Bible in 90 Days
Israel Will Return Home
14 The Lord will again show mercy to the people of Jacob. The Lord will again choose the people of Israel. He will settle them in their own land. Then non-Israelite people will join the Israelites. The non-Israelite people will become a part of the family of Jacob. 2 Nations will take the Israelites back to their land. Those men and women from the other nations will become slaves to Israel. In the past the Israelites were their slaves. But now the Israelites will defeat those nations and rule over them.
The King of Babylon Will Fall
3 The Lord will take away the Israelites’ hard work, and he will comfort them. They will no longer have to work as slaves. 4 On that day Israel will sing this song about the king of Babylon:
The cruel king who ruled us is finished.
His rule is finished!
5 The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers.
He takes away their power.
6 The king of Babylon beat people in anger.
He beat them again and again.
He ruled the people in anger.
He kept on doing terrible things to the people.
7 But now, the whole land rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to sing.
8 Even the pine trees are happy.
And the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king has fallen.
No one will ever cut us down again.”
9 The place of the dead is excited
to meet you when you come.
It wakes the spirits of the dead to greet you.
They were the leaders of the world.
It makes dead kings stand up from their thrones to greet you.
They were rulers of nations.
10 All these leaders will make fun of you.
They will say,
“Now you are weak, as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your pride has been sent down to where the dead are.
The music from your harps goes with it.
Flies are spread out like your bed beneath you.
And worms cover your body like a blanket.
12 King of Babylon, morning star, you have fallen from heaven,
even though you were as bright as the rising sun!
In the past all the nations on earth bowed down before you.
But now you have been cut down.
13 You told yourself,
“I will go up to heaven.
I will put my throne
above God’s stars.
I will sit on the mountain of the gods.
I will sit on the slopes of the sacred mountain.
14 I will go up above the tops of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”
15 But you were brought down to the grave.
You were brought down to the deep places where the dead are.
16 Those who see you stare at you.
They think about what has happened to you.
They say, “Is this the same man who caused great fear on earth?
Is he the one who shook the kingdoms?
17 Is this the man who turned the land into a desert?
Is he the one who destroyed its cities?
Is he the one who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 Every king of the earth has been buried with honor.
Every king has his own grave.
19 But you are thrown out of your grave,
like an unwanted branch is cut from a tree and thrown away.
You are covered by bodies
that died in battle.
You have been thrown into a rocky pit.
And other soldiers walk on you.
20 You will not be buried like other people.
This is because you ruined your own country.
And you killed your own people.
So your children will never
be mentioned again.
21 Prepare to kill his children.
Kill them because their father is guilty.
They will never again take control of the earth.
They will never again fill the world with their cities.
22 The Lord of heaven’s armies says this:
“I will fight against those people.
I will destroy Babylon and its people.
I will destroy its people and their descendants,” says the Lord.
23 “I will make Babylon fit only for owls.
It will become a swamp.
I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction,”
says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
God Will Punish Assyria
24 The Lord of heaven’s armies has made this promise:
“These things will happen exactly as I planned them.
These things will happen exactly as I set them up.
25 I will destroy the king of Assyria in my country.
I will trample him on my mountains.
He put a heavy load on my people.
But that weight will be removed.
26 “This is what I plan to do against all the earth.
I will raise my hand to strike down all nations.”
27 When the Lord of heaven’s armies makes a plan,
no one can stop it.
When the Lord raises his hand to punish people,
no one can stop him.
God’s Message to Philistia
28 This message was given the year King Ahaz died:
29 Country of Philistia, don’t be so happy.
The king who beat you is now dead.
But he is like a snake that will give birth to another dangerous snake.
The new king will be like a quick, dangerous snake to bite you.
30 Even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely.
People in need will be able to lie down in safety.
But I will kill your family with hunger.
And all your people who are left will die.
31 People near the city gates, cry out!
Philistines, be frightened!
A cloud of dust comes from the north.
It is an army, full of men ready to fight.
32 What shall we tell the messengers from Philistia?
Say that the Lord has made Jerusalem strong.
Say that his poor people will go there for safety.
God’s Message to Moab
15 This is a message about Moab:
In one night armies took the wealth from Ar in Moab.
That night the city was destroyed.
In one night armies took the wealth from Kir in Moab.
That night the city was destroyed.
2 The people of Dibon go to the places of worship to cry.
The people of Moab cry for the cities of Nebo and Medeba.
Everyone has shaved his head and beard to show how sad he is.
3 In the streets at Moab they wear rough cloth to show their sadness.
On the roofs[a] and in the public squares,
they are crying loudly.
4 People in the cities Heshbon and Elealeh cry out loud.
You can hear their voices far away in the city Jahaz.
Even the soldiers are frightened.
They are shaking from fear.
5 My heart cries with sorrow for Moab.
Its people run away to Zoar for safety.
They run to Eglath Shelishiyah.
People are going up the mountain road to Luhith.
They are crying as they go.
People are going on the road to Horonaim.
They cry out loud over their destruction.
6 But the water of Nimrim has dried up.
The grass has dried up.
All the plants are dead.
Nothing green is left.
7 So the people gather up what they have saved.
They carry those things and cross the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Crying is heard everywhere in Moab.
Their crying is heard as far away as the city Eglaim.
Their crying is heard as far away as Beer Elim.
9 The water of the city Dibon is full of blood.
And I, the Lord, will bring even more troubles to Dibon.
A few people living in Moab have escaped the enemy.
But I will send lions to kill them.
16 Send the king of the land
the payment he demands.
Send a lamb from Sela through the desert
to the mountain of Jerusalem.
2 The women of Moab
try to cross the river Arnon.
They are 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.
Hide us because we are running for safety!
Don’t give us to our enemies.
4 Let those of us who were forced out of Moab live in your land.
Hide us from our enemies.”
The robbing of Moab will stop.
The enemy will be defeated.
The men who hurt others will disappear from the land.
5 Then a new loyal king will come.
This faithful king will be from the family of David.
He will judge fairly.
He wants to do what is right.
6 We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry.
But their bragging means nothing.
7 So the people of Moab will cry.
They will all be sad.
They will moan and groan
for the raisin cakes they had in Kir Hareseth.
8 But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes.
Foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines.
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert.
They had spread as far as the sea.
9 I cry with the people of Jazer
for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
There will be no shouts of joy,
because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit.
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards.
There will be no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one makes wine in the winepresses.
I have put an end to shouts of joy.
11 My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song.
I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.
12 The people of Moab will go to their places of worship.
They will try to pray.
But when they go to their temple to pray,
they will not be able.
13 The Lord said these things about Moab before. 14 And now the Lord says, “In three years all those people and what they are proud of will be hated. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time.) There will be a few people left, but they will be weak.”
God’s Message to Aram
17 This is the message for Damascus:
“The city of Damascus will be destroyed.
Only ruins will be left there.
2 People will leave the cities of Aroer.
Flocks of sheep will wander freely in those empty towns.
There will be no one to bother them.
3 The strong, walled cities of Israel will be destroyed.
The government in Damascus will end.
Those left alive of Aram will be
like the glory of Israel,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
4 “At that time Israel’s wealth will all be gone.
Israel will be like a man who has lost much weight from sickness.
5 That time will be like the grain harvest in the Valley of Rephaim.
The workers cut the wheat.
Then they cut the heads of grain from the plants.
And they collect the grain.
6 That time will also be like the olive harvest,
when a few olives are left.
Two or three olives are left in the top branches.
Four or five olives are left on full branches,” says the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 At that time people will look to God, their Maker.
Their eyes will see the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not trust the altars they have made.
They will not trust what their hands have made.
They will not respect the Asherah idols
and altars they have made.
9 In that day all their strong cities will be empty. They will be like the cities that the Hivites and the Amorites left. They left their cities when the Israelites came to take the land. Everything will be ruined.
10 You have forgotten the God who saves you.
You have not remembered that God is your place of safety.
You plant the finest grapevines.
You plant grapevines from faraway places.
11 You will plant your grapevines one day and try to make them grow.
The next day they will begin to grow.
But at harvest time everything will be dead.
A sickness will kill all the plants.
12 Listen to the many people!
They are crying loud like the noise from the sea.
Listen to the noise!
The crying is like the crashing of great waves.
13 The people roar like those waves.
But when God speaks harshly to them, they will run away.
They will be like chaff on the hills being blown by the wind.
They will be like tumbleweeds blown away by a storm.
14 At night the people will be very frightened.
Before morning, no one will be left.
So our enemies will come to our land,
but they will become nothing.
God’s Message to Cush
18 How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush.
It is filled with the sound of wings.
2 That land sends people across the sea.
They go on the water in boats made of reeds.
Quick messengers, go
to the people who are tall and smooth-skinned.
They are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation with strange speech.
They defeat the other nations.
Their land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world, look!
Everyone who lives in the world, look!
You will see a banner raised on a mountain.
You will hear a trumpet sound.
4 The Lord said to me,
“I will quietly watch from where I live.
I will be like heat in the sunshine.
I will be like the dew in the heat of harvest time.”
5 The time will be after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest.
The new grapes will be budding and growing.
Then the enemy will cut the plants with knives.
He will cut down the vines and take them away.
6 They will be left for the birds of the mountains to eat.
They will be left for the wild animals to eat.
Birds will feed on them all summer.
And that winter wild animals will eat them.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They will come from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned.
They are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation with strange speech.
Their land is divided by rivers.
These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord of heaven’s armies.
They will be brought to Mount Zion.
God’s Message to Egypt
19 The message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud.
He will enter Egypt.
And the idols of Egypt will tremble before him.
Egypt’s courage will melt away.
2 The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves.
Men will fight with their brothers.
Neighbors will fight neighbors.
Cities will fight cities.
Kingdoms will fight kingdoms.
3 The Egyptians will be afraid.
I will ruin their plans.
They will ask their idols and spirits of the dead what they should do.
They will ask their mediums and fortune-tellers.”
4 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says,
“I will give Egypt to a hard master.
A powerful king will rule over them.”
5 The sea will become dry.
The water will disappear from the Nile River.
6 The canals will stink.
The streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up.
All the water plants will rot.
7 All the plants along the banks of the Nile will die.
Even the planted fields by the Nile
will dry up, blow away and disappear.
8 The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile,
will groan and cry.
Those who depend on the Nile for food will be sad.
9 All the people who make cloth from flax will be sad.
Those who weave linen will lose hope.
10 Those who weave cloth will be broken.
All those who work for money will be sad.
11 The officers of the city of Zoan are fools.
The wise men who advise the king of Egypt give wrong advice.
How can they say to him they are wise?
How can they say they are from the old family of the kings?
12 Egypt, where are your wise men?
Let them show you
what the Lord of heaven’s armies has planned for Egypt.
13 The officers of Zoan have been fooled.
The leaders of Memphis have believed false things.
So the leaders of Egypt
lead her the wrong way.
14 The Lord has made the leaders confused.
They wander and lead Egypt in the wrong ways.
They are like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do.
No one in Egypt can help.
16 In that day the people of Egypt will be like frightened women. They will be afraid of the Lord of heaven’s armies. He will raise his hand to strike them down. 17 The land of Judah will bring fear to the people in Egypt. Anyone in Egypt who hears the name Judah will be afraid. This will happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has planned terrible things for Egypt. 18 At that time five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. They will promise to be loyal to the Lord of heaven’s armies. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction. 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 the Lord. 20 This will be a sign. It will show that the Lord of heaven’s armies is powerful. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send help. He will send someone to save and defend the people. He will rescue them from those who hurt them.
21 So the Lord will show himself to the Egyptians. Then they will say he is the Lord. They will serve God and offer many sacrifices. They will make promises to the Lord, and they will keep them. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians. Then he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord. He will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Then people from Assyria will go to Egypt. And the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together. 24 At that time Israel, Assyria and Egypt will join together. This will be a blessing for the earth. 25 The Lord of heaven’s armies will bless them. 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 Cush
20 Sargon was the king of Assyria. He sent a military commander to Ashdod to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it. 2 Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. The Lord said, “Take the rough cloth off your body. Take your sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed the Lord. He walked around without his clothes of rough cloth or his sandals.
3 Then the Lord said, “Isaiah my servant has walked around without his clothes of rough cloth or his sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Cush. 4 The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Cush. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The old people and young people will be led away naked. They will go without clothes and without sandals. So the Egyptians will be shamed. 5 People who looked to Cush for help will be afraid. People who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be shamed. 6 Those people who live near the sea will say, ‘We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured. So how will we be able to escape?’”
God’s Message to Babylon
21 The message about the Desert by the Sea:[b]
Disaster is coming from the desert.
It is coming like wind blowing in the south.
It is coming from a terrible country.
2 I have seen a terrible vision.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, attack the people!
Media, surround the city and attack it!
I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain.
My pains are like the pains of giving birth.
What I hear makes me very afraid.
What I see causes me to shake with fear.
4 I am worried,
and I am shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening
has become a night of fear.
5 They set the table.
They spread the rugs.
They eat and drink!
Leaders, stand up.
Prepare the shields for battle!
6 The Lord said to me,
“Go. Have a man be a lookout for the city.
Have him report what he sees.
7 If he sees chariots and teams of horses,
donkeys or camels,
he should pay very close attention.”
8 Then the lookout called out,
“My Master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching.
Every night I have been on guard.
9 Look. I see a man coming in a chariot
with a team of horses.”
The man gives back the answer,
“Babylon has fallen. It has fallen!
All the statues of her gods
lie broken on the ground.”
10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor.
My people, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord.
He is the Lord of heaven’s armies,
the God of Israel.
God’s Message to Edom
11 The message about Dumah:[c]
Someone calls to me from Edom.
He says, “Watchman, how much of the night is left?
Watchman, how much longer will it be night?”
12 The watchman answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something to ask,
then come back and ask.”
God’s Message to Arabia
13 The message about Arabia:
A group of traders from Dedan
spent the night near some trees in Arabia.
14 They gave water to thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave food
to those who were escaping.
15 They were running from swords.
The swords were ready to kill.
They were running from bows ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 This is what the Lord said to me: “In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.) 17 At that time only a few of the archers will be left. Only a few of the soldiers of Kedar will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
God’s Message to Jerusalem
22 The message about the Valley of Vision:[d]
What is wrong with you people?
Why are you on your roofs?[e]
2 This city was a very busy city.
It was full of noise and wild parties.
But your people have been killed,
but not with swords.
They did not die in battle.
3 All your leaders ran away together.
But they all have been captured without using a bow.
All you who were captured
tried to run away before the enemy came near.
4 So I say, “Don’t look at me.
Let me cry loudly.
Don’t hurry to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, has chosen a special day.
There will be riots and confusion.
People will trample each other in the Valley of Vision.
The city walls will be knocked down.
The people will cry out to the mountain.
6 The soldiers from Elam will take their bags of arrows.
Men in chariots and on horses will attack.
Kir will prepare their shields.
7 Your nicest valleys will be filled with chariots.
Horsemen will be ordered to guard the gates of the city.
8 The walls protecting Judah will fall.
At that time the people of Jerusalem depended on
the weapons kept at the Palace of the Forest.
9 You saw that the walls of Jerusalem
had many cracks that needed repairing.
You stored up water in the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem.
You tore them down to fix the walls with their stones.
11 You made a pool between the two walls.
It was to save water from the old pool.
But you did not trust the God who made these things.
You did not respect the One who planned them long ago.
12 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, told the people
to cry and be sad.
He told them to shave their heads and wear rough cloth.
13 But look. The people are happy.
There are wild parties.
They kill the cattle and the sheep.
They eat the food and drink the wine.
They say, “Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.”
14 The Lord of heaven’s armies said to me: “You people will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, said this.
God’s Message to Shebna
15 This is what the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says:
“Go to this servant Shebna.
He is the manager of the palace.
16 Say to him, ‘What are you doing here?
Who said you could cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place?
Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?
17 Look, mighty man! The Lord will throw you away.
He will take firm hold of you.
18 He will roll you tightly into a ball
and throw you into another country.
There you will die.
Your fine chariots will remain there.
You are a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will force you out of your important job here.
You will be thrown down from your important place.’
20 “At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will take your robe and put it on him. I will give him your belt. I will give him the important job you have. He will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah. 22 I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it. If he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23 He will be like an honored chair in his father’s house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board. 24 All the honored and important things of his family will depend on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on him.
25 “At that time,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies, “the peg hammered into the strong board will weaken. It will break and fall. And everything hanging on it will be destroyed.” The Lord says this.
God’s Message to Lebanon
23 The message about Tyre:
You ships of Tarshish, cry!
The houses and harbor of Tyre are destroyed.
This news came to the ships
from the land of Cyprus.
2 Be silent, you who live on the island of Tyre.
You merchants of Sidon, be silent.
Seamen have made you rich.
3 They traveled the sea to bring grain from Egypt.
The men of Tyre brought grain from the Nile Valley
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, be ashamed.
Strong city of the sea, be ashamed. The sea says:
“I have not felt the pain of giving birth.
I have not reared young men or women.”
5 Egypt will hear the news about Tyre.
And it will make Egypt hurt with sorrow.
6 You ships should return to Tarshish.
You people living near the sea should be sad.
7 Look at your once happy city!
Look at your old, old city!
People from that city have traveled
far away to live.
8 Who planned Tyre’s destruction?
Tyre made others rich.
Her merchants were treated like princes.
Her traders were greatly respected.
9 It was the Lord of heaven’s armies who planned this!
He decided to make these proud men unimportant.
He decided to disgrace those who were greatly respected.
10 Go through your land,
Tarshish, like the Nile goes through Egypt.
There is no harbor for you now!
11 The Lord has stretched his hand over the sea.
He makes its kingdoms tremble.
He commands that Canaan’s
places of safety be destroyed.
12 The Lord said, “Sidon, you will not rejoice any longer.
You are destroyed.
Even if you cross the sea to Cyprus,
you will not find a place to rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians.
Babylonia is not a country now.
Assyria has made it a place for wild animals.
Assyria built towers to attack it.
The soldiers took all the treasures from its cities.
They turned it into ruins.
14 So be sad, you trading ships.
Your place of safety is destroyed.
15 At that time people will forget about Tyre for 70 years. That is the length of a king’s life. After 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh woman, you are forgotten.
Take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your harp well. Sing your song often.
Then people will remember you.”
17 After 70 years the Lord will deal with Tyre. Tyre will again have trade. It will be like a prostitute for all the nations of the earth. 18 The profits will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will not keep the money she earns. It will give them to the people who serve the Lord. So they will have plenty of food and nice clothes.
God Will Punish the World
24 Look! The Lord will destroy the earth and leave it empty.
He will ruin the surface of the land and scatter its people.
2 At that time the same thing will happen to everyone:
to common people and priests,
to slaves and masters,
to women slaves and their women masters,
to buyers and sellers,
to those who borrow and those who lend,
and to bankers and those who owe the bank.
3 The earth will be completely empty.
The wealth will all be taken.
This will happen because the Lord commanded it.
4 The earth will dry up and die.
The world will grow weak and die.
The great leaders in this land will become weak.
5 The people of the earth have ruined it.
They do not follow God’s teachings.
They do not obey God’s laws.
They break their agreement with God that was to last forever.
6 A curse will destroy the earth.
The people of the world are guilty.
So they will be burned up.
Only a few will be left.
7 The new wine will be bad, and the grapevines will die.
People who were happy will be sad.
8 The happy music of the tambourines will end.
The happy sounds of wild parties will stop.
The joyful music from the harps will end.
9 People will no longer sing while they drink their wine.
The beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10 The ruined city will be empty.
People will hide behind closed doors.
11 People in the streets will ask for wine.
But joy will have turned to sadness.
All the happiness will have left.
12 The city will be left in ruins.
Its gates will be smashed to pieces.
13 This is what will happen all over the earth.
This will happen to all the nations.
The earth will be like an olive tree after the harvest.
It will be like the few grapes left on a vine after harvest.
14 The people shout for joy.
From the west they praise the greatness of the Lord.
15 People in the east, praise the Lord.
People in the islands of the sea,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs from every part of the earth.
These songs praise God, the Righteous One.
But I said, “I am dying! I am dying!
How terrible it will be for me!
Traitors turn against people.
With their dishonesty, they turn against people.”
17 There are terrors, holes and traps
for the people of the earth.
18 Anyone who tries to escape from the sound of terror
will fall into a hole.
Anyone who climbs out of the hole
will be caught in a trap.
The clouds in the sky will pour out rain.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be broken up.
And the earth will split open.
The earth will shake violently.
20 The earth will stumble around like a man who is drunk.
It will shake like a hut in a storm.
Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back.
The earth will fall and never rise again.
21 At that time the Lord will punish
the powers in the sky above
and the rulers on earth below.
22 They will be gathered together.
They will be thrown into a pit as prisoners.
They will be shut up in prison.
After much time they will be punished.
23 The moon will be embarrassed.
The sun will be ashamed.
This will happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness.
A Song of Praise to God
25 Lord, you are my God.
I honor you and praise you.
You have done amazing things.
You have always done what you said you would.
You have done what you planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a pile of rocks.
You have destroyed her walls.
The city our enemies built with strong walls is gone.
It will never be built again.
3 People from powerful nations will honor you.
Cruel people from strong cities will fear you.
4 You help the poor people.
You help the helpless when they are in danger.
You are like a shelter from storms.
You are like shade that protects them from the heat.
The cruel people attack
like a rainstorm beating against the wall.
5 The cruel people burn like the heat in the desert.
But you, God, stop their violent attack.
As a cloud cools a hot day,
Lord, you silence the songs of those who have no mercy.
God’s Banquet for His Servants
6 The Lord of heaven’s armies will give a feast.
It will be on this mountain for all people.
It will be a feast with the best food and wine.
The meat and wine will be the finest.
7 On this mountain God will destroy
the veil that covers all nations.
This veil, called “death,” covers all peoples.
8 But God will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face.
God will take away the shame
of his people from the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9 At that time people will say,
“Our God is doing this!
We have trusted in him, and he has come to save us.
We have been trusting our Lord.
So we will rejoice and be happy when he saves us.”
10 The Lord will protect Jerusalem.
But the Lord will crush our enemy Moab.
Moab will be like straw that is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will spread their arms in it
like a person who is swimming.
The Lord will bring down their pride.
All the clever things they have made will mean nothing.
12 Moab’s high walls protect them.
But the Lord will destroy these walls.
The Lord will throw them down on the ground.
The stones will lie in the dust.
A Song of Praise to God
26 At that time people will sing this song in Judah:
We have a strong city.
God protects us with its strong walls and defenses.
2 Open the gates,
and the good people will enter.
They follow God’s good way of living.
3 You, Lord, give true peace.
You give peace to those who depend on you.
You give peace to those who trust you.
4 So, trust the Lord always.
Trust the Lord because he is our Rock forever.
5 But the Lord will destroy the proud city.
And he will punish the people living there.
He will bring that high city down to the ground.
He throws it down into the dust.
6 Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins.
Those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet.
7 The path of life of the people who are right with God is level.
Lord, you make the way of life smooth for those people.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting
for your way of justice.
Our souls want to remember
you and your name.
9 My soul wants to be with you at night.
And my spirit wants to be with you at the dawn of every day.
When your way of justice comes to the land,
people of the world will learn the right way of living.
10 An evil person will not learn to do good
even if you show him kindness.
He will continue doing evil, even if he lives in a good world.
He never sees the Lord’s greatness.
11 Lord, you are ready to punish those people.
But they do not see that.
Lord, show them your strong love for your people.
Then the evil people will be ashamed.
Burn them in the fire
you have prepared for your enemies.
12 Lord, all our success is because of what you have done.
So give us peace.
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us.
But we honor only you.
14 Those masters are now dead.
Their ghosts will not rise from death.
You decided to destroy them.
And you destroyed any memory of them.
15 Lord, you multiplied the number of your people.
You multiplied them and brought honor to yourself.
You made the borders of the land wide.
16 Lord, people remember you when they are in trouble.
They say quiet prayers to you when you punish them.
17 Lord, when we are with you,
we are like a woman giving birth to a baby.
She cries and has pain from the birth.
18 In the same way, we had pain.
We gave birth, but only to wind.
We don’t bring salvation to the land.
We don’t make new people for the world.
19 Your people have died, but they will live again.
Their bodies will rise from death.
Dead people in the ground,
get up and be happy!
The dew covering you is like the dew of a new day.
The ground will give birth to the dead buried in it.
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your rooms.
Shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time.
Hide until God’s anger is finished.
21 The Lord will leave his place.
He will punish the people of the world for their sins.
The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed.
It will not cover the dead any longer.
27 At that time the Lord will judge Leviathan, the gliding snake.
He will punish Leviathan, the coiled snake.
The Lord will use his great sword,
his hard and powerful sword.
He will kill the monster in the sea.
2 In that day
people will sing about the pleasant vineyard.
3 “I, the Lord, will care for that vineyard.
I will water it at the right time.
No one will hurt it.
I will guard it day and night.
4 I am not angry.
If anyone builds a wall of thornbushes in war,
I will march to it and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for safety
and wants to make peace with me,
he should come and make peace with me.”
6 In the days to come, the people of Jacob will be like a plant with good roots.
Israel will grow like a plant beginning to bloom.
Then the world will be filled with their children.
God “Divorces” Israel
7 The Lord has not hurt his people as he hurt their enemies.
His people have not been killed like those who tried to kill them.
8 The Lord will settle his argument with Israel by sending it far away.
Like a hot desert wind, he will drive Israel away.
9 This is how Israel’s guilt will be forgiven.
This is how its sins will be taken away.
Israel will crush the rocks of the altar to dust.
No statues or altars will be left standing for the Asherah idols.
10 At that time the strong, walled city will be empty.
It will be like a desert.
Calves will eat grass there.
They will lie down there.
They will eat leaves from the branches.
11 The limbs will become dry and break off.
Women will use them for firewood.
The people refuse to understand.
So God will not comfort them.
Their Maker will not be kind to them.
12 At that time the Lord will begin gathering his people one by one. He will gather all his people from the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt. He will separate them from others as grain is separated from chaff. 13 Many of my people are now lost in Assyria. Some of my people have run away to Egypt. But at that time a great trumpet will be blown. And all those people will come back to Jerusalem. They will bow down before the Lord on that holy mountain.
Warnings to North Israel
28 How terrible it will be for Samaria, the pride of Israel’s drunken people!
That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant.
It sits on a hill above a rich valley where drunkards live.
2 Look, the Lord has someone who is strong and full of power.
That person will come like a storm of hail and strong wind.
He will come like a sudden flood of water pouring over the country.
He will throw Samaria down to the ground.
3 That city, the pride of Israel’s drunken people,
will be trampled underfoot.
4 That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant.
It sits on a hill above a rich valley.
That city will be like the first fig of summer.
When a person sees it,
he quickly picks it and eats it.
5 At that time the Lord of heaven’s armies
will be like a beautiful crown.
He will be like a wonderful crown of flowers
for his people who are left alive.
6 Then the Lord will give wisdom
to the judges who rule his people.
The Lord will give strength
to those who battle at the city gate.
7 But now those leaders are drunk with wine.
They stumble from drinking too much beer.
The priests and prophets are drunk with beer.
They are filled with wine.
They stumble from too much beer.
The prophets are drunk when they see their visions.
The judges stumble when they make their decisions.
8 Every table is covered with vomit.
There is not a clean place anywhere.
9 The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson.
He is trying to make them understand his teachings.
But the people are like little babies.
They are like babies who just nursed at their mother’s breast.
10 So they make fun of the Lord’s prophet and say:
“A command here, a command there.
A rule here, a rule there.
A lesson here, a lesson there.”
11 So the Lord will use strange words and foreign languages
to speak to these people.
12 God said to them,
“Here is a place of rest.
Let the tired people come and rest.
This is the place of peace.”
But the people would not listen.
13 So the words of the Lord will be,
“A command here, a command there.
A rule here, a rule there.
A lesson here, a lesson there.”
They will fall back and will be defeated.
They will be trapped and captured.
14 You who brag should listen to the Lord’s message.
Pay attention, you leaders in Jerusalem.
15 You say, “We have made an agreement with death.
We have a contract with death.
When punishment passes by,
it won’t hurt us.
We will be safe with our lies.
We will hide behind our tricks.”
16 Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says:
“I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem.
This will be a tested stone.
Everything will be built on this important and precious rock.
Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
17 I will use justice as a measuring line.
I will use goodness to measure by.
The lies you hide behind will be destroyed as if by hail.
They will be washed away as if in a flood.
18 Your agreement with death will be erased.
Your contract with death will not help you.
When punishment comes,
you will be crushed by it.
19 Whenever punishment comes, it will take you away.
It will come morning after morning.
It will defeat you by day and by night.
Those who hear of this punishment will be terrified.”
20 You will be like the man who tried to sleep
on a bed that was too short for him.
And his blanket was too narrow
to wrap around himself.
21 The Lord will fight as he did at Mount Perazim.
He will be angry as he was in the Valley of Gibeon.
Then the Lord will do his work, his strange work.
He will finish his job, his strange job.
22 Now, you must not make fun of these things.
If you do, the ropes around you will become tighter.
The Lord of heaven’s armies has told me these things.
He has told me how the whole earth will be destroyed.
The Lord Punishes Fairly
23 Listen closely to what I tell you.
Listen carefully to what I say.
24 A farmer does not plow his field all the time.
He does not go on working the soil.
25 He prepares the ground.
Then he plants the dill seed and scatters the cummin seed.
He plants the wheat in rows.
He plants barley in its special place,
and other wheat in its own field.
26 His God teaches him
and shows him the right way.
27 A farmer doesn’t use heavy boards to crush dill.
He doesn’t use a wagon to crush cummin.
He uses a small stick to break open the dill.
With a stick he opens the cummin.
28 The grain is ground to make bread.
People do not ruin it by crushing it forever.
The farmer separates the wheat from the chaff with his cart.
But he does not let his horses grind it.
29 This lesson comes from the Lord of heaven’s armies.
He gives wonderful advice. He is very wise.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.