Bible in 90 Days

Loving-Pity on Jacob

14 The Lord will have loving-pity on Jacob and will again choose Israel. He will have them return to live in their own land. Then people from other countries will come and be with them, and will join themselves to the family of Jacob. ² Nations will take them and bring them to their place. The family of Israel will own them in the Lord’s land as men and women servants. They will take those who had taken them away and they will rule over those who had made it hard for them.

Babylon’s King in the World of the Dead

³ When the Lord gives you rest from your pain and trouble and the hard work which you were made to do, ⁴ you will speak against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the one who made it hard for us has been stopped! How his anger has been stopped! ⁵ The Lord has broken the walking stick of the sinful, the power of rulers, ⁶ which used to beat the people in anger without stopping. The nations were ruled in anger. It was very hard for the people and there was no pity shown to them.

⁷ “Now the whole earth is at rest and quiet. They sing out with joy. ⁸ Even the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon are glad over you, and say, ‘Since you were cut down no one comes to cut us down.’ ⁹ The world of the dead below wants to meet you when you come. It wakes up the spirits of the dead for you, all the leaders of the earth. It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. ¹⁰ All of them will speak and say to you, ‘Even you have become as weak as we. You have become like us. ¹¹ Your honor and power along with the music of your harps have been brought down to the place of the dead. Worms are spread out as your bed under you and worms cover you.’

¹² “How you have fallen from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have made the nations weak! ¹³ You said in your heart, ‘I will go up to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. And I will sit on the mount of meeting in the far north. ¹⁴ I will go much higher than the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.’ ¹⁵ But you will be brought down to the place of the dead, to the bottom of the grave. ¹⁶ Those who see you will look hard at you and think about you, and say, ‘Is this the man who made the earth shake with fear, who shook nations? ¹⁷ Is this the man who made the world like a desert and destroyed its cities, who did not let those whom he had put in prison go home?’

¹⁸ “All the kings of the nations lie in greatness, each in his own grave. ¹⁹ But you have been thrown out of your grave like a hated part of the family. You are clothed with the dead who were killed with a sword, who go down to the stones of the grave, like a dead body crushed under foot. ²⁰ You will not be joined with them when you are buried, because you have destroyed your country. You have killed your people. May the children of sinners never be spoken about again! ²¹ Make a place ready for his sons to be killed because of the sin of their fathers. They must not come into power and take the earth, and fill the world with cities.”

God Will Destroy Babylon

²² “I will come against them,” says the Lord of All. “And I will cut off from Babylon its name and people, its children and their children,” says the Lord. ²³ “I will turn it into a place for hedgehogs, full of pools of water. And I will go over it and destroy it,” says the Lord of All.

God Will Destroy the Assyrians

²⁴ The Lord of All has promised, “It will happen just as I have planned it. As I have planned, so will it be. ²⁵ I will break Assyria in My land. I will crush him under foot on My mountains. Then his load will be taken from My people. His load will be taken from their shoulder.” ²⁶ This is the plan made against the whole earth and this is the hand that is put out against all the nations. ²⁷ For the Lord of All has planned, and who can keep it from happening? Who can turn His hand back?

God Will Destroy the Philistines

²⁸ In the year that King Ahaz died this special word came: ²⁹ “Do not be glad, O Philistia, all of you, because the special stick that made it hard for you is broken. One snake dies and a worse one comes, a snake that can fly. ³⁰ The poor will eat. Those in need will lie down and be safe. I will destroy all of you with hunger and it will kill those who are left. ³¹ Cry out, O gate. Cry, O city. All you Philistines are weak in heart. For smoke comes from the north, and everyone keeps his place in his army. ³² What answer will be given to the men sent by the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and it will be a safe place for His people who are poor and troubled.”

God Will Destroy Moab

15 The special word against Moab: Ar of Moab is destroyed and laid waste in a night. And in a night Kir of Moab is destroyed and laid waste. ² They have gone up to the house of worship and to Dibon. They have gone to the high places to cry. Moab cries over Nebo and Medeba. The hair has been cut from everyone’s head and face. ³ In their streets they have dressed themselves with cloth made from hair. On the tops of their houses and in their open spaces everyone is crying with many tears. ⁴ Heshbon and Elealeh cry out also. Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. So the soldiers of Moab cry out. Moab’s soul shakes within him. ⁵ My heart cries out for Moab. His men have run away as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. For they go up the hill of Luhith crying. On the road to Horonaim they cry in sorrow over their being destroyed. ⁶ For the waters of Nimrim have been laid waste. The grass is dried up. The new grass died out. There is no green thing. ⁷ So the many things they have gathered and stored up they carry away over the river of Arabim. ⁸ The cry of sorrow has gone around the land of Moab. Its noise is heard as far as Eglaim and Beer-elim. ⁹ The waters of Dimon are full of blood. Yet I will bring more troubles to Dimon. I will bring a lion upon those of Moab who have run away, and upon the people of the land who are still alive.

Moab Is without Hope

16 Send lambs as taxes to the ruler of the land, from Sela by the way of the desert to the mountain of the people of Zion. ² Then, like birds driven from their nest, the people of Moab will be where the Arnon River can be crossed. ³ “Give us words of wisdom. Do what is right for us. Make your shadow like night at noonday. Hide those who have been sent away. Do not go against those who are running for their lives. ⁴ Let those of Moab who have been sent away stay with you. Hide them from the one who destroys.” For the one who uses sinful power has come to an end, and trouble has stopped. Those who make it hard for the people have gone from the land. ⁵ A throne will be set up in loving-kindness. A faithful judge will sit on it from the family of David. He will be fair as he judges, and will be quick to do what is right and good.

⁶ We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is. We have heard of how proud he is of himself and of his anger. His proud words are false. ⁷ So Moab will cry out. Everyone of Moab will cry out. You will cry for the dried-grape cakes of Kir-hareseth, as if you were in the worst trouble. ⁸ The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah have dried up. The lords of the nations have crushed under foot its best vines, which went as far as Jazer and the desert. They spread themselves out and passed over the sea. ⁹ So I will cry with much sorrow for Jazer and for the vines of Sibmah. I will make you wet with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, because there is nothing to gather from your summer fruits. ¹⁰ Happiness and joy are taken away from the field that gives much fruit. No songs are sung in the grape-fields. No one crushes grapes to make wine, for I have stopped the cry of joy. ¹¹ So my heart cries with sorrow for Moab like a harp. Inside myself I cry for Kir-hareseth. ¹² When Moab goes to his high place, he will only become tired. When he goes to his holy place to pray, it will do him no good.

¹³ This is the word which the Lord spoke before about Moab. ¹⁴ But now the Lord says, “In three years, as a servant would count them, the shining-greatness of Moab and all his many people will be hated. And those left alive will be very few and weak.”

God Will Destroy Damascus

17 The special word about Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city. It will be destroyed and laid waste. ² The cities of Aroer are left empty. They will be for the flocks to lie down in, and no one will make them afraid. ³ The strong city will be gone from Ephraim. Damascus will no longer rule. And those of Syria who are left alive will be like the shining-greatness of the sons of Israel,” says the Lord of All.

⁴ In that day Jacob will lose his shining-greatness. And he will lose the fat of his flesh. ⁵ It will be like one who gathers the standing grain, taking the ears of grain with his arm or like one who gathers the ears of grain in the valley of Rephaim. ⁶ Yet some good will be left in it, as when an olive tree is shaken. There will still be two or three olives on the highest branch, and four or five on the branches of a tree that gives much fruit, says the Lord God of Israel.

⁷ In that day man will turn to his Maker. His eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. ⁸ He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. He will not look to what his fingers have made, or to the false goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume.

⁹ In that day their strong cities will be like places left empty among the trees, or like high branches which they left behind because of the sons of Israel. The land will be laid waste. ¹⁰ For you have forgotten the God Who saves you. You have not remembered the rock where you are safe. So you plant beautiful plants, and put them with the vine-cuttings of a strange god. ¹¹ In the day that you plant it you fence it in, and in the morning your seed is growing. But its fruit will waste away in a day of sickness and pain which cannot be healed.

Other Nations Are Like Grain Worth Nothing

¹² Listen to the cry of sorrow of many people. They sound like the noise of the seas and the noise of nations! They sound like the rushing of powerful waters. ¹³ The nations move on like the noise of many waters. But God will speak sharp words to them and they will run far away. They will be blown away like the part of grain that is of no worth by the wind in the mountains. They will be like dust blown around in a storm. ¹⁴ At evening time there is much fear! Before morning, they are gone. This will be what will come to those who take what belongs to us. It will be what happens to those who rob us.

Word about Cush

18 Trouble will come to the land on the other side of the rivers of Cush where the sound of wings is heard. ² From that land men are sent by the sea in boats made from tall river-grass. Go, you fast men, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people who fill others with fear both near and far. Go to the powerful nation that rules over those who hate it, whose land is divided by rivers. ³ All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, as soon as a flag is raised on the mountain, you will see it. As soon as the horn is sounded, you will hear it. ⁴ For the Lord has said to me, “I will be quiet and watch from the place where I live, like shining heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of fog in the heat of gathering time.” ⁵ For before the gathering time, as soon as the bud blossoms and the grape is ready to eat, He will cut off the new branches with knives and will cut away the spreading branches. ⁶ They will be left for the birds of the mountains and for the wild animals of the earth. The birds will spend the summer eating them. And all the wild animals of the earth will eat them during the winter. ⁷ At that time tall people with smooth skin will bring gifts to the Lord of All. These people make others afraid both near and far. They are a strong and powerful nation who rule over others, whose land is divided by rivers. And they will go to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord of All.

Word about Egypt

19 The special word about Egypt: See, the Lord is traveling on a fast cloud and is coming to Egypt. The false gods of Egypt shake in fear before Him. The hearts of the Egyptians become weak. ² “I will make Egyptians go against Egyptians. Each of them will fight against his brother, and each against his neighbor. City will fight against city, and nation against nation. ³ Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become weak within them. And I will bring their plans to nothing. They will go to false gods and spirits of the dead for help, and to those who speak with spirits of the dead and use their secret ways. ⁴ Then I will give the Egyptians into the hand of a bad ruler. An angry king will rule over them,” says the Lord God of All.

⁵ The waters of the sea will dry up. The river will become dry. ⁶ Manmade rivers will smell bad. The small rivers of Egypt will dry up. And the plants by the rivers will waste away. ⁷ The grass by the side of the Nile and all that is planted by the Nile will become dry, will be driven away, and be no more. ⁸ The fishermen will cry in sorrow. All those who fish for a living in the Nile River will be filled with sorrow. And those who put out nets on its waters will become weak. ⁹ Those who make linen and white cloth will be very troubled. ¹⁰ The pillars of Egypt will be crushed. All the able workmen will be filled with sorrow.

¹¹ The king’s sons of Zoan are very foolish. The words of Pharaoh’s wisest men are foolish words. How can you men say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of early kings”? ¹² Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you. And let them understand what the Lord of All has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The king’s sons of Zoan have become fools. The king’s sons of Memphis have been fooled. The heads of her family groups have led Egypt from the right way. ¹⁴ The Lord has mixed a troubled spirit within her. They have led Egypt the wrong way in all that it does, as a drunk man walks from side to side in what he has spit up. ¹⁵ And there will be no work in Egypt and nothing can be done by anyone, its head or tail, its palm branch or river-grass.

Good Will Come to Egypt, Assyria and Israel

¹⁶ In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shake with fear because of the hand which the Lord of All is going to wave over them. ¹⁷ The land of Judah will fill Egypt with fear. Whoever hears its name will be afraid of it, because of the plan which the Lord of All is making against them.

¹⁸ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and promising to follow the Lord of All. One will be called the City of Destruction.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and an altar to the Lord by the side of its land. ²⁰ It will be something special to see, to make the Lord of All known in the land of Egypt. For they will cry to the Lord because of those who make it hard for them. And He will send a Powerful One to save them, and He will take them out of trouble. ²¹ The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and in that day the Egyptians will know the Lord. They will even worship with gifts on the altar. They will make promises to the Lord and keep them. ²² And the Lord will punish Egypt, but then He will heal them. So they will return to the Lord, and He will answer their prayers and heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third country with Egypt and Assyria, a good and respected nation on the earth, ²⁵ to whom the Lord of All has brought good, saying, “Good will come to Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My chosen people.”

Word about Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that Sargon the king of Assyria sent his head captain to fight against Ashdod, he took it in battle. ² At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and take off the clothes made from hair, and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going without clothes and shoes. ³ The Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone without clothing and shoes for three years as something special to be seen against Egypt and Cush. ⁴ So the king of Assyria will take away the people of Egypt and Cush, young and old, without clothes or shoes. Their bodies will not be covered, to the shame of Egypt. ⁵ Then they will be ashamed and troubled because of Cush their hope and Egypt their pride. ⁶ The people living on this island will say in that day, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped, and to whom we ran for help to be saved from the king of Assyria. Now how can we get away?’”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

21 The special word about the place by the sea where no people live: As wind-storms in the Negev go rushing through, it comes from the desert, from a bad land. ² A hard special dream has been shown to me. The one who hurts still goes on hurting others, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, Elam. Gather your armies around, Media. I will bring an end to all the crying she has caused. ³ For this reason my body is full of suffering. Pains have taken hold of me like the pains of a woman giving birth. I am so troubled that I cannot hear. I am so afraid that I cannot see. ⁴ My mind turns. Fear has come over me. The evening I have waited so long for has been turned into a time of shaking with fear. ⁵ They set the tables. They spread out the cloth. They eat and drink. Rise up, captains, oil the battle-coverings! ⁶ For the Lord says to me, “Go, set a man to keep watch. Let him tell what he sees. ⁷ When he sees men riding on horses, two by two, and men on donkeys, and men on camels, let him be very careful to watch.” ⁸ Then the watchman called out like a lion, “O Lord, I stand watching from the watch-tower at all times during the day. And I stand there every night. ⁹ Now see, here comes an army of men riding on horses, two by two.” One answered and said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon. All the objects of her gods are broken to pieces on the ground.” ¹⁰ O my people of Israel, you were beaten and crushed like grain! What I have heard from the Lord of All, the God of Israel, I make known to you.

Word about Edom

¹¹ The special word about Edom: One is calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is the time of night? Watchman, what is the time of night?” ¹² The watchman says, “The morning comes, but also the night. If you have questions to ask, ask them, and come back again.”

Word about Arabia

¹³ The special word about Arabia: You must stay the night among the trees of Arabia, O traveling people of Dedanim. ¹⁴ Bring water for the thirsty. O people of the land of Tema, give bread to the one who is running from trouble. ¹⁵ They are running from swords, from lifted swords, from bows that are ready to shoot, and from the trouble of battle. ¹⁶ For the Lord said to me, “In a year, as the servant would count it, all the greatness of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷ And the rest of the men who use the bow, the strong men of the sons of Kedar, will be few. For the Lord God of Israel has spoken.”

Word about Jerusalem

22 The special word about the Valley of Visions: What is wrong, that you have all gone up to the house tops, ² you who were full of noise, you loud town, you joy-filled city? Your dead were not killed with the sword. They did not die in battle. ³ All your rulers have run away together, and were taken without using the bow. All of you who were found were taken away together, even though you had run far away. ⁴ So I said, “Turn your eyes away from me. Let me cry with much sorrow. Do not try to comfort me about my people being destroyed.” ⁵ For the Lord God of All has a day of fear, crushing down, and trouble in the Valley of Vision. There is a breaking down of walls and a crying out to the mountain. ⁶ Elam took up the arrows with the war-wagons, soldiers and horsemen. And Kir let the battle-covering be seen. ⁷ Your best valleys were full of war-wagons, and the horsemen took their places at the gate. ⁸ Then God took away the safe-covering of Judah. In that day you trusted in the objects you had to fight with that were stored in the house among the trees. ⁹ You saw that there were many broken places in the wall of the city of David. You stored water in the lower pool. ¹⁰ Then you numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and tore down houses to make the wall stronger. ¹¹ You made a place to store water between the two walls for the waters of the old pool. But you did not trust in God Who made it. You did not think about Him Who planned it long ago.

¹² So in that day the Lord God of All called you to cry in sorrow, to cut off the hair from your head, and to wear cloth made from hair. ¹³ But instead, there is joy and happiness, killing of cattle and sheep, eating of meat, and drinking of wine. You say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ¹⁴ But the Lord of All has made Himself known to me. The Lord God of All says, “For sure you will not be forgiven for this sin until you die.”

Word about Shebna

¹⁵ The Lord God of All says, “Come, go to this person in Shebna who is taking care of the king’s house. Say to him, ¹⁶ ‘What right do you have here? Who told you that you could cut out a grave for yourself here? You cut out a grave on a high place! You cut a resting place for yourself in the rock! ¹⁷ See, the Lord will throw you away without pity, O you strong man. He will take a strong hold of you ¹⁸ and roll you up like a ball to be thrown into a wide land. There you will die, and there your great war-wagons will be. You are a shame to your king’s house.’ ¹⁹ I will throw you out of your place of power. I will take you down from your place. ²⁰ In that day I will call My servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. ²¹ I will clothe him with your coat, and tie your belt around him. I will give him the power you had. He will become a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the family of Judah. ²² Then I will put on his shoulder the rule of the family of David. What he opens, no one will shut. What he shuts, no one will open. ²³ I will drive him like a nail in a hard place. He will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. ²⁴ So they will put on him all the honor of his father’s house, and of his children, and every little dish, from the cups to all the jars. ²⁵ “In that day,” says the Lord of All, “the nail driven in a hard place will give way. It will break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off. For the Lord has spoken.”

Word about Tyre

23 The special word about Tyre: Cry out in sorrow, O ships of Tarshish. For Tyre is destroyed, so that there is no house or safe place for ships. It is made known to them from the land of Cyprus. ² Be quiet, you people who live on the islands, you traders of Sidon. You sent men to cross the sea ³ and go on many waters. The grain of the Nile, that was gathered beside that River, made money for Tyre who was the trader of the nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, the strong-place of the sea. The sea speaks and says, “I have not suffered or given birth. I have not brought up young men or young women.” ⁵ When the news comes to Egypt, they will be in pain when they hear about Tyre. ⁶ Pass over to Tarshish. Cry out in sorrow, O people of the islands. ⁷ Is this your joy-filled city, whose beginning was long ago, whose feet have taken her to live in places far away?

⁸ Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose traders were princes and the honored of the earth? ⁹ The Lord of All has planned it, to put to shame the pride of all beauty, and to take honor away from all the honored of the earth. ¹⁰ Flow over your land like the Nile, O people of Tarshish. There is nothing holding you back any more. ¹¹ He has put out His hand over the sea. He has made the nations shake with fear. The Lord has said that the strong-places of Canaan must be destroyed. ¹² He has said, “You will not be filled with joy anymore, O pure crushed daughters of Sidon. Get up and go over to Cyprus. Even there you will not find any rest.”

¹³ It was the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who let the wild animals come upon Tyre. They built towers for their armies. They tore down her beautiful houses. They destroyed her. ¹⁴ Cry out in sorrow, O ships of Tarshish, for your strong-place is destroyed. ¹⁵ In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the woman who sells the use of her body: ¹⁶ “Take your harp and walk through the city, O forgotten woman who sells the use of her body. Play the strings well. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.” ¹⁷ At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will return to her sinful woman’s pay. She will be as a woman who sells the use of her body to all the nations on the earth. ¹⁸ Her riches and her pay for selling the use of her body will be set apart to the Lord. It will not be stored up or saved. But what she receives will give much food and good clothes to those who live for the Lord.

The Earth Will Be Punished

24 See, the Lord will lay the earth waste. He will destroy it, turn its ground up-side-down, and send its people everywhere. ² What happens to the people will happen to the religious leader. What happens to the man servant will happen to his owner. The woman servant will be like her owner. The buyer will be like the seller. The giver will be like the receiver. The one who lets another use his money will be like the one who uses it. ³ All the earth will be laid waste and destroyed, for the Lord has said this.

⁴ The earth cries in sorrow and wastes away. The world becomes weak with sorrow and wastes away, together with the honored people of the earth. ⁵ The earth has been made unclean by its people. They have sinned and not obeyed the laws, and have broken the agreement that was to be forever. ⁶ So the earth is cursed and those who live in it suffer for their guilt. So the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

⁷ The new wine dries up and the vine wastes away. All the glad in heart are in sorrow. ⁸ The happiness of the music-makers stops. The noise of those filled with joy stops. The happiness of the harp stops. ⁹ They do not drink wine with singing. Strong drink tastes bad to those who drink it. ¹⁰ The city of trouble is broken down. Every house is shut up so no one may go in. ¹¹ There is a crying out in the streets about the wine. All joy turns to darkness. The happiness of the earth is gone. ¹² The city is laid waste. The gate is broken to pieces. ¹³ For this is how it will be on the earth among the nations. It will be like the shaking of an olive tree, and like what is left after the grapes have been gathered. ¹⁴ They raise their voices. They call out for joy. They cry out from the west about the wonderful power of the Lord. ¹⁵ So honor the Lord in the east. Honor the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea. ¹⁶ From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Praise the One Who is right and good.” But I say, “I waste away! I waste away! It is bad for me! The false ones are not faithful. Yes, their way is very false.” ¹⁷ Fear and the deep hole and the trap are before you, O people of the earth. ¹⁸ He who runs from the news of trouble will fall into a deep hole. And he who comes out of the hole will be caught in a trap. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the earth shakes. ¹⁹ The earth is broken in pieces. The earth is torn apart. The earth is very shaken. ²⁰ The earth turns from one side to the other side like a drunk man. It shakes like a tent because its sin is heavy upon it. It will fall, never to rise again. ²¹ In that day the Lord will punish the powers of heaven above, and the kings of the earth below. ²² They will be gathered together like those in a prison. They will be kept in a deep, dark prison, and after many days they will be punished. ²³ Then the moon will be dark and the sun will not shine, for the Lord of All will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. And in front of His leaders, He will let His shining-greatness be seen.

A Song of Praise

25 O Lord, You are my God. I will praise You. I will give thanks to Your name. For You have been faithful to do great things, plans that You made long ago. ² For You have laid waste a city. You have destroyed a strong city. The beautiful house of strangers is a city no more. And it will never be built again. ³ So strong people will honor You. Cities of nations that show no pity will fear You. ⁴ For You have been a strong-place for those who could not help themselves and for those in need because of much trouble. You have been a safe place from the storm and a shadow from the heat. For the breath of the one who shows no pity is like a storm against a wall. ⁵ Like heat in a dry place, You quiet the noise of the strangers. Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the one who shows no pity is made quiet.

A Supper for All People

⁶ On this mountain the Lord of All will make a supper of good things ready for all people. It will be a supper of good wine, of the best foods, and of fine wine. ⁷ And on this mountain He will destroy the covering which is over all people, the covering which is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will take away death for all time. The Lord God will dry tears from all faces. He will take away the shame of His people from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken. ⁹ It will be said in that day, “See, this is our God. We have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord for Whom we have waited. Let us be glad and full of joy because He saves us.”

Moab Will Be Punished

¹⁰ For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. And Moab will be crushed in his place, as straw is crushed down in animal waste. ¹¹ Moab will spread out his hands in it, as a man spreads out his hands to swim. But the Lord will put his pride to shame, together with the sinful work of his hands. ¹² And the Lord will bring down your high walls built for war and lay them low. He will throw them to the ground, even to the dust.

A Song of Trust in God

26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. The Lord saves us and puts up walls to keep us safe. ² Open the gates, that the nation that is right with God may come in, the one that keeps faithful. ³ You will keep the man in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You. ⁴ Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord God is a Rock that lasts forever. ⁵ For He has brought down low those who live on a high place, the high city. He lays it low. He lays it low to the ground. He throws it to the dust. ⁶ It will be crushed under foot, under the feet of those who have suffered and the steps of those who cannot help themselves.”

⁷ The way of the man who is right with God is smooth. O Upright One, make the path straight of those who are right with You. ⁸ While following in Your ways, O Lord, we have waited for You. To remember You and Your name is the desire of our souls. ⁹ My soul has a desire for You in the night. Yes, my spirit within me looks for You in the morning. For when you punish the earth, the people of the world learn what is right and good. ¹⁰ When favor is shown to the sinful, he does not learn what is right and good. He goes on doing what is wrong in the land of those who are right. He does not see the wonderful power of the Lord.

¹¹ O Lord, Your hand is lifted up but they do not see it. Let them see Your care for Your people and be ashamed. Let fire destroy those who hate You. ¹² O Lord, You will give us peace, for You have done all our works for us. ¹³ O Lord our God, other lords than You have ruled us, but Your name alone is the One we honor. ¹⁴ They are dead, and will not live. Their spirits will not return. So You have punished and destroyed them. You have caused them all to be forgotten. ¹⁵ You have made the nation great, O Lord. You have made the nation great. You have received much praise. You have made the land larger. ¹⁶ O Lord, they looked for You in their trouble. They could only say a quiet prayer while You were punishing them. ¹⁷ As the woman who is going to have a baby comes close to the time to give birth, she suffers and cries out in her pains. This is how we were before You, O Lord. ¹⁸ We suffered in pain. We gave birth, as it were, only to wind. We could not bring the world out of its trouble. And no people of the earth were born. ¹⁹ Your dead will live. Their dead bodies will rise. You who lie in the dust, wake up and call out for joy. For as the water on the grass in the morning brings new life, the earth will bring back to life those who have been dead.

Punishment of Sinners

²⁰ Come, my people, go into your rooms. Close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until God’s anger is past. ²¹ For see, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the people of the earth for their sin. And the earth will let the blood be seen that has poured on her. She will no longer cover her dead.

Israel Set Free

27 In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan, the large snake-like sea animal, with His sharp and great and powerful sword. He will punish Leviathan the turning snake, and kill the big dragon that lives in the sea.

² In that day it will be said: “Sing about a grape-field of wine! ³ I, the Lord, am its keeper. I water it all the time. I watch over it day and night so no one will hurt it. ⁴ I am not angry. If someone were to give Me thistles and thorns in battle, I would step on them. I would burn them together. ⁵ Or let him trust in Me to keep him safe. Let him make peace with Me. Yes, let him make peace with Me.” ⁶ In the days to come Jacob will take root. Israel will flower and begin to grow, and fill the whole world with fruit.

⁷ Has the Lord punished Israel as He punished those who went against Israel? Or have as many people of Israel been killed as their killers were killed? ⁸ You showed Your anger towards them by driving them out of the land. You moved them out with Your strong wind on the day of the east wind. ⁹ So by this Jacob’s sin will be forgiven. This will be the full price of taking his sin away: When he crushes all the altar stones into fine pieces, so the wooden female goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume will not stand. ¹⁰ The city made strong for battle is empty and alone, a place left alone like the desert. The calves eat there, and they lie down and eat from its branches. ¹¹ When its branches are dry, they are broken off. Women come and make a fire with them. They are not a people of understanding, so their Maker will not have pity on them. The One Who made them will not show kindness to them.

¹² In that day the Lord will beat out His grain from the flowing river of the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. And you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. ¹³ In that day a great horn will be blown. Those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were sent everywhere through the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Time of Trouble for Ephraim and Jerusalem

28 It is a time of trouble to the crown of pride and to the drunk men of Ephraim, whose shining beauty is a dying flower. It is at the head of the rich valley of those who have taken too much wine! ² See, the Lord has one who is strong and powerful, like a storm of hail, a destroying storm. As with a flood of powerful waters flowing over, He will bring them down to the earth with His hand. ³ The crown of pride, the drunk men of Ephraim, will be crushed under foot. ⁴ The dying flower of its shining beauty which is at the head of the rich valley will be like the first fig grown before the summer. When one sees it, he takes it in his hand and eats it. ⁵ In that day the Lord of All will be a crown of shining-greatness, a beautiful crown to those who are left of His people. ⁶ He will be a spirit of what is fair to him who judges the people. He will be a strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. ⁷ These also walk from one side to the other side because of wine and strong drink. The religious leaders and the men who tell what will happen in the future make mistakes because of strong drink. They are troubled by wine. They walk from side to side because of strong drink. They make mistakes as they have special dreams. And they make mistakes when judging between right and wrong. ⁸ All the tables are covered with what they have spit up. There is no place that is clean.

⁹ “Who is it He is trying to teach? To whom will He tell what He has to say? Children finished with their nursing and just taken from the breast? ¹⁰ For He says, ‘Law on law, law on law, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there.’” ¹¹ The Lord will speak to these people through men from other lands and in strange languages. ¹² He Who said to them, “This is rest, give rest to the tired and weak.” And, “This is the place to rest,” but they would not listen. ¹³ So the Word of the Lord to them will be, “Law on law, law on law, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there,” that they may go and fall back, be broken, trapped, and taken away by those who hate them.

A Stone of Great Worth in Jerusalem

¹⁴ So hear the Word of the Lord, you who laugh at the truth, who rule the people in Jerusalem! ¹⁵ You have said, “We have made an agreement with death. With the place of the dead we have made an agreement. The destroying flood will not touch us when it passes by. We have made lies our safe place. We have hidden ourselves with what is false.” ¹⁶ So the Lord God says, “See, I lay in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth to build upon, a tested Stone. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be afraid of what will happen. ¹⁷ And I will use what is fair to decide about the base. And I will use what is right and good to make it straight. Then hail will take away all the lies you depend on, and the waters will flow over the place where you hide. ¹⁸ Your agreement with death will come to an end. Your agreement with the place of the dead will be stopped. When a flood of trouble passes through, you will be beaten down by it. ¹⁹ As often as it passes through, it will take you. And it will pass through morning after morning, anytime during the day or night. To understand what it means will bring much fear.” ²⁰ The bed is too short to lie on in comfort. And the covering is too small to put around yourself. ²¹ For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, to do what He needs to do, His strange act, and to do His work, His different kind of work. ²² So now do not laugh, or your chains will be made stronger. I have heard that the Lord God of All plans to destroy the whole earth.

The Wisdom of God

²³ Listen and hear my voice. Listen and hear my words. ²⁴ Does the farmer plow all the time to plant seed? Does he keep on turning and digging up the ground? ²⁵ When he gets the ground ready to plant, does he not sow dill seeds and cummin seeds and wheat in rows? Does he not put barley in its place, and rye in the right place? ²⁶ For his God tells him what to do and teaches him the right way. ²⁷ Dill is not crushed with a crushing object. And the wagon wheel is not rolled over cummin. But dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a heavy stick. ²⁸ Grain for bread is crushed. He does not keep on crushing it forever. When he drives his wagon-wheel over it with his horses, it does not crush it. ²⁹ This also comes from the Lord of All, Who has given wonderful wise words and great wisdom.