Old/New Testament
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Cush
20 Sargon king of Assyria sent a military commander to Ashdod to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it. 2 Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Take the rough cloth off your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed and walked around naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Isaiah my servant has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt and Cush. 4 The king of Assyria will carry away prisoners from Egypt and Cush. Old people and young people will be led away naked and barefoot, with their buttocks bare. So the Egyptians will be shamed. 5 People who looked to Cush for help will be afraid, and those who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be shamed. 6 People who live near the sea will say, ‘Look at those countries. We trusted them to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. So how will we be able to escape?’”
God’s Message to Babylon
21 This is a message about the Desert by the Sea:[a]
Disaster is coming from the desert
like wind blowing in the south.
It is coming from a terrible country.
2 I have seen a terrible vision.
I see traitors turning against you
and people taking your wealth.
Elam, attack the people!
Media, surround the city and attack it!
I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain;
my pains are like the pains of giving birth.
What I hear makes me very afraid;
what I see causes me to shake with fear.
4 I am worried,
and I am shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening
has become a night of fear.
5 They set the table;
they spread the rugs;
they eat and drink.
Leaders, stand up.
Prepare the shields for battle!
6 The Lord said to me,
“Go, place a lookout for the city
and have him report what he sees.
7 If he sees chariots and teams of horses,
donkeys, or camels,
he should pay very close attention.”
8 Then the lookout called out,
“My master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching;
every night I have been on guard.
9 Look, I see a man coming in a chariot
with a team of horses.”
The man gives back the answer,
“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!
All the statues of her gods
lie broken on the ground.”
10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.
My people, I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord All-Powerful,
from the God of Israel.
God’s Message to Edom
11 This is a message about Dumah:[b]
Someone calls to me from Edom,
“Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much longer will it be night?”
12 The watchman answers,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something to ask,
then come back and ask.”
God’s Message to Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia:
A group of traders from Dedan
spent the night near some trees in Arabia.
14 They gave water to thirsty travelers;
the people of Tema gave food
to those who were escaping.
15 They were running from swords,
from swords ready to kill,
from bows ready to shoot,
from a hard battle.
16 This is what the Lord said to me: “In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.) 17 At that time only a few of the archers, the soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
God’s Message to Jerusalem
22 This is a message about the Valley of Vision:[c]
What is wrong with you people?
Why are you on your roofs?[d]
2 This city was a very busy city,
full of noise and wild parties.
Now your people have been killed,
but not with swords,
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders ran away together,
but they have been captured without using a bow.
All you who were captured
tried to run away before the enemy came.
4 So I say, “Don’t look at me.
Let me cry loudly.
Don’t hurry to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5 The Lord God All-Powerful has chosen a special day
of riots and confusion.
People will trample each other in the Valley of Vision.
The city walls will be knocked down,
and the people will cry out to the mountain.
6 The soldiers from Elam will gather their arrows
and their chariots and men on horses.
Kir will prepare their shields.
7 Your nicest valleys will be filled with chariots.
Horsemen will be ordered to guard the gates of the city.
8 The walls protecting Judah will fall.
At that time the people of Jerusalem depended on
the weapons kept at the Palace of the Forest.
9 You saw that the walls of Jerusalem
had many cracks that needed repairing.
You stored up water in the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem,
and you tore down houses to repair the walls with their stones.
11 You made a pool between the two walls
to save water from the old pool,
but you did not trust the God who made these things;
you did not respect the One who planned them long ago.
12 The Lord God All-Powerful told the people
to cry and be sad,
to shave their heads and wear rough cloth.
13 But look, the people are happy
and are having wild parties.
They kill the cattle and the sheep;
they eat the food and drink the wine.
They say, “Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.”
14 The Lord All-Powerful said to me: “You people will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Lord God All-Powerful said this.
God’s Message to Shebna
15 This is what the Lord God All-Powerful says:
“Go to this servant Shebna,
the manager of the palace.
16 Say to him, ‘What are you doing here?
Who said you could cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place?
Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?
17 Look, mighty one! The Lord will throw you away.
He will take firm hold of you
18 and roll you tightly into a ball
and throw you into another country.
There you will die,
and there your fine chariots will remain.
You are a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will force you out of your important job,
and you will be thrown down from your important place.’
20 “At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will take your robe and put it on him and give him your belt. I will hand over to him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah. 22 I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it; if he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23 He will be like an honored chair in his father’s house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board. 24 All the honored and important things of his family will depend on him; all the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on him.
25 “At that time,” says the Lord All-Powerful, “the peg hammered into the strong board will weaken. It will break and fall, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed.” The Lord says this.
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents as the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do. 2 The command says, “Honor your father and mother.”[a] This is the first command that has a promise with it— 3 “Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”[b]
4 Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your masters here on earth with fear and respect and from a sincere heart, just as you obey Christ. 6 You must do this not only while they are watching you, to please them. With all your heart you must do what God wants as people who are obeying Christ. 7 Do your work with enthusiasm. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men and women. 8 Remember that the Lord will give a reward to everyone, slave or free, for doing good.
9 Masters, in the same way, be good to your slaves. Do not threaten them. Remember that the One who is your Master and their Master is in heaven, and he treats everyone alike.
Wear the Full Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. 13 That is why you need to put on God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. 14 So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.
19 Also pray for me that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret of the Good News without fear. 20 I have been sent to preach this Good News, and I am doing that now, here in prison. Pray that when I preach the Good News I will speak without fear, as I should.
Final Greetings
21 I am sending to you Tychicus, our brother whom we love and a faithful servant of the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening with me. Then you will know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this reason—so that you will know how we are, and he can encourage you.
23 Peace and love with faith to you brothers and sisters from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love that never ends.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.