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)
²Yet 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.
³But 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)

⁴This 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.
⁵Like 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.”

⁶Return,^(Y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted^(Z) against. ⁷For 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)
⁹Their 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)
²Each 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.

³Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,^(AR)
    and the ears^(AS) of those who hear will listen.
⁴The fearful heart will know and understand,^(AT)
    and the stammering tongue^(AU) will be fluent and clear.
⁵No longer will the fool^(AV) be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
⁶For 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.
⁷Scoundrels 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)
⁸But the noble make noble plans,
    and by noble deeds^(BF) they stand.^(BG)

The Women of Jerusalem

⁹You 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!
¹⁰In 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.
¹¹Tremble,^(BM) you complacent women;
    shudder, you daughters who feel secure!^(BN)
Strip off your fine clothes^(BO)
    and wrap yourselves in rags.^(BP)
¹²Beat your breasts^(BQ) for the pleasant fields,
    for the fruitful vines^(BR)
¹³and 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)
¹⁴The 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)
¹⁵till 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)
¹⁶The Lord’s justice^(CD) will dwell in the desert,^(CE)
    his righteousness^(CF) live in the fertile field.
¹⁷The fruit of that righteousness^(CG) will be peace;^(CH)
    its effect will be quietness and confidence^(CI) forever.
¹⁸My people will live in peaceful^(CJ) dwelling places,
    in secure homes,^(CK)
    in undisturbed places of rest.^(CL)
¹⁹Though hail^(CM) flattens the forest^(CN)
    and the city is leveled^(CO) completely,
²⁰how 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)

²Lord, be gracious^(CV) to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength^(CW) every morning,
    our salvation^(CX) in time of distress.^(CY)
³At the uproar of your army,^(CZ) the peoples flee;^(DA)
    when you rise up,^(DB) the nations scatter.
⁴Your plunder,^(DC) O nations, is harvested^(DD) as by young locusts;^(DE)
    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

⁵The Lord is exalted,^(DF) for he dwells on high;^(DG)
    he will fill Zion with his justice^(DH) and righteousness.^(DI)
⁶He 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)

⁷Look, their brave men^(DM) cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys^(DN) of peace weep bitterly.
⁸The 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.
⁹The 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.
¹¹You conceive^(DZ) chaff,
    you give birth^(EA) to straw;
    your breath is a fire^(EB) that consumes you.
¹²The peoples will be burned to ashes;^(EC)
    like cut thornbushes^(ED) they will be set ablaze.^(EE)”

¹³You who are far away,^(EF) hear^(EG) what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!
¹⁴The 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?”
¹⁵Those 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—
¹⁶they 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.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the king^(ET) in his beauty^(EU)
    and view a land that stretches afar.^(EV)
¹⁸In 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)”
¹⁹You will see those arrogant people^(EY) no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.^(EZ)

²⁰Look 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.
²¹There 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.
²²For 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.

²³Your 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)
²⁴No 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)
²The 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)
³Their slain^(FW) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies^(FX) will stink;^(FY)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.^(FZ)
⁴All 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.

⁵My sword^(GE) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^(GF)
    the people I have totally destroyed.^(GG)
⁶The 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.
⁷And 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.

⁸For the Lord has a day^(GO) of vengeance,^(GP)
    a year of retribution,^(GQ) to uphold Zion’s cause.
⁹Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;^(GR)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
¹⁰It 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.
¹¹The 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.
¹²Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(HB) will vanish^(HC) away.
¹³Thorns^(HD) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(HE)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(HF)
    a home for owls.^(HG)
¹⁴Desert 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.
¹⁵The 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.

¹⁶Look 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.
¹⁷He 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.