The World English Bible (WEB) Part 63

They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy One of Israel.

They are estranged and backward. 1:5 Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 1:6 From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven't been closed, neither bandaged, neither soothed with oil. 1:7 Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 1:8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a besieged city. 1:9 Unless Yahweh of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom; we would have been like Gomorrah. 1:10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our G.o.d, you people of Gomorrah! 1:11 "What are the mult.i.tude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I don't delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats. 1:12 When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 1:13 Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can't bear with evil a.s.semblies. 1:14 My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.

1:15 When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you.

Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 1:16 Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. 1:17 Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow." 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," says Yahweh: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 1:20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it." 1:21 How the faithful city has become a prost.i.tute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. 1:22 Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. 1:23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves.

Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them. 1:24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, and avenge myself of my enemies; 1:25 and I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin. 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called 'The city of righteousness, a faithful town.' 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness.

1:28 But the destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and those who forsake Yahweh shall be consumed. 1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen. 1:30 For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. 1:31 The strong will be like tinder, and his work like a spark. They will both burn together, and no one will quench them." 2:1 This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2:2 It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. 2:3 Many peoples shall go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the G.o.d of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 2:4 He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 2:5 House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh. 2:6 For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, with those who practice divination like the Philistines, and they clasp hands with the children of foreigners. 2:7 Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots. 2:8 Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. 2:9 Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don't forgive them. 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty. 2:11 The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day. 2:12 For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low: 2:13 For all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, for all the oaks of Bashan, 2:14 For all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up, 2:15 For every lofty tower, for every fortified wall, 2:16 For all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery. 2:17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:18 The idols shall utterly pa.s.s away. 2:19 Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily. 2:20 In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 2:21 To go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily. 2:22 Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he? 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water; 3:2 the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the diviner, the elder, 3:3 the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter. 3:4 I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them.

3:5 The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable. 3:6 Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, "You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand." 3:7 In that day he will cry out, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me ruler of the people. 3:8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Yahweh, to provoke the eyes of his glory. 3:9 The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don't hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves. 3:10 Tell the righteous "Good!" For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 3:11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him. 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths. 3:13 Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples. 3:14 Yahweh will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and their leaders: "It is you who have eaten up the vineyard.

The spoil of the poor is in your houses. 3:15 What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?" says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies. 3:16 Moreover Yahweh said, "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as they go, jingling ornaments on their feet; 3:17 therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion, and Yahweh will make their scalps bald." 3:18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces, 3:19 the earrings, the bracelets, the veils, 3:20 the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms, 3:21 the signet rings, the nose rings, 3:22 the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses, 3:23 the hand mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls.

3:24 It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. 3:25 Your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war. 3:26 Her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit on the ground. 4:1 Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing: only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach."

4:2 In that day, Yahweh's branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of Israel. 4:3 It will happen, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem; 4:4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. 4:5 Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her a.s.semblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 4:6 There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain.

5:1 Let me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. 5:2 He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in its midst, and also cut out a winepress therein. He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 5:3 "Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard. 5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes? 5:5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall of it, and it will be trampled down. 5:6 I will lay it a wasteland. It won't be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it."

5:7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress. 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land! 5:9 In my ears, Yahweh of Armies says: "Surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied. 5:10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah." 5:11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!

5:12 The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don't regard the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands. 5:13 Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their mult.i.tudes are parched with thirst. 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their mult.i.tude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it. 5:15 So man is brought low, mankind is humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled; 5:16 but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and G.o.d the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.

5:17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich. 5:18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope; 5:19 Who say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!" 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 5:22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink; 5:23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent! 5:24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry gra.s.s sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 5:25 Therefore Yahweh's anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them, and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out. 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from far, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly. 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 5:28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses' hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. 5:29 Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver. 5:30 They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds. 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 6:2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. 6:3 One called to another, and said,

"Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!" 6:4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 6:5 Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!"

6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 6:7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven."

6:8 I heard the Lord's voice, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"

Then I said, "Here I am. Send me!"

6:9 He said, "Go, and tell this people,

'You hear indeed, but don't understand; and you see indeed, but don't perceive.' 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed." 6:11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?"

He answered,

"Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste, 6:12 And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 6:13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock." 7:1 It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 7:2 It was told the house of David, saying, "Syria is allied with Ephraim." His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind. 7:3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field. 7:4 Tell him, 'Be careful, and keep calm. Don't be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying, 7:6 "Let's go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let's divide it among ourselves, and set up a king in its midst, even the son of Tabeel." 7:7 This is what the Lord Yahweh says: "It shall not stand, neither shall it happen." 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people; 7:9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"

7:10 Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 7:11 "Ask a sign of Yahweh your G.o.d; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above."

7:12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh."

7:13 He said, "Listen now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my G.o.d also?

7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 7:15 He shall eat b.u.t.ter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 7:16 For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken. 7:17 Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of a.s.syria. 7:18 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of a.s.syria. 7:19 They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all pastures. 7:20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of a.s.syria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard. 7:21 It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep; 7:22 and it shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat b.u.t.ter: for everyone will eat b.u.t.ter and honey that is left in the midst of the land. 7:23 It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns. 7:24 People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns.

7:25 All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."

8:1 Yahweh said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, 'For Maher Shalal Hash Baz;' 8:2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

8:3 I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said Yahweh to me, "Call his name 'Maher Shalal Hash Baz.' 8:4 For before the child knows how to say, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of a.s.syria."

8:5 Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, 8:6 "Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 8:7 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of a.s.syria and all his glory.

It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. 8:8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pa.s.s through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel. 8:9 Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered! 8:10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for G.o.d is with us." 8:11 For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 8:12 "Don't say, 'A conspiracy!' concerning all about which this people say, 'A conspiracy!' neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized. 8:13 Yahweh of Armies is who you must regard as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. 8:14 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 8:15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured." 8:16 Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. 8:17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

8:18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.

8:19 When they tell you, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter:" shouldn't a people consult with their G.o.d? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 8:20 Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don't speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. 8:21 They will pa.s.s through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their G.o.d. They will turn their faces upward, 8:22 and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.

9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.

9:3 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 9:4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian. 9:5 For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

9:6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty G.o.d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

9:8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel. 9:9 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, 9:10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place." 9:11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies, 9:12 The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 9:13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Armies. 9:14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day. 9:15 The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. 9:16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed. 9:17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compa.s.sion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. 9:19 Through the wrath of Yahweh of Armies, the land is burnt up; and the people are the fuel for the fire. No one spares his brother. 9:20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm: 9:21 Mana.s.seh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Mana.s.seh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 10:1 Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees; 10:2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! 10:3 What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help?

Where will you leave your wealth?

10:4 They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 10:5 Alas a.s.syrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! 10:6 I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 10:7 However he doesn't mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. 10:8 For he says, "Aren't all of my princes kings? 10:9 Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus?" 10:10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 10:11 shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 10:12 Therefore it will happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of a.s.syria, and the insolence of his haughty looks. 10:13 For he has said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. 10:14 My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, have I gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped."

10:15 Should an axe brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.

10:16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire. 10:17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. 10:18 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. 10:19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.

10:20 It will come to pa.s.s in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 10:21 A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty G.o.d. 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. 10:23 For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth. 10:24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, says "My people who dwell in Zion, don't be afraid of the a.s.syrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did. 10:25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction."

10:26 Yahweh of Armies will stir up a scourge against him, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up like he did against Egypt. 10:27 It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

10:28 He has come to Aiath. He has pa.s.sed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage. 10:29 They have gone over the pa.s.s. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled. 10:30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth! 10:31 Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. 10:32 This very day he will halt at n.o.b. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 10:33 Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. 10:34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

11:1

A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. 11:2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. 11:3 His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; 11:4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 11:5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. 11:7 The cow and the bear will graze.

Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 11:8 The nursing child will play near a cobra's hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 11:9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. 11:10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. 11:11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from a.s.syria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 11:12 He will set up a banner for the nations, and will a.s.semble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won't envy Judah, and Judah won't persecute Ephraim. 11:14 They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them. 11:15 Yahweh will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals. 11:16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from a.s.syria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

12:1 In that day you will say, "I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. 12:2 Behold, G.o.d is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation." 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation. 12:4 In that day you will say, "Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted! 12:5 Sing to Yahweh, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the earth! 12:6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great in the midst of you!"

13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw: 13:2 Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand, that they may go into the gates of the n.o.bles. 13:3 I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones. 13:4 The noise of a mult.i.tude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle. 13:5 They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. 13:6 Wail; for the day of Yahweh is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 13:7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and everyone's heart will melt. 13:8 They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame. 13:9 Behold, the day of Yahweh comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it. 13:10 For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. 13:11 I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will humble the haughtiness of the terrible. 13:12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.

13:13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place in the wrath of Yahweh of Armies, and in the day of his fierce anger. 13:14 It will happen that like a a hunted gazelle, and like sheep that no one gathers, they will each turn to their own people, and will each flee to their own land. 13:15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through. Everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 13:16 Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be ransacked, and their wives raped. 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it. 13:18 Their bows will dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes will not spare children. 13:19 Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, will be like when G.o.d overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 13:20 It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. 13:21 But wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there. 13:22 Wolves will cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.

14:1 For Yahweh will have compa.s.sion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land. The foreigner will join himself with them, and they will unite with the house of Jacob. 14:2 The peoples will take them, and bring them to their place. The house of Israel will possess them in Yahweh's land for servants and for handmaids. They will take as captives those whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 14:3 It will happen in the day that Yahweh will give you rest from your sorrow, from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve, 14:4 that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!" 14:5 Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, 14:6 who struck the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, who ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. 14:7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet. They break out song. 14:8 Yes, the fir trees rejoice with you, with the cedars of Lebanon, saying, "Since you are humbled, no lumberjack has come up against us." 14:9 Sheol from beneath has moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, even all the rulers of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 14:10 They all will answer and ask you, "Have you also become as weak as we are? Have you become like us?" 14:11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, with the sound of your stringed instruments.

Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you.

14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! 14:13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of G.o.d! I will sit on the mountain of a.s.sembly, in the far north! 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!" 14:15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit. 14:16 Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, "Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms; 14:17 who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities; who didn't release his prisoners to their home?"

14:18 All the kings of the nations, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house. 14:19 But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, who are thrust through with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot. 14:20 You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people. The seed of evil-doers will not be named forever. 14:21 Prepare for slaughter of his children because of the iniquity of their fathers, that they not rise up and possess the earth, and fill the surface of the world with cities. 14:22 "I will rise up against them," says Yahweh of Armies, "and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son," says Yahweh. 14:23 "I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says Yahweh of Armies. 14:24 Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 14:25 that I will break the a.s.syrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains.

Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave their shoulders.

14:26 This is the plan that is determined for the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 14:27 For Yahweh of Armies has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

14:28 This burden was in the year that king Ahaz died. 14:29 Don't rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent's root an adder will emerge, and his fruit will be a fiery flying serpent. 14:30 The firstborn of the poor will eat, and the needy will lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant will be killed.

14:31 Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 14:32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people will take refuge.

15:1 The burden of Moab: for in a night, Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nothing; for in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nothing. 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off. 15:3 In their streets, they dress themselves in sackcloth. In their streets and on their housetops, everyone wails, weeping abundantly. 15:4 Heshbon cries out with Elealeh. Their voice is heard even to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud. Their souls tremble within them. 15:5 My heart cries out for Moab! Her n.o.bles flee to Zoar, to Eglath Shelishiyah; for they go up by the ascent of Luhith with weeping; for in the way of Horonaim, they raise up a cry of destruction. 15:6 For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate; for the gra.s.s has withered away, the tender gra.s.s fails, there is no green thing. 15:7 Therefore they will carry away the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have stored up, over the brook of the willows. 15:8 For the cry has gone around the borders of Moab; its wailing to Eglaim, and its wailing to Beer Elim.