌟ for them with a measuring line.
They will possess it permanently
and live there for generations.
Footnotes
- 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text “Cities.”
Isaiah 31-34
New International Version
Isaiah 31-34
New International Version
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
31 Woe(A) to those who go down to Egypt(B) for help,
who rely on horses,(C)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(D)
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(E) of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.(F)
2 Yet he too is wise(G) and can bring disaster;(H)
he does not take back his words.(I)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(J)
against those who help evildoers.
3 But the Egyptians(K) are mere mortals and not God;(L)
their horses(M) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(N)
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped(O) will fall;
all will perish together.(P)
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion(Q) growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds(R)
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor(S)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down(T)
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5 Like birds hovering(U) overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield(V) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver(W) it,
he will ‘pass over’(X) it and will rescue it.”
6 Return,(Y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted(Z) against. 7 For in that day(AA) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold(AB) your sinful hands have made.(AC)
8 “Assyria(AD) will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour(AE) them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labor.(AF)
9 Their stronghold(AG) will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard(AH) their commanders will panic,(AI)”
declares the Lord,
whose fire(AJ) is in Zion,
whose furnace(AK) is in Jerusalem.
The Kingdom of Righteousness
32 See, a king(AL) will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.(AM)
2 Each one will be like a shelter(AN) from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,(AO)
like streams of water(AP) in the desert(AQ)
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,(AR)
and the ears(AS) of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,(AT)
and the stammering tongue(AU) will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool(AV) be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,(AW)
their hearts are bent on evil:(AX)
They practice ungodliness(AY)
and spread error(AZ) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(BA)
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,(BB)
they make up evil schemes(BC)
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy(BD) is just.(BE)
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds(BF) they stand.(BG)
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women(BH) who are so complacent,
rise up and listen(BI) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(BJ)
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year(BK)
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,(BL)
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,(BM) you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!(BN)
Strip off your fine clothes(BO)
and wrap yourselves in rags.(BP)
12 Beat your breasts(BQ) for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines(BR)
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briers(BS)—
yes, mourn(BT) for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.(BU)
14 The fortress(BV) will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;(BW)
citadel and watchtower(BX) will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys,(BY) a pasture for flocks,(BZ)
15 till the Spirit(CA) is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,(CB)
and the fertile field seems like a forest.(CC)
16 The Lord’s justice(CD) will dwell in the desert,(CE)
his righteousness(CF) live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness(CG) will be peace;(CH)
its effect will be quietness and confidence(CI) forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful(CJ) dwelling places,
in secure homes,(CK)
in undisturbed places of rest.(CL)
19 Though hail(CM) flattens the forest(CN)
and the city is leveled(CO) completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
sowing(CP) your seed by every stream,(CQ)
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.(CR)
Distress and Help
33 Woe(CS) to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;(CT)
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.(CU)
2 Lord, be gracious(CV) to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength(CW) every morning,
our salvation(CX) in time of distress.(CY)
3 At the uproar of your army,(CZ) the peoples flee;(DA)
when you rise up,(DB) the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder,(DC) O nations, is harvested(DD) as by young locusts;(DE)
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted,(DF) for he dwells on high;(DG)
he will fill Zion with his justice(DH) and righteousness.(DI)
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation(DJ) and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear(DK) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a](DL)
7 Look, their brave men(DM) cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys(DN) of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers(DO) are on the roads.(DP)
The treaty is broken,(DQ)
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up(DR) and wastes away,
Lebanon(DS) is ashamed and withers;(DT)
Sharon(DU) is like the Arabah,
and Bashan(DV) and Carmel(DW) drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,(DX)” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;(DY)
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(DZ) chaff,
you give birth(EA) to straw;
your breath is a fire(EB) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(EC)
like cut thornbushes(ED) they will be set ablaze.(EE)”
13 You who are far away,(EF) hear(EG) what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(EH) in Zion are terrified;
trembling(EI) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(EJ)
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously(EK)
and speak what is right,(EL)
who reject gain from extortion(EM)
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(EN)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes(EO) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(EP)
whose refuge(EQ) will be the mountain fortress.(ER)
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail(ES) them.
17 Your eyes will see the king(ET) in his beauty(EU)
and view a land that stretches afar.(EV)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(EW)
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(EX)”
19 You will see those arrogant people(EY) no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(EZ)
20 Look on Zion,(FA) the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode,(FB) a tent(FC) that will not be moved;(FD)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty(FE) One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(FF)
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship(FG) will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,(FH)
the Lord is our lawgiver,(FI)
the Lord is our king;(FJ)
it is he who will save(FK) us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame(FL) will carry off plunder.(FM)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;(FN)
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(FO)
Judgment Against the Nations
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(FP)
pay attention, you peoples!(FQ)
Let the earth(FR) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(FS)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(FT) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[c](FU) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(FV)
3 Their slain(FW) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(FX) will stink;(FY)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(FZ)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(GA)
and the heavens rolled up(GB) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(GC)
like withered(GD) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(GE) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(GF)
the people I have totally destroyed.(GG)
6 The sword(GH) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(GI) in Bozrah(GJ)
and a great slaughter(GK) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(GL) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(GM)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(GN)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(GO) of vengeance,(GP)
a year of retribution,(GQ) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(GR)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(GS) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(GT)
From generation to generation(GU) it will lie desolate;(GV)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[d](GW) and screech owl[e] will possess it;
the great owl[f] and the raven(GX) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(GY)
the measuring line of chaos(GZ)
and the plumb line(HA) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(HB) will vanish(HC) away.
13 Thorns(HD) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(HE)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(HF)
a home for owls.(HG)
14 Desert creatures(HH) will meet with hyenas,(HI)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(HJ) will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;(HK)
there also the falcons(HL) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(HM) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(HN)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(HO) that has given the order,(HP)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(HQ)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(HR)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
- Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities
- Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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