Bible in 90 Days
Judgment is Coming to Jerusalem
29 “How terrible it will be for you, Aruel, Aruel,[a]
the city where David encamped!
Year after year,
let your festivals run their cycle.
2 Then I’ll besiege Aruel,[b]
and there will be sorrow and mourning;
she will become to me like an altar fireplace.[c]
3 Then I’ll encamp against you like David,[d]
and I’ll lay siege to you with towers,
raise siege works against you,
4 and you will be brought down.
You will speak from the ground,
and your speech will mumble from the dust.
Your voice will come ghostlike from the ground,
and your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 “But the hordes of your enemies[e]
will become like fine dust,
and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff.
Then suddenly, in an instant,
6 you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—
with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise,
with a windstorm, a tempest,
and flames from a devouring fire.
7 Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel,[f]
all that attack her and her fortification[g] and besiege her,
will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—
8 as when a hungry man dreams—
he eats, but wakes up still hungry;
or when a thirsty man dreams—
he drinks, but wakes up faint,
with his thirst unquenched.
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
Blind to God’s Words
9 “Act stupid!
Be astonished!
Act blind,
and be blind!
Be drunk,[h] but not from[i] wine;
stagger around,[j] but not from strong drink.
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep—
he has closed your eyes, you prophets,
he has covered your heads, you seers!”
11 “And this entire vision has become for you like the words of a sealed book. When people give it to someone who can read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers,[k] ‘I cannot, because it is sealed.’ 12 Or when they give the book[l] to someone who cannot read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he answers,[m] ‘I don’t know how to read.’”
A Rebuke of Hypocritical Worship
13 Then the Lord said:
“Because these people draw near with their mouths
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me,
worship of me[n] has become
merely like[o] rules taught by human beings.
14 Therefore, watch out!
“As for me,[p] I will once again
do amazing things with this people,
wonder upon wonder.
The wisdom of their wise men will perish,
and the insights[q] of their discerning men will stay hidden.”
A Rebuke to the Deceptive
15 “How terrible it will be for you who go to great depths
to hide your plans from the Lord,
you whose deeds have been[r] done[s] in the dark,
and who say, ‘Who can see us?
Who has recognized[t] us?’
16 He has turned the tables on you[u]—
as if the potter were thought to be like heat.[v]
Can what is made say of the one who made it,
‘He did not make me?’
Or can what is formed say of the ones[w] who formed it,
‘He has no skill?’
17 “In a very little while,
will not Lebanon be turned into a garden of fruit,[x]
and the garden of fruit[y] seem like a forest?
18 On that day the deaf will hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind will see.
19 The humble will again experience joy in the Lord,
and the poorest people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will vanish,
and mockers will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down—
21 those who make a person appear to be the offender in a lawsuit,
who set a trap for someone
who is making his defense in court,[z]
and push aside the innocent
with specious arguments.
22 “Therefore, this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
‘No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
no longer will his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees in his midst his children,
the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Moreover, those who go astray in spirit will gain[aa] understanding,
and those who complain will accept instruction.’”
Foolish Trust in Egypt
30 “Oh, you stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out plans—
but they are not mine,
and who make alliances—
but not by my Spirit,
piling sin upon sin.
2 They set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking my advice;
taking refuge in Pharaoh’s protection,
and seeking shelter in Egypt’s shadow.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,
and sheltering in Egypt’s shadow your longing.[ab]
4 And it will turn out that[ac] his officials are at Zoan,
and his envoys will reach Hanes.
5 There is only loathsome destruction[ad]
through a people that cannot benefit them,
who bring neither help nor profit,
but only shame and disgrace.”
The Animals of the Negev
6 An oracle about the animals of the Negev:[ae]
“Through a land of trouble, dryness,[af] and distress,
of lionesses and roaring lions,
where there is no water,[ag]
a land of vipers and darting snakes,
he carries[ah] their riches on donkeys’ backs,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot benefit them,
7 to Egypt, which gives help that is worthless and useless.
Therefore I call her,
‘Rahab,[ai] who just sits still.’”
The Illusions of False Prophecy
8 “Go now, and write it down[aj] on a tablet in their presence,
inscribing it in a book,
so that for times to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
children unwilling to hear
the Lord’s instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
‘Don’t see visions,’
and to the prophets,
‘Don’t give us visions of what is right!
Instead, tell us welcome things, prophesy illusions,
11 get out of the way,
turn aside from the path,
and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.”[ak]
Rejecting God’s Message
12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you reject this message,
and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it,[al]
and since you rely on it,
13 therefore, for you this sin will become
like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse,
bulging out,
and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant.
14 Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken,
shattered so ruthlessly[am]
that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found
for taking fire from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
“In repentance and rest you will be saved;
in staying calm and trusting will be your strength.
But you refused.
16 Instead, you said,
‘No! We’ll escape on horses!’
Therefore, you’ll flee away.
And you said,
‘We’ll ride off on swift steeds!’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift.
17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one;
and run away, pursued by[ap] five,
until you are left
like a flagpole on a mountaintop,[aq]
like a banner on a hill.”
Restoration is Promised to Israel
18 “Nevertheless, the Lord will wait
so he can be gracious to you;
and thus he will rise up to show you mercy.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
How blessed are all those who wait for him.”
19 Indeed, you people who live in Zion and in Jerusalem,[ar] you[as] will weep no more. How gracious the Lord[at] will be to you at the sound of your cry! As soon as he hears it, he will answer you. 20 And although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water[au] of affliction, your teachers won’t hide themselves[av] anymore, but your own eyes will see your teachers. 21 And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your carved idols that are overlaid with silver and your images plated with gold. You’ll throw them away like disgusting objects[aw] and say to them, “Away with you!”
23 He will also provide rain for your seed that you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the ground will be[ax] rich and abundant. At that time,[ay] your cattle will graze in broad meadows, 24 and oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned[az] fodder that workers will winnow with shovels and forks. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks and canals[ba] running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the sun’s light will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days,[bb] when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
and it rises right up to the neck,
to shake[bc] the nations in the sieve of destruction,
and to place in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray.
29 You will have songs as on nights when people celebrate a holy festival,[bd] and gladness of heart, as when they set out with flutes to go to the Lord’s mountain, to the Rock of Israel.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
30 And the Lord will make heard—yes, he will make heard[be]—his majestic voice, and make his arm[bf] seen descending in raging anger and in a flame of consuming fire, with a cloudburst, thunderstorm and hailstones. 31 Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the Lord’s voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. 32 And every stroke of his punishing rod[bg] that the Lord brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her[bh] in battle with a brandished arm.
33 For the Fire Pit[bi] has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready.[bj] And[bk] its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the Lord will set it ablaze.
Only the Lord can Help
31 “How terrible it will be for those who go down to[bl] Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the chariot,
because there are so many,
and in charioteers,[bm]
because they are so strong—
but do not look to[bn] the Holy One of Israel
or seek the Lord!
2 Yet he is also wise and can bring disaster;
he does not take back his words,
but will rise up against the house of those who practice evil
and against anyone who assists people who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are men, not God,
and their horses are physical,[bo] not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
anyone who assists will stumble,
and the one who is helped will fall;
and they will all perish together.”
The Lord will Defend Jerusalem
4 For this is what the Lord told me:
“Just as a lion or a young lion growls over his objects of prey,[bp]—
even when a whole band of shepherds is called out against it,
it is not alarmed at their shouting
or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 Like birds hovering overhead,
so the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will protect Jerusalem;
he will shield and deliver it;
and[bq] he will pass over[br] and bring it to safety.[bs]
6 Turn back to him, yes to him whom[bt] your people[bu] have so greatly betrayed, you people of Israel. 7 For at that time,[bv] everyone will throw away their[bw] idols of silver and their[bx] idols of gold that your hands have sinfully made for yourselves.
8 “Then Assyria will fall by a sword
that is not from human beings only[by]—
a sword not wielded by mortal beings will devour them.
They will flee from the sword,
and their young men will be put to forced labor.
9 Their stronghold will vanish by reason of terror,
and their commanders will be filled with alarm
because of the battle standard,”
declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion
and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
The Government of Justice
32 “Look, a king will reign in righteousness,
and rulers will rule with justice.
2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
and a hiding place from[bz] storms,
like streams of water in the desert,
in[ca] the shadow of a great rock in an exhausted[cb] land.
3 Then the eyes of those who can see won’t turn away,
and the ears of those who can hear will listen.
4 The hearts of reckless people will understand sound judgment,
and the tongues of those who stammer will be ready to speak clearly.
5 People will no longer call a fool[cc] noble,
nor will a bad person be declared honorable.
6 For fools utter contempt,
and their minds plot[cd] wrong things:
practicing ungodliness,
spreading lies about the Lord,
leaving the pangs of hungry people unsatisfied,
and depriving thirsty people of drink.
7 Furthermore, the crimes of bad people are evil;
and[ce] they devise wicked schemes,
destroying the poor[cf] with lying words,
even when needy people plead[cg] a just cause.
8 But those who are decent plan noble things,
and by noble deeds they stand.”
A Rebuke for Complacent Women
9 “As for you ladies of leisure—
Get up and listen to my voice!
You daughters who feel so complacent—
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year,
you complacent women will shudder;
for the grape harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not[ch] come.
11 So tremble, you ladies of leisure!
Shudder, you daughters who feel so complacent!
Strip down and make yourselves naked down to the waist![ci]
Then wrap yourself in[cj] sackcloth and beat your breasts.[ck]
12 For people will be beating their breasts
in mourning[cl] over the pleasant fields,
over the fruitful vines,
13 and over the land of my people
overgrown with thorns and[cm] briers—
yes, over all the houses of merriment
and over this city of revelry.
14 “For the palace will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
the citadel and watchtower
will become barren wastes forever,
the delight of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for[cn] flocks,
15 until the Spirit from on high is poured upon us,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.”
Restoration of God’s Reign
16 “Then justice will live in the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.
17 The effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful dwellings,
in secure homes and in undisturbed resting places.
19 But it will hail when the forest comes down,
and the wood[co] will be leveled completely.
20 How happy you will be, sowing your seed beside every stream,
and[cp] letting your[cq] cattle and donkeys range freely!”
God’s Judgment
33 “How terrible it will be for you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed yourself!
And how terrible it will be for you, traitor,
one whom[cr] people have not betrayed!
When you have sunk so low in[cs] destroying others,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.”
A Prayer for Grace
2 “Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you;
and[ct] be our strength[cu] every morning,
our salvation in times of trouble.
3 At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee;
at your silence,[cv] the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder is gathered as when grasshoppers gather;
just like[cw] locusts pounce, people have pounced[cx] on it.
5 “The Lord is exalted, for he lives on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be a sure foundation for your times,
abundance and salvation,[cy] wisdom and knowledge —
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”
Israel’s Unenviable Plight
7 “Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted;
travelers have quit the road.
The enemy[cz] has broken treaties;
he despises their witnesses,[da]
and respects no one.
9 The land mourns and wastes away;
Lebanon feels ashamed and withers.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan[db] and Carmel shake off their leaves.”
God is Exalted
10 “Now I’ll rise up,” the Lord has said,[dc]
“now I’ll exalt myself;
now I’ll be lifted up.
11 You conceive dried grass, you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be burned as if to ashes;
like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze.
13 “Those who are far away have heard[dd] what I’ve done;
and those that are near have acknowledged[de] my power.
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”
15 The one who walks righteously and has spoken[df] sincere words,
who rejects gain from extortion
and waves his hand,
rejecting bribes,
who blocks his ears from hearing plots of murder
and shuts his eyes against seeing evil—
16 this is the one who will live on the heights;
his refuge will be a mountain fortress.
His food will be supplied,
and his water will be guaranteed.
17 “Your eyes will see the king in his elegance,
and will view a land that stretches afar.
18 Your mind will ponder at that time of terror:
‘Where is the king’s accountant?
Where is the one who weighed the revenue?
Where is the officer who supervises[dg] the towers?’
19 No longer will you[dh] see those arrogant people,
those people with their obscure speech you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a language you cannot understand.
20 “Look at Zion, city of our festivals![di]
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an undisturbed abode, an immovable tent;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor will any of its ropes be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
our source[dj] of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
where no stately ship can sail.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
and the Lord is our lawgiver;
and the Lord is our king,
and it is he who will save us.
23 “Your rigging hangs loose;
it cannot reliably[dk] hold the mast in its place,
and the sail cannot spread out.[dl]
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided —
even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 And no one living there will say, ‘I am ill.’
The people living there will have their sins forgiven.”
Judgment of the Nations
34 “Come near, you nations, to listen,
and pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes out of it.
2 For the Lord is angry against all the nations,
and furious against all their armies.
He has doomed them to destruction,
and[dm] given them up to be slaughtered.[dn]
3 Their slain[do] will be thrown out;
and as for their dead bodies—
their stench will ascend;
the[dp] mountains will be soaked with their blood.
4 The valleys will be split,
all the stars[dq] in the heavens will fall down,[dr]
and the skies will be rolled up like a scroll.
All their starry host will fade away
like leaves withering on a vine,
or fruit withering on a fig tree.
5 For my sword will be seen[ds] in the heavens.
Look! It descends in judgment on Edom,
on the people I have doomed to destruction.
6 The Lord has a sword bathed in blood;
it’s covered[dt] with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
and with fat from the kidneys of rams.”
Judgment on Bozrah and Edom
“For the Lord holds a sacrifice in Bozrah,
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will fall together with them—
young steers and mighty bulls.
Their land will be drenched[du] with blood,
and their soil will be swollen with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s[dv] streams will be turned into burning sulfur,
and its dust into sulfur;
its land will become pitch.
10 It will burn night and day,
and will never be extinguished.
Its smoke will rise from generation to generation,
and it will lie desolate forever and ever.
And no one will pass through it.[dw]
11 “But hawks and hedgehogs will possess it;
owls and ravens will nest in it.
God[dx] will stretch out over it a measuring line, and chaos,[dy]
and plumb lines of emptiness, and its nobles.[dz]
12 They will name it “No Kingdom There,”
and all its princes will come to nothing.
13 Thorns will grow over its palaces,
nettles and brambles its fortresses.
It will become a haunt for jackals,
a home for ostriches.
14 And desert creatures will meet with hyenas,
and goat-demons will call out to each other.
There also Liliths[ea] will settle,
and find for themselves[eb] a resting place.
15 Owls[ec] will nest there, lay eggs,
hatch them, and care for their young
under the shadow of their wings;[ed]
yes[ee] indeed, vultures will gather there,
each one with its mate.”
The Certainty of God’s Deliverance
16 “Study and read from the book of the Lord:
And not one[ef] will be missing,
each will not long for its mate.[eg]
For it is the mouth of the Lord that has issued the order,
and it is his Spirit that has gathered them.
17 It is he who has allotted their portions,[eh]
and his hand has divided it for them with a measuring line forever.[ei]
They will possess it forever;[ej]
from generation to generation they will live in it.”[ek]
The Future of Israel’s Land
35 “The desert and the dry land will rejoice;
the desert will celebrate and blossom. Like crocuses,
2 it will burst into bloom,
and rejoice with gladness and shouts of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.[el]
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
and support the stumbling knees.
4 Say to those with anxious hearts,
‘Be strong, do not be afraid!
Here is your God—
he will bring[em] vengeance,
he will bring[en] divine retribution,
and he will save you.’
5 “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unblocked;
6 then the lame will leap like deer,
and the tongues of speechless people will sing for joy.
Yes, waters will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will run[eo] through the desert;
7 the burning sands will become a pool,
and the thirsty ground fountains of water.
In the haunts of jackals there will be
a verdant resting place with[ep] reeds and rushes.”
God’s Holy Highway
8 “A highway will be there—yes, there—[eq]
and people will call it[er] ‘The Holy Way’.[es]
As for unclean people,
they will not journey on it,
but it will be for whomever[et] is traveling on that Way—
not even fools will get lost.
9 No lions will be there—
no—[eu] nor will any ferocious beasts get up on it,
and[ev] they will not be found there.
“But the redeemed will walk there,
10 and the Lord’s ransomed ones will return
and enter Zion with singing.
Everlasting joy will rest upon their heads,
gladness and joy will overtake them,[ew]
and sorrow and mourning will flee away.”
Sennacherib Attacks
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,[ex] King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander,[ey] along with a very[ez] large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the field commander stopped at the aqueduct at the Upper Pool on the road to Laundryman’s Field, 3 Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, went out to him.
4 The field commander told them:
“Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah,[fa] ‘This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this “guarantee” that makes you yourself[fb] rely on it?[fc] 5 Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand[fd] strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you’re rebelling against me? 6 Take note: you’re relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the palm of anyone who leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to everybody who depends on him!
7 But if you all[fe] say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, while he kept on telling Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship in front of this altar in[ff] Jerusalem’?[fg] 8 Come now, all of you,[fh] make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can furnish riders for them! 9 How, then, can you repulse even one officer from[fi] the least of my master’s officials, when you are depending for yourselves[fj] on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 One other thing: have I really marched against this country to destroy it apart from the Lord’s direction?[fk] The Lord himself ordered me, ‘March against this country to[fl] destroy it.’”[fm]
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to him,[fn] “Please speak with[fo] your servants—with us[fp]—in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew[fq] where the people sitting on[fr] the wall can hear.”
12 But the field commander asked, “Was it only to all of you and to your[fs] master that my master sent me to speak these things? Wasn’t it also to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
13 Then the[ft] commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew:[fu]
“Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king of Assyria[fv] says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you—for he cannot save you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord when he says, “The Lord will really deliver[fw] us!” and[fx] “This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—to[fy] a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’ 18 Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, “The Lord will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever delivered[fz] his country from the[ga] king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me?[gb] 20 Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered[gc] their land from me?[gd] How then can the Lord deliver[ge] Jerusalem from me?’”[gf]
21 But the people remained silent and didn’t respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, approached Hezekiah with their clothes torn,[gg] and let him know what the field commander had said.
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
37 As soon as Hezekiah the king[gh] heard this, he tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s Temple. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, all wearing sackcloth, to Amoz’s son, the prophet Isaiah. 3 “Here is what Hezekiah says,” they told him. “This day is a day of trouble, rebuke, and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no energy to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”[gi] 5 That’s why King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah.
Isaiah Responds to Hezekiah
6 “Here is what to tell your master,” Isaiah told them. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t be afraid of the words you’ve heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have insulted me. 7 Watch this! I’m going to place an attitude[gj] within him,[gk] so that when he hears a certain report, he’ll return to his own country. Then I’ll have him cut down by the sword in his own land.”[gl]
Sennacherib Retreats
8 So the field commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, since he had heard that the king of Assyria[gm] had left Lachish. 9 Now King Sennacherib[gn] had received this report concerning King Tirhakah of Cush: “He has marched out to fight against you.”
When he heard it, he returned and[go] sent messengers to Hezekiah: 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God on whom you depend deceive you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all countries, dooming them to destruction. So do you think you will be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my ancestors save them—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Tel-assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephar-vaim, or of Hena, or of Ivvah, or of Samaria?’”[gp]
Hezekiah Prays
14 Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers, and read them.[gq] Then he[gr] went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread the letters[gs] in front of the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:
16 “O Lord of the Heavenly Armies, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. 17 Extend your ear, Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, Lord, and look! Listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. 18 It is true, Lord, that Assyrian kings have devastated all these countries,[gt] 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire—but they are not gods, but rather the products[gu] of human hands, mere wood and stone. So the Assyrians[gv] destroyed them. 20 So now, Lord our God, save us from his oppressive[gw] hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”[gx]
God’s Answer
21 Then Amoz’s son Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, to whom you prayed[gy] concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 22 This is the message that the Lord has spoken in opposition to him:
“‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises and mocks you;
the Daughter of Jerusalem—
she tosses her head behind you as you flee.
23 Whom have you insulted and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your messengers[gz] you have insulted the Lord,
and you have said,
“With my many chariots
I have climbed the heights of mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its pines;
I reached its remotest heights,
the most verdant of its forests.
25 I myself dug wells[ha]
and drank foreign[hb] waters;
with the soles of my feet
I dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
26 “‘Didn’t you hear
how in the distant past I decided to do it,
how[hc] I planned from days of old?
Now I’ve made it happen—
that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps.[hd]
27 Their inhabitants are devoid of power,
and are terrified and put to shame.
They’ve become like plants in the field,
like[he] green shoots,
like grass on rooftops,
scorched by the east wind.[hf]
28 “‘I know when you rise up
and[hg] when you sit down,
your comings and goings—
and how you’ve become enraged at me.
29 Your insolence[hh] has reached my ears,
so I’ll put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,[hi]
and I’ll make you turn back on the road
by which you came.
30 “And this will be your sign, Hezekiah:[hj] Eat this year what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 Then the ones belonging to the house of Judah who have escaped will gather,[hk] and those who are found[hl] will take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For a remnant will come out of Zion,[hm] and a band of survivors from Jerusalem.[hn] The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
33 “Therefore this what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He won’t enter this city, build up a siege ramp against it, shoot an arrow here, or threaten it with a shield.[ho] 34 By the same way that he came, he will return; he won’t enter this city,’ declares the Lord, 35 ‘because I will defend this city and deliver[hp] it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David!’”
Sennacherib is Defeated
36 After this, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When Hezekiah’s army[hq] awakened in the morning—there were all the dead bodies!
37 King Sennacherib broke camp, retreated, returned home to Nineveh, and remained there. 38 Later, while he was worshiping in[hr] the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with swords and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then Sennacherib’s[hs] son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
38 During that time,[ht] Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. Then Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet came to him and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your house in order, because you are going to die. You won’t recover.’”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3 “Please, Lord,” he said, “Remember how I have walked before you faithfully and with a true heart, and I have done what pleases you.”[hu] And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then this message[hv] from the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has to say: “I’ve heard your prayer and[hw] I’ve seen your tears; so I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I’ll save you and this city from the[hx] king of Assyria, and I’ll defend this city, for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.[hy] 7 This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will carry out this thing he has promised: 8 Watch! I will make the shadow on the steps of the upper[hz] dial of Ahaz that marks the sun go ten steps backwards.”’”
Then the sunlight turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had gone down.
Hezekiah’s Prayer
9 A composition by King Hezekiah of Judah, following his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “Must I leave in the prime of my life?
Must I be consigned to the control[ia] of Sheol?[ib]
Bitter are[ic] my years!”
11 I said, “I won’t see the Lord[id] in the land of the living;
and[ie] I’ll no longer observe human beings
among the denizens of the grave.[if]
12 My house has been plucked up and vanishes[ig] from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver, I’ve taken account of[ih] my life,
and he cuts me off from the loom—
day and night you make an end of me.
13 I’ve been swept bare[ii] until morning;
just like a lion, he breaks all my bones—
day and night you make an end of me.
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes look weakly upward.
O Lord,[ij] I am oppressed, so[ik] stand up for me!
15 What can I say, so I tell myself,[il]
since he has done this to me?[im]
I will walk slowly all my years
because of my soul’s anguish.
16 “My Lord is against them, yet they live,
and among all of them who live is his spirit.[in]
Now you have restored me to health,
so let me live!
17 Yes, it was for my own good
that I suffered extreme anguish.[io]
But in love you have held back[ip] my life
from the Pit[iq] in which it has been confined;[ir]
you have tossed all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol[is] cannot thank you,
death cannot[it] sing your praise;
and[iu] those who go down to the Pit[iv] cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living—yes the living—they thank you,
just as I am doing today;
fathers will tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,[iw]
and we will play my music on strings
all the days of our lives
in the Lord’s Temple.[ix]
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them prepare[iy] a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.”
22 Hezekiah also had asked, “What will be the sign for me to go up to the Lord’s Temple?”[iz]
The Visit by Merodach-baladan
39 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, when[ja] he heard he had been sick and had survived.[jb] 2 Hezekiah was delighted with them, and showed them everything in[jc] his treasure-houses[jd]—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oils, his entire armory, and everything found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom[je] that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah Rebukes Hezekiah
3 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say? And from where did they come to you?”
Hezekiah replied, “From a distant land—they came to me from Babylon.”
4 “What did they see in your palace?” he asked.
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah replied. “There is nothing in my treasuries that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Listen to this message[jf] from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies: 6 ‘The days are surely coming when everything in your palace and all that your ancestors have stored up to this day will be carried off[jg] to Babylon. They will come in, and[jh] nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Then some of your own sons, who will come from your loins,[ji] whom you will father, will be taken away to become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
8 “The message from the Lord that you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, since he was thinking, “…at least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
God Comforts His People
40 “Comfort! Yes, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her heavy service has been completed,
that her penalty has been paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”
3 A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;
and[jj] in the desert a straight highway for our God.’
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be lowered;
the rough ground will become level,
and the mountain ridges made a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all humanity will see it at once;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Endures Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
So I[jk] asked, “What am I to cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,
and all its loyalty[jl] is like the flowers of the field.
7 Grass withers and flowers fade away
when the Lord’s breath blows on them;
surely the people are like grass.[jm]
8 Grass withers and flowers fade away,
when the Lord’s breath blows on them,
but the word of[jn] our God will stand forever.”
Here is Your God
9 “Climb up a high mountain,
you messenger of good news to Zion!
Lift up your voice with strength,
you messenger to Jerusalem!
Lift it up!
Don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
10 Look! The Lord God comes with strength,
and his arm[jo] rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his payment accompanies him.
11 Like a shepherd, he tends his flock.
He gathers the lambs in his arms,
carries them close to his heart,
and gently leads the mother sheep.”
Who is Like the Lord?
12 “Who has measured the waters of the sea[jp]
in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens
by the width of his hand?[jq]
Who has enclosed the dust of the earth
in a measuring bowl,
or weighed the mountains
in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has fathomed the Spirit of the Lord,
or as his counselor has taught him?[jr]
14 With whom did he consult
to enlighten and instruct him on the path of justice?
Or who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of wisdom?
15 “Look! The nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and are reckoned as dust on the scales.
Look! He even lifts up the islands like powder!
16 Lebanon would not provide enough fuel,
nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.[js]
17 All the nations are as nothing before him—
they are reckoned by him as[jt] nothing and chaos.
18 “To whom, then, will you compare me,[ju] the One who is[jv] God?
Or to what image will you liken me?[jw]
19 To an idol? A craftsman makes[jx] the image,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts silver chains.
20 To the impoverished person?
He prepares[jy] an offering—[jz]
wood that won’t rot—
Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman[ka]
and[kb] seeks[kc] to erect an idol that won’t topple?”
The Majesty of the Lord
21 “You know, don’t you?
You have heard, haven’t you?
Hasn’t it been told you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the[kd] earth?
22 He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in,
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes void the rulers of the earth.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner have[ke] their stems taken root in the earth,
than[kf] he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest sweeps them away like stubble.
25 “To[kg] whom, then, will you compare me,
and to whom should I be equal?”
asks the Holy One.
26 “Lift your eyes up to heaven and see
who created all these—
the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number,
calling them all by name—
because of his great might
and his[kh] powerful strength[ki]—
and[kj] not one is missing.”
The Lord Watches Israel
27 “Jacob, why do you say—
and Israel, why do you complain—
‘My predicament is hidden from the Lord,
and my cause is ignored by my God.’?
28 Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary;
and[kk] his understanding cannot be fathomed.
29 He’s the[kl] one who gives might to the faint,
renewing strength for the powerless.
30 Even boys grow tired and weary,
and young men collapse and fall,
31 but those who keep waiting for the Lord will renew their strength.
Then[km] they’ll soar on wings like eagles;
they’ll run and not grow weary;
they’ll walk and not grow tired.”
The Lord Comes as Judge
41 “Be silent before me, you coastlands,
and let the people renew their strength!
Let them come forward,
then let them speak together—
let’s draw near for a ruling.
2 Who has aroused victory from the east,
and[kn] has summoned it to his service,
and[ko] has handed over nations to him?
Who brings down kings,
and[kp] turns them into dust with his sword,
into windblown stubble with his bow?
3 And[kq] who pursues them
and[kr] moves on unscathed
by a path that his feet don’t know?[ks]
4 Who has performed and carried this out,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—the first
and will be with the last
—I am the One!”
Idolaters Encourage Each Other
5 “The coastlands have looked and are afraid;
the ends of the earth have drawn near together[kt]
and come forward.
6 Each helps his neighbor,
saying[ku] to each other, ‘Be strong!’
7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and the hammersmith[kv] encourages the one who strikes the anvil.
He says[kw] about the welding, ‘It’s good!’
and he reinforces it with nails so that it won’t topple.”
The Lord Encourages Israel
8 “But as for you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I’ve chosen,
the offspring of my friend Abraham—
9 you whom I encouraged from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
and told you, ‘You’re my servant,
I’ve chosen you
and haven’t cast you aside.’
10 Don’t be afraid,
because I’m with you;
don’t be anxious,
because I am your God.
I keep on strengthening you;
I’m truly helping you.
I’m surely upholding you
with my victorious right hand.”
The Coming Defeat of God’s Enemies
11 “Look! All who are enraged at you
will be put to shame and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will all die.[kx]
12 Those who quarrel with you[ky]
will be as nothing;
those who fight you
like nothing at all!”
A Call to Courage
13 “For I am the Lord your God,
who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I’ll help you.
14 Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob,
and[kz] you insects of Israel!
I myself will help you,’[la] declares the Lord,
your[lb] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
A Promise of Victory
15 “See, I’m making you[lc] into
a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge.
You’ll thresh and crush the mountains,
and make the hills like chaff.
16 You’ll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up,
and a tempest will blow them away.
Then you’ll rejoice in the Lord,
and[ld] you’ll make your boast in the Holy One of Israel.”
17 “As for the poor, the needy, those seeking[le] water—
when there is none
and their tongues are parched from thirst—
I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I’ll turn the[lf] desert into a pool of water,
and the parched land into springs of water.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.