Beginning

18 Woe to the land, (where) the cymbal(-sound) of wings (is heard), which is beyond the flood of Ethiopia (which land is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia);

² that sendeth messengers by the sea, and in vessels of papyrus on waters. Go, ye messengers, to the folk drawn up and rent; to a fearedful people, after which is none other; to the folk abiding and defouled, whose land the floods have ravished; to the hill of the name of the Lord of hosts, to the hill of Zion. (that sendeth messengers by the sea, and in papyrus vessels upon the waters. Go, ye messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned nation; to a people feared above all others; to a nation lying in wait, and defiled, whose land the rivers have made subject.)

³ All ye dwellers of the world, that dwell in the land, shall see when a sign shall be raised [up] in the hills, and ye shall hear the cry of a trump. (All ye inhabitants of the world, who live on the earth, shall see when a sign shall be raised up in the mountains, and ye shall hear the cry of the trumpet.)

⁴ For why the Lord saith these things to me, I shall rest, and I shall behold in my place, as the midday light is clear, and as a cloud of dew in the day of harvest. (For the Lord saith these things to me, I shall rest, and I shall look out from my place, like the clear midday light, and like a cloud of dew on the day of harvest.)

⁵ For why all flowered out before harvest, and unripe perfection burgeoned; and the little branches thereof shall be cut down with scythes, and those that be left, shall be cut away (shall be cut off, and cleared away).

⁶ They shall be shaken out, and shall be left together to the birds of (the) hills, and to the beasts of (the) earth; and birds shall be on him by a summer everlasting, and all the beasts of (the) earth shall dwell by winter on him. (They shall be left together for the birds of the hills, and for the beasts of the earth; and the birds shall be upon them all summer, and all the beasts of the earth shall live under them in the winter.)

⁷ In that time a gift shall be brought to the Lord of hosts, of the people drawn up and rent; of the people fearedful, after which was none other; of the folk abiding and defouled, whose land (the) floods ravished; the gift shall be brought to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, to the hill of Zion. (At that time, a gift shall be brought to the Lord of hosts, from the tall and smooth-skinned people; from the people feared above all others; from the nation lying in wait and defiled, whose land the rivers have made subject; the gift shall be brought to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, to Mount Zion.)

19 The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ascend on a light cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the simulacra of Egypt shall be moved from his face, and the heart of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof. (The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ride upon a swift moving cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before him, and the heart, or the courage, of Egypt shall fail in its midst.)

² And I shall make (some) Egyptians to run together against (other) Egyptians, and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his friend, a city against a city, and a realm against a realm (and a kingdom against a kingdom).

³ And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the entrails thereof, and I shall cast down the counsel thereof; and they shall ask their simulacra (and they shall ask their idols), and their false diviners, and their men that have unclean spirits speaking in the womb, and their diviners by sacrifices made on altars to fiends.

⁴ And I shall betake Egypt into the hand of cruel lords, and a strong king shall be lord of them, saith the Lord God of hosts. (And I shall deliver Egypt into the hands of cruel lords, or cruel masters, and a strong king shall be lord over them, saith the Lord God of hosts.)

⁵ And [the] water of the sea shall wax dry, and the flood shall be desolate, and shall be dried. (And the water of the River shall grow dry, yea the River shall become desolate, and dried up.)

⁶ And the floods shall fail, and the strands of the fields shall be made thin, and shall be dried; a reed and spire shall fade (away). (And the rivers shall fail, and the streams of the fields shall be made shallow, and shall be dried up; the reed and the bulrush shall fade away.)

⁷ The bottom of water shall be made naked, and streams from their well(s); and the moist place of all seed shall be dried, it shall wax dry, and it shall not be. (The bottom of the waters shall be uncovered, yea, of all the streams from the wells; and all the seeds on the river banks shall dry up, yea, they shall grow dry, and they shall be no more.)

⁸ And [the] fishers shall mourn, and all that cast hook into the flood shall wail; and they that spread abroad a net on the face of waters shall fade (away). (And the fishermen shall mourn, and all who cast a hook into the River shall wail; and they who spread abroad a net upon the face of the waters shall fade away.)

⁹ They shall be shamed, that wrought flax (who work the flax), folding and ordaining subtle things.

¹⁰ And the water places thereof shall be dry (And the places of water there shall dry up); (and) all that made ponds to take fishes, shall be shamed.

¹¹ The fond princes of Tanis (The foolish leaders of Zoan), the wise counsellors of Pharaoh, gave unwise counsel; how shall ye say to Pharaoh, I am the son of wise men, the son of eld kings?

¹² Where be now thy wise men? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought on Egypt. (Where be thy wise men now? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought about Egypt.)

¹³ The princes of Tanis be made fools; the princes of Memphis faded; they deceived Egypt, a corner(stone) of the peoples thereof. (The leaders of Zoan be made fools; the leaders of Noph faded away; they deceived Egypt, yea, the chieftains of the peoples there.)

¹⁴ The Lord meddled a spirit of error in the midst thereof; and they made Egypt for to err in all his work, as a drunken man and spewing erreth. (The Lord mixed in a spirit of error in its midst; and so the leaders made Egypt to err in all its ways and works, like a drunken man who wandereth about in his own spewing, or his own vomit.)

¹⁵ And work shall not be to Egypt, that it make an head and tail bowing and refraining. (And there shall not be work in Egypt, not for head nor tail, nor for the palm tree or the bulrush.)

¹⁶ In that day Egypt shall be as (weak as) women, and they shall be astonied, and shall dread of the face of the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he moved on it. (On that day the Egyptians shall become as weak as women, and they shall be astonished, and they shall fear the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall move against them.)

¹⁷ And the land of Judah shall be to Egypt into dread; each that shall think on it, shall dread of the face of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he thought on it. (And the land of Judah shall be feared by the Egyptians; and everyone who shall think about it, shall fear the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath thought against them.)

¹⁸ In that day five cities shall be in the land of Egypt, and shall speak with the tongue of Canaan, and shall swear by the Lord of hosts; the city of the sun shall be called one. (On that day five cities shall be in the land of Egypt, and they shall speak with the tongue of Canaan, and shall swear by the Lord of hosts; one shall be called The city of the sun, or Heliopolis.)

¹⁹ In that day the altar of the Lord shall be in the midst of the land of Egypt, and the title of the Lord shall be beside the end thereof; (On that day the altar of the Lord shall be in the midst of the land of Egypt, and the pillar of the Lord shall be there at the border;)

²⁰ and it shall be into a sign and witnessing to the Lord of hosts, in the land of Egypt. For they shall cry to the Lord from the face of the troubler, and he shall send a saviour to them, and a for-fighter, that shall deliver them. (and it shall be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts, in the land of Egypt. And when they shall cry to the Lord in the face of the troubler, he shall send a saviour to them, a fighter for them, who shall save them.)

²¹ And the Lord shall be known of Egypt, and Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall worship him in sacrifices and gifts, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and they shall pay. (And the Lord shall make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall acknowledge the Lord on that day; and they shall worship him with sacrifices and gifts, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and they shall pay them.)

²² And the Lord shall smite Egypt with a wound, and (then) shall make it whole; and [the] Egyptians shall turn again to the Lord, and he shall be pleased in them, and he shall make them whole. (And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a wound, and then shall make it whole; and the Egyptians shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pleased with them, and he shall make them whole.)

²³ In that day a way shall be from Egypt into Assyrians, and Egyptians shall serve Assur; and Assur shall enter into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyrians. (On that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians shall go to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go to Assyria, and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.)

²⁴ In that day Israel shall be the third to Egypt and to Assur, the blessing in the middle of [the] earth; (On that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and Assyria, and shall be a blessing in the middle of the world;)

²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts blessed, saying, Blessed be my people of Egypt, and the work of mine hands be to Assyrians; but mine heritage be to Israel. (whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be my peoples of Egypt, and of Assyria, the work of my hands; and my inheritance Israel, yea, my possession.)

20 In the year wherein Tartan entered into Ashdod, when Sargon, the king of Assyrians (the king of Assyria), had sent him, and he had fought against Ashdod, and had taken it;

² in that time the Lord spake in the hand of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, and said (at that time the Lord spoke to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, and said), Go thou, and unbind the sackcloth from thy loins, and take away thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, going naked and unshod.

³ And the Lord said, As my servant Isaiah went naked and unshod, a sign and great wonder of three years shall be on Egypt, and on Ethiopia; (And the Lord said, My servant Isaiah went naked and without shoes for three years, as a sign and a great wonder to Egypt, and to Ethiopia;)

⁴ so the king of Assyrians shall drive the captivity of Egypt, and the passing over of Ethiopia, a young man and an eld man, naked and unshod, with the buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. (so now the king of Assyria shall lead away the captives of Egypt, and the prisoners of Ethiopia, a young man and an old man, naked and without shoes, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.)

⁵ And they shall dread (And they all shall fear), and shall be ashamed of Ethiopia, their hope, and of Egypt, their glory.

⁶ And a dweller of this isle shall say on that day, This was our hope, to which we fled for help, that they should deliver us from the face of the king of Assyrians; and (now) how may we escape? (And an inhabitant of this island shall say on that day, They were our hope, to whom we fled for help, so that they could save us from the king of Assyria; but now how can we escape?)

21 The burden of the forsaken (of the) sea. As whirlwinds come from the southwest, it cometh from [the] desert, from the horrible land. (The burden of the Sea of the Wilderness. Like whirlwinds come from the southwest, it cometh from the wilderness, from the horrible land.)

² An hard revelation is told to me; he that is unfaithful, doeth unfaithfully; and he that is a destroyer, destroyeth. Thou Elam, go up, and thou Media, beseech (O Elam, ascend, and O Media, besiege); I made all the wailing thereof for to cease.

³ Therefore my loins be filled with sorrow; anguish wielded me, as the anguish of a woman travailing of child; I fell down, when I heard; I was troubled, when I saw. (And so my limbs be filled with sorrow; anguish held me, like the anguish of a woman labouring with child; I fell down, when I heard; I was troubled, when I saw.)

⁴ Mine heart faded, darknesses astonied me; Babylon, my darling, is set to me into (a) miracle. (My heart faded, the darkness astonished me; the night that I longed for, now hath become what I fear.)

⁵ Set thou a board, behold thou into a looking place; rise, ye princes, eating and drinking, take ye [the] shield. (Set thou the table, look thou out from the lookout; rise up, ye leaders, from eating and drinking, and take ye up thy shields.)

⁶ For why the Lord said these things to me, Go thou, and set a looker; and tell he, whatever thing he seeth. (For the Lord said to me, Go thou, and set a lookout; and let him tell thee, whatever he seeth.)

⁷ And he saw the chariot of two horsemen, the rider of an ass (the rider of a donkey), and the rider of a camel; and he beheld diligently with much looking,

⁸ and [he] cried as a lion, I stand continually by day on the looking place of the Lord, and I stand by all nights on my keeping. (and he cried out like a lion, and said, I stand continually by day at the lookout of the Lord, and I stand by all nights, or every night, at my station.)

⁹ Lo! this cometh, a man-rider of a cart of horsemen. And Isaiah cried, and said, Babylon fell down, fell down; and all the graven images of gods thereof be all-broken into [the] earth. (Lo! here come some men, horsemen riding in a chariot. And Isaiah cried, and said, Babylon fell down, fell down; and all the carved idols of its gods lie broken in pieces on the ground.)

¹⁰ My threshing, and the daughter of my cornfloor (My threshing, and the daughter of my threshing floor), I have told to you what things I heard of the Lord of hosts, of (the) God of Israel.

¹¹ The burden of Dumah. It crieth from Seir to me, Keeper, what hour of the night? keeper, what hour of the night? (The burden of Dumah. He calleth out to me from Seir, Watchman, what hour is it? watchman, what time is it?)

¹² The keeper said, The morrowtide cometh, and night; if ye seek, seek ye, and be ye converted, and come ye. (And I the watchman answered, The morning cometh, and then the night; if ye need to seek, then seek ye, and then come ye back again.)

¹³ The burden of Arabia. In the forest at eventide ye shall sleep, in the paths of Dedanim. (The burden of Arabia. Ye shall sleep in the Arabian forest, ye travelling peoples of Dedan.)

¹⁴ Ye that dwell in the land of the south, run, and bear water to the thirsty; and run ye with loaves to him that fleeth. (Ye who live in the land of Tema, run, and carry water to the thirsty; and run ye with loaves to him who fleeth away.)

¹⁵ For they fled from the face of swords, from the face of [the] sword nighing, from the face of [the] bow bent, from the face of [the] grievous battle.

¹⁶ For the Lord saith these things to me, Yet in one year, as in the year of an hired man, and all the glory of Kedar shall be taken away.

¹⁷ And the remnants of the number of strong archers of the sons of Kedar shall be made less; for why the Lord God of Israel spake (for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken).

22 The burden of the valley of vision. What also is to thee, for and all thou ascendedest into [the] roofs, (The burden of the Valley of Vision. What is it with thee, for thou all have ascended onto the roofs,)

² thou full of cry, a city of much people, a city full out joying? (O city full of noise, a city of many people, a city of great rejoicing!) thy slain men were not slain by sword, neither thy dead men were dead in battle.

³ All thy princes fled together, and were bound hard; all that were found, were bound together, (though) they fled far. (All thy leaders fled away together, and were bound up by the archers; all who were found, were bound up together, though they had fled far away.)

⁴ Therefore I said (And so I said), Go ye away from me, I shall weep bitterly; do not ye be busy to comfort me on the destroying of the daughter of my people.

⁵ For why a day of slaying, and of defouling, and of weepings, is ordained of the Lord God of hosts, in the valley of vision; and he searcheth the wall, and is worshipful on the hill. (For a day of killing, and of defiling, and of weeping, is ordained by the Lord God of hosts, in the Valley of Vision; and the walls be broken down, and cries for help sound across the mountains.)

⁶ And Elam took an arrow-case, or a quiver, and the chariot of an horseman; and the shield made naked the wall (and Kir uncovered, or made ready, its shield).

⁷ And thy chosen valleys, Jerusalem, shall be full of carts; and knights shall put their seats in the gate. (And thy chosen valleys, Jerusalem, shall be full of chariots; and the horsemen shall plant their feet at thy gates.)

⁸ And the covering of Judah shall be showed; and thou shalt see in that day the place of armours of the house of the forest; (And Judah’s defences shall be shown; and thou shalt see on that day, the arms, or the weapons, in the House of the Forest;)

⁹ and ye shall see the crazings of the city of David, for those be multiplied (and ye shall see the cracks, or the crevices, in the wall of the city of David, for they be greatly multiplied). Ye gathered together the waters of the lower cistern,

¹⁰ and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye destroyed [the] houses, to make strong the wall (to strengthen the wall);

¹¹ and ye made a pit betwixt (the) two walls, and ye restored the water of the eld cistern; and ye beheld not to him, that made that Jerusalem, and ye saw not the worker thereof afar. (and ye made a pit between the two walls, for the water of the old cistern; but ye looked not to Him who made that Jerusalem, yea, ye thought not about the Craftsman who made it long ago.)

¹² And the Lord of hosts shall call in that day to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to a girdle of sackcloth; (And the Lord of hosts shall call on that day for weeping, and for mourning, and for baldness, and for a girdle of sackcloth;)

¹³ and lo! joy and gladness is to slay calves, and to strangle wethers, to eat flesh, and to drink wine; eat we, and drink we, for we shall die tomorrow (and lo! joy and happiness is to kill calves, and to strangle rams, yea, to eat flesh, and to drink wine; eat we, and drink we, for tomorrow we shall die.)

¹⁴ And the voice of the Lord of hosts is showed in mine ears (And the voice of the Lord of hosts was heard in my ears), This wickedness shall not be forgiven to you, till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

¹⁵ The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Go thou, and enter to him that dwelleth in the tabernacle, to Shebna, the sovereign of the temple; and thou shalt say to him, (The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Go thou, and go to him who liveth in the palace, to Shebna, the ruler of the king’s household; and thou shalt say to him,)

¹⁶ What (hast) thou here, either as who (art thou) here? for thou hast hewed [out] to thee a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed a memorial in (an) high place diligently, a tabernacle in a stone to thee. (What hast thou here, and who art thou? for thou hast hewn out for thyself a tomb here, yea, thou hast diligently hewn out a memorial in a high place, a home for thyself in the stone.)

¹⁷ Lo! the Lord shall make thee to be borne out, as a capon is borne out, and as a cloth, so he shall raise thee. (Lo! the Lord shall make thee to be taken away, like a capon is taken away, and he shall shake thee out, like a cloak is shaken out.)

¹⁸ He crowning shall crown thee with tribulation; he shall send thee as a ball into a large land and wide; there thou shalt die, and there shall be the chariot of thy glory, and the shame of the house of thy Lord. (He crowning shall crown thee with tribulation; he shall throw thee like a ball into a great wide land; and there thou shalt die, and thy glorious chariots shall be there, but now they shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.)

¹⁹ And I shall cast thee out of thy standing, and I shall put thee down of thy service. (And I shall throw thee out of thy office, and I shall put thee down from thy service.)

²⁰ And it shall be, in that day I shall call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah; (And it shall be, on that day I shall call for my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah;)

²¹ and I shall clothe him in thy coat, and I shall comfort him with thy girdle, and I shall give thy power into the hands of him; and he shall be as a father to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. (and I shall clothe him in thy coat, and I shall strengthen him with thy girdle, and I shall give thy power into his hands; and he shall be like a father to those who live in Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.)

²² And I shall give the key of the house of David on his shoulder (And I shall put the key of the house of David upon his shoulder); and he shall open, and none shall be that shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall be that shall open.

²³ And I shall set him (as) a stake, either a perch, in a faithful place, and he shall be into a seat of glory of the house of his father. (And I shall make him like a stake, or like a peg, in a firm place, and he shall be a seat of honour for all his father’s household.)

²⁴ And thou shalt hang on him all the glory of the house of his father, (unto) diverse kinds of vessels, each little vessel, from the vessels of cups, till to each vessel of musics (each little vessel, from the cups, unto the pots).

²⁵ In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, the stake that was set in the faithful place, shall be taken away, and it shall be broken, and shall fall down; and (that) shall perish that hanged therein, for the Lord spake. (On that day, saith the Lord of hosts, the stake that was firmly set in its place shall be taken away, and it shall be broken, and shall fall down; and what had hung there, shall perish, for the Lord hath spoken.)