Isaiah 1:1-27:7
Easy-to-Read Version
1 This is the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz. God showed Isaiah what would happen to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah saw this during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Heaven and earth, listen! This is what the Lord says:
“I raised my children and helped them grow up,
but they have turned against me.
3 A bull knows its master,
and a donkey knows where its owner feeds it.
But Israel does not know me.
My people do not understand.”
4 Oh, what a sinful nation! Their guilt is like a heavy weight that they must carry. They are evil, destructive children.[a] They left the Lord and insulted the Holy One of Israel. They turned away and treated him like a stranger.
5 What good will it do to keep punishing you? You will continue to rebel. Your whole head and heart are already sick and aching.[b] 6 From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, every part of your body has wounds, cuts, and open sores. You have not taken care of them. Your wounds have not been cleaned and bandaged.
7 Your land is in ruins, and your cities are in flames. Your enemies have taken your land, and foreigners are taking what it produces. It looks like some foreigners destroyed it.[c]
Warnings for Jerusalem
8 The city of Jerusalem[d] is now like an empty shed left in a vineyard. It is like an old straw hut abandoned in a field of cucumbers or like a city surrounded by enemies. 9 If the Lord All-Powerful had not allowed a few people to live, we would have been destroyed completely like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that almost happened!
10 You officers of Sodom, listen to the Lord’s message. You people of Gomorrah,[e] listen to God’s teaching. 11 The Lord says, “Why do you continue giving me all these sacrifices? I have had enough of your sacrifices of rams and the fat from well-fed animals. I don’t want the blood of those bulls, sheep, and goats. 12 When you people come to meet with me, you trample everything in my yard. Who told you to do this?
13 “Don’t keep bringing me those worthless sacrifices. I hate the incense you give me. I cannot stand your festivals for the New Moon, the Sabbath, and other special meeting days. I hate the evil you do during those holy times together. 14 I hate your monthly meetings and councils. They have become like heavy weights to me, and I am tired of carrying them.
15 “When you raise your arms to pray to me, I will refuse to look at you. You will say more and more prayers, but I will refuse to listen because your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Stop doing the evil things I see you do. Stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.
18 “I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.
19 “If you listen to what I say, you will get the good things from this land. 20 But if you refuse to listen and rebel against me, your enemies will destroy you.”
The Lord himself said this.
Unfaithful Jerusalem
21 Look at Jerusalem. She was a faithful city. What made her become like a prostitute? In the past, Jerusalem was filled with justice, and goodness should live there now. Instead, there are murderers.
22 Once you were like pure silver, but now you are like the impurities that people throw away when the silver is purified. You are like good wine that has been weakened with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. They demand bribes and accept money for doing wrong. They take money to cheat people, and they don’t speak up for widows and orphans. They will not even listen to their cries for help.
24 Because of this, the Lord God All-Powerful, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “Look, I will get relief from my enemies. You will not cause me any more trouble. 25 People use lye to clean silver. In the same way, I will clean away all your wrongs. I will remove all the impurities from you. 26 I will bring back the kind of judges you had in the beginning. Your counselors will be like those you had long ago. Then you will be called ‘The Good and Faithful City.’”
27 God is good and does what is right, so he will rescue Zion and the people who come back to him. 28 But all the criminals and sinners will be destroyed. Those who stopped following the Lord will be removed.
29 In the future, you will be ashamed of the oak trees and special gardens[f] you chose to worship, 30 because you will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying. You will be like a garden dying without water. 31 Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and what they did will be like the sparks that start a fire. These people and their works will both burn up, and no one will be able to put out that fire.
God’s Message to Judah and Jerusalem
2 Isaiah son of Amoz received this message about Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s Temple
will be the highest of all mountains.
It will be raised higher than the hills.
There will be a steady stream of people from all nations going there.
3 People from many places will go there and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob.
Then God will teach us his way of living,
and we will follow him.”
His teaching, the Lord’s message, will begin in Jerusalem on Mount Zion
and will go out to all the world.
4 Then God will act as judge to end arguments between nations.
He will decide what is right for people from many lands.
They will stop using their weapons for war.
They will hammer their swords into plows
and use their spears to make tools for harvesting.
All fighting between nations will end.
They will never again train for war.
5 Family of Jacob, let us follow the Lord.
6 Family of Jacob, you have abandoned your people. This is clear because they have been filled with bad influences from the East,[g] and now your people try to tell the future like the Philistines. They have completely accepted those strange ideas. 7 Jacob’s land has been filled with silver and gold from other places. There are many treasures there. His land has been filled with horses and many chariots. 8 His land is full of gods that the people bow down to worship. They made those idols themselves. 9 The people have become worse and worse. They have become very low, and you leaders did nothing to lift them up![h]
10 You should be afraid of the Lord! Go hide in the dirt and behind the rocks. Hide from his glorious power!
11 Proud people will stop being proud. They will bow down to the ground with shame, and only the Lord will still stand high.
12 The Lord All-Powerful has a special day planned when he will punish the proud and boastful people. They will be brought down. 13 They might be like the tall cedar trees from Lebanon or the great oak trees from Bashan, but they will be cut down. 14 They might be like the tall mountains and high hills 15 or like the tall towers and high walls, but they will be brought down. 16 They might be like great ships from Tarshish,[i] filled with such wonderful cargo, but they will be brought down.
17 At that time those proud people will fall. They will bow low to the ground, and only the Lord will stand high. 18 All the idols will be gone. 19 People will go into the holes in the ground and the cracks in the rocks because they fear the Lord and his great power as he stands to shake the earth.
20 At that time people will throw away their idols they made from gold and silver. They made these statues to worship, but they will throw them into holes in the ground where bats and moles live. 21 They will go down into cracks in the rocks and boulders because they are afraid of the Lord and his glorious power as he stands to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting other people to save you. Do not think too highly of them; they are only humans who have not stopped breathing yet.
3 Understand what I am telling you: The Lord God All-Powerful will take away everything Judah and Jerusalem depend on. He will take away all the food and water. 2 He will take away all the heroes and soldiers. He will take away all the judges, the prophets, the fortunetellers, and the elders. 3 He will take away the army officers and important officials. He will take away the skilled counselors, the magicians, and those who try to tell the future.
4 He says, “I will put young boys in charge of you. They will be your leaders. 5 The people will turn against each other. Young people will not respect those who are older. The common people will not respect important leaders.”
6 At that time a man will grab one of his brothers from his own family and tell him, “You have a coat,[j] so you will be our leader. You will be the leader over all these ruins.”
7 But the brother will refuse and say, “I cannot help you. I don’t have enough food or clothes for my own family. You will not make me your leader.”
8 This will happen because Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen. They turned against the Lord. They said and did things against him, right in front of his glorious eyes.
9 The look on their faces shows that they are guilty. They are like the people of Sodom; they don’t care who sees their sin. But it will be very bad for them. They will get what they deserve.
10 Tell the good people who do what is right that good things will happen to them. They will receive a reward for what they do. 11 But it will be very bad for wicked people, because they, too, will get what they deserve. They will get what they did to others. 12 Even children will defeat my people, and women will rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you the wrong way, and they destroy the path you should follow.
God’s Decision About His People
13 Look, the Lord is standing to judge his people. 14 The Lord is ready to present his case against the elders and leaders of his people.
He says, “You people have burned the vineyard,[k] and what you stole from the poor is still in your houses. 15 What gives you the right to hurt my people? What gives you the right to push the faces of the poor into the dirt?” The Lord God All-Powerful said this.
16 The Lord says, “The women in Zion have become very proud. They walk around with their heads in the air, acting like they are better than other people. They flirt with their eyes and make tinkling sounds with their ankle bracelets as they take their quick little steps.”
17 The Lord will put sores on the heads of those women in Zion. The Lord will make their heads bald. 18 Then the Lord will take away everything they are proud of: the beautiful ankle bracelets, the necklaces that look like the sun and the moon, 19 the earrings, bracelets, and veils, 20 the scarves, the ankle chains, the cloth belts worn around their waists, the bottles of perfume, the charms,[l] 21 the signet rings, and the nose rings, 22 the fine dresses, robes, veils, and purses, 23 the mirrors, linen dresses, turbans, and long shawls.
24 Those women now have sweet-smelling perfume, but it will get moldy and stink. Now they wear belts, but then they will have only ropes to wear. Now they have their hair fixed in fancy ways, but then their heads will be shaved—they will have no hair.[m] Now they have party dresses, but then they will have only mourning clothes. They have beauty marks on their faces now, but then they will have another mark. It will be a mark burned into their skin to show that they are slaves.
25 Your men will be killed with swords. Your heroes will die in war. 26 There will be crying and sadness in the meeting places by the city gates. Jerusalem will sit there empty, like a woman who has lost everything to thieves and robbers and now just sits on the ground and cries.
4 At that time seven women will grab one man and say, “Please marry us! We will supply our own food and make our own clothes. You won’t have to do anything else if you let us wear your name and take away our shame.”
2 At that time the Lord’s plant[n] will be very beautiful and glorious. The people in Israel who survived will be very proud of what the land grows. 3 And all those who are left in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy. Their names were on the list of people in Jerusalem who were allowed to live.
4 The Lord will wash away the filth[o] from the daughters of Zion.[p] He will wash away the blood from Jerusalem. With a spirit of judgment that burns like fire, he will make everything pure. 5 Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke in the day and a bright flame of fire[q] at night over every building and over every meeting of the people on the mountain of Zion. And there will be a covering over everyone[r] for protection. 6 It will be a shelter to protect the people from the heat of the sun and from all kinds of storms and rain.
Judah, God’s Vineyard
5 Now I will sing a song for my friend, my love song about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug and cleared the field
and planted the best grapevines there.
He built a tower in the middle
and cut a winepress into the stone.
He expected good grapes to grow there,
but there were only rotten ones.
3 My friend said, “You people living in Jerusalem and you people of Judah,[s]
think about me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I do for my vineyard?
I did everything I could.
I hoped for good grapes to grow,
but there were only rotten ones.
Why did that happen?
5 “Now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard:
I will pull up the thornbushes that protect it,
and I will burn them.
I will break down the stone wall
and use the stones for a walkway.
6 I will turn my vineyard into useless land.
No one will care for the plants or work in the field.
Weeds and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7 The vineyard that belongs to the Lord All-Powerful is the house of Israel. The grapevine, the plant he loves, is the man of Judah.[t]
The Lord hoped for justice,
but there was only killing.
He hoped for fairness,
but there were only cries from people being treated badly.
8 Look at you people! You join houses to houses and fields to fields until there is no room for anyone else. But when the punishment comes, you will be forced to live alone. You will be the only people in the whole land. 9 I heard the Lord All-Powerful make this oath: “I swear, all these houses will be destroyed. These big, fancy houses will be empty. 10 A ten-acre vineyard will make only a little wine,[u] and many sacks of seed will grow only a little grain.[v]”
11 How terrible it will be for you people who rise early in the morning and go looking for beer to drink. You stay awake late at night, getting drunk on wine. 12 At your parties with your wine, harps, drums, flutes, and other musical instruments, you don’t see what the Lord has done. You don’t notice what his hands have made.
13 My people don’t really know God. So they will be captured and taken away. Everyone, the respected leaders and the common people as well, will be hungry and thirsty. 14 They will die, and the place of death will open its mouth wide and swallow many of them. Then the noisy crowds and all the beautiful, happy people who are now so comfortable will go down into the grave.
15 Everyone, common people and leaders alike, will be humbled. Those who are now so proud will bow their heads in shame. 16 The Lord All-Powerful will judge fairly, and people will honor him. They will respect the Holy God when he brings justice. 17 Then sheep will be able to go wherever they want and graze on the land that rich people once owned.
18 Look at those people! They pull their guilt and sins behind them like people pulling wagons with ropes.[w] 19 They say, “We wish God would hurry and do what he plans to do so that we can see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon so that we can know what it is.”
20 Look at those people! They say good is bad and bad is good. They think light is dark and dark is light. They think sour is sweet and sweet is sour. 21 They think they are so smart. They think they are very intelligent. 22 They are famous for drinking wine and are heroes known for mixing drinks. 23 And if you pay them enough money, they will forgive a criminal. But they will not let good people be judged fairly. 24 So bad things will happen to them. Their descendants will be destroyed completely, just as fire burns straw and leaves. Their descendants will be like plants with rotten roots, whose flowers have all blown away like dust in the wind.
Those people refused to obey the teachings[x] of the Lord All-Powerful. They hated the message from the Holy One of Israel. 25 So the Lord became angry with his people, and he raised his hand to punish them. Even the mountains shook with fear. Dead bodies were left in the streets like garbage. And he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.
God Will Bring Armies to Punish Israel
26 Look! God is giving a sign to the nations far away. He is raising a flag and whistling for them to come.
Now the enemy is coming from a faraway land and will soon enter the country. They are moving very quickly. 27 The enemy soldiers never get tired and stumble. They never get sleepy and fall asleep. Their weapon belts are always ready. Their sandal straps never break. 28 Their arrows are sharp. Their bows are strung and ready to shoot. The horses’ hooves are as hard as flint. Clouds of dust rise from behind their chariots.
29 The shouts of the enemy sound like the roar of lions. Like strong, young lions, they growl and grab their prey. The captives struggle and try to escape, but there is no one to save them. 30 Then there is a roar as loud as the ocean waves, and the captives turn their faces to the ground. And there is only darkness closing in as the light fades away in a black cloud.
God Calls Isaiah to Be a Prophet
6 In the year that King Uzziah died,[y] I saw the Lord sitting on a very high and wonderful throne. His long robe filled the Temple. 2 Seraph angels stood around him. Each angel had six wings. They used two wings to cover their faces, two wings to cover their bodies, and two wings to fly. 3 The angels were calling to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord All-Powerful. His Glory fills the whole earth.” 4 The sound was so loud that it caused the frame around the door to shake, and the Temple was filled with smoke.[z]
5 I was frightened and said, “Oh, no! I will be destroyed. I am not pure enough to speak to God, and I live among people who are not pure enough to speak to him.[aa] But I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”
6 There was a fire on the altar. One of the Seraph angels used a pair of tongs to take a hot coal from the fire. Then the angel flew to me with it in his hand. 7 Then he touched my mouth with the hot coal and said, “When this hot coal touched your lips, your guilt was taken away, and your sins were erased.[ab]”
8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Who can I send? Who will go for us?”
So I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9 Then the Lord said, “Go and tell the people, ‘Listen closely, but don’t understand. Look closely, but don’t learn.’ 10 Confuse them. Make them unable to understand what they hear and see. If you don’t do this, they might really look with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their minds. Then they might come back to me and be healed!”
11 Then I asked, “Lord, how long should I do this?”
He answered, “Do this until the cities are destroyed and all the people are gone. Do this until there is no one left living in the houses and the land is destroyed and empty.”
12 The Lord will make the people go far away, and there will be large areas of empty land in the country. 13 A tenth of the people will be allowed to stay in the land, but it will be destroyed again. They will be like an oak tree. When the tree is chopped down, a stump is left. This stump will be a very special seed that will grow again.
Trouble With Aram
7 Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. Rezin was the king of Aram, Pekah son of Remaliah[ac] was the king of Israel. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin and Pekah went up to Jerusalem to attack it, but they were not able to defeat the city.[ad]
2 The family of David received a message that said, “The armies of Aram and Ephraim have joined together in one camp.” When King Ahaz heard this message, he and the people became frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blowing in the wind.
3 Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear Jashub[ae] should go out and talk to Ahaz. Go to the place where the water flows into the Upper Pool,[af] on the street that leads up to Laundryman’s Field.
4 “Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful, but be calm. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah’s son,[ag] frighten you! They are like two burning sticks. They might be hot now, but soon they will be nothing but smoke. Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah’s son became angry 5 and made plans against you. They said, 6 “Let’s go fight against Judah and divide it among ourselves. Then we will make Tabeel’s son the new king of Judah.”’”
7 But the Lord God says, “Their plan will not succeed. It will not happen 8 because Aram depends on its capital Damascus, and Damascus is led by its weak king Rezin. And don’t worry about Ephraim. Within 65 years it will be crushed, no longer a nation. 9 Ephraim depends on its capital Samaria, and Samaria is led by Remaliah’s son. So you have no reason to fear. Believe this, or you will not survive.”
Immanuel—God Is With Us
10 Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again 11 and said, “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God to prove to yourself that this is true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol[ah] or as high as the skies.[ai]”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign as proof. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Family of David, listen very carefully! Is it not enough that you would test the patience of humans? Will you now test the patience of my God? 14 But the Lord will still show you this sign:
The young woman is pregnant[aj]
and will give birth to a son.
She will name him Immanuel.[ak]
15 He will eat milk curds and honey[al]
as he learns to choose good and refuse evil.
16 But before he is old enough to make that choice,
the land of the two kings you fear will be empty.
17 “But the Lord will bring troubled times to you. These troubles will be worse than anything that has happened since the time Israel separated from Judah. This will happen to your people and to your father’s family when God brings the king of Assyria to fight against you.
18 “At that time the Lord will call for the ‘Fly’ that is now near the streams of Egypt, and he will call for the ‘Bee’ that is now in the country of Assyria. Those enemies will come to your country. 19 They will settle in the deep valleys and in the caves, by the thornbushes and watering holes. 20 The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor to shave off Judah’s beard and to remove the hair from his head and body.[am]
21 “At that time someone might keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. 22 But there will be enough milk for them to eat milk curds. In fact, everyone left in the country will eat milk curds and honey. 23 There are now fields that have 1000 grapevines, and each grapevine is worth 1000 pieces of silver. But those fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. 24 That land will be wild and used only as a hunting ground where people go with bows and arrows. 25 People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.”
Assyria Is Coming Soon
8 The Lord told me, “Get a large scroll,[an] and use an ordinary pen[ao] to write these words: ‘This is for Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’[ap]”
2 I found some men who could be trusted to serve as witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah. They watched me write those words. 3 Then I went to my wife, the woman prophet. She became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher Shalal Hash Baz.” 4 He said that because before the boy learns to say “Mama” and “Daddy,” God will take all the wealth and riches from Damascus[aq] and Samaria and give them to the king of Assyria.
5 The Lord spoke to me again. 6 He said, “These people[ar] refuse to accept the slow-moving waters of Shiloah.[as] They prefer Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” 7 But the Lord will bring the king of Assyria and all his power against them. The Assyrians will come like their swift moving river, like water that rises and spills over its banks. 8 This water will be like a flash flood as it passes through Judah. It will rise to Judah’s throat and almost drown him.
But he will spread his wings over your whole country, Immanuel.[at]
9 All you nations, prepare for war.
You will be defeated.
Listen, all you faraway countries!
Prepare for battle.
You will be defeated.
10 Make your plans for the fight.
Your plans will be defeated.
Give orders to your armies,
but your orders will be useless,
because God is with us![au]
Warnings to Isaiah
11 The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned[av] me not to be like these people. He said, 12 “Don’t think there is a plan against you just because the people say there is. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let them frighten you!”
13 The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect.[aw] He is the one who should frighten you. 14 If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place[ax] for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. 15 (Many people will trip over this rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.)
16 The Lord said, “Write this agreement.[ay] Tie it up and seal it so that it cannot be changed. Give these teachings to my followers for safekeeping.”
17 The Lord has turned away from the family of Jacob.
But I will wait for him.
I trust that he will come to save us.
18 Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. We are here as signs from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion. He is using us to show his plans for the people of Israel.
19 The people will say, “Go to the fortunetellers and wizards who mumble and chirp like birds. Ask them what to do.” But I say, “Shouldn’t people go to their God for help? Why go to the dead to get help for the living?” 20 You should follow the teachings and the agreement.[az] I swear, if you follow those other things, there is no future for you. 21 When the enemy comes, there will be hard times and hunger. And when he becomes hungry, he will become angry. He will say curses in the name of his king and his gods. Then he will lift his head upwards like a roaring lion. 22 And when the captives turn their faces to the ground, there is only a depressing darkness closing in—the dark sadness of people forced to leave their country.
A New Day Is Coming
9 But there will be an end to the gloom those people suffered. In the past, people thought the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was not important. But later, that land will be honored—the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live. 2 Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.
3 God, you will make the nation grow, and you will make the people happy. They will rejoice in your presence as they do at harvest time. It will be like the joy when people take their share of things they have won in war. 4 That will happen because you will lift the heavy yoke off their shoulders and take away their heavy burden. You will take away the rod that the enemy used to punish your people, as you did when you defeated Midian.[ba]
5 Every boot that marched in battle and every uniform stained with blood will be destroyed and thrown into the fire. 6 This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” 7 His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end. This will establish him as the king sitting on David’s throne and ruling his kingdom. He will rule with goodness and justice forever and ever. The strong love[bb] that the Lord All-Powerful has for his people will make this happen!
God Will Punish Israel
8 The Lord gave a command against Jacob and someone in Israel fell.[bc] 9 So all the people in Ephraim, including the ruler in Samaria, learned their lesson.
Those people are very proud and boastful now. They say, 10 “Yes, those bricks fell, but we will rebuild with strong stone. Yes, those little trees were chopped down, but we will plant new trees. And they will be large, strong trees.”
11 The Lord found people to go up and fight against Rezin. He stirred up Rezin’s enemies. 12 As for Israel, the Arameans are in front of him and the Philistines are behind him. And they are both eating away at him. But the Lord is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing Israel.
13 The people did not stop sinning. They did not come to the Lord All-Powerful for help. 14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail. He took away the branch and the stalk in one day. 15 (The head means the elders and important leaders. The tail means the prophets who told lies.)
16 Their guides are leading them the wrong way, so those who follow them will be destroyed. 17 All of them are evil. So the Lord is not happy with the young men, and he will not show mercy to their widows and orphans. That is because they are evil hypocrites. They tell lies.
The Lord has punished them, but he is not finished yet. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing his people.
18 That evil was like a small fire that started among the weeds and thorns and then spread to the larger bushes in the forest. Finally, it became a giant fire, and everything went up in smoke.
19 The Lord All-Powerful was angry, so the land was burned. The people were fuel for the fire. No one showed any compassion to anyone else. 20 People looked to the right and grabbed whatever they could, but they were still hungry. They grabbed whatever was on their left, but still they were not satisfied. So they turned on themselves and began to eat the bodies of their own children. 21 Manasseh fought against Ephraim, and Ephraim fought against Manasseh. Then both of them turned on Judah.
But the Lord is not finished punishing his people. He is still angry, and his arm is raised to continue punishing them.
10 Just look at those lawmakers who write evil laws and make life hard for the people. 2 They are not fair to the poor. They take away the rights of the poor and allow people to steal from widows and orphans.
3 Lawmakers, you will have to explain what you have done. What will you do then? Your destruction is coming from a faraway country. Where will you run for help? Your money and your riches will not help you. 4 You will have to bow down like a prisoner. You will fall down like a dead man, but that will not help you. God will still be angry and ready to punish you.
God Will Punish Assyria’s Pride
5 The Lord says, “I will use Assyria like a stick. In my anger I will use Assyria to punish Israel. 6 I will send Assyria to fight against the people who do evil. I am angry with them, and I will command Assyria to fight against them. Assyria will defeat them and take their wealth. Israel will be like dirt for Assyria to walk on in the streets.
7 “But Assyria does not understand that I will use him. He does not think of himself as my tool. He only wants to destroy other people. He only plans to destroy many nations. 8 Assyria says to himself, ‘All of my officers are like kings! 9 The city of Calno is no better than the city of Carchemish. Arpad is like Hamath, and Samaria is like Damascus. 10 I defeated those evil kingdoms and now I control them. The idols those people worship are better than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria. 11 I defeated Samaria and her gods. I will also defeat Jerusalem and the idols her people have made.’”
12 When the Lord finishes doing what he planned to Jerusalem and Mount Zion, he will punish Assyria. The king of Assyria is very proud. His pride made him do many bad things, so God will punish him.
13 The king of Assyria said, “I am very wise. By my own wisdom and power I have done many great things. I have defeated many nations. I have taken their wealth and their people as slaves. I am a very powerful man. 14 With my own hands I have taken the riches of all these people—like someone taking eggs from a bird’s nest. A bird often leaves its nest and eggs, and there is nothing to protect the nest. There is no bird to chirp and fight with its wings and beak, so anyone can come take the eggs. And there is no one to stop me from taking all the people on earth.”
15 An ax is not better than the one who cuts with it. A saw is not better than the one who uses it. Is a stick stronger than the one who picks it up? It can’t do anything to the person who is using it to punish someone! 16 But Assyria doesn’t understand this. So the Lord God All-Powerful will send a terrible disease against him. He will lose his wealth and power like a sick man losing weight. Then Assyria’s glory will be destroyed. It will be like a fire burning until everything is gone. 17 The Light of Israel[bd] will be like a fire. The Holy One will be like a flame. He will be like a fire that first begins to burn the weeds and thorns 18 and then spreads to burn up the tall trees and vineyards. Finally, everything will be destroyed—even the people. Assyria will be like a rotting log. 19 There will be a few trees left standing in the forest—so few that even a child could count them.
20 Then the people from Jacob’s family who are left living in Israel will stop depending on the one who beat them. They will learn to depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 Those who are left in Jacob’s family will again follow the Powerful God.[be]
22 Israel, your people are as many as the sands of the sea, but only a few of them will be left to come back to God. But before that happens, your country will be destroyed. God has announced that he will destroy the land. And then justice will come into the land like a river flowing full. 23 The Lord God All-Powerful really will destroy this land.
24 The Lord God All-Powerful says, “My people living in Zion, don’t be afraid of Assyria! Yes, he will beat you, and it will be just as the time when Egypt beat you with a stick. 25 But after a short time my anger will stop. I will be satisfied that Assyria has punished you enough.”
26 Then the Lord All-Powerful will beat Assyria with a whip, just as he defeated Midian at Raven Rock.[bf] He will punish his enemies, as he did when he raised his stick over the sea[bg] and led his people from Egypt.
27 He will take away the troubles Assyria brought you—troubles that are like heavy weights carried with a yoke on your neck. But that yoke will be taken off your neck. The burden will be lifted from your shoulders.
The Army of Assyria Invades Israel
28 [bh] The army of Assyria will enter near the “Ruins” (Aiath). The army will walk on the “Threshing Floor” (Migron). It will keep its food in the “Storehouse” (Micmash). 29 The army will cross the river at the “Crossing” (Maabarah) and sleep at Geba. Ramah will be afraid. The people at Gibeah of Saul[bi] will run away.
30 Cry out, Bath Gallim[bj]! Laishah, listen! Anathoth, answer me! 31 The people of Madmenah are running away. The people of Gebim[bk] are hiding. 32 This day the army will stop at Nob and prepare to fight against Mount Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Look, the Lord God All-Powerful will use his great power and chop down that great tree. Their highest officials will be brought down. Their most important leaders will be humbled. 34 God will cut down his enemies. Like the tall trees of Lebanon he will cut them down with an ax.
The King of Peace Is Coming
11 A small tree[bl] will begin to grow from the stump of Jesse.[bm] That branch will grow from Jesse’s roots. 2 The Lord’s Spirit will always be with that new king to give him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit will help him know and respect the Lord. 3 He will find joy in obeying the Lord.
This king will not judge people by the way things look. He will not judge by listening to rumors. 4-5 He will judge the poor fairly and honestly. He will be fair when he decides what to do for the poor of the land. If he decides people should be beaten, he will give the command, and they will be beaten. If he decides people must die, he will give the command, and those evil people will be killed. Goodness and fairness will be like a belt he wears around his waist.
6 Then wolves will live at peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down in peace with young goats. Calves, lions, and bulls will all live together in peace. A little child will lead them. 7 Bears and cattle will eat together in peace, and all their young will lie down together and will not hurt each other. Lions will eat hay like cattle. 8 Even snakes will not hurt people. Babies will be able to play near a cobra’s[bn] hole and put their hands into the nest of a poisonous snake.
9 People will stop hurting each other. People on my holy mountain will not want to destroy things because they will know the Lord. The world will be full of knowledge about him, like the sea is full of water.
10 At that time there will be someone special from Jesse’s family. He will be like a flag that all the nations gather around. The nations will come to him and ask him what they should do. And the place where he is will be filled with glory.
11 At that time the Lord will again reach out and take his people who are left in countries like Assyria, North Egypt, South Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and other faraway countries around the world. 12 He will gather the people of Israel and Judah who were forced to leave their country. They were scattered to all the faraway places on earth. But he will raise the flag as a sign for the other nations, and he will gather his people together again.
13 Then Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will have no enemies left. And Judah will not cause trouble for Ephraim. 14 But Ephraim and Judah will attack the Philistines. These two nations will be like birds flying down to catch a small animal. Together, they will take the riches from the people in the East.[bo] Ephraim and Judah will control Edom, Moab, and the people in Ammon.[bp]
15 Just as the Lord divided the Red Sea near Egypt,[bq] he will raise his arm in anger over the Euphrates River and hit it. It will divide into seven small rivers. They will be so small that the people can walk across with their sandals on. 16 Then God’s people who are left in Assyria will have a way to leave. It will be just like the time God took the people out of Egypt.
A Song of Praise to God
12 At that time you will say,
“I praise you, Lord!
You have been angry with me,
but don’t be angry with me now.
Show your love to me.
2 God is the one who saves me.
I trust him, and I am not afraid.
The Lord Yah is my strength.
He saves me, and I sing songs of praise about him.[br]”
3 You people will get your water from the spring of salvation.
Then you will be happy.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord and call out his name!
Tell everyone what he has done
and how wonderful he is.”
5 Sing songs of praise about the Lord,
because he has done great things.
Spread this news about God throughout the whole world.
Let all people know these things.
6 People of Zion, shout about these things!
The Holy One of Israel is with you in a powerful way.
So sing and be happy!
God’s Message to Babylon
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this message[bs] about Babylon:
2 “Raise a flag on that mountain[bt] where nothing grows.
Call out to the men.
Wave your arms to let them know
they should enter through the gates for important leaders.
3 “I have separated these men from the people,
and I myself will command them.
I have gathered these proud, happy soldiers of mine
to show how angry I am.
4 “Listen to that loud noise in the mountains.
It sounds like crowds of people.
People from many kingdoms are gathering together.
The Lord All-Powerful is calling his army together.
5 They are coming from a faraway land.
They are coming from beyond the horizon.
The Lord will use this army as a weapon to show his anger.
They will destroy the whole country.”
6 The Lord’s special day is near. So cry and be sad for yourselves. A time is coming when the enemy will steal your wealth. God All-Powerful will make that happen.[bu] 7 People will lose their courage. Fear will make them weak. 8 Everyone will be afraid. They will stare at each other with shock on their faces. Fear will grip them like the pains of a woman in childbirth.
God’s Judgment Against Babylon
9 Look, the Lord’s special day is coming! It will be a terrible day. God will be very angry. He will destroy the country and wipe out the sinful people who live there. 10 The skies will be dark. The sun, the moon, and the stars will not shine.
11 The Lord says, “I will cause bad things to happen to the world. I will punish the evil people for their sin. I will make proud people lose their pride. I will stop the bragging of cruel people. 12 There will be only a few people left. They will be as rare as pure gold. 13 In my anger I will shake the sky, and the earth will be moved from its place.”
That will happen on the day the Lord All-Powerful shows his anger. 14 Then the people from Babylon will run away like wounded deer or sheep that have no shepherd. Everyone will turn and run back to their own country and people. 15 Anyone caught by the enemy will be killed with a sword. 16 Everything in their houses will be stolen. Their wives will be raped, and their little children will be beaten to death while they watch.
17 The Lord says, “Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. Nothing will stop them, even if someone offers them gold and silver. 18 They will walk on the bows of the young soldiers of Babylon. The enemy soldiers will not show any kindness or mercy even to the babies and young children. 19 Babylon will be destroyed like the time God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
“Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms. The Babylonians[bv] are very proud of their city. 20 But Babylon will not continue to be beautiful. People will not continue to live there in the future. Arabs will not put their tents there. Shepherds will not bring their sheep to let them eat there. 21 The only animals living there will be wild animals from the desert. People will not be living in their houses in Babylon. The houses will be full of owls and large birds. Wild goats[bw] will play in the houses. 22 Wild dogs and wolves will howl in the great and beautiful buildings. Babylon will be finished. The end is near, and it will not be delayed.”
Israel Will Return Home
14 The Lord will again show his love to Jacob. He will again choose the people of Israel. He will give them their land. Then the non-Israelites[bx] will join the Israelites, and both will become one family—Jacob’s family. 2 Those nations will bring the Israelites back to their land. The men and women from the other nations will become slaves to Israel. In the past, those people forced the Israelites to become their slaves. But in the future the Israelites will defeat those nations, and Israel will then rule over them in the Lord’s land. 3 In the past, you were slaves. People forced you to work hard. But the Lord will take away the hard work you were forced to do.
A Song About the King of Babylon
4 At that time you will begin to sing this song about the king of Babylon:
The king was cruel when he ruled us,
but now his rule is finished.
5 The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers;
he takes away their power.
6 In anger, the king of Babylon beat the people.
He never stopped beating them.
He was an evil ruler who ruled in anger.
He never stopped hurting people.
7 But now, the whole country rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to celebrate.
8 You were an evil king,
and now you are finished.
Even the pine trees are happy.
The cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king chopped us down,
but now the king has fallen,
and he will never stand again.”
9 The place of death is excited
that you are coming.
Sheol is waking the spirits
of all the leaders of the earth for you.
Sheol is making the kings stand up
from their thrones to meet you.
10 They will make fun of you, saying,
“Now you are as dead as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your pride has been sent down to Sheol.
The music from your harps announces the coming of your proud spirit.
Maggots will be the bed you lie on,
and other worms will cover your body like a blanket.
12 You were like the morning star,
but you have fallen from the sky.
In the past, all the nations on earth bowed down before you,
but now you have been cut down.
13 You always told yourself,
“I will go to the skies above.
I will put my throne above God’s stars.
I will sit on Zaphon,[by] the holy mountain where the gods meet.
14 I will go up to the altar above the tops of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”
15 But that did not happen.
You were brought down to the deep pit—Sheol, the place of death.
16 People will come to look at your dead body.
They will think about you and say,
“Is this the same man
who caused great fear in all the kingdoms on earth,
17 who destroyed cities
and turned the land into a desert,
who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 The kings of other nations lie buried with honor,
each king with his own grave.
19 But you were thrown out of your grave
like a branch cut from a tree and thrown away.
You are like a dead man who fell in battle,
trampled under the feet of other soldiers.
Now you look like any other dead man
wrapped in burial clothes.
20 Other kings have their own graves,
but you will not join them,
because you ruined your own country
and killed your own people.
So your wicked descendants will be stopped.
21 Prepare to kill his children,
because their father is guilty.
His children will never take control of the land.
They will never fill the world with their cities.
22 The Lord All-Powerful said, “I will stand and fight against those people. I will destroy the famous city, Babylon. I will destroy all the people there. I will destroy their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren.” The Lord himself said this.
23 “I will change Babylon. It will be a place for animals,[bz] not people. It will be a swamp. I will use the ‘broom of destruction’ to sweep Babylon away.” The Lord All-Powerful said this.
God Will Also Punish Assyria
24 The Lord All-Powerful made this promise: “This will happen exactly as I meant for it to happen. It will happen just the way I planned. 25 I will destroy the king of Assyria in my country. I will walk on him on my mountains. He forced my people to be his slaves; he put a yoke on their necks. But that pole will be taken off Judah’s neck, and that burden will be removed. 26 This is what I plan to do for this land. I will use my power to punish all those nations.”
27 When the Lord All-Powerful makes a plan, no one can change it. When he raises his arm to punish, no one can stop him.
God’s Message to Philistia
28 This message[ca] was given to me the year King Ahaz died[cb]:
29 Country of Philistia, don’t be happy that the king who beat you is now dead. It is true that his rule has ended, but his son will come and rule. It will be like one snake giving birth to a more dangerous one. The new king will be like a quick and dangerous snake to you. 30 But even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely. And their children will be able to lie down and feel safe. But I will make your family die from hunger, and your enemy will kill anyone who survives.
31 People near the city gates, cry!
People in the city, cry out!
Everyone in Philistia,
your courage will melt like hot wax.
Look to the north!
There is a cloud of dust.
An army is coming,
and everyone in that army is strong.[cc]
32 But what will the messengers from that nation report about us?
They will say, “The Lord made Zion strong,
and his poor people went there for safety.”
God’s Message to Moab
15 This is a message about Moab:
One night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab,
and the city was destroyed.
One night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab,
and the city was destroyed.
2 The king’s family and the people of Dibon[cd] go to the places of worship[ce] to cry.
The people of Moab are crying for Nebo[cf] and Medeba.[cg]
They have shaved their heads and beards to show their sadness.
3 Everywhere in Moab, on the housetops and in the streets,
people are wearing sackcloth.
Everyone is crying.
4 In Heshbon and Elealeh they are crying loudly.
You can hear their voices as far away as Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
They are shaking with fear.
5 My heart cries, full of sorrow for Moab.
Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
The people are crying
as they go up the road to Luhith.
They are crying loudly
as they walk on the road to Horonaim.
6 But Nimrim Brook is as dry as a desert.
The grass has dried up,
and the plants are all dead.
Nothing is green.
7 So the people gather up everything they own
and cross the border at Arabah stream.
8 You can hear crying everywhere in Moab—
as far away as Eglaim and Beer Elim.
9 The water of Dimon[ch] is full of blood,
and I will bring even more troubles to Dimon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy,
but I will send lions to eat them.
16 You people should send a gift to the king of the land. You should send a lamb from Sela, through the desert, to the mountain in the city of Jerusalem.[ci]
2 The women of Moab try to cross the river Arnon.
They run around looking for help,
like little birds that have fallen from their nest.
3 They say, “Help us!
Tell us what to do.
Protect us from our enemies
as shade protects us from the noon sun.
We are running from our enemies.
Hide us!
Don’t give us to our enemies.
4 People from Moab were forced to leave their homes.
So let them live in your land.
Hide them from their enemies.”
The robbing will stop.
The enemy will be defeated.
The men who hurt the people will be gone from the land.
5 Then a new king will come.
He will be from David’s family.[cj]
He will be loyal, loving, and kind.
He will be a king who judges fairly.
He will do what is right and good.
6 We have heard that the people of Moab
are very proud and conceited.
They are hot-tempered braggers,
but their boasts are only empty words.
7 Because of their pride, everyone in Moab will mourn.
They will wish for the way things used to be.
They will wish for the raisin cakes from Kir Hareseth.[ck]
8 The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah no longer grow grapes.
Foreign rulers have destroyed the vines.
The enemy has reached Jazer
and has spread into the desert and down to the sea.[cl]
9 I will cry with the people of Jazer and Sibmah,
because the grapes have been destroyed.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh
because there will be no harvest.
There will be no summer fruit,
and there will be no shouts of joy for the harvest.
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchard.
I will end the happy singing and shouting in the vineyard.
The grapes are ready to make wine,
but they will all be ruined.
11 So I will hum a sad song for Moab and Kir Heres,[cm]
like a harp playing a funeral song.
12 The people of Moab will go
to their high places to worship.
They will go to their temple to pray,
but it will not help them.
13 The Lord said these things about Moab many times. 14 And now the Lord says, “In three years (counting as exactly as a hired helper would) all those people and the things they are proud of will be gone. Only a few of their weakest people will be left.”
God’s Message to Aram
17 This is a message[cn] about Damascus[co]:
“Damascus is now a city, but it will be destroyed.
Only ruined buildings will be left there.
2 People will leave the cities of Aroer.[cp]
Flocks of sheep will wander freely in those empty towns;
there will be no one to bother them.
3 The fort cities of Ephraim will be destroyed.
The government in Damascus will be finished.
Those left in Aram will lose everything,
just like the people of Israel,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
4 “At that time Jacob’s wealth will all be gone.
Yes, Israel will be like a sick man who has become weak and thin.
5 “That time will be like the grain harvest in Rephaim Valley.[cq] The workers gather the plants that grow in the field. Then they cut the heads of grain from the plants and collect the grain.
6 “That time will also be like the olive harvest. People knock olives from the trees, but a few olives are usually left at the top of each tree. Four or five olives are left on some of the top branches. It will be the same for those cities,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
7 Then the people will look up to the one who made them. Their eyes will see the Holy One of Israel. 8 They will not trust the great things they have made. They will not go to the special gardens[cr] and altars[cs] they made for false gods. 9 At that time all the walled cities will be empty. They will be like the mountains and the forests[ct] in the land before the Israelites came. In the past, all the people ran away because the Israelites were coming. In the future, the country will be empty again. 10 This will happen because you have forgotten the God who saves you. You have not remembered that God is your place of safety.
You brought some very good grapevines from faraway places. You might plant those grapevines, but they will not grow. 11 You will plant your grapevines one day and try to make them grow, and the next day they will blossom. But at harvest time, you will go to gather the fruit from the plants, and you will see that everything is dead. A sickness will kill all the plants.
12 Listen to all these people!
Their loud crying sounds like the noise from the sea.
Listen, it is like the crashing of waves in the sea.
13 And like the waves,
they will rush away when God speaks harshly to them.
They will be like chaff blown away by the wind.
They will be like weeds chased by a storm.
14 That night, the people will be frightened.
By morning, nothing will be left.
So our enemies will get nothing.
They will come to our land, but nothing will be there.
God’s Message to Ethiopia
18 Look at the land along the rivers of Ethiopia where you can hear the buzzing of insect wings. 2 That land sends people down the Nile River in reed boats.[cu]
Fast messengers, go to the people
who are tall and smooth,
who are feared far and wide.
Go to that powerful nation that defeats other countries
and whose land is divided by rivers.
Go warn them!
3 Like a flag on a hill,
everyone on earth will see what happens.
Like a trumpet call,
everyone in the country will hear it.
4 The Lord said, “I will be in the place prepared for me.[cv] I will quietly watch these things happen: On a beautiful summer day, at noon, people will be resting. (It will be during the hot harvest time when there is no rain, but only early morning dew.) 5 Then something terrible will happen. Earlier in the year, the flowers bloomed and the new grapes formed buds and began to grow. But before the crop is harvested, the enemy will come and cut the plants. They will break the vines and throw them away. 6 The vines will be left for the birds from the mountains and the wild animals to eat. The birds will feed on them throughout the summer, and that winter the wild animals will eat the vines.”
7 At that time a special offering will be brought to the Lord All-Powerful from the people who are tall and smooth, from those who are feared far and wide, from that powerful nation that defeats other countries and whose land is divided by rivers.[cw] This offering will be brought to the Lord’s place on Mount Zion.
God’s Message to Egypt
19 A message[cx] about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud. He will enter Egypt, and all the false gods of Egypt will shake with fear. Egypt’s courage will melt away like hot wax.
2 The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves. Men will fight their brothers. Neighbors will be against neighbors. Cities will be against cities. Kingdoms will be against kingdoms.[cy] 3 The Egyptians will be afraid and confused. They will ask their false gods and wise men what they should do. They will ask their wizards and magicians, but I will ruin their plans.” 4 The Lord God All-Powerful says, “I will give Egypt to a hard master. A powerful king will rule over the people.”
5 The water in the Nile River will dry up and disappear. 6 All the rivers will smell very bad.[cz] The canals in Egypt will be dry, and the water will be gone. All the water plants will rot. 7 All the plants along the riverbanks will die and blow away. Even the plants at the widest part of the river will dry up, blow away, and disappear.
8 The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile River, will become sad and they will cry. They depend on the Nile River for their food, but it will be dry. 9 Those who make cloth from flax, who weave it into linen, will all be sad. 10 Those who weave cloth will be broken, and those who work for money will be depressed.
11 The leaders of the city of Zoan[da] are fools. Pharaoh’s “wise advisors” give bad advice. They say they are wise. They say they are from the old family of the kings, but they are not as smart as they think. 12 Egypt, where are your wise men? They should learn what the Lord All-Powerful has planned for Egypt. They should be the ones to tell you what will happen.
13 The leaders of Zoan have been fooled. The leaders of Noph[db] have believed lies, so they lead Egypt the wrong way. 14 The Lord confused them, so they wander around and lead Egypt the wrong way. Everything they do is wrong. They are like drunks rolling in their vomit. 15 There is nothing the leaders can do. (They are “the heads and the tails.” They are “the tops and the stalks of plants.”[dc])
16 At that time the Egyptians will be like frightened women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his arm to punish the people. 17 The land of Judah brings fear to everyone in Egypt. Anyone in Egypt who hears the name Judah will be afraid. This will happen because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things to happen to Egypt. 18 At that time there will be five cities in Egypt where people speak Hebrew.[dd] One of these cities will be named “Destruction City.”[de] The people in these cities will promise to follow the Lord All-Powerful.
19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt. At the border of Egypt there will be a monument to show honor to the Lord. 20 This will be a sign to show that the Lord All-Powerful does amazing things. Any time the people cry for help from the Lord, he will send help. He will send someone to save and defend the people—to rescue the people from those who hurt them.
21 At that time the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and they really will know the Lord. They will serve him and give him many sacrifices. They will make promises[df] to the Lord, and they will do what they promise. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them, and they will come back to him. The Lord will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Then the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. Egypt will work with Assyria.[dg] 24 Then Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together and control the land. This will be a blessing for the land. 25 The Lord All-Powerful will bless these countries. He will say, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Ethiopia
20 Sargon[dh] was the king of Assyria. He sent his military commander to fight against Ashdod. The commander went there and captured the city. 2 At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said, “Go, take the sackcloth off your waist and the sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed the Lord and went without clothes or sandals.
3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone without clothes or sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Ethiopia. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The people, young and old, will be led away without clothes or sandals. They will be completely naked. 5 Those who looked to Ethiopia for help will be shattered. Those who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be ashamed.”
6 People living along the coast will say, “We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?”
God’s Message About Babylon
21 This is a message[di] about the “desert by the sea”[dj]:
It is coming like a storm blowing through the Negev.
It is coming in from the desert, from a frightening nation.
2 I was given a vision of the hard times to come.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, go against them!
Media, surround the city!
I will put an end to all their moaning.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am afraid.
My fear makes my stomach hurt like the pain of giving birth.
What I hear frightens me.
What I see makes me shake with fear.
4 I am worried and shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening has become a nightmare.
5 People are rushing around shouting their orders:
“Set the table!
Post the guard!
Get something to eat and drink!
Officers, get up!
Polish your shields!”
6 The Lord said to me, “Go find someone to guard this city. He must report whatever he sees. 7 Whether he sees a chariot and a team of horses or men riding donkeys or camels, he must listen carefully.”[dk]
8 Then one day the watchman[dl] called out,
“My master, every day I have been in the watchtower[dm] watching.
Every night I have been standing on duty.
9 Look! I see a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.[dn]”
The messenger said,
“Babylon has been defeated!
It has fallen to the ground!
All the statues of her false gods
were thrown to the ground and broken to pieces.”
10 My people, you will be like the grain crushed on my threshing floor. I have told you everything I heard from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
God’s Message About Dumah
11 This is a message about Dumah[do]:
There is someone calling to me from Seir,[dp]
“Guard, how much of the night is left?
How much longer will it be night?”
12 The guard answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something else to ask,
then come back[dq] later and ask.”
God’s Message About Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia:
A caravan from Dedan spent the night
near some trees in the Arabian Desert.
14 They gave water to some thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave them food.
15 They were running from swords
that were ready to kill.
They were running from bows
that were ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 The Lord told me this would happen. He said, “In one year, the way a hired helper counts time, all Kedar’s glory will be gone. 17 Only a few of the archers, the great soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, told me this.
God’s Message to Jerusalem
22 This is a message[dr] about the Valley of Vision[ds]:
Jerusalem, what is wrong?
Why has everyone gone up to hide in their upper rooms?
2 This city was so happy,
but now there is a terrible uproar.
There are bodies lying everywhere,
but they were not killed with swords.
The people died,
but not while fighting.
3 All your officers ran away together,
but they have all been captured without bows.[dt]
All the leaders ran away together,
but they were found and captured.
4 So I say, “Don’t look at me!
Let me cry!
Don’t rush to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5 The Lord God All-Powerful chose a special day for there to be riots and confusion. People trampled on each other in the Valley of Vision. The city walls were pulled down. People in the valley shouted up at those on the mountain. 6 Horse soldiers from Elam took their bags of arrows and rode into battle. Soldiers from Kir rattled their shields. 7 Your favorite valley was filled with chariots. Horse soldiers were stationed in front of the city gates. 8 Then the cover protecting Judah[du] was removed, and the people turned to the weapons they kept at the Forest Palace.[dv]
9-11 Then you noticed how many cracks there were in the walls around the City of David, so you began collecting water from the Lower Pool.[dw] You counted the houses and used stones from them to repair the walls. Then you built a pool between the double walls[dx] for storing water from the Old Pool.[dy]
You did all this to protect yourselves, but you did not trust the God who made all these things. You did not even notice the one who made all these things so long ago. 12 So the Lord God All-Powerful told the people to cry and mourn for their dead friends. He told them to shave their heads and wear mourning clothes. 13 But look, everyone was happy. The people rejoiced, saying,
“Kill the cattle and sheep,
and let’s celebrate.
Let’s eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord All-Powerful said this to me and I heard it with my own ears: “You are guilty of doing wrong, and I promise that you will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Lord God All-Powerful said these things.
God’s Message to Shebna
15 The Lord God All-Powerful told me to go to Shebna, the palace manager, 16 and say this: “What are you doing here? None of your relatives are buried here, are they? Then what right do you have to prepare a tomb for yourself in this high place? Why are you cutting a tomb out of this rock?
17-18 “What a big man you are! But the Lord will crush you. He will roll you into a small ball and throw you far away into the open arms of another country, and there you will die.
“You are very proud of your chariots. But in that faraway land, your new ruler will have better chariots. And your chariots will not look important in his palace. 19 I will force you out of your position here. Your new leader will take you away from your important job. 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. I will give him your scepter. I will give him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family.[dz]
22 “I will put the key to David’s house 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 a favorite chair in his father’s house. I will make him like a strong peg in a solid board. 24 All the honored and important things of his father’s house will hang on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like little dishes and big water bottles hanging on him.”
25 The Lord All-Powerful said, “At that time the peg that is now in the solid board will get weak and break. It will fall to the ground, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed. Then everything I said in this message will happen. It will happen because the Lord said it would.”
God’s Message About Tyre
23 This is a message[ea] about Tyre:
Ships traveling from Cyprus heard this message:
“Cry, you ships from Tarshish[eb]!
Your harbor has been destroyed.”
2 You people living near the sea, mourn in silence.
The merchants of Sidon sent traders across the sea
and filled the city with riches.
3 They traveled the seas looking for grain.
The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, you should be very sad,
because now the Sea and the Fort of the Sea[ec] say,
“I have no children.
I have never felt the pain of birth;
I have never given birth to children.
I have never raised young men and women.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
it will feel the pain of sorrow.
6 You ships, try to escape to Tarshish!
Cry out, you people living near the sea!
7 Can this be that happy city that was founded so long ago?
Is it that same city whose people traveled so far to settle other lands?[ed]
8 This city produced so many leaders.
Its merchants were like princes.
Its traders had the whole world’s respect.
So who made these plans against Tyre?
9 It was the Lord All-Powerful.
He decided to destroy the great things they were so proud of.
He wanted to disgrace those who were so highly respected.
10 Ships from Tarshish, go back home.
Cross the sea as if it were a river.
No one will stop you now.
11 The Lord raised his arm over the sea
to make the kingdoms angry enough to fight against Tyre.
He commanded Canaan
to destroy her place of safety.[ee]
12 He said, “Daughter Sidon,[ef] you have been hurt badly,
so you will no longer rejoice like a bride.
Go ahead, go to Cyprus[eg] for help,
but you will not find a place to rest there either.”
13 As for Babylon, look at the land of the Chaldeans!
It is not even a country now.
Assyria built war towers to attack it.
The soldiers took everything from the beautiful houses.
Assyria destroyed Babylon.
They turned it into a pile of ruins
and made it a place for wild animals.
14 So be sad, you ships from Tarshish.
Your place of safety has been destroyed.
15 People will forget about Tyre for 70 years—that is, about the length of a king’s rule. After 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh, woman who men forgot,
take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your song well and sing it often.
Maybe someone will remember you.”
17 After 70 years, the Lord will review Tyre’s case, and he will give her a decision. Tyre will again have trade. She will be like a prostitute for all the nations on earth. 18 But Tyre will not keep the money she earns. The profit from her trade will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will give that money to the people who serve the Lord to buy good food and nice clothes.
God Will Punish Israel
24 Look, the Lord is destroying this land.[eh] He will clean out the land completely and force all the people to go far away. 2 At that time whatever happens to the common people will also happen to the priests. Slaves and masters will be the same. Women slaves and their women masters will be the same. Buyers and sellers will be the same. Those who borrow and those who lend will be the same. Bankers and those who owe the bank will be the same. 3 Everyone will be forced out of the land. All the wealth will be taken. This will happen because the Lord commanded it. 4 The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.
5 The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God. 6 The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong, so God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished, and only a few of them will survive.
7 The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. People who were happy are now sad. 8 They have stopped showing their joy. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended. 9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 “Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People cannot enter the houses. The doors are blocked. 11 People still ask for wine in the marketplaces, but all the joy is gone. It was carried off with everything else. 12 All that is left is destruction. Even the gates are crushed.
13 At harvest time, people knock olives from the trees.
But a few olives are left in the trees.
It will be like that in this land and among the nations.
14 Those who are left will begin shouting louder than the ocean.
They will rejoice about the Lord’s greatness.
15 They will say, “People in the east, praise the Lord!
People in faraway lands,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”
16 We hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth.
They praise the God who does what is right.
But I say, “Enough!
I have had enough.
What I see is terrible.
Traitors are turning against people and hurting them.”
17 I see troubles for you people living in this land.
I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
18 People will hear about the danger,
and they will be afraid.
Some of them will run away,
but they will fall into holes and be trapped.
Some of them will climb out of the holes,
but they will be caught in another trap.
The floodgates in the sky above will open,
and the floods will begin.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 There will be earthquakes,
and the earth will split open.
20 The sins of the world are very heavy,
so the earth will fall under the weight.
It will shake like an old house.
It will fall like a drunk.
It will not be able to stand.
21 At that time the Lord will judge
the heavenly armies in heaven
and the earthly kings on earth.
22 Many people will be gathered together.
They have been locked in the Pit.
They have been in prison.[ei]
But finally, after a long time, they will be judged.
23 The Lord will rule as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
His Glory will be shown to the city leaders with such brightness that
the moon will be embarrassed
and the sun will be ashamed.
A Song of Praise to God
25 Lord, you are my God.
I honor you and praise your name,
because you did amazing things.
The words you said long ago are completely true;
everything happened exactly as you said it would.
2 And you destroyed the city that was protected by strong walls.
Now it is only a pile of rocks.
The foreign palace has been destroyed.
It will never be rebuilt.
3 That is why powerful nations will honor you.
Powerful people from strong cities will fear you.
4 You have been a safe place for poor people in trouble.
You are like a shelter from floods and shade from the heat
when powerful men attack.
They are like rain streaming down the walls
that protect us from the storm.
5 Like the heat of summer in a dry land,
the angry shouts of those foreigners brought us to our knees.
But like a thick cloud that blocks the summer heat,
you answered their challenge.
God’s Banquet for His Servants
6 The Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be good and tender, the wine pure and clear.
7 But now there is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called “death.” 8 But death will be destroyed forever.[ej] And the Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face. In the past, all of his people were sad, but God will take away that sadness from the earth. All of this will happen because the Lord said it would.
9 At that time people will say,
“Here is our God!
He is the one we have been waiting for.
He has come to save us.
We have been waiting for our Lord.
So we will rejoice and be happy when he saves us.”
10 The Lord’s power is on this mountain,
and Moab[ek] will be defeated.
The Lord will trample the enemy
like someone walking on straw in a pile of waste.
11 They will reach out their arms to escape
like someone trying to swim.
But their pride will sink
with each stroke they take.
12 He will destroy their high walls and safe places.
He will throw them down into the dust on the ground.
A Song of Praise to God
26 At that time people will sing this song in Judah:
We have a strong city with strong walls and defenses.
But God gives us our salvation.[el]
2 Open the gates for the good people to enter.
They are the God’s faithful followers.
3 God, you give true peace
to people who depend on you,
to those who trust in you.
4 So trust the Lord always,
because in the Lord Yah[em] you have a place of safety forever.
5 But he will destroy the proud city
and punish those who live there.
He will throw that high city down to the ground.
It will fall into the dust.
6 Then poor and humble people will walk on those ruins.
7 Honesty is the path good people follow.
They follow the path that is straight and true.
And God, you make that way smooth
and easy to follow.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting for your way of justice.
We want to honor you and your name.
9 At night my soul longs to be with you,
and the spirit in me wants to be with you at the dawn of every new day.
When your way of justice comes to the world,
people will learn the right way of living.
10 Evil people will not learn to do good,
even if you show them only kindness.
They will still do wrong, even if they live in a good world.
They never see the Lord’s greatness.
11 Lord, your arm is raised to punish them,
but they don’t see it.
Show them how strong your love[en] is for your people.
Then those who are evil will be ashamed.
Yes, your fire will destroy your enemies.
12 Lord, you have succeeded in doing everything we tried to do,
so give us peace.
God Will Give New Life to His People
13 Lord, you are our God,
but in the past, we followed other lords.
We belonged to other masters,[eo]
but now we want people to remember only one name—yours.
14 Those dead lords will not come to life.
Those ghosts will not rise from death.
You decided to destroy them,
and you destroyed everything that makes us think about them.
15 Lord, you have helped the nation you love.
You made our nation grow
and brought honor to yourself.[ep]
16 Lord, people remember you
when they are in trouble.
So because of your punishment,
we called out to you.
17 Lord, because of you we were in pain,
like a woman giving birth,
who struggles and cries out when it is time.
18 But we struggled in pain for nothing.
We gave birth only to wind.
We did nothing to save the land.
No one was born to live in the world.
19 But the Lord says,
“Your people have died,
but they will live again.
The bodies of my people
will rise from death.
Dead people in the ground,
stand and be happy!
The dew covering you is like
the dew sparkling in the light of a new day.
It shows that a new time is coming,
when the earth will give birth to the dead who are in it.”
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your rooms
and lock your doors.
Hide in there for a short time
until God’s anger is finished.
21 Look! The Lord is coming out from his place[eq]
to judge the people of the world for the bad things they have done.
The earth will reveal the blood that has been spilled on it.
It will no longer hide the proof of those murders.
27 At that time the Lord will judge Leviathan,[er]
the crooked snake.
He will use his great sword, his hard and powerful sword,
to punish Leviathan, that twisting, turning snake.
He will kill the monster of the sea.[es]
2 At that time people will sing
about the pleasant vineyard.
3 “I, the Lord, will care for the vineyard.
I will water it at the right time.
I will guard it day and night.
No one will hurt it.
4 I am not angry.
But if there is war and someone builds a wall of thornbushes,[et]
then I will march to it and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for safety
and wants to make peace with me,
then let them come and make peace.
6 In the future, Jacob will take root firmly on his soil.
Then Israel will sprout and bloom,
and the world will be filled with his fruit.”
God Will Send Israel Away
7 Israel was not hurt as badly as the enemy who tried to hurt it. Not as many of its people were killed as those who tried to kill them.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:4 They … children Or “They are destructive children of evil parents.”
- Isaiah 1:5 Your whole … aching Or “Every head and heart is already sick and aching.”
- Isaiah 1:7 It looks … destroyed it Or “It looks like the land of the foreigners that was destroyed.” This might refer to civil war in Israel or to some time when God destroyed foreign nations, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 1:8 city of Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 1:10 officers of Sodom … Gomorrah Here, this refers to leaders and people from Judah.
- Isaiah 1:29 special gardens Gardens where people worshiped false gods.
- Isaiah 2:6 East This usually refers to the area around Babylon.
- Isaiah 2:9 They … up Or “The people have become very low. Surely you will not forgive them!”
- Isaiah 2:16 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship.
- Isaiah 3:6 coat Or “robe.” This showed that a person was a leader of the people.
- Isaiah 3:14 vineyard A garden for growing grapes. Here, this probably means Judah.
- Isaiah 3:20 charms Things people wore on bracelets and necklaces. People thought these things would protect them from evil or danger.
- Isaiah 3:24 they will have no hair This means that they will become slaves.
- Isaiah 4:2 the Lord’s plant This might refer to the country of Judah or to the future king or Messiah. See Isa. 5:7.
- Isaiah 4:4 wash away the filth This is like a special ceremony for washing away the blood after a menstrual period. After this a man and wife could have sexual relations.
- Isaiah 4:4 daughters of Zion This can refer either to the small towns around Jerusalem or to the women living there.
- Isaiah 4:5 cloud of smoke … fire The signs God used to show that he was with his people.
- Isaiah 4:5 everyone Literally, “glory,” but this can also mean “soul” or “person.” See Ps. 16:9.
- Isaiah 5:3 You people … Judah Or “Rulers of Jerusalem and leader of Judah ….”
- Isaiah 5:7 man of Judah This could mean either “the king of Judah” or simply, “people of Judah.”
- Isaiah 5:10 only a little wine Literally, “one bath,” a measure that equals about 6 gallons (22 l).
- Isaiah 5:10 only a little grain Literally, “A homer of seed will grow only an ephah of grain.” A homer equals about 6 bushels (220 l). An ephah equals about 2/3 bushel (22 l).
- Isaiah 5:18 ropes Literally, “useless ropes.” The Hebrew words here are like those meaning “useless things,” that is, idols.
- Isaiah 5:24 teachings This can also mean “laws.” Sometimes this means the laws God gave Moses to teach to the people of Israel.
- Isaiah 6:1 year … died This was probably 740 B.C.
- Isaiah 6:4 smoke This showed that God was in the Temple. See Ex. 40:34-35.
- Isaiah 6:5 I am not pure … him Literally, “I am a man of unclean lips and live among people of unclean lips.”
- Isaiah 6:7 erased Or “atoned” or “covered over.”
- Isaiah 7:1 Pekah son of Remaliah A king of northern Israel. He ruled about 740-731 B.C.
- Isaiah 7:1 Rezin and Pekah … the city Or “Rezin and Pekah went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to fight.”
- Isaiah 7:3 Shear Jashub This is a name that means “a few people will come back.”
- Isaiah 7:3 Upper Pool Probably the Pool of Siloam at the southern tip of the City of David, just above the older pool now called the Red Pool.
- Isaiah 7:4 Remaliah’s son Pekah, the king of northern Israel. He ruled about 740–731 B.C.
- Isaiah 7:11 The sign … Sheol Or “Make your request deep.” The Hebrew word for “question” is like the word for Sheol.
- Isaiah 7:11 The sign … skies Literally, “make your request very high.”
- Isaiah 7:14 The young woman is pregnant Or “Look at this young woman. She is pregnant.” The ancient Greek version (quoted in Mt. 1:23) translates “young woman” here with a word meaning “virgin” and has “Look! The virgin will become pregnant.”
- Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel This name means “God is with us.”
- Isaiah 7:15 milk curds and honey This refers to some of the first solid foods, something like yogurt, that were fed to a baby. This is also the food that even the poor can find to eat. Also in verse 22.
- Isaiah 7:20 shave … body This means that the people of Judah would be humiliated and treated like slaves.
- Isaiah 8:1 scroll This Hebrew word might also mean a clay or stone tablet.
- Isaiah 8:1 ordinary pen Literally, “stylus of a man.” This might be a pen for writing on clay.
- Isaiah 8:1 Maher Shalal Hash Baz This means “There will soon be looting and stealing.”
- Isaiah 8:4 Damascus A city in the country of Aram (Syria).
- Isaiah 8:6 These people Probably Judeans who wanted to join Rezin and Pekah. Also in verse 11.
- Isaiah 8:6 Shiloah A channel that carried water from Gihon Spring to a pool at the south end of the City of David (Jerusalem). Men from David’s family were anointed to be kings there.
- Isaiah 8:8 But he … Immanuel Or “Immanuel, it will spread throughout your whole country.” This might be a promise of God’s protection, or it might be a warning about Assyria’s power.
- Isaiah 8:10 God is with us In Hebrew this is like the name Immanuel.
- Isaiah 8:11 warned Or “prevented.”
- Isaiah 8:13 respect Literally, “consider holy.”
- Isaiah 8:14 safe place Or “holy place.”
- Isaiah 8:16 Write this agreement Or “Take a document.” This could refer to the large scroll in verse 1 or to the promise that follows in verse 17.
- Isaiah 8:20 agreement This usually means the agreement God made with Israel through Moses. Here, it probably means the agreement in verse 17.
- Isaiah 9:4 as you … Midian See Judges 7:15-25.
- Isaiah 9:7 strong love The Hebrew word means strong feelings like love, hate, anger, zeal, or jealousy.
- Isaiah 9:8 Or “The Lord sent a command to Jacob and it happened to Israel.”
- Isaiah 10:17 The Light of Israel This is a name for God, like “The Holy One” in the next sentence. See “Israel” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 10:21 Powerful God See Isa. 9:6.
- Isaiah 10:26 Midian at Raven Rock Or “Midian at the Rock of Oreb.” See Judges 7:25.
- Isaiah 10:26 he raised … sea See Ex. 14:1-15:21.
- Isaiah 10:28 Isaiah uses names with double meanings to describe the different ways the Assyrian army would fight against Judah.
- Isaiah 10:29 Geba, Ramah, Gibeah of Saul Towns north of Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 10:30 Bath Gallim Gallim, a city south of Jerusalem. This name means “daughter of the waves,” and might refer to birds that make loud noises by the shore.
- Isaiah 10:31 Gebim An unknown city. This name is like the Hebrew word for “pit” or “cistern,” a hole in the ground for storing water.
- Isaiah 11:1 small tree That is, a new king will come from the family of David.
- Isaiah 11:1 Jesse King David’s father.
- Isaiah 11:8 cobra A very poisonous snake.
- Isaiah 11:14 East This usually refers to the area around Babylon.
- Isaiah 11:14 Edom, Moab, Ammon Three countries east of Israel. They were Israel’s enemies for many years.
- Isaiah 11:15 the Lord … Egypt Or “the Lord will dry up the tongue of the Sea of Egypt.”
- Isaiah 12:2 The Lord Yah … him Literally, “Yah, Yahweh is my strength and praise. And he becomes my salvation.” This comes from the victory song of Moses in Ex. 15:2.
- Isaiah 13:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 13:2 mountain This probably means Babylon.
- Isaiah 13:6 A time … happen This is a wordplay in Hebrew. The word meaning “stealing things in war” sounds like the word meaning “God All-Powerful.”
- Isaiah 13:19 Babylonians Literally, “Chaldeans.”
- Isaiah 13:21 Wild goats The Hebrew word means “hairy,” “goat,” or “goat-demon.”
- Isaiah 14:1 non-Israelites This usually means those who live in a country but are not yet citizens of that country. Here, it is the non-Israelites who decided to follow God.
- Isaiah 14:13 Zaphon This Hebrew word literally means “north” or “hidden.”
- Isaiah 14:23 animals Literally, “porcupines.”
- Isaiah 14:28 message Or “burden.” Also in 15:1.
- Isaiah 14:28 year King Ahaz died About 727 B.C.
- Isaiah 14:31 everyone … strong Or “there are no stragglers in that group.”
- Isaiah 15:2 Dibon A city in the country of Moab. This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “to be very sad.”
- Isaiah 15:2 places of worship Or “high places.” See “high places” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 15:2 Nebo A city in the country of Moab and the name of a false god.
- Isaiah 15:2 Medeba A city in the country of Moab. This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “to be very sad.”
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon This is probably the city of Dibon. Dimon is like the Hebrew word meaning “blood.”
- Isaiah 16:1 city of Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 16:5 David’s family The royal family of Judah. God promised that men from David’s family would be kings in Judah.
- Isaiah 16:7 Kir Hareseth A city in the country of Moab.
- Isaiah 16:8 Foreign rulers … the sea Or “These grapes made many foreign rulers drunk. The vines spread far to the city of Jazer, then into the desert and down to the sea.”
- Isaiah 16:11 Kir Heres Kir Hareseth, a city in the country of Moab. Kir Heres means “a city chosen to be destroyed.”
- Isaiah 17:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 17:1 Damascus A city in the country of Aram (Syria).
- Isaiah 17:2 Aroer A place in the country of Aram (Syria).
- Isaiah 17:5 Rephaim Valley A valley southwest of Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 17:8 special gardens Gardens where people worshiped false gods.
- Isaiah 17:8 altars These might be altars for burning incense, or they might be altars for worshiping a special false god.
- Isaiah 17:9 mountains and the forests With a minor change in the Hebrew, this could be “the Horites and Amorites.”
- Isaiah 18:2 reed boats These boats were made by tying many reeds (a type of water plant) together.
- Isaiah 18:4 the place prepared for me Probably the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 18:7 Or “At that time the people who are tall and smooth, who are feared far and wide, that powerful nation who defeats other countries and whose land is divided by rivers, those people will be brought to the Lord All-Powerful as a special gift.”
- Isaiah 19:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 19:2 Kingdoms will be against kingdoms Or “States will be against states.” This means Egyptians will fight other Egyptians.
- Isaiah 19:6 smell very bad In Hebrew this is like a name for the Nile River.
- Isaiah 19:11 Zoan A city in Egypt. Also in verse 13.
- Isaiah 19:13 Noph Or “Memphis,” a city in Egypt.
- Isaiah 19:15 the heads and … stalks of plants See Isa. 9:14-15.
- Isaiah 19:18 Hebrew Literally, “the language of Canaan.”
- Isaiah 19:18 Destruction City This is a wordplay on the name meaning “Sun City,” which is also called On or Heliopolis.
- Isaiah 19:21 promises A special kind of promise to God. See Lev. 22:18-24.
- Isaiah 19:23 Egypt will work with Assyria Or “Egypt will serve Assyria.”
- Isaiah 20:1 Sargon A king of Assyria. He was king about 721–705 B.C.
- Isaiah 21:1 message Or “burden.” Also in verses 11, 13.
- Isaiah 21:1 the desert by the sea Probably Babylon.
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “Whether he sees a column of teams of horsemen, columns of donkeys, or columns of camels, he must listen carefully.”
- Isaiah 21:8 the watchman “the seer,” an ancient title for a prophet. The standard Hebrew text has “a lion.”
- Isaiah 21:8 watchtower A tall building where guards stood and watched to see if anyone was coming near their city.
- Isaiah 21:9 a man … horses Or “a column of teams of horsemen.” This might be a team of horses pulling a war chariot or mounted archers in the Assyrian army who often worked in pairs.
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah This Hebrew word means “silence.” It may refer to Edom or to a city in Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:11 Seir A mountain in Edom or a city in Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:12 come back This can also mean “change your heart” or “repent.”
- Isaiah 22:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 22:1 Valley of Vision This probably means one of the valleys near Jerusalem. Also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 22:3 but they have … bows Or “but the archers captured them.”
- Isaiah 22:8 cover protecting Judah This might be the wall around Jerusalem, but see Isa. 4:5-6.
- Isaiah 22:8 Forest Palace A part of Solomon’s palace where his weapons and wealth were stored.
- Isaiah 22:9 Lower Pool The pool at the southern tip of the City of David, just below the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam).
- Isaiah 22:9 pool between the double walls This is probably the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam).
- Isaiah 22:9 Old Pool Probably the pool at Gihon Spring on the eastern slopes of the city.
- Isaiah 22:21 people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family Or “The king sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, the royal family of Judah.”
- Isaiah 23:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 23:1 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship. Also in verse 14.
- Isaiah 23:4 Fort of the Sea Another name for the city of Tyre.
- Isaiah 23:7 traveled … other lands? Or “came from so far to live here?”
- Isaiah 23:11 Or “He raised his arm over the sea and shook nations. He gave a command about Canaan to destroy its fortresses.”
- Isaiah 23:12 Daughter Sidon Another name for the city of Sidon.
- Isaiah 23:12 Cyprus Literally, “Kittim.” This could also mean “Crete.”
- Isaiah 24:1 land Or “earth.”
- Isaiah 24:22 Pit … prison This is probably “Sheol,” the grave.
- Isaiah 25:8 But death … forever Some Greek versions have “But death will be swallowed in victory.”
- Isaiah 25:10 Moab Or “the enemy.” This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “enemy.”
- Isaiah 26:1 Or “We have a strong city that provides us with salvation. It has strong walls and defenses.”
- Isaiah 26:4 Lord Yah Or “Yah Yahweh,” a Hebrew name for God.
- Isaiah 26:11 strong … love The Hebrew word means strong feelings like love, hate, anger, zeal, or jealousy.
- Isaiah 26:13 we followed … masters This is a wordplay. It could also be translated, “Husbands other than you married us.” One word sounds like “Baal,” the other like a title for God.
- Isaiah 26:15 Or “You gathered together the nation you love, the nation you drove into faraway lands.”
- Isaiah 26:21 his place Probably the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 27:1 Leviathan The Dragon or giant snake. Some ancient stories say the Dragon was an enemy of God.
- Isaiah 27:1 monster of the sea This is probably Rahab. Some ancient stories tell of Rahab fighting with God.
- Isaiah 27:4 a wall of thornbushes Literally, “thorns and thistles.” Farmers planted walls of thornbushes around vineyards to protect them from animals. See Isa. 5:5.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
