Isaiah

Isaiah 1
Rebellion Of God’s People
1The vision of [the prophet] Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning [the kingdom of] Judah and [its capital] Jerusalem, which he saw [as revealed by God] during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;
For the LORD has spoken:
“I have reared and brought up sons,
But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away. 3“The ox [instinctively] knows its owner,
And the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
But Israel does not know [Me as LORD],
My people do not understand.” 4Ah, sinful nation,
A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing],
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who behave corruptly!
They have abandoned (rejected) the LORD,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger],
They have turned away from Him. 5Why should you be stricken and punished again [since no change results from it]?
You [only] continue to rebel.
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint and sick. 6From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing healthy in the nation’s body,
Only bruises, welts, and raw wounds,
Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil [as a remedy]. 7Your land lies desolate [because of your disobedience],
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your very presence;
It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is left like a [deserted] shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city [isolated, surrounded by devastation]. 9If the LORD of hosts
Had not left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah. God Has Had Enough 10Hear the word of the LORD [rulers of Jerusalem],
You rulers of [another] Sodom,
Listen to the law and instruction of our God,
You people of [another] Gomorrah. 11“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?”
Says the LORD.
“I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience];
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance]. 12“When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires this of you, this trampling of My [temple] courts [by your sinful feet]? 13“Do not bring worthless offerings again,
[Your] incense is repulsive to Me;
[Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly. 14“I hate [the hypocrisy of] your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them. 15“So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help],
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
Your hands are full of blood! 16“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
Stop doing evil, 17Learn to do good.
Seek justice,
Rebuke the ruthless,
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court]. “Let Us Reason” 18“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool. 19“If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the best of the land; 20But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed 21How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],
She who was full of justice!
Right standing with God once lodged in her,
But now murderers. 22Your silver has turned to lead,
Your wine is diluted with water. 23Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear]. 24Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will be freed of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My enemies. 25“And I will turn My hand against you,
And will [thoroughly] purge away your dross as with lye
And remove all your tin (impurity). 26“Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness,
The faithful city.” 27Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness. 28But rebels and sinners will be crushed and destroyed together,
And those who abandon (turn away from) the LORD will be consumed (perish). 29For you will be ashamed [of the degradation] of the oaks in which you took [idolatrous] pleasure,
And you will be ashamed of the gardens [of passion] which you have chosen [for pagan worship]. 30For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers and dies
And like a garden that has no water. 31The strong man will become tinder,
And his work a spark.
So both will burn together
And there will be none to quench them.

Isaiah 2
God’s Universal Reign
1The word [from God] which Isaiah son of Amoz saw [in a vision] concerning [the nation of] Judah and [its capital city] Jerusalem. 2Now it will come to pass that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be [firmly] established as the highest of the mountains,
And will be exalted above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples;
And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up the sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war. 5O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD. 6Most certainly [LORD] You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers [who foretell] like the Philistines;
Also they strike bargains with the children of foreigners (pagans). 7Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses
And there is no end to their chariots. 8Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their own fingers have made. 9So the common man has been humbled [before idols]
And the man of importance has been degraded,
Therefore do not forgive them [O LORD]. 10Go among the rocks and hide in the dust
From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty. 11The proud look of man will be degraded
And the arrogance of men will be humbled,
And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. A Day of Reckoning Coming 12For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against all who are proud and arrogant
And against all who are lifted up,
That they may be degraded. 13And the wrath of God will be against all the cedars of Lebanon [west of the Jordan] that are high and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan [east of the Jordan], 14Against all the high mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up, 15Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall, 16Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the beautiful craft. 17Then the pride of man will be humbled
And the arrogance of men will be degraded;
The LORD alone shall be exalted in that day, 18And the idols will completely vanish (be abolished). 19They [the stricken, deprived of all in which they had trusted] will go into the caves of the rocks
And into the holes of the ground [fleeing]
From the terror and dread of the LORD
And from the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth. 20In that day men will throw away to the moles and to the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves [as objects] to worship, 21To go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the [ragged] cliffs [as they flee]
From the terror and dread of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth. 22Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time];
For why should he be esteemed?

Isaiah 3
God Will Remove The Leaders
1Listen carefully, the Lord GOD of hosts is removing from Jerusalem and from Judah
Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread
And the whole supply of water; 2The brave man and the warrior [He is also removing],
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder, 3The captain of fifty and the man of honor,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter. 4And I will make mere boys their princes,
And capricious (impulsive, unpredictable) children will rule over them. 5And the people will be oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;
The boy will be arrogant and insolent toward the elder
And the vulgar (common) toward the honorable [person of rank]. 6When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying,
“You have a robe, you shall be our judge and ruler,
And this pile of ruins will be under your control,” 7He will protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be a governor;
For in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;
You should not make me a judge and ruler of the people.” 8For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
Because their words and their actions are against the LORD,
To rebel against His glorious presence and defiantly provoke Him. 9Their partiality testifies against them,
They display their sin like Sodom;
They do not even hide it.
Woe (judgment is coming) to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves [as a reward]. 10Say to the righteous that it will go well with them,
For they will eat the fruit of their [righteous] actions. 11Woe (judgment is coming) to the wicked! It shall go badly with him,
For what his hand has done shall be done to him. 12O My people! Children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! Your leaders lead you astray
And confuse (destroy, swallow up) the direction of your paths. God Will Judge 13The LORD rises to contend,
And stands to judge the people. 14The LORD enters into judgment with the elders of His people and their princes,
“For it is you who have devoured the vineyard [with your oppression, you have robbed the people and ruined the country];
The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15“What do you mean by crushing My people
And grinding the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord GOD of hosts. Judah’s Women Denounced 16Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with outstretched necks and seductive (flirtatious, alluring) eyes,
And trip along with mincing steps and an affected gait
And walk with jingling anklets on their feet, 17Therefore the Lord will afflict the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs [making them bald],
And the LORD will expose their foreheads (send them into captivity).”
18In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, [braided] caps, crescent [head] ornaments, 19dangling earrings, bracelets, and the hanging veils and scarves, 20head wraps (turbans), [short, jingling] ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets (charms), 21signet [finger] rings, nose rings, 22festival robes, outer tunics, shawls, handbags, 23hand mirrors, [fine linen] undergarments, headbands, and veils [covering the entire body]. 24Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;
And branding [of captives by the scorching heat] instead of beauty. 25Your men will fall by the sword
And your mighty men in battle. 26And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];
And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.

Isaiah 4
A Remnant Prepared
1And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear [and provide] our own clothes; only let us be called by your name; take away our shame [of being unmarried].”
2In that day the Branch of the LORD will be splendid and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have survived. 3It will come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy (set apart for God)—everyone who is recorded for [eternal] life in Jerusalem. 4When the Lord has washed away the [moral] filth of the daughters of Zion and has cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5then the LORD will create over the entire site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory and brilliance will be a canopy [a defense, a covering of His divine love and protection]. 6And there will be a pavilion for shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and the rain.

Isaiah 5
Parable Of The Vineyard
1Now let me sing for my greatly Beloved [LORD]
A song of my Beloved about His vineyard (His chosen people).
My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile slope (the promised land, Canaan). 2He dug it all around and cleared away its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine (the people of Judah).
And He built a tower in the center of it;
And also hewed out a wine vat in it.
Then He expected it to produce [the choicest] grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones. 3“And now, says the LORD, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard (My people). 4“What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield worthless ones? 5“So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up;
I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies]. 6“I will turn it into a wasteland;
It will not be pruned or cultivated,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house (nation) of Israel
And the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].
So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;
[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression. Woes for the Wicked 8Woe (judgment is coming) to those who join house to house and join field to field [to increase their holdings by depriving others],
Until there is no more room [for others],
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land! 9In my ears the LORD of hosts said, “Be assured that many houses will become desolate,
Even great and beautiful ones will be unoccupied. 10“For ten acres of vineyard will yield [only] one bath of wine,
And a homer (six bushels) of seed will produce [only] one ephah of grain.” 11Woe (judgment is coming) to those who rise early in the morning to pursue intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the night till wine inflames them! 12They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts;
But they do not regard nor even pay attention to the deeds of the LORD,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands. 13Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];
And their honorable men are famished,
And their common people are parched with thirst. 14Therefore Sheol (the realm of the dead) has increased its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her [boisterous] uproar and her [drunken] revelers descend into it. 15So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance degraded,
And the eyes of the proud (arrogant) will be degraded. 16But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in justice,
And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments]. 17Then the lambs will graze [among the ruins] as in their own pasture,
And strangers will eat in the desolate places of the [exiled] wealthy. 18Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment]; 19Who say, “Let Him move speedily, let Him expedite His work [His promised vengeance], so that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so that we may know it!” 20Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever and shrewd in their own sight! 22Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are heroes at drinking wine
And men of strength in mixing intoxicating drinks, 23Who justify the wicked and acquit the guilty for a bribe,
And take away the rights of those who are in the right! 24Therefore, as the tongue of fire consumes the stubble [from straw]
And the dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away like fine dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts
And despised and discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the anger of the LORD has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and has struck them down.
And the mountains trembled, and their dead bodies lay like rubbish in the middle of the streets.
In spite of all this God’s anger is not turned away,
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. 26He will lift up a flag to [call] the distant nations [to bring His judgment on Judah],
And will whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
And indeed, they will come with great speed swiftly. 27No one among them is weary or stumbles,
No one slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the belt at their waist undone [as if unprepared for action],
Nor is the strap of their sandal broken. 28Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are strung and bent;
Their horses’ hoofs seem like flint and their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. 29Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar like young lions;
They growl and seize their prey
And carry it off and there is no one to save it. 30And in that day they will roar against them (Judah) like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks to the land, in fact, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light will be darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah 6
Isaiah’s Vision
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw [in a vision] the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, with the train of His royal robe filling the [most holy part of the] temple. 2Above Him seraphim (heavenly beings) stood; each one had six wings: with two wings he covered his face, with two wings he covered his feet, and with two wings he flew. 3And one called out to another, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is filled with His glory.”
4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, and the temple was filling with smoke. 5Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am ruined,
Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, “Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned for and forgiven.” Isaiah’s Commission 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand;
Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’ 10“Make the heart of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
11Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
And houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate, 12The LORD has removed [His] people far away,
And there are many deserted places in the midst of the land. 13“And though a tenth [of the people] remain in the land,
It will again be subject to destruction [consumed and burned],
Like a massive terebinth tree or like an oak
Whose stump remains when it is chopped down.
The holy seed [the elect remnant] is its stump [the substance of Israel].”

Isaiah 7
War Against Jerusalem
1Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. 2When the house of David (Judah) was told, “Aram is allied with Ephraim (Israel),” the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz [king of Judah], you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field; 4and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, do not fear and be weak-hearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of [King] Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah (Pekah, usurper of the throne of Israel). 5‘Because Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it; and let us breach its wall and tear it apart [each of us taking a portion] and set up the son of Tabeel over it as its [puppet] king,” 7for this is what the Lord GOD says, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen. 8For the head (capital) of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is [King] Rezin (now within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces and will no longer be a people). 9“And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [King Pekah]. If you will not believe [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.”’”
The Child Immanuel 10Then the LORD spoke again to [King] Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” 13Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us). 15He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16For before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram]. Trials to Come for Judah 17“The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) separated from Judah—[He will call for] the king of Assyria.”
18In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the mouth of the rivers and canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.
20In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned].
21Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep; 22and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey.
23And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briars and thorns. 24People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pick and the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place where oxen are pastured and where sheep tread.

Isaiah 8
Damascus And Samaria Fall
1Then the LORD said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2“And I will get faithful witnesses to attest [to this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3So I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz [to remind the people of the prophecy]; 4for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5Again the LORD spoke to me, saying, 6“Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel], 7Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise over all its channels and canals and go far beyond its banks. 8“Then it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],
Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],
And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel. A Believing Remnant 9“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!
Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered. 10“Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us (Immanuel).”
11For in this way the LORD spoke to me with His strong hand [upon me] and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people [behaving as they do], saying, 12“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear nor be in dread of it. 13“It is the LORD of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.
He shall be your fear,
He shall be your dread [not man]. 14“Then He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him];
But to both the houses of Israel [both the northern and southern kingdoms—Israel and Judah, He will be] a stone on which to stumble and a rock on which to trip,
A trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15“Many [among them] will stumble over them;
Then they will fall and be broken,
They will even be snared and trapped.”
16Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples. 17And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him. 18Listen carefully, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20[Direct those people] to the law and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness and overwhelming night.

Isaiah 9
Birth And Reign Of The Prince Of Peace
1But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish [for with judgment comes the promise of salvation]. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make them honored [by the presence of the Messiah], by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 2The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness
Will see a great Light;
Those who live in the dark land,
The Light will shine on them. 3You [O God] will increase the nation,
You will multiply their joy;
They will rejoice before You
Like the joy and jubilation of the harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory]. 4For You will break the yoke of Israel’s burden and the staff (goad) on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. 5For every boot of the marching warrior in the battle tumult,
And [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will be used for burning, fuel for the fire. 6For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;
And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,
[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From that time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance 8The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim]. 9And all the people know it,
That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital],
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: 10“The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones);
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.” 11Therefore the LORD raises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram]
And spurs their enemies on, 12The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. 13Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them,
Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts [as their most essential need]. 14Therefore the LORD cuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel,
Both [the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day. 15The elderly and honorable man, he is the head;
And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16For those who lead this people are causing them to go astray;
And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up. 17Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows;
For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,
And every mouth is speaking foolishness.
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. 18For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns,
It even sets the forest thickets ablaze;
And it swirls upward in a column of smoke. 19By the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No man spares his brother. 20They slice off [in discord] what is on the right hand but are still hungry,
And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each eats the flesh of his own arm. 21[The tribe of] Manasseh devours [the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Isaiah 10
Assyria Is God’s Instrument
1Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes,
And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions, 2So as to deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of rightful claims,
So that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the fatherless. 3Now what will you do in the day of [God’s] punishment,
And in the storm of devastation which will come from far away?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth [for safekeeping]? 4Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives
Or fall [dead] among the slain [on the battlefield].
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away,
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. 5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel],
The staff in whose hand is My indignation and fury [against Israel’s disobedience]! 6I send Assyria against a godless nation
And commission it against the people of My wrath
To take the spoil and to seize the plunder,
And to trample them down like mud in the streets. 7Yet it is not Assyria’s intention [to do My will],
Nor does it plan so in its heart,
But instead it is its purpose to destroy
And to cut off many nations. 8For Assyria says, “Are not my princes all kings? 9“Is not Calno [conquered] like Carchemish [on the Euphrates]?
Is not Hamath [subdued] like Arpad [her neighbor]?
Is not Samaria [in Israel] like Damascus [in Aram]? 10“As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images were greater and more feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” [declares Assyria].
12So when the Lord has completed all His work [of judgment] on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit [the thoughts, the declarations, and the actions] of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the haughtiness of his pride.” 13For the Assyrian king has said, “I have done this by the power of my [own] hand and by my wisdom,
For I have understanding and skill.
I have removed the boundaries of the peoples
And have plundered their treasures;
Like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones. 14“My hand has found the wealth of the people like a nest,
And as one gathers eggs that are abandoned, so I have gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing, or that opened its beak and chirped.” 15Is the axe able to lift itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like a club moving those who lift it,
Or like a staff raising him who is not [made of] wood [like itself]! 16Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among the stout warriors of Assyria;
And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. 17And the Light of Israel will become a fire and His Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day. 18The Lord will consume the glory of Assyria’s forest and of its fruitful garden, both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19And the remaining trees of Assyria’s forest will be so few in number
That a child could write them down.
A Remnant Will Return 20Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 21A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22For though your people, O Israel, may be as the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
The destruction is determined [it is decided and destined for completion], overflowing with justice (righteous punishment).
23For the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will execute a complete destruction, one that is decreed, in the midst of all the land.
24Therefore, the Lord GOD of hosts says this, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian who strikes you with a rod and lifts up his staff against you, as [the king of] Egypt did. 25“For yet a very little while and My indignation [against you] will be fulfilled and My anger will be directed toward the destruction of the Assyrian.” 26The LORD of hosts will brandish a whip against them like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the [Red] Sea and He will lift it up the way He did in [the flight from] Egypt. 27So it will be in that day, that the burden of the Assyrian will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of the fat. 28The Assyrian has come against Aiath [in Judah],
He has passed through Migron [with his army];
At Michmash he stored his equipment. 29They have gone through the pass, saying,
“Geba will be our lodging place for the night.”
Ramah trembles, and Gibeah [the city] of Saul has fled. 30Cry aloud with your voice [in consternation], O Daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth! 31Madmenah has fled;
The inhabitants of Gebim have fled [with their belongings] to safety. 32Yet today the Assyrian will halt at Nob [the city of priests];
He shakes his fist at the mountain of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. 33Listen carefully, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop off the [beautiful] boughs with terrifying force;
The tall in stature will be cut down
And the lofty will be abased and humiliated. 34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And Lebanon (the Assyrian) will fall by the Mighty One.

Isaiah 11
Righteous Reign Of The Branch
1Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father],
And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and strength,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the [reverential and obedient] fear of the LORD— 3And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear; 4But with righteousness and justice He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth;
And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5And righteousness will be the belt around His loins,
And faithfulness the belt around His waist. 6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatted steer together;
And a little child will lead them. 7And the cow and the bear will graze [together],
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the nursing child will [safely] play over the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den [and not be hurt]. 9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea. 10Then in that day
The nations will make supplications to the Root of Jesse
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious. The Restored Remnant 11Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again acquire with His hand a second time
The remnant of His people, who will remain,
From Assyria, from [Lower] Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush (Ethiopia), from Elam [in Persia], from Shinar [Babylonia], from Hamath [in Aram],
And from the coastlands bordering the [Mediterranean] Sea. 12And He will lift up a signal for the nations
And assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth. 13Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim. 14Ephraim and Judah will [unite and] swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they will plunder the sons (Arabs) of the east.
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them. 15And the LORD will utterly destroy
The tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
And with His scorching wind
He will wave His hand over the River;
He will strike and divide it into seven channels
And make [it possible for] people [to] walk over in sandals. 16And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
In the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 12
Thanksgiving Expressed
1And on that day you will say,
“I will give thanks to You, O LORD;
For though You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
And You comfort me. 2“Behold, God, my salvation!
I will trust and not be afraid,
For the LORD GOD is my strength and song;
Yes, He has become my salvation.” 3Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the springs of salvation. 4And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name [in prayer].
Make His deeds known among the peoples [of the earth];
Proclaim [to them] that His name is exalted!” 5Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done excellent and glorious things;
Let this be known throughout the earth. 6Rejoice and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 13
Prophecies About Babylon
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw [in a prophetic vision]: 2Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,
Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,
Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles. 3I [the LORD] have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have even called My great warriors,
My proudly exulting ones [the Medes and the Persians who triumph for My honor]—
To execute My anger. 4A sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of the kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The LORD of hosts is mustering an army for battle. 5They are coming from a distant country,
From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—
The LORD and the weapons of His indignation—
To destroy the whole land. Judgment on the Day of the LORD 6Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)! 7Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s heart will melt. 8They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified,
Pains and anguish will grip them;
They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth.
They will stare aghast and horrified at one another,
Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare]. 9Listen carefully, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with wrath and raging anger,
To make the land a horror [of devastation];
And He shall exterminate its sinners from it. 10For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash with their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises,
And the moon will not shed its light. 11In this way I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud
And will abase the arrogance of the tyrant. 12I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold,
And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir. 13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
And the earth will be shaken from its place
At the wrath of the LORD of hosts
In the day of His burning anger. 14And like the hunted gazelle,
Or like sheep that no man gathers,
Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people,
And each one flee to his own land. 15Anyone who is found will be pierced through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 16Their children also will be smashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be looted
And their wives ravished. Babylon Will Fall to the Medes 17Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,
Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed]. 18Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon];
They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb,
Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children. 19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there. 21But desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of owls;
Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there. 22Hyenas will howl in their castles,
And jackals in their luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time has nearly come,
And her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 14
Israel’s Taunt
1For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob (the captives in Babylon) and will again choose Israel, and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners (Gentiles) will join them [as proselytes] and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob (Israel). 2The peoples will take them along and bring them to their own place (Judea), and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male and female servants; and they will take captive those whose captives they have been, and they will rule over their [former] oppressors.
3And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased [his insolence],
And how the fury has ceased! 5“The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the [tyrant] rulers 6Which used to strike the peoples in anger with incessant blows,
Which subdued and ruled the nations in wrath with unrelenting persecution. 7“The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;
They break into shouts of joy. 8“Even the cypress trees rejoice over you [kings of Babylon], even the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ 9“Sheol below is excited about you to meet you when you come [you tyrant of Babylon];
It stirs up the spirits of the dead [to greet you], all the leaders of the earth;
It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones [in astonishment at your fall]. 10“All of them will respond [tauntingly] and say to you,
‘You have become as weak as we are.
You have become like us. 11‘Your pomp and magnificence have been brought down to Sheol,
Along with the music of your harps;
The maggots [which prey on the dead] are spread out under you [as a bed]
And worms are your covering [Babylonian rulers].’ 12“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]! 13“But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the remote parts of the north. 14‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15“But [in fact] you will be brought down to Sheol,
To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead). 16“Those who see you will gaze at you,
They will consider you, saying,
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms, 17Who made the world like a wilderness
And overthrew its cities,
Who did not permit his prisoners to return home?’ 18“All the kings of the nations, all of them lie [dead] in glorious array,
Each one in his own sepulcher. 19“But you [king of Babylon] have been cast out of your tomb (denied burial)
Like a rejected branch,
Clothed with the slain who are pierced by the sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit [into which carcasses are thrown],
Like a dead body trampled [underfoot]. 20“You will not be united with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land,
You have slain your people.
May the descendants of evildoers never be named! 21“Prepare a slaughtering place for his sons
Because of the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of their fathers.
They must not rise and take possession of the earth,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
22“I will rise up against them,” says the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors, and son and grandson,” declares the LORD. 23“I will also make Babylon a possession of the hedgehog and of swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. Judgment on Assyria 24The LORD of hosts has sworn [an oath], saying, “Just as I have intended, so it has certainly happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand— 25to break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him underfoot. Then the Assyrian’s yoke will be removed from them (the people of Judah) and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26This is the plan [of God] decided for the whole earth [regarded as conquered and put under tribute by Assyria]; and this is the hand [of God] that is stretched out over all the nations. 27“For the LORD of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
Judgment on Philistia 28In the year that King Ahaz [of Judah] died this [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) came: 29“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you,
Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah],
And its offspring will be a flying serpent. 30“The firstborn of the helpless [of Judah] will feed [on My meadows],
And the needy will lie down in safety;
But I will kill your root with famine,
And your survivors will be put to death. 31“Howl, O gate; cry, O city!
Melt away, O Philistia, all of you;
For smoke comes out of the north,
And there is no straggler in his ranks and no one stands detached [in Hezekiah’s battalions]. 32“Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation?
That the LORD has founded Zion,
And the afflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”

Isaiah 15
Judgment On Moab
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Moab: Because in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined;
Because in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined. 2They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba;
Everyone’s head is shaved, and every beard is cut off [in mourning]. 3In their streets they have wrapped themselves with sackcloth;
On their [flat] housetops and in their open squares
Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears. 4Heshbon and Elealeh [cities claimed by Moab] cry out;
Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz.
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out;
Moab’s soul trembles within him. 5My heart cries out for Moab;
His fugitives are [fleeing] as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah.
For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping;
For on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their destruction. 6For the waters of Nimrim are desolate.
Indeed the grass is withered, the new growth dies;
There is no green thing. 7Therefore the abundance which they have acquired and stored away
They carry off over the Brook of the Willows. 8For the cry of distress has echoed around the territory of Moab;
The wailing goes as far as Eglaim and the mournful cry to Beer-elim. 9For the waters of Dimon are full of blood;
Yet I will bring even more woes on Dimon—
A lion upon those of Moab who escape and upon the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 16
Prophecy Of Moab’s Devastation
1Send lambs to the ruler of the land [you Moabites],
From Sela [that is, Petra in Edom] through the wilderness to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem). 2For like wandering birds or scattered nestlings,
The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the [river] Arnon. 3[Say to the ruler] “Give us advice, make a decision [for Moab, king of Judah];
Cast your shadow [over us] like night in the midst of noon;
Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive [to his pursuer]. 4“Let our outcasts of Moab live among you;
Be a [sheltered] hiding place to them from the destroyer.”
For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,
Oppressors [who trample men] have completely disappeared from the land, 5A throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David;
Judging and seeking justice
And being prompt to do righteousness. 6We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride—
Even of his arrogance, his conceit, his rage,
His untruthful boasting. 7Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; everyone will wail.
You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,
As those who are utterly stricken and discouraged. 8For the fields of Heshbon have languished and withered, and the vines of Sibmah as well;
The lords of the nations have trampled down [Moab’s] choice vine branches,
Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered into the wilderness;
Its tendrils stretched out, they passed over [the shores of] the [Dead] Sea. 9Therefore I (Isaiah) will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah.
I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For the war-cry [of the enemy] has fallen on your summer fruits and your harvest. 10Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing or joyful sound;
No treader treads out wine in the presses,
For I (God) put an end to the joyful shouting. 11Therefore my heart sounds like a harp [in mournful compassion] for Moab,
And my inner being mourns for Kir-hareseth. 12So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry]
And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray,
That he will not prevail.
13This is the word which the LORD spoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab’s pride and resistance to God were first known]. 14But now the LORD speaks, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all the great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account.”

Isaiah 17
Prophecy About Damascus
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel’s defense against Assyria]. “Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city
And will become a fallen ruin. 2“The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are deserted;
They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to make them afraid. 3“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram (Syria);
They will be like the [departed] glory of [her ally] the children of Israel,”
Declares the LORD of hosts. 4“Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel—his might, his population, his prosperity] will fade,
And the fatness of his flesh will become lean. 5“And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain,
As his arm harvests the ears of grain;
Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of grain
In the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim. 6“Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost branch,
Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree,”
Declares the LORD, the God of Israel. 7In that day man will have regard for his Maker,
And his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence]. 8And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous] altars, the work of his hands,
Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made,
Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense altars. 9In that day the strong cities of Aram and Israel will be like deserted places in the forest,
Or like branches which they abandoned before the children of Israel;
And the land will be a desolation. 10Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation
And have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—
Therefore you plant lovely plants
And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god, 11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,
And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom;
Yet [promising as it is] the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away]
In the day of sickness and incurable pain. 12Oh, the uproar of many peoples
Who roar like the roaring of the seas,
And the noise of nations
Who roar like the rumbling of mighty waters! 13The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters,
But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before the storm. 14At evening time, now look, sudden terror!
Before morning the Assyrians are no more.
This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who pillage us.

Isaiah 18
Message To Ethiopia
1Woe (judgment is coming) to the land of whirring wings
Which is beyond the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia), 2Which sends ambassadors by the sea,
Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven),
To a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide. 3All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth,
When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it!
When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!
4For this is what the LORD has said to me, “I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place,
Like shimmering heat above the sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” 5For before the harvest, when the blossom is over
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
He will cut off the sprigs [without buds] with pruning knives,
And [He will] remove and cut away the spreading branches. 6They (warriors) will be left together for the mountain birds of prey,
And for the beasts of the earth;
And the birds of prey will [spend the] summer feeding on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them. 7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts
From a people tall and smooth (clean shaven),
From a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place [of worship] of the name of the LORD of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

Isaiah 19
Message To Egypt
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2“So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3“Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
And mediums and soothsayers. 4“And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry. 6The canals will become foul-smelling,
The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up,
The reeds and the rushes will rot away. 7The meadows by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile,
And all the sown fields of the Nile
Will become dry, be blown away, and be no more. 8The fishermen will lament (cry out in grief),
And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish. 9Moreover, those who make linen from combed flax
And those who weave white cloth will be ashamed. 10[Those who are] the pillars and foundations of Egypt will be crushed;
And all those who work for wages will be grieved in soul. 11The princes of Zoan are complete fools;
The counsel of the Pharaoh’s wisest advisors has become stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?” 12Where then are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the LORD of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt [if they can]. 13The princes of Zoan have acted like fools,
The princes of Memphis are deluded [and entertain false hope];
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray. 14The LORD has mixed a spirit of distortion within her;
Her leaders have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 15There will be no work for Egypt
Which head or tail, [high] palm branch or [low] bulrush, may do.
16In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. 17The land of Judah [Assyria’s ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.
18In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of Destruction.
19In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the LORD near its border. 20It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them. 21And so the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the LORD and fulfill it. 22The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and heal them.
23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the LORD] with the Assyrians.
24In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage.”

Isaiah 20
Prophecy About Egypt And Cush (Ancient Ethiopia)
1In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot. 3And the LORD said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has walked stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia), 4in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the shame of Egypt. 5Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 6“So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’”

Isaiah 21
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon): As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,
So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land. 2A harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media!
All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the LORD] have brought to an end. 3Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;
I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see. 4My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been turned into fear and trembling for me. 5They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar’s court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!”
6This is what the Lord says to me, “Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees. 7“When he sees a chariot, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys and a train of camels,
Let him pay attention and listen closely, very closely.”
8And the lookout called like a lion, “O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower by day,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post. 9“Now look! Here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the carved images of her gods are shattered on the ground.” 10O my threshed people [Judah, who must be judged and trampled down by Babylon], my afflicted of the threshing floor.
What I have heard from the LORD of hosts,
The God of Israel, I have [joyfully] announced to you [that Babylon is to fall].
Oracles about Edom and Arabia 11The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Dumah (Edom): Someone keeps calling to me from Seir (Edom),
“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?
Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]” 12The watchman says,
“The morning comes [only briefly], but also [comes] the night [of Babylonian oppression].
If you would ask [of me then], ask [again, if Edom really wishes to know];
Come back again.”
13The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night,
Caravans of Dedanites. 14Bring water for the thirsty [Dedanites],
O inhabitants of the land of Tema [in Arabia];
Meet the fugitive with bread. 15For they have fled from the swords,
From the drawn sword, from the bent bow
And from the press of battle and grief of war.
16For the Lord has said this to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired man [who will work no longer than was agreed], all the splendor of [the tribe of] Kedar will end; 17and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Isaiah 22
The Valley Of Vision
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Valley of Vision: What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2You [Jerusalem] who were full of noise,
A tumultuous city, a joyous and exuberant city;
Your slain were not slain [in a glorious death] with the sword,
Nor did they die in battle. 3All your leaders have fled together [with your king],
And have been captured without the bow [which they had thrown away];
All of you who were found were taken captive together,
Though they had fled far away. 4Therefore I say, “Look away from me;
Let me weep bitterly.
Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of panic and of tumult, of trampling, of confusion
In the Valley of Vision,
A [day of] breaking down walls
And a crying [for help] to the mountain. 6Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, infantry and horsemen;
And Kir uncovered the shield. 7And it came to pass that your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took their fixed positions [in an offensive array] at the gate [of Jerusalem]. 8Then God removed the [protective] covering of Judah;
And in that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest (Solomon’s armory). 9You saw that the breaches
In the wall of the City of David [the citadel of Zion] were many;
You collected [within the city’s walls] the waters of the Lower Pool (Siloam). 10Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And you tore down the houses [to get materials] to fortify the city wall [by extending it]. 11You also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the waters of the Old Pool,
But you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you recognize Him who planned it long ago. 12Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to mourning,
To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth [in humiliation]. 13Instead, there is joy and jubilation,
Killing of oxen and slaughtering of sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine, saying,
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” 14But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself in my ears,
“This sin absolutely will not be forgiven you
Until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts. 15For the Lord GOD of hosts says this, “Go to this [contemptible] steward,
To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household [but is building himself a tomb worthy of a king, and say to him], 16‘What business do you have here?
And whom do you have here,
That you have hewn out a tomb here for yourself,
You who hew a sepulcher on the height,
You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock? 17‘Listen carefully, the LORD is about to hurl you away violently, O man;
And He is about to grasp you firmly 18And roll you up tightly like a ball
And toss you into a vast country;
There you will die
And there your splendid chariots will be,
You shame of your master’s house.’ 19“I will depose you from your office,
And you will be pulled down from your position [of importance]. 20“Then it will come to pass in that day
That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. 21“And I will clothe him with your tunic [of distinction]
And tie your sash securely around him.
I will entrust him with your authority;
He will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22“Then I will set on his shoulder the key of the house of David;
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will open. 23“I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,
And he will become a throne of honor and glory to his father’s house.
24“So they will hang on him all the honor and glory [the complete responsibility] of his father’s house, offspring and issue [of the family, high and low], all the least of the articles, from the bowls to all the jars. 25“In that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “the peg (Eliakim) that was driven into the firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the burden hanging on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 23
The Fall Of Tyre
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house, without harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus (Kittim). 2Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
Your messengers crossed the sea 3And they were on great waters.
The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre’s revenue;
And she was the market of nations. 4Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither labored nor given birth [to children];
I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.” 5When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in agony at the report about Tyre. 6Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles];
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre]. 7Is this your jubilant city,
Whose origin dates back to antiquity,
Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places? 8Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? 9The LORD of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,
To bring into contempt and humiliation all the honored of the earth. 10Overflow your land like [the overflow of] the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more restraint [on you to make you pay tribute to Tyre]. 11He has stretched out His hand over the sea,
He has shaken the kingdoms;
The LORD has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon]. 12He has said, “You shall never again exult [in triumph], O crushed Virgin Daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin. 14Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold [of Tyre] is destroyed.
15Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the prostitute’s song: 16Take a harp, walk around the city,
O forgotten prostitute;
Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17It will come to pass at the end of seventy years that the LORD will remember Tyre. Then she will return to her prostitute’s wages and will play the [role of a] prostitute [by trading] with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18But her commercial gain and her prostitute’s wages will be dedicated to the LORD; it will not be treasured or stored up, but her commercial gain will become sufficient food and stately clothing for those who dwell (minister) in the presence of the LORD.

Isaiah 24
Judgment On The Earth
1Behold, the LORD lays waste to the earth, devastates it, twists and distorts its face and scatters its inhabitants. 2And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor [as God’s impartial judgment of sin comes on all]. 3The earth will be completely laid waste and utterly pillaged, for the LORD has spoken this word. 4The earth dries up and crumbles away, the world dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5The earth also is polluted by its inhabitants, because they have transgressed laws, violated statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned [under the curse of God’s wrath], and few people are left. 7The new wine mourns,
The vine decays;
All the merry-hearted sigh and groan. 8The mirth of the timbrels (tambourines) ceases,
The noise of those who rejoice ends,
The joy of the harp ceases. 9They do not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10The city of chaos is broken down;
Every house is shut up so that no one may enter. 11There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
All jubilation is darkened,
The joy of the earth is banished. 12Horrible desolation is left in the city,
And the gate is battered into ruins. 13For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over [and only a little of the fruit remains]. 14They [who have escaped and remain] raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They rejoice from the [Mediterranean] Sea in the majesty of the LORD. 15Therefore honor and glorify the LORD in the east [in the region of light],
The name of the LORD, the God of Israel [honor His name],
In the coastlands and islands of the [Mediterranean] Sea. 16From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory and honor to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe to me!
The treacherous deal treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous deal very treacherously.” 17Terror and pit [of destruction] and snare
Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth. 18Then it will be that he who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19The earth is broken completely apart,
The earth is split apart,
The earth is shaken violently. 20The earth reels back and forth like a drunkard
And sways like a shack;
Its transgression lies heavily upon it,
And it will fall and not rise again. 21So it will happen in that day
That the LORD will visit and punish the host (fallen angels) of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on the earth. 22They will be gathered together
As prisoners [are gathered] in a dungeon;
They will be shut up in prison,
And after many days they will be visited and punished. 23Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed,
For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.

Isaiah 25
Song Of Praise For God’s Favor
1O LORD, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will praise and give thanks to Your name;
For You have done miraculous things,
Plans formed long, long ago, [fulfilled] with perfect faithfulness. 2For You have made a city into a heap [of trash],
A fortified city into a ruin;
A palace of foreigners is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt. 3Therefore a strong people will honor You;
Cities of terrible and violent nations will fear You. 4For You have been a stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of tyrants
Is like a rainstorm against a wall. 5Like heat in a dry land, You will subdue the noise of foreigners [rejoicing over their enemies];
Like heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the tyrants is silenced. 6On this mountain [Zion] the LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples [to welcome His reign on earth],
A banquet of aged wines—choice pieces [flavored] with marrow,
Of refined, aged wines. 7And on this mountain He will destroy the covering that is [cast] over all peoples,
And the veil [of death] that is woven and spread over all the nations. 8He will swallow up death [and abolish it] for all time.
And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
And He will take away the disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken. 9It will be said in that day,
“Indeed, this is our God for whom we have waited that He would save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
Let us shout for joy and rejoice in His salvation.” 10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain [Zion],
And Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled down in the [filthy] water of a manure pile. 11And Moab will spread out his hands in the middle of the filth
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But the Lord will humiliate his pride in spite of the [skillful] movements of his hands. 12The high fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

Isaiah 26
Song Of Trust In God’s Protection
1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city;
He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts. 2“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that remains faithful and trustworthy. 3“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character],
Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. 4“Trust [confidently] in the LORD forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],
For the LORD GOD is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages]. 5“For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust. 6“The foot will trample it,
Even the feet of the suffering, and the steps of the helpless.” 7The way of the righteous [those in right-standing with God—living in moral and spiritual integrity] is smooth and level;
O Upright One, make a level path for the just and righteous. 8Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O LORD,
We have waited expectantly for You;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls. 9In the night my soul longs for You [O LORD],
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth
Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 10Though the wicked is shown compassion and favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he deals unjustly,
And refuses to see the majesty of the LORD. 11Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O LORD, the wicked do not see it.
Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;
Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them. 12LORD, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all that we have done. 13O LORD our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;
But through You alone we confess Your name. 14The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them]. 15You have increased the nation, O LORD;
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land. 16O LORD, they sought You in distress;
They managed only a prayerful whisper
When Your discipline was upon them. 17As a woman with child approaches the time to give birth,
She is in pain and struggles and cries out in her labor,
So we were before You, O LORD. 18We have been with child, we have twisted and struggled in labor;
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world born. 19Your dead will live;
Their dead bodies will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy!
For your dew is a dew of [celestial] light [heavenly, supernatural],
And the earth will give birth to the spirits of the dead. 20Come, my people, enter your chambers
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until the [LORD’S] wrath is past. 21Listen carefully, the LORD is about to come out of His [heavenly] place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
The earth will reveal the [innocent] blood shed upon her
And will no longer cover her slain.

Isaiah 27
The Deliverance Of Israel
1In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent
With His fierce and great and mighty sword [rescuing Israel from her enemy],
Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea. 2In that day [it will be said of the redeemed nation of Israel],
“A vineyard of wine, sing in praise of it! 3“I, the LORD, am its Keeper;
I water it every moment.
So that no one will harm it,
I guard it night and day. 4“I have no wrath.
Should anyone give Me briars and thorns in battle,
I would step on them, I would set them all on fire. 5“Or let him (Israel) cling to My strength and rely on My protection [My stronghold],
Let him make peace with Me,
Let him make peace with Me.” 6In the generations to come Jacob will take root;
Israel will blossom and sprout,
And they will fill the surface of the world with fruit. 7Like the striking by Him who has struck them, has He struck them?
Or like the slaughter of His slain, have they been slain? 8You contended with them by exile, by driving them away [from Canaan];
He has expelled them with His fierce wind on the day of the east wind. 9Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven;
And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin:
When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones;
When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand. 10For the fortified city is isolated,
A settlement deserted and abandoned like the desert;
There the calf will graze,
And there it will lie down and feed on its branches. 11When its branches are dry, they are broken off;
The women come and make a fire with them.
For they are not a people of understanding,
Therefore He who made them will not have compassion on them,
And He who created them will not be gracious to them.
12In that day the LORD will thresh [out His grain] from the flowing stream of the River [Euphrates] to the Brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. 13It will come to pass in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost and perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Isaiah 28
Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted
1Woe (judgment is coming) to [Samaria] the splendid crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the rich valley
Of those who are overcome with wine! 2Listen carefully, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent [the Assyrian];
Like a tempest of hail, a disastrous storm,
Like a tempest of mighty overflowing waters,
He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. 3The splendid crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trampled by [the foreigners’] feet. 4And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the rich valley,
Will be like the early fig before the summer,
Which one sees,
And as soon as it is in his hand
He [greedily] swallows it [and so will the Assyrians rapidly devour Samaria, Israel’s capital]. 5In that day the LORD of hosts will become a magnificent crown
And a glorious diadem to the [converted] remnant of His people, 6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment [administering the law],
A strength to those who drive back the battle at the gate. 7But even these reel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink;
They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink;
They reel while seeing visions,
They stagger when pronouncing judgment. 8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, so that there is no place [that is clean.] 9They say “To whom would He teach knowledge?
And to whom would He explain the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast? 10“For He says,
‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Rule upon rule, rule upon rule,
Here a little, there a little.’” 11Indeed, the LORD will teach this people [in a more humiliating way]
By [men with] stammering lips and a foreign tongue, 12He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen. 13Therefore the word of the LORD to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]:
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Rule upon rule, rule upon rule,
Here a little, there a little.”
That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive. Judah Is Warned 14Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you arrogant men
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem! 15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement,
When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us,
For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”
16Therefore the Lord GOD says this, “Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone,
A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic]. 17“I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the mason’s level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies
And waters will flood over the secret [hiding] place. 18“Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol (the place of the dead) will not stand;
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
Then you will become its trampling ground. 19“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;
For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night,
And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.” 20For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate]. 21For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon,
To do His work, His unusual and incredible work,
And to accomplish His work, His extraordinary work. 22Now do not carry on as scoffers,
Or the bands which bind you will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts [a decree]
Of decisive destruction on all the earth. 23Listen and hear my voice;
Listen carefully and hear my words. 24Does the farmer plow all day to plant seed?
Does he continually dig furrows and harrow his ground [after it is prepared]? 25When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow [the seed of] dill and scatter cumin,
And plant wheat in rows,
And barley in its [intended] place and rye within its border? 26For his God instructs [him correctly] and teaches him properly. 27For dill is not threshed with a sharp threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod. 28Bread grain is crushed fine,
Indeed, the farmer does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,
He does not thresh it longer. 29This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

Isaiah 29
Jerusalem Is Warned
1Woe (judgment is coming) to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David [once] camped!
Add yet another year; let the feasts run their course [but only one year more]. 2Then I will harass Ariel,
And she will be a city of mourning and lamenting (crying out in grief)
Yet she will be like an Ariel [an altar hearth] to Me. 3I will camp against you and encircle you,
And I will hem you in with siege works,
And I will raise fortifications against you. 4Then you [Jerusalem] will be brought low,
You will speak from the earth,
And from the dust where you lie face down
Your muffled words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the earth [like one produced by a medium],
And your speech will whisper and squeak from the dust. 5But the multitude of your enemies [that assault you] will become like fine dust,
And the multitude of the tyrants like the chaff which blows away;
And it will happen in an instant, suddenly [that your enemy is destroyed]. 6You will be punished by the LORD of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. 7And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel (Jerusalem),
Even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8It will be as when a hungry man dreams
That he is eating,
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams
That he is drinking,
But when he awakens, in fact, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
So will the multitude of all the nations be
Who fight against Mount Zion. 9Stop and take some time and wonder [at this prophecy],
Blind yourselves and be blinded [at its fulfillment by your spiritual incompetence].
They are drunk, but not from wine;
They stagger, but not from strong drink. 10For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.
11The entire vision [of all these things] will be to you like the words of a scroll that is sealed, which they give to one who can read, saying, “Read this, please,” he shall say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12Then the book will be given to the one who cannot read, saying, “Read this, please.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”
13Then the Lord said, “Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words
And honors Me [only] with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning], 14Therefore, listen carefully, I will again do marvelous and amazing things with this people, wonderful and astonishing things;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the understanding of their discerning men will be hidden.” 15Woe (judgment is coming) to those who [try to] deeply hide their plans from the LORD,
Whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And who say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” 16You turn things upside down [with your perversity]!
Shall the potter be considered equal with the clay,
That the thing that is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or the thing that is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Blessing after Discipline 17Is it not yet a very little while
Until Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
And the fertile field regarded as a forest? 18On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see [the words of the book]. 19The afflicted also will increase their joy in the LORD,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice and celebrate in the Holy One of Israel. 20For the tyrant will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off— 21Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,
And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,
And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
22Therefore, the LORD, who redeemed Abraham [from paganism] says this, concerning the house of Jacob (Israel): “Jacob will not be ashamed, nor will his face turn pale [with disappointment because of his children’s degenerate behavior]; 23For when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My Name;
They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe and reverent fear of the God of Israel. 24“Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize and murmur discontentedly will accept instruction.

Isaiah 30
Judah Warned Against Egyptian Alliance
1“Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD,
“Who carry out a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin; 2Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting Me,
To take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh
And to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3“Therefore the safety and protection of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation and disgrace. 4“For his princes are at Zoan
And his ambassadors arrive at Hanes [in Egypt]. 5“All will be ashamed because of a people (the Egyptians) who cannot benefit them,
Who are not a help or benefit, but a shame and also a disgrace.”
6A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South): Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,
They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them. 7For Egypt’s help is worthless and good for nothing.
Therefore, I have called her
“Rahab Who Has Been Exterminated.” 8Now, go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
So that it may serve in the time to come
As a witness [against them] forevermore. 9For this is a rebellious people, lying sons,
Sons who refuse to listen to
The law and instruction of the LORD; 10Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right!
Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words,
Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy]. 11“Get out of the [true] way, turn aside from the path [of God],
Stop bothering us with the Holy One of Israel.”
12Therefore, the Holy One of Israel says this, “Because you have refused and rejected this word [of Mine]
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, 13Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to you
Like a crack [in a wall] about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, 14“Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
Crushed so savagely
that there cannot be found among its pieces a potsherd [large enough]
To take [coals of] fire from a fireplace,
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
15For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel has said this, “In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,
In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing, 16And you said, “No! We will flee on horses!”
Therefore you will flee [from your enemies]!
And [you said], “We will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. 17A thousand of you will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a flag on the top of a mountain,
And like a signal on a hill. God Is Gracious and Just 18Therefore the LORD waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].
19O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will most certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry for help; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of oppression, yet your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will [constantly] see your Teacher. 21Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 22And you will defile your carved images overlaid with silver, and your cast images plated with gold. You will scatter them like a bloodstained cloth, and will say to them, “Be gone!”
23Then He will give you rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread [grain] from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful. In that day your livestock will graze in large and roomy pastures. 24Also the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams of water on the day of the great slaughter (the day of the LORD), when the towers fall [and all His enemies are destroyed]. 26The light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days [concentrated in one], in the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted [because of their sins]. 27Now look, the name of the LORD comes from far away,
Burning with His anger, and heavy with smoke;
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue is like a consuming fire. 28His breath is like an overflowing river,
Which reaches to the neck,
To sift the nations back and forth in a sieve [of disaster],
And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin. 29You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept,
And joy of heart as when one marches [in procession] with a flute,
To go to the [temple on the] mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. 30And the LORD will make His majestic voice heard,
And show the descending of His arm [striking] in [His] fierce anger,
And in the flame of a devouring fire,
In the crashing sound of heavy rain, cloudburst, and hailstones. 31For at the voice of the LORD the Assyrians will be terrified,
When He strikes [them] with the rod. 32And every blow of the rod of punishment,
Which the LORD will lay on them,
Will be to the music of Israel’s tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight Assyria. 33For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;
Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.
He has made it deep and wide,
A pit of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the LORD, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.

Isaiah 31
Look Not To Egypt But To God
1Woe (judgment is coming) to those who go down to Egypt for help,
Who rely on horses
And trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek and consult the LORD! 2Yet He is also wise and will bring disaster,
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers
And against the helpers of those who do evil. 3Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
And the LORD will stretch out His hand,
And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble,
And he (Judah) who is helped will fall,
And all of them will perish together.
4For so the LORD says to me, “As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
And though a large group of shepherds is called out against him
He will not be terrified at their voice nor cringe at their noise,
So the LORD of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” 5Like flying birds, so will the LORD of hosts protect Jerusalem;
He will protect and save it,
He will pass over and rescue it.
6Return to Him from whom you have so deeply defected, O sons of Israel. 7For in that day every man will reject and throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold [in disgust], which your own hands have sinfully made for you. 8Then the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of man will devour him.
And he will flee from the sword [of God],
And his young men will become forced labor. 9“His rock [his stronghold] will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the [sight of the battle] standard,”
Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 32
The Glorious Future
1Behold, a King will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice. 2Each [one of them] will be like a hiding place from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like streams of water in a dry land,
Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched and weary land [to those who turn to them]. 3Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen attentively. 4The heart (mind) of those who act impulsively will discern the truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly. 5The fool (the good-for-nothing) will no longer be called noble,
Nor the rogue said to be generous. 6For the fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart (mind) plans wickedness:
To practice ungodliness and to speak error concerning the LORD,
To keep the craving of the hungry unsatisfied
And to deprive the thirsty of drink. 7As for the rogue, his weapons are evil;
He conceives wicked plans
To ruin the poor with lies,
Even when the plea of the needy one is just and right. 8But the noble man conceives noble and magnificent things;
And he stands by what is noble and magnificent. 9Rise up, you women who are carefree,
And hear my voice,
You confident and unsuspecting daughters!
Listen to what I am saying. 10In little more than a year
You will tremble [with anxiety], you unsuspecting and complacent women;
For the vintage has ended,
And the harvest will not come. 11Tremble, you women who are carefree;
Tremble with fear, you complacent ones!
Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief], 12Beat your breasts [in mourning] for the beautiful fields, for the fruitful vine, 13For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars—
Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city. 14For the palace has been abandoned, the populated city deserted;
The hill [of the city] and the watchtower have become caves [for wild animals] forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks, 15Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is valued as a forest. 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will live in the fertile field. 17And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
And the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever. 18Then my people will live in a peaceful surrounding,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places. 19But it will hail, when the forest comes down,
And the [capital] city will fall in utter humiliation. 20Blessed (happy, fortunate) are you who cast your seed upon all waters [when the river overflows its banks and irrigates the land],
You who allow the ox and the donkey to roam freely.

Isaiah 33
The Judgment Of God
1Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O destroyer,
You who were not destroyed,
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
As soon as you stop dealing treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you. 2O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited [expectantly] for You.
Be the arm of Your servants every morning [that is, their strength and their defense],
Our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3At the sound of the tumult, the peoples flee;
At the lifting up of Yourself nations scatter. 4Your spoil [of Israel’s foe] is gathered [by the people of Jerusalem] as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts swarming so people swarm on it. 5The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6And He will be the security and stability of your times,
A treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the LORD is your treasure. 7Now look, their brave men shout outside;
The ambassadors [seeking a treaty] of peace weep bitterly. 8The highways are deserted, the traveler has ceased [to appear].
The enemy has broken the covenant, he has rejected the cities,
He has no regard for [any] man. 9The land mourns and dries out,
Lebanon is shamed and [its lush foliage] withers;
Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and [Mount] Carmel shake off their leaves. 10“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will be exalted; now I will be lifted up. 11“You have conceived dried grass, you will give birth to stubble;
My breath is a fire that will consume you. 12“The peoples will be burned to lime,
Like thorns cut down which are burned in the fire. 13“You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” 14The sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
[They cry] “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting burning?” 15He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,
Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,
Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil; 16He will dwell on the heights,
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks,
His bread will be given him;
His water will be permanent. 17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see a far-distant land. 18Your mind will meditate on the terror [asking]:
“Where is he who counts?
Where is he who weighs [the tribute]?
Where is he who counts the towers?” 19You will no longer see the fierce and insolent people,
A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
Of a strange and stammering tongue which no one understands. 20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts and observances;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a undisturbed settlement,
A tent which will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up,
Nor any of its ropes be severed. 21But there the mighty and magnificent LORD will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
Where no oar-driven boat will go,
And on which no mighty and stately ship will pass. 22For the LORD is our Judge,
The LORD is our Ruler,
The LORD is our King;
He will save us. 23Your ship’s ropes (tackle) hang loose;
They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then an abundance of spoil and plunder will be divided;
Even the lame will take the plunder. 24And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell there will be forgiven their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing].

Isaiah 34
God’s Wrath Against Nations
1Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!
Let the earth and all that is in it hear, and the world and all that comes forth from it. 2For the LORD is angry at all the nations,
And His wrath is against all their armies;
He has utterly doomed them,
He has given them over to slaughter. 3So their slain will be thrown out,
And the stench of their corpses will rise,
And the mountains will flow with their blood. 4All the host of heaven will be dissolved,
And the skies will be rolled up like a scroll;
All their hosts [the stars and the planets] will also wither away
As a leaf withers from the vine,
And as a fig withers from the fig tree. 5For My sword is satiated [with blood] in heaven;
Indeed, it will come down for judgment on Edom
And on the people whom I have doomed for destruction. 6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood [from sacrifices],
It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah (Edom’s capital city)
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7Wild oxen will also fall with them
And the young bulls with the strong bulls;
And their land will be soaked with blood,
And their dust made greasy with fat. 8For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
A year of retribution for the cause of Zion. 9The streams [of Edom] will be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch. 10The burning will not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation it will lie in ruins;
No one will ever again pass through it. 11But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it;
The owl and the raven will dwell in it.
And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation
And the plumb line of emptiness. 12Its nobles—there is no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its princes will be nothing. 13Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities;
It will be a haunt for jackals,
An abode for ostriches. 14The creatures of the desert will encounter jackals
And the hairy goat will call to its kind;
Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle there
And find herself a place of rest. 15There the arrow snake will make her nest and lay her eggs,
And hatch them and gather her young under her protection;
Indeed, the birds of prey will be gathered there [to breed],
Every one with its own kind.
16Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these [creatures] will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them. 17The LORD has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided and apportioned Edom to the wild beasts by measuring-line.
They will possess it forever;
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Isaiah 35
Zion’s Joyful Future
1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad;
The Arabah (desert) will shout in exultation and blossom
Like the autumn crocus. 2It will blossom abundantly
And rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of [Mount] Carmel and [the plain] of Sharon.
They will see the glory of the LORD,
The majesty and splendor of our God. 3Encourage the exhausted, and make staggering knees firm. 4Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart,
“Be strong, fear not!
Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly];
The retribution of God will come,
But He will save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the desert. 7And the burning sand (mirage) will become a pool [of water]
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, where they lay resting,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8A highway will be there, and a roadway;
And it will be called the Holy Way.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed];
And fools will not wander on it. 9No lion will be there,
Nor will any predatory animal come up on it;
They will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there. 10And the ransomed of the LORD will return
And come to Zion with shouts of jubilation,
And everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
They will find joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 36
Sennacherib Invades Judah
1Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them. 2And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh [his military commander] from Lachish [the Judean fortress commanding the road from Egypt] to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a large army. And he stood by the canal of the Upper Pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came out to [meet] him.
4Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says, “What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have? 5I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now in whom do you trust and on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? 6Listen carefully, you rely on the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7But if you say to me, ‘We trust in and rely on the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? 8So now, exchange pledges with my master the king of Assyria and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them. 9How then can you repulse [the attack of] a single commander of the least of my master’s servants, and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10“Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have now come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”
11Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean (Hebrew) in the hearing of the people who are [stationed] on the wall.” 12But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judean (Hebrew): “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14This is what the king says, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you; 15nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will most certainly rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me and come out to me, and each one of you will eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree and each [one of you] drink from the water of his own cistern, 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18‘Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, “The LORD will rescue us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations [ever] rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [in Aram]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20‘Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their land from my hand, that [you should think that] the LORD would rescue Jerusalem from my hand?’”
21But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for King Hezekiah’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn [in grief], and told him the words of the Rabshakeh [the Assyrian commander].

Isaiah 37
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
1And when King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and disgrace; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. 4‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh [the commander], whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will avenge the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left.’”
5So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6Isaiah said to them, “You shall say the following to your master: ‘This is what the LORD says, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7“Listen carefully, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah [a fortified city of Judah], for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9And Sennacherib king of Assyria, heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush (Ethiopia), “He has come out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“You shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11‘Listen carefully, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, utterly destroying them. So will you be rescued? 12‘Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan, Haran [of Mesopotamia], Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13‘Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, [the king of] Hena, or [the king of] Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple 14Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying, 16“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt and defy the living God. 18It is true, O LORD, that the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19and have cast the gods [of those peoples] into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them. 20“Now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and fully realize that You alone, LORD, are God.”
God Answers through Isaiah 21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “For the LORD, the God of Israel says this, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “She has shown contempt for you and mocked you,
The Virgin Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem);
She has shaken her head behind you,
The Daughter of Jerusalem! 23“Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel! 24“Through your servants you have taunted and defied the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars and its choicest cypress trees;
And I will go to its remotest height, its most luxuriant and thickest forest. 25‘I dug wells and drank [foreign] waters,
And with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals [of the Nile] of Egypt.’ 26“Have you not heard [says the God of Israel]
That I did it long ago,
That I planned it in ancient times?
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you [king of Assyria] would [be My instrument to] turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps. 27“Therefore their inhabitants had little power,
They were terrorized and shamed;
They were like the grass of the field and the green vegetation,
Like grass on the housetops and like a field [of grain] scorched before it is grown. 28“But I know your sitting down
And your going out and your coming in [every detail of your life],
And your raging against Me. 29“Because your raging against Me
And your arrogance has come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your mouth,
And I will turn you back by the way you came.
30“This shall be the sign [of these things] to you [Hezekiah]: you are to eat this year what grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from the same, and in the third year you are to sow and harvest, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32“For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”’
33“Therefore, the LORD says this concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with shield, or raise an assault ramp against it. 34‘By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,’ declares the LORD. 35‘For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
Assyrians Destroyed 36And the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the [surviving] men got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead. 37So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned and lived at Nineveh. 38It came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat [in Armenia]. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

Isaiah 38
Hezekiah Healed
1In those days Hezekiah [king of Judah] became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, “For the LORD says this, ‘Set your house in order and prepare a will, for you shall die; you will not live.’” 2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3and said, “Please, O LORD, just remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth, and with a whole heart [absolutely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly.
4Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5“Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘For the LORD, the God of David your father says this, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; listen carefully, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6“I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city [Jerusalem].”’
7“This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that He has spoken: 8“Listen carefully, I will turn the shadow on the stairway [denoting the time of day] ten steps backward, the shadow on the stairway (sundial) of Ahaz.” And the sunlight went ten steps backward on the stairway where it had [previously] gone down.
9This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness: 10I said, “In mid-life
I am to go through the gates of Sheol (the place of the dead),
I am to be summoned, deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11I said, “I will not see the LORD
The LORD in the land of the living;
I will no longer see man among the inhabitants of the world. 12“My dwelling (body) is pulled up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have rolled up my life as a weaver [rolls up the finished web].
He cuts me free from the warp [of the loom];
From day to night You bring me to an end. 13“I lay down until morning.
Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You bring me to an end. 14“Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirp;
I coo like a dove.
My eyes look wistfully upward;
O Lord, I am oppressed, take my side and be my security. 15“What shall I say?
For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will wander aimlessly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. 16“O Lord, by these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
Restore me to health and let me live! 17“Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such bitterness;
But You have loved back my life from the pit of nothingness (destruction),
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18“For Sheol cannot praise or thank You,
Death cannot praise You and rejoice in You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. 19“It is the living who give praise and thanks to You, as I do today;
A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness. 20“The LORD is ready to save me;
Therefore we will play my songs on stringed instruments
All the days of our lives at the house of the LORD.”
21Now Isaiah had said, “Have them take a cake of figs and rub it [as an ointment] on the inflamed spot, that he may recover.” 22Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”

Isaiah 39
Hezekiah Shows His Treasures
1At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent [messengers with] letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was pleased and showed them his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his entire armory and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his area of dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? From where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4Then Isaiah said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts, 6‘Listen carefully, the days are coming when everything that is in your house and everything that your predecessors have stored up until this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. 7‘And some of your own sons (descendants) who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and faithfulness [to God’s promises to us] in my days.”

Isaiah 40
The Greatness Of God
1“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. 2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished,
That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient],
That she has received from the LORD’S hand
Double [punishment] for all her sins.” 3A voice of one is calling out,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness [remove the obstacles];
Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4“Every valley shall be raised,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged places a broad valley. 5“And the glory and majesty and splendor of the LORD will be revealed,
And all humanity shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.” 6A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
[The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Most certainly [all] the people are [like] grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever. 9O Zion, herald of good news,
Get up on a high mountain.
O Jerusalem, herald of good news,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, do not fear;
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” 10Listen carefully, the Lord GOD will come with might,
And His arm will rule for Him.
Most certainly His reward is with Him,
And His restitution accompanies Him. 11He will protect His flock like a shepherd,
He will gather the lambs in His arm,
He will carry them in His bosom;
He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young. 12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],
And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales? 13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or has taught Him as His counselor? 14With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him?
Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding? 15In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. 16And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire,
Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the LORD]. 17All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. 18To whom then will you liken God?
Or with what likeness will you compare Him? 19As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it,
A goldsmith overlays it with gold
And a silversmith casts its silver chains. 20He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god]
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter. 21Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]? 22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing,
Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless). 24Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And a strong wind carries them away like stubble. 25“To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these heavenly bodies,
The One who brings out their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one is missing. 27Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? 28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become tired or grow weary;
There is no searching of His understanding. 29He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who has no might He increases power. 30Even youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31But those who wait for the LORD [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.

Isaiah 41
Israel Encouraged
1“Listen to Me in silence, you islands and coastlands,
And let the nations gain their strength;
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east]. 2“Who has stirred up and put into action one from the east [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great]
Whom He calls in righteousness to His service and whom victory meets at every step?
The LORD turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
Like wind-driven chaff with his bow. 3“He (Cyrus) pursues them and passes along safely,
By a way his feet had not traveled before. 4“Who has performed and done this,
Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning?
‘I, the LORD—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’” 5The islands and coastlands have seen and they fear;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come. 6They each help his neighbor
And say to his brother [as he fashions his idols], “Be of good courage!” 7So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
And he who smooths metal with the smith’s hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering (welding), “That is good”;
And he fastens the idol with nails,
So that it will not totter nor be moved. 8“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The offspring of Abraham My friend, 9You whom I [the LORD] have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not rejected you [even though you are exiled]. 10‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;
I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’ 11“Indeed, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and humiliated;
Those who strive against you will be as nothing and will perish. 12“You shall search for those who quarrel with you, but will not find them;
They who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all. 13“For I the LORD your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord],
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ 14“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 15“In fact, I have made of you a new, sharp threshing implement with sharp edges;
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
And make the hills like chaff. 16“You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And a high wind will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in the LORD,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them Myself;
I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them. 18“I will open rivers on the barren heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a reed-pool of water
And the dry land springs of water. 19“I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress, 20So that they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
That the Holy One of Israel has created it. 21“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the LORD.
“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”
Says the king of Jacob. 22Let them bring forward [their evidence] and tell us what is going to happen.
Regarding the former events, tell what they were,
That we may consider them and know their outcome;
Or announce to us the things that are going to come. 23Tell us the things that are to come afterward,
That we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle]. 24Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing,
And your work is worthless;
The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive. 25“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].
And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,
Even as a potter treads clay.” 26Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?
Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”?
In fact, there was no one who declared it,
Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;
There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless]. 27“I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’ 28“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],
And there is no counselor among them,
Who, if I ask, can give an answer. 29“In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;
Their works are worthless,
Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.

Isaiah 42
God’s Promise Concerning His Servant
1“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My Chosen One in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2“He will not call out or shout aloud,
Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3“A broken reed He will not break [off]
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering];
He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4“He will not be disheartened or crushed [in spirit];
[He will persevere] until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5This is what God the LORD says, He who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk on it, 6“I am the LORD, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose],
I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel],
As a light to the nations (Gentiles), 7To open the eyes of the blind,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who sit in darkness from the prison. 8“I am the LORD, that is My Name;
My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved idols. 9“Indeed, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.” 10Sing to the LORD a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]! 11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The villages where Kedar lives.
Let the inhabitants of Sela shout for joy,
Let them shout joyfully from the tops of the mountains. 12Let them give glory to the LORD
And declare His praise in the islands and coastlands. 13The LORD will go forth like a warrior,
He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;
He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies. The Blindness of the People 14“I [the LORD] have been silent for a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will moan like a woman in labor,
I will both gasp and pant. 15“I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds. 16“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know;
I will guide them in paths that they do not know.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These things I will do [for them],
And I will not leave them abandoned or undone.” 17Those who trust in carved idols will be turned back,
And utterly put to shame,
Who say to cast images,
“You are our gods.” 18Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see. 19Who is blind but My servant [Israel],
Or deaf like My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [in a covenant relationship],
Or so blind as the servant of the LORD? 20You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears. 21The LORD was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law great and prove to be glorious. 22But this is a people despoiled and plundered;
All of them are trapped in holes,
Or are hidden away in prisons.
They have become a prey with no one to rescue them,
And a spoil, with no one to say, “Give them back!” 23Who among you will listen to this?
Who will listen and pay attention in the time to come? 24Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD, He against whom we [of Judah] have sinned,
And in whose ways they [of Israel] were unwilling to walk,
And whose law and teaching they did not obey? 25Therefore He poured out on Israel the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And engulfed him in fire,
Yet he did not recognize [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach];
It burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 43
Israel Redeemed
1But now, this is what the LORD, your Creator says, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];
I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you. 3“For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom,
Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you. 4“Because you are precious in My sight,
You are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life. 5“Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered],
And gather you from the west. 6“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from far way
And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7Everyone who is called by My Name,
Whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” Israel Is God’s Witness 8Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them (the idolaters) can predict this [that Judah would return from captivity]
And proclaim to us the former events?
Let them provide their witnesses so that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say [in acknowledgement], “It is the truth.” 10“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me. 11“I, [only] I, am the LORD,
And there is no Savior besides Me. 12“I have declared [the future] and saved [the nation] and proclaimed [that I am God],
And there was no strange (alien) god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses [among the pagans],” declares the LORD,
“That I am God. 13“Even from eternity I am He,
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
I act, and who can revoke or reverse it?”
Babylon to Be Destroyed 14This is what the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says, “For your sake I have sent [one] to Babylon,
And I will bring down all of them as fugitives,
Even the Chaldeans [who reign in Babylon], into the ships over which they rejoiced. 15“I am the LORD, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
16This is what the LORD says, He who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters, 17He who brings out the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty warrior,
(They will lie down together, they will not rise again;
They have been extinguished, they have been put out like a lamp’s wick): 18“Do not remember the former things,
Or ponder the things of the past. 19“Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even put a road in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert. 20“The beasts of the field will honor Me,
Jackals and ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21“The people whom I formed for Myself
Will make known My praise. The Shortcomings of Israel 22“Yet you have not called on Me [in prayer and worship], O Jacob;
But you have grown weary of Me, O Israel. 23“You have not brought Me your sheep or goats for your burnt offerings,
Nor honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with [demands for offerings of] incense. 24“You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,
Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your wickedness. 25“I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins. 26“Remind Me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together;
State your position, that you may be proved right. 27“Your first father [Jacob] sinned,
And your spokesmen [the priests and the prophets—your mediators] have transgressed against Me. 28“So I will profane the officials of the sanctuary,
And I will consign Jacob to destruction and [I will subject] Israel to defamation and abuse.

Isaiah 44
The Blessings Of Israel
1“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen: 2This is what the LORD who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you says,
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And Jeshurun (Israel, the upright one) whom I have chosen. 3‘For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty,
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants; 4And they will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the streams of water.’ 5“One will say, ‘I am the LORD’S’;
And another will name himself after Jacob;
And another will write on his hand, ‘I am the LORD’S,’
And be called by the [honorable] name of Israel.
6“For the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts says this, ‘I am the First and I am the Last;
And there is no God besides Me. 7‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim it and declare it;
Yes, let him confront Me,
Since I established the people of antiquity.
And let them [those supposed gods] tell those people [who foolishly follow them] the things to come
And the events that are going to take place. 8‘Do not tremble nor be afraid [of the violent upheavals to come];
Have I not long ago proclaimed it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
There is no other Rock;
I know of none.’”
The Folly of Idolatry 9All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing? 11In fact, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand up, let them be terrified, let them together be put to shame.
12The ironsmith shapes iron and uses a chisel and works it over the coals. He forms the [idol’s] core with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also becomes hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows tired. 13The carpenter stretches out a measuring line, he marks out the shape [of the idol] with red chalk; he works it with planes and outlines it with the compass; and he makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, that it may sit in a house. 14He cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it! 16He burns half of the wood in the fire; over this half he [cooks and] eats meat, he roasts meat and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand. 19No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!” 20That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?” God Forgives and Redeems 21“Remember [the foolishness of] these things, O Jacob
And Israel, for you are My servant!
I formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. 22“I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a heavy mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 23Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it!
Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth;
Break forth into jubilant rejoicing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
And He shows His glory in Israel.
24For the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says this, “I am the LORD, Maker of all things,
Who alone stretches out the heavens,
Who spreads out the earth by Myself, 25Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters (false prophets),
Making fools out of fortune-tellers,
Counteracting the wise
And making their knowledge ridiculous, 26Confirming the word of His servant
And carrying out the plan of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be inhabited!’
And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall [again] be built.’
And I will raise up and restore her ruins. 27“It is I who says to the deep, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers dry. 28“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd (ruler),
And he will carry out all that I desire—’
Saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be built,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall [again] be laid.’”

Isaiah 45
God Uses Cyrus
1This is what the LORD says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],
Whose right hand I have held
To subdue nations before him,
And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2“I will go before you and level the mountains;
I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. 3“I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures]
And the hidden riches of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name. 4“For the sake of Jacob My servant,
And of Israel My chosen,
I have also called you by your name;
I have given you an honorable name
Though you have not known Me. 5“I am the LORD, and there is no one else;
There is no God except Me.
I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me, 6That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]
That there is no one except Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing peace and creating disaster;
I am the LORD who does all these things. God’s Supreme Power 8“Rain down, O heavens, from above,
Let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God];
Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it;
I, the LORD, have created it. 9“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker—
A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]!
Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’? 10“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11For the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker says this, “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
And give Me orders concerning the work of My hands. 12“I made the earth and created man upon it.
My hands, stretched out the heavens,
And I commanded all their host. 13“I have stirred up Cyrus and put him into action in righteousness [to accomplish My purpose]
And I will make all his ways smooth;
He will build My city and let My exiles go,
Without any payment or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.
14For this is what the LORD says, “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush (ancient Ethiopia)
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will come over to you and they will be yours;
They will walk behind you, in chains [of subjection to you] they will come over,
And they will bow down before you;
They will make supplication to you, [humbly and earnestly] saying,
‘Most certainly God is with you, and there is no other,
No other God [besides Him].’” 15Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, Savior! 16They will be put to shame and also humiliated, all of them;
They who make idols will go away together in humiliation. 17Israel has been saved by the LORD
With an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.
18For the LORD, who created the heavens (He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this, “I am the LORD, and there is no one else. 19“I have not spoken in secret,
In a corner of a land of darkness;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain [with no benefit for yourselves].’
I, the LORD, speak righteousness [the truth—trustworthy, a straightforward correlation between deeds and words],
Declaring things that are upright. 20“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them. 21“Declare and present your defense of idols;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?
Who declared it long ago?
Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me. 22“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other. 23“I have sworn [an oath] by Myself,
The word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance]. 24“It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
To Him people will come,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. 25“In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
Will be justified (declared free of guilt) and will glory [in God].”

Isaiah 46
Babylon’s Idols And The True God
1Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their idols are on the beasts [of burden] and on the cattle.
Your burdens [of idols] are loaded [on them],
Burdens on the weary animals. 2They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the burden [of their own idols],
But have themselves gone into captivity. 3“Listen to Me,” [says the LORD], “O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been carried by Me from your birth
And have been carried [in My arms] from the womb, 4Even to your old age I am He,
And even to your advanced old age I will carry you!
I have made you, and I will carry you;
Be assured I will carry you and I will save you. 5“To whom would you liken Me
And make Me equal and compare Me,
That we may be alike? 6“Those who lavish gold from the bag
And weigh out silver on the scales
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They bow down, indeed they worship it. 7“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;
They set it in its place and there it remains standing.
It cannot move from its place.
Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;
It cannot save him from his distress. 8“Remember this, and take courage;
Take it to heart, you rebellious and disloyal people. 9“Remember [carefully] the former things [which I did] from ages past;
For I am God, and there is no one else;
I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10Declaring the end and the result from the beginning,
And from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’ 11Calling a bird of prey from the east,
From a far country, the man (Cyrus) of My purpose.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, be assured I will do it. 12“Listen to Me, you stiff-necked people,
You who are far from righteousness (right standing with God). 13“I bring near My righteousness [in the salvation of Israel], it is not far away;
And My salvation will not delay.
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.

Isaiah 47
Lament For Babylon
1“Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no throne for you,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called tender and delicate. 2“Take millstones [as a female slave does] and grind meal;
Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers [at the command of your captors]. 3“Your nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame will also be exposed;
I will take vengeance and will spare no man.” 4Our Redeemer [will do all this], the LORD of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel. 5“Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms. 6“I was angry with My people,
I profaned [Judah] My inheritance
And gave them into your hand [Babylon].
You showed them no mercy;
You made your yoke very heavy on the aged. 7“And you said, ‘I shall be a queen forevermore.’
You did not consider these things,
Nor did you [seriously] remember the [ultimate] outcome of such conduct. 8“Now, then, hear this, you who live a luxuriant life,
You who dwell safely and securely,
Who say in your heart (mind),
‘I am [the queen], and there is no one besides me.
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor know the loss of children.’ 9“But these two things shall come to you abruptly, in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many [claims of power through your] sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your enchantments. 10“For you [Babylon] have trusted and felt confident in your wickedness; you have said,
‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray,
And you have said in your heart (mind),
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ 11“Therefore disaster will come on you;
You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly. 12“Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantments
And your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them],
Perhaps you may prevail and cause trembling. 13“You are wearied by your many counsels.
Just let the astrologers,
The stargazers,
Those who predict by the new moons [each month]
Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon]. 14“In fact, they are like stubble;
Fire burns them.
They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation],
There is no blazing coal for warming
Nor fire before which to sit! 15“This is how they have become to you, those [astrologers and sorcerers] with whom you have labored,
Those who have done business with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own way.
There is no one to save you.

Isaiah 48
Israel’s Obstinacy
1“Hear this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel
And who come from the seed of Judah,
You who swear [allegiance] by the name of the LORD
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth (sincerity) nor in righteousness [with moral and spiritual integrity]. 2“For they call themselves [citizens of Jerusalem] after the holy city
And depend on the God of Israel;
The LORD of hosts is His name. 3“I have declared the former things [which happened to Israel] in times past;
They went forth from My mouth and I proclaimed them;
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. 4“Because I know that you are obstinate,
And your neck is an iron tendon
And your brow is bronze [both unyielding], 5I have declared them to you long ago;
Before they came to pass I announced them to you,
So that you could not say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast image have commanded them.’ 6“You have heard [these things foretold]; look at all this [that has been fulfilled].
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you [specific] new things from this time,
Even hidden things which you have not known. 7“They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word] and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard of them,
So that you will not say, ‘Oh yes! I knew them.’ 8“You have not heard, you have not known;
Even from long ago your ear has not been open.
For I [the LORD] knew that you [Israel] would act very treacherously;
You have been called a transgressor and a rebel from birth. 9“For the sake of My Name I refrain from My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain Myself from you,
So that I do not cut you off. 10“Indeed, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested and chosen you in the furnace of affliction. 11“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it [I refrain and do not completely destroy you];
For how can My Name be defiled and profaned [as it would if My chosen people were completely destroyed]?
And I will not give My glory to another [by permitting the worshipers of idols to triumph over you]. End of Captivity Promised 12“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called;
I am He, I am the First, I am the Last. 13“My hand founded and established the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees]. 14“Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among them [the idols and Chaldean astrologers] has declared these things?
The LORD loves him (Cyrus of Persia); he will do His pleasure and purpose against Babylon,
And his arm will be against the Chaldeans [who reign in Babylon]. 15“I, even I, have spoken; indeed, I have called Cyrus;
I have brought him, and will make his way successful. 16“Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
From the time that it happened, I was there.
And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His [Holy] Spirit.”
17This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit (benefit),
Who leads you in the way that you should go. 18“Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a [flowing] river,
And your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea. 19“Your offspring would have been like the sand,
And your descendants [in number] like the grains of sand;
Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.” 20Get out of Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans [who reign there]!
Declare with a voice of jubilation, proclaim this,
Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob.” 21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He made the waters flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and the waters flowed. 22“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 49
Salvation Reaches To The End Of The Earth
1Listen to Me, O islands and coastlands,
And pay attention, you peoples from far away.
The LORD has called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He has named Me. 2He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden;
And He has made Me a sharpened arrow,
In His quiver He has hidden Me. 3And [the LORD] said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
In Whom I will show My glory.” 4Then I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness);
However My justice is with the LORD,
And My reward is with My God.” 5And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him,
—For I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God is My strength— 6He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will also make You a light to the nations
That My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7This is what the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One says,
To the thoroughly despised One,
To the One hated by the nation
To the Servant of rulers,
“Kings will see and arise,
Princes shall also bow down,
Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.” 8This is what the LORD says,
“In a favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people,
To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands, 9Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’
And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’
They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],
And their pastures will be on all the bare heights. 10“They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And He will guide them to springs of water. 11“And I will make all My mountains a roadway,
And My highways will be raised. 12“In fact, these will come from far away;
And, lo, these shall come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan (southern Egypt).” 13Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
And break forth into singing, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted. Promise to Zion 14But Zion (Jerusalem in captivity) said, “The LORD has abandoned me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15[The LORD answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16“Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on the palms of My hands;
Your city walls [Zion] are continually before Me. 17“Your builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will go away from you. 18“Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];
All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].
As I live,” declares the LORD,
“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride. 19“For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction—
Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who once engulfed you will be far away. 20“The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me’;
Make room for me that I may live here. 21“Then [Zion], you will say in your heart,
‘Who has borne me these children,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Indeed, I was left alone;
From where then did these children come?’”
22This is what the Lord GOD says, “Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nations
And set up My banner to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23“Kings will be your attendants,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And lick the dust of your feet;
And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the LORD;
For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me. 24“Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”
25Indeed, this is what the LORD says, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;
For I will contend with your opponent,
And I will save your children. 26“I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars]
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all mankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 50
God Helps His Servant
1The LORD declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce
By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]?
Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]?
In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing],
And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?
Or have I no power to rescue?
Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers into a desert;
Their fish stink because there is no water
And die of thirst. 3“I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds]
And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.” 4The Lord GOD has given Me [His Servant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught],
That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught]. 5The Lord GOD has opened My ear,
And I have not been rebellious
Nor have I turned back. 6I turned My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not hide My face from insults and spitting. 7For the Lord GOD helps Me,
Therefore, I have not been ashamed or humiliated.
Therefore, I have made My face like flint,
And I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8He who declares Me in the right is near;
Who will [dare to] contend with Me?
Let us stand up to each other;
Who is My adversary?
Let him approach Me. 9In fact, the Lord GOD helps Me;
Who is he who condemns Me [as guilty]?
Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment;
The moth will eat them. 10Who is among you who fears the LORD,
Who obeys the voice of His Servant,
Yet who walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust and be confident in the name of the LORD and let him rely on his God. 11Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation],
Who surround yourselves with torches,
Walk by the light of your [self-made] fire
And among the torches that you have set ablaze.
But this you will have from My hand:
You will lie down in [a place of] torment.

Isaiah 51
Israel Exhorted
1“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God),
Who seek and inquire of the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug. 2“Look to Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
For I called him when he was but one,
Then I blessed him and made him many.” 3For the LORD will comfort Zion [in her captivity];
He will comfort all her ruins.
And He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the LORD;
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody. 4“Listen carefully to Me [says the LORD], O My people,
And hear Me, O My nation;
For a [divine] law will go forth from Me,
And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples. 5“My righteousness (justice) is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My arms will judge the peoples;
The islands and coastlands will wait for Me,
And they will wait with hope and confident expectation for My arm. 6“Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the heavens will be torn to pieces and vanish like smoke,
And the earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die in like manner.
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness (justice) [and faithfully fulfilled promise] will not be broken. 7“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness (right standing with God),
The people in whose heart is My law and instruction;
Do not fear the reproach and taunting of man,
Nor be distressed at their reviling. 8“For the moth will eat them like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool.
But My righteousness and justice [faithfully promised] will exist forever,
And My salvation to all generations.” 9Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the LORD;
Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago.
Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces,
Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]? 10Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea,
The waters of the great deep,
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the redeemed to cross over? 11So the redeemed of the LORD will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion;
Everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. 12“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies
And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass, 13That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you continually tremble with fear all day long because of the rage of the oppressor,
As he takes aim to destroy?
And where is the rage of the oppressor?
14The [captive] exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his food be lacking. 15For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is His name. 16“I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’” 17Wake yourself up! Wake yourself up! Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath,
You who have drunk the cup of staggering and intoxication to the dregs [leaving only sediment]. 18There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has borne,
Nor is there anyone to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. 19These two tragedies have befallen you;
Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you?
The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants];
How shall I comfort you? 20Your sons have fainted;
They lie helpless at the head of every street,
Like an antelope in a net,
Full [from drinking] of the wrath of the LORD,
The rebuke of your God. 21Therefore, now hear this, you who are afflicted,
Who are drunk, but not with wine [but overwhelmed by the wrath of God]. 22So says your Lord, the LORD, who is also your God
Who pleads the cause of His people,
“Listen carefully, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering and intoxication,
The cup of My wrath;
You shall never drink it again. 23“I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
Who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’
You have even made your back like the ground
And like the street for those who walk over it.”

Isaiah 52
Cheer For Downtrodden Zion
1Awake, awake,
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you. 2Shake yourself from the dust, arise,
O captive Jerusalem;
Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.
3For the LORD says this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.” 4For the Lord GOD says this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5“But now, what do I have here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the LORD, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6“Therefore My people shall know My Name and what it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’” 7How beautiful and delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace,
Who brings good news of good [things],
Who announces salvation,
Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
Together they shout for joy;
For they will see face to face
The return of the LORD to Zion. 9Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You ruins of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10The LORD has bared His holy arm (His infinite power)
Before the eyes of all the nations [revealing Himself as the One by Whom Israel is redeemed from captivity],
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God. 11Depart, depart, go out from there (the lands of exile),
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out of the midst of her (Babylon), purify yourselves,
You who carry the articles of the LORD [on your journey from there]. 12For you will not go out in a hurry [as when you left Egypt],
Nor will you go in flight [fleeing, as you did from the Egyptians];
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. The Exalted Servant 13Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wisely and prosper;
He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form [marred] more than the sons of men. 15So He will sprinkle many nations [with His blood, providing salvation],
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him;
For what they had not been told they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.

Isaiah 53
The Suffering Servant
1Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]?
And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the LORD been revealed? 2For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant),
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has no stately form or majestic splendor
That we would look at Him,
Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief;
And like One from whom men hide their faces
He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. 4But [in fact] He has borne our griefs,
And He has carried our sorrows and pains;
Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,
Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];
The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,
And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. 6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
We have turned, each one, to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]
To fall on Him [instead of us]. 7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers,
So He did not open His mouth. 8After oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the fact
That He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death]
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due? 9His grave was assigned with the wicked,
But He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10Yet the LORD was willing
To crush Him, causing Him to suffer;
If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin],
He shall see His [spiritual] offspring,
He shall prolong His days,
And the will (good pleasure) of the LORD shall succeed and prosper in His hand. 11As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He shall see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One,
My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him],
For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins. 12Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers],
And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death,
And was counted among the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many,
And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.

Isaiah 54
The Fertility Of Zion
1“Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;
Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!
For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD. 2“Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children];
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your tent ropes
And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground]. 3“For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
And your descendants will take possession of nations
And will inhabit deserted cities. 4“Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame,
And do not feel humiliated or ashamed, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood. 5“For your husband is your Maker,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of the whole earth. 6“For the LORD has called you,
Like a wife who has been abandoned, grieved in spirit,
And like a wife [married] in her youth when she is [later] rejected and scorned,”
Says your God. 7“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion and mercy I will gather you [to Myself again]. 8“In an outburst of wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”
Says the LORD your Redeemer. 9“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me,
As I swore [an oath] that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
In the same way I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you. 10“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says the LORD who has compassion on you. 11“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,
And lay your foundations with sapphires. 12“And I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,
And all your [barrier] walls of precious stones. 13“And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the LORD],
And great will be the well-being of your sons. 14“You will be firmly established in righteousness:
You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,
And from terror, for it will not come near you. 15“If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.
Whoever attacks you will fall because of you. 16“Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And who produces a weapon for its purpose;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin. 17“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.
This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And this is their vindication from Me,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 55
The Free Offer Of Mercy
1“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God]. 2“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,
And your earnings for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight in abundance. 3“Incline your ear [to listen] and come to Me;
Hear, so that your soul may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies [promised and] shown to David. 4“Listen carefully, I have appointed him [David, representing the Messiah] to be a witness to the nations [regarding salvation],
A leader and commander to the peoples. 5“In fact, you [Israel] will call a nation that you do not know,
And a nation that does not know you will run to you,
Because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.” 6Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near. 7Let the wicked leave (behind) his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. 8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts higher than your thoughts. 10“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth,
Making it bear and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me void (useless, without result),
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 12“For you will go out [from exile] with joy
And be led forth [by the LORD Himself] with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;
And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

Isaiah 56
Rewards For Obedience To God
1This is what the LORD says,
“Maintain justice and do righteousness,
For My salvation is soon to come,
And My righteousness and justice is soon to be revealed. 2“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,
And the son of man who takes hold of it,
Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3Do not let the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will most certainly separate me from His people.”
And do not let the eunuch say, “Look, I am a dry tree.”
4This is what the LORD says, “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold firmly to My covenant, 5To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. 6“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it
And holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience]; 7All these I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” 8The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares:
“I will gather yet others to them (Israel), to those [already] gathered.” 9All you beasts of the field,
All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest,
Come to eat. 10Israel’s watchmen are blind,
They are all without knowledge.
They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;
Panting, lying down, they love to slumber. 11And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough.
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
They have all turned to their own way,
Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception. 12“Come,” [they say,] “let us get wine, and let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, very great indeed.”

Isaiah 57
Evil Leaders Rebuked
1The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;
Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understands
That the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil. 2He enters into peace [through death];
They rest in their beds (graves),
Each one who walked uprightly [following God’s will, living with integrity]. 3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress [raised in deception and superstition],
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute. 4“Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion (sin),
Offspring of deceit, 5Who inflame yourselves [with lust in pagan rites] among the oaks (terebinth trees),
Under every green and leafy tree,
Who slaughter the children [in sacrifice] in the ravines
Under the clefts of the rocks? 6“Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]? 7“Upon a high and lofty mountain
You have [openly and shamelessly] made your [idolatrous and adulterous] bed;
Even there you went up to offer sacrifice [to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me]. 8“Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your [pagan] symbol;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made a [new] agreement for yourself with the adulterers,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked [with passion] on their manhood. 9“You have gone to the king [of a pagan land] with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead). 10“You were wearied by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is no use.’
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not grow weak. 11“About whom were you worried and fearful
That you lied and did not remember Me,
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
And [as a result] you do not fear Me? 12“I will declare your [hypocritical] righteousness and your deeds,
But they will not benefit you. 13“When you cry out [for help], let your [ridiculous] collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A [mere] breath will take them.
But he who takes refuge in Me will possess the land [Judea]
And will inherit My holy mountain.” 14And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, clear the way.
Remove the stumbling block out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My people.” 15For the high and exalted One
He who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this,
“I dwell on the high and holy place,
But also with the contrite and humble in spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the humble
And to revive the heart of the contrite [overcome with sorrow for sin]. 16“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have created. 17“Because of the wickedness of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away and backsliding, in the way of his [own willful] heart. 18“I have seen his [willful] ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him [also] and will restore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him, 19As I create the praise of his lips,
Peace, peace, to him who is far away [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near!”
Says the LORD;
“And I will heal him [making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise].” 20But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up mire and mud. 21“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 58
Observances Of Fasts
1“Cry aloud, do not hold back;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight [superficially] to know My ways,
As [if they were in reality] a nation that has done righteousness
And has not abandoned (turned away from) the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me righteous judgments,
They delight in the nearness of God. 3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You do not see it?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’
Hear this [O Israel], on the day of your fast [when you should be grieving for your sins] you find something you desire [to do],
And you force your hired servants to work [instead of stopping all work, as the law teaches]. 4“The facts are that you fast only for strife and brawling and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5“Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]?
Is it only to bow down his head like a reed
And to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]?
Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the LORD? 6“[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose,
To undo the bonds of wickedness,
To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke,
To let the oppressed go free
And break apart every [enslaving] yoke? 7“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not to hide yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood? 8“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth;
Your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity],
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression],
The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech, 10And if you offer yourself to [assist] the hungry
And satisfy the need of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday. 11“And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12“And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up and restore the age-old foundations [of buildings that have been laid waste];
You will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Keeping the Sabbath 13“If you turn back your foot from [unnecessary travel on] the Sabbath,
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, and the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, not going your own way
Or engaging in your own pleasure
Or speaking your own [idle] words, 14Then you will take pleasure in the LORD,
And I will make you ride on the high places of the earth,
And I will feed you with the [promised] heritage of Jacob your father;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 59
Separation From God
1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short
That it cannot save,
Nor His ear so impaired
That it cannot hear. 2But your wickedness has separated you from your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. 3For your hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing];
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue mutters wickedness. 4No one sues righteously [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage], and no one pleads [his case] in truth; [but rather]
They trust in empty arguments and speak lies;
They conceive trouble and bring forth injustice. 5They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s webs;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out. 6Their webs will not serve as clothing,
Nor will they cover themselves with what they make;
Their works are works of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing],
And the act of violence is in their hands. 7Their feet run to evil,
And they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];
Devastation and destruction are in their highways. 8They do not know the way of peace,
And there is no justice in their tracks.
They have made them into crooked paths;
Whoever walks on them does not know peace. A Confession of Wickedness 9Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us.
We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness;
We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom. 10We grope for a wall like the blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are like dead men. 11We all groan and growl like bears,
And coo sadly like doves;
We hope for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us. 12For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O LORD],
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]: 13Rebelling against and denying the LORD,
Turning away from [following] our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words. 14Justice is pushed back,
And righteous behavior stands far away;
For truth has fallen in the city square,
And integrity cannot enter. 15Yes, truth is missing;
And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the LORD saw it,
And it displeased Him that there was no justice. 16He saw that there was no man,
And was amazed that there was no one to intercede [on behalf of truth and right];
Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His own righteousness sustained Him. 17For He [the LORD] put on righteousness like a coat of armor,
And salvation like a helmet on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak. 18As their deeds deserve, so He will repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, retribution to His enemies;
To the islands and coastlands He will repay. 19So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun.
For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream
Which the breath of the LORD drives [overwhelming the enemy]. 20“A Redeemer (Messiah) will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob (Israel) who turn from transgression (sin),” declares the LORD.
21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you [writing the law of God on the heart], and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your [true, spiritual] children, nor from the mouth of your children’s children,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”

Isaiah 60
A Glorified Zion
1“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the LORD]; for your light has come,
And the glory and brilliance of the LORD has risen upon you. 2“For in fact, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness will cover the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you [Jerusalem]
And His glory and brilliance will be seen on you. 3“Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4“Lift up your eyes around you and see;
They all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
And your daughters will be looked after at their side. 5“Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will tremble [with joy] and rejoice
Because the abundant wealth of the seas will be brought to you,
The wealth of the nations will come to you. 6“A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] will cover you [Jerusalem],
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba [who once came to trade] will come
Bringing gold and frankincense
And proclaiming the praises of the LORD. 7“All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you [as the eastern pastoral tribes join the trading tribes],
The rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
They will go up with acceptance [as sacrifices] on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My honor and splendor. 8“Who are these who fly like a cloud
And like doves to their windows? 9“The islands and coastlands will confidently wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from far away,
Their silver and gold with them,
For the name of the LORD your God,
For the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. 10“Foreigners will build up your walls,
And their kings will serve you;
For in My [righteous] wrath I struck you,
But in My favor and grace I have had compassion on you. 11“Your gates will be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
So that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations—
With their kings led in procession. 12“For the nation or the kingdom which will not serve you [Jerusalem] shall perish,
And the nations [that refuse to serve] shall be utterly ruined. 13“The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The cypress, the juniper, and the cedar together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will honor and make the place of My feet glorious. 14“The sons of those who oppressed you will come bowing down to you [in submission],
And all those who despised you and treated you disrespectfully will bow down at the soles of your feet,
And they will call you the City of the LORD,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15“Whereas you [Jerusalem] have been abandoned and hated
With no one passing through,
I will make you an object of pride forever,
A joy from generation to generation. 16“You will suck the milk of the [Gentile] nations
And suck the breast (abundance) of kings;
Then you will recognize and know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17“Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
And instead of iron I will bring silver,
And instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
And [instead of the tyranny of the present] I will appoint peace as your officers,
And righteousness your rulers. 18“Violence will not be heard again in your land,
Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;
But you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise [to God]. 19“The sun will no longer be your light by day,
Nor shall the bright glow of the moon give light to you,
But the LORD will be an everlasting light for you;
And your God will be your glory and splendor. 20“Your sun will no longer set,
Nor will your moon wane;
For the LORD will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning will be over. 21“Then all your people will be [uncompromisingly and consistently] righteous;
They will possess the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified. 22“The smallest one will become a thousand (a clan),
And the least one a mighty nation.
I, the LORD, will quicken it in its [appointed] time.”

Isaiah 61
Exaltation Of The Afflicted
1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed and commissioned me
To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners, 2To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,
To comfort all who mourn, 3To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:
To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 4Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up and restore the former desolations;
And they will renew the ruined cities,
The desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations. 5Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. 6But you shall be called the priests of the LORD;
People will speak of you as the ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And you will boast of their riches. 7Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion;
And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited];
Everlasting joy will be theirs. 8For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery with a burnt offering.
And I will faithfully reward them,
And make an everlasting covenant with them. 9Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants among the peoples.
All who see them [in their prosperity] will recognize and acknowledge them
That they are the people whom the LORD has blessed. 10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has covered me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom puts on a turban,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord GOD will [most certainly] cause righteousness and justice and praise
To spring up before all the nations [through the power of His word].

Isaiah 62
Zion’s Glory And New Name
1For Zion’s sake I (Isaiah) will not be silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness,
And her salvation goes forth like a burning torch. 2The nations will see your righteousness and vindication [by God],
And all kings [will see] your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the LORD will designate. 3You will also be [considered] a crown of glory and splendor in the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem [exceedingly beautiful] in the hand of your God. 4It will no longer be said of you [Judah], “Azubah (Abandoned),”
Nor will it any longer be said of your land, “Shemamah (Desolate)”;
But you will be called, “Hephzibah (My Delight is in Her),”
And your land, “Married”;
For the LORD delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married [owned and protected by the LORD]. 5For as a young man marries a virgin [O Jerusalem],
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you. 6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed and stationed watchmen (prophets),
Who will never keep silent day or night;
You who profess the LORD, take no rest for yourselves, 7And give Him no rest [from your prayers] until He establishes Jerusalem
And makes her a praise on the earth. 8The LORD has sworn [an oath] by His right hand and by His mighty arm,
“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies,
Nor will [the invading] foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.” 9But they who have harvested it will eat it and praise the LORD,
And they who have gathered it will drink it [at the feasts celebrated] in the courtyards of My sanctuary. 10Go through, go through the gates,
Clear the way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a banner over the peoples. 11Listen carefully, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
Say to the Daughter of Zion, “Look now, your salvation is coming [in the LORD];
Indeed, His reward is with Him, and His restitution accompanies Him.” 12And they will call them “The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD”;
And you will be called “Sought Out, A City Not Deserted.”

Isaiah 63
God’s Vengeance On The Nations
1Who is this who comes from Edom,
With crimson-stained garments from Bozrah [in Edom],
This One (the Messiah) who is majestic in His apparel,
Marching in the greatness of His might?
“It is I, [the One] who speaks in righteousness [proclaiming vindication], mighty to save.” 2Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? 3“I have trodden the wine trough alone,
And of the peoples there was no one with Me.
I also trod them in My anger
And trampled them in My wrath;
And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,
And I stained all My clothes. 4“For the day of vengeance [against ungodliness] was in My heart,
And My year of redemption [of those who put their trust in Me—the year of My redeemed] has come. 5“I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I was amazed and appalled that there was no one to uphold [truth and right].
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath sustained Me. 6“I trampled the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk with [the cup of] My wrath,
And I spilled their lifeblood on the earth.” God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled 7I will tell of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
According to all that the LORD has done for us,
And His great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has shown them according to His compassion
And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. 8For He said, “Be assured, they are My people,
Sons who will not be faithless.”
So He became their Savior [in all their distresses]. 9In all their distress He was distressed,
And the angel of His presence saved them,
In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them;
And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He changed into their enemy,
And He fought against them. 11Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses [and they said],
Where is He who brought our fathers up out of the [Red] Sea, with the shepherds of His flock [Moses and Aaron]?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in their midst, 12Who caused His glorious arm and infinite power to go at the right hand of Moses,
Dividing the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, 13Who led them through the depths [of the Red Sea],
Like a horse in the wilderness, [so that] they did not stumble? 14Like the cattle that go down into the valley [to find better pasture and rest],
The Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
So You led Your people [O LORD]
To make for Yourself a beautiful and glorious name [preparing the way for the acknowledgment of Your name by all nations]. “You Are Our Father” 15Look down from heaven and see from Your lofty dwelling place, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your mighty acts [Your miracles which you did for Your people]?
The stirring of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained and withheld from me. 16For [most certainly] You are our Father, even though Abraham [our ancestor] does not know us
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O LORD, are [still] our Father,
Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name. 17O LORD, why do You cause us to stray from Your ways
And harden our heart from fearing You [with reverence and awe]?
Return for Your servants’ sake, the tribes of Your heritage. 18Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for [only] a little while;
Our adversaries have trampled it down. 19We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
Like those who were not called by Your name.

Isaiah 64
Prayer For Mercy And Help
1Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Your presence— 2As [sure as] fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence! 3When You did awesome and amazing things which we did not expect,
You came down [at Sinai]; the mountains quaked at Your presence. 4For from days of old no one has heard, nor has ear perceived,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who works and acts in behalf of the one who [gladly] waits for Him. 5You meet him who rejoices in doing that which is morally right,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
Indeed, You were angry, for we sinned;
We have long continued in our sins [prolonging Your anger].
And shall we be saved [under such circumstances]? 6For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],
And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;
We all wither and decay like a leaf,
And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction]. 7There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who awakens and causes himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have handed us over to the [consuming and destructive] power of our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]. 8Yet, O LORD, You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our Potter,
And we all are the work of Your hand. 9Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD,
Do not remember our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] forever.
Now look, consider, for we are all Your people. 10Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation. 11Our holy and beautiful house [the temple built by Solomon],
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious objects are in ruins. 12Considering these [tragedies], will You restrain Yourself, O LORD [and not help us]?
Will You keep silent and humiliate and oppress us beyond measure?

Isaiah 65
A Rebellious People
1“I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name. 2“I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious and stubborn people,
Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughts and intentions, 3The people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Sacrificing [to idols] in gardens and making offerings with incense on bricks [instead of at the designated altar]; 4Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And their pots hold the broth of unclean meat; 5Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am too holy for you [and you might defile me]!’
These [people] are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day. 6“Indeed, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay it [directly] into their arms, 7Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the LORD.
“Since they too have made offerings with incense on the mountains
And scorned and taunted Me on the hills,
I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into their arms.”
8This is what the LORD says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing and benefit in it,’
So I will do for the sake of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them. 9“I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will live there. 10“And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,
And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives]. 11“But you who abandon (turn away from) the LORD,
Who forget and ignore My holy mountain (Zion),
Who set a table for Gad [the Babylonian god of fortune],
And who fill a jug of mixed wine for Meni [the god of fate], 12I will destine you for the sword, [says the LORD],
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,
Because when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.
But you did [what was] evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
13Therefore, the Lord GOD says this, “Listen carefully, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry;
Indeed, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty;
Indeed, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. 14“Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit. 15“And you will leave your name behind to My chosen ones [who will use it] as a curse,
And the Lord GOD will put you to death,
But He will call His servants by another name [a much greater name, just as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob]. 16“Because he who blesses himself on the earth
Will bless himself by the God of truth and faithfulness;
And he who swears [an oath] on the earth
Will swear by the God of truth and faithfulness;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight. New Heavens and a New Earth 17“Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind. 18“But be glad and rejoice forever over what I create;
Behold, I am creating Jerusalem to be a source of rejoicing
And her people a joy. 19“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. 20“No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old man who does not finish his days;
For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought of as accursed. 21“They will build houses and live in them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit. 22“They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands. 23“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the LORD,
And their offspring with them.
24“It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25“The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the LORD.

Isaiah 66
Heaven Is God’s Throne
1This is what the LORD says, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where, then, is a house that you could build for Me?
And where will My resting place be? 2“For all these things My hand has made,
So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look [graciously],
To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands. Hypocrisy Rebuked 3“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;
He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.
Such people have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their repulsive acts; 4So I will choose their punishments,
And will bring the things they dread upon them
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen or obey.
But they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.” 5Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name’s sake,
Have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame. 6“The sound of an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple!
The voice of the LORD, providing retribution to His enemies. 7“Before she (Zion) was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her labor pain came, she gave birth to a boy. 8“Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons. 9“Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God. Joy in Jerusalem’s Future 10“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;
Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her, 11That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” 12For the LORD says this, “Behold, I extend peace to her (Jerusalem) like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and [playfully] rocked on her knees. 13“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” 14When you see this, your heart will rejoice;
Your bones will flourish like new grass.
And the [powerful] hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants,
But His indignation will be toward His enemies. 15For indeed, the LORD will come in fire
And His chariots will be like the stormy wind,
To render His anger with rage,
And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16For the LORD will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all mankind,
And those slain by the LORD will be many. 17“Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols],
Following after one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end together,” says the LORD.
18“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory. 19I will set up a [miraculous] sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations: Tarshish, Pul (Put), Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant islands and coastlands that have not heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare and proclaim My glory among the nations. 20“Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21“I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the LORD. 22“For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will remain and endure before Me,” declares the LORD,
“So your offspring and your name will remain and endure. 23“And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down and worship before Me,” says the LORD. 24“Then they will go forth and look
Upon the dead bodies of the [rebellious] men
Who have transgressed against Me;
For their worm (maggot) will not die,
And their fire will not go out;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”