Beginning
God’s Message to Cush
18 How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush.
It is filled with the sound of wings.
2 That land sends people across the sea.
They go on the water in boats made of reeds.
Quick messengers, go
to the people who are tall and smooth-skinned.
They are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation with strange speech.
They defeat the other nations.
Their land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world, look!
Everyone who lives in the world, look!
You will see a banner raised on a mountain.
You will hear a trumpet sound.
4 The Lord said to me,
“I will quietly watch from where I live.
I will be like heat in the sunshine.
I will be like the dew in the heat of harvest time.”
5 The time will be after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest.
The new grapes will be budding and growing.
Then the enemy will cut the plants with knives.
He will cut down the vines and take them away.
6 They will be left for the birds of the mountains to eat.
They will be left for the wild animals to eat.
Birds will feed on them all summer.
And that winter wild animals will eat them.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They will come from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned.
They are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation with strange speech.
Their land is divided by rivers.
These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They will be brought to Mount Zion.
God’s Message to Egypt
19 The message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud.
He will enter Egypt.
And the idols of Egypt will tremble before him.
Egypt’s courage will melt away.
2 The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves.
Men will fight with their brothers.
Neighbors will fight neighbors.
Cities will fight cities.
Kingdoms will fight kingdoms.
3 The Egyptians will be afraid.
I will ruin their plans.
They will ask their idols and spirits of the dead what they should do.
They will ask their mediums and fortune-tellers.”
4 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says,
“I will give Egypt to a hard master.
A powerful king will rule over them.”
5 The sea will become dry.
The water will disappear from the Nile River.
6 The canals will stink.
The streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up.
All the water plants will rot.
7 All the plants along the banks of the Nile will die.
Even the planted fields by the Nile
will dry up, blow away and disappear.
8 The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile,
will groan and cry.
Those who depend on the Nile for food will be sad.
9 All the people who make cloth from flax will be sad.
Those who weave linen will lose hope.
10 Those who weave cloth will be broken.
All those who work for money will be sad.
11 The officers of the city of Zoan are fools.
The wise men who advise the king of Egypt give wrong advice.
How can they say to him they are wise?
How can they say they are from the old family of the kings?
12 Egypt, where are your wise men?
Let them show you
what the Lord of heaven’s armies has planned for Egypt.
13 The officers of Zoan have been fooled.
The leaders of Memphis have believed false things.
So the leaders of Egypt
lead her the wrong way.
14 The Lord has made the leaders confused.
They wander and lead Egypt in the wrong ways.
They are like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do.
No one in Egypt can help.
16 In that day the people of Egypt will be like frightened women. They will be afraid of the Lord of heaven’s armies. He will raise his hand to strike them down. 17 The land of Judah will bring fear to the people in Egypt. Anyone in Egypt who hears the name Judah will be afraid. This will happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has planned terrible things for Egypt. 18 At that time five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. They will promise to be loyal to the Lord of heaven’s armies. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction. 19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt. At the border of Egypt there will be a monument to the Lord. 20 This will be a sign. It will show that the Lord of heaven’s armies is powerful. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send help. He will send someone to save and defend the people. He will rescue them from those who hurt them.
21 So the Lord will show himself to the Egyptians. Then they will say he is the Lord. They will serve God and offer many sacrifices. They will make promises to the Lord, and they will keep them. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians. Then he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord. He will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Then people from Assyria will go to Egypt. And the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together. 24 At that time Israel, Assyria and Egypt will join together. This will be a blessing for the earth. 25 The Lord of heaven’s armies will bless them. He will say, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Cush
20 Sargon was the king of Assyria. He sent a military commander to Ashdod to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it. 2 Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. The Lord said, “Take the rough cloth off your body. Take your sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed the Lord. He walked around without his clothes of rough cloth or his sandals.
3 Then the Lord said, “Isaiah my servant has walked around without his clothes of rough cloth or his sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Cush. 4 The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Cush. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The old people and young people will be led away naked. They will go without clothes and without sandals. So the Egyptians will be shamed. 5 People who looked to Cush for help will be afraid. People who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be shamed. 6 Those people who live near the sea will say, ‘We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured. So how will we be able to escape?’”
God’s Message to Babylon
21 The message about the Desert by the Sea:[a]
Disaster is coming from the desert.
It is coming like wind blowing in the south.
It is coming from a terrible country.
2 I have seen a terrible vision.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, attack the people!
Media, surround the city and attack it!
I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain.
My pains are like the pains of giving birth.
What I hear makes me very afraid.
What I see causes me to shake with fear.
4 I am worried,
and I am shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening
has become a night of fear.
5 They set the table.
They spread the rugs.
They eat and drink!
Leaders, stand up.
Prepare the shields for battle!
6 The Lord said to me,
“Go. Have a man be a lookout for the city.
Have him report what he sees.
7 If he sees chariots and teams of horses,
donkeys or camels,
he should pay very close attention.”
8 Then the lookout called out,
“My Master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching.
Every night I have been on guard.
9 Look. I see a man coming in a chariot
with a team of horses.”
The man gives back the answer,
“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!
All the statues of her gods
lie broken on the ground.”
10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.
My people, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord.
He is the Lord of heaven’s armies,
the God of Israel.
God’s Message to Edom
11 The message about Dumah:[b]
Someone calls to me from Edom.
He says, “Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much longer will it be night?”
12 The watchman answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something to ask,
then come back and ask.”
God’s Message to Arabia
13 The message about Arabia:
A group of traders from Dedan
spent the night near some trees in Arabia.
14 They gave water to thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave food
to those who were escaping.
15 They were running from swords.
The swords were ready to kill.
They were running from bows ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 This is what the Lord said to me: “In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.) 17 At that time only a few of the archers will be left. Only a few of the soldiers of Kedar will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
God’s Message to Jerusalem
22 The message about the Valley of Vision:[c]
What is wrong with you people?
Why are you on your roofs?[d]
2 This city was a very busy city.
It was full of noise and wild parties.
But your people have been killed,
but not with swords.
They did not die in battle.
3 All your leaders ran away together.
But they all have been captured without using a bow.
All you who were captured
tried to run away before the enemy came near.
4 So I say, “Don’t look at me.
Let me cry loudly.
Don’t hurry to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, has chosen a special day.
There will be riots and confusion.
People will trample each other in the Valley of Vision.
The city walls will be knocked down.
The people will cry out to the mountain.
6 The soldiers from Elam will take their bags of arrows.
Men in chariots and on horses will attack.
Kir will prepare their shields.
7 Your nicest valleys will be filled with chariots.
Horsemen will be ordered to guard the gates of the city.
8 The walls protecting Judah will fall.
At that time the people of Jerusalem depended on
the weapons kept at the Palace of the Forest.
9 You saw that the walls of Jerusalem
had many cracks that needed repairing.
You stored up water in the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem.
You tore them down to fix the walls with their stones.
11 You made a pool between the two walls.
It was to save water from the old pool.
But you did not trust the God who made these things.
You did not respect the One who planned them long ago.
12 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, told the people
to cry and be sad.
He told them to shave their heads and wear rough cloth.
13 But look. The people are happy.
There are wild parties.
They kill the cattle and the sheep.
They eat the food and drink the wine.
They say, “Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.”
14 The Lord of heaven’s armies said to me: “You people will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, said this.
God’s Message to Shebna
15 This is what the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says:
“Go to this servant Shebna.
He is the manager of the palace.
16 Say to him, ‘What are you doing here?
Who said you could cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place?
Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?
17 Look, mighty man! The Lord will throw you away.
He will take firm hold of you.
18 He will roll you tightly into a ball
and throw you into another country.
There you will die.
Your fine chariots will remain there.
You are a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will force you out of your important job here.
You will be thrown down from your important place.’
20 “At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will take your robe and put it on him. I will give him your belt. I will give him the important job you have. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah. 22 I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it. If he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23 He will be like an honored chair in his father’s house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board. 24 All the honored and important things of his family will depend on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on him.
25 “At that time,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies, “the peg hammered into the strong board will weaken. It will break and fall. And everything hanging on it will be destroyed.” The Lord says this.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.