Bible in 90 Days
Israel’s Taunt against Babylon
14 When the Lord (A)has compassion on Jacob and again (B)chooses Israel, and settles them on their own land, then (C)strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the (D)house of Israel will make them their own possession in the land of the Lord (E)as male and female servants; and [a]they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.
3 And it will be on the day when the Lord gives you (F)rest from your hardship, your turmoil, and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4 that you will (G)take up this [b]taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,
“How (H)the oppressor has ceased,
And how the [c]onslaught has ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of rulers,
6 (I)Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,
Which [d]subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;
They (J)break forth into shouts of joy.
8 Even the (K)juniper trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you have been laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’
9 (L)Sheol below is excited about you, to meet you when you come;
It stirs the [e]spirits of the dead for you, all the [f]leaders of the earth;
It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.
10 (M)They will all respond and say to you,
‘Even you have become weak as we,
You have become like us.
11 Your (N)pride and the music of your harps
Have been brought down to Sheol;
Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you
And worms are your covering.’
12 How you have (O)fallen from heaven,
You [g](P)star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who defeated the nations!
13 But you said in your heart,
‘I will (Q)ascend to heaven;
I will (R)raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
(S)I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 Nevertheless you (T)will be brought down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
They will [h]closely examine you, saying,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world like a (U)wilderness
And overthrew its cities,
Who (V)did not [i]allow his prisoners to go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
Each in his own [j]tomb.
19 But you have been (W)hurled out of your tomb
Like [k]a rejected branch,
[l]Clothed with those killed who have been pierced with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the (X)pit
Like a (Y)trampled corpse.
20 You will not be united with them in burial,
Because you have ruined your country,
You have killed your people.
May the (Z)descendants of evildoers never be mentioned.
21 Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons
Because of the (AA)wrongdoing of their fathers.
They must not arise and take possession of the earth,
And fill the surface of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of armies, “and eliminate from Babylon (AB)name and survivors, (AC)offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord. 23 “I will also make it the property of the (AD)hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of (AE)destruction,” declares the Lord of armies.
Judgment on Assyria
24 The Lord of armies has sworn, saying, “Certainly, (AF)just as I have intended, so it has happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand, 25 to (AG)break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his (AH)yoke will be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulders. 26 This is the (AI)plan [m]devised against the entire earth; and this is the (AJ)hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For (AK)the Lord of armies has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
Judgment on Philistia
28 In the (AL)year that King Ahaz died, this (AM)pronouncement came:
29 “Do not rejoice, (AN)Philistia, all of you,
Because the rod that (AO)struck you is broken;
For from the serpent’s root a (AP)viper will come out,
And its fruit will be a (AQ)winged serpent.
30 [n]Those who are most (AR)helpless will eat,
And the poor will lie down in security;
I will kill your root with (AS)famine,
And it will kill your survivors.
31 Wail, you (AT)gate; cry, you city;
[o]Melt away, (AU)Philistia, all of you!
For smoke comes from the (AV)north,
And (AW)there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 What answer will one give the (AX)messengers of the nation?
That (AY)the Lord has founded Zion,
And (AZ)the poor of His people will take refuge in it.”
Judgment on Moab
15 The pronouncement concerning (BA)Moab:
Certainly in a night (BB)Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined;
Certainly in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.
2 [p]The people have gone up to the [q]temple and to (BC)Dibon, to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba;
Everyone’s head is (BD)bald and every beard is cut off.
3 In their streets they have put on (BE)sackcloth;
(BF)On their housetops and in their public squares
Everyone is wailing, [r](BG)overcome with weeping.
4 (BH)Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out,
Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz;
Therefore the [s]armed men of Moab cry aloud;
His soul trembles within him.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
His fugitives are as far as (BI)Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah,
For they go up the (BJ)ascent of Luhith weeping;
Indeed, on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress (BK)over their collapse.
6 For the (BL)waters of Nimrim are [t]desolate.
Indeed, the grass is withered, the new growth has died,
There is (BM)no greenery.
7 Therefore the (BN)abundance which they have acquired and stored up,
They carry it off over the brook of [u]Arabim.
8 For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab,
Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its howling to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of Dimon are full of [v]blood;
I will certainly bring added woes upon Dimon,
A (BO)lion upon the fugitives of Moab and the remnant of the land.
Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation
16 (BP)Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land,
From [w](BQ)Sela by way of the wilderness to the (BR)mountain of the daughter of Zion.
2 Then, like (BS)fluttering birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of (BT)Moab will be at the crossing places of the (BU)Arnon.
3 “[x]Give us advice, make a decision;
[y]Cast your (BV)shadow like night [z]at high noon;
(BW)Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive.
4 Let the [aa]outcasts of Moab stay with you;
Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the oppressor has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
(BX)Oppressors have been removed from the land.
5 A (BY)throne will be established in faithfulness,
And a judge will sit on it in trustworthiness in the tent of (BZ)David;
Moreover, he will seek justice,
And be prompt in righteousness.
6 (CA)We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride;
Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury;
(CB)His idle boasts are [ab]false.
7 Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail.
You will moan for the (CC)raisin cakes of (CD)Kir-hareseth
As those who are utterly stricken.
8 For the fields of (CE)Heshbon have [ac]withered, the vines of (CF)Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clusters
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;
(CG)Its [ad]tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore I will (CH)weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah;
I will drench you with my tears, (CI)Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the shouting over your (CJ)summer fruits and your harvest has fallen away.
10 (CK)Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the (CL)vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting,
No (CM)treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I have made the shouting to cease.
11 Therefore my [ae](CN)inner being sounds like a harp for Moab.
And my [af]heart for Kir-hareseth.
12 So it will come about when Moab (CO)presents himself,
When he (CP)tires himself upon his (CQ)high place
And comes to his sanctuary to pray,
That he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the Lord spoke earlier concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as [ag](CR)a hired worker would count them, the glory of (CS)Moab will become contemptible along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and [ah]impotent.”
Prophecy about Damascus
17 The (CT)pronouncement concerning (CU)Damascus:
“Behold, Damascus is about to be (CV)removed from being a city
And will become a (CW)fallen ruin.
2 The cities [ai]of (CX)Aroer are abandoned;
They will be for (CY)herds [aj]to lie down in,
And there will be (CZ)no one to frighten them.
3 The [ak](DA)fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And [al]sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the (DB)glory of the sons of Israel,”
Declares the Lord of armies.
4 Now on that day the (DC)glory of Jacob will [am]fade,
And (DD)the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
5 It will be (DE)like the [an]reaper gathering the standing grain,
As his arm harvests the ears,
Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain
In the (DF)Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet (DG)gleanings will be left in it like the [ao]shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost branch,
Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree,
Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 On that day man will (DH)look to his Maker
And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.
8 And he will not look to the (DI)altars, the work of his hands,
Nor will he look to that which his (DJ)fingers have made,
Even the [ap](DK)Asherim and incense altars.
9 On that day [aq]their strong cities will be like [ar]abandoned places in the forest,
Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel;
And [as]the land will be a desolation.
10 For (DL)you have forgotten the (DM)God of your salvation
And have not remembered the (DN)rock of your refuge.
Therefore you plant delightful plants
And set them with vine shoots of a strange god.
11 On the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,
And in the (DO)morning you bring your seed to blossom;
But the harvest will (DP)flee
On a day of illness and incurable pain.
12 Oh, the uproar of many peoples
(DQ)Who roar like the roaring of the seas,
And the rumbling of nations
Who rush on like the (DR)rumbling of mighty waters!
13 The (DS)nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,
But He will (DT)rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
And be chased (DU)like chaff on the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before a gale.
14 At evening time, behold, there is terror!
Before morning (DV)they are gone.
This will be the [at]fate of those who plunder us
And the lot of those who pillage us.
Message to Ethiopia
18 Woe, land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of [au](DW)Cush,
2 Which sends messengers by the sea,
Even in (DX)papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation [av](DY)tall and smooth,
To a people (DZ)feared [aw]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
3 (EA)All you who inhabit the world, and live on earth,
As soon as a flag is raised on the mountains, (EB)you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.
4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will quietly look [ax]from My (EC)dwelling place
Like dazzling heat in the [ay](ED)sunshine,
Like a cloud of (EE)dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For (EF)before the harvest, as soon as the bud [az]blossoms
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
He will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
And remove and tear away the spreading branches.
6 They will be left together for mountain birds (EG)of prey,
And for the animals of the earth;
And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,
And all the animals of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
7 At that time a gift of tribute will be brought to the Lord of armies
[ba]From a (EH)people [bb]tall and smooth,
From a people feared [bc]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the (EI)place of the name of the Lord of armies, to Mount Zion.
Message to Egypt
19 The (EJ)pronouncement concerning (EK)Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is (EL)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The (EM)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the (EN)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, (EO)each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that (EP)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to [bd]mediums and spiritists.
4 Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a (EQ)cruel master,
And a [be]mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord [bf]God of armies.
5 (ER)The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
6 The [bg](ES)canals will emit a stench,
The [bh](ET)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
(EU)The reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 The bulrushes by the (EV)Nile, by the [bi]edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
8 And the (EW)fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a [bj]line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white (EX)cloth will be [bk]utterly dejected.
10 And [bl]the (EY)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
11 The officials of [bm](EZ)Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become [bn]stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the (FA)wise, a son of ancient kings”?
12 Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them [bo]understand what the Lord of armies
Has (FB)planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of [bp]Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of (FC)Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the (FD)cornerstone of her tribes
Have [bq]led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of (FE)distortion;
(FF)They have led Egypt astray in all [br]that it does,
As a (FG)drunken person [bs]staggers in his vomit.
15 There will be no work for Egypt
(FH)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great (FI)fear because of the (FJ)waving of the hand of the Lord of armies, which He is going to wave over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the (FK)plan of the Lord of armies which He is making against them.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and (FL)swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of [bt]Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an (FM)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a (FN)memorial stone to the Lord beside its border. 20 And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a (FO)Savior and a (FP)Champion, and He will save them. 21 So the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will even worship with (FQ)sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking but (FR)healing; so they will (FS)return to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a (FT)road from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will (FU)worship with the Assyrians.
24 On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is (FV)Egypt My people, and Assyria (FW)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
Prophecy about Egypt and Ethiopia
20 In the year that the [bu](FX)commander came to (FY)Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time the Lord spoke through (FZ)Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the (GA)sackcloth from your hips and take your (GB)sandals off your feet.” And he did so, going (GC)naked and barefoot. 3 Then the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a (GD)sign and symbol against Egypt and [bv](GE)Cush, 4 so the (GF)king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, (GG)young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the [bw]shame of Egypt. 5 Then they will be (GH)terrified and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their (GI)pride. 6 So the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled (GJ)for help to be saved from the king of Assyria; and (GK)how are we ourselves to escape?’”
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken
21 The (GL)pronouncement concerning the [bx](GM)wilderness of the sea:
As (GN)windstorms in the [by]Negev come in turns,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
2 A (GO)harsh vision has been shown to me;
The (GP)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, (GQ)Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have put an end to all [bz]the groaning she has caused.
3 For this reason my (GR)loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a (GS)woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
4 My [ca]mind reels, [cb]horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been (GT)turned into trembling for me.
5 They (GU)set the table, they [cc]spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields!”
6 For this is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, station the lookout, have him (GV)report what he sees.
7 When he sees [cd]a (GW)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
He is to pay close attention, very close attention.”
8 Then [ce]the lookout called,
“(GX)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
9 Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “(GY)Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the (GZ)images of her gods [cf]are shattered on the ground.”
10 My (HA)downtrodden people, and my [cg]afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of armies,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.
Pronouncements about Edom and Arabia
11 The pronouncement concerning [ch](HB)Edom:
One keeps calling to me from (HC)Seir,
“Watchman, [ci]how far gone is the night?
Watchman, [cj]how far gone is the night?”
12 The watchman says,
“Morning comes but also night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
Come back again.”
13 The pronouncement about (HD)Arabia:
In the thickets of Arabia you [ck]must spend the night,
You caravans of (HE)Dedanites.
14 Bring water [cl]for the thirsty,
You inhabitants of the land of (HF)Tema;
Meet the fugitive with bread.
15 For they have (HG)fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow,
And from the press of battle.
16 For this is what the Lord said to me: “In a (HH)year, as [cm]a hired worker would count it, all the splendor of (HI)Kedar will come to an end; 17 and the (HJ)remainder of the number of bowmen, the warriors of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the Lord God of Israel (HK)has spoken.”
The Valley of Vision
22 The pronouncement concerning the (HL)valley of vision:
What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the (HM)housetops?
2 You who were full of noise,
You tumultuous town, you (HN)jubilant city;
Your dead were (HO)not killed with the sword,
Nor [cn]did they die in battle.
3 (HP)All your rulers have fled together,
And have been captured [co]without the bow;
All of you who were found were taken captive together,
[cp]Though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I say, “Look away from me,
Let me (HQ)weep bitterly,
Do not [cq]try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 (HR)For the Lord [cr]God of armies has a (HS)day of panic, (HT)subjugation, and confusion
(HU)In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying [cs]to the mountain.
6 (HV)Elam picked up the quiver,
With the chariots, [ct]infantry, and horsemen;
And (HW)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took positions at the gate.
8 And He removed the [cu]defense of Judah.
On that day you [cv]depended on the weapons of the (HX)house of the forest,
9 And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you (HY)collected the waters of the lower pool.
10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.
11 And you made a reservoir (HZ)between the two walls
For the waters of the (IA)old pool.
But you did not [cw]depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you [cx]take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.
12 Therefore on that day the Lord [cy]God of armies called you to (IB)weeping, to wailing,
To (IC)shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth.
13 Instead, there is (ID)joy and jubilation,
Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,
Eating of meat and drinking of wine:
“(IE)Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”
14 But the Lord of armies revealed Himself [cz]to me:
“Certainly this (IF)wrongdoing (IG)will not be [da]forgiven you
(IH)Until you die,” says the Lord [db]God of armies.
15 This is what the Lord [dc]God of armies says:
“Come, go to this steward,
To (II)Shebna who is in charge of the royal household,
16 ‘What right do you have here,
And whom do you have here,
That you have (IJ)cut out a tomb for yourself here,
You who cut out a tomb on the height,
You who carve a resting place for [dd]yourself in the rock?
17 Behold, the Lord is about to hurl you violently, you strong man.
And He is about to grasp you firmly
18 And wrap you up tightly like a ball,
To be (IK)driven into a vast country;
There you will die,
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master’s house!’
19 I will (IL)depose you from your office,
And [de]I will pull you down from your position.
20 Then it will come about on that day,
That I will summon My servant (IM)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 And I will clothe him with your tunic
And tie your sash securely around him.
I will hand your [df]authority over to him,
And he will become a (IN)father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 Then I will put (IO)the key of the (IP)house of David on his shoulder;
When he opens, no one will shut,
When he shuts, no one will (IQ)open.
23 I will drive him like a (IR)peg in a firm place,
And he will become a (IS)throne of glory to his father’s house.
24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the [dg]descendants, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 On that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “the (IT)peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will even (IU)break off and fall, and the load that is hanging on it will be cut off, for the (IV)Lord has spoken.”
The Fall of Tyre
23 The pronouncement concerning (IW)Tyre:
Wail, you (IX)ships of (IY)Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or [dh](IZ)harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of [di](JA)Cyprus.
2 (JB)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
[dj]Your messengers crossed the sea
3 And were on many waters.
(JC)The grain of the [dk](JD)Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the (JE)market of nations.
4 Be ashamed, (JF)Sidon,
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth,
I have neither brought up young men nor raised virgins.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in (JG)anguish over the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to (JH)Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland.
7 Is this your (JI)jubilant city,
Whose origin is from antiquity,
Whose feet used to bring her to [dl]colonize distant places?
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, (JJ)the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 (JK)The Lord of armies has planned it, to (JL)defile the pride of all beauty,
To despise all the (JM)honored of the earth.
10 [dm]Overflow your land like the Nile, you daughter of Tarshish,
There is no more [dn]restraint.
11 He has (JN)stretched His hand out (JO)over the sea,
He has (JP)made the kingdoms tremble;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to (JQ)demolish its strongholds.
12 He has said, “(JR)You shall not be jubilant anymore, you crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to [do](JS)Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people that did not exist; (JT)Assyria allocated it for (JU)desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, (JV)they made it a ruin.
14 Wail, you (JW)ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is destroyed.
15 Now on that day Tyre will be forgotten for (JX)seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 Take your harp, wander around the city,
You forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17 It will come about at (JY)the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her prostitute’s wages and (JZ)commit prostitution with all the kingdoms [dp]on the face of the earth. 18 Her (KA)profit and her prostitute’s wages will be (KB)sacred to the Lord; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her profit will become sufficient food and magnificent attire for those who dwell in the presence of the Lord.
Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord (KC)lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the (KD)creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The (KE)earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the (KF)exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. 5 The earth is also (KG)defiled [dq]by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and (KH)broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a (KI)curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the (KJ)inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.
7 The (KK)new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the joyful-hearted sigh.
8 The (KL)joy of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They do not drink wine with song;
(KM)Intoxicating drink is (KN)bitter to those who drink it.
10 The (KO)city of chaos is broken down;
(KP)Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
11 There is an (KQ)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
(KR)All joy [dr]turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city
And the (KS)gate is battered to ruins.
13 For (KT)so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the [ds]shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 (KU)They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the [dt]west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore (KV)glorify the Lord in the [du]east,
The (KW)name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
In the [dv](KX)coastlands of the sea.
16 From the (KY)ends of the earth we hear songs: “(KZ)Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “[dw]I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
The (LA)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 (LB)Terror and pit and snare
[dx]Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And the one who [dy]climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the (LC)windows [dz]above are opened, and the (LD)foundations of the earth shake.
19 (LE)The earth is broken apart,
The earth is (LF)split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth (LG)trembles like a heavy drinker
And sways like a hut,
For its (LH)wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, (LI)never to rise again.
21 So it will happen on that day,
That the Lord will (LJ)punish the rebellious [ea](LK)angels of [eb]heaven on high,
And the (LL)kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like (LM)prisoners in the [ec]dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will (LN)be punished.
23 Then the (LO)moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
For the (LP)Lord of armies will reign on (LQ)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.
Song of Praise for God’s Favor
25 Lord, You are (LR)my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have (LS)worked wonders,
(LT)Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
2 For You have turned a city into a (LU)heap,
A (LV)fortified city into a ruin;
A (LW)palace of strangers is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore a strong people will (LX)glorify You;
(LY)Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
4 For You have been a (LZ)stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A (MA)refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the (MB)ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
5 Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the (MC)uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is [ed]silenced.
6 (MD)Now the Lord of armies will prepare a [ee]lavish banquet for (ME)all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of [ef]aged wine, [eg]choice pieces with marrow,
And [eh]refined, aged wine.
7 And on this mountain He will destroy the [ei](MF)covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is [ej]stretched over all nations.
8 He will [ek](MG)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord [el]God will (MH)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the (MI)disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, (MJ)this is our God for whom we have (MK)waited [em]that (ML)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
(MM)Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
And (MN)Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled down in the water of a manure pile.
11 And he will (MO)spread out his hands in the middle of it
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But the Lord will (MP)lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.
12 The (MQ)unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.
Song of Trust in God’s Protection
26 (MR)On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a (MS)strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for [en](MT)security.
2 Open the (MU)gates, that the (MV)righteous nation may enter,
The one that [eo]remains faithful.
3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect (MW)peace,
Because he trusts in You.
4 (MX)Trust in the Lord forever,
For in [ep]God the Lord, we have an everlasting (MY)Rock.
5 For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the (MZ)unassailable city;
(NA)He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6 (NB)The foot will trample it,
The feet of the (NC)poor, the steps of the helpless.”
7 The (ND)way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, (NE)make the path of the righteous level.
8 Indeed, while following the way of (NF)Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
(NG)Your name, and (NH)remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
9 (NI)At night [eq]my soul longs for You,
Indeed, [er]my spirit within me (NJ)seeks You diligently;
For when the earth [es]experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world (NK)learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not (NL)learn righteousness;
He (NM)deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they (NN)do not see it.
[et]They see (NO)Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, [eu](NP)fire will devour Your enemies.
12 Lord, You will establish (NQ)peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
13 Lord, our God, (NR)other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we [ev](NS)confess Your name.
14 (NT)The dead will not live, the [ew]departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have (NU)punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
15 (NV)You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have (NW)extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they sought You (NX)in distress;
They [ex]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 (NY)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We (NZ)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were (OA)inhabitants of the world [ey]born.
19 Your (OB)dead will live;
[ez]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, (OC)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the [fa]dawn,
And the earth will [fb]give birth to the [fc]departed spirits.
20 Come, my people, (OD)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little [fd](OE)while
Until (OF)indignation [fe]runs its course.
21 For behold, the Lord is about to (OG)come out from His place
To (OH)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will (OI)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
God’s Blessings for Israel
27 On that day (OJ)the Lord will punish [ff](OK)Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
With His fierce and great and mighty sword,
Even [fg]Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And (OL)He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
2 On that day,
“A [fh](OM)vineyard of beauty, sing of it!
3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;
(ON)I water it every moment.
So that no one will [fi]damage it,
I (OO)guard it night and day.
4 I have no wrath.
Should [fj]someone give Me (OP)briars and thorns in battle,
Then I would step on them, (OQ)I would burn them [fk]completely.
5 Or let him [fl](OR)rely on My protection,
Let him make peace with Me,
Let him (OS)make peace with Me.”
6 [fm]In the days to come Jacob (OT)will take root,
Israel will (OU)blossom and sprout,
And they will fill the [fn]whole world with (OV)fruit.
7 Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has (OW)He struck them?
Or like the slaughter of His slain, [fo]have they been slain?
8 You contended with them [fp]by banishing them, by (OX)driving them away.
With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the (OY)east wind.
9 Therefore through this Jacob’s wrongdoing will be (OZ)forgiven;
And this will be [fq]the full price of the [fr](PA)pardoning of his sin:
When he makes all the (PB)altar stones like pulverized chalk stones;
When [fs]Asherim and incense altars will not stand.
10 For the fortified city is (PC)isolated,
A [ft]homestead deserted and abandoned like the desert;
(PD)There the calf will graze,
And there it will lie down and [fu]feed on its branches.
11 When its (PE)limbs are dry, they are broken off;
Women come and make a fire with them,
For they are not a people of (PF)discernment,
Therefore (PG)their Maker (PH)will not have compassion on them.
And their Creator will not be gracious to them.
12 On that day the Lord (PI)will thresh from the flowing stream of the (PJ)Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be (PK)gathered up one by one, you sons of Israel. 13 It will come about also on that day that a great (PL)trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of (PM)Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and (PN)worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted
28 Woe to the proud crown of the (PO)habitually drunk of (PP)Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [fv]fertile valley
Of those who are [fw]overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and (PQ)mighty agent;
As a storm of (PR)hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of (PS)mighty overflowing waters,
He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is (PT)trampled underfoot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [fx]fertile valley,
Will be like the (PU)first-ripe fig prior to the summer,
Which [fy]one sees,
And [fz]as soon as it is in his [ga]hand,
He swallows it.
5 On that day the (PV)Lord of armies will become a beautiful (PW)crown
And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;
6 A (PX)spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A (PY)strength to those who repel the [gb]onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also (PZ)reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink:
(QA)The priest and (QB)the prophet reel with intoxicating drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from (QC)intoxicating drink;
They reel while [gc]having (QD)visions,
They stagger when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy (QE)vomit, without a single clean place.
9 “To (QF)whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just (QG)weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
‘[gd](QH)Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through (QI)stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “This is the (QJ)place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“[ge]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and (QK)stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (QL)hear the word of the Lord, you (QM)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (QN)covenant with death,
And with [gf]Sheol we have made a [gg]pact.
(QO)The [gh]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (QP)falsehood our refuge and we have (QQ)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord [gi]God says:
“(QR)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (QS)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [gj]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [gk]disturbed.
17 I will make (QT)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (QU)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (QV)covenant with death will be [gl](QW)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (QX)[gm]gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (QY)trampling ground.
19 As (QZ)often as it passes through, it will [gn]seize you;
For (RA)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [go]sheer (RB)terror to understand [gp]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (RC)blanket is too [gq]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (RD)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (RE)Gibeon,
To do His (RF)task, His [gr](RG)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [gs]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (RH)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [gt]God of armies
Of decisive (RI)destruction on all the earth.
23 Listen and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the [gu]farmer plow [gv]continually to plant seed?
Does he continually [gw]turn and break up his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter (RJ)cumin
And [gx]plant (RK)wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its [gy]area?
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27 For dill is not threshed with a (RL)threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel [gz]driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually [ha]damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
29 This also comes from the Lord of armies,
Who has made His counsel (RM)wonderful and His wisdom (RN)great.
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