27 See, the Name(A) of the Lord comes from afar,
    with burning anger(B) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(C)
    and his tongue is a consuming fire.(D)
28 His breath(E) is like a rushing torrent,(F)
    rising up to the neck.(G)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(H) of destruction;
    he places in the jaws of the peoples
    a bit(I) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
    as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(J)
your hearts will rejoice(K)
    as when people playing pipes(L) go up
to the mountain(M) of the Lord,
    to the Rock(N) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(O)
    and will make them see his arm(P) coming down
with raging anger(Q) and consuming fire,(R)
    with cloudburst, thunderstorm(S) and hail.(T)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(U)
    with his rod he will strike(V) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
    with his punishing club(W)
will be to the music of timbrels(X) and harps,
    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(Y)
33 Topheth(Z) has long been prepared;
    it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
    with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(AA) of the Lord,
    like a stream of burning sulfur,(AB)
    sets it ablaze.(AC)

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Judgment on Assyria

27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
    his anger burning and his burden heavy;[a]
his lips are full of indignation,
    and his tongue is like a devouring fire;(A)
28 his breath is like an overflowing stream
    that reaches up to the neck—
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction
    and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads them astray.(B)

29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.(C) 30 And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones.(D) 31 The Assyrian will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord when he strikes with his rod.(E) 32 And every stroke of the staff of punishment[b] that the Lord lays upon him will be to the sound of timbrels and lyres with dancing;[c] with brandished arm he will fight with him.(F) 33 For his burning place[d] has long been prepared, also for the king;[e] its pyre is made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 30.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 30.32 Heb mss Syr: MT foundation
  3. 30.32 Cn: Heb and with battles
  4. 30.33 Or Topheth
  5. 30.33 Or Molech