Historical
God’s Message to Babylon
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this ·message [oracle; T burden] about Babylon:
2 Raise a ·flag [banner; signal flag] on the bare mountain.
·Call out [Shout] to them.
·Raise [Wave] your hand to signal them
to enter through the gates ·for important people [of the nobles/princes].
3 I myself have commanded those people
·whom I have separated as mine [or my holy/sanctified/chosen ones].
I have ·called [summoned] those warriors to carry out my anger.
They rejoice ·and are glad to do my will [or in my triumph/exaltation].
4 Listen to the loud ·noise [tumult] in the mountains,
the sound of ·many people [a great crowd/army].
Listen to the ·noise [uproar; commotion] among the kingdoms,
the sound of nations gathering together.
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is ·calling together [summoning; mustering] his army for battle.
5 They are coming from a faraway land,
from the ·edge of the horizon [or end of the heavens].
·In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon [L The Lord and his weapons of wrath/indignation]
to destroy the whole ·country [land; or earth].
6 ·Cry [Wail], because the Lord’s day of judging is near;
the Almighty is sending destruction.
7 ·People will be weak with fear [L All hands will go limp/fail],
and ·their courage [L every human heart] will melt away.
8 Everyone will be ·afraid [terrified; dismayed].
Pain and ·hurt [anguish] will ·grab [grip; seize] them;
they will ·hurt [writhe in pain] like a woman giving birth.
They will look at each other ·in fear [aghast; or in shock/amazement],
with their faces ·red [aflame] like fire.
God’s Judgment Against Babylon
9 ·Look [T Behold], the Lord’s day of judging is coming—
a ·terrible [cruel] day, a day of ·God’s anger [L wrath and rage of anger].
He will ·destroy [desolate] the ·land [or earth]
and the sinners who live in it.
10 [L For] The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The sun will grow dark as it rises,
and the moon will not give its light.
11 The Lord says, “I will punish the world for its evil
and wicked people for their sins.
I will cause ·proud people [the arrogant] to lose their pride,
and I will ·destroy [humble; lay low] the pride of ·those who are cruel to others [the ruthless/tyrants].
12 People will be ·harder to find [scarcer] than pure gold;
there will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir [C perhaps a region in southern Arabia].
13 I will make the ·sky [or heavens] shake,
and the earth will be ·moved [shaken] from its place
by the ·anger [wrath; fury] of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
·at the time [L in the day] of his burning anger.
14 “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted ·deer [gazelle]
or like sheep who have no shepherd.
Everyone will turn back to his own people;
each will run back to his own land.
15 Everyone who is captured will be ·killed [stabbed; thrust through];
everyone who is caught will ·be killed with a [L fall by the] sword.
16 Their little children will be ·beaten to death [dashed to pieces] in front of them.
Their houses will be ·robbed [looted; plundered]
and their wives raped.
17 “·Look [T Behold], I will ·cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon [L stir up the Medes against them; C fulfilled by Cyrus the Great in 539 bc].
They do not care about silver
or delight in gold.
18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with ·arrows [L bows];
they will show no mercy on ·children [L the fruit of the womb],
nor will they feel ·sorry [pity; compassion] for ·little ones [children; sons].
19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms,
·and the Babylonians are very proud of it [L the glory and pride of the Chaldeans].
But God will destroy it
like Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen. 19:23–29].
20 No one will ever live there
or settle there ·again [from generation to generation].
No ·Arab [or bedouin; nomad] will put a tent there;
no shepherd will ·bring [bed down their] sheep there.
21 Only desert animals will live there,
and their houses will be full of ·wild dogs [or jackals; hyenas; howling creatures; or owls].
Owls will live there,
and wild goats will ·leap [skip] about in the houses.
22 ·Wolves [or Hyenas] will howl within the ·strong walls [citadels; towers],
and ·wild dogs [jackals] will bark in the ·beautiful [delightful] ·buildings [palaces].
·The end of Babylon is near [L Her time has nearly come];
·its time is almost over [L and her days will not be extended].”
Israel Will Return Home
14 The Lord will ·show mercy to [have compassion on] the ·people of Jacob [L Jacob], and he will again choose ·the people of Israel [L Israel]. He will settle them in their own land. Then ·non-Israelite people [foreigners; strangers] will join the Israelites and will ·become a part of [unite with; attach to] the ·family [L house] of Jacob. 2 Nations will take the Israelites back to their ·land [place]. Then those men and women from the other nations will become ·slaves [servants] to Israel in the Lord’s land. Israel will capture those who had captured them and will rule over ·those who had ruled them [their oppressors].
The King of Babylon Will Fall
3 The Lord will ·take away the Israelites’ hard work and will comfort them [L give you rest/relief from your suffering/pain and turmoil]. ·They [L You] will no longer have to work hard as slaves. 4 On that day ·Israel [L you] will sing this ·song about [or taunt against] the king of Babylon:
The ·cruel king who ruled us [L oppressor] is finished;
his ·angry rule [arrogant fury; hostility] is finished!
5 The Lord has ·taken away the power [broken the club/rod/staff] of the wicked
and the ·scepter [staff] of evil rulers
6 ·The king of Babylon [L …which] struck ·people [or nations] in anger
·again and again [with endless blows].
He ruled nations in anger
·and continued to hurt them [with unrelenting oppression/aggression].
7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to sing.
8 Even the ·pine trees [junipers; evergreens; cypresses] ·are happy [rejoice at you],
and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king has ·fallen [been laid low],
so no ·one [woodcutter] will ever cut us down again.”
9 ·The place of the dead [or The grave; L Sheol] is ·excited [stirred up]
to meet you when you come.
It wakes the ·spirits of the dead [ghosts],
the ·leaders [L rams] of the world.
It makes kings of all nations
·stand up from their thrones to greet you [L rise up from their thrones].
10 All these leaders will ·make fun of you [L respond]
and will say,
“Now you are weak, as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your ·pride [or pomp; splendor] has been sent down to ·the place of the dead [or the grave; L Sheol].
The music from your harps goes with it.
·Flies [or Maggots] are spread out like your bed beneath you,
and worms cover your body like a blanket.
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
·morning star [or day star; or shining one; C still addressing the king of Babylon, though sometimes applied to Satan],
·even though you were as bright as the rising sun [L son of the dawn]!
In the past all the nations on earth ·bowed down before you [or were laid low by you],
but now you have been cut down.
13 You told yourself,
“I will ·go up to heaven [or ascend to the sky].
I will put my throne
above God’s stars.
I will ·sit [or rule] on the mountain of the ·gods [L assembly],
on the slopes of ·the sacred mountain [or the north; or Mount Zaphon; C known as the mountain of Baal].
14 I will ·go up [ascend] above the ·tops [or high places] of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”
15 But you were brought down to ·the grave [or the place of the dead; L Sheol],
to the deep places ·where the dead are [L of the pit].
16 Those who see you stare at you.
They ·think about [ponder] what has happened to you
and say, “Is this the same man who ·caused great fear on [L shook the] earth,
who ·shook [made to tremble] the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a desert,
who ·destroyed [overthrew] its cities,
who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 Every king of the nations ·has been buried with honor [lies in glory],
each in his own ·grave [L house].
19 But you are thrown out of your grave,
like an ·unwanted [loathed; rejected] branch.
·You are covered by bodies [L Clothed with the slain]
that ·died in battle [L were pierced with a sword],
by bodies to be buried in a rocky pit.
You are like a ·dead body other soldiers walk on [trampled corpse].
20 You will not be buried with those bodies,
because you ruined your own country
and killed your own people.
·The children [or May the offspring/descendants] of evil people
will never be mentioned again.
21 Prepare to ·kill his children [execute/slaughter his sons],
·because their father is guilty [for the sins of their fathers/ancestors].
They will never ·again take control of [L rise and possess] the earth;
they will never again fill the ·world [surface/L face of the earth/world] with their cities.
22 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says this:
“I will ·fight [L rise up] against those people;
I will ·destroy [L cut off from] Babylon ·and its people [L its name and remnant/survivors],
its ·children [offspring] and their ·descendants [posterity],” says the Lord.
23 “I will make Babylon fit only for ·owls [or hedgehogs; or porcupines]
and for swamps.
I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction,”
says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
God Will Punish Assyria
24 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has ·made this promise [sworn this oath]:
“These things will happen exactly as I planned them;
they will happen exactly as I ·set them up [purposed them].
25 I will ·destroy [crush; break] ·the king of Assyria [L Assyria] in my ·country [land];
I will trample him on my mountains.
His yoke [C oppressive rule] will be taken off my people,
And his burden will be removed from their shoulders.
26 “This is what I plan to do for all the earth.
And this is the hand that I have ·raised [stretched out] over all nations.”
27 When the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] makes a plan,
·no one [L who…?] can stop it.
When the Lord ·raises his hand to punish people [L stretches out his hand],
·no one [L who…?] can stop it.
God’s Message to Philistia
28 This message was given in the year that King Ahaz died [C about 715 bc]:
29 Country of Philistia, don’t ·be happy [rejoice]
that the ·king [L club; rod] who struck you is now ·dead [broken; C either the king of Assyria or Ahaz, king of Judah].
He is like a snake that will give birth to another dangerous snake [L For from the snake’s/serpent’s root will come a viper/adder].
·The new king will be like a quick, dangerous snake to bite you [L its offspring/fruit will be a darting/flying poisonous/fiery adder].
30 Even the ·poorest of my people [or firstborn of the poor] will ·be able to eat safely [find pasture; graze in pasure],
and people in need will be able to lie down in safety.
But I will kill your ·family [L root] with ·hunger [famine],
and ·all your people who are left will die [L it will slay your survivors/remnant].
31 ·People near the city gates, cry out [L Wail, gate, and cry out, city]!
Philistines, ·be frightened [melt away],
because a cloud of ·dust [or smoke] comes from the north [C evidence of an approaching army].
·Full of men ready to fight [L And there is no straggler/loner in its ranks].
32 What shall we tell the messengers ·from Philistia [L of the nation]?
Say that the Lord has made ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] strong
and that his ·poor [oppressed; afflicted] people will go there for ·safety [refuge].
God’s Message to Moab
15 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Moab:
In one night ·armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab [or Ar of Moab is destroyed/laid waste],
and ·it [or Moab] was ·destroyed [ruined].
In one night ·armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab [or Kir is destroyed/laid waste],
and it [or Moab] was ·destroyed [ruined].
2 The ·people of Dibon [L Dibon] go to the ·places of worship [temple; L house] to ·cry [lament; weep].
The people of Moab ·cry [wail] for the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
Every head is ·shaved [L bald]
and every beard is cut off [C signs of sorrow, mourning, or humiliation].
3 In the streets they wear ·rough cloth [sackcloth; C to show their sadness].
On the roofs [C roofs were flat and used as living and storage space in Palestine] and in the public squares,
they are ·crying loudly [wailing], ·with tears streaming down [or falling down weeping].
4 ·People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh [L Heshbon and Elealeh] cry out loud.
You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz.
Even the ·soldiers [armed men] ·are frightened [cry out; shout in terror];
·they are shaking with fear [L his soul wavers/trembles].
5 My heart cries with sorrow for Moab.
Its ·people [fugitives] ·run away to Zoar for safety [L flee to Zoar];
they run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
People are going up the ·mountain road to [ascent of] Luhith,
·crying [weeping] as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim,
·crying over [lamenting] their destruction.
6 But the water of Nimrim ·has dried up [are devastated/desolate].
The grass has dried up,
and all the plants ·are dead [have failed/disappeared];
nothing green is left.
7 So the people gather up what they have ·saved [stored up]
and carry it across the ·Ravine [Brook; Stream] of the Poplars.
8 Crying ·is heard everywhere in [or echoes throughout the borders of] Moab.
Their ·crying [wailing; howling] is heard as far away as the city Eglaim;
it is heard as far away as Beer Elim.
9 The water of the city Dibon is full of blood,
and I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon.
·I will send lions to kill [L A lion for] ·those left in [the fugitives of] Moab
And ·those who remain in [the remnant/survivors of] the land.
16 Send lambs [C as tribute payment] to the ·king [ruler] of the land
Send it from Sela [C an Edomite city, later the Nabatean capital called Petra] through the desert
to the mountain of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C Zion was the location of the Temple; 1:8].
2 The women of Moab
·try to cross the river [L at the fords of] Arnon
like little birds
·that have fallen [or pushed away; or scattered] from their nest.
3 They say: “·Help us [or Make a decision].
·Tell us what to do [or Grant us justice].
Protect us from our enemies
as ·shade [L shade like night] protects us from the noon sun.
·Hide us, because we are running for safety [L Shelter the fugitives/outcasts]!
Don’t ·give us to our enemies [betray/uncover the refugee].
4 Let ·those of us who were forced out [the fugitives/outcasts] of Moab live ·in your land [L among you].
Hide ·us [L them] from ·our enemies [L the destroyer].”
The ·enemy [oppressor] will ·be defeated [come to an end].
The ·robbing of Moab [L destruction] will stop;
those who ·hurt others [L trample] will disappear from the land.
5 Then a ·new loyal king will come [L throne will be established in faithfulness/lovingkindness];
·this faithful king will be from the family of David [L he will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; 9:1–7; 11:1–16].
He will judge ·fairly [with justice]
and ·do what is right [hasten righteousness].
6 We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry,
but their bragging ·means nothing [is empty].
7 So ·the people of Moab will cry [L Moab wails for Moab];
they will all ·be sad [wail].
They will ·moan and groan [or mourn, utterly stricken]
for the raisin cakes [C perhaps associated with pagan ritual (Hos. 3:1); also known as an aphrodisiac (Song 2:5)] they had in Kir Hareseth.
8 But the fields of Heshbon ·cannot grow grapes [wither; dry up; L languish];
and the vines of Sibmah dry up;
·foreign rulers [L lords of the nations] have ·destroyed [struck down] the ·grapevines [choice plants].
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert;
they had spread as far as the sea [C probably the Dead Sea].
9 I ·cry [weep] with the people of Jazer
for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will ·cry with the [or drench you with tears, you] people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
·There will be no shouts of joy,
because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit [or Your enemies shout for joy over your fruit and harvest].
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards
and no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one ·makes [treads/stomps out] wine in the winepresses,
because I have put an end to shouts of joy.
11 My ·heart cries [inner parts moan/sigh] for Moab like a ·harp playing a funeral song [L harp];
·I am very sad [L my inner being] for Kir Hareseth.
12 The people of Moab will ·go to their places of worship [L appear and grow weary at their high places]
and will try to pray.
But when they go to their temple to pray,
they will not be able.
13 Earlier the Lord said these things about Moab. 14 Now the Lord says, “In three years ·all those people and what they take pride in [L the glory of Moab] will be ·hated [despised]. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time [C meaning carefully calculated, so as to be properly paid; 21:16].) There will be a few people left, but they will be ·weak [feeble].”
God’s Message to Aram
17 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Damascus:
“[L Look; T Behold] The city of Damascus will ·be destroyed [L cease to be];
only ruins will remain.
2 The cities of Aroer will be ·abandoned [deserted; desolate].
·Flocks will wander freely in those empty towns [L They will be for flocks];
they will lie down and no one will ·bother [disturb; frighten] them.
3 The ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of ·Israel [L Ephraim; C the most influential tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel] will be destroyed.
The ·government in Damascus will end [L kingdom from Damascus; C the capital of Syria].
·Those left alive [The remnant] of Aram [C Syria] will be
like the glory of Israel,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
4 “·At that time [L In that day] ·Israel’s wealth [L Jacob’s glory] will ·all be gone [or fade; wane].
·Israel will be like a body wasting away from sickness [L The fatness of his flesh will grow lean].
5 That time will be like the grain harvest in the Valley of Rephaim.
The workers cut the wheat.
Then they cut the heads of grain from the plants
and collect the grain.
6 That time will also be like ·the olive harvest [when an olive tree is beaten],
when ·a few olives [L gleanings] are left [24:13].
Two or three olives are left in the top branches.
Four or five olives are left on full branches,” says the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 ·At that time [L In that day] people will look to their Maker;
their eyes will ·see [or L look toward] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
8 They will not trust the altars ·they have made [L the work of their hands],
nor will they trust what their ·hands [L fingers] have made,
not even the ·Asherah idols [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah] and ·altars [incense altars].
9 ·At that time [L In that day] all their strong cities will be empty. They will be like the ·cities the Hivites and [or wooded heights] the Amorites left when the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] came to take the land. Everything will be ruined.
10 You have forgotten the God who ·saves [rescues] you;
you have not remembered ·that God is your place of safety [L the Rock, your stronghold/strength].
You plant ·the finest [beautiful; pleasant] plants
and grapevines from ·faraway [exotic; foreign] places.
11 You plant your grapevines one day and try to make them grow,
and ·the next day [in the morning] you make them blossom.
But ·at harvest time everything will be dead [L the harvest will be a heap/disaster];
·a sickness will kill all the plants [L in the day of disease and incurable pain].
12 ·Listen [or Woe] to the many people!
·Their crying is like the noise from the sea [They rage/roar like the raging/roaring sea].
·Listen [or Woe] to the nations!
Their ·crying [roar] is like the ·crashing [roaring] of great ·waves [waters].
13 The people roar like the ·waves [roaring of many waters],
but when ·God [L he] ·speaks harshly to [shouts at; rebukes] them, they will ·run [flee far] away.
They will be like chaff on the hills being blown by the wind,
or like ·tumbleweeds [L a rolling thing] blown away by a storm.
14 ·At night [L In the time of evening] ·the people will be very frightened [L look/T behold, terror!].
Before morning, ·no one will be left [the enemy will be gone; L he is no more].
This is the ·fate [portion] of those who ·steal from [plunder] us,
and ·what happens to [the lot of] those who ·rob [loot] us.
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