Bible in 90 Days
1 This is the vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem at the time of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
The Lord Accuses Israel of Sin
2 Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth!
The Lord has spoken,
“I raised ⌞my⌟ children and helped them grow,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 Oxen know their owners,
and donkeys know where their masters feed them.
But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟.
My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
4 “How horrible it will be for a nation that sins.
⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt.
They are descendants of evildoers
and destructive children.
They have abandoned the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned their backs on him.
5 “Why do you still want to be beaten?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is infected.
Your whole heart is failing.
6 From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head
there is no healthy spot left on your ⌞body⌟—
only bruises, sores, and fresh wounds.
They haven’t been cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
7 “Your country is devastated.
Your cities are burned down.
Your fields are destroyed right before your eyes by foreigners.
Your fields are devastated and taken over by foreigners.
8 My people Zion are left like a hut in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a city under attack.”
9 If the Lord of Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Israel’s Corrupt Religion
10 Listen to the Lord’s word, you rulers of Sodom!
Pay attention to the teachings from our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 The Lord asks, “What do your many animal sacrifices mean to me?
I’ve had enough of your burnt offerings of rams
and enough fat from your fattened calves.
I’m not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
12 When you appear in my presence,
who asked you to trample on my courtyards?
13 Don’t bring any more worthless grain offerings.
Your incense is disgusting to me,
so are your New Moon Festivals, your days of rest—holy days,
and the assemblies you call.
I can’t stand your evil assemblies.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals and your appointed festivals.
They’ve become a burden to me,
and I’m tired of putting up with them.
15 So when you stretch out your hands ⌞in prayer⌟,
I will turn my eyes away from you.
Even though you offer many prayers,
I will not listen because your hands are covered with blood.
The Lord Invites Israel to Turn Away from Sin
16 “Wash yourselves! Become clean!
Get your evil deeds out of my sight.
Stop doing evil.
17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Arrest oppressors.
Defend orphans.
Plead the case of widows.”
18 “Come on now, let’s discuss this!” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are bright red,
they will become as white as snow.
Though they are dark red,
they will become as white as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be destroyed by swords.”
The Lord has spoken.
Jerusalem’s Future
21 How the faithful town has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice,
and righteousness lived in her.
But now murderers live there!
22 Your silver is not pure.
Your wine is watered down.
23 Your rulers are rebels, friends with thieves.
They all love bribes and run after gifts.
They never defend orphans.
They don’t notice the widows’ pleas.
24 That’s why the Lord, the Lord of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says,
“How horrible it will be when I take revenge on my opponents!
I will avenge myself against my enemies.
25 I will turn my power against you.
I will remove your impurities with bleach.
I will get rid of all your impurities.
26 I will give you judges like you had long ago,
advisers like you had in the beginning.
After that you will be called the Righteous City,
the Faithful Town.”
27 Zion will be pardoned by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ justice,
and those who return will be pardoned
by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be crushed at the same time,
and those who abandon the Lord will come to an end.
29 You will be ashamed of the oaks that you wanted to worship
and embarrassed by the garden that you have chosen for your gods.
30 You will be like an oak whose leaves wither
and like a garden without water.
31 Strong people will become tinder for a fire,
and their work will be the spark.
Both of them will burn together,
and there will be no one to put out the fire.
The Lord Will Teach the Nations(A)
2 This is the message which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest of the mountains
and raised above the hills.
All the nations will stream to it.
3 Then many people will come and say,
“Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them.”
The teachings will go out from Zion.
The Lord’s word will go out from Jerusalem.
4 Then he will judge disputes between nations
and settle arguments between many people.
They will hammer their swords into plowblades
and their spears into pruning shears.
Nations will never fight against each other,
and they will never train for war again.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of the Lord.
Israel’s Sins
6 Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob,
because they are filled with Eastern influences.
They are fortunetellers like the Philistines,
and they make deals with foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols,
and they worship what their hands have shaped
and what their fingers have molded.
9 People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled.
Do not forgive them.
10 Go in among the rocks and hide underground
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty.
11 The eyes of arrogant people will be humbled.
High and mighty people will be brought down.
On that day the Lord alone will be honored.
The Day of the Lord’s Judgment
12 The Lord of Armies will have his day
against all who are arrogant and conceited
and all who are proud of themselves (they will be humbled),
13 against all the towering and mighty cedars of Lebanon
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the high mountains
and all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower
and every fortified wall,
16 against all the large ships of Tarshish
and all the beautiful boats.
17 Then arrogant people will be brought down,
and high and mighty people will be humbled.
On that day the Lord alone will be honored.
18 Then idols will disappear completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks
and into holes in the ground
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty
when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw to the moles and the bats
the silver and gold idols that they made
for themselves to worship.
21 They will go into caves in the rocks
and into cracks in the cliffs
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty
when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Stop trusting people.
Their life is in their nostrils.
How can they be worth anything?
The Lord’s Judgment on Sinners in Zion
3 See now, the Lord, the Lord of Armies,
is going to take from Jerusalem and Judah
every kind of support
and their entire supply of food and water.
2 ⌞He will take their⌟ heroes and soldiers,
judges and prophets,
fortunetellers and statesmen,
3 military leaders and civilian leaders,
counselors, skilled workers, and experts in magic.
4 “I will make boys their leaders.
Children will govern them.”
5 People will oppress each other,
and everyone will oppress his neighbor.
The young will make fun of the old,
and common people will make fun of their superiors.
6 A person will grab one of his relatives
from his father’s family and say,
“You have a coat.
You’ll be our leader.
This pile of ruins will be under your control.”
7 When that day comes the relative will cry out,
“I’m not a doctor!
I don’t have any food or a coat in my home.
Don’t make me a leader of our family.”
8 Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and what they do is against the Lord.
They are defiant in his honored presence.
9 The look on their faces will be held against them.
They boast about their sins,
which are like ⌞those of the people of⌟ Sodom.
They don’t even bother to hide them.
How horrible it will be for these people,
because they have brought disaster on themselves.
10 Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them.
They will taste the fruit of their labor.
11 How horrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster will strike them.
What they have done will be done to them.
12 “Children will oppress my people.
Women will rule them.
My people, your guides mislead you,
and you don’t know which way to go.”
13 The Lord takes his place in the courtroom.
He stands to judge his people.
14 The Lord presents his case to the respected leaders
and the officials of his people:
“You have burned down the vineyard!
Your houses are filled with goods stolen from the poor.”
15 The Almighty Lord of Armies asks,
“How can you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor ⌞into the ground⌟?”
16 The Lord adds,
“The women of Zion are arrogant.
They walk with their noses in the air,
making seductive glances,
taking short little steps,
jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.”
17 The Lord will cause sores ⌞to appear⌟
on the heads of the women of Zion,
and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.
18 On that day the Lord will take away their fine things: jingling anklets, headbands, crescent-shaped necklaces, 19 pendants, bracelets, scarfs, 20 hats, ankle bracelets, blouses, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, coats, shawls, purses, 23 mirrors, underwear, headdresses, and veils.
24 Instead of the smell of perfume, there will be the smell of decay.
They will wear ropes instead of belts.
They will have bald heads instead of beautiful hair.
They will wear sackcloth instead of expensive clothes.
Their beauty will be scarred.[a]
25 ⌞Women,⌟ your warriors will die in combat.
Your mighty men will die in battle.
26 The gates of Zion will cry and grieve,
and Zion will sit on the ground, exhausted.
4 When that day comes, seven women will grab one man and say,
“We’ll eat our own food and provide our own clothes.
Just let us marry you for your name.
Take away our disgrace.”
The Lord’s New Glory for Zion
2 When that day comes, the branch of the Lord
will be beautiful and wonderful.
The fruit of the land
will be the pride and joy of Israel’s survivors.
3 Then whoever is left in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of Zion’s people.[b] He will clean bloodstains from Jerusalem with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. 5 The Lord will create a cloud of smoke during the day and a glowing flame of fire during the night over the whole area of Mount Zion and over the assembly. His glory will cover everything. 6 It will be a shelter from the heat during the day as well as a refuge and hiding place from storms and rain.
The Song about the Vineyard
5 Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
2 He dug it up, removed its stones,
planted it with the choicest vines,
built a watchtower in it,
and made a winepress in it.
Then he waited for it to produce good grapes,
but it produced only sour, wild grapes.
3 Now then, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard!
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than what I have already done for it?
When I waited for it to produce good grapes,
why did it produce only sour, wild grapes?
5 Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured
and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.
It will never be pruned or hoed.
Thorns and weeds will grow in it,
and I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
7 The vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight.
He hoped for justice but saw only slaughter,
for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.
Six Sins Condemned
8 How horrible it will be for you
who acquire house after house and buy field after field
until there’s nothing left
and you have to live by yourself in the land.
9 With my own ears I heard the Lord of Armies say,
“Many houses will become empty.
Large, beautiful houses will be without people to live in them.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only six gallons of wine,
and two quarts of seed will produce only four quarts of grain.”
11 How horrible it will be for those
who get up early to look for a drink,
who sit up late until they are drunk from wine.
12 At their feasts there are lyres and harps,
tambourines and flutes, and wine.
Yet, they don’t pay attention to what the Lord is doing
or see what his hands have done.
13 “My people will go into exile
because they don’t understand what I’m doing.
Honored men will starve,
and common people will be parched with thirst.”
14 That is why the grave’s appetite increases.
It opens its mouth very wide
so that honored people and common people will go down into it.
Those who are noisy and joyous will go down into it.
15 People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled.
And the eyes of arrogant people will be humbled.
16 The Lord of Armies will be honored when he judges.
The holy God will show himself to be holy when he does what is right.
17 Then lambs will graze as if they were in their own pasture,
and foreigners will eat among the ruins of the rich.
18 How horrible it will be for those
who string people along with lies and empty promises,
whose lives are sinful.
19 They say,
“Let God hurry and quickly do his work
so that we may see what he has in mind.
Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen quickly
so that we may understand what he is doing.”
20 How horrible it will be for those
who call evil good and good evil,
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn what is bitter into something sweet
and what is sweet into something bitter.
21 How horrible it will be for those
who think they are wise
and consider themselves to be clever.
22 How horrible it will be for those
who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at mixing drinks,
23 who declare the guilty innocent for a bribe,
who take away the rights of righteous people.
The Lord Will Use Another Nation to Punish His People
24 As flames burn up straw
and dry grass shrivels in flames,
so their roots will rot,
and their blossoms will blow away like dust.
They have rejected the teachings of the Lord of Armies
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 That’s why the anger of the Lord burns hot against his people,
and he is ready to use his power to strike them down.
The hills tremble,
and dead bodies lie like garbage in the streets.
Even after all this, his anger has not disappeared,
and he is still ready to use his power.
26 The Lord raises up a flag for the nations far away.
With a whistle he signals those at the ends of the earth.
Look, they are coming very quickly!
27 None of them grow tired or stumble.
None of them slumber or sleep.
The belts on their waists aren’t loose
or their sandal straps broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened; all their bows are ready to shoot.
Their horses’ hoofs are as hard as flint.
Their chariot wheels are as quick as the wind.
29 They roar like a lioness.
They growl like a young lion.
They growl as they snatch their prey
and carry it off to where no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over their prey
as the sea roars.
If they look at the land,
they will see only darkness and distress.
Even the light will be darkened by thick clouds.
Isaiah Is Sent with a Message for the Lord’s People
6 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. The bottom of his robe filled the temple. 2 Angels [c] were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They called to each other and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory.”
4 Their voices shook the foundations of the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke.
5 So I said, “Oh, no!
I’m doomed.
Every word that passes through my lips is sinful.
I live among people with sinful lips.
I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
6 Then one of the angels flew to me. In his hand was a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9 And he said, “Go and tell these people,
‘No matter how closely you listen, you’ll never understand.
No matter how closely you look, you’ll never see.’
10 Make these people close-minded.
Plug their ears.
Shut their eyes.
Otherwise, they may see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
and return and be healed.”
11 I asked, “How long, O Lord?”
And he replied,
“Until the cities lie in ruins with no one living in them,
the houses have no people,
and the land is completely desolate.
12 The Lord will send his people far away,
and a large area in the middle of the land will be abandoned.
13 Even if one out of ten people is left in it,
the land will be burned again.
When a sacred oak or an oak is cut down, a stump is left
The holy seed will be the land’s stump.”
The Virgin Will Have a Child
7 When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah, son of Remaliah, went to Jerusalem to attack it, but they couldn’t defeat it. 2 When word reached David’s family that the Arameans had made an alliance with Ephraim, the hearts of the king and his people were shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the ditch of the Upper Pool on the road to the Laundryman’s Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, stay calm, and don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart because of the fierce anger of Rezin from Aram and Remaliah’s son. These two are smoldering logs.’ 5 Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son have planned evil against you, saying, 6 ‘Let’s march against Judah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves, and set up Tabeel’s son as its king.’ 7 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
“It won’t take place; it won’t happen.
8 The capital of Aram is Damascus,
and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.
Ephraim will be shattered within 65 years
so that it will no longer be a nation.
9 The capital of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the leader of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you don’t remain faithful,
you won’t remain standing.”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign. It can be anything you want.”
12 But Ahaz answered, “I won’t ask; I wouldn’t think of testing the Lord.”
13 “Listen now, descendants of David,” Isaiah said. “Isn’t it enough that you try the patience of mortals? Must you also try the patience of my God? 14 So the Lord himself will give you this sign: A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel [God Is With Us]. 15 He will eat cheese and honey until he knows how to reject evil and choose good. 16 Indeed, before the boy knows how to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings who terrify you will be deserted.
17 “The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your ancestor’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. ⌞He will bring⌟ the king of Assyria. 18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the flies that are at the distant branches of the Nile River in Egypt and for the bees that are in Assyria. 19 All of them will come and settle in the deep valleys, in the cracks in the cliffs, on all the thornbushes, and at all the water holes.
20 “On that day the Lord will hire the king of Assyria from beyond the Euphrates River to be a razor to shave the hair on your head, the hair on your legs, and even your beard. 21 On that day a person will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. 22 That person will eat cheese, because they will produce so much milk. Everyone who is left in the land will eat cheese and honey. 23 On that day, in every place where there were 1,000 vines (worth 1,000 pieces of silver), there will be briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows ⌞to hunt⌟ because the whole land will be filled with briars and thorns. 25 And you will no longer be able to go to all the hills which used to be cultivated because they will be filled with briars and thorns. It will be a place for turning oxen loose and letting sheep run.”
Isaiah’s Child Is a Sign of the Lord’s Protection of Judah
8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz’ [The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy]. 2 I will have these dependable witnesses testify: the priest Uriah and Zechariah (son of Jeberechiah).”
3 I slept with the prophet. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz. 4 Before the boy knows how to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the wealth of Damascus and the loot from Samaria will be carried away to the king of Assyria.”
Assyria Will Invade, but It Will Not Conquer Judah
5 The Lord spoke to me again. He said,
6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing water of Shiloah
and find joy in Rezin and Remaliah’s son.”
7 That is why the Lord is going to bring against them
the raging and powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River—
the king of Assyria with all his power.
It will overflow all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 It will sweep through Judah.
It will overflow and pass through; it will be neck-high.
Its outspread wings will extend over your whole country, O Immanuel.
9 Be broken, you people. Be terrified.
Listen, all you distant parts of the earth.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
10 Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed.
Give orders, but they won’t be carried out,
because God is with us!
Some in Jerusalem Will Stumble Because They Do Not Trust the Lord
11 This is what the Lord said with his powerful hand on me.
He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:
12 “Don’t say that everything these people call a conspiracy
is a conspiracy.
Don’t fear what they fear.
Don’t let it terrify you.”
13 Remember that the Lord of Armies is holy.
He is the one you should fear
and the one you should be terrified of.
14 He will be a place of safety for you.
But he will be a rock that makes people trip
and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel.
He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble.
They will fall and be broken.
They will be trapped and caught.
16 Tie up the written instructions.
Seal the teachings among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will hope in him.
18 I am here with the children that the Lord has given me.
We are signs and symbols in Israel
from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums
and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.”
Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead?
Why should they ask the dead to help the living?
20 They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions.
If people don’t speak these words,
it is because it doesn’t dawn on them.
21 They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry.
When they are hungry, they will be furious.
Then they will look up, cursing their king and God.
22 They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom.
They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.
9 [d]But there will be no more gloom
for the land that is in distress.
God humbled the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali in earlier times.
But in the future he will bring glory to the road by the sea,
to the land across the Jordan River,
to Galilee, where foreigners live.
A Child Will Be Born as the Prince of Peace
2 The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light.
The light will shine on those who live in the land of death’s shadow.
3 You will expand the nation and increase its happiness.
It will be happy in your presence
like those who celebrate the harvest
or rejoice when dividing loot.
4 You will break the yoke [e] that burdens them,
the bar that is across their shoulders,
and the stick used by their oppressor,
as ⌞you did in the battle against⌟ Midian.
5 Every warrior’s boot marching to the sound of battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel in the fire.
6 A child will be born for us.
A son will be given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
He will be named:
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
7 His government and peace will have unlimited growth.
He will establish David’s throne and kingdom.
He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever.
The Lord of Armies is determined to do this!
The Lord’s Message against His People
8 The Lord sent a message against Jacob.
The message is against Israel.
9 All the people of Ephraim
and the people who live in Samaria will know it.
With arrogant and conceited hearts they will say,
10 “Bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with hand-cut stones.
Fig trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 The Lord will set Rezin’s oppressors against Israel
and will stir up its enemies—
12 the Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west.
They will devour Israel with open mouths.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
13 But the people have not returned to the one who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord of Armies.
14 So in one day the Lord will cut off from Israel
both head and tail,
both palm branches and cattails.
15 Respected and honored leaders are the head.
Prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide these people lead them astray.
Those who are guided by them will be destroyed.
17 That is why the Lord isn’t happy with their young men,
nor will he show compassion for their orphans and widows.
Every one of them is a godless evildoer,
and every mouth speaks foolishness.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
18 Surely wickedness burns like fire.
It burns up briars and thorns.
It sets the underbrush in the forest on fire,
and it whirls upward in clouds of smoke.
19 The land is scorched by the fury of the Lord of Armies,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.
No one shows concern for others:
20 On the right, one gobbles up food and is still hungry.
On the left, another eats and is never full.
Each person eats the flesh from his own arm.
21 Manasseh is against Ephraim.
Ephraim is against Manasseh.
Together they attack Judah.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
10 How horrible it will be for those who make unjust laws
and who make oppressive regulations.
2 They deprive the poor of justice.
They take away the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows and rob orphans.
3 What will you do on the day
you are called to account ⌞for these things⌟,
when the disaster comes from far away?
Where will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing’s left but to crouch among prisoners
and to fall with those who are killed.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
The Lord’s Message against Assyria
5 “How horrible it will be for Assyria!
It is the rod of my anger.
My fury is the staff in the Assyrians’ hands.
6 I send them against a godless nation.
In my fury I order them against the people
to take their belongings, loot them,
and trample on them like mud in the streets.
7 But that’s not what they intend to do.
Their minds don’t work that way.
Their purpose is to destroy and put an end to many nations.
8 They ask, ‘Aren’t all our commanders kings?
9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?’
10 My power has reached kingdoms which have idols.
They had more carved statues than Jerusalem or Samaria.
11 I will do to Jerusalem and its idols
what I’ve done to Samaria and its idols.”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for all his boasting and all his arrogance. 13 The king will say,
“I did this with my own two powerful hands.
I did this with my wisdom, because I am so clever.
I’ve eliminated the boundaries of nations.
I’ve looted treasuries.
I’ve brought down people like a mighty man.
14 I’ve found the riches of nations as one finds a nest.
I’ve gathered the whole world as one gathers abandoned eggs.
Not one of them flapped a wing, opened its mouth, or peeped.”
15 Can an ax attack the person who cuts with it?
Can a saw make itself greater than the person who saws with it?
A rod cannot move the person who lifts it.
A wooden stick cannot pick up a person.
16 That is why the Almighty Lord of Armies
will send a degenerative disease against brave men.
A flame will be turned into a raging fire under his power.
17 Israel’s light will become a flame.
Its Holy One will become a fire.
He will burn up and devour the weeds and thornbushes in one day.
18 The majestic forest and the orchard
will destroy both body and soul.
They will be like a sick person wasting away.
19 The trees that remain in the forest will be so few that
a child could count them.
20 At that time the remaining few Israelites,
the survivors of Jacob’s descendants
will no longer depend on the one who struck them.
They will only depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A few, the remaining few of Jacob, will return to the mighty God.
22 Although your people Israel may be
as ⌞numerous as⌟ the grains of sand on the seashore,
only a few will return.
Destruction will be complete and fair.
23 The Almighty Lord of Armies will carry out this destruction
throughout the world as he has determined.
24 The Almighty Lord of Armies says:
My people who live in Zion,
don’t be afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with a rod
or when they raise their staff against you
as the Egyptians did.
25 Very soon I will unleash my fury,
and my anger will destroy them.
26 Then the Lord of Armies will raise his whip against them.
As he struck down Midian at the Rock of Oreb
and raised his staff over the water,
so he will lift it as he did in Egypt.
27 At that time their burden will be removed from your shoulders.
Their yoke [f] will be removed from your neck.
The yoke will be torn away because you have grown fat.
28 They come to Aiath.
They pass through Migron.
They store their equipment at Michmash.
29 They go through the mountain pass and lodge at Geba for the night.
The people in Ramah tremble; the people in Saul’s Gibeah flee.
30 Cry aloud, you people in Gallim!
Pay attention, you people in Laishah and miserable Anathoth!
31 The people in Madmenah flee; those who live in Gebim take shelter.
32 This day they stopped at Nob.
They shake their fist at the mountain of my people Zion,
at the mountain of Jerusalem.
33 Now look! The Almighty Lord of Armies
will trim the branches with terrifying power.
The highest trees will be cut down.
The tallest ones will be brought down.
34 He will cut down the underbrush of the forest with an ax.
Lebanon will fall in front of the Mighty One.
The Lord’s Kingdom Will Be Ruled by a Shoot from Jesse’s Stump
11 Then a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from its roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of advice and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
3 He will gladly bear the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear.
4 He will judge the poor justly.
He will make fair decisions for the humble people on earth.
He will strike the earth with a rod from his mouth.
He will kill the wicked with the breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist.
Faithfulness will be the belt around his hips.
6 Wolves will live with lambs.
Leopards will lie down with goats.
Calves, young lions, and year-old lambs will be together,
and little children will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together.
Their young will lie down together.
Lions will eat straw like oxen.
8 Infants will play near cobras’ holes.
Toddlers will put their hands into vipers’ nests.
9 They will not hurt or destroy anyone anywhere on my holy mountain.
The world will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
like water covering the sea.
10 At that time the root of Jesse will stand as a banner
for the people ⌞to gather around⌟.
The nations will come to him.
His resting place will be glorious.
11 At that time the Lord will use his power again
to recover what remains of his people
in Assyria, Upper and Lower Egypt,
Sudan, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath,
and the islands of the sea.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations ⌞to gather around⌟.
He will gather the outcasts of Israel
and bring together the scattered people of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s opponents will come to an end.
Ephraim won’t be jealous of Judah,
and Judah won’t oppose Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia in the west.
Together they will loot the people of the east.
They will conquer Edom and Moab.
The people of Ammon will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian Sea.
He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River with his scorching wind
and divide it into seven streams
so that people can walk over it in their sandals.
16 There will be a highway
for the remaining few of his people left in Assyria
like there was for Israel when it came out of Egypt.
A Hymn of Praise from the Lord’s People in His Kingdom
12 At that time you will say,
“I will praise you, O Lord.
Although you had been angry with me,
you turned your anger away from me, and you comforted me.
2 Look! God is my Savior.
I am confident and unafraid,
because the Lord is my strength and my song.
He is my Savior.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make his deeds known among the nations.
Make them remember that his name is highly honored.
5 Make music to praise the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Shout loudly, and sing with joy, people of Zion!
The Holy One of Israel is great. He is among you.”
Babylon Will Be Punished
13 This is the divine revelation which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Babylon.
2 Raise a banner on the bare mountaintop.
Call loudly to them.
Signal them with your hand to enter the nobles’ gates.
3 I’ve commanded my holy ones.
I’ve called my mighty men to carry out my anger.
They find joy in my triumphs.
4 Listen to the noise on the mountains.
It is like the sound of a large army.
It is the sound of kingdoms and nations gathering together.
The Lord of Armies is assembling his army for battle.
5 His army is coming from a distant land,
from the ends of heaven.
The Lord is coming with the weapons of his fury
to destroy the whole world.
6 Cry loudly, for the day of the Lord is near.
It will come like destruction from the Almighty.
7 That is why every hand will hang limp,
and everyone’s courage will fail.
8 They’ll be terrified.
Pain and anguish will seize them.
They’ll writhe like a woman giving birth to a child.
They’ll look at one another in astonishment.
Their faces will be burning red.
9 The day of the Lord is going to come.
It will be a cruel day with fury and fierce anger.
He will make the earth desolate.
He will destroy its sinners.
10 The stars in the sky and their constellations
won’t show their light anymore.
The sun will be dark when it rises.
The moon won’t shine.
11 I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their wrongdoing.
I will put an end to arrogant people
and humble the pride of tyrants.
12 I will make people harder to find than pure gold
and human beings more rare than gold from Ophir.
13 I will make heaven tremble,
and the earth will be shaken from its place
when the Lord of Armies is angry.
At that time he will be very angry.
14 They’ll be like hunted gazelle
and like sheep with no one to gather them.
Everyone will return to his own people
and flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be stabbed to death.
Whoever is captured will be executed.
16 Their little children will be smashed to death right before their eyes.
Their houses will be looted and their wives raped.
17 I’m going to stir up the Medes against them.
They don’t care for silver and aren’t happy with gold.
18 But their bows will smash the youth.
They’ll have no compassion for babies,
nor will they look with pity on children.
19 Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the proud beauty of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
20 It will never be inhabited again,
and no one will live in it for generations.
Arabs won’t pitch their tents there.
Shepherds won’t let their flocks rest there.
21 Desert animals will lie down there.
Their homes will be full of owls.
Ostriches will live there,
and wild goats will skip about.
22 Hyenas will howl in Babylon’s strongholds,
and jackals will howl in its luxurious palaces.
Its time has almost come.
Its days will not be extended.
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