⁴ Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(P)
a brood of evildoers,^(Q)
    children given to corruption!^(R)
They have forsaken^(S) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(T) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(U) on him.

⁵ Why should you be beaten^(V) anymore?
    Why do you persist^(W) in rebellion?^(X)
Your whole head is injured,
    your whole heart^(Y) afflicted.^(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head^(AA)
    there is no soundness^(AB)—
only wounds and welts^(AC)
    and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged^(AD)
    or soothed with olive oil.^(AE)

⁷ Your country is desolate,^(AF)
    your cities burned with fire;^(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners^(AH)
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.^(AI)
8 Daughter Zion^(AJ) is left^(AK)
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut^(AL) in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
⁹ Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,^(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.^(AN)

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord,^(AO)
    you rulers of Sodom;^(AP)
listen to the instruction^(AQ) of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!^(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;^(AS)
I have no pleasure^(AT)
    in the blood of bulls^(AU) and lambs and goats.^(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,^(AW)
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!^(AX)
    Your incense^(AY) is detestable^(AZ) to me.
New Moons,^(BA) Sabbaths and convocations^(BB)—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon^(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals^(BD)
    I hate with all my being.^(BE)
They have become a burden to me;^(BF)
    I am weary^(BG) of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands^(BH) in prayer,
    I hide^(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.^(BJ)

Your hands^(BK) are full of blood!^(BL)

¹⁶ Wash^(BM) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(BN)
    stop doing wrong.^(BO)
17 Learn to do right;^(BP) seek justice.^(BQ)
    Defend the oppressed.^[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;^(BS)
    plead the case of the widow.^(BT)

⁶ With what shall I come before^(A) the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?^(B)
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,^(C)
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?^(D)
Shall I offer my firstborn^(E) for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?^(F)
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly^(G) and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly^[a](H) with your God.^(I)

Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(E)
    to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive^(F) nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers.^(G)

³ All you people of the world,^(H)
    you who live on the earth,
when a banner^(I) is raised on the mountains,
    you will see it,
and when a trumpet^(J) sounds,
    you will hear it.
⁴ This is what the Lord says to me:
    “I will remain quiet^(K) and will look on from my dwelling place,^(L)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,^(M)
    like a cloud of dew^(N) in the heat of harvest.”
⁵ For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off^(O) the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.^(P)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey^(Q)
    and to the wild animals;^(R)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter.

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(T)
    from a people feared^(U) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers^(V)—

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud^(Z)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt^(AA) with fear.

² “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,^(AB)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.^(AC)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,^(AD)
    and I will bring their plans^(AE) to nothing;^(AF)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.^(AG)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king^(AH) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

⁵ The waters of the river will dry up,^(AI)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.^(AJ)
6 The canals will stink;^(AK)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.^(AL)
The reeds^(AM) and rushes will wither,^(AN)
7     also the plants^(AO) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field^(AP) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.^(AQ)
8 The fishermen^(AR) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks^(AS) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
⁹ Those who work with combed flax^(AT) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen^(AU) will lose hope.
¹⁰ The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹¹ The officials of Zoan^(AV) are nothing but fools;
    the wise counselors^(AW) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.^(AX)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the wise men,^(AY)
    a disciple of the ancient kings”?

¹² Where are your wise men^(AZ) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned^(BA) against Egypt.
¹³ The officials of Zoan^(BB) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis^(BC) are deceived;
the cornerstones^(BD) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ The Lord has poured into them
    a spirit of dizziness;^(BE)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
    as a drunkard staggers^(BF) around in his vomit.
¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.^(BG)

Like whirlwinds^(DU) sweeping through the southland,^(DV)
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.

² A dire^(DW) vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays,^(DX) the looter takes loot.
Elam,^(DY) attack! Media,^(DZ) lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³ At this my body is racked with pain,^(EA)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(EB)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered^(EC) by what I see.
⁴ My heart^(ED) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;^(EE)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror^(EF) to me.

⁵ They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!^(EG)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!^(EH)

“Go, post a lookout^(EI)
    and have him report what he sees.
⁷ When he sees chariots^(EJ)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,^(EK)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

“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^(EM)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon^(EN) has fallen,^(EO) has fallen!
All the images of its gods^(EP)
    lie shattered^(EQ) on the ground!’”

¹⁰ My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(ER)
    I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
    from the God of Israel.

Someone calls to me from Seir,^(ET)
    “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.”

You caravans of Dedanites,^(EW)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
¹⁴     bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,^(EX)
    bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵ They flee^(EY) from the sword,^(EZ)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the roofs,^(FI)
2 you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult^(FJ) and revelry?^(FK)
Your slain^(FL) were not killed by the sword,^(FM)
    nor did they die in battle.
³ All your leaders have fled^(FN) together;
    they have been captured^(FO) 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^(FP) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
    over the destruction of my people.”^(FQ)

⁵ The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day^(FR)
    of tumult and trampling^(FS) and terror^(FT)
    in the Valley of Vision,^(FU)
a day of battering down walls^(FV)
    and of crying out to the mountains.
⁶ Elam^(FW) takes up the quiver,^(FX)
    with her charioteers and horses;
    Kir^(FY) uncovers the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys^(FZ) are full of chariots,
    and horsemen are posted at the city gates.^(GA)

⁸ The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day^(GB)
    to the weapons^(GC) in the Palace of the Forest.^(GD)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through^(GE) in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.^(GF)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses^(GG) to strengthen the wall.^(GH)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls^(GI)
    for the water of the Old Pool,^(GJ)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard^(GK) for the One who planned^(GL) it long ago.

¹² The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day^(GM)
to weep^(GN) and to wail,
    to tear out your hair^(GO) and put on sackcloth.^(GP)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,^(GQ)
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!^(GR)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”^(GS)

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna^(GV) the palace^(GW) administrator:^(GX)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave^(GY) for yourself^(GZ) 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^(HA) you away, you mighty man.
¹⁸ He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw^(HB) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots^(HC) 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^(HD) from your position.^(HE)

Wail,^(HV) you ships^(HW) of Tarshish!^(HX)
    For Tyre is destroyed^(HY)
    and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

² Be silent,^(HZ) you people of the island
    and you merchants^(IA) of Sidon,^(IB)
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
³ On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;^(IC)
the harvest of the Nile^[i](ID) was the revenue of Tyre,^(IE)
    and she became the marketplace of the nations.

⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon,^(IF) and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;^(IG)
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
⁵ When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish^(IH) at the report from Tyre.^(II)

⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;^(IJ)
    wail, you people of the island.
⁷ Is this your city of revelry,^(IK)
    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^(IL) are princes,
    whose traders^(IM) are renowned in the earth?
⁹ The Lord Almighty planned^(IN) it,
    to bring down^(IO) her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble^(IP) all who are renowned^(IQ) on the earth.

¹⁰ Till^[j] 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^(IR) over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.^(IS)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.^(IT)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,^(IU)
    Virgin Daughter^(IV) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;^(IW)
    even there you will find no rest.”
¹³ Look at the land of the Babylonians,^[k](IX)
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians^(IY) have made it
    a place for desert creatures;^(IZ)
they raised up their siege towers,^(JA)
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.^(JB)

¹⁴ Wail, you ships^(JC) of Tarshish;^(JD)
    your fortress is destroyed!^(JE)

¹⁶ “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;^(JH)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

⁴ The earth dries up^(JX) and withers,^(JY)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens^(JZ) languish with the earth.^(KA)
5 The earth is defiled^(KB) by its people;
    they have disobeyed^(KC) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.^(KD)
6 Therefore a curse^(KE) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,^(KF)
    and very few are left.
⁷ The new wine dries up^(KG) and the vine withers;^(KH)
    all the merrymakers groan.^(KI)
8 The joyful timbrels^(KJ) are stilled,
    the noise^(KK) of the revelers^(KL) has stopped,
    the joyful harp^(KM) is silent.^(KN)
9 No longer do they drink wine^(KO) with a song;
    the beer is bitter^(KP) to its drinkers.
¹⁰ The ruined city^(KQ) lies desolate;^(KR)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
¹¹ In the streets they cry out^(KS) for wine;^(KT)
    all joy turns to gloom,^(KU)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
¹² The city is left in ruins,^(KV)
    its gate^(KW) is battered to pieces.
¹³ So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,^(KX)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.^(KY)

¹⁴ They raise their voices, they shout for joy;^(KZ)
    from the west^(LA) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵ Therefore in the east^(LB) give glory^(LC) to the Lord;
    exalt^(LD) the name^(LE) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands^(LF) of the sea.
¹⁶ From the ends of the earth^(LG) we hear singing:^(LH)
    “Glory^(LI) to the Righteous One.”^(LJ)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!^(LK)
    Woe^(LL) to me!
The treacherous^(LM) betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!^(LN)”
¹⁷ Terror^(LO) and pit and snare^(LP) await you,
    people of the earth.^(LQ)
18 Whoever flees^(LR) at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;^(LS)
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.^(LT)

The floodgates of the heavens^(LU) are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.^(LV)
19 The earth is broken up,^(LW)
    the earth is split asunder,^(LX)
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth reels like a drunkard,^(LY)
    it sways like a hut^(LZ) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion^(MA)
    that it falls^(MB)—never to rise again.^(MC)

²¹ In that day^(MD) the Lord will punish^(ME)
    the powers^(MF) in the heavens above
    and the kings^(MG) on the earth below.
²² They will be herded together
    like prisoners^(MH) bound in a dungeon;^(MI)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished^[l] after many days.^(MJ)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun^(MK) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign^(ML)
    on Mount Zion^(MM) and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders—with great glory.^(MN)

⁶ On this mountain^(NI) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast^(NJ) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.^(NK)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud^(NL) that enfolds all peoples,^(NM)
the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸     he will swallow up death^(NN) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears^(NO)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace^(NP)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.^(NQ)

“Surely this is our God;^(NS)
    we trusted^(NT) in him, and he saved^(NU) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice^(NV) and be glad in his salvation.”^(NW)

¹⁰ The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;^(NX)
    but Moab^(NY) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
¹¹ They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down^(NZ) their pride^(OA)
    despite the cleverness^[m] of their hands.
¹² He will bring down your high fortified walls^(OB)
    and lay them low;^(OC)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

We have a strong city;^(OF)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(OG) and ramparts.^(OH)
2 Open the gates^(OI)
    that the righteous^(OJ) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace^(OK)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(OL) in you.
⁴ Trust^(OM) in the Lord forever,^(ON)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(OO) eternal.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(OP)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(OQ)
6 Feet trample^(OR) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(OS)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(OT)

⁷ The path of the righteous is level;^(OU)
    you, the Upright One,^(OV) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(OW)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[n](OX)
    we wait^(OY) for you;
your name^(OZ) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night;^(PA)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(PB) for you.
When your judgments^(PC) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(PD)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(PE)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(PF)
    and do not regard^(PG) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(PH)
    but they do not see^(PI) it.
Let them see your zeal^(PJ) for your people and be put to shame;^(PK)
    let the fire^(PL) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹² Lord, you establish peace^(PM) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(PN) for us.
¹³ Lord our God, other lords^(PO) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(PP) alone do we honor.^(PQ)
14 They are now dead,^(PR) they live no more;
    their spirits^(PS) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(PT)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(PU)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(PV)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(PW) of the land.

¹⁶ Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(PX)
    when you disciplined^(PY) them,
    they could barely whisper^(PZ) a prayer.^[o]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(QA)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸ We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(QB) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(QC) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(QD)

¹⁹ But your dead^(QE) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(QF)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(QG) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(QH)

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(QI) behind you;
hide^(QJ) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(QK) has passed by.^(QL)
21 See, the Lord is coming^(QM) out of his dwelling^(QN)
    to punish^(QO) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(QP) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

the Lord will punish with his sword^(QR)—
    his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan^(QS) the gliding serpent,^(QT)
    Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster^(QU) of the sea.

“Sing^(QW) about a fruitful vineyard:^(QX)
3     I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water^(QY) it continually.
I guard^(QZ) it day and night
    so that no one may harm^(RA) it.
⁴     I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.^(RB)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(RC)
    let them make peace^(RD) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root,^(RE)
    Israel will bud and blossom^(RF)
    and fill all the world with fruit.^(RG)

⁷ Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck^(RH) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸ By warfare^[p] and exile^(RI) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind^(RJ) blows.
⁹ By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^(RK) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(RL)
When he makes all the altar stones^(RM)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles^[q](RN) or incense altars^(RO)
    will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified city stands desolate,^(RP)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(RQ) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,^(RR)
    there they lie down;^(RS)
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(RT)
    and women come and make fires^(RU) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;^(RV)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator^(RW) shows them no favor.^(RX)

⁵ In that day^(ST) the Lord Almighty
    will be a glorious^(SU) crown,^(SV)
a beautiful wreath
    for the remnant^(SW) of his people.
⁶ He will be a spirit of justice^(SX)
    to the one who sits in judgment,^(SY)
a source of strength
    to those who turn back the battle^(SZ) at the gate.

⁷ And these also stagger^(TA) from wine^(TB)
    and reel^(TC) from beer:
Priests^(TD) and prophets^(TE) stagger from beer
    and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
    they stagger when seeing visions,^(TF)
    they stumble when rendering decisions.
⁸ All the tables are covered with vomit^(TG)
    and there is not a spot without filth.

⁹ “Who is it he is trying to teach?^(TH)
    To whom is he explaining his message?^(TI)
To children weaned^(TJ) from their milk,^(TK)
    to those just taken from the breast?
¹⁰ For it is:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that^[r];
    a little here, a little there.^(TL)”

¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues^(TM)
    God will speak to this people,^(TN)
12 to whom he said,
    “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;^(TO)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
    but they would not listen.
¹³ So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there^(TP)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
    they will be injured^(TQ) and snared and captured.^(TR)

¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord,^(TS) you scoffers^(TT)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,^(TU)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(TV)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie^(TW) our refuge
    and falsehood^[s] our hiding place.^(TX)”

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,^(TY) a tested stone,^(TZ)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;^(UA)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.^(UB)
17 I will make justice^(UC) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;^(UD)
hail^(UE) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow^(UF) your hiding place.
¹⁸ Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.^(UG)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,^(UH)
    you will be beaten down^(UI) by it.
¹⁹ As often as it comes it will carry you away;^(UJ)
    morning after morning,^(UK) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.^(UL)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.^(UM)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,^(UN)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon^(UO)—
to do his work,^(UP) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
²² Now stop your mocking,^(UQ)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed^(UR) against the whole land.^(US)

²³ Listen^(UT) and hear my voice;
    pay attention and hear what I say.
²⁴ When a farmer plows for planting,^(UU) does he plow continually?
    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
²⁵ When he has leveled the surface,
    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?^(UV)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,^[t]
    barley^(UW) in its plot,^[u]
    and spelt^(UX) in its field?
²⁶ His God instructs him
    and teaches^(UY) him the right way.

²⁷ Caraway is not threshed^(UZ) with a sledge,^(VA)
    nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,^(VB)
    and cumin with a stick.
²⁸ Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart^(VC) may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain.
²⁹ All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
    whose plan is wonderful,^(VD)
    whose wisdom is magnificent.^(VE)

⁵ But your many enemies will become like fine dust,^(VS)
    the ruthless^(VT) hordes like blown chaff.^(VU)
Suddenly,^(VV) in an instant,
⁶     the Lord Almighty will come^(VW)
with thunder^(VX) and earthquake^(VY) and great noise,
    with windstorm and tempest^(VZ) and flames of a devouring fire.^(WA)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations^(WB) that fight against Ariel,^(WC)
    that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,^(WD)
    with a vision in the night—
⁸ as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
    but awakens^(WE) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
    but awakens faint and thirsty still.^(WF)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
    that fight against Mount Zion.^(WG)

⁹ Be stunned and amazed,^(WH)
    blind yourselves and be sightless;^(WI)
be drunk,^(WJ) but not from wine,^(WK)
    stagger,^(WL) but not from beer.
¹⁰ The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:^(WM)
    He has sealed your eyes^(WN) (the prophets);^(WO)
    he has covered your heads (the seers).^(WP)

“These people^(WS) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,^(WT)
    but their hearts are far from me.^(WU)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.^[w](WV)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;^(WW)
the wisdom of the wise^(WX) will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^(WY)”
¹⁵ Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide^(WZ) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us?^(XA) Who will know?”^(XB)
16 You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!^(XC)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed^(XD) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,^(XE)
    “You know nothing”?^(XF)

¹⁷ In a very short time,^(XG) will not Lebanon^(XH) be turned into a fertile field^(XI)
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?^(XJ)
18 In that day^(XK) the deaf^(XL) will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness^(XM)
    the eyes of the blind will see.^(XN)
19 Once more the humble^(XO) will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy^(XP) will rejoice in the Holy One^(XQ) of Israel.
²⁰ The ruthless^(XR) will vanish,^(XS)
    the mockers^(XT) will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil^(XU) will be cut down—
²¹ those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court^(XV)
    and with false testimony^(XW) deprive the innocent of justice.^(XX)

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;^(YA)
    no longer will their faces grow pale.^(YB)
23 When they see among them their children,^(YC)
    the work of my hands,^(YD)
they will keep my name holy;^(YE)
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One^(YF) of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ Those who are wayward^(YG) in spirit will gain understanding;^(YH)
    those who complain will accept instruction.”^(YI)

Through a land of hardship and distress,^(YZ)
    of lions^(ZA) and lionesses,
    of adders and darting snakes,^(ZB)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’^(ZC) backs,
    their treasures^(ZD) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
⁷     to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^(ZE)
Therefore I call her
    Rahab^(ZF) the Do-Nothing.

⁸ Go now, write it on a tablet^(ZG) for them,
    inscribe it on a scroll,^(ZH)
that for the days to come
    it may be an everlasting witness.^(ZI)
9 For these are rebellious^(ZJ) people, deceitful^(ZK) children,
    children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.^(ZL)
10 They say to the seers,^(ZM)
    “See no more visions^(ZN)!”
and to the prophets,
    “Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,^(ZO)
    prophesy illusions.^(ZP)