A Prophecy Against Egypt

19 A prophecy^(A) against Egypt:^(B)

¹⁶ In that day^(AK) the Egyptians will become weaklings.^(AL) They will shudder with fear^(AM) at the uplifted hand^(AN) that the Lord Almighty raises against them. ¹⁷ And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,^(AO) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning^(AP) against them.

¹⁸ In that day^(AQ) five cities^(AR) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance^(AS) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.^[a](AT)

¹⁹ In that day^(AU) there will be an altar^(AV) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,^(AW) and a monument^(AX) to the Lord at its border. ²⁰ It will be a sign and witness^(AY) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior^(AZ) and defender, and he will rescue^(BA) them. ²¹ So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge^(BB) the Lord. They will worship^(BC) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.^{(BD) 22} The Lord will strike^(BE) Egypt with a plague;^(BF) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn^(BG) to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal^(BH) them.

²³ In that day^(BI) there will be a highway^(BJ) from Egypt to Assyria.^(BK) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship^(BL) together. ²⁴ In that day^(BM) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,^(BN) a blessing^[b](BO) on the earth. ²⁵ The Lord Almighty will bless^(BP) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,^(BQ) Assyria my handiwork,^(BR) and Israel my inheritance.^(BS)”

A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the supreme commander,^(BT) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod^(BU) and attacked and captured it— ² at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.^(BV) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth^(BW) from your body and the sandals^(BX) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped^(BY) and barefoot.^(BZ)

³ Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant^(CA) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,^(CB) as a sign^(CC) and portent^(CD) against Egypt^(CE) and Cush,^{[c](CF) 4} so the king^(CG) of Assyria will lead away stripped^(CH) and barefoot the Egyptian captives^(CI) and Cushite^(CJ) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared^(CK)—to Egypt’s shame.^{(CL) 5} Those who trusted^(CM) in Cush^(CN) and boasted in Egypt^(CO) will be dismayed and put to shame.^{(CP) 6} In that day^(CQ) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened^(CR) to those we relied on,^(CS) those we fled to for help^(CT) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?^(CU)’”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy^(CV) against the Desert^(CW) by the Sea:

⁶ This is what the Lord says to me:

⁸ And the lookout^[d](DO) shouted,

A Prophecy Against Edom

¹¹ A prophecy against Dumah^[e]:^(DV)

A Prophecy Against Arabia

¹³ A prophecy^(DX) against Arabia:^(DY)

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract^(ED) would count it, all the splendor^(EE) of Kedar^(EF) will come to an end. ¹⁷ The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.^(EG)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.^(EH)

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for^(A) and assurance about what we do not see.^{(B) 2} This is what the ancients were commended for.^(C)

³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,^(D) so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended^(E) as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.^(F) And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.^(G)

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a](H) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him^(I) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,^(J) in holy fear built an ark^(K) to save his family.^(L) By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.^(M)

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,^(N) obeyed and went,^(O) even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land^(P) like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,^(Q) as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.^{(R) 10} For he was looking forward to the city^(S) with foundations,^(T) whose architect and builder is God.^{(U) 11} And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,^(V) was enabled to bear children^(W) because she^[b] considered him faithful^(X) who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,^(Y) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.^(Z)

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(AA) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(AB) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^{(AC) 14} People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.^{(AD) 16} Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(AE) Therefore God is not ashamed^(AF) to be called their God,^(AG) for he has prepared a city^(AH) for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.^(AI) He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[c](AJ) 19} Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,^(AK) and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.^(AL)

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,^(AM) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.^(AN)

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,^(AO) because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.^(AP)

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.^{(AQ) 25} He chose to be mistreated^(AR) along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace^(AS) for the sake of Christ^(AT) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.^{(AU) 27} By faith he left Egypt,^(AV) not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer^(AW) of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.^(AX)

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.^(AY)

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.^(AZ)

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[d](BA)

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,^(BB) Barak,^(BC) Samson^(BD) and Jephthah,^(BE) about David^(BF) and Samuel^(BG) and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms,^(BH) administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,^{(BI) 34} quenched the fury of the flames,^(BJ) and escaped the edge of the sword;^(BK) whose weakness was turned to strength;^(BL) and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.^{(BM) 35} Women received back their dead, raised to life again.^(BN) There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging,^(BO) and even chains and imprisonment.^{(BP) 37} They were put to death by stoning;^[e](BQ) they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.^(BR) They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,^(BS) destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves^(BT) and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended^(BU) for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,^{(BV) 40} since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us^(BW) would they be made perfect.^(BX)