Old/New Testament
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.[a] 2 At that time the Lord announced through[b] 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[c] 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.[d] 5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed.[e] 6 At that time[f] those who live on this coast[g] 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[h] about the wilderness by the Sea:[i]
Like strong winds blowing in the south,[j]
one invades from the wilderness,
from a land that is feared.
2 I have received a distressing message:[k]
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning.”[l]
3 For this reason my stomach churns;[m]
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed[n] by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
4 My heart palpitates,[o]
I shake in fear;[p]
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
5 Arrange the table,
lay out[q] the carpet,
eat and drink![r]
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields![s]
6 For this is what the Lord[t] has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses,[u]
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
8 Then the guard[v] cries out:
“On the watchtower, O Lord,[w]
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.”[x]
When questioned, he replies,[y]
“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,[z]
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:[aa]
Someone calls to me from Seir,[ab]
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”[ac]
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night.[ad]
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.”[ae]
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[af] has told me: “Within exactly one year[ag] all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.”[ah] Indeed,[ai] the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem
22 This is an oracle[aj] about the Valley of Vision:[ak]
What is the reason[al]
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry.[am]
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle.[an]
3 [ao] All your leaders ran away together—
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees[ap] were captured together—
they were captured without a single arrow being shot.[aq]
4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me![ar]
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try[as] to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.”[at]
5 For the Sovereign[au] Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion.[av]
In the Valley of Vision[aw] people shout[ax]
and cry out to the hill.[ay]
6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen;[az]
the men of Kir[ba] prepared[bb] the shield.[bc]
7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots;[bd]
horsemen confidently took their positions[be] at the gate.
8 They[bf] removed the defenses[bg] of Judah.
At that time[bh] you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest.[bi]
9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the City of David;[bj]
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.[bk]
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool—
but you did not trust in[bl] the one who made it;[bm]
you did not depend on[bn] 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.[bo]
13 But look, there is outright celebration![bp]
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[bq]
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this:[br] “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,”[bs] 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,[bt] and tell him:[bu]
16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here?[bv]
Why[bw] 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,[bx] you mere man![by]
He will wrap you up tightly.[bz]
18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land.[ca]
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots,[cb]
which bring disgrace to the house of your master.[cc]
19 I will remove you from[cd] your office;
you will be thrown down[ce] from your position.
20 “‘At that time[cf] 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.[cg] He will become a protector of[ch] the residents of Jerusalem and of the people[ci] of Judah. 22 I will place the key[cj] 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;[ck] he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family.[cl] 24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him,[cm] including the offspring and the offshoots.[cn] All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars, will hang from this peg.’[co]
25 “At that time,”[cp] 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.”[cq] Indeed,[cr] the Lord has spoken.
6 Children,[a] obey your parents in the Lord,[b] for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,”[c] which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely, 3 “that it will go[d] well with you and that you will live[e] a long time on the earth.”[f]
4 Fathers,[g] do not provoke your children to anger,[h] but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves,[i] obey your human masters[j] with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching[k]—as people-pleasers—but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.[l] 7 Obey[m] with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord[n] and not people, 8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this[o] will be rewarded by the Lord.
9 Masters,[p] treat your slaves[q] the same way,[r] giving up the use of threats,[s] because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven,[t] and there is no favoritism with him.
Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes[u] of the devil. 12 For our struggle[v] is not against flesh and blood,[w] but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,[x] against the spiritual forces[y] of evil in the heavens.[z] 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground[aa] on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening[ab] the belt of truth around your waist,[ac] by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your[ad] feet with the preparation that comes from the good news[ae] of peace,[af] 16 and in all of this,[ag] by taking up the shield[ah] of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation[ai] and the sword[aj] of the Spirit (which is the word of God). 18 With every prayer and petition, pray[ak] at all times in the Spirit, and to this end[al] be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints. 19 Pray[am] for me also, that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak[an]—that I may confidently make known[ao] the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.
Farewell Comments
21 Tychicus, my[ap] dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances,[aq] how I am doing. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances[ar] and that he may encourage your hearts.
23 Peace to the brothers and sisters,[as] and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be[at] with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.[au]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.