Beginning
Warnings About Relying on Egypt
31 How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help.
They think horses will save them.
They think their many chariots
and strong horsemen will save them.
They don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel.
They don’t ask the Lord for help.
2 But it is the Lord who is wise and who can bring them trouble.
He does not change his warnings.
He will rise up and fight against the evil people.
And he will fight against those who try to help evil people.
3 The Egyptians are only people and are not God.
Their horses are only animals and are not spirit.
The Lord will stretch out his arm,
and the one who helps will stumble.
The people who wanted help will fall.
All of them will be destroyed together.
4 The Lord says this to me:
“When a lion or a lion’s cub kills an animal to eat,
it stands over the dead animal and roars.
A band of shepherds
may be assembled against it.
But the lion will not be afraid of their yelling.
It will not be upset by their noise.
So the Lord of heaven’s armies will come down
to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 The Lord of heaven’s armies will defend Jerusalem.
He will defend it like birds flying over their nests.
He will defend and save it.
He will ‘pass over’ and save Jerusalem.”
6 You children of Israel, come back to the God that you fought against. 7 The time is coming when each of you will stop worshiping the idols of gold and silver that you made. You truly sinned when you made them.
8 “Assyria will be defeated by a sword, but not the sword of a man.
Assyria will be destroyed, but not by a man’s sword.
Assyria will run away from the sword of God.
But their young men will be caught and made slaves.
9 They will panic, and their place of safety will be destroyed.
Their commanders will be terrified when they see God’s battle flag.”
The Lord said all these things.
The Lord’s fire is in Jerusalem.
His furnace is in Jerusalem.
A Good Kingdom Is Coming
32 A king will rule in a way that brings justice.
Leaders will make fair decisions.
2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind.
He will be like a safe place in a storm.
He will be like streams of water in a dry land.
He will be like a cool shadow from a large rock in a hot land.
3 People will look to the king for help.
And they will truly listen to what he says.
4 People who are now worried will be able to understand.
Those who cannot speak clearly now will then be able to speak clearly and quickly.
5 Fools will not be called great men.
People will not respect wicked men.
6 A fool says foolish things.
And in his mind he plans to do evil things.
A fool wants to do things that are wrong.
He says wrong things about the Lord.
A fool does not feed the hungry.
He does not let thirsty people drink water.
7 The wicked man uses evil like a tool.
He plans ways to take everything from poor people.
He destroys the poor with lies,
even when the poor man is in the right.
8 But a good leader plans good things to do.
And those good things make him a good leader.
Hard Times Are Coming
9 You women who are calm now,
stand up and listen to me.
You women who feel safe now,
hear what I say.
10 You women feel safe now,
but after one year you will be afraid.
There will be no grape harvest.
There will not be any summer fruit to gather.
11 Women, you are calm now, but you should shake with fear.
Women, you feel safe now, but you should tremble.
Take off your nice clothes.
Then put rough cloth around your waist to show your sadness.
12 Beat your breasts in grief because the fields that were pleasant are now empty.
Cry because the vines that once had fruit now have no more grapes.
13 Cry for the land of my people.
Cry because only thorns and weeds grow there now.
Cry for the city that once was happy.
And cry for all the houses that once were filled with joy.
14 The palace will be empty.
People will leave the noisy city.
Strong cities and towers will be empty.
Wild donkeys will love to live there. Sheep will go there to eat.
Things Will Get Better
15 This will continue until God puts his Spirit from above into us.
Then the desert will be like a fertile field.
And the fertile field will be like a forest.
16 Justice will be found even in the desert.
And fairness will be found in the fertile fields.
17 That fairness will bring peace.
And fairness will bring calm and safety forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful places.
They will have safe homes.
They will live in calm places of rest.
19 Hail will destroy the forest.
And the city will be completely destroyed.
20 But you will be happy as you plant seeds near every stream.
You will let your cattle and donkeys wander freely.
Warnings to Assyria and Promises to God’s People
33 How terrible it will be for you who destroy others.
But you have not been destroyed yet.
How terrible it will be for you, traitor.
But no one has turned against you yet.
When you stop destroying,
others will destroy you.
When you stop turning against others,
they will turn against you.
2 Lord, be kind to us.
We have waited for your help.
Lord, give us strength every morning.
Save us when we are in trouble.
3 Your powerful voice makes people run away in fear.
Your greatness causes the nations to run away.
4 Like locusts, your enemies will take away the things you stole in war.
Like locusts rushing about, they will take your wealth.
5 The Lord is very great. He lives in a high place.
He fills Jerusalem with fairness and justice.
6 The Lord will be your safety.
He is full of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.
Respect for the Lord is the greatest treasure.
7 See, brave men are crying out in the streets.
Those who tried to bring peace are crying loudly.
8 There is no one on the roads.
No one is walking in the paths.
People have broken the agreements they made.
People refuse to believe the proof from witnesses.
No one respects other people.
9 The land is sick and dying.
Lebanon is ashamed and dying.
The Plain of Sharon is dry like the desert.
The trees of Bashan and Carmel are dying.
10 The Lord says, “Now, I will stand up
and show my greatness.
Now, I will become important to the people.
11 You people do useless things.
These things are like hay and straw.
A destructive wind will burn you like fire.
12 People will be burned until their bones become like lime.
They will burn quickly like dry thornbushes.”
13 You people in faraway lands, hear what I have done.
You people who are near me, learn about my power.
14 The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid.
The people who are separated from God shake with fear.
They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys?
Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?”
15 A person might do what is right.
He might speak what is right.
He might refuse to take money unfairly.
He might refuse to take money to hurt others.
He might not listen to plans of murder.
He might refuse to think about evil.
16 This is the kind of person who will be safe.
He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city.
He will always have bread,
and he will not run out of water.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty.
You will see the land that stretches far away.
18 You will think about the terror of the past.
You will think, “Where is that officer?
Where is the one who collected the taxes?
Where is the officer in charge of our defense towers?”
19 You will not see those proud people from other countries anymore.
No more will you hear their strange language
that you couldn’t understand.
God Will Protect Jerusalem
20 Look at Jerusalem, the city of our festivals.
Look at Jerusalem, that beautiful place of rest.
It is like a tent that will never be moved.
The pegs that hold her in place will never be moved.
Her ropes will never be broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
That land is a place with streams and wide rivers.
But there will be no enemy boats on those rivers.
No powerful ship will sail on those rivers.
22 This is because the Lord is our judge.
The Lord makes our laws.
The Lord is our king.
He will save us.
23 You sailors from other lands, hear:
The ropes on your boats hang loose.
The mast is not held firm.
The sails are not spread open.
The Lord will give us your wealth.
There will be so much wealth even the crippled people will carry off a share.
24 No one living in Jerusalem will say, “I am sick.”
The people who live there will have their sins forgiven.
God Will Punish His Enemies
34 All you nations, come near and listen.
Pay attention, you peoples!
The earth and all the people in it should listen.
The world and everything in it should listen.
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations.
He is angry with their armies.
He will destroy them and kill them all.
3 Their bodies will be thrown outside.
The stink will rise from the bodies,
and the blood will flow down the mountains.
4 The sun, moon and stars will dissolve.
The sky will be rolled up like a scroll.
The stars will fall
like dead leaves from a vine
or dried-up figs from a fig tree.
5 The Lord’s sword in the sky is covered with blood.
It will cut through Edom.
He will destroy these people as an offering to the Lord.
6 The Lord’s sword will be covered with blood.
It will be covered with fat.
It is the blood from lambs and goats.
It is the fat from the kidneys of male sheep.
This is because the Lord decided there will be a sacrifice in Bozrah.
He has decided there will be much killing in Edom.
7 The oxen will be killed.
And the cattle and the strong bulls will be killed.
The land will be filled with their blood.
The dirt will be covered with their fat.
8 The Lord has chosen a time for punishment.
He has chosen a year when people must pay for the wrongs they did to Jerusalem.
9 Edom’s rivers will be like hot tar.
The dirt of Edom will be like burning sulfur.
The land of Edom will be like burning tar.
10 The fires will burn night and day.
The smoke will rise from Edom forever.
Year after year that land will be empty.
No one will ever travel through that land again.
11 Birds and small animals will own that land.
Owls and ravens will live there.
God will make it an empty wasteland.
It will have nothing left in it.
12 The important men will have no one left to rule them.
The leaders will all be gone.
13 Thorns will take over the strong towers.
Wild bushes will grow in the walled cities.
Wild dogs will live there.
Owls will live in those homes.
14 Desert animals will live with the hyenas there.
And wild goats will call to their friends.
Night animals will live there.
They will find a place of rest there.
15 Owls will nest there and lay eggs.
When the eggs open, the owls will gather their young under their wings.
Hawks will gather
with their own kind.
16 Look at the Lord’s scroll. Read what is written there:
None of these will be missing.
Every one will have its mate.
God said he will gather them together.
So his Spirit will gather them together.
17 God has divided the land among them.
And he has given them each their land.
So they will own that land forever.
They will live there year after year.
God Will Comfort His People
35 The desert and dry land will become happy.
The desert will be glad and will produce flowers.
Like a flower, 2 it will have many blooms.
It will show its happiness, as if it is shouting with joy.
It will be beautiful like the forest of Lebanon.
It will be as beautiful as the hill of Carmel and the Plain of Sharon.
All people will see the glory of the Lord.
They will see the splendor of our God.
3 Make the weak hands strong.
Make the weak knees strong.
4 Say to people who are afraid and confused,
“Be strong. Don’t be afraid.
Look, your God will come,
and he will punish your enemies.
He will make them pay for the wrongs they did.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the blind people will see again.
Then the deaf will hear.
6 Crippled people will jump like deer.
And those who can’t talk now will shout with joy.
Springs of water will flow in the desert.
Streams will flow in the dry land.
7 The burning desert will have pools of water.
The dry ground will have springs.
Where wild dogs once lived,
grass and water plants will grow.
8 A road will be there.
This highway will be called “The Road to Being Holy.”
Evil people will not be allowed to walk on that road.
Only good people will walk on that road.
No fools will go on it.
9 No lions will be there.
No dangerous animals will be on that road.
They will not be found there.
That road will be for the people God saves.
10 The people the Lord has freed will return there.
They will enter Jerusalem with joy.
Their happiness will last forever.
Their gladness and joy will fill them completely.
Sorrow and sadness will go far away.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.