Historical
The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South
18 Beware, land of buzzing wings,[a]
the one beyond the rivers of Cush,
2 that sends messengers by sea,
who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people,[b]
to a people that are feared far and wide,[c]
to a nation strong and victorious,[d]
whose land rivers divide.[e]
3 All you who live in the world,
who reside on the earth,
you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;
you will hear a trumpet being blown.
4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait[f] and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight,[g]
like a cloud of mist[h] in the heat[i] of harvest.”[j]
5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears,[k]
he will cut off the unproductive shoots[l] with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils.[m]
6 They will all be left[n] for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals;[o]
the birds will eat them during the summer,
and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.
7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide.[p]
The tribute[q] will be brought to the place where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.[r]
The Lord Will Judge Egypt
19 This is an oracle[s] about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage.[t]
2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt:[u]
brothers will fight with one another,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms.[v]
3 The Egyptians will panic,[w]
and I will confuse their strategy.[x]
They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,
from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.[y]
4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 The water of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will dry up and be empty.[z]
6 The canals[aa] will stink;[ab]
the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;
the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river.[ac]
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away.[ad]
8 The fishermen will mourn and lament;
all those who cast a fishhook into the river,
and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.[ae]
9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale.[af]
10 Those who make cloth[ag] will be demoralized;[ah]
all the hired workers will be depressed.[ai]
11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;[aj]
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”[ak]
12 But where, oh where, are your wise men?[al]
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has planned for Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis[am] are misled;
the rulers[an] of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has made them undiscerning;[ao]
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.[ap]
15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots or stalk.[aq]
16 At that time[ar] the Egyptians[as] will be like women.[at] They will tremble and fear because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies brandishes his fist against them.[au] 17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is planning to do to them.[av]
18 At that time five cities[aw] in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.[ax] 19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar[ay] dedicated to the Lord at its border. 20 It[az] will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of[ba] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender[bb] who will rescue them. 21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they[bc] will acknowledge the Lord’s authority[bd] at that time.[be] They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will listen to their prayers[bf] and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.[bg] 24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing[bh] in the earth.[bi] 25 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying,[bj] “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession,[bk] Israel!”
20 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it.[bl] 2 At that time the Lord announced through[bm] Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments[bn] and barefoot. 3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated.[bo] 5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed.[bp] 6 At that time[bq] those who live on this coast[br] will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”
The Lord Will Judge Babylon
21 This is an oracle[bs] about the wilderness by the Sea:[bt]
Like strong winds blowing in the south,[bu]
one invades from the wilderness,
from a land that is feared.
2 I have received a distressing message:[bv]
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”[bw]
3 For this reason my stomach churns;[bx]
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed[by] by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
4 My heart palpitates,[bz]
I shake in fear;[ca]
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
5 Arrange the table,
lay out[cb] the carpet,
eat and drink![cc]
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields![cd]
6 For this is what the Lord[ce] has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses,[cf]
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
8 Then the guard[cg] cries out:
“On the watchtower, O Lord,[ch]
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.”[ci]
When questioned, he replies,[cj]
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,[ck]
what I have heard
from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
Bad News for Seir
11 This is an oracle about Dumah:[cl]
Someone calls to me from Seir,[cm]
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”[cn]
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night.[co]
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.”[cp]
The Lord Will Judge Arabia
13 This is an oracle about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitives.
15 For they flee from the swords—
from the drawn sword,
and from the battle-ready bow,
and from the severity of the battle.
16 For this is what the Lord[cq] has told me: “Within exactly one year[cr] all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.”[cs] Indeed,[ct] the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem
22 This is an oracle[cu] about the Valley of Vision:[cv]
What is the reason[cw]
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry.[cx]
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle.[cy]
3 [cz] All your leaders ran away together—
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees[da] were captured together—
they were captured without a single arrow being shot.[db]
4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me![dc]
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try[dd] to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.”[de]
5 For the Sovereign[df] Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion.[dg]
In the Valley of Vision[dh] people shout[di]
and cry out to the hill.[dj]
6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen;[dk]
the men of Kir[dl] prepared[dm] the shield.[dn]
7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots;[do]
horsemen confidently took their positions[dp] at the gate.
8 They[dq] removed the defenses[dr] of Judah.
At that time[ds] you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest.[dt]
9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the City of David;[du]
you stored up water in the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem,
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall.[dv]
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool—
but you did not trust in[dw] the one who made it;[dx]
you did not depend on[dy] the one who formed it long ago.
12 At that time the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth.[dz]
13 But look, there is outright celebration![ea]
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[eb]
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this:[ec] “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,”[ed] says the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace,[ee] and tell him:[ef]
16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here?[eg]
Why[eh] do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
17 Look, the Lord will throw you far away,[ei] you mere man![ej]
He will wrap you up tightly.[ek]
18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land.[el]
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots,[em]
which bring disgrace to the house of your master.[en]
19 I will remove you from[eo] your office;
you will be thrown down[ep] from your position.
20 “‘At that time[eq] I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him.[er] He will become a protector of[es] the residents of Jerusalem and of the people[et] of Judah. 22 I will place the key[eu] to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place;[ev] he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family.[ew] 24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him,[ex] including the offspring and the offshoots.[ey] All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars, will hang from this peg.’[ez]
25 “At that time,”[fa] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.”[fb] Indeed,[fc] the Lord has spoken.
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