Annihilation of the Assyrians

27 Look! The name of the Lord is coming from far away,
his anger burning and heavy with smoke.[a]
His lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent(A)
that rises to the neck.(B)
He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction
and to put a bridle on the jaws of the peoples
to lead them astray.(C)
29 Your singing will be like that
on the night of a holy festival,
and your heart will rejoice
like one who walks to the music of a flute,
going up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.(D)
30 And the Lord will make the splendor of his voice heard
and reveal his arm(E) striking in angry wrath
and a flame of consuming fire,
in driving rain, a torrent, and hailstones.
31 Assyria will be shattered by the voice of the Lord.
He will strike with a rod.
32 And every stroke of the appointed[b] staff
that the Lord brings down on him
will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres;
he will fight against him with brandished weapons.
33 Indeed! Topheth has been ready(F)
for the king for a long time.
Its funeral pyre is deep and wide,
with plenty of fire and wood.
The breath of the Lord,(G) like a torrent of burning sulfur,
kindles it.

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Footnotes

  1. 30:27 Hb obscure
  2. 30:32 Some Hb mss read punishing

Assyria punished

27 Look there! The Lord is coming from far away;
    his anger blazing, his smoke-cloud thick.
His lips are full of fury;
    his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like a raging river that reaches up to the neck,
    to shake the nations with a sieve of destruction,
    and to put a misleading rein on the people’s jaws.
29 There will be singing for you
    as on the night that people celebrate a festival.
    The heart will be joyful as it is when one goes with a flute
        to the Lord’s mountain,
        to the rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will unleash his majestic voice
    and display his crushing arm
        in furious anger, with a flame of consuming fire,
        in stormy rain and hail.
31 The Lord’s voice will terrify Assyria;
    with a rod he will smite it.
32 And every crack that is made in the foundation wall,
    which the Lord will bring down upon him,
        will be accompanied by timbrels and lyres.
The Lord will raise his arm and fight against Assyria in battle. 33 His place for burning[a] was arranged long ago;
    it is indeed made ready for a king.
God has made its wood pile wide and deep,
    fire and wood in abundance.
    The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, ignites it.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 30:33 Heb Topheth