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

The people walking in darkness(C)
    have seen a great light;(D)
on those living in the land of deep darkness(E)
    a light has dawned.(F)
You have enlarged the nation(G)
    and increased their joy;(H)
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.(I)
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,(J)
    you have shattered(K)
the yoke(L) that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,(M)
    the rod of their oppressor.(N)
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,(O)
    will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,(P)
    to us a son is given,(Q)
    and the government(R) will be on his shoulders.(S)
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor,(T) Mighty God,(U)
    Everlasting(V) Father,(W) Prince of Peace.(X)
Of the greatness of his government(Y) and peace(Z)
    there will be no end.(AA)
He will reign(AB) on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice(AC) and righteousness(AD)
    from that time on and forever.(AE)
The zeal(AF) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

The Lord has sent a message(AG) against Jacob;
    it will fall on Israel.
All the people will know it—
    Ephraim(AH) and the inhabitants of Samaria(AI)
who say with pride
    and arrogance(AJ) of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;(AK)
the fig(AL) trees have been felled,
    but we will replace them with cedars.(AM)
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s(AN) foes against them
    and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans(AO) from the east and Philistines(AP) from the west
    have devoured(AQ) Israel with open mouth.

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

13 But the people have not returned(AT) to him who struck(AU) them,
    nor have they sought(AV) the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
    both palm branch and reed(AW) in a single day;(AX)
15 the elders(AY) and dignitaries(AZ) are the head,
    the prophets(BA) who teach lies(BB) are the tail.
16 Those who guide(BC) this people mislead them,
    and those who are guided are led astray.(BD)
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,(BE)
    nor will he pity(BF) the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly(BG) and wicked,(BH)
    every mouth speaks folly.(BI)

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

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(BK)
    it consumes briers and thorns,(BL)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(BM)
    so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(BN) of the Lord Almighty
    the land will be scorched(BO)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(BP)
    they will not spare one another.(BQ)
20 On the right they will devour,
    but still be hungry;(BR)
on the left they will eat,(BS)
    but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[b]:
21     Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(BT)
    together they will turn against Judah.(BU)

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

10 Woe(BW) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(BX)
to deprive(BY) the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(BZ)
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.(CA)
What will you do on the day of reckoning,(CB)
    when disaster(CC) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(CD)
    Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(CE)
    or fall among the slain.(CF)

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

God’s Judgment on Assyria

“Woe(CH) to the Assyrian,(CI) the rod(CJ) of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club(CK) of my wrath!(CL)
I send him against a godless(CM) nation,
    I dispatch(CN) him against a people who anger me,(CO)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(CP)
    and to trample(CQ) them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he intends,(CR)
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations.
‘Are not my commanders(CS) all kings?’ he says.
    ‘Has not Kalno(CT) fared like Carchemish?(CU)
Is not Hamath(CV) like Arpad,(CW)
    and Samaria(CX) like Damascus?(CY)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(CZ)
    kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
    as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(DA)’”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work(DB) against Mount Zion(DC) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(DD) for the willful pride(DE) of his heart and the haughty look(DF) in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand(DG) I have done this,(DH)
    and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
    I plundered their treasures;(DI)
    like a mighty one I subdued[c] their kings.(DJ)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(DK)
    so my hand reached for the wealth(DL) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
    so I gathered all the countries;(DM)
not one flapped a wing,
    or opened its mouth to chirp.(DN)’”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(DO)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(DP) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will send a wasting disease(DQ) upon his sturdy warriors;(DR)
under his pomp(DS) a fire(DT) will be kindled
    like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(DU)
    their Holy One(DV) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
    his thorns(DW) and his briers.(DX)
18 The splendor of his forests(DY) and fertile fields
    it will completely destroy,(DZ)
    as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(EA) will be so few(EB)
    that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day(EC) the remnant of Israel,
    the survivors(ED) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(EE) on him
    who struck them down(EF)
but will truly rely(EG) on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.(EH)
21 A remnant(EI) will return,[d](EJ) a remnant of Jacob
    will return to the Mighty God.(EK)
22 Though your people be like the sand(EL) by the sea, Israel,
    only a remnant will return.(EM)
Destruction has been decreed,(EN)
    overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
    the destruction decreed(EO) upon the whole land.(EP)

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

“My people who live in Zion,(EQ)
    do not be afraid(ER) of the Assyrians,
who beat(ES) you with a rod(ET)
    and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(EU) my anger against you will end
    and my wrath(EV) will be directed to their destruction.(EW)

26 The Lord Almighty will lash(EX) them with a whip,
    as when he struck down Midian(EY) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(EZ) over the waters,(FA)
    as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(FB) their burden(FC) will be lifted from your shoulders,
    their yoke(FD) from your neck;(FE)
the yoke(FF) will be broken
    because you have grown so fat.[e]

28 They enter Aiath;
    they pass through Migron;(FG)
    they store supplies(FH) at Mikmash.(FI)
29 They go over the pass, and say,
    “We will camp overnight at Geba.(FJ)
Ramah(FK) trembles;
    Gibeah(FL) of Saul flees.(FM)
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!(FN)
    Listen, Laishah!
    Poor Anathoth!(FO)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
    the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;(FP)
    they will shake their fist(FQ)
at the mount of Daughter Zion,(FR)
    at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(FS) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(FT)
    the tall(FU) ones will be brought low.(FV)
34 He will cut down(FW) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(FX) will fall before the Mighty One.(FY)

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot(FZ) will come up from the stump(GA) of Jesse;(GB)
    from his roots a Branch(GC) will bear fruit.(GD)
The Spirit(GE) of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom(GF) and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,(GG)
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear(GH) of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(GI)
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;(GJ)
but with righteousness(GK) he will judge the needy,(GL)
    with justice(GM) he will give decisions for the poor(GN) of the earth.
He will strike(GO) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(GP)
    with the breath(GQ) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(GR)
Righteousness will be his belt(GS)
    and faithfulness(GT) the sash around his waist.(GU)

The wolf will live with the lamb,(GV)
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[f] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(GW)
The infant(GX) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(GY) nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy(GZ)
    on all my holy mountain,(HA)
for the earth(HB) will be filled with the knowledge(HC) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(HD) the Root of Jesse(HE) will stand as a banner(HF) for the peoples; the nations(HG) will rally to him,(HH) and his resting place(HI) will be glorious.(HJ) 11 In that day(HK) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(HL) of his people from Assyria,(HM) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(HN) from Cush,[g](HO) from Elam,(HP) from Babylonia,[h] from Hamath(HQ) and from the islands(HR) of the Mediterranean.(HS)

12 He will raise a banner(HT) for the nations
    and gather(HU) the exiles of Israel;(HV)
he will assemble the scattered people(HW) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(HX)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[i] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(HY)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(HZ) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(IA)
They will subdue Edom(IB) and Moab,(IC)
    and the Ammonites(ID) will be subject to them.(IE)
15 The Lord will dry up(IF)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(IG) he will sweep his hand(IH)
    over the Euphrates River.(II)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(IJ)
16 There will be a highway(IK) for the remnant(IL) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(IM)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(IN)

Songs of Praise

12 In that day(IO) you will say:

“I will praise(IP) you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(IQ)
    and you have comforted(IR) me.
Surely God is my salvation;(IS)
    I will trust(IT) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,(IU) is my strength(IV) and my defense[j];
    he has become my salvation.(IW)
With joy you will draw water(IX)
    from the wells(IY) of salvation.

In that day(IZ) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(JA)
    make known among the nations(JB) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(JC)
Sing(JD) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;(JE)
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,(JF) people of Zion,
    for great(JG) is the Holy One of Israel(JH) among you.(JI)

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(JJ) against Babylon(JK) that Isaiah son of Amoz(JL) saw:(JM)

Raise a banner(JN) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(JO) of the nobles.
I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors(JP) to carry out my wrath(JQ)
    those who rejoice(JR) in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!(JS)
Listen, an uproar(JT) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(JU) is mustering(JV)
    an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens(JW)
the Lord and the weapons(JX) of his wrath(JY)
    to destroy(JZ) the whole country.

Wail,(KA) for the day(KB) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(KC) from the Almighty.[k](KD)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(KE)
    every heart will melt with fear.(KF)
Terror(KG) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip(KH) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.(KI)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.(KJ)

See, the day(KK) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel(KL) day, with wrath(KM) and fierce anger(KN)
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.(KO)
The rising sun(KP) will be darkened(KQ)
    and the moon will not give its light.(KR)
11 I will punish(KS) the world for its evil,
    the wicked(KT) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(KU)
    and will humble(KV) the pride of the ruthless.(KW)
12 I will make people(KX) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.(KY)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(KZ)
    and the earth will shake(LA) from its place
at the wrath(LB) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.(LC)

14 Like a hunted(LD) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,(LE)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee(LF) to their native land.(LG)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall(LH) by the sword.(LI)
16 Their infants(LJ) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(LK)

17 See, I will stir up(LL) against them the Medes,(LM)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.(LN)
18 Their bows(LO) will strike down the young men;(LP)
    they will have no mercy(LQ) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.(LR)
19 Babylon,(LS) the jewel of kingdoms,(LT)
    the pride and glory(LU) of the Babylonians,[l]
will be overthrown(LV) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.(LW)
20 She will never be inhabited(LX)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(LY) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(LZ) will lie there,
    jackals(MA) will fill her houses;
there the owls(MB) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats(MC) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(MD) will inhabit her strongholds,(ME)
    jackals(MF) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(MG)
    and her days will not be prolonged.(MH)

14 The Lord will have compassion(MI) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose(MJ) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.(MK)
Foreigners(ML) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
Nations will take them
    and bring(MM) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(MN)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(MO) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.(MP)

On the day the Lord gives you relief(MQ) from your suffering and turmoil(MR) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(MS) you will take up this taunt(MT) against the king of Babylon:(MU)

How the oppressor(MV) has come to an end!
    How his fury[m] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(MW) of the wicked,(MX)
    the scepter(MY) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(MZ)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(NA) nations
    with relentless aggression.(NB)
All the lands are at rest and at peace;(NC)
    they break into singing.(ND)
Even the junipers(NE) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(NF)

The realm of the dead(NG) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(NH) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders(NI) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.(NJ)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”(NK)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(NL)
    along with the noise of your harps;(NM)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms(NN) cover you.(NO)

12 How you have fallen(NP) from heaven,
    morning star,(NQ) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(NR)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(NS) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(NT)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(NU)
    on the utmost heights(NV) of Mount Zaphon.[n]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(NW)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(NX)
15 But you are brought down(NY) to the realm of the dead,(NZ)
    to the depths(OA) of the pit.(OB)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(OC)
“Is this the man who shook(OD) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(OE)
    who overthrew(OF) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(OG)

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(OH)
19 But you are cast out(OI) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(OJ)
    with those pierced by the sword,(OK)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(OL)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20     you will not join them in burial,(OM)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring(ON) of the wicked(OO)
    never be mentioned(OP) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(OQ)
    for the sins of their ancestors;(OR)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up(OS) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(OT) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,(OU)
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(OV)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(OW)
    declares the Lord Almighty.(OX)

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(OY)

“Surely, as I have planned,(OZ) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(PA)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(PB) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(PC) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(PD)

26 This is the plan(PE) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand(PF) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(PG) and who can thwart him?
    His hand(PH) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(PI)

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(PJ) came in the year(PK) King Ahaz(PL) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(PM)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(PN)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(PO)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(PP) will lie down in safety.(PQ)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(PR)
    it will slay(PS) your survivors.(PT)

31 Wail,(PU) you gate!(PV) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(PW)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(PX)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(PY)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(PZ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(QA)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(QB)

A Prophecy Against Moab(QC)

15 A prophecy(QD) against Moab:(QE)

Ar(QF) in Moab is ruined,(QG)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(QH) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(QI) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(QJ) to weep;
    Moab wails(QK) over Nebo(QL) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(QM)
    and every beard cut off.(QN)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(QO)
    on the roofs(QP) and in the public squares(QQ)
they all wail,(QR)
    prostrate with weeping.(QS)
Heshbon(QT) and Elealeh(QU) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(QV)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(QW) over Moab;(QX)
    her fugitives(QY) flee as far as Zoar,(QZ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(RA)
    they lament their destruction.(RB)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(RC)
    and the grass is withered;(RD)
the vegetation is gone(RE)
    and nothing green is left.(RF)
So the wealth they have acquired(RG) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(RH) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[o] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[p]
a lion(RI) upon the fugitives of Moab(RJ)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs(RK) as tribute(RL)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(RM) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.(RN)
Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,(RO)
so are the women of Moab(RP)
    at the fords(RQ) of the Arnon.(RR)

“Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(RS)
    do not betray the refugees.
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter(RT) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor(RU) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;(RV)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne(RW) will be established;(RX)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house[q] of David(RY)
one who in judging seeks justice(RZ)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

We have heard of Moab’s(SA) pride(SB)
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
Therefore the Moabites wail,(SC)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes(SD) of Kir Hareseth.(SE)
The fields of Heshbon(SF) wither,(SG)
    the vines of Sibmah(SH) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,(SI)
which once reached Jazer(SJ)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(SK)
    and went as far as the sea.[r](SL)
So I weep,(SM) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(SN)
    I drench you with tears!(SO)
The shouts of joy(SP) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests(SQ) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(SR)
    no one sings or shouts(SS) in the vineyards;
no one treads(ST) out wine at the presses,(SU)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(SV) like a harp,(SW)
    my inmost being(SX) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(SY)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(SZ) to pray,
    it is to no avail.(TA)

13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(TB) as a servant bound by contract(TC) would count them,(TD) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(TE) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(TF)

A Prophecy Against Damascus

17 A prophecy(TG) against Damascus:(TH)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.(TI)
The cities of Aroer(TJ) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,(TK) which will lie down,(TL)
    with no one to make them afraid.(TM)
The fortified(TN) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory(TO) of the Israelites,”(TP)
declares the Lord Almighty.

“In that day(TQ) the glory(TR) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste(TS) away.
It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering(TT) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(TU)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.(TV)
Yet some gleanings will remain,(TW)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,(TX)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

In that day(TY) people will look(TZ) to their Maker(UA)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One(UB) of Israel.
They will not look to the altars,(UC)
    the work of their hands,(UD)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[s](UE)
    and the incense altars their fingers(UF) have made.

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(UG) And all will be desolation.

10 You have forgotten(UH) God your Savior;(UI)
    you have not remembered the Rock,(UJ) your fortress.(UK)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,(UL)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning(UM) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(UN) will be as nothing(UO)
    in the day of disease and incurable(UP) pain.(UQ)

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(UR)
    they rage like the raging sea!(US)
Woe to the peoples who roar(UT)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(UU)
13 Although the peoples roar(UV) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(UW) them they flee(UX) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(UY) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(UZ)
14 In the evening, sudden(VA) terror!(VB)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(VC)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.
  2. Isaiah 9:20 Or arm
  3. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
  4. Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
  5. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders
  6. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed
  7. Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region
  8. Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar
  9. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
  10. Isaiah 12:2 Or song
  11. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
  12. Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
  13. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  14. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
  15. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  16. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  17. Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
  18. Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
  19. Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;

12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.

14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

10 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:

29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.

30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.

31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.

32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

11 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

12 And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

13 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:

And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.

16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

14 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

24 The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

15 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;

He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.

For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.

For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.

For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

16 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.

For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.

Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.

10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.

11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

17 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.

At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.