Old/New Testament
Chapter 20
Isaiah’s Warning Against Trust in Egypt and Ethiopia. 1 In the year the general sent by Sargon, king of Assyria, came to Ashdod,[a] fought against it, and captured it— 2 [b]at that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah, the son of Amoz: Go and take off the sackcloth from your waist, and remove the sandals from your feet. This he did, walking naked and barefoot.(A) 3 Then the Lord said: Just as my servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent against Egypt and Ethiopia,(B) 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away captives from Egypt, and exiles from Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the shame of Egypt.(C) 5 They shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia, their hope, and because of Egypt, their boast.(D) 6 The inhabitants of this coastland shall say on that day, “See what has happened to those we hoped in, to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! What escape is there for us now?”(E)
Chapter 21
Fall of Babylon[c]
1 Oracle on the wastelands by the sea:[d]
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negeb,
it comes from the desert,
from the fearful land.(F)
2 A harsh vision has been announced to me:
“The traitor betrays,
the despoiler spoils.(G)
Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media;[e]
put an end to all its groaning!”(H)
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish,
pangs have seized me like those of a woman in labor;
I am too bewildered to hear,
too dismayed to look.(I)
4 My mind reels,
shuddering assails me;
The twilight I yearned for
he has turned into dread.(J)
5 They set the table,
spread out the rugs;
they eat, they drink.[f](K)
Rise up, O princes,
oil the shield!
6 For thus my Lord said to me:
Go, station a watchman,
let him tell what he sees.
7 If he sees a chariot,
a pair of horses,
Someone riding a donkey,
someone riding a camel,
Then let him pay heed,
very close heed.
8 Then the watchman cried,
“On the watchtower, my Lord,
I stand constantly by day;
And I stay at my post
through all the watches of the night.(L)
9 Here he comes—
a single chariot,
a pair of horses—
He calls out and says,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon!
All the images of her gods
are smashed to the ground!’”(M)
10 To you, who have been threshed,
beaten on my threshing floor,
What I have heard
from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have announced to you.(N)
Dumah
11 Oracle on Dumah:[g]
They call to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much longer the night?
Watchman, how much longer the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning has come, and again night.
If you will ask, ask; come back again.”
In the Steppe
13 Oracle: in the steppe:[h]
In the thicket in the steppe you will spend the night,
caravans of Dedanites.
14 Meet the thirsty, bring them water,
inhabitants of the land of Tema,
greet the fugitives with bread.(O)
15 For they have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword;
From the taut bow,
from the thick of battle.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: In another year, like the years of a hired laborer,[i] all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end. 17 Few of Kedar’s stalwart archers shall remain, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Chapter 22
The Valley of Vision
1 Oracle on the Valley of Vision:[j](P)
What is the matter with you now, that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 [k]You who were full of noise,
tumultuous city,
exultant town?(Q)
Your slain are not slain with the sword,
nor killed in battle.
3 All your leaders fled away together,
they were captured without use of bow;
All who were found were captured together,
though they had fled afar off.
4 That is why I say: Turn away from me,
let me weep bitterly;
Do not try to comfort me
for the ruin of the daughter of my people.(R)
5 It is a day of panic, rout and confusion,
from the Lord, the God of hosts, in the Valley of Vision[l]
Walls crash;
a cry for help to the mountains.
6 Elam takes up the quiver,
Aram mounts the horses
and Kir[m] uncovers the shields.
7 Your choice valleys are filled with chariots,
horses are posted at the gates—
8 and shelter over Judah is removed.[n]
On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest; 9 [o]you saw that the breaches in the City of David were many; you collected the water of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, tearing some down to strengthen the wall; 11 you made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to the city’s Maker, nor consider the one who fashioned it long ago.
12 On that day the Lord,
the God of hosts, called
For weeping and mourning,
for shaving the head and wearing sackcloth.
13 But look! instead, there was celebration and joy,
slaughtering cattle and butchering sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine:
“Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(S)
14 This message was revealed in my hearing from the Lord of hosts:
This iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,
says the Lord, the God of hosts.
Shebna and Eliakim
15 Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
Up, go to that official,
Shebna,[p] master of the palace,
16 [q]“What have you here? Whom have you here,
that you have hewn for yourself a tomb here,
Hewing a tomb on high,
carving a resting place in the rock?”
17 The Lord shall hurl you down headlong, mortal man!
He shall grip you firmly,
18 And roll you up and toss you like a ball
into a broad land.
There you will die, there with the chariots you glory in,
you disgrace to your master’s house!
19 I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
20 On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim,[r] son of Hilkiah;(T)
21 I will clothe him with your robe,
gird him with your sash,
confer on him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.(U)
22 I will place the key[s] of the House of David on his shoulder;
what he opens, no one will shut,
what he shuts, no one will open.(V)
23 I will fix him as a peg in a firm place,
a seat of honor for his ancestral house;
24 On him shall hang all the glory of his ancestral house:[t]
descendants and offspring,
all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs.
25 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg fixed in a firm place shall give way, break off and fall, and the weight that hung on it shall be done away with; for the Lord has spoken.
Chapter 6
Children and Parents. 1 Children, obey your parents [in the Lord], for this is right.(A) 2 “Honor your father and mother.”(B) This is the first commandment with a promise, 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.(C)
Slaves and Masters. 5 Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ,(D) 6 not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,(E) 7 willingly serving the Lord and not human beings, 8 knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 9 Masters, act in the same way toward them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality.(F)
Battle Against Evil. 10 [a]Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. 11 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.(G) 12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.(H) 13 Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.(I) 14 So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,(J) 15 and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.(K) 16 In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one.(L) 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.(M)
Constant Prayer. 18 With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones(N) 19 and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel(O) 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.(P)
V. Conclusion
A Final Message.[b] 21 So that you also may have news of me and of what I am doing, Tychicus, my beloved brother and trustworthy minister in the Lord, will tell you everything.(Q) 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us and that he may encourage your hearts.(R)
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in immortality.(S)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.