Category: Isaiah

Rebellion of God’s People

1 The 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.

2 Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;

For the Lordhas spoken:

“I have reared and brought up sons,

But they have rebelled against Meandhave 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.”

4 Ah, 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.

5 Why should you be strickenandpunished again [since no change results from it]?

You [only] continue to rebel.

The whole head is sick

And the whole heart is faintandsick.

6 From 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].

7 Your 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.

8 The 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].

9 If the Lordof hosts

Had not left us a few survivors,

We would be like Sodom,

We would be like Gomorrah.

God Has Had Enough

10 Hear the word of the Lord[rulers of Jerusalem],

You rulers of [another] Sodom,

Listen to the lawandinstruction 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,

17 Learn 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;

20 But if you refuse and rebel,

You shall be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lordhas spoken.

Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed

21 How 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.

22 Your silver has turned tolead,

Your wine is diluted with water.

23 Your 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].

24 Therefore the Lord Godof 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.”

27 Zion will be redeemed with justice

And her repentant ones with righteousness.

28 But rebels and sinners will be crushedanddestroyed together,

And those who abandon (turn away from) the Lordwill be consumed (perish).

29 For 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].

30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf withersanddies

And like a garden that has no water.

31 The strong man will become tinder,

And his work a spark.

So both will burn together

And there will be none to quench them.

God’s Universal Reign

1 The word [from God] which Isaiah son of Amoz saw [in a vision] concerning [the nation of] Judah and [its capital city] Jerusalem.

2 Now it will come to pass that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the Lord

Will be [firmly] established as thehighest of the mountains,

And will be exalted above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

3 And 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 Lordfrom Jerusalem.

4 And 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.

5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

6 Most certainly [Lord] You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob,

Because they are filledwith influencesfrom the east,

And they are soothsayers [who foretell] like the Philistines;

Also they strikebargainswith the children of foreigners (pagans).

7 Their 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.

8 Their land has also been filled with idols;

They worship the work of their hands,

That which their own fingers have made.

9 So thecommonman has been humbled [before idols]

And the manof importancehas been degraded,

Therefore do not forgive them [O Lord].

10 Go among the rocks and hide in the dust

From the terror of the Lordand from the splendor of His majesty.

11 The proud look of man will be degraded

And the arrogance of men will be humbled,

And the Lordalone will be exalted in that day.

A Day of Reckoning Coming

12 For the Lordof hosts will have a dayof reckoning

Against all who are proud and arrogant

And against all who are lifted up,

That they may be degraded.

13 And 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],

14 Against all the high mountains,

Against all the hills that are lifted up,

15 Against every high tower,

Against every fortified wall,

16 Against all the ships of Tarshish

And against all the beautiful craft.

17 Then the pride of man will be humbled

And the arrogance of men will be degraded;

The Lordalone shall be exalted in that day,

18 And the idols will completely vanish (be abolished).

19 They [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 terroranddread of the Lord

And from the splendor of His majesty,

When He arises to terrify the earth.

20 In 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,

21 To go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the [ragged] cliffs [as they flee]

From the terroranddread of the Lordand the splendor of His majesty,

When He arises to terrify the earth.

22 Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time];

For why should he be esteemed?

God Will Remove the Leaders

1 Listen carefully, the Lord Godof hosts is removing from Jerusalem and from Judah

Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread

And the whole supply of water;

2 The brave man and the warrior [He is also removing],

The judge and the prophet,

The diviner and the elder,

3 The captain of fifty and the man of honor,

The counselor and the expert artisan,

And the skillful enchanter.

4 And I will makemereboys their princes,

And capricious (impulsive, unpredictable) children will rule over them.

5 And the people will be oppressed,

Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;

The boy will be arrogantandinsolent toward the elder

And the vulgar (common) toward the honorable [person of rank].

6 When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father,saying,

“You have a robe, you shall be our judgeandruler,

And this pile of ruins will be under your control,”

7 He will protest on that day, saying,

“I will not be agovernor;

For in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;

You should not make me a judgeandruler of the people.”

8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,

Because their words and their actions are against the Lord,

To rebel against His glorious presenceanddefiantly provoke Him.

9 Their partiality testifies against them,

They display their sin like Sodom;

They do not even hide it.

Woe (judgment is coming) tothem!

For they have brought evil on themselves [as a reward].

10 Say to the righteous thatit will gowell with them,

For they will eat the fruit of their [righteous] actions.

11 Woe (judgment is coming) to the wicked!It shall gobadlywith him,

For what his hand has done shall be done to him.

12 O 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

13 The Lordrises to contend,

And stands to judge the people.

14 The Lordenters 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 Godof hosts.

Judah’s Women Denounced

16 Moreover, the Lordsaid, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud

And walk with outstretched necks and seductive (flirtatious, alluring) eyes,

And trip along with mincing stepsandan affected gait

And walk with jinglinganklets on their feet,

17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs [making them bald],

And the Lordwill expose their foreheads (send them into captivity).”

18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, [braided] caps, crescent [head] ornaments,

19 dangling earrings, bracelets, and the hanging veilsandscarves,

20 head wraps (turbans), [short, jingling] ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets (charms),

21 signet [finger] rings, nose rings,

22 festival robes, outer tunics, shawls, handbags,

23 hand mirrors, [fine linen] undergarments, headbands, and veils [covering the entire body].

24 Now 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.

25 Your men will fall by the sword

And your mighty men in battle.

26 And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];

And she, being ruinedanddesolate, will sit upon the ground.

A Remnant Prepared

1 And 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].”

2 In that day the Branch of the Lordwill be splendid and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have survived.

3 It 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.

4 When 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,

5 then the Lordwill 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 gloryandbrilliance will be a canopy [a defense, a covering of His divine love and protection].

6 And there will be a pavilion for shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and the rain.

Parable of the Vineyard

1 Now 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).

2 He dug it all around and cleared away its stones,

And planted it withthe choicest vine (the people of Judah).

And He built a tower in the center of it;

And also hewed out awine vat in it.

Then He expected it to produce [the choicest] grapes,

But it producedonlyworthless 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 producegoodgrapes, 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 itsstone 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.”

7 For the vineyard of the Lordof 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] bloodshedandlawlessness;

[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distressandoppression.

Woes for the Wicked

8 Woe (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!

9 In my ears the Lordof hostssaid,“Be assured that many houses will become desolate,

Evengreat and beautiful ones will be unoccupied.

10 For tenacres of vineyard will yield [only]one bathof wine,

And a homer (six bushels) of seed will produce [only] one ephah of grain.”

11 Woe (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!

12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts;

But they do not regardnoreven pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,

Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

13 Therefore 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.

14 Therefore Sheol (the realm of the dead) has increased its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure;

AndJerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her [boisterous] uproar and her [drunken] revelers descendinto it.

15 So thecommonman will be bowed down and the man ofimportancedegraded,

And the eyes of the proud (arrogant) will be degraded.

16 But the Lordof hosts will be exalted in justice,

And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments].

17 Then the lambs will graze [among the ruins] as in their own pasture,

And strangers will eat in the desolate places of the [exiled] wealthy.

18 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood,

And sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment];

19 Who 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!”

20 Woe (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!

21 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are wise in their own eyes

And cleverandshrewd in their own sight!

22 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are heroes at drinking wine

And men of strength in mixing intoxicating drinks,

23 Who justify the wickedandacquit the guilty for a bribe,

And take away the rights of those who are in the right!

24 Therefore, 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 Lordof hosts

And despisedanddiscarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore the anger of the Lordhas 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.

Inspite ofall this God’s anger is not turned away,

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

26 He 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.

27 No 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.

28 Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are strungandbent;

Their horses’ hoofs seem like flint and theirchariotwheels like a whirlwind.

29 Their 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.

30 And 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’s Vision

1 In 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.

2 Above Him seraphim (heavenly beings) stood; each one had six wings: with twowingshe covered his face, with twowingshe covered his feet, and with twowingshe flew.

3 And one called out to another, saying,

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lordof hosts;

The whole earth is filled with His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, and the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then 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 Lordof hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

7 He touched my mouthwith itand said, “Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned forandforgiven.”

Isaiah’s Commission

8 Then 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!”

9 And 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.”

11 Then 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,

12 The Lordhas 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 besubjectto 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].”

War against Jerusalem

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king ofAram (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.

2 When 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.

3 Then the Lordsaid to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz [king of Judah], you and your sonShear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to theFuller’s Field;

4 and 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 withEphraim (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 wallandtear it apart [each of us taking a portion] and set up the son of Tabeel over it as its [puppet] king,”

7 for this is what the Lord Godsays, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen.

8 For 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 notbelieve [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.” ’ ”

The Child Immanuel

10 Then the Lordspoke again to [King] Ahaz, saying,

11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lordyour 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.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then 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?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, thevirgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

15 He will eat curds and honey when he knowsenoughto refuse evil and choose good.

16 For before the child will knowenoughto 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 Lordwill 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.”

18 In that day the Lordwill whistle for the fly that is in themouth of the riversandcanals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steepandrugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

20 In 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].

21 Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep;

22 and 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.

23 And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines,wortha thousand silvershekels,there will be briars and thorns.

24 People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns.

25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pickandthe 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.

Damascus and Samaria Fall

1 Then the Lordsaid to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters:BelongingtoMaher-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.”

3 So I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lordsaid to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz [to remind the people of the prophecy];

4 for 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.”

5 Again the Lordspoke to me, saying,

6 “Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters ofShiloah

And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel],

7 Now 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 channelsandcanals and go far beyond its banks.

8 Then it willsweep 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).”

11 For in this way the Lordspoke 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 Lordof hosts whom you are to regard as holyandawesome.

He shall be your [source of] fear,

He shall be your [source of] 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.”

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the lawandthe teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples.

17 And I will wait for the Lordwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him.

18 Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lordhas given me arefor signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lordof hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

19 When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirpandwhisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God?Should they consultthe 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.

21 They [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.

22 Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; andthey will bedriven away into darknessandoverwhelming night.

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

1 But there will be nomoregloom 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.

2 The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness

Will see a great Light;

Those who live in the dark land,

The Light will shine on them.

3 You [O God] will increase the nation,

You will multiply their joy;

They will rejoice before You

Like the joyandjubilation of the harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory].

4 For You will break the yoke of Israel’s burden and the staff (goad) on their shoulders,

The rod of their oppressor, as at thebattle of Midian.

5 For every boot of the marching warrior in thebattletumult,

And [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will beusedfor burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For 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.

7 There 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 Lordof hosts will accomplish this.

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

8 The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob,

And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim].

9 And 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.”

11 Therefore the Lordraises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram]

And spurs their enemies on,

12 The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;

And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

13 Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them,

Nor do they seek the Lordof hosts [as their most essential need].

14 Therefore the Lordcuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel,

Both[the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day.

15 The elderly and honorable man, he is the head;

And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

16 For those who lead this people are causingthemto go astray;

And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up.

17 Therefore 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.

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

18 For 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.

19 By the wrath of the Lordof hosts the land is burned up,

And the people are like fuel for the fire;

No man spares his brother.

20 They slice off [in discord]what ison the right hand but arestillhungry,

And they eatwhat ison the left hand but they are not satisfied;

Each eats the flesh of his own arm.

21 [The tribe of] Manassehdevours[the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,

And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

1 Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes,

And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjustandoppressive decisions,

2 So 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.

3 Now 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]?

4 Nothingremainsbut to crouch among the captives

Or fall [dead] among the slain [on the battlefield].

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away,

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel],

The staff in whose hand is My indignationandfury [against Israel’s disobedience]!

6 I 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.

7 Yet 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.

8 For 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 greaterandmore feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images

Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” [declares Assyria].

12 So 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.”

13 For the Assyrian king has said,

“I have done this by the power of my [own] hand and by my wisdom,

For I have understandingandskill.

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.”

15 Is 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 belike a club moving those who lift it,

Or like a staff raisinghim whois not [made of] wood [like itself]!

16 Therefore the Lord, the Godof 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.

17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire and His Holy One a flame,

And it willburn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day.

18 The 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.

19 And the remaining trees of Assyria’s forest will be so few in number

That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now 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.

21 Aremnant will return, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

22 For though your people, O Israel, may be as the sand of the sea,

Onlya remnant within them will return;

The destruction is determined [it is decided and destined for completion], overflowing with justice (righteous punishment).

23 For the Lord, the Godof hosts, will execute a complete destruction, one that is decreed, in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore, the Lord Godof 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 angerwill be directedtoward the destruction of the Assyrian.”

26 The Lordof 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 wayHe didin [the flight from] Egypt.

27 So 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.

28 The Assyrian has come against Aiath [in Judah],

He has passed through Migron [with his army];

At Michmash he stored his equipment.

29 They 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.

30 Cry aloud with your voice [in consternation], O Daughter of Gallim!

Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!

31 Madmenah has fled;

The inhabitants of Gebim have fled [with their belongings] to safety.

32 Yet 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.

33 Listen carefully, the Lord, the Godof hosts, will lop off the [beautiful] boughs with terrifying force;

The tall in stature will be cut down

And the lofty will be abasedandhumiliated.

34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ironaxe,

And Lebanon (the Assyrian) will fall by the Mighty One.