Bible in 90 Days
The Vision of Isaiah
1 This[a] is the vision that Amoz’s son Isaiah[b] had about Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns[c] of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Rebellious Judah
2 Listen, you heavens,
and let the[d] earth pay attention,
because the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children
and brought them to adulthood,
but then they rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but[e] Israel doesn’t know,
and[f] my people don’t understand.
4 “Oh, you sinful nation!
You people burdened down by iniquity!
You offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil!
You corrupt children!
“They’ve abandoned the Lord;
they’ve despised the Holy One of Israel;
in their estrangement, they’ve walked away from me.[g]
5 “Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is sick,
and your whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,
there’s no soundness evident[h]—
only bruises, sores,
and festering wounds
that haven’t been cleaned out,
bandaged, or treated[i] with oil.”
God’s Diagnosis
7 “Your country lies desolate;
your cities have been incinerated.
Before your very eyes,
foreigners are devouring your land—
they’ve brought devastation on it,[j]
while the land is[k] overthrown by foreigners.
8 “The daughter of Zion is left abandoned,
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
or like a city under siege.
9 If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would be like Sodom;
we would be like Gomorrah.
10 “Listen to what the Lord says,
you rulers of Sodom,
and[l] pay attention to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?”
the Lord is asking.
“I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts.
I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls,
lambs, or goats.
12 “When you come to present yourselves in my presence,[m]
who has required you
to trample on my courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings!
Incense is detestable to me,
as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations.
I cannot stand iniquity within[n] a solemn assembly.
14 As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals,
I abhor[o] them.
They’ve become a burden to me;
I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden.[p]
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,[q]
I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even though you pray repeatedly,
I won’t listen.
Your hands are full of blood,
your fingers drenched[r] with iniquity.”[s]
An Invitation to Reconciliation
16 “Wash yourselves,
and[t] make yourselves clean;
remove your evil behavior
from my presence;
stop practicing what is evil.
17 Learn to practice what is good;
seek justice,
alleviate oppression,[u]
defend orphans[v] in court,
and[w] plead the widow’s case.
18 “Please come,
and let’s reason together,” implores the Lord.
“Even though your[x] sins are like scarlet,
they’ll be white like snow.
Though they’re like crimson,[y]
they’ll become like wool.
19 If you’re willing and obedient,
you’ll eat the best that the land produces;
20 but[z] if you refuse and rebel,
you’ll be devoured by the sword,[aa]
because the Lord[ab] has spoken.”
Diagnosis and Judgment
21 “How the faithful city
has become a whore,
she who used to be filled with justice!
Righteousness used to reside within her,
but now only murderers live there.
22 Your silver has[ac] become dross,
your best wine is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
All of them are lovers of[ad] bribes
and are runners[ae] after gifts.
They don’t bring justice to orphans,[af]
and the widow’s case never comes up for review in their court.”[ag]
Restoration and Redemption
24 Therefore this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
the one who is Israel’s Mighty One, declares:
“Now I’ll get relief from his[ah] enemies
and avenge myself on his[ai] foes.
25 When I turn[aj] my attention to you,[ak]
I’ll refine your dross as in a furnace.[al]
I’ll remove[am] all your alloy.
26 Let me restore[an] your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you’ll be called ‘The Righteous City’
and ‘The Faithful City of Zion’.[ao]
27 “Zion[ap] will be redeemed by justice,
and her repentant ones[aq] by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord will be consumed.
29 They’ll be ashamed of the oak trees
that you desired;
and you’ll blush because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You’ll be like an oak
whose leaf is withering,
like an unwatered garden.
31 Your[ar] strong one[as] will be like tinder,
and your work[at] a spark;
both of them will burn together,
with no one to quench the flames that burn[au] them.”
A Message for Judah and Jerusalem
2 The message that Amoz’s son Isaiah received[av] concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 “It will come about in the last days
that the mountain that is the Lord’s Temple will be established
as the highest of mountains,[aw]
and will be raised above the hills;
all the nations will stream to[ax] it.
3 Many groups of people[ay] will come, commenting,
“Come! Let’s go up to[az] the Temple of the God of Jacob,
that they[ba] may teach us his ways.
Then let’s walk in his paths.”
The Rule of God from Jerusalem
“Instruction[bb] will proceed from Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations,
and will render verdicts[bc] for the benefit of many.[bd]
“They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nations will not raise swords against nations,
and they will not learn warfare anymore.
5 “You house of Jacob!
Come! Let’s live[be] in the Lord’s light.
6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are filled with practices learned[bf] from the East
and they are fortune-tellers like the Philistines.
They cut deals[bg] with foreigners.[bh]
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
The Coming Day of the Lord
10 [bk] “Go into the rocks!
Hide in the dust
to escape[bl] the terror of the Lord
and to escape[bm] the glory of his majesty![bn]
11 The[bo] haughty looks of mankind will be brought low,[bp]
the lofty pride of human beings will be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted at that time.[bq]
12 “For the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has reserved[br] a time[bs]
to oppose[bt] all who are proud and haughty,
and the[bu] self-exalting—
they will be humbled.
13 He will take his stand[bv] against all the cedars[bw] of Lebanon,
against the proud and self-exalting;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the high mountains,
and against all the lofty hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships from Tarshish,
and against all their impressive watercraft.
17 “Humanity’s haughtiness will be humbled,
male arrogance will be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 Their[bx] idols will utterly vanish.[by]
19 “They will enter caverns in the rocks
and holes in the ground
to escape[bz] the presence of the terror of the Lord,
to escape[ca] the splendor of his majesty
when he arises to terrify the earth.
20 At that time,[cb] mankind will throw
their silver and gold idols[cc]
that their fingers have made[cd] as objects of worship
to the moles and to the bats.
21 They will enter caverns in the rocks
and clefts in the cliffs,
to escape[ce] the terror of the Lord
and to escape[cf] the splendor of his majesty,
when he arises to terrorize the earth.
22 “Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life breath is in their nostrils,
for what are they[cg] really worth?”[ch]
Judgment Comes to Judah’s Leaders
3 “Note this! The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything that your society needs—[ci]
all food supplies
and all water supplies,
2 the mighty man
and the warrior,
the judge
and the prophet,
the fortune-teller
and the elder,
3 the commander of fifty
and the man of rank,
and the counselor, the expert magician,
and the medium.
4 “I will make youths their princes,
and infants will rule over them.
5 People will oppress one another—
It will be man against man
and neighbor against neighbor.
The young will be disrespectful to the old,
and the worthless to the honorable.
6 “For a man will grab his brother
in his own father’s house,
and say, ‘You have a cloak,
so you be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
will be under your rule!’
7 “But[cj] at that time,[ck] he’ll protest![cl]
He’ll say, ‘I won’t be your healer.
I have neither food nor clothing in my house!
You’re not going to make me a leader of the people!’
8 “For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and do opposes[cm] the Lord;
they keep defying him.[cn]
9 “The expressions on their faces give them away.[co]
They parade their sin around like Sodom;
they don’t even try to[cp] hide it.
How horrible it will be for them,
because they have brought disaster on themselves!”
Encouragement to the Righteous
10 “Tell[cq] the righteous that things will go well,
because they will enjoy[cr] the fruit of their actions.”
Warning to the Wicked
11 “How terrible it will be for the wicked!
Disaster is headed their way,
because what they did with their hand[cs] will be repaid[ct] to them.
12 “As for my people, children[cu] are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you—
they’re giving you confusing directions.”[cv]
When God Goes to Court
13 The Lord is taking his place to argue his case;
he’s standing up to judge the people.
14 The Lord will go to court[cw]
to oppose[cx] the elders and princes of his people:
“You’re the ones who have been devouring the vineyard,
the plunder of the poor is in your own houses!
15 How dare you crush[cy] my people
as you grind down the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.[cz]
Judgment of Jerusalem’s Women
16 The Lord also says:
“Because Zion’s women are so haughty,
and walk with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
prancing[da] along as they walk,
and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets,[db]
17 therefore the Lord[dc] will afflict sores
on the heads of Zion’s women,
and the Lord[dd] will expose their private parts.
18 “At that time,[de] the Lord[df] will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, capes,[dg] purses, 23 mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils.
24 “And it will come about that instead of fragrance
there will be[dh] a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, baldness;
instead of a fine robe, sackcloth;
and instead of beauty, shame.[di]
25 Your men will die violently,[dj]
while your forces[dk] fall[dl] in battle
26 and her gates lament and mourn.
Ravaged, she will sit on the ground.”
4 “At that time,[dm] seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer:[dn] ‘We’ll provide[do] our own bread. We’ll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you[dp] so we won’t be stigmatized anymore.’”[dq]
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 “At that time,[dr] the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.[ds] 3 Whoever[dt] survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem— 4 when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the women[du] of Zion, cleaning up Jerusalem’s guilt[dv] by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of tempest.[dw] 5 Then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion—including over those who assemble there—a cloud by day[dx] 6 and also to serve as a refuge and shelter from storms and rain.”
The Lord’s Vineyard
5 I will sing[dy] for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
“The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He plowed its land[dz] and cleared it of stones.
Then he planted it with the choicest vines,
built a watchtower in the middle of it,
and dug a wine vat in it;
He expected[ea] it to produce good[eb] grapes,
but it produced only wild ones.”[ec]
3 “So now, you inhabitants[ed] of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge, won’t you please,
between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I do in[ee] my vineyard,
that I haven’t already done?
When I expected it to produce good[ef] grapes,
why did it yield[eg] wild ones?[eh]
5 “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please,
what I’m going to do to my vineyard.
“I’m going to take away its protective hedge,
and it will be devoured;[ei]
I’ll break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I’ll make it a wasteland,
and it won’t be pruned or cultivated.
Instead, briers and thorns will grow up.
I’ll also issue commands to the clouds,
that they drop no rain upon it.”
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden in which he delights.[ej]
He looked for justice,
but saw only bloodshed;
he searched[ek] for righteousness,
but heard only an outcry!
Judgment on Land Barons
8 “How terrible it will be for you who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
and you have settled yourselves alone[el]
in the middle of the land!”
9 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has declared this so I could hear it:
“Surely many houses will become desolate,
great and beautiful houses,
without occupants.
10 For ten acres of vineyard will produce only one bath,[em]
and one omer[en] of seed[eo] will produce only one ephah.”[ep]
Judgment on Alcoholics
11 “How terrible it will be for those who rise at dawn
in order to grab[eq] a stiff drink,
for those who stay up late at night
as wine inflames them!
12 They have the lyre and harp,
the tambourine and flute,
as well as wine at their festivals,
but they don’t respect what the Lord is doing,
nor do they consider his actions.[er]
13 Therefore my people go into exile
because they lack understanding;
my[es] honored men go hungry,
and the crowd is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol’s[et] appetite has grown;
it has opened its mouth beyond limit.
Jerusalem’s nobility and her multitudes will go there,
along with her brawlers and whoever is reveling within her.
15 Humanity is brought low,
and each one is humbled,
while the eyes of the self-exalting are brought low.
16 But the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is exalted in justice,
and the Holy God proves himself to be righteously holy.
17 Then the lambs will graze in their pasture;
fatlings and foreigners will eat
among the waste places of the rich.”
Judgment on Mockers
18 “How terrible it will be for those who parade iniquity with cords of falsehood,
who draw sin along as[eu] with a cart rope;
19 who say: ‘Let God[ev] be quick,
let him speed up[ew] his work
so we may see it!
Let it happen!
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
so we may recognize it!’”
Judgment on Moral Relativists
20 “How terrible it will be for those who call evil good
and good evil,
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet
and what is sweet for what is bitter!”
Judgment on the Arrogant
21 “How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion,
and clever in their own reckoning!
22 “How terrible it will be for those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and champions in mixing strong drink,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of justice!”
The Effects of Divine Judgment
24 Therefore, as flames of fire devour straw,
as dry grass[ex] collapses in flames,
so their root will be rotten,
and their blossom will blow away like dust,
because they have rejected the instruction[ey] of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore[ez] the anger of the Lord[fa] burned against his people,
so he stretched out his hands[fb] against them
and afflicted them.
The mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like refuse
in the middle of the streets.
Throughout all of this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hands are[fc] still stretched out to attack.[fd]
26 The Lord[fe] will signal[ff] for nations far away,
whistling for them to come[fg]
from the ends of the earth.
Look how quickly
and how swiftly they come!
27 No one is weary, no one stumbles,[fh]
and no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt around their waists will come undone,
nor will their sandal straps be broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp,
all their bows ready for action.[fi]
Their horses’ hooves seem like flint,
and their chariot wheels spin[fj] like a whirlwind.
29 With a roar like a lion, they snarl,
and like young lions, they growl;[fk]
they seize their prey
and then carry it off,
with no one to rescue.
30 They will roar over it[fl] at that time,[fm]
like the sea waves roar.
If one surveys the land, watch out!
There’s darkness and distress;
even the daylight is darkened by its clouds.
Holy is the Lord
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon his[fn] throne, high and exalted. The train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 The seraphim stood above him. Each had six wings:[fo] with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he was flying. 3 They kept on calling to each other:[fp]
“Holy, holy, holy[fq] is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 The foundations of the thresholds quaked at the sound of those who kept calling out,[fr] and the Temple was filled with smoke.
5 “How terrible it will be for me!” I cried, “because I am ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies!”
The Calling of Isaiah
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a burning coal in his hand that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth and said, “Look! Now that this has touched your[fs] lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sins[ft] atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord as he was asking, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am!” I replied. “Send me.”
9 “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep[fu] on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Dull the mind[fv] of this people,
deafen their ears,
and blind their eyes.
By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back,
and be healed.”
11 Then I asked, “For how long, Lord?”[fw]
He replied:
“Until cities lie waste,
without inhabitants,
and houses without people;
and the land becomes utterly desolate.
12 Until[fx] the Lord removes people far away,
and there are many empty places
in the middle of the land.
13 Even though a tenth of its people remain[fy] in it,
it will once again be burned,[fz]
like a terebinth[ga] or an oak tree,[gb]
the stump of which, though the tree has been[gc] felled,
still contains holy seed.”[gd]
The Message to Ahaz
7 During the reign of Jotham’s son Ahaz, Uzziah’s grandson, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Remaliah’s son Pekah, king of Israel, approached Jerusalem and waged war against it, but they[ge] could not mount an attack against it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David, “Aram has joined forces with Ephraim!” the[gf] heart of the people of Ahaz[gg] trembled like forest[gh] trees in a windstorm.
3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool that proceeds along the highway to Launderer’s Field. 4 Tell him, ‘Be careful, be calm, don’t be afraid, and don’t lose heart because of these two smoldering stumps of torches, that is, because of[gi] the fierce anger of Rezin, from Aram, and Remaliah’s son. 5 Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son have plotted this evil against you: 6 “Let’s go attack Judah, let’s terrorize it, and let’s conquer it for ourselves. Then we’ll install Tabeel’s son as king!”’
7 ‘But this is what the Lord God has to say:
“‘It won’t take place.
It won’t ever happen.
8 Because Aram’s head is Damascus,
and Rezin is its king,[gj]
within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
9 Furthermore, Ephraim’s head is Samaria,
and Remaliah’s son is its king.[gk]
If all of you don’t keep on believing,
you’ll never remain loyal.’”[gl]
God with Us
10 Later on, the Lord spoke to Ahaz again: 11 “Ask a sign from the Lord your God. Make it as deep as Sheol[gm] or as high as heaven above.”
12 But Ahaz replied, “I won’t ask! I won’t put the Lord to the test.”
13 In reply, the Lord[gn] announced, “Please listen, you household of David. Is it such a minor thing for you to try the patience of[go] men? Must you also try the patience of[gp] my God?
14 “Therefore the Lord[gq] himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin[gr] is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called[gs] Immanuel.[gt] 15 He’ll eat cheese[gu] and honey, when he knows enough to reject what’s wrong and choose what’s right. 16 However, before the youth knows enough to reject what’s wrong and choose what’s right, the land whose two kings you dread will be devastated.”
Conquest by Assyria
17 “The Lord will bring to you, to your people, and to your ancestor’s house such a time[gv] as has never been since Ephraim broke away from Judah—the king of Assyria will come.[gw]
18 “At that time,[gx] the Lord will call[gy] for flies that will come from far away—from the headwaters of Egypt’s rivers—and for bees that are in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines, in the rocky crevices, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the pastures.[gz] 20 At that time,[ha] the Lord will hire a barber[hb] to come[hc] from beyond the Euphrates[hd] River—that is, the king of Assyria—and he will shave your heads, your leg[he] hair, and your beards, too.
21 “At that time,[hf] a man will keep alive a heifer and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will have cheese[hg] to eat, since whoever remains in the land will be eating cheese[hh] and honey.
23 “At that time,[hi] every place where once there were a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels[hj] of silver, only briars and thorns will grow.
24 “People will come there armed with bows[hk] and arrows, because the entire land will be nothing but briers and thorns. 25 As for all the hills that used to be cultivated with a hoe, you won’t go there, because you’ll fear iron[hl] briars and thorns. Nevertheless, those hills[hm] will be reserved as a pasture where cattle will feed and where sheep will graze.”[hn]
Isaiah’s Son is Born
8 The Lord also told me, “Take a large tablet and write on it with a stylus[ho] pen, ‘For Maher-shalal-hash-baz’.[hp] 2 Then I will call[hq] Uriah the priest and Jeberechiah’s son Zechariah as reliable witnesses to testify on my behalf.”
3 After this, I was intimate with the prophetess and she conceived. Later, she bore a son, and then the Lord told me,[hr] “Call him[hs] ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’ 4 for before the young lad knows how to call out to his father or mother,[ht] the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Invasion by Assyria
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people have rejected the gently-flowing waters of Shiloah, and because[hu] they keep rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah’s son, 7 watch out! The Lord God[hv] is about to bring the flood waters of the Euphrates[hw] River against them, mighty and strong.[hx]
“It’s the king of Assyria and all of his arrogance! He will rise over all of the river’s channels and run over all of its banks. 8 He will sweep on into Judah, overflowing as he passes through, like flood waters[hy] reaching up to a person’s neck. His outstretched wings will flow as wide as your land, O Immanuel!”
9 “Band together,[hz] you peoples,
but be shattered!
Listen, all you distant countries!
Strap on your armor,
but be shattered.[ia]
10 Take counsel together,
but it will all be for nothing;
go ahead and talk,
but[ib] it will all be for nothing,[ic]
for God is with us.”[id]
Waiting on God
11 For[ie] this is what the Lord spoke to me, as his forceful hand was resting on me, and as he was warning me not to live the way this people were living:[if]
12 “Don’t call conspiracy everything
that this people calls conspiracy,
and don’t fear what they fear,
or live in terror.
13 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies—
he’s the one you are to regard as holy.
Let him be the one whom you fear,
and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror!
14 Then he will be a sanctuary,
but for both houses of Israel
he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself,
a rock one stumbles over,
a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble on them;
They’ll fall and be broken;
They’ll be snared and captured.
16 “Bind up the testimony,
and seal up the teaching among my disciples.
17 I’ll wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob,
and I’ll put my trust in him.
18 Watch out! I and the children
whom the Lord has given me
are a sign and a wonder[ig] in Israel
from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who resides on Mount Zion.”
Rejecting Occultic Wisdom
19 “So when they advise you,
‘Ask the mediums your questions,
and quiz the spiritists who chirp and mutter,’
shouldn’t a people instead be consulting their God—[ih]
and not the dead—
on behalf of those who are living
20 for instruction and for testimony?
Surely they are speaking like this
because the truth[ii] hasn’t dawned on them.
21 “They’ll pass through the land,[ij]
while[ik] greatly distressed and hungry.
When they are hungry,
they’ll become enraged,
and they’ll curse their king and their god.[il]
They’ll turn their faces upwards,
22 or they’ll look toward the[im] earth,
but they’ll see only distress and darkness,
the gloom that comes from anguish,
and then they’ll be thrown into total darkness.”
The Prince of Peace
9 [in]But there will be no gloom for her who was[io] in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future[ip] he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations.[iq]
2 [ir]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
for those living in a land of deep darkness,
a light has shined upon them.
3 You have increased the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as they rejoice at the harvest,
as they are glad
when they’re dividing the spoils of war.[is]
4 Now as to the yoke that has been[it] his burden,
and the bar laid[iu] on his shoulder—
the rod of his oppressor—
you have broken it[iv] as on the day of Midiam.[iw]
5 For every boot of the tramping soldier in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be used for burning as fuel for a fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder,
and his name is[ix] called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the growth of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will rule[iy] over his kingdom,
sitting on the throne of David,
to establish it and to uphold it[iz]
with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
A Rebuke to Jacob and Israel
8 “The Lord[ja] has sent a plague[jb] against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all of the people were evil[jc]—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
saying proudly with arrogant hearts:
10 ‘The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed[jd] stones;
the sycamore[je] trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.’[jf]
11 But the Lord has raised adversaries[jg] from Rezin[jh] against him,
and he stirs up his enemies—
12 Arameans from the east
and Philistines from the west—
and they devour Israel with open mouths!
“Yet[ji] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[jj]
Judgment for Not Repenting
13 “But the people have not returned to rely[jk] on[jl] him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
14 So the Lord has cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed
in[jm] a single day—
15 the elder and the dignitary is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not have pity on[jn] their young men,
and has no compassion on their orphans[jo] and widows,
because each of them was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
“Yet[jp] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.[jq]
18 “For wickedness has burned like a blaze
that consumes briers and thorns;
it sets thickets of the forest on fire,
and skyward[jr] they swirl
in a column of smoke.
19 From[js] the wrath of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
the land has been scorched,
and the people have become like fuel for the fire;
no one will spare his neighbor.
20 They cut meat on the right,
but they’re still hungry,
and they devour also[jt] on the left,
but they’re not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own children.[ju]
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim,
and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are against Judah.
“Yet[jv] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[jw]
Judgment on Unjust Lawmakers
10 “How terrible it will be for the one[jx] who enacts unjust decrees,
for those who write oppressive laws
that they have prescribed
2 to deprive the needy of justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their rights,[jy]
so that widows may become their spoil
and so that they may plunder orphans![jz]
3 What will you do on the day of Judgment,[ka]
in the calamity that will come from far away?
To whom will you run for help,
and where will you leave your wealth,
4 so you won’t have to crouch among those in chains[kb]
or fall among the slain?
“Yet[kc] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[kd]
Assyria is an Instrument of Judgment
5 “How terrible it will be
for Assyria, the rod of my anger!
The club is in their hands![ke]
6 I’m sending my fury[kf] against a godless nation,
and I’ll command him against the people with whom I’m angry
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
and to trample them down
like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
and this is not what he thinks in his mind;
but it is in his mind to destroy,
and to cut down[kg] many nations.
8 “Because this is what he is saying:
‘My commanders are all kings, are they not?
9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms[kh]
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols
as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?’”
Assyria will be Judged
12 “For[ki] the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful[kj] heart of Assyria’s king and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 He keeps bragging:[kk]
‘I’ve done it by the strength of my hand,
and by my wisdom,
because I’m so clever.[kl]
I removed the boundaries of peoples,
and plundered their treasures;
like a bull I brought down
those who sat on thrones.
14 My hand has found, as if in a nest,
the wealth of the people;
and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned,
so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the[km] earth.
Nothing moved a wing,
opened its mouth,
or chirped.’
15 “Does the ax exalt itself
over the one who swings it?
Or does the saw magnify itself
in opposition to the one who wields it?
As if a rod were to wield those who lift[kn] it,
or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord God[ko] of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease
among Assyria’s[kp] sturdy warriors,
and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled,
like a blazing bonfire.
17 “The light of Israel will become a fire,
and its Holy One a flame,
and it will burn
and consume Assyria’s[kq] thorns and briers
in a single day.
18 The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land
the Lord will destroy—
both soul and body—
and Assyria[kr] will be
as when a dying man wastes away.
19 What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few
that a child can count them.”[ks]
The Remnant Returns
20 At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God. 22 For even if your people of Israel number as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Overwhelming, righteous destruction is decreed, 23 because the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies[kt] will bring about destruction, as has been decreed, throughout[ku] the entire region.[kv]
24 Therefore this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says: “My people, you who live in Zion, don’t be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you,[kw] who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did. 25 In just a little while, my fury will come to an end, and my anger then will be directed to their destruction.[kx] 26 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies will brandish a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb;[ky] and as his staff was stretched out[kz] over the sea,[la] so he will lift it up as he did in Egypt. 27 At that time,[lb] his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you’ve become obese.”[lc]
The Coming Judgment of God
28 “The Assyrian commander[ld] has come upon[le] Aiath
and has passed through Migron;
he stores his supplies at Michmash.
29 He has[lf] crossed over by[lg] the pass;
his overnight lodging is at Geba.
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, you daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laish![lh]
Poor Anathoth!
31 Marmenah[li] is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim take cover.
32 This very day he will halt at Nob;[lj]
he will shake[lk] his fists[ll]
at the mountain that is the Daughter of Zion,
at Jerusalem’s hill.
33 Behold, the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
will lop off its[lm] boughs with terrifying power;
the tallest in height will be cut down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest
with an ax,
and Lebanon will fall
by the Majestic One.”[ln]
The Reign of the Davidic King
11 “A shoot will come out
from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch will bear fruit
from his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He won’t judge by what his eyes see,
nor decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
and decide with equity for[lo] earth’s poor.[lp]
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,[lq]
and the wicked will be killed[lr] with the breath of his lips.
5 Righteousness will be the sash around his loins,
and faithfulness the belt around his waist.”
A Transformed Ecology
6 “The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard will lie down with the young goat.
The calf and the lion will graze[ls] together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze,
and[lt] their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play
over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child will put his hand on vipers’ dens.[lu]
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on[lv] my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full
of the knowledge[lw] of the Lord,[lx]
as the waters cover the sea.”
Israel Regathered
10 At that time,[ly] as to[lz] the root of Jesse, who will be standing as a banner for the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place is[ma] glorious.
11 At that time,[mb] the Lord will reach out his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,[mc] from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands[md] of the sea.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and will assemble the dispersed of Israel;
he will gather the scattered people of Judah
from the corners[me] of the earth.
Israel’s Victory over Its Enemies
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,[mf]
and those who are hostile to Judah will be eliminated;[mg]
Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,
and Judah will not be hostile to Ephraim.
14 But they[mh] will swoop down
on the slopes[mi] of the Philistines to the west,
and they will plunder[mj] the people to[mk] the east.
They’ll lay their hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will totally destroy
the gulf[ml] of the Sea of Egypt.
He will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River
with a violent wind,[mm]
breaking it up into seven streams,
and making a way for people to cross on foot.
16 And there will be a highway
for the remnant that is left of his people out of Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up
from the land of Egypt.
Israel’s Praise to the Lord
12 At that time,[mn] you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord,
for although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away,
and you have comforted me.
2 “Look! God—yes God—is[mo] my salvation;
I will trust, and not be afraid.
For the Lord[mp] is my strength and my song,[mq]
and he has become my salvation.”
3 You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:[mr]
4 “Give thanks to the Lord;
call on his name.
Make known his actions
among the nations.
Proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord,[ms]
because he has acted gloriously,
being made[mt] known in all the world.
6 Shout aloud, and sing for joy,
you who live in Zion,
because great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel.”
The Destruction of Babylon
13 A message[mu] that Amoz’s son Isaiah received[mv] about Babylon:
2 “Raise a banner on a bare hilltop!
Cry out loud to them!
Give a wave of the hand,
signaling[mw] for them to enter[mx]
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones;
I have also summoned my warriors,
those who rejoice in my triumph,
to carry out my angry judgments.[my]
4 “Listen! There’s a noise on the mountains
like that of a great multitude!
Listen! There’s an uproar among the kingdoms,
like that of nations massing together!
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is mustering
an army for battle.
5 They’re coming from a faraway land,
from the distant horizon—[mz]
the Lord and the weapons of his anger—
to destroy the entire land.”[na]
The Day of the Lord
6 Wail out loud, because the Day of the Lord is near.
It will come like destruction from the Almighty!
7 Because of this, every hand[nb] will go limp,
and every man’s courage[nc] will melt.
8 They will be terrified;
pain and anguish will seize them;
they’ll writhe like a woman in labor.
They’ll look aghast at one another;
and[nd] their faces will be ablaze with fear.[ne]
9 Watch out! The Day of the Lord is coming—
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger—
to turn the entire inhabited[nf] earth[ng] into a desolation
and to annihilate sinners[nh] from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
won’t shine[ni] their light;
the sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon won’t shine its light.
11 I’ll punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I’ll put an end to the pomposity of the arrogant,
and overthrow the insolence of tyrants.
12 I’ll make people scarcer[nj] than pure gold,
and mankind rarer[nk] than gold from Ophir.
13 Therefore I’ll make the heavens tremble.
The earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
at the time[nl] of his burning anger.[nm]
14 They[nn] will be like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with no one to gather them,[no]
each will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall dead, killed[np] by the sword.
16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes,
and[nq] their houses will be looted,
and their wives slept with.[nr]
Babylon Falls
17 Watch out! I’m stirring up the Medes against them,
who care nothing for silver
and take no delight in gold.
18 Their bows will dash the young men to pieces;
they’ll show no pity on those not yet born,[ns]
and[nt] their eyes will not spare children.
19 Babylon, that jewel of kingdoms,
the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah,
when God overthrew them—
20 It will never be inhabited
or lived in through all generations;
no Bedouin[nu] will pitch his tent there;
no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But desert beasts will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there owls[nv] will dwell,
and goat-demons[nw] will dance there.
22 Hyenas will howl in its strongholds,[nx]
and jackals will make their dens in its citadels.[ny]
Its[nz] time is close at hand,
and its days will not be extended any further.[oa]
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