Old/New Testament
God Will Punish His Enemies
34 All you nations, come near and listen.
Pay attention, you peoples!
The earth and ·everything in it [all it contains] should listen,
the world and all ·the people in it [its offspring].
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations;
he is ·angry [furious] with their armies.
He will ·destroy them [devote them to destruction; Josh. 6:21] and ·kill them all [turn them over for slaughter].
3 Their bodies will be thrown outside.
The ·stink [stench] will rise from the ·bodies [corpses],
and the blood will flow down the mountains.
4 ·The sun, moon, and stars [L All the hosts/armies of heaven] will dissolve [Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:13–14],
and the ·sky [heavens] will be rolled up like a scroll.
·The stars [L All their hosts] will fall
like dead leaves from a vine
or dried-up figs from a fig tree.
5 The Lord’s sword in the ·sky [heavens] ·is covered with [has drunk its fill of] blood.
It will ·cut through [L descend upon] Edom
and ·destroy those people as an offering to the Lord [on the people who are devoted to destruction for judgment; v. 2; Josh. 6:21].
6 The Lord’s sword will be covered with blood;
it will be covered with fat,
with the blood from lambs and goats,
with the fat from the kidneys of ·sheep [rams].
This is because the Lord ·decided there will be [L has] a sacrifice in Bozrah [C the capital of Edom]
and ·much killing [a great slaughter] in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will ·be killed [L fall with them],
and the ·cattle [or young bulls] and the strong ·bulls [L ones; C perhaps referring to Edom’s leaders].
The land will ·be filled with [drink its fill of] their blood,
and the dirt will be covered with their fat.
8 The Lord has chosen a time for punishment.
He has chosen a year ·when people must pay [of retribution/recompense] for the ·wrongs they did to [or the cause of] ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
9 Edom’s rivers will be like ·hot tar [pitch].
Its ·dirt [dust] will be like ·burning sulfur [T brimstone].
Its land will be like burning ·tar [pitch].
10 The fires will ·burn [L not be quenched] night and day;
the smoke will rise from Edom forever.
·Year after year [L From generation to generation] that land will be ·empty [desolate];
no one will ever ·travel [pass] through that land again.
11 ·Birds [Desert owls; or Pelicans] and ·small animals [screech owl; or porcupine] will own that land,
and owls and ravens will live there.
·God [L He] will ·make it an empty wasteland [L stretch over it a measuring line of confusion/chaos];
·it will have nothing left in it [L and the plumb line of desolation; C like a careful craftsman, God has planned Edom’s judgment].
12 The ·important people [nobles] will have ·no one left to rule them [or nothing to call a kingdom];
the ·leaders [officials; princes] will ·all be gone [or be nothing].
13 Thorns will ·take over [overrun] the ·strong towers [strongholds; citadels],
and wild bushes will grow in the ·walled cities [fortresses].
It will be a home for ·wild dogs [jackals]
and a place for ·owls [or ostriches] to live.
14 Desert animals will live with the hyenas,
and wild goats will call to their friends.
Night animals will live there
and find a place of rest.
15 Owls will nest there and lay eggs.
When they hatch open, the owls will gather their young under their ·wings [L shadow].
Hawks will gather
with ·their own kind [or its mate].
16 ·Look at [L Search] the Lord’s scroll and read what is written there:
None of these will be missing;
none will be without its mate.
·God [L For his mouth] has given the command,
so his Spirit will gather them together.
17 God has ·divided the land among [or cast the lot for] them,
and he has ·given [measured to] them each their portion.
So they will ·own [possess] that land forever
and will live there ·year after year [from generation to generation].
God Will Comfort His People
35 The ·desert [wilderness] and dry land will ·become happy [rejoice];
the ·desert [arid plain; or Arabah] will be glad and will ·produce flowers [blossom; bloom].
Like a ·flower [lily; crocus], 2 it will have many blooms.
It will ·show its happiness [joyfully rejoice], as if it were ·shouting [or singing] with joy.
It will be ·beautiful like the forest [L given the glory] of Lebanon,
·as beautiful as Mount Carmel and the Plain of Sharon [L the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; 33:9].
·Everyone [L They] will see the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence]
and the splendor of our God.
3 Make the weak hands strong
and the weak knees steady.
4 Say to people who are ·frightened [anxious; L hasty of heart],
“Be strong. Don’t be afraid.
Look, your God will come,
·and he will punish your enemies [L …with vengeance].
·He will make them pay for the wrongs they did […with the retribution of God],
but he will save you.”
5 Then the blind ·people [L eyes] will see again,
and the ·deaf [L deaf ears] will hear [Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22].
6 ·Crippled people [Then the lame] will ·jump [leap] like deer,
and ·those who can’t talk now [L the tongue of the mute] will shout with joy.
Water will ·flow [burst forth] in the ·desert [wilderness],
and streams will flow in the ·dry land [arid plain; or Arabah].
7 The ·burning desert [scorched ground; parched earth] will have pools of water,
and the ·dry [parched; thirsty] ground will have springs.
Where ·wild dogs [jackals] once ·lived [lived and laid down],
grass and ·water plants [reeds and rushes/papyrus] will grow.
8 A road will be there;
this highway will be called “The ·Road to Being Holy [L Way/Highway of Holiness].”
·Evil people [The unclean; C ritually] will not be allowed to walk on that road;
only good people [C those who walk in the Way of Holiness] will walk on it.
No fools [C the morally corrupt who disregard God] will go on it.
9 No lions will be there,
nor will ·dangerous animals [ravenous/violent beasts] be on that road.
They will not be found there.
That road will be for the ·people God saves [redeemed];
10 the people the Lord has ·freed [ransomed] will return there.
They will enter ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] with ·joy [or singing; shouting],
and ·their happiness will last forever [L eternal joy will be upon their head; C as a crown].
Their gladness and joy will ·fill them completely [overtake/come upon them],
and sorrow and ·sadness [sighing] will ·go far [flee] away.
The Assyrians Invade Judah(A)
36 During Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king [C 701 bc], Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent out ·his field commander [or chief advisor; or the Rabshakeh] with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem [2 Chr. 32:9]. When the commander came near the ·waterway [aqueduct; conduit] from the upper pool on the road ·where people do their laundry [or to the Launderer’s/T Fuller’s Field], he stopped. 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah [22:20], ·the palace manager [L who was over the house], Shebna [22:15], the ·royal secretary [scribe], and Joah son of Asaph, the ·recorder [royal historian] went out to meet him.
4 The ·field commander [chief advisor; or Rabshakeh] said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:
“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: ·What can you trust in now [On what do you base your confidence; Where does this confidence come from]? 5 You say you have ·battle plans [strategy; counsel] and ·power [strength] for war, but your words ·mean nothing [are empty]. Whom are you ·trusting [relying/counting on] for help so that you ·turn [rebel] against me? 6 Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a ·splintered [broken] ·walking stick [reed]. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and ·hurt [pierce] you. So it will be with the king of Egypt for all those who depend on him. 7 You might say, “We are depending on the Lord our God,” but ·Hezekiah destroyed [L did not Hezekiah destroy…?] the Lord’s altars and ·the places of worship [L high places; 2 Kin. 18:4; 2 Chr. 30:14; 31:1]. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship only at this one altar [C at the temple in Jerusalem; the Assyrian official wrongly assumes that the other altars and high places were dedicated to the Lord and that restricting worship to Jerusalem would offend him; Deut. 12].”
8 “‘Now make an ·agreement [pledge; deal] with my ·master [lord], the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them [C a taunt that Judah’s army is too small even if Assyria were to supply it]. 9 You cannot ·defeat [repel] one of my ·master’s [lord’s] least important officers, so why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and ·horsemen [charioteers]? 10 ·I have not [L Do you think I have…?] come to attack and destroy this country without ·an order from the Lord [L the Lord]. The Lord himself told me to come ·to [against] this country and destroy it [C echoing Isaiah’s prophecy that this is judgment from the Lord].’”
11 Then Eliakim [22:20], Shebna [22:15], and Joah said to the ·field commander [chief advisor; or Rabshakeh], “Please speak to ·us [L your servants] in the Aramaic language [C the language of trade and diplomacy]. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in ·Hebrew [L Judean], because the people on the city wall can hear you.”
12 But the commander said, “My master did not send me to tell these ·things [words] only to you and your ·king [L master; lord]. He sent me to speak also to those people sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own ·dung [excrement] and drink their own urine like you [C because of shortages caused by the upcoming siege].”
13 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in ·the Hebrew language [L Judean], “·Listen to what [L Hear the word of] the great king, the king of Assyria, says. 14 The king says you should not let Hezekiah ·fool [deceive; delude] you, because he can’t ·save [rescue; T deliver] you. 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely ·save [rescue; T deliver] us. This city won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.’
16 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own ·well [cistern; C symbols of freedom and prosperity]. 17 ·After that [L …until] I will come and take you to a land like your own—a land with grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.’
18 “Don’t let Hezekiah ·fool [mislead] you, saying, ‘The Lord will save us.’ Has a god of any other nation saved his people from the ·power [L hand] of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [C cities conquered by Assyria; 10:9]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim [C city in northern Syria conquered by Assyria]? They did not save Samaria from my ·power [L hand]. 20 ·Not one [L Which…?] of all the gods of these countries has ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from me. Neither can the Lord ·save [rescue; T deliver] Jerusalem from my ·power [L hand].”
21 ·The people [L They] were silent. They didn’t answer the commander at all, because King Hezekiah had ordered, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah [22:20], ·the palace manager [L who was over the house], Shebna [22:15], the ·royal secretary [scribe], and Joah son of Asaph, the ·recorder [royal historian], went to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes [C a sign of grief, anguish or despair] and went in and told him what the field commander had said.
2 [L For] I want you to know how hard I ·work [contend; struggle] for you, those in Laodicea [C a city northwest of Colossae; 4:16; Rev. 3:14–22], and others who have never ·seen me [met me personally; L seen my face in the flesh]. 2 I want ·them [L their hearts] to be ·strengthened [encouraged; comforted] and joined together with love so that they may be rich in their ·understanding [L assurance of understanding]. This leads to their knowing fully God’s ·secret [mystery; 1:26], that is, Christ himself. 3 In him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are ·safely kept [hidden].
4 I say this so that no one can ·fool [deceive] you by ·arguments that seem good, but are false [persuasive/enticing/specious arguments]. 5 [L For] Though I am absent from you in my body, ·my heart is [in spirit I am] with you, and I ·am happy [rejoice] to see your ·good lives [discipline; orderly lives; or unbroken ranks] and your ·strong [firm; steadfast] faith in Christ.
Continue to Live in Christ
6 [L Therefore] As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to ·live [walk] in him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be ·strong [established] in the faith, just as you were taught, ·and always be thankful [abounding/overflowing with gratitude].
8 ·Be sure [Be careful; Watch; See] that no one ·leads you away [takes you captive; captivates you] with ·false [deceptive] and ·empty [worthless] teaching that is ·only human [L according to human traditions], which comes from the ·ruling spirits [elemental spiritual forces (demons); or elementary teachings] of this world, and not from Christ. 9 ·All of God lives fully in Christ [L For in him all the fullness of deity dwells] ·in a human body [bodily; embodied], 10 and you have ·a full and true life in Christ [L been filled in him], who is ·ruler [L head] over every ruler and ·power [authority].
11 In Christ you were also circumcised, but not with a circumcision done by hands [Rom. 2:28; Phil. 3:3]. It was ·a circumcision done by Christ [L the circumcision of Christ], which ·freed you from [put off; cut away] ·the power of your sinful self [your sinful nature; L the body of flesh; C just as OT circumcision cut off the physical flesh, so Christ’s circumcision “cuts off” the “flesh”—the power of our sinful self]. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in the ·power [working; active agency] of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 When you were ·spiritually dead [L dead] ·because of [or in] your sins and ·because you were not free from the power [L in the uncircumcision] of your ·sinful self [sinful nature; flesh], God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our ·sins [transgressions]. 14 He ·canceled [wiped out; erased] the ·record [certificate] of debt, ·which listed all the rules we failed to follow [L with its decrees that were against us; C the record of sins revealed through the OT law; Eph. 2:15]. He ·took it away [set it aside; destroyed it] and nailed it to the cross. 15 ·God [or Christ; L He] ·stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority [L disarmed/despoiled the rulers and authorities]. With the cross, he won the victory and ·showed the world that they were powerless [publicly shamed them; made a public spectacle of them; C like a triumphant general displaying his captives in a victory parade].
Don’t Follow People’s Rules
16 So do not let anyone ·make rules for [or criticize; judge; or condemn] you about eating and drinking or about a religious ·feast [festival], a New Moon Festival [2 Kin. 4:23; Neh. 10:33], or a Sabbath day [C religious observances that false teachers pressured the Colossians to keep]. 17 These things ·were like [L are] a shadow of what was to come. But ·what is true and real has come and is found in Christ [or the reality/substance belongs to Christ; L the body (is) of Christ]. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you by ·insisting on [or delighting in] self-denial [asceticism; or false humility] and worship of angels. Such people ·enter into [or talk endlessly about; or pin their hopes on] visions, which ·fill them [puff them up] with ·foolish pride [or empty notions] because of their ·human way of thinking [unspiritual/worldly/carnal minds; L mind of the flesh]. 19 They ·do not hold tightly [or have no connection] to the head [C Christ]. It is from him that all the parts of the body are ·cared for [supported] and held together through its joints and ligaments. So it grows in the way God ·wants [or causes] it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ and were made free from the ·ruling spirits [elemental spiritual forces (demons); or elementary teachings; v. 8] of the world, why do you act as if you still ·belong to [L are living in] this world by following rules like these: 21 “Don’t handle this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t even touch that thing”? 22 These rules refer to ·earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used [L things that all perish with use]. They are only human commands and teachings. 23 They ·seem to be wise [have an appearance of wisdom], with their ·religious devotion [or forced piety; or asceticism], false humility, and ·harsh treatment [severe discipline] of their bodies. But they ·do not really control [have no value against] the ·evil desires [indulgence] of the ·sinful self [sinful nature; flesh].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.